New-York tribune., 1911-09-20
INTO W|LDS OF GUIANA
DR.. H. {. Champion Back After
PeriI0uS Adventures.
MUSEUM TO BE ENRICHED
Tells of Missionary's Murder by
Natives-Explorer Himself
Has Narrow Escapes.

The Royal Dutch West India Mali steam
ship Coppename brought back to New York
yesterday afternoon Henry Edward Cramp-
ton. curator OF the Department Of Inverte-
brate Zoology at the American Museum OF
Natural History, professor Of zoology at
Columbia and a fellow Of the Carnegie In
stitute of Washington. DR.. Champion had
been absent from his wife and little daugh-
ter, who met him at the pier, for sixteen
weeks, in which time he had conducted an
exploration OF Mount Roraima and the IN
terror OF British Guiana, had narrowly es-
capped being murdered by natives on three
occasions and had made a record for rapid
marching through the jungle and across
the savannas OF that remote region.
He brought back with him numerous
specimens Of the fauna and fora OF the
country and about two hundred photo
graphs, all Of them for the Museum OF
Natural History. under whose auspices the
expedition was undertaken.
DR.. Champion also brought back the story
OF the murder OF an American missionary
by the natives who inhabit the slopes OF
Mount Roraima. The missionary, Elder
Davis by name, had left his wife in George
town, British Guiana, and had penetrated
the wlds alone seeking converts 10 the
creed OF the Seventh Day Adventist
Church, and incidentally preaching against
poIygamy II was this latter tenet Of his
faith that angered the Indians and caused
them to wound him with a poisoned arrow
while he slept and then cut his throat. DR..
Champion thinks the Indians buried him
under the hut OF their chief in the village
d -Fa f... tsr4efs grrrsf
Close Call for Or. Champion.
It was in connection with the death OF
the missionary that Dr Champion came
near meeting his own end for, as he pene-
trated the Businesses Of Mount Roraima,
where the Arecuma Indians dwell Chief
jeremiah conceived the suspicion that the
explorer and his band Of thirty bucks"
were come to avenge the murder Ii so
happened that the night before the explor-
ing party reached Wong II rained
so hard they were obliged 70 halt and
pitch camp. The next morning some Of
the professors natives preceded the party
into the village and reassured the chief
that the professor knew nothing Of the
murder and therefore had not come to
avenge IT, jeremiah cautioned them not
TO tell him OF il, assuring them that If
they had reached the village at night with
out warning they would have been annihi-
lated.
So DR.. Champion didn't learn of the
crime until some time after he had left
the village on his return march 70 civiltza-
tlon, but he remembered then that every
time he had passed the hut of Chief Jere-
miah some Indian had automatically In
tercepted any attempt Of his 10 peer inside.
The supposition is that grewsome memen-
tos Of the dead man hung on the walls OF
the hut
When the party left the vicinity Of
Mount Roraima Chief jeremiah dispatched
three Of his braves TO act as an escort.
one OF the three was taken violently sick
with convulsions one night before they
had emerged from the country Of the
Arecuma tribe. Immediately the news
spread that DR. Champion had bewitched
the buck" and had he diec at night be-
fore the expedition could break camp the
! professor would have been murdered but,
fortunately, the Indian fingered on. and
when day broke Dr. Champion gathered
his bucks" about him and abandoned his
! escort. thus escaping death a second time
Again Arousss Natives Ire.
on another occasion he aroused the na-
tives' ire by refusing to buy from them
provisions that he didn't want, but Just
az things looked pretty black he began
/ distributing fsnhooks and beads among
/ the tribcsmen and changed looks of thun-
der into grins Of pleasure.
Or. Champion arrived az George town
| from Now York on July +. stayed there a
( week gathering Indians and supplies. and
/ then proceeded mp the Demerara River
and across 10 the Essequibo River. pene-
/ tratinc by water as far as the KaiWer
Falls Here, by the side Of the So-foot
4 cataract a second edition Of Niagara, he
| established base Of supplies, leaving
/ hts assistant, Or. F. r. Lutz, in charge.
/ Thence he set out on foot overland for
/ Mount Roraima by a route which the
government officials had told him was an
/ impossible one And yet ne made the re-
| turn trip of,2eO miles 10 the falls in four
/ weeks. n record for both white and Ind
/ ian. only about ten white men have ever
penetrated the same country. When he
| got back to Georgetown he was under the
/ painful necessity Of breaking the news of
/ Davis's murder 10 the misslonarys Wife
/ who was still waiting for her husband TO
/ return from the wilderness.