Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-18

pipe Indian, but the insignificant ant.
The red and black ants of the Brazilian
forest literally devour their enemies.
Any one attacking their stronsholds,
mounds that spring ten feet high from
the soil, will find himself overwhelmed
by an Infatuated army of the singing in
sects, some fully an inch long. His
whole body wi be a prey to the vicious
ants in a moment, and there is no way
to fight back; the only escape is In fight.
AS contrast, the most gorgeously col
ored butterflies are found in this terra
incognita. Hundreds of varieties are
known only to the natives. Some Of these
bewilder1ngly hued lepidoptera have a
wing spread equal to two outstretched
palms Another very curious member
of the chronological world found in this
part Of Brazil is the leaf insect. The
sensation of suddenly seeing what is ap-
parently fallen leaf buzz OF into tho
air Is startling.
Chance may offer a glimpse of the bird
killing spider weaving his trap. The
vicious insect sits and waits for the hum
ming bird to tangle Its wings in his web,
exactly as the common or garden spider
snares the house fly. Even the agile
marmoset is sometimes caught. but I'M
less the big spider moves quickly these
little monkeys escape.
The most typical sound Of the Brazilian
forest is the chorus of the bowling mon
keys. AT dawn and just before dark
about fifty Of them will meet in a high
spreading tree. One acts as leader. lie
gives loud mournful howl. which. heard
for the first time, Is nerve-testing. But
when the combined walls of the drove
sounds Immediately afterward, you get
shock that makes you PICK up your
rife and prepare for action. especially II
the monkeys happen to be roosting near
your camp. The cry of the howlers has
a peculiar haunting quality. 1t seems 10
come tumbling into the brain down from
the ages when fear gripped the heart
Of every man at the wild beasts cry
Another very real peril of river eX-
ploration in central Brazil are the rap
ids Although the Indians are exceed
ingly skillful in guiding the awkward
craft through the swirllng eddies. yet
that at least one barrata, as the canoes
expectation. Often the streams flow
over shallow bed where the rocks show
their sharp projections on every size.
Here II the water is not too deep, the
natives will jump overheard and rush
the canoe through the rapids in the same
way as life-savers launch boat through
the surf.
2.
And now Col. Roosevelt will reach that
silent region never before seen by white
man. What he shall see there can be
put matter of speculation. VIII his
camp be visited at night by the winged
monsters so wildly described by the ma
lives? VIII it be his fortune to capture
one Of these? He would consider such a
prize above all his c.ler honors. Per-
haps his party may fall In with that
mysterious tribe said to be the white
skinned descendants of GonzoIo Pizzaro's
Inflated expedition. The myth of these
people has persisted for centuries.
There is always the chance of stun-
bling on the startling in this awesome
jungle. With his proverbial luck. Tneo-
dore Roosevelt may bring specimens from
unknown Brazil that shall set the scien-
tific world agog. The giant sloth is
reality. The hair-covered. stubble hide
Of what is supposed to have been the
last Of this prehistoric race was found
In Patagonia. He belongs to the period
of the Ictheosarus. Yet may not another
OF these aeon-o.d animals be lurking in
some hidden cave tar in the impenetra-
BILE forest?
The German scientist who classified the
hide and a few bones of the giant sloth
believed the beast to have died within
the last hundred years. hundred
years separating the animals of today
from their antediluvian ancestors! Here
is a gap that faunal naturalist would
make any sacrifice to bridge
Even il 1t Is not the fortune of Mr..
Roosevelt to capture any of these men
toned prizes. still he must meet the
blow-pipe Indians. This tribe Is always
referred to as the blow Indians" for
they alone use the six-foot blow-pipe
fashioned from bamboo and the poisoned
dart as their weapon. Humboldt, the