davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1924-10-05
BY WILLIAM j. Ia tARRE.

~ HE base OF the tree which had
tcpEIcd over in tho water and
blocked our entrance to the
Il Creek of Desire. where the old
Indian hag had told us we
would find diamonds, came up out of
thr water on the right hand bank.
j was about is inches in diameter.
One OF the black paddlers stepped up
on il and with broad biaded AK
commenced to bite deep into the
water soaked wood. When he tired
another relieved him.
Dudley Lewis and I waited rest
1eSSly in the boat, and then, seeing
that it might take several hours to
cut the tree free from the bank we
left it and started to explore. I re-
turned TO the edge of the creek where
it Joined the broad Maza runi and tore
down the whitened pig skull that had
heen stuck by Indians in Il charred
tree. plainly visible from the river.
Somehow the presence of the skull
had cast damper on the feeling of
delight with which | had beheld the
entrance to the creek to which We
had been directed. So ! determin ed
that. good omen or bad. I was not
going to l"ay" that sun baked skull
sticking there.
a
tell regularly, cchoing through the
jungle and across the broad river
Then there was splitting and tear
ing noise. and reSounding splash
Dudley and ! FASTENED toward the
boat and found that the log had sud
denly split half way through and had
sunk into the creek deep enough TO
allow the boat to pass over without
further cutting.
N
pause to make a clean job of il. to
cut tho tree clear through and allow
II to sink to the bottom Of the deep
creek. Little did we think that we
should wish that we had done 50 on
later day.
On and on We nosed. deeper ana
deeper into the labyrinthian creek
y dismal bird or two called doIefully
from the opposite bank. Once in
while a locust whirred shriIly Then
in a patch of sunlight that Uttered
through rift in the overbearing
trees I caught the splendor OF two
dazzling morphe butterflies, two
bright blue flashes of living color
that danced here and there for a mo-
ment in the sunlight. and then dlsap-
reared In the solitude of the forest
-hen tho creek became impassabIe
We must stop here"' declared Capt
Peter Scarsville. our guide.
We found a. suitable place on the
left bank for general camp and tied
tho bow of the boat securely into the
mud. The men climbed out, gIeetuI
that the trip was broken. I'hey
quickly set up the heavy canvas tar
paulins and lighted their fires. We
had had a long day and they had
t.oored furiously since our journey
inland to the Indian village. a rest
was well earned.
4 camp was securely built. with
Dudley's and my hammock and tent
in the center, and the blacks settled
themS selves between US and the
Jungle, lighting little fires beneath
zach of their five shelters Capt.
1'eter and his bowman occupied a
separate shelter down on the bank,
where they could watch the boat
Evening star., 1924-10-05

At Georgetown. in British Guiana
e~o young Americans. Mr.. La
Narrc and his friend, Dudley
Lewis. heard marvellous tales of
gold to be found in the interior.
Immediately they set forth up the
dangerous Mazsruni River, and, as
narrated in the first two OF this
series Of five articles. faced death
almost hourly for 10 days in the
rushing rapids and whirlinG maol-
strnmS. Their experiences includ-
ed visit to their camp by Vam-
pire bats.
While in an Indian village Mr..
La Earre and Mr.. Lewis observed a
strange board. used for grating
casSava. upon which crystals were
held in place by coating of gum.
To their amazement, these proved
TO he diamonds.
Learning the source of these
gems. Mr.. La Varre and his friend
FASTENED upstream in a canoe
piioted by Capt" Peter Scars
Vile and propelled by "a blacks.
At the mouth of creek which
they were to enter their eyes rest
ed upon whitened skull, which
was regarded as a sign OF i'll
omen.
Evening star., 1924-10-05

