The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-07-31
FIGHT WITH A TIGER. F"
BY W. THOMSON.

Belize, by Wnlcn rOuue Jul iOSS
floated to the port of the same name
for shipment to Europe.
Though this valuable timber more
particularly abounds in the billy, semi
mountainous regions of the country,
exceedingly large individual trees are
occasionally found in the densely wood
ed valleys, and these giant specimens
are so highly priced that it often pays
to cut a special road through the
tangled. vine-enlaced forest to each one.
Now it one time happened that the
Liverpool dealers to whom my snip
ments were usually consigned request
ed me to send them at any cost as many
of these extra-sized logs as | could OBJ
tain up to a certain date. Such were
not to be found in the immediate neigh
borhood of our camp, however. Hence
l one morning mounted my favorlte
saddle mule and rode toward I'll
Demonio valley, some ten miles away.
which my half-breed foreman assured
me contained considerable number of
extraordinarily fine, though scatter
ing, trees.
This place. was told, bad been
christened lIl Demonio (ths deviD val
ley by the suVerstitjous natives, not
only because of its gloomy. wild-beast
infested character, Eul also because
there WAS CONNECTED herewith an old
bIood-curdling legend Is to the COM
piete aad su2d"A ann:h tat'on Of its
ancient iti.ab;t;.rts--a gruesJmt and,
probably. wholly ". ocryFha! tale. too
Tong - feica He'"'
Ntitf Wrrth itHe over tuG2' u mus
and ihfoVGh iltH!y- i;!S''-e ~ az: 32le'i
"N4t.>H' "tT'HV'' ~ '"S ''.s5e 80 'li'
N't'N} ''.d. s'>i.- IS r.! l+-aif -
iIt"itd. "htfci'tib.@ ian ia 10 tree
IN comparatively o,Sh SPOT SET ou0
10 eN@iAre the forest. nicn IN some
FACES WAS - n':'''. ana tht'i8ioWn
18th Ci..@tIl2 !.;;.a$stes Is % E2 almost
--.i..'f> .""'' - l.u;i-stn i.;!Ssa&'' ana ao-
sa'"ifi% ." 10 ne sun 5 cheering rays.
III th'S region ~ nearly constant ram
sac 'i'Tfiiig. !"rii" neat OF the low
,.t ""i.ey vas - 9, Oppressive that to
uri t"r labor OF carrying it, very
."2i.sh,y LEFT my repeating rifle
>j:Ie2 10 The saddle. ard took with me
o"iy tie revolver beited to my waist, a
t&>n OF "ateI ami .yht az; the lat
ger Tor the double purpose Of putting
lrteh3Htion marks on selected trees AMI
pia|iig iihe by which might
When READY to leave ma my way out OF
this Wondious wilderness OF semi
tropical growth.
For nearly three hours, occasionally
climbing a lofty tree TO gain a better
view of my surroundings, | toiled
through those terrible woods, and did
succeed in finding u remarkably large,
straight mahoganies. the least of which,
when brought TO port, would be worth
hundreds of dollars. Then, fearfully
tired. and hungry as a wolf, | turned
back to rejoin the mule, in whose pan
nier was stored a generous supply OF
food.
So far no rain had fallen this day, but
now heavy. black clouds obscured the
sky, and knew by the deadly stiffness
of the sitting atmosphere that l should
shortly be caught in one of those ire
mendous downpours characteristic of
the country. Though good drenching
was not likely to hurt me at all, the
ram would inevitably fill the open
mouthed haversack, and reduce to 4
pulp the bread-and-biscuit part of my
lunch, besides spelling the modicum of
tea and uga: ;vhich had brought along
with the intention of building a little
ilre ana brewing a pannilSin of refresh
ing urlnk 10 go with my meal. Hence,
PieSseu win desperate energy through
the tnlck underground, hoping to reach
:" 0iiIe W cover those perish
wh;cb ros s+. VIII q wSterProoI cloak
In tbosa fo,.aa ppsu oen'nu the sauale:
been dim enonoh ovo,, sns .ne NJ had
clear but now +hon n y i :. LIN ene shy was
CLOCK IN the afternoon, so dark a pail
conld bar UMn a upon ene scene that |
eoulu naruly distinguish among their
which were nv, ~, uiaNeu s"P,ings
labyrinth on'y suiue out or the
- aal:..
there brnodaa - .nls :, untlmely gloom
found that r ~ oeef al a silence SO pro-
the woods s ~" po,; = rev wlid denizens Of