The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-04-16
THE FISH
| MESSENGER

ZOn. far up Id Lue mysterious COun-,
try, so bound, interlaced and en-
tangled by the snakelike lanes that
few men had the temerity or desire
TO penetrate it. The stream wound
away, now in deep channels, now
Gliding over treacherous quicksands
or leaping sunken rocks, hemmed in
by the forest and luxuriant yegeta-
lion that fell ovef the edges and
hung pendent I'M LIE stream, licklng
ND the drift until Reritable floating
islands were formed, affording rest
for turtles and other small animals.
At rare intervals there was a beach
where the sand had been thrown up
in an eddy, presenting sparkling
and brilliant contrast to the green.
On such a beach lived Manuel
Salyadea, famous as u hunter and
fisherman. It was he who killed a
iaguar single handed with his knife.
It was Salvadea who swung across
lie rearing Matos upon vine and
saved seven or eight Of his people
from the flood, and it was he who
when held up as q hero scorned the
term and asked, cts it not o mans
duty to do right 2" So it will be
seen that this Indian was unique in
his way, and his comrades or the
people Of his tribe looked upon him
with something akin to reverence.
To secure Salvadea's services was
a guarantee Of game or fish. Yet
for fisherman he entertained some
peculiar ideas. He objected to tax
ing fish for pleasure and had been
known to lift a comrade and hurl
him into the water for killing fish
known as the hassar. He seemed to
be the self constituted champion of
the fnny tribe. Why? Let him tell
his own story:
"I protect the fishes, senor, be-
cause they cared for me when / was
helpless. If an animal does you a
service, you can but return it. L
did not always think so. It was
this way: Two years ago I lived on
the upper branch Of the Querto, the
little stream which we believe rises
far away in the up country, where
the white peaks reach toward the
heavens. In the season the river
was low, and then we caught turtle,
iguana and tt game upon which we
live. l knew of certain place
where game was plenty, and one
day, without saying q word, ] left
the camp and padded down the riv-
'er and, leaving the canoe tied to
lane, cut my way across country to
the spot. You know, senor, that
the water is always washing away
the banks and undermining the
trees. Well, SC it was on the little
river. When ! eeached it, I found
it lower than ever-so low that the
sand was bare in places and pools
were left everywhere alive with fish.
Gas I unloaded my basket and
net / heard loud crash and, turn
ing to see the cause, saw a large
mona tree failing upon me. It was
too late to escape, so I threw my
self upon the sands. The next hours
were a deep sleep. I knew nothing,
and when I awoke it was dark. I
was lying partly in the water, and
over my leg was branch of the
tree. was powerless and could not
move, and l knew rain would pro-
duce freshet that would cover me
ten feet deep in as many minutes.
All this, senior, came over me, sud-.
den dream. It was useless to shout,
as was miles away and had taken
good care to tell no one where I had
gone. Morning came, and I then
saw my condition fully. I was held
by my legs and right arm. My left
arm was free, but I could not reach
the sand at my feet to dig it away.
l was bound as fast as they say our
kinsmen in the north country bound
their victims for sacrifice. at the
end of the day I was very weak and
ate the leaves. 5.'. a.
"The next day I ate the mud and
water and some worms which I
found. The stream was growing
lower and water about me evaporat-
ing in the hot sun, and the insects
bade fair to destroy me. At night
the jaguar's cry fell upon my ear,
and every rustic Of the leaves, The
signing Of the Wind Wind, aroused me.
Did you ever hear the leaya talk,
senior !? They do, though it is only
at certain times that ne can inter-
pret them. Our nerves must be
turned to a higher tension, as Fa-
ther Moreno says; then we can re-
spond to them. i seemed to hear
sounds / never heard before. The
leaves made music, the wind sighed
among the lanes and soft notes rose
everywhere, and I imagined they
were talking to me.
Give days had passed, the water
was gone, and / was so weak that
waited for death. As the sun rose
and I was thinking how hard it was
to give mn l;fa n falt snunath;nr