The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-19
Joe, THE JUNGLE BOY.
Being the Adventures Of Boy
Who Was Carried OF
by Gorillas.
CHAPTER VI.

After | had been with the gorillas three
| or four days they appeared TO accept me
as one of the family, and no longer watched
me for fear should run away.
There were just fifteen of the beasts, and
they dwelt together in the greatest good
nature They had no fear of anything
. in the forest, and if an elephant rhinoceros
I or buffalo came near our home he was
! attacked at once and put to fight.
My first adventure occurred within a
week, and ] had a narrow escape from
death. 1t was about 3 o'clock in the after
noon, and we were all asleep in our beds,
when suddenly awoke TO find monstrous
serpent in the tree with me.
His head was not ten feet away when |
sat up, and in another moment he would
have bitten me. | had seen all kinds Of
snakes, and knew this one to I've an
anaconda.
did not call out or rise to my feet. but
simply threw myself over the edge of the
nest and went tumbling to the ground,
twenty feet below. The serpent darted at
me as fell, but was 100 quick for him.
The noise Of my fall awoke the gorillas,
and as soon as they saw the snake there was
the greatest excitement. Their scolding and
chattering and screaming could have been
heard a mile away.
Each beast armed himself with a club, and
they began to close in on the anaconda.
stood at a safe dist ance and looked on.
The serpent at first tried TO get away,
but when he found ne could not he took
two or three turns around big limb and
tn ~
rush III on him at once, but got above and
below and all around him. When he struck
at one, others would be ready to hit him.
The fight lasted half an hour The SER
pent was kissing and striking and keeping
the gorillas Off when they suddenly bounded
in with screams and shrieks and battered
; him with their clubs until he fell to the
ground helpless mass.
Then they came down to me to see if
I was hurt, and when they found that
was all right they frisked around and ap-
peared to be highly pleased. 1t was well
fCr me that / awoke when | did The
anaconda had fangs over an inch long.
and would have killed me if he had bitten
inc.
After the serpent had been killed the
goriilas armed themselves with fresh clubs
and VIC went proving through the forest
for q mile around TO see il the anaconda
mad a mate in hiding anywhere
We looked up among the trees and into the
thckets and vines, and kept up the search
for TWO hours, but nothing came of IT, The
serpent they had killed had probably come
a long distance, and alone
Every night we could hear lions roaring,
and sometimes the beasts came walking
under the trees in which we slept This
made the gorillas very angry. and they
| would Shrek and scream and break or
branches and throw them down. They
were not afraid OF the lions but thew would
not descend Ia the ground to battle in the
darkness
After the lions had bothered lis for many
nights | determined to do something to
frjehten them away
One afternoon | set ont to gather n lot
OF liana vines. These vines are as stout
az ropes. aud some Of them are hundreds
of feet long.
The gorilIas watched me- with great
curi fly ~ hIr., tna then turned in and
helped Ius. Wien VIC had twenty Icing
pieces maze slip-noos"s in one end Of each
md made tho othor end last to a branch.
When 7 hod finished, there were twenty
vines hanging down Sc thai tho roOses
touched the ground
! was going 20 try little trick on tho
lions. could not tell the gurillss my
idea, but am sure they understood When
the nocs' had beer prepared and dark
ness WEE ut hsnoi, rolled over ond over
on the ground 50 ~ to leave my scent,
NJ sooner had begun 10 roll than the
goriIlns did likewise, and We had quite a
frolic at il. Then we all climbed up into
the same tree and kept very quiet as We
waited
In about an hour wa heard a lion roaring