davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05

we were on shore one of the men rolled
up the poor fellows left trousers leg
and displayed an ugly swelling badly
discolored. I realized at once that he
had been stung by a poisonous snake.
There was little I could do. slashed
the infected place to let 1t bleed. but I
knew 1t could hardly save the poor
wretch. Suddenly he grew stronger
and begged us to kill him.
1t would have been merclful. be-
lieve, but the training of centuries
does not fall easily from the shoulders
of man and I gave him stimulants and
bathed the wound with ahtiseptlcs In
a vain effort to save him. He died while
I was working over him.
That night did not sleep much for
a long time. That scream rang in my
ears and l lay awake for hours under
the stars. My two remaining men
slept no more than did. I saw them
crouching over the embers Of the fire
and talking in excited whispers. From
time to time they looked at me as
though to see whether I was noticing
them. did not quite like their aspect
loaded. For a long time I watched. but
at last the men apparently went to
sleep.
Though I fought 1t off with every
ounce OF nervous energy in my body
sleep finally overpowered me. do not
know how long I slept. When
wakened II was light and | was OPP
pressed by feeling of senseless fear.
Before my eyes were open I was GER
tain of some Ill fortune. I sat bolt
There was a crushed Place in the grass
where they had been lying, but they
were not in sight.
They must be getting the breakfast
ready, I thought, and leaped to my
feet. fully awake and fully alarmed
They were not to be seen. l shouted.
My voice Knocked me from the rock
wall. I ran toward the water Fur
rows in the mud and the print of feet
told me plainly enough what had hap
pened. My men had sneaked away.
I was left alone-alone with a rife and
a belt OF cartridges in a barren niche
cut in impossible rock.
The river offered To escape. re-
membered plainly enough the shrek
that told of the awful anguish the cholo
had suffered in those waters the night
before. There was not even a posi-
bility of constructing a raft. and the
men had not left an ounce Of food.
I sat down upon the ground. and
what my thoughts were or what my
actions I do not know. They are best
forgotten. But the love of life is strong
stronger than despair, and when the
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05

The question whether they might be
friends or foes never entered my head.
They were human beings. and / danced
and shouted like the mad man that
undoubtedly was ~ was some time
before l realized that the occupants of
the canoes were padding with might
and main for the bank and once there
approached me very slowly with a show
of caution. l made signs as best l could
that l wished to be friendly, and toss
ing my rifle as far as possible from
the river, held my hands aloft to sig
nifty that / was not armed.
The Indians. for such they proved TO
be, still approached very cautiously,
however. and held in readiness their
primitive weapons. At last the first
canoe grounded and the men who had
padded IL came toward me, their wea-
pons ready for action. / was not at
all sure of the nature OF my reception,
but at worst 1t was preferable to die
at their hands than to starve in that
rock wilderness.
The leader of the party, while I held
my hands over my head. felt gingerly
of my clothing. and at last, satisfied
that ! carried no weapon, beckoned the
others to draw near. Spying my rife
on the ground one Of the men took
possession of 1t.
! tried to speak to them in Spanish
and one of the men understood me and
knew words enough to reply in a sort
Of lingo. BY signs and words ! made
them understand my plight and told
them of my quest. The man who had
smattering Of Spanish spoke to the
leader and then told me that the party
was there to meet a big Spanish chief
who was coming down the river and
that he knew where the lake for which
I was looking was located. BY this
time the other canoes had come up
and / saw the instrument which had
been used to produce the sound which
had first caught my attention. 1t was
a sort Of wireless telegraph apparatus
In one Of the canoes two short posts
had been fastened in an upright posi-
ton about two feet apart. Directly
In line with these posts and the same
distance apart were two still shorter
ones, practically pegs. From the tops
of the long posts to the tops OF the
short ones thongs Of a tough vine
were stretched very tightly. This, made
two parallel thongs between which
were fastened sticks OF very hard, reso-
nant wood
In operating the instrument these
sticks were struck with IA mallet Ia
the head of which was fastened a lump
Of crude rubber. The Indians had de-
vised a regular dot and dash system
by which they could send and receive
messages, and learned later that the
same instrument somewhat modified
may he used on land. but it is especially
tixyA thnn 20 mi. 10.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05