no scales. so we didn't know its
weight. 1t was in some ways like the
giant snake ] killed but never could
measure: it assumed all sizes tn&
longer we kept it. Dudley, who had
an empty pocket in his chamois mon
ey belt, guarded =.
HAD expected the time 10 pass
with dreadful slowness while
the boat made the down river xrir
and returned. without Sur <fart
Dudley and l were at the mercy Of
the forest, like a sailor wrecked on a
distant island. But actually the days
merged into each other like an ad-
venture-tinted kaleidoscope Every
night Dudley and I spread ou- dfs.-
monds on the small camp table and
gloated over them.
Then Capt. Peter eanne back. We
heard him making hts way up the
| creek-heard first the rhythmic beat o.
the paddle blades against the sides of
the boat, then the splash of lifted
water, then saw the boat. with it's
naked Indian crew. We dropped work
for the day and hastened down TO
welcome our guide, bringing us food
and equipment.
We quickly got the newly pur-
chased diamond scales from Capt. Pc
ter and set them up on onr table
They were delicate; it required great
care to balance them. The weights
were little pieces OF aluminium. grad
ed from 10 carats to one-sixteenth OF
a carat Other brass weights were
| marked from 10 TO 500 csratA
Night fell over US again as Capt.
Peter. Dudley and l sat around the
leather-covered table with a bright
acetylene torch illuminating the small
pile of diamonds. They sparkled bril-
lianuy as we turned them over. We
| felt possessed of a great treasure, in
deed. Together they weighed 2,41o
carats. The big stone that was too
large for the shotgun shell weighed
| 20 carats; there were several beauti-
full gems around FIVE carats and many
| weighing approximately one. There
were 1900 carats. though. OF very
fine broken material. small gems o.
whose value we had no idea One
piece OF crystal weighing in itself 10
carats seemed like only the tip-point
of a very large crystal which had
been broken.
| You better get all you can while
there's no one else in the jungle"
Capt Peter cautioned US.
! Why | asked.
There was a lot of gossip BROKE
loose down on the coast fore l left.
Maybe the storekeeper told people
| bought diamond scales for you.
| don't know. Anyway, everybody all
| of sudden comes to me asking il We
hadn't found diamonds"
| well, let them come; we've got our
| little mine" said proudly.
But you had better put up location
| boards for the land you want" he in
| sisted.
So next morning we nailed pieces
| OF boxes to trees at the four corners
| of an S0-acre strip of hill and jungle
land. Eighty acres of diamonds" ]
| laughed as we ehristened the claim.
lie Desire
Copyright 1924
Evening star., 1924-10-05
Americans in Guiana Jungle Seize Eighty Acres Of Dia
hey Dig Yellow Gravel and Wash Searching Precious

tunnel from caving in. But we were
getting diamonds.
They were being dropped regularly
into the polished shotgun shell.
A T night the Indians came into
camp with deer and two wild
pigs. We had our first fresh meat
We drank to our good luck with
Benedictine, slipped from new brass
shotgun shells. In the jungle we did
not use paper shells, as they would
swell. We loaded and reloaded brass
cartridge cases as we needed them,
and as result usually had quite a
supply of empties on hand, which we
used for odd purposes. We drank
Benedictine from them principally
because Benedictine was too good a
drink to take out Of the bottom of a
tin cup; it called for something more
refined.
Dudley and ] then held a conference.
IF we were going to stay in the jun
gle digging diamonds we would have
to get more food. Our supply would
not last more than two months at a
pinch. Also. our equipment was ex-
ceedingly incomplete. We called
Capt. Peter.
Would you be able to make the
coast with an Indian crew." !
queried. He thought over the matter
for some time. Finally he said, The
Indians are very good riyermen. With
| crew of them I could make the trip
| down through the rapids in five
days"
Then, I think it would be a good
plan to collect several Indians, pick
UP others on the river, and go down
to Georgetown for some supplies.
h,h - Il
trip in 20 days, couldn't youT
"Twenty-one or two" he sug-
gested.
Dudley and ! set to work making
out orders for provisions and sup
plies. We listed diamond scale and
some equipment that we wanted for
| more profitable work.
The next morning Capt. Peter un-
loaded the boat OF all but the food
| necessary for the downstream trip,
| took four Indians to paddle the craft
| and said he would get other Indians
| along the river to join him for the
| trip to the coast. He expected that
| the Indians would enjoy the trip
through the rapids to civilization.
| Don't breathe word to any one
that we've discovered diamondsw !
cautioned as he departed. That's
\ why I'm keeping all the blacks up
here. II they went down, they would
| talk. We'd be swamped with a rush
| in no time"
| Our boat disappeared down the
creek, leaving US, We suddenly found,
| very lonely. Cnconsciously we had
| been relying to a great extent upon
| the jungle knowledge of old Capt.
Peter. We did not realize until he
| had left how utterly isolated and on
| our own we were. During the day
| other diamonds were found. The
| shotgun she'll was filled and another
| receptacle was necessary.
| One day we found stone that
would not go into the shell. We had
Evening star., 1924-10-05

