The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-06-21

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country that slopes down to the ANA
zon valley. In coming across Lake It'll
caca | Travelled with an American rail-
road contractor who is building line
through the heart of Bolivia. He has
been taking a vacation of two or three
months, and has just returned from a
gold prospecting tour in the regions of
the Madre de Dios. one of the high trib-
utaries of the Amazon. The Madre de
Dios rises on the other side of the great
mountain wall that skirts the northern
side of Lake Titicaca. 1t flows in a
winding course into the Benz, and on
into the Mamore and Madeira, coming
out through the latter stream into the
Amazon below the city of Manaos. The
region where 1t rises is wild, and much
of that through which it flows is known
only TO the Indians. MIR. Avant travelled
on foot down this river. He started out
from Cuzco, at an altitude of over two
miles above sea level with guide, an
Interpreter and eight Indians, and he
descended to regions that are less than
a half mile above the sea. The noun
tains he crossed were more than 10000
feet high and his way led from the
glaciers and perpetual snow down into
a tropical jungle, with crocodiles boa
constructors, palm trees and rubber.
AS we sat in the rude hotel here at
Guaqui this morning Mr.. Avant told me
something of the animal life of that
region. He says that the country
swarms with game. The woods are full
of wild turkeys, that look like peacocks'
each bird having topknot and very
bright plumage. The flesh Is excellent,
and it tastes like our wild turkey. An
other bird of the same species is called
the pabogi This is twice as big as the
largest American turkeys, and Its flesh
tastes about the same.
asked as to wild beasts, and Mr.
Avant replied that he saw droves of
peccaries, or wild hogs, and also tapfrs
and jaguars. The jaguars came around
the camp at night and were now ana
then to be seen as the party made lts
wav through the woods. Much of the
Journey was along the banks OIL the
streams and the party did not lack Ior
fish whenever they wanted fsh uih-
ner all they had to do was to explode
dynamite cap In the water, and mo-
ment later the surface would be covered
with dead fish From one such explosion
they took out 800 pounds. Some of the
Ash were as long as your arm, and were
of a delicious flavor. Among other IN
habitants of the streams were aliiga-
tors of various kinds. One had no scales
and its enormous head was more ike
that of a fish than of an alligator Inc
skin was of a blush cast, with rev
snecks here and there. These reptlles
are said to be dangerous, ana the ma
tives would not go into the waters
where they live.
In talking of the Indians Mr.. Avant
s,ia that the most of them are not
friendly to foreigners, They are saw
aess who dress almost altogether In
bark and their chief weapons are bows
and arrows tipped with poison some
of the tribes are supposed to be canni-
balls and all are In a very low state OF
civilization.
1t was at Lima that 1 met Mr.. ". Bell
Taylor of Boston, who had just come
down from the coal mines in the high
Andes near Cerro de Pasco, and mad
chat with him about an expedition he mad
recently made from Ambato, ECUADOR
down the eastern slopes of the Andes INTO
the Amazon valley. His trip took three
months and during this time he Travelled
on foot and In canoes for more than l4oo
miles through the wilds. 1t took him nine
days to reach Cantelos, on the Rio bo-
iol, ina ha walked and
had men to carry his cargo. Each OF the
cargadores carried rs pounds. the whoie
way was through the jungle At CaneioS
the party took canoes and hoated dowr
one of the Amazon tributaries to the
mouth of the Ucayali. which is one OF the
sources of the Amazon. The Ucayan hows
into the Maranon, and the latter goes
down into the main stream. Mr.. Taylor
visited Iquitos, the chief rubber port oil
the upper Amazon, and then came back
overland through Peru. He describes
Iouitos as a city of $4,000 inhabitants and
as one of high prices. 1t cost him s. a
day there for his food alone.
Among the most interesting stories told
me by Mr.. Taylor were those about the
J1NarOS lnuldns. Iuesc SdFdeSS az $500
hunters and kill their enemies and pre-
serve their heads as trophies OF war.
have seen many of these heads during
my travels and have made photographs OF
them. l was once offered head for
500 In gold, but refused it for fear that
the ghost of the dead man might haunt
me for the rest of my life This head was
about as big as my fist. The bones of the
skull had been removed and the skin SO
carefully shrunken that none of the feat
ures was lost. The skin of the face was
black and the long hair which hung down
from the skull was of the same raven
hue The nose was almost negroid in
shape, and the lips were sewed together
with long cotton strands that hung down
like a macrame fringe.
Mr. Taylor told me the story of how
these heads are cured, as he got it from
the natives. He says it is a drying pro-
cess. After killing man they cut his
head off close to the shoulders, and as
soon as they reach camp they open it and
4 take out the bones of the skull. The skin
fof the head is then sewed together from
fhe crown to the base Of the neck. 1t is
low kind of bag. This is filld with hot
1hnd, but is kept as far as possible in its
original shape. 1t is pressed inward dur
ing the drying, the sand being changed
from time to time, until the head is re.
duced to one-fourth or one-fifth the orig