Two or three of the Indians were
detailed to guard me, and apparently
the party did not intend to proceed
further up the river.
one Of the men got into the canoe
with the wireless apparatus and be-
gan signalling. When he paused |
could make out reply from down
| stream, and apparently an exchange
| of several messages was made.
From the length of time II took the
other party to arrive l should judge
they must have been signalling for
ten or twelve miles. Explorers tell
| me that the natives can send messages
at least fifteen miles by this system.
/ presume that the approaching In
dams were told of my presence. for
they did not exhibit the slightest sur
prise at finding a white man at their
rendezvous. After a short powwow
the man who understood a little Span
ish told me that the party would guide
me to Lake Huacachna and We began
| dickering about the price. When it was
settled the Indians demanded that l
pay In advance. To do so l was obliged
to take some gold pieces from a belt
/ wore underneath all my clothing.
l tried to keep the contents hidden.
pu. ! saw the natives casting eager
stances AT II anu eNehahslng Whispers
""'eh "iaue me WISH hau NOT oeeh
| so easy about giving up my rifle.
At length the entire party took to
the canoes and padded up stream.
| A short distance above the point where
/ had been deserted we struck into a
uio",aiy, winch eNp'aiheu 'he rae, 'na'
/ the Indians had not encountered my
| Aaa in rhalna ha ~
uns enoios' iof .ne spoAesiah VI
the party toiu me that ne ana ms
conipaniohs hao JUST co'he oo"h 'his
seream'
| for Two Gays we paddied up this
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05

a dozen OF the men disappeared and
presently returned by water in a huge
craft which was half canoe and half
raft. l got into the thing and the men
showed 1t out into deeper water by
means Of poles and then padded fur
Their out.
There was not a word spoken. / was
too excited to say anything to the
only man who knew any Spanish, and
the Indians were even more silent than
usual. There was not the slightest
thought of danger in my mind. Then.
suddenly, without a breath of warning,
greasy forearm locked about my
throat from behind and / was pulled
backward to the bottom Of the boat.
One of the men In front OF me leaped
upon my chest and in a second | was
poweress to move. Another fellow
ripped my clothing with a knife, cash.
ing my breast as he did so. and before
l realized what had happened l was
naked and my money belt had been
taken from me.
The face OF the man who knew Span
ish leered into mine.
Now we will show you what is in
the waters OF the lake" he said.
My hand was thrust over the side
OF the boat into the water. l strug-
gled and kicked, but they were too
many for me. I was powerless as a
baby. They had robbed me and now
they were making cruel sport of me
| thought. Probably the waters of the
lake would dye my skin.
There was a stabbing sensation in
my hand. The pain shot up to my
shoulder. Something tore at the flesh
Of my fingers. heard a swirl in the
water and all but tainted from pain and
horror. The lake was infested by the
dreaded piranha, a species of fish which
attack man with the ferocity of a shark
though they are very much smaller
The Indians howled with glcc They
| released my hand, which was torn and
! bleeding. and thrust the other into the
water. 4 dozen times l felt in my
imagination the stabbing pain OF that
awful biting. Then it came in reality
My forearm was ripped open as though
by a jagged knife. The Indians howled
again and thrust my right ankle into
the water. Then ! lost track of all
but the pain. l knew that my left foot
and ankle were treated likewise, and
as ] look back upon it now 1t seems that
| must have been shricking with tn,
| agony of II.
Suddenly ] felt a great shock. NJ,
senses grew acute once more. / ha6
| been hurled bodily into the lake anC
| the Indians were padding away. With
the realization of my plight some sor
of calmness returned To me- / would
not give these savages the pleasure OF
making any cutlery. 1t was impossible,
| to night against the fish. They wer,
| foes which could rip and tear and dar
| away before a man could smash al
| them even II he had a knife, and ! wa,
| stark naked, with no weapon in my
hand.
My only hope lay In speed and
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05
True Tales of Peril by Scouts
of American Commerce
THE MAN WHO WAS FED TO FISHES

