Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1912-11-09
GW1SW R7z5es

put up for the night at such a shack,
and most of them are days journey
apart from one another. You cannot
stop on the river bank because the
Jungle comes to the waters edge.
THE canoemen win not run at night
II they can avoid 1t, because snags
might overturn the boat and the Inn
mense alligators that are in the waters
In great numbers like nothing SO
much as company. They have no
choice between dark and light meat
But when you go to the friendly
shack you can get some sort of
nights rest. even though it will be
found densely populated, too. We
went to one shack, about twelve feet
square. that contained twenty-five
grown persons, including eighteen men
and four women, ten children, four
teen dogs and lot of hogs and chick.
ems. These inhabitants we're not ham,
pered by furniture. All the human be-
Ings were eating out OF one pot.
These, with our party, slept in this
place that night. A number Of the ma
tives and children scrambled up to
roost that had been made by placing
bamboos across from side to side OF
the house at the caves. Two of our
own party had hammocks. We had al
80 mosquito nets and blankets
THE people in Colombia have no
idea of time. distance or haste. At
one place they thought was an i'm
patient man because / kicked at a
little steamer being four days late.
Once the canoemen wanted to stop
days journey at 8 p. M because tho
next shack was too far away. We
tried to travel each morning at day
break, but couldn't get the boatsmen
to going until Z or o'clock. When
we were caught on the river one inky
night with the rain pouring down the
wonderful instinct of the boatmen
came out. One fellow lay In the bow
and detected every snag ahead Of us.
He saw and heard and even smelled
his way Suddenly he exclaimed In
Spanish: II smell smoke! Steer the
boat in herel" He ran the canoe with
in five feet of shack and we called
out to the people and one appeared
with q burning ember.
venonous Snakes Abound.
omous snakes gave us most concern.
Lying coiled up on the trail. only the
sharp eyes of the natives could dis
Germ them. We had practically to
shoot our path through them as they
were pointed out. On one occasion
two native blacks and the Indian boy
b passed a snake without seeing It, We
saw but one boa constructor, but were
often near them, as we know by the
peculiar odor they give Off These
snakes grow thirty-five feet long and
a foot thick.
I'VE saw hundreds of thousands of
water fowls, including many food
ducks. Birds of the most brilliant
plumage about and there are parrots.
macaws, cockatoos, and pink, white
wild turkeys and wild pigs abound. and
some of the monkeys are as big as a
five-year-old child. These are esteem
ed as great delicacy by the natives,
and I killed two of them for our pack
men.
I'VE saw tiger prints, which, from
their great size and the evidences OF
the animals stride, indicated beast
twelve feet long. There was possibly
lively time in store for somebody, as
the tiger had evidently been trailing
the prints of big black mans bare
foot. This was only a mile from VIII
Iage where the night before the tiger
got three hogs.
I'VE found one native whom the
tiger had visited two nights before
The man went around to his house to
shoe the beast away. I 1t ran around
ahead of him, slipped into the door
and the last the man saw OF 1t It was
scooting through the gloom with his
child in its mouth. It was also the
last he saw of the child.
"On one part Of our overland trip
we had to make a forced march, be-
cause the difficulties had caused us to
tighten our load of provisions We
walked for thirteen hours on a stretch,
doing from three to four miles an hour
over the rough trail. Night found us
with river between us and shack,
and our immediate party caught hold
of hands and walked across, with wa
ter up to our armpits. We formed our
human chain to steady ourselves. for
the current was strong.
Luckily. in this wild land of no
roads did not fall sick of malaria. but
at one time while on river Mr.. Mont
gomery and Luis. the guide, and two
boatmen had the breakbone fever, ac-
climated as they were. The principal
objece of our search was, however.
found in higher and healthier lands.
AS explorers, though. we had to, go
through all the dangers."