other men took IT in their round
pans and began concentrating the
heavier metals and gems. They did
not 60 down to the river now, but
stood knee deep in the muddy pool
at the bottom Of the sluice. There
Dudley and I could watch them and
make sure of their work.
Diamonds began coming in again.
Every now and then. as either Dud-
ley or / examined the final concen-
trates in some washers pan, We
found stone. Al first they were
very small, broken up sometimes.
often discolored. Occasionally we
found a larger and more perfect
gem. 1t was aggravating to have
to stop so frequently and build a
tunnel-prop as the men bored deeper
and deeper into the hillside. dug a
straight hole six feet high, six feet
wide. going right under the hill. into
the center OF the clay deposit. Some
times We had to put in heavy beams
and supporting timbers, with much
padding OF thin slabs, to keep the
Evening star., 1924-10-05

loss that i hadn't strength left 10
warn her. Il took all my vitality for
the awful moment -: looking in the
glass for the first time And when I
did. and saw tow nearly cute
looked and how almost younger. why
| could hardly wait to get home ana
hear the family rave.
Well, your first marriage, your first
operation, and your first bob is things
which you expect everybody will no
tice them and turn around to look
at you on the street and etc. And
when / left that barber shop and
started doing the pIowmans weary
stuff toward our home. / felt about
Is fnconSpicuous as a circus rider on
a band wagon. But I beat George
home, and was all set on edge when
he come in.
Well. after what Geo. had said
about my hair and parting from me
if / parted from it, why I kind of ex-
pected few rough remarks, but not
word come out OF him. So OF
course, although highly nervous, I
wouldn't mention il either.
Geo. kissed me. and took off his
coat and washed up while he told
me what he had told the boss that
day abort running the business. and
how the campaign was getting along.
but not one word about my hair
Finally, I come to that limit which
ary wife that has ever put on a new
dress will at once understand. give
my head several pats and turned II
around but he didn't notice.
Then I says well dear. notice any
thing.
And he says yeh. you got me TIE
shaving soap finally, thanks lot.
And I says say dear, notice some
thing else?
And he says sure, you amt got on
so much makeup, I noticed right
away.
And then George put the final touch.
Say, he says. I seen Joe Bush Of the
Hawthorne Club this lunch time and
what do you think his wife has bob
bed her hair. why don't you get your
hair bobbed, they arc all doing 1t. he
says.
I give a gasp, and than a smile
because of realizing where after all
IT must be the real me Geo. loved
and not merely my exterior decora
ton.
Believe you me, If you can win
EN- with long hair. you can hold 'enn
with q bob: r, 80. 80,
(CopyriEht> 12AA
Evening star., 1924-10-05

the moment. an empty cigarette tin
for the gold that we had found. l
had dropped the diamonds into an old
brass shotgun shell and stuffed pith
cork into the neck to keep them from
falling out. II eeemed an incongruous
depository for such treasure. but II
was handy and for the moment l did
not find anything better. I fell asleep
at last with my hands folded care
fully over the bulge in my money
belt where l had secreted the gems.
T AWAKENED suddenly towards
dawn to find that there were
Indians in the creek. My first thought
was to grab my rifle. They had come
TO drive US out I hurried cautiously
down to the waters edge. followed
by Capt Peter and Dudley. Appar-
emily the Indians had no designs
upon us. They kept repeating. Me
are" They held out something to
Capt. Peter when he approached them.
/ recognized them then as some In
dians with whom wa had traded.
They want more sugar" Capt.
Peter announced They've eaten
what ] gave them
Is there any one there who under
stands pidgin English" I asked.
an old fellow here who learned it
when he was a boy down at the
Jesuit mission"
Good! He can be the interpreter.
Tell him that il the other Indians VIII
hunt and chop trees for us. well feed
them and give them plenty of sugar.
Capt. Peter jabbered with the old
man a few minutes. He says they
want sugar first
fnlt n q
these primitive men would live up
to their word And they did. They
left two young boys behind to make
a palm roof under which they would
sleep at night. Others took their
bows and arrows and went off into
the forest.
The blacks seemed to fear and to
resent the Indians presence, but
when they heard that the latter were
going to hunt for them they cheered
up a bit. One of them sang out,
"Oh, now we gonna have some sweet
meat
Two Indians. husky, barrel-chested
fellows, went to work with axes, cut
ting down the tall trees that grew
on the side of the hill into which
we had to dig. They worked Curl
ously, first cutting deep notches in
all the trees as they climbed higher
and higher up the hillside. At the
top they cut down very large
greenheart and let the tree fall down
the hill. 1t smashed against the
lower trees, smashing them row
after row like tumhling nnepins
down to the earth in loud tor
nado of falling leaves and gnarled
branches. We could do nothing until
the ground was cleared, so all the
blacks were set to work with axes.
Another night closed down upon
US after a day which had gained
US no diamonds. We chafed at the
necessary drudgery which had to be
met before We could continue with
the actual mining.
Evening star., 1924-10-05

