The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-18
rnr snAnr-roornnD o4nibss.
savnrs Isttie Ffshes IN venesueisn waters
Elhnt VIII Tackle Anything.

that wounded hand in tho waterl i warn you
1T will DO dangerous to do SOL
Don Enrico Carmono had called TO him so
suddenly, with such an expression Of alarm on
his face, as quite to nstonish the traveller from
New York to whom tho words were spoken.
Tho two had refined their horses at the bank Of
the Guarico River, In Venezuela. and the trav-
eller. who had just cut his finger in snatching
at n stalk Of river grass in passing. had dis
mounted and was stopping to wash the blood
from tho wound. His first thought at the quick
word OF warning was of q snake or saurian In
lurking, that he had failed to sec.
What Is 1t, Don Enricoi' no asked. AN
alligntorl A boar
NO, senior. neither. Those you can see and
watch against. 1t is something far fercer and
worse. Tho caribes."
do you moan seriously to tell mo that those
little fishes would attack my hand put into tho
w%ater-nt the very shorel' said the traveller,
who had seen dead caribes and did not believe
half he had heard of 1.-Two ones.
"Sefor, a caribe would take off tho erd Of
one OF your fingers at n snap. as completely as
a surgeon could do 1t with his instruments,
or would make such n wound in your hand as
would leave a lasting Disagreement. You
never have sccn them excited by blood! We'll,
suppose You fire at that alligator asleep out on
the spit. lie offers you q fine shot behind the
',, "ouhu hha eNSf
The %travellcr, took his .cxrrcss:rifle from Its
yards away. was an easy mark; The shot
struck true and the saurian, MORALLY wounded,
disappeared, leaving a streak Of blood upon the
began to move and bubble strangely, and by
see that the motion in the water was caused by
the swimming ,nnd d~arting about Of fishes.
Presently the alligator In his dying struggles
came to the surface, and he was surrounded by
a great school OF fishes, al attacking him fur.
like the perch in. size and shape, with strange
markings of white, red, and bluish-green;
Crowding and learing so that the water could
scarcely be seen for yards around, they snapped
and tore at the dying saurian, swarming upon
him SO as literally to cover the body from view.
traveller had never seen. As he gazed in a sort
Of orror-strickcn fascination ut the spectacle
port Of bis rifc: Don Enrico turned toward him
with his grave smile:
Those are caribes. selor. drawn by the sight
among theml"
The traveller allowed" pretty emphatically
their native element. and how they behaved
there, and he wouldn't trust them, or my wa;
rSds 'h ABOUT sMA sne a%; n hs sou tSoa HSs g as srSas ' lis
stay al San Pablo, and also in other waters
than the Gparico, BY personal experience he
above the hook, and tho fish did not stick at
LII PERU hhhC any HOEc .Nnen tuo iHo "ae
defended by gauging of silver or copper. A
few of them in a fishing net would ruin 1t by
jnro many Of the valuable fish about them.
Whether in the water or Hopping about on land
or in tho bottom of a canoe, they were always
ready for u fight and would snap and bite at
everything within reach as long as they could
stir a Tin. A trace Of blood on any creature,
upon il, and If far from shore its chance of escape
was small. Horses with spur wounds In their
sides were special marks for the caribes, which
would ATTACK thpln so Rnv1QnIv IN the Cr0SEln0
OF streams as often to eat their way into the en-
trails and destroy the poor, animals before they
ler's knowledge. which had waded into the river
up to its knees to drink was hamstrung by
double rows of sharks teeth. the red rings
tIeP brir int orange %sGs; t msr Ieausin oyer .heir eS white AND and
bluish-green bodies. these savage little pests of
the Orinoco waters were as evil in looks as in
,.t The; ,sm thing &. the s,ot traveller We Sr. fSup so,S out at snq 3
from Don Enrico .Carmono on this day as to-
gether they stood on the bank OF the Guarico
watching att %ss the nsn SaF Isss, and nso. the Sst %s1lis shS venez.
iRS s a G Of ,spaln, =, said tho m aGnth .,tH hath G bis
Spanish soldiers to stamp out rebellion that al
ready was gathering on the upper waters Of the III
OF Ernestino Boldoso. n bold. high.spirited man
OF Indian strain, who was inf ucntial among his
own people anu Inuue MS VOICE ncaTu IOE Tree
dom. Gutierrez, q man of imperious. cruel
temper, was u skilful. energetic commander.
He.marched SO rapidly and silently;as.to surprise
the Guarico people in their homes, and every
ono whom he suspected OF disloyalty he shot on
tho spot: Ernestino Boldoso was shot before
ais own door, and tho Spanish Colonel compelled
his wife, Juana. n beautiful Indian woman, to
witness the execution of her husband. Gutter
req remained at San Pablo several months, en-.
gagged in the paciication of the province, and
during that time he forced Juana to live with
him In his quarters and to cook his meals. sho
| was n 4 M h hnn hTnn a
votedly In love with her husband, and SO it
seemed strange, TINT, after the first outbreaks
situation passiycly and live with her brutal
captor in apparent content.
on an expedition down the river in canoes; and,
as Il to heap every indlgnity on the widow OF
BolGoso, he commanded that she should paddle
the canoe in which he yoyagcd. after the Gus
bands about in the Orinoco waters. What the
the Indian women of the Guarico knew many
secret arts-but on the first morning after start.
had iMs b eaA him 80, during he mig Hight, and n%phiu he was Sas
strangely sleepy. The blood had stained his
clothes. and the wound through tho morning
In some, way the canoe which Juana padded
fell behind the Others, which passed round a
done with a turn OF tho pnddle-ln, a place
where the river was wide and deep, the canoe
one push SiS," tha un sent Hti Il FAR no fpom b siianS Ia ss9 SWIM yfan.
ming for the nearer shore. and Gutierrez woke
from n half slumber to lind himself struggling
In tho water. The wound in his neck, the blood
stains on his shirt, they were enough, and almost
before he could give one cry for help the caribcs
that had gone ahead turned back in time for
their crews to witness the ending. You can see
what II was"
Don Enrico looked over to where the alliga.
tor, now dead, was floating on its back, with
the caribes in growing numbers crowding. leap
Ing. swapping about It.
Eaten alive, piecemeal." he said; then,
shrugging his shoulders: Perhaps it was no
great pity. after what he had done. And Juanai
She got ashore and safe into tho woods. You
can trust that no Spaniard could ovcrtake her
after that. She lived many years in health
from Venezuela"