paroxysm left me I set about calmly
to find way out of what appeared
to be veritabe man trap built by
nature.
Before me, of course, was the river.
1t was as impossible as though its Sc
renely flowing waters were as much
molten lead. In semiclrcle. shutting
me in. was the precipice At one point
there seemed to be a foothold climbed
perhaps forty feet. and then the smooth
surface of the cliff offered nothing that
even finger nail might catch in.
Round and round went, testing the
wall as a rat might the sides Of trap.
Desperate. I tried once more to climb
where had made my first attempt.
1t was useless. The heat became
sitting. The sun beat back from the
rocky walls and no breath OF air was
stirring. My body dripped as though
had been plunged into a steaming
bath. My strength was soon spent and
I staggered against a giant boulder
As my strength began to return my
brain began to work. II only I could
build raft. But this was out of the
question. Slowly I began to realize
that my one hope lay in the river yet
I could not bring myself to set foot in
those waters where lurked so horrible
death. Yet certain death stared me
in the face to remain where was,
and 1 might as we'll test this forlorn
hope. even though my efforts were
futile. 1t would be better to die in
action OF some sort.
was forcing my mind to the deci-
sion when a strange sound fell upon
my ears. 1t was like a long rumbling
thud repeated again and again. 1t was
not like anything I had ever heard.
Perhaps the nearest thing to 1t would
he thunder, so distant that the ear
Is obliged to strain TO perceive even
that. For long time this sound con-
tinued and 1t soon dawned upon me
that 1t was repeated with some sort
OF system. I could not call 1t rhythmic,
for it was seldom twice alike. and yet
some conscious agency seemed 10 De
controlling it with a definite purpose
in view.
In turn. was raised to the highest
hope and sunk to the deepest despair
At any rate. the thing was drawing
closer, for the sound grew more dis
tinct. 1t must be some human device.
Whatever this strange drumming was,
It must be controlled by human hands,
told myself and yet remembered
the telegraph toad and the bell Jay
AS the sounds grew louder they
seemed to be coming out Of the river
Itself. 1t was uncanny. I ran to the
water and placed my ear close to the
surface. In this position 1t seemed
| magnified to a great extent. Through
countless ages, at least so ii seemed
TO me. / sat and waited, peering up
stream.
At last they came. Round point
which hid the upper stretches of the
| stream four canoes showed their prows
| and a few moments later half a dozen
craft were bearing down upon me.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05

swan with every ounce of strength,
employing every little trick for speed
that | knew. 1t seemed to me a thou
sand knives were hacking at my body.
| struck at them with my hands in a
frenzy and once / hit spiny fin
which cut like steel.
The horror Of 1t all was almost as
bad as the pain. l was literally being
torn to pieces. / would have plunged
To the bottom and filled my lungs with
water to end 1t all. but a quick stab
in the side sent me frantic again, and I
struck out for shore in a mad effort to
escape
How ! managed to get there | do
not know. / must have tainted when
| dragged myself on land. for when
opened my eyes in consciousness there
was no human being to be seen and
was lying on the ground exposed to the
sun. My body was torn in score
of places. ] carry the marks to-day.
Insects had stung me times innumerabe
and the sun had bllstered my lacerated
skin.
do not know how long it was since
! had eaten. l tried to walk, but could
not. on hands and knees. like a beast
Of the field, l crawled along the trail
over which We had come. 1t had taken
me two days with the Indians to make
the trip from the river; how long 1t
took me to return l do not know. I
must have been delirious all the time.
for l remember nothing.
But reach the river l did. for party
of copper prospectors returning from
the Andes country found me lying near
the shore. They took me for dead at
first, but when they moved me one OF
my wounds bled and they knew my
heart must have some action.
1t was a month before l was on my
feet again, and several more before I
had recovered my shattered nerves.
Since then j have often visited Lake
Huacachina, which is now we'll known
and is fast becoming a spa, and whose
waters possess the peculiar properties
ascribed to them by Indian tradition.
The lake is only a matter of a short
distace from lea, but the cholos with
whom l started were ignorant Of its
whereabouts and there was no trail to
it at that time. as there is now.
The Indians with whom l fell In
after my cholos had deserted me de-
liberatcly led me astray and took me
to the wrong lake. 1t Is my belief that
they did this in order to engage In
cruel sport at my eNpcnse-fOr the
Peruvian Indians are cruelty itself I'M
derneath whenever the chance Offers
and also to rob me, believing that I
would never get out of that terrible
fish infested water alive.
Whether or not they witnessed my
struggles to gain land | do not know.
But If they did they undoubtedly
| thought me dead in my unconscious
nd lnft ma
| lying at the lakes edge.
| (Copyri0ht. 1914, bv the Wheeler Syn
dictate. Inc)
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05

