The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-12-17

off for America apparently, was a
big, dark-faccd man the sight OF
whose visage sent sudden startled
thrill through me- l had seen him
once only before, had never known
MS name and yet l owed him my life
He saw me waving and heard me shout
ing 10 him. recognized me and salutcd,
then was lost in the crowd Queer,
wasn't it7 yet no stranger than the story
Of my first meeting with him.
1t was in 1902 that I came back from
Africa with about five different sorts
of fever i'll me and | believe | should
have died il l had remained in the
north. My physician suggested that /
return TO the tropics or rather the sub
tropics, only that instead of Africa or
India that l try Central America.
Following my physicians advice l
sailed for Barbadoes and then for Be-
lie. and after getting the general lay
OF the country and picking up two good
natives and four burroS for my outfit
set out for the interior intending TO-
do 4 little gold prospecting. little col
lecting and il possible TO get some fine
jaugar skins Though the region is not
npted as sporting country it IS 4 very
hnc one. Sir George Ramsdcn went
there regularly until he was killed byI
a jaugar and he told nc at one time
that he was never fifty miles beyond
civilization and often wondered what
lay beyond There is a popular idea
that when one can pick up a map and
see a country outlined, see the noun
tains and rivers marked off and see
towns jottcd down that the country
has been explored and is familiar to
the geographers. This is erroneous,
There are millions of square miles on
the face of the earth of which the
knowledge of the white man is very
slight indeed. / determined TO explore
the section to the west and in so doing
/ encountered the greatest adventure OF
my none too peaceful life
| had ii in mind to strike southwest
to the CockScomb mountains, hunt down
their northwestern face to the border
and explore the Passion River the head
waters of the magnificent Usamacinta
River, one of the most important syS-
tens on the American continent, and
yet hardly known to civilization, but
about the time ! left British territory
l was tired of struggling with the jungle
and finding more open country off in
the general direction of Lake Pctcn|
] changed my course intending 20 renew
my supplies at Flores or to push on to
Tical on the headwaterS of the Hondo
river, then swing around into the great
unknown country to the north. The
fourth day as ] moved due northwest
! came TO stream that ] am convinced
is the headwaters OF the Old River,
fully forty miles from the supposed
locality OF it and by the end OF the
month, having missed Lake Peten en-
tirely, | was travelling in a country
that drained 10 the west instead of the
east. whereby ! knew that even the
general line OF the watershed OF the
Yucatanian peninsular has not been
properly placed by the geographers.
The shooting had been fine and my
greatest trouble was with the jungle,
as there would be points in our journey
when the forests Of lignum vitae. ma
hogany. eucalyptus and gum trees etc,
were so dense that they would have been
hard travelling. even il not been bound
together by the crcepcrs. These made
almost impossible masses OF growth
through which we hewcd our way with
big knives. sometimes making only TWO
or three miles day.