The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-12-27

next tribe, and they sent it by wireless
telegraphy. That is the only name L can
apply to their method
The transmitter was a felled tree trunk
about twenty feet long. and one and
one-half feet in diameter. Down the
center of it a groove was cut, about three
inches wide by six incnes deep. One end
of the trunk foated in the river, and the
other end lay on a sandbank. The oper-
ator had a heavy stick about three feet
long, on the end of which was a ball OF
crude rubber weighing about twenty-five
pounds. He got this by the simple ex
pedient Of cutting the bark of the rubber
tree and twisting the sap round the stick
as it flowed out
He struck the end of the trunk several
times with this heavy ball. 1t did not
make much noise-indeed, hardly any
bat a very powerful conclusion or vibra-
tion of the air could be felt 1t was Just
like the sensation of being in a tunnel
when shot is fired. You felt the sound
rather than heard it. And the next tribe.
several leagues farther down the river,
could feel.i equally wei, and could read
of the message as telegraphist receives
the ccts ard dashes of the Morse code
over the wire
Evidently these savages had q code of
their own by which they could telegraph
any message they wished. 81 the tribes
in this region were constantly commun-
eating with one another by this wireless
system. Next day we saw a man of the
tribe TO whom We had thus been intro
duced sending back n message 10 the
Ortequasas by a similar apparatus Ev-
cry tribe we passed after that sent an
introduction ahead in this way. besides
giving us two "bogas.''
Travellers among savage tribes in South
America. as well as in other parts of the
world, have often been puzzled by the
rapidiay and accuracy with which these
barbarious Marconis transmit news TO one
another. Here is one explanation. at
all events. No doubt there are others.
THE GAMBIA DANDIES
At last we got to the YaIis. who are
named after TIE river on which they
dwell. which is tributary to the River
Caqueta At 1870 o'clock one morning,
while we were having breakfast. We
heard strains of weiId. barbarc music.
flutes. We pushed off our canoe from
the bank and padded out on a river
twice as broad as the Hudson at New
York.
Around the next bend we met a num-
Der OF canoes filed with scores of painted
Indians. They padded alongside, gave us
n warm welcome, and were eager to help
US with the canoe. Never had We been
received more cordially. Our two bog
as from the last tribe. of course. went
back; and the Yaris took us up a tribu-
tary of the river to their home.
The tribe numbers between two and
three thousand, and all the members of it
live in one enormous house. This house
is more than three hundred feet long
and over forty feet wide at the base. STOP
ing upwards in a triangular form. The
walls are more of thin fern sticks, and
leaves. delicately ard beautifully woven
together. and very solid. It's 3 wonder
full piece of workmanship.
Inside the house is supported by great
number of posts. between which ham
mocks are slung for the men Of the tribe
to sleep on. On the floor. beneath these
hammoclxs, are small squares OF bamboo.
on which the women sleep with their
children. Each family has its own cook
ing fire and domestic utensils. and lives
its own family life in this vast house.
surrounded By all the other families.
We were conducted into this house
and the Indians crowded around us-men.
women and children-all oveTfowing with
hospitality and curiosity. The nrst sight
that met our eyes in the house was a
long lire Of skulls suspended on the walls.
There were skulls of monkeys. pigs. Jag
ulars. fishes. and many o;rCr animals
and also, among the lot. there were
eighteen which were Enthusiastically the
skulls of human beings. 1t was evident.
too. that they were the skulls OF civilized
men. for some OF them had gcld-filled
teeth
II would be absurd 10 say that this
sight did not make rs feel queer but we
were not 50 frightened as might be i'm
agined. because we had heard the story
Of those eighteen men from the other
tribes along the river
THE FATE OF THE COLoMBIANS.
They were eighteen Colombians who
had fed from civilization 70 escape being
pressed into the government army TO
fight the revolutonists. -Four months
before our arrival. they settled among
the Yari Indians. Being we'll armed with
guns and reviewers. they cowed the tribe
for "A while and started 20 collect rubber.
They were men OF the lowest and most
brutal character ana before lons they