-uEI,E an attraction for many
men n the fringe of civiliza-
ton There was for me, until
one time crossed the fringe,
-, over on the other side. and since
,hsn--vell Office work may be monoto-
nous but rs romfortable.
Twas vorktr- the west coast Of South
,nsrlra for 60, company. as you know,
,-nmmlng up trade in the ports OF
IN Rather tame work 1t seemed to
:. after some 4 the things had done
4. the hln,er,lnd of Central America.
: vas On ~. lookout for excitement,
:, uhen heard in Pisco. Peru. Of a
,ts whose waters had chemical prop
,,,ss which would dye fabrics or hair
asljcate tint that could not be ap-
,,oached by any artificial process I
,,ysa the home office and asked per-
Mission to 60 In search of it, The ma
B,vss called the lake Huacachina. The
,.ny to my able was laconic and sat
sac,ory: Investigate Lake Huaca-
china
+ didn't take me long to get inland
IA lea engage a party of cholos or half
Need Indians. and start up the river
ra with two canoes. There was no
,ral TO Huacachina in those days and
one II my chOlos told me that by
padd,!ng for a day and a half we could
reach point where short tramp
,a,hward would bring US to the
rater;
By evening We had left the wonder
nj vineyard country in which the city
q lea lies and were padding between
Ereat walls # rock which shut in the
stream as skyscrapers do a narrow
New York street 1t looked for time
as though there would be no opportu-
rlty to make camp for the night. but
At last We came upon a semicircular
lche cut into the impossible river
walls.
Strange to say. the water in shore
WAS 80 sHdIlpN mat IL was Will great
dlhculty We We're able to paddle, and
the two men in the other canoe got out
into the long grass to push their craft
before them.
suddenly one shreked as though in
mortal fear and agony. and saw him
slump into the muddy water. The other
nan scrambled away and left his COM
psnon, but | managed to paddle to his
side and, with the aid Of the cholo in
ny canoe, dragged the man into the
craft without capszing 1t.
He was as weak as a baby. After
that first fr.ghtful scream he made
hardly sound, only lay where we
placed him, moaning very softly and
trembling as one with a chill.
At first did not know what was
the matter with him, but as soon as
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05

Hora bears treny ugly adren-
vrs ,irc Of lake called Hudcachna By He
sound in mind and limb
s constitution all but urecked He a pioneer industry
m me Fruit Company long to-dav
holds ponsi position in the dirison of the COM
cuy The following his story related to an Off
dd Of tie '""Pa"u
New Britain herald., 1914-08-13
MUST JOIN PACIFIC
 NAVIGATION COMPANY
Rail Carriers Not Allowed to Choosc Particular Boat Lines Co Establish
 Through Routes and Joint Rates.

Washington, Aug. 13.-The inter- state commerce commission today, deciding that the Western Pacific railway and the San Pedro, Los An geles and St. Lake railroad and .hsir connections must join the Pacific Nay lgatlon company in esta blish Ing through routes and joint fares on first class passenger traffic, declared that if rail carriers were permitted to choose particular boat lines to as- tablish through routes and joint rates they will be able to dictate v,uo shall operate on the water and who shall not"
 The boat line which is accorded monopoly of the through rail and water traffic will soon be able to drive its competitors out of business" the commission held. The spirit of inc desire to regulate commerce is to main tain freedom of ports and to allow boat lines to engage in traffic upon equal terms. To permit the rail carriers serving a port to favor one boat line or another would destroy the freedom of competition between boat lines and practically close ports to all but the favored vessels"
 The Pacific Navigation CO. apAr- ates steamers between San Francinco San Pedro and San Diego.
New Britain herald., 1914-08-13
CONFER REGARDING
 CUSTOMS RECEIPTS
Stamp Tax on Checks and Docu. ments and Increased Tax on Beer
 and Tobacco May Be Levied.

