Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-04

- the lower slopes and dark clusters
of fruit trees further up, and high
over all, stern gray rocks or shadowy masses
OF pine forest.
As you see them now, those hills are cult
waited almost to the summit, and dotted with
thatched huts in every direction; but then
they were half covered with forest and the
houses were few and far between.
The white houses of Funchal and the smooth
blue waters of the bay beyond were already
half hidden in purple shadow; but on the
higher ridges the light still fingered, and it
was just making kind of glory upon the win
dows of big white house about halfway up
the nearest hill, just on the border between
titled land and the wild pine woods above it.
Around this big quinta (villa) clustered a
number of tiny huts, built of cane and thatch
ed with palm leaves, in front of one of which
ten or twelve barefooted Portuguese peasants
were gathered around a man who was lying
motionless in the dust. He seemed to have
been in fight, and to have got rather the
worst of it, for his clothes were torn and his
face bleeding in several places.
Has he had fall?" asked one man.
"A fight, more likely" suggested a second.
See how he bleeds!"
IL know nothing about it," said a third,
who appeared to be the owner of the hut N
front OF which the fallen man was lying "ex-
ccept that he came staggering out of the wood
lust now, and before | could run to help him,
down he went. Help me to carry him in. COM
rades. We must not let him lie there"
Accordingly, the wounded man was lifted
carefully from the ground; but, Just as they
raised him, his heavy eyes opened, he stared
wildly around him, and cried IN a hoarse,
broken voice:
Cora! diablo da silva!'' ((See therel the
demon of the forest!)
A shudder ran through the throng as rhev
listened, and all the men looked meaninplv at
each other.
And well they might.
For several weeks past, the gloomy forest
above them had been place of horror to tbe
whole neighborhood.
Men Men were we're con continually, coming out of it
clothes, and robbed OF everything valuable
which they happened 10 have about tLam
until no one could be found to venture into
its dismal shadows, even in broal daylight
Some of the plundered men had escaned
with lighter hurts than others, but in one
point all their stories agreed, viz, that thew
had been attacked by single figure of giant
size, and hdeous features, clad in shaggy skins,
hung with dry twigs, OF, as others said, with
human bones, the unearthly rattle of which
added new terrors to the frightful yell with
which he burst from the thickets to The at
tack
So great was the fear which he inspired that
some of his victims, hoping perhaps to excuse
their own cowardice, had spread report that
he was no mortal man, but ghost or evil
spirit, and always spoke of him as "The Dem
on OF the Forest"
Just then a deep, commanding voice was
heard behind them:
What is the matter here%
All the peasants turned around with start
to find themselves confronted by a man OF
vast stature and herculean build, with thick
black beard, that hid the whole lower part of
his face.
Every one bowed low to him, for he was
no other than their master, Senior Marcos da
chal and the pine forest.
Any other grandee in the island would have
thought it quite beneath his dignity to come
up from the town in any other way than in a
curtained litter borne by four men. But MAJ
cos da Braga, who could breast hill or leap
torrent as well as any hunter in Madeira,
was not the man to let himself be carried
about like baby, and had marched all the
way on foot.