The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-09-04
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IN THE COILS Of A
DEMONSTRATORS.
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Ey O. p. KINGSLEY.

b the Philippine group, at the little
pueblo" (village) Of Bayanan. Here
acted in the capacity of sanitary in
pector of the La Carlota Sub-Dis-
rict of Negros. The territory in
fluded in my district was many miles
b extent, but owing to the fact that
Rhe greater portion was wild, and
Inhabited only by rowing tribes of
H~isayans, whose haunts lay far in
he unexplored interior, my work was
Ionfined to the small settlements To-
|ated within a radius Of forty miles,
hany of these being extremely diff
ult of access on account of the dense
|ropical growth and the unsettled
ondition of the country.
AS I sat in my Office one pleasant
horning, c~ontentedly smoking a CT
Ear and contemplating with pleasure
! short trip I had planned for the
Rfternoon, a sharp rap on the door
brought me back abruptly from my
feyerie. At my invitation a native
uttered, bearing a letter, which he
deposited upon the desk and with
hrew. A glance at the address
lhowed me that it was from the Chief
Inspector of the Department. The
eontents,' which l rapidly glanced
bver. directed me to proceed without
Relay to a little "barria" called La
Paz, situated some thirty miles in
and, to investigate a reported cpl
Hemic of smallpox raging in that vi
Unity among the natives.
Realizing the gravity of the situa-
lion, should the report be true, 1 de-
Eided to start at once. I had never
kisited the place before, and was not
kure Of the exact distance or the diff
ticulties liable to be met with en-
for these reasons I was de-
Of having plenty of daylight to
by. Hastily collecting the
equipment, together with
my revolvers and ammunition, l
trammed the things into my saddle
bags and stepped out just as the
were brought up-one for my
belf, the other for my old servant
Juan, who was to act as guide and
Interpreter.
Our route for several miles lay
well-beaten trail, which would
have been pleasant enough for ordi-
nary travel had it not been for the
fierce heat Of the sun. Soon, how
ever, we reached the Rio del Sangre,
the bamboos along the banks Of
afforded a delicious shade,
the river-bed was practically
dry. Ny guide now informed me that
by following the channel we could
shorten the distance by several miles,
and I therefore turned my horse up
stream, glad enough to keep in the
AS we advanced toward the inte-
rior the scenery became more wild
and picturesque, the vegetation rank
and luxuriant, the trees meeting in
many places and forming a series Of
leafy tunnels. The only sound was
the dull thud, thud, of our horses
hardly audible in the soft riv-
er-bed, with an occasional shrill cry
from a monkey who had discovered
us from his leafy bower, or the lazy
tiutter of a gaily-plumed parrot as it
changed its position.
Advancing in single file, owing to
the narrowness of the river-bed and
the many distractions that were
constantly being met with in the form
of roots and fallen tree-trunks, I was
soon some distance ahead, and, en-
a space comparatively clear of
distractions, I spurred my mount in
to a gallop, as the sun was rapidly
sinking towards the horizon and
was anxious to reach my destination
before dark. Rounding a sharp bend,
horse, with a wild snort, plunged
heavily, wheeling sharply to the
right. Being unprepared for such a
manaeuvre, I was hurled headlong
from the saddle, striking upon my
head and shoulder in the soft, mud
dy river-bed. My face was smeared
with the filthy. ill-smelling muck, my
neck felt as though it was broken
my brain was in a dizzy whirl, and
my eyes we're blinded with the odor.
Gus mud.
For a moment I did not attempt tc
move. Although 1 was aware of 6
curious movement beneath me, l sup
posed I had been thrown upon some
roots, which were slowly giving way
beneath my weight.
Suddenly my attention was at
tracted by a strange Kissing noise
which sounded quite close to me. ant
which, in my dazed condition, 1 wa:
at a loss to account for. Meanwhile
the movement beneath me increased
rather than diminished. This wa!
certainly unnatural, and I rolled owe,
with the intention of reaching frme'
ground, but found that my right lie:
was entangled in something. At m,
uTSI noSClASLI SlS luJSSSl &ouS AAoS
ing increased until it sounded lik'
escaping steam, and the movemen
beneath me became so violent as t.
partially raise my body from tn
riyer-bed. Dashing the mud from m.
eyes as best l could, 1 threw out m.
hands for some available support. M.
right grasped mud, but the lef
caught hold of a cold, Shiny, wrig
Cling body. And then the truth o
my situation dawned upon me, liter
ally freezing my blood with horror
while the most .sickening sensation
have eear experienced Ea4zsd sE'