Washington, Aug. 13.-ways and means to supplement falling custo,,. receipts by other taxes during tle European war were discussed today by Secretary McAdoo and Chairman Simmons of the senate finance cora mittee and Chairman Underwood of the house ways and means committee. There was considerable talk of the feasibility of a stamp tax on checks and documents much the same as during the Spanish war and of an sn- creased tax on beer and tobacco.
 No conclusion was reached. ana senator Simmons and Representa- tive Underwood will have another conference.
 The experts informally admit that the probable loss in revenues may be nearly s1oo,ooo,ooo for the year.
New Britain herald., 1914-08-13
Francis Deming, Theodore Savage, Carl Dudley and Henry Bartrun.
 Northern Climate Beneficial

 Carl Dudley and Henry Bartrun.
 Northern Climate Beneficial.
 Mrs w. B. Hare and Miss Hattie Lyman, who have been the guests of MT. and Mrs. Sidney M. Cowles of kensington for the past several weeks, will leave for their home in Monte- VallO, Alabama next Tuesday.
 Miss Lyman, who is an invalid has gained considerable strength during her stay in the north and speaks well of kensington. .,.
 R. O. Clark Entertains Brickmeal.
 Almost all of the local brick man. ufacturers went down to Hitchkiss grove in Pine Orchard yesterday, at the invitation of R. c. Clark of East Berlin, who owns a handsome cottage there. The brickmakers made the trip in automo biles
 Telephones Put in Working Order.
 Workmen of the Southern New England Telephone company came down here from New Britain yester- day afternoon and put in working or der a number of telephones which were thrown out of commission by the big thunder storm on the night pre- vious.
 Among the phones affected was tk,. one in the town clerks office, MT. Shaw being unable, until a late hour yesterday, to either receive or make a call over the wire.
 Lawn Socials.
 Two lawn socials were held in Kensington last evening; one on the lawns of the Mesdames Thomas and James Pagan, under the auspices cf Regal hive, L. O. T. M., and the other on the Methodist church lawn, given by the Baraca class.
 It is reported that both were pat ronized literally.
 Registrars Meet Tomorrow.
 William w. Pagan and Joseph J. Morse, town registrars, will hold .l session between noon and o'clock tomorrow evening in the town clerks office for the purpose of enrolling voters who desire to take part. in ti.is years primaries and caucuses.
 Changes Plans Because of War.
 Unless the war situation in Eurrpc clears up before the first of next month, Miss Eliza beth Roby of Berlin will be obliged to cancel an engage ment she had made to teach in a school for American girls which is located in Florence, Italy, a country which, while still regarded as neutral, may be involved in pig conflict at any time. She planned to leave here Saturday, October 5.
 Miss Roby, who is the daughter of $. J koby, was graduated from smith college in June this year.
 Big Baggage Business in July.
 In the report for the month of July which Richard Culver, baggage master at the Berlin passenger sta tion has just compiled, it is shown that. during the past month 163 143 received and 5,546 transferred. In and 5,465 mail sacks were handled, maxim total of 1855 pieces which passed through the department.
 For the same month last year, 193 pieces were forwarded, ITO received ana 3.734 forwarded, together with 1892 mail pouches and 3,1S7 mail sa acks handled, the total of which was 9,17Gc 3,379 less than that for the month of July in 1914.
 R. F. D. Men at Capitol.
 Julius Woodruff, of Berlin, the secretary; T. F. Crane, of Bridge port, the president; James O'Keefe, past president and H. S. Brown of Norwalk, delegates from the Connec- tlcut Association of Rural Letter Carriers to the national convention being held this week at Washington,