The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1893-08-05
SAVED BY AN APE
The Adventure of an American
Traveller on the Panama Canal

The Adventure of an American
Traveller on the Panama Canal
Why I stopped in Panama on my re
turn from my trip to South America i.
~smystery. The quaint Spanish fashion
of the old city interested me. and
found It difficult to teal myself away,
When I was ready to leave my briet
~sojourn in the country had inspired mt
with so much confidence that l eagerly
embraced the suggestion of my land
lord to cross the isthmus on horseback,
"Take it leisurely," he said; follow
the old road. 1t touches various points
along the canal. You a make the
Journey in a couple of days and you
will not mind spending a night in one
of De Lesseps' villages"
Now the canal was a pet hobby OF
mine. was anxious to see how it was
progressing. Besides, ! had a friend
who was one OF the contractors, and ]
wanted to pay him a visit.
The next morning I mounted a gem
tle mustang, furnished by my host. and
set out for Aspinwall, the Atlantic
port, where | intended to take the
steamer. As l wished to reach the
camp of my friend jackson by midday,
l rode rapidly during the morning.
At one place the road ran along in
sight of the canal for half n mile. Here
/ saw a scene not to be watched any
where on earth. Enormous machines
were at work ~excavating thousands OF
tons of dirt, and countless wag ons were
employed removing the loose earth.
Myriads of workmen swarmed every
where, jabbcring to each other in all
the tongues of the known world.
Among them were men from all the
countries of the world--Americans,
Africans, Cinnamon, West Indians and
Malays. The fierce looks cast upon
me by these fellows alarmed me; but |
pretended to be a calm spectator of the
animated scene. One of the contrac-
tors was about, and from him | learned
that | would find jackson about five
miles further IN.
"Are you armed?" asked the contrac.
tor.
i told him had a revolver.
You will probably need it before
You reach Aspinwall," said he. You
are passing through thirty thousand of
the worst cutthroats that were ever
collected together"
After hearing that | had a great mind
to return to Panama, but the dread of
being laughed at made me decide to
push on. Assuming a determined, BUSH
ness-like look, / put spurs to my mus
tang and ambled through the motley
gang OF laborers until I had the salts
faction of leaving them behind me.
Fortunately / encountered no obstacle,
and Jackson's camp was made just in
time for dinner.
Here I was safe. jackson was a big
fellow, whose men were nearly all
Americans. He was delighted to see
me and gave me a capital dinner. Dur
ing the two hours that ] spent with
him l filled him full of news, and he, on
the other hand, told me a lot of Won
derful things about the canal. lie
made no secret of his conviction hat
the enterprise would drag along for
years, but, as he was making
bushels Of money, the delay played
into his hands As / declined to
stay all night with him, jackson
gave me some directions about my
route, and at my departure confided to
me a package containing ten thousand
dollars, asking me to deposit it for him
in one of the banks at Aspinwall. | sug-
gested hat there was danger in carry
ing such a sum of money through the
country, but the stalwart fellow
laughed at my fears. He said hat |
would make the hacienda of Don Fran
cisco Mendez at nightfall. where I
would be royalty entertained. BY day
light he thought I could take care Of
myself.
While this was going on saw two
brutal-looking Mcxicans at a short dis
lance watching us intently and con-
ferring together in low tones.
81 don't like the looks of those ras-
GALS" I said.
Hello, there, Pedro and you, Juan"
shouted jackson. $50 to work, you
lazy beggars.'
The Mexicans growled and s~ullenly
They are two of the worst men in
camp" said Jackson, but they are not
likely to bother you"
/ had my doubts; but the prospect of
all night with Mendez some
what treasured me, and | started off in
very good spirits. My road took me
xhroupb a eoapa If bauildar;pr bo,,tr
The tropical foliage round me glittered
with all the hues of the rainbow. Un-
known flowers of gorgeous magnificence
and overpowering fragrance frightened
the roadside.
Suddenly came upon a pond of clear
water in an open space. Hot, dusty
and travel-worn. l could not resist the
temptation. Without counting the con-
/ fastened the mustang to a
and undressed in a hurry, plac-
ing my revolver under my clothes on
the edge of the water. Then l plunged
In and enjoyed a refreshing swim
One thing annoyed me. AL along
the way l met with monkeys every
where. They were of all sizes, and the
they took in my movements
amused me not a little. Sometimes
they chartered at me Indignantly and
shook their fists almost in my face. At
3 wave of hand, however, they fled i'll
terror.
As soon as l entered the lake the
monkeys took fresh courage. They
about in droves and abused
to their hearts content. Among
hem was one of a species that l had
not seen before. He was a ferocious-
monster, fully five feet high
md as muscular as a bear. Before /
the situation this great long
egged fellow swooped down on my
and started with them for the
woods For a moment / was absolute
. paralyzed. 1t was no joke to ride to
Aspinwall in a decent rig, but l had no /.
!sncy for the role of Lady Godiva.
There was no time to lose. The ]
had left my revolver, and as J
DON as l could seize it I fired. He |