The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-04-29
QUAKES
AND ONE TIGER
Met I'm Mexico by Prof. Chamberlain
Of The University OF
Chicago
'rvrD STORIES ARE RELATED.
He Returns Safe And Sound with
Valuable Specimens OF
Rare Palm.

sity of Chicago, who returned today
from botanizing expedition in Mex
leo with remembrances Of three earth
quakes he passed through unframed
and an escape from tiger which pur-
sued him for an hour along a desolate
mountain trail The Chicago botanist
has also returned with the prize he
went to seek on behalf of the Botan-
ical Society of America, the dioon,
species of the sage palm which FUR
nishes the little sprays of green that
will be worn tomorrow in honor OF
Palm Sunday
HAPPY OVER RARE SPECIMEN.
Prof. Chamberlain rejoices far more
over his triumph in bringing back the
dioon than on his success in surveying
the earthquakes and the tiger. the
dioon is descended from the geological
period and not until recently has 1t
been known that any specimens OF that
rare and ancient plant were still in
existence. But the university by the
Midway is eagerly discussing today
stories which have leaked out about
the professors adventures.
Three earthquakes are about enough
for one trip declared Prof. Chamber
lain, with a laugh, as he turned from
showing a specimen of the dioon nut
as big as mans head to his colleague,
Prof. w. J. G.. Land, in botany hall at
the university. Il ran afoul of one at
Puebla, another on the railroad be-
tween Puebla and Jalapa and the third
at Militia.
EXPERIENCE IN EARTHQUAKES.
THE quake which l passed over
while riding on the train was scarcely
noticeable to the passengers, although
it did much damage to the surround
ing country. The shock at Militia was
much more disquieting to nervous peo-
pie. 1t came in the night time and
woke me out of a sound sleep The
first thing l felt when ! woke up was
the bed rocking and twisting under
me. That didn't feel very pleasant
and it wasn't at all helpful in the COM
forting line to hear the brass candle
stick on the table at the head of the
bed dancing and Gathering around as if
| it was bewitched.
But the worst experience of all was
at Puebla. l hope l never have to go
through another like it. / was In a
store belonging to a man and his wife
who used to live in Chicago. The
store opens on an arcade where there
are a lot of other shops. The first l
knew was that the floor began to tilt
and undulate.
NATIVES PRAY IN THE STREETS.
Everybody else in that store and the
other places along the arcade dashed
| for the doors, and the natives, as soon
as they got out into the open, began to
drop on their knees, clasp their hands
and pray with shrieks and groans for
mercy. l guess l was too green to re-
alize that the proper thing to do when
you get caught in an earthquake is to
get outdoors and away from the danger
of topping walls, because l stayed
right where l was and grabbed the
edge of the door to keep from beng
swayed over.
LAS the floor waved and the walls
rocked the dishes and ornaments and
pictures with which the store was fill
ed were thrown to the floor, dashing
all around me. 1t certainly kept me
pretty busy for a while lodging the
pieces and keeping on my feet. That
was the quake which did so much
damage to Jalapa. 1t threw down one
house which was being built in Puebla
and killed three men who were hurled
under the falling walls.
FOLLOWED BY TIGER.
"A little while after the earthquake
at Puebla l was riding near TuXtepet
one night when | heard a noise made
by an animal a little behind me, but
trihe to the right. / pulled out my
knife and my guide and l halted anC
faced the beast. 1t was black dark
ness and we couldn't see six feet il
any direction. The guide said it was {
tiger and that we would better looE
out; but when we stopped, the tigel
did likewise. The chapparal was 81
dense that we couldn't chase the tiger
and it wouldn't do any good to stay il
our tracks all night, so we went on
Then we could hear the tiger stalking
after us.
During the next hour we halted {
dozen times when the beast got toe
close to us and every time we stopped
the tiger skunk back. 1t wasn't unit
we got right up to the village that the
tiger ceased his pursuit"
SEEDS CARVED BY NATIVES.
The nut of the dioon (pronouncet
dye-o-on, with the accent on the frs
syllable), which Prof. Chamberlain
brought back is covered with a green
ish gray shell possessing a fuzzy eX
terror. Inside every nut are sixty o.
seventy seeds which are about as bis
as q plum, hard and look like OLE