New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-11-29

SOUTH AMERICA. BY Paul Fountain. Author
America" With Illustrations. Octave, PIP. 800
Longmans. Green 81 Co
The ostensble purpose of Mr.. Fountains visit
to the forests of Brazil and other countries Of
the Southern Continent was. he says. to make
a study OF bird life to gather illustrative speci-
mems and to investigate various current the
cries Of the monstrous serpents Of the regions
But he prefers to confess that his impelling mo-
tive was really his intense desire to visit I'M
known parts Of the earth. In the jungles OF the
Amazon, hemmed In by q solitude of silent and
tangled forest. the first reflection which seems
to have occurred to him. when resting from &C
tive observation. was one OF satisfaction at the
thought that no civilization would make inroads
upon the country at least until such time as
more habitable parts OF the earth were densely
overcrowded. This is the characteristic de-
light in the wilderness which controls the eX-
plorer. If any further illustration OF the au-
thor's motives were necessary It might be found
in the surprising handicaps under which he
undertook these travels.
Venturing into the heart OF the desolate
stretches of forest. he is so little OF a lngust
that he made no attempt to acquire any famii-
arity with the languages OF the native savages.
and in getting about personally he is sadly
hampered by inhrmity which forces him 10
wear irons continuously. AS companions on
these travels-which besides some exploration
OF the unfamiliar tributaries OF the Amazon In
clude trips into the mountains OF Ecuador
Chill and Peru-he was limited I'm his choice 10
two unpromisng men OF criminal reputation.
Not many people care to endure hardship for the
sake Of curiosity Our Indians used to think
our explorer crazy. The natives OF South
America are quite as conservative. However
Jose the Brazilian and George the Venezuelan.
as he calls his men. became devoted followers
and hardly faltered even in the depressing lone
Illness of the upper reaches Of the Purus River
where they found it impossible 10 sing them
selves into cheerfuness as they poled the heavy
boat, and were only kept in spirit by Mr.. Foun-
tain's reading TO them at night from Dickens
and Dumas The savaRes with whom the party
came in contact on these Amazon continents
were rather troublesome because OF their good
fellowship and their desire to remain board
the boat, persist at its table. and carry away
the dogs and cooking utensils. When they dis
covered the use of scissors, which at first
an inscrutable mystery. they amused them
selves by a wild carnival of shipping an
others hair. The author made occasional ex-
cursions from the boat. studying the bats rep
tiles. birds of bright plumage and chattering
monkeys. He speaks of sleeping ashore as fol-
lows:
on the three nights referred TO I slept twice
on the ground rolled in a blanket, going inland
a mile more from the river for fear of the
caymans the only creatures here that dreaded.
AS to the jaguars and pumas, am too we'll ac-
quainted with the habits of these animals to
think that there Is the slightest chance of their
attacking sleeping men. l saw them wander
ing about like great dogs and several times
they passed quite close. When sleeping in or
under tree / chose a small one, that 1 might
be there no lurking serpents in it.;
and If the moon were shining l took precaution
to avoids its beams, which are highly dangerous
TO a sleeper
study of the poisoned arrow. used in Gut
ana for shooting game, large and small. but less
used in war; convinced Mr.. Fountain that it
was composed of wourali poison and the noxious
juices OF several plants-not in themselves fatal
in effect-added to a serpent poison. The ppe-
amen, who manufacture the poison surround
the process with ceremonial. and. while pretend
ing to impart the secret withhold the essential
ingredient. The authors experiments convinced
him that something was lacking In his mixture
but he successful with various kinds of
snake poisons. after having the idea suggested
to him by Witnessing the death of a boy from
the bite of a bushmaster Mr. Fountain is a
keen observer and untrammelled in his methods
Of thought. For description of the natural diff
culties and the strange fauna of South America,
odd and curious attractions. He has some
original ideas geologically. such as the theory
that the world was not in existence for anv great
time before the advent of man. But 1t is his
actual experiences which most concern both
himself and his reader.