The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-30

way along a narrow road built on a
mountain shelf forming the edge of a
2.000-foot deep precipice, Barraults
saddle girth broke and he unceremo-
niously disappeared over the preci-
pieces edge He fell 100 feet into the
arms of a friendly tree growing on the
side of the precipice.. When the fright
ened guides, peering cautiously into
the chasm, saw Barrault in the tree
and heard his shouts, they lowered a
rope and hauled him back to the mule
path. Then, to their surprise. they
found that their leader bore only a
a few unimportant scratches as the
result of his headlong tumble.
Two weeks later. as the expedition
was busily engaged in collecting the
orchids that grew on all sides, swamp
fever made its appearance in the camp.
Guide after guide fell ill, two died
suddenly and Barrault had to give up
orchid hunting and turn nurse. Final
ly he, too, took the fever. and so did
the last we'll Indian. How they pulled
through Barrault, in one of his letters
that have reached Philadelphia at
great intervals and by devious, tortor-
Gus ways, says that he does not know.
But get well they did 9nd then, Just
as the Frenchman once again was
looking forward to a successful hunt,
the guides-every mothers son of
them-robbed him while he slept of
all his possessions. including the prec-
ious orchids, and made off through
the forest in the night.
There was nothing to do except to
starve or to get out of the forest.
Barrault. guided partly by the now al
most overgrown path that the expe-
dition had hacked through the under
growth when it had penetrated into
the forest, painfully worked his way
out of the dense gloom and, after a
week of travel on foot and partial fast
brought up at little mountain village.
Here he rested for a week, and then
nothing daunted by the i'll luck of his
former expedition, set about organic
ing another with gold, furnished by
Mrs. Wilson, which he carried in belts
fastened around his body.
A Sword Fight with six Guides.
This hunt, Barra ult wrote, was not
ed for it's even tenor and lack of ex-
citement until just a few days be-
fore the return trip began. Then it was
that two guides and their leader unwit-
tingly stumbled into an army of big,
black ants. Before they could turn
about to flee the animals twarmed all
over them from head to foot. 1t was
u man lIllte 10 the nearest forest
stream, half mile covered with dense
underground. F'rantically the men
clawed their way to the water, suf-
fering agonies from the bites of the
infuriated ants and when, after what
seemed hours, they reached the stream S
brink, they barely had strength left
to flng themselves into the water.
Barrault's latest adventure to be re-
corded has been with murderous
guides. 1t occurred on the second ex-
petition that he organized after escap-
ing from the rebel prison, and he tells
about it in the letter of last July the
latest received from him.
1t seems that a half dozen of the
Indians entered into a plot to kill their
leader in order to secure the money
that they believed he carried with him.
Shortly before sunrise one morning,
Barrault was awakened by a slight
noise outside his tent. Peerng out he
saw six guides armed with long,
sword-like knives, used principally for
cutting paths through the under
growth, stealthily advancing on the
tent. Barrault, sword in hand, sprang
out upon them. Although taken by
surprise, the Indians stood their
ground, realizing that they were six
to one and returned Barrault's sword
thrusts with plunges of their long
| knives.
Barrault managed to keep his ad-
| versarieS in front of him until he had
backed up against a huge tree trunk:
then he went at the Indians in dead
earnest. His training in the French
army stood him in good stead, and
right and left his sword flashed, beat
down the guards of the guides, wound
ed three so that they fell to the ground
and sent the other three in precipit-
Gus flight into the depths of the forest.
"That Little Daredevil Orchid Hun
ter"
After this adventure the affairs of
the expedition proceeded smoothly.
and Barrault brought back to town in
pack saddles 1000 orchids and started
them for Barranquilla by RATS on the
river Magdaiena. He had to entrust
this task to friendly guides, for on
coming out of the forest he learned
that both the Colombian troops and
the rebels were on the march for that
little daredevil French orchid hunter -
1t was this information that made
Barrault give up the cherished idea of
trying to work his way back to the
coast with the rare orchids that he
was guarding day and night 1t also
sent him into the forest again as his
safest place Of refuge, and so he and
his half dozen Indian followers took up
once more the quest for the wonderful
snow-write orchid.
Somewhere in the mountain wilder
nesses around Bogota, Barrault to-day
is hunting for this and other orchids
and awaiting his opportunity to escape
from his enemies. In his last letter
he expressed the hope that he might
be able TO get aWaV bY next sDrinp at
the latest.
But, in the meantime he went on.
II shall keep on hunting for orchids
and protecting the rare specimens now
in my possession. And / hope that
shall be able to bring back with me
a specimen of the wonderful snow
white flower that the Indian told me
about when first arrived in this coun-
try. / could ask for no better reward
for the trials of the past four years,
filled as they have been with wholly
unlooked-for adventures
In Philadelphia Mrs. Wilson and
Barrault's friend, Alphonse Pericat, the
Wilson gardener, are anxiously await
ing further news of the intrepid or
child hunter. They are hoping for three
things-that Barrault will come out of
Colombia with a whole skin in spite
of his multitudinous adventures; that
he will bring with him many speci-
mems Of orchids hitherto unknown, and
that he win also return with the won
derful snow-white flower that the In
dian gaide described as the biggest of
all orchids, and for sight of which
Barrault has kept his eyes wide open
all the years that he has been in orchid
land.
Mrs. wilson's Famous Collection.