men friends, say dear do you think /
would look good with it cut and they
would say oh my yes indeed. why of
course 7 could put it Off again.
I would also conjure up a pathetic
mental picture Of the hair net manu-
facturers of the country, all sitting
around in corners playing cats cradle
with their stocks, and use that as a
excuse for putting off the fatal day
once more.
But all the time felt myself slip
ping toward a clipping. And far from
my being likely to die Of having it
cut off, why I come to fnd out even
history proved that the human race
had survived hair bobbing for many
centuries. Far from it being a new
modern invention, it was we'll known
in the past.
But when it comes to America and
how the bobbed head got introduced
here. why authorities differ.
Some claim it was never introduced
at all. but merely walked in without
being invited.
Others tell where it was invented
by a Greenwich Village artist who
didn't have the price OF a hair cut
for six weeks and then had only the
price Of a trim.
So l come to the conclusion the
oobbed head is a American invention
and as such I had ought to pstronize
IL.
WELL having decided this. l went
w to a barber shop, determined to
have my hair OF my mind, but with
an anesthetic il possible, and here
was where 1 got my first lesson in
the intellectual understanding of bar
bers. On account one Of the first
things the barber says was no, we
didn't use anesthetics. but will i put
a little tonic on IL?
And T says no, please don't put
any tonic on.
So he put little tonic on and aft
er that I didn't need no anesthetic
the perfume put me right out and
when come to he had give me pretty
near everything in the shop besides
a hair cut; manicure. q shine, a
facial and a check for $S.75.
Hot Bozo! II q shock had been left
in me after that would Of got ii
when he yelled next. on account next
turned out to be grandma. But by
then 1 was so absorbed in my own
Evening star., 1924-10-05

it on, why I could always complain
about how heavy my crown of glory
was-and make the other women
want to crown me.
Also. I argued with myself. here
use fourteen hairpins with my long
locks, and not a woman l knew uses
over twelve in her bob.
Cutting out the trouble of doing
your hair certainly is one of the great
advantages of cutting ii off. Why,
with long hair. woman has to take
at least five minutes to dress it in
the morning, but with q bob all she
has to do Is run a comb through it
every twenty minutes all day long
Well. anyways, during the above
mentioned delay I realized that be-
fore / actually took the step towards
the Fatal Chair, why l had better
make up my mind just exactly what
style bob / wanted. If only some
body would invent a satisfactory way
Of trying on bobbed hair they would
make a fortune.
Well, as a starter I calle d in Junior
and give his bob the double ephis
but decided against 1t as little too
boyish.
And after that for several days I
kept looking at the bobbed women
shaking their names and roaring like
rabbits, and l seen where the styles
in head shrubbery was very varied
had q terrible time deciding would
/ have q damp bob of the straight and
narrow style or a dry bob of the knit
ting yarn effect.
honestly couldn't decide whether
to have a permanent singe which
would make mo look like the Cau-
casian girl in the center of the Hu-
man Race group picture IN Juniors
Geography. or would I merely chop
my hair of into the hay-foot- straw
foot effect OF the tired business wo-
man. You know, the type that tired
business men allow to get tired.
u * X
T SEEN fat girls with lean bobs,
l. thin girls with Angora heads: |
seen them clean-shaven in the rear
and kind of whiskers around the face
at the same time. and I seen Dutch
cuts, or heads cheese bobs Finally.
I decided I would try to get away
with one Of these Girlish Bobs.
But actually doing 30 was some
thing different aSain I tripped on
my way to the barter shop more
then the once before ! actually fell.
And every time I would ask my wo-
Evening star., 1924-10-05
Big Stone Among Treasures Found as The

