The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-01-04
IS FIRST WOMAN
TOSCALE ANDES
Mrs. Marjorie Howarth OF New
York Makes Trip With Her
Husband.
LIVES ON GAME AND FRUIT
Covers q Wild Trail ss5 Miles Long
Saw No Monsters but Many
Snakes and 5ats-Hus-
band Sick on Trip.

TO cross the highest peaks OF the third
range OF the Andes mountains, 1d,6OU
| fest above sea level, and then TO oe-
scend and proceed over the difi1cuit
trail extending over land and water
| for Se5 miles from Quito, Ecuador. TO
Iouitos. Peru, on the upper reaches OF
the Amazon, Is Mrs. Marjorie How
arth. wife Of a New York business
man,
IT had no idea of making such
trip when my husband and left new
| York last March. planning, merely ror
q pleasure outing In scuth America
said Mrs. Howarth at her home ''But
when we decided to go over what 10
known as the Papallaeta-Napo route,
/ he American charge d'affaires at
, Quito, Harold Deahe, gave US all the
assistance possible, He advised us as
to guides, who were Indians, OF course.
and several groups Of these. who were
changed at different points for new
guides, were the only human beings
we saw during most OF the trip.
First Woman to Make the Trip.
at was pointed out to us that the
trim might be dangerous to any one,
especially so to woman because OF
the hardship, and that legend had not
recorded that a white woman had ever
| attempted the task. That decided me
to accompany my husband, as l
thought it was time an American
woman should venture over the trail.
which follows closely the line OF the
equator.
81 want 10 say right here that we
came across no monsters or any other
strange creatures Of the jungle. though
there we're plenty of animals, but they
] I'D net approach u closely. and i shot
1 mona, nor did make any scientific dis
ceYerie&
s9he snakes were terror to me.
They were everywhere. and 1t was not
safe TO move about without using care
At night the guides used light in one
hand and q stick In the other to
brighten the snakes away whenever
I LAGf ud0 W 80 q 1CN SlCPSs
For two days Mrs. Howarth and her
husband travelled on mules from Quito.
Frem that point on to the Napo river,
/ 1856 miles, they went on foot, and the
trail was SO rough and through such
| tungies that progress on foot was often
hazardous akd always slow and diff
| cult. Near the end Of this hard hike
! Mr. Howarth became Ill with fever
| and Mrs. Howarth took command OF
the expedition. The situation looked
! serious, she said, as they were thea 200
miles from Quito and nearly TOO miles
from their objective, with trail be-
| hind them over which 1t was almost
impossible that Howarth could be car
I. RED, and it was at his suggestion that
! his wife determined to continue. Mr.
Howarth lost weight and got worse
DAY by day, despite every effort with
sHch simple remedies they happened
to have taken along in the stores, The
hike became a slow moving column,
with frequent halts for the benefit of
the sick man.
Lived on Game, Fish and Fruit.
Our food supplies were nearly all
gone, and we were living on what the
guides could get in the way Of game or
heh, fruits and fried bananas. which
we gathered as We proceeded daily"
eaid MRS. Howarth. I'VE Toasted for
number of days on Ave chickens and
sozh@ eggs.We got In an Indian village
by health continued good. but would
net care 10 risk It again Ia Journey
over that trail
aAn auto had carried us an the Last
ise to onr starting point, at Quito.
where Che mountain ID 10000 feet
above the sea, and we assembled the
remaining 1000 feet to the top of the
Andes on mules and finished the ascent
on foot But we had to descend nearly
1z,800 feet from the Ice and snow-clad
/ peaks to the heated, oven-like jungle.
and It was due to these changes and
the hardship which caused my hus-
bands Illness. He got better when we
obtained better food from the natives,
and his Improvement continued when
4 we got him into big canoe afioat on
the Napo river"
The Indian guides charged about Ii
cents a day for the service of each
member, and each carried a pack
weighing 70 pounds. Mr.. and Mrs.
Howarth always picked an open space
In the Jungle sor their nightly camp,
! where they kept protective fires going.
with an Indian acting as guard. and
their crude beds covered with heavy
nets to protect Them from snakes, In
sects and enormous bats.
THE largest and most terrifying
bats i had ever heard Of were en-
countered In this Journey" said Mrs.
Hewarth. According to the stories
told by the Indians Of these bats they
appeared to be sort Of vampire. The
Indians said these bats would kill q
! person quickly by puncturing veins In
wrists or feet and drawing OF the
blood. and we were warned about
/ xJeaninv ARRANGEMENTS Az 0fhAr firnAs