Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-28

As / touched the ground I snatched
broken limb from the tangled mass thnt
matted the junglelike floor of the forest,
and, leaping unnotced behind the shaggy
back, dealt the brute a terrific blow
My plan worked like magic. From the
previous slowness of the beast had been
led to look for no such marvellous agilty
as he now displayed. Releasing his hold
upon the tree he dropped on all fours and
at the same time swung his great,
wicked tail with force that would nave
broken every bone IN my body had IL
struck me; but fortunately [ had turned
to flee at the very instant that l telt
my blow land upon the towering BACK.
As It started in pursuit OF me ! made
the mistake of running along the edge
of the forest rather than making FOR
'he open beach. In n moment | was
knee deep i'm rotting vegetation, ana the
awful thing behind me was gaining rapid
ly as floundercd and fell in my efforts
to eXtricate myself
A fallen log gave nc an instants
advantage, for climbing upon it I leaped
! to another n few PAGES farther on, ana
| In this way was able to keep clear OF
the mush that carpeted the surrounding
ground. But the 2iE2ag course that TINS
! necessitated was placing such heaVE
| handicap upon me that my pursuer was
steadily gaining upon me.
Suddenly from behind I heard q tumult
| of howls, and sharp piercing barEs-much
| the sound that a pack of wolves raises
/ when in full cry. Involuntarily | glanced
| backward to discover the origin of this
| new and menacing note with the result
! that | missed my footing and went
! sprawling once more upon my face In the
| deep muck.
Ny mammoth enemy was so close by
! this time that I knew | must feel the
! weight of one of his terrible paws before
! | could rise, but to my surprise the blow
did not fall upon me.
The bowling and swapping and barking
| of the new element which had been in
| fused into the melee now seemed centred
| quite close behind me, and as | raised my
self upon my hands and glanced around l
saw what it was that had distracted the
| "dyryth," as | afterward learned the thinG
| is called, from my trail.
! 1t was surrounded by pack of some
| hundred wolflikc Crcatures-wild dogs
, they seemed-that rushed growing and
| swapping in upon 1t from all sides, so
that they sank their white fangs into the
slow brute and were away again before
it could reach them with its huge paws
! or sweeping tail.
But these were not all that my startled
eyes perceived ChatterinE and gibberina
| through the lower branches of the trees
| came a company of maulikc creatures
| evidently urging on the dog-pack.
They were to all appearances striknEly
similar in aspect to the negro of Africa.
| Their skins were very black, and their
features much like those of the more
pronounced negroid type, except that the
head reCedCd more rapidly above the eyes
leaving little or no forehead.
Their arms were rather longer and Their
legs shorter in proportion to the torso
than in man, and later l noticed that
their great toes protruded at right angles
from their feet-becauso of their arbOrea
habits, | presume Behind them trailCu
long slender tails. which they used ii
climbing quite as much as they did either
their hands or feet.
/ had stumbled to my feet the momen
that / discovered that the wolf-dogs were
holding the dyryth at bay.
At sight of me several of the savage
creatures left Off worrying the great
brute to come sinking with barred fanEs
toward me- and as | turned to run towarC
the trees again to seek safety among the
lower branches | saw a number of the