The Red Cloud chief., 1904-06-10

ihlheral possibilities in the mountain
GUS interior. already tapped by several
paper railroads.
Porto Cortez, Honduras,
From a distance Americans are i'm
pressed with the idea that the people
and the governments are the principal
features of Central America, tut here
on the ground one is impressed most
by the animal ami plant life. The
immensely and constantly changing
forms OF tropical growth is a cause for
continual astonishment.
Here In Honduras, on the level land
or low attitudes, the palm trees seem
to have at some time crowded out the
other plants. These palms now pre-
sent trunks of about a foot in diane
ter, with long fern-like leaves braIch-
ing out about fifteen feet frCm the
ground. These leaves are each nj out
thirty feet in length and intermingle
in such a way that the rays of .he sun
seldom reach the ground. Thus all
smaller shrubs are squeezed out. But
on every hand one may see another
tree sitting the palms. The seeds
from the Giant tree. called by the ma
tives "Cieba," are deposited up in the
palms just where the group of leaves
branch out. The seed sprouts at once
and sends up a shoot With leaves not
unlike the oak, only larger. At the
same time roots start toward the
ground, entwining the trunks Of the
palms. h growth CT the new tree
and OF its dangling and twining roots
is rapid, and in d few years the palm
has been choked to death and disap-
pears. The twisting roots OF the Cieba
grow together into a solid trunk, and
| have seen many Of the trees over ten
feet in diameter that had their start
in this way. the twist of what were
once the roots being plainly seen up
TO twenty feet above the ground. Along
in the valleys may be seen thousands
Of instances Of this palm strangula-
ton in every stage. and may also be
seen the long Llama vines n orchid
parasites in their turn attacking the
Cieba trees and other giants of the
forest that have been able to rear their
heads above the shade of the palm.
II is a constant struggle of all the
plants to reach the sunlight. and in
the scramble. like a human scramble,
many are choked or trampled to death.
There are many vines which crawl up
the trunks OF trees, and as they grow
larger and squeeze harder the original
tree Is killed and remains rigid only
long enough for the vines to CONSOLE
date into a common trunk to be able
to hold themselves in the air. Then
the original tree rots n disappears
and the vines turn into a tree them
selves, the trunk finally becoming
solid and presenting an appearance
not unlike that of the giant Cieba.
Often parasites take root in the bark
Of q tree limb and extend vine-like
roots to the ground. These grow into
the ground and the circulation thus
formed changes the vine into another
trunk OF the parent tree, supporting
the outstretched limb. These and
many other wonderful growths would
require a volume for adequate descrip-
ton.
or course, in this jungle of battling
plants there is a numerous and varied
animal life. The comman deer exist by
the hundreds Of thousands and as
plantations and grass lands are ex-
tended by the %chopping down and
burning of the forests, the deer grow
more numerous in spite of the fact that
they are killed by the thousands, max
ing ~venison the common meat food of
all the rural population. The large
and spotted jaguars, the mountain
lions, wildcats. coons. a mink as large
as q coon, and many other land ami
mails roam in countless numbers
through the jungles and over the
mountains. Iguanas. or large lizards,
ranging from four inches to four feet
in length, are at every hand, and their
big uncles. the %alligators. infest the
rivers and lagoons. In the swamps
the huge boas and other snakes hang
from the tree limbs. In the larger
forests the monkeys race from limb
10 limb. chattering like demented be-
ings. Everywhere are the parrots.
macaws, and a thousand other richly
plumed and harsh-voiced birds. Ants
from minute forms to sizes like wasps
are constantly in search Of prey.
Grasshoppers larger than Nebraska
natives" join with crickets in making
the woods resound, while one lone
locust in a Cieba tree could teach
voice culture to a square mile of seven
teen-year locusts at home and make
itself heard above them all.
Along the rivers are mosquitoes, and
in the forests are chiggers, each intent
on the blood Of an Englishman.'
Tarantulas abound in the bananas and
centipedes and scorpions come into the
houses to show their sociability.
The reader cannot but wonder what
Is attractive and pleasant in this coun-
try. Yet II is a fact that m visit to
the tropics brings on a desire for more
visits.
A mar occasionally takes his pen In
hand. but the umbrella he takes In
hand usually belongs to another.