Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-02-17

absolutely bewildered and
stunned by the atmosphere OF DESC
lation which swept over ME. what
was I to do? A difficult question 10
answer. seeing that no food had oeeh
left behind. With a penknlfe ana
small automatic carrying six rounds
OF ammunition, the prospects of pro-
curing any were zero.
Still, there was no need to give up
in despair. I was in good physical
condition and able to stand CONSIDER
able privation if necessary. l soon
decided that the best course to pursue
was to make straight for the river
and once there work my way along
its banks until / came to the Ipicus'
where I might procure other Indians
to help me.
1t was easier said than done, as the
likelihood of finding my way pack
along the invisible pathway we hao
come By was so remote that L would
have to strike a compass course due
north instead and take the chance OF
encountering good ground on the way.
Before setting out I piled up all my
belongings neatly under a Shelter ana
covered them over with number OF
large leaves SO as to keep them dry.
The lighter l was laden the more
rapid my progress. Therefore / took
only my notebook, ink and a few
flm tins. These, with my light bian-
ket, made up my entire cargo.
Before starting 1 wrote up a very
careful account Of what had trans
pired, making several copies. ! in
in L
I'D securely, my idea being that If the
worst came to the worst 1 would drop
them in the river and SO inform the
outside world of what had happened,
assuming, Of course, that they were
picked up. 1t seemed just as well to
write out the story while it was clear
in my mind and I could think coher-
entity, rather than wait until was in
the last stages Of exhaustion
Arrangements all carefully made.
SGT off downhill, guided by my pocket
compass, and with grim determine
ton to get back to the Maranon at
all costs. Twenty-four hours ago
had been hurrying away from 1t with
all speed; now I was directing my
footsteps back to it again with even
greater energy and anxiety. Such is
the way of the world!
My journey through the forest will
always be recalled as prolong-
Cd nightmare of indescrible magni-
tude.
With the assistance of knives and
axes it is difficult enough to make
any Roadway among such a riot of
jungle-growth, but without these
tools 1t is wellnigh impossible to
move in any direction. let alone keep
q definite compass course such as
hoped to maintain.
Rather than walk around the nu-
merous obstacles that barred the way
and so lose my bearings, I scrambled
through or over them, tearing my
clothes and cutting my flesh on the
innumerable spines which protruded
from almost every tree and plant. The
vines that trailed under foot in all d.
rections tripped me up at every turn.
throwing me heading into thickets
Of thorny underground.
Every effort to save myself only
resulted in getting my hands more
painfully slashed, for even those
plants which looked harmless enough
had great spikes, long and sharp as
needles, concealed under their inno-
cent foliage, ready to cut and tear at
the slightest provocation.
After a few hours l became abso-
1utely terrified of touching anything
for fear of mourning further wounds.
Should a branch happen to be smooth
for change, likely as not there
would be thousands of ants crawling
over it. and they bit and stung like
creeping fire.
X x X x
an one memorable occasion 1 ex-
~ amined q branch minutely before
gripping 1t to help myself over a
bad mudhole, such as poisonous rep
tiles frequently inhabit. Seeing that
it was free from both thorns and
ants, I grasped 1t confidently to
swing myself across. AS it bent
under my weight a cloud of black
wasps, whose nest had not observed
at the end Of the bough, encircled
my head and fell in the very sludge
I was trying to avoid. Beating the
air frantically TO keep off my assail-
ants. scrambled to more solid
ground. -