, 1916-08-03

$500 Oee AiO
deep peace of this strange waterway
was %unbroken by any sign Of man.
mo Indian here. Too much afraid.
Curupuri." said Gomez.
"Curupuri Is the spirit of the woods"
Lord John explained. Its a name
for any kind of devil. The poor beg
gars thinks that there is something
fearsome In this direction. and there
fore they avoid it"
On the third day 1t became evident
that our journey in the canoes could
not last much longer, for the stream
was rapidly growing more shallow.
Twice in as many hours we stuck upon
the bottom. Finally we pulled the
boats up among the brushwood and
spent he night on the bank Of the
river. In the morning Lord John and
1 made our way for a couple of miles
through b forest, keeping parallel
with the stream, but as IL grew ever
shallower we returned and reported,
what Professor Challenger had already
suspected, that We had reached the
highest point to which the canoes could
be brought. We drew them up, there
fore, and concealed them among the
bushes. blazing a tree with our axes
so that we should find them again.
Then we distributed the various bur-
dens among us-guns, ammunition,
food, a tent, blankets and the rest
and, shouldertng our packages, we set
forth upon the more laborious stage of
our journey.
Advancing in single file along the bank
nf tho ufranm y+n onnna found thot e
narrowed down to a mere brook. and
finally that 1t lost. itself in a great
green morass of s~pongelike MOSES.
into which we sank up to our knees.
The place was horribly haunted by
clouds OF mosquitoes and every form
of flying pest, so we were glad to find
solid ground again and to make a cir
cult among the trees, which enabled
us to outfiank this pestilent morass.
which droned like In organ in the dis
lance, so loud was 1t with insect life.
On the ninth day after leaving the
canoes, having done, as l reckon. about
40 miles, we began to emerge from
the trees, which had grown smaller IN
til they were mere shrubs. Their place
was taken by an immense wilderness
of bamboo. which grew so thickly that
we could only penetrate it by cutting
a pathway with the machetes and bill
hooks of the Indians. 1t took us d long
day, travelling from 7 in the morning
till 8 at night, with only two breaks
Of one hour each, to get through this
obstacle. Anything more monotonous
and wearying could not be imagined,
F@r or-, % A.. -aNa nD.n .-~, 4
could not see more than ten or twelve
yards. while usually my vision was
limited to the back of Lord Johns cot
ton Jacket In front of me and to the
yellow wall within a foot of me on
either side. From above came one
thin knife edge of sunshine, and fifteen
feet over our heads one saw the tops
of the reeds swaytng against the deep
blue sky. do not know what kind of
creatures inhabit such a thicket, but
several times we heard the %plungtng of
large, heavy animals quite close to us.
From their sounds Lord John Judged
them to be some form OF wild cattle.
Just as night fell we cleared the belt
Of bamboos and at once formed our
camp. exhausted by the interminable
day.
Early next morning we were again
afoot and found that the character of
the country had changed once again.
Behind us was the wall of bamboo, as
definite as II 1t marked the course of
a river. In front was an open plain,
sloping slightly upward and dotted
with clumps OF tree ferns, the whole
curving before us until It ended I'm a
long, whale backed ridge. This we
reached about midday, only to find a
shallow valley beyond, rising once
again into a gentle incline which led
to a low. rounded sky line.
And now. my readers. II ever l have
any, l have brought you up the broad
river, and through the screen Of
rushes, and down the green tunnel.
and up the long slope of palm trees,
and through the bamboo brake, and
across the plain of tree ferns. At last
our destination lay In full sight of us.
When we had crossed the second
ridge we saw before us an irregular.
palm studded plain and then the line
of high red cliffs which i ave seen
In the picture. There 1t lies, even as
I write. and there car be no question
that 1t is the same. AT the cares
point It IL about seven miles from u
present camp. and 1t curVss away,
stretching as far as l can see. Chal-
lenger struts about like a prize pea
cock, and Summerlee Is silent. but
still skeptical. Another day should
bring some OF our doubts to an end.
Meanwhile, as Jose, whose arm was
,Ia.ood hy a hrOkan hamhoo inaiatS