Gold - they muttered over and over
to themselves. Real pure gol's"
And then we sprang the surprise
Yes, there's gold" l said, but were
looking for something else. We're after
diamonds :"
Diamonds =! they cried, their eyes
wild with interest.
Yes. diamonds. Every man wash as
carefully as possible, and bring his pan
to me when the concentrates are
reached"
Two blacks set to work in one place
and two others in another. digging out
4-foot-s holes. The gravel on top
was rather large, and became smaller
as they dug deeper. Finally when they
had reached stratum of blue-green
clay that appeared suddenly. and seemed
to run generally under the hill. stopped
them. This clay looks suspciously like
blue ground, | said
That is the name for the clay in which
diamonds are usually found. Let's
sample it before we dig farther"
Evening star., 1924-10-05

We gave each Of the men a heavy
lump of clay to wash in his individual
pan. and Dudley and | set to work with
them. selecting our Jumps ca refully from
the bottom Of the hole. AS I remem-
bered it we took that part of the clay
near the top. which was coated with a
thin layer of fine quartz gravel Some
how at the time I had the distinct feel
ing that We were about to find dia-
monds. Call it a premonition of success
or what you will had it.
Dudley and I washed out our pans
quickly. l was through first / ran my
finger down in the center Of blackish
concentrates. and Immediately there
came to view a sharp-angied crystal,
about a quarter of an inch in diameter
AS I brushed the magnetic sand from
about it, and the light caught its planes,
it shot brilliant beam of scintillating
color into my vision. / held my breath
for a moment. Diamond - / cried.
/ was astonished to hear Dudley re-
peat the word almost before / had fin
ished. l looked around expecting to find
him at my side to inspect my find. But
he wasn't. He was bending over his
own pan. Have you got one, too" l
called
Yes beauty"
Then l heard Capt. Peter call. Got
onei"
Evening star., 1924-10-05

Next morning We began digging
into the hillside. AS fast as the
gravel was brought out along the
blue clay stratum some Of the men.
especially chosen, were assigned to
wash it. First IT was dumped into
the roughly made sluice, where it
was washed back and forth and
cleaned in the flowing water. Then
Evening star., 1924-10-05

HE base OF the tree which had
tcpElcd over in tho water and
blocked our entrance to the
Il Creek of Desire. where the old
Phillips County herald., 1924-04-24
GRADE SCHOOL TEACHERS
REELECTED FOR COMING YEAR

At meeting of the grade school
board last Saturday evening, the en-
tire corps of teachers were reelected
to teach for the coming year, with the
exception of Miss Katherine Moore,
who was not an applicant for the po-
sition. Miss Moore was employed
last year to teach the overflow of the
primary grades and the other primary
teachers will endeavor to care for the
primary pupils who have been taught
by her. She expects to take busi-
ness course.
The board as well as the patrons
of the school have been highly pleas
ed with the efforts of the grade school
teachers and their reelection will
meet with universal approval. Chas.
R. Peter will again head the school
and teach the eighth grade with the
following teachers in charge of the
various grades: Madge Crowner. 7th;
Jessie Correll, 9Th; Glendora Capson
5th; Bessie Troutman, 4th; Olive
Young, Srd; Mrs. Phillip Zimmerman
Principal of Primary Dept. 1st; and
Katherine Flanagan, md.
Phillips County herald., 1924-04-24
FORMING A TAXPAYERS LEAGUE
WILL NOT SOLVE TAX PROBLEMS

as so per cent OF the total amount
Is spent for local school purposes.
The balance divided between the
county and the state. The county
IN most instances running the high
est
From this casual observation Il is
easily recognized that local taxation
must be the first place to begin the
tax reform. The .remedy must be
applied at the farmers own door
yard. But many farm communities
are notwllling TO lower school taxes
II by 80 doing they lessen the efiiei-
enoy OF the educational facilities Of
farm children. Here then, taxation
becomes local problem and must
be attacked from that angle.
The forming OF tax leagues 10 In.
vestIgate thoroughly all methods OF
assessments and manner OF expondi-
lures might result IN much good.
But II tax leagues are formed 10 pro-
vide political material for campaign
managers. nothing but dlappolnt-
ment and dissatisfaction. awaits the
members The tax problem viii not
be solved from any such plan OF nc.
tlon. Constructive tax remedies can
be offered only after careful study
and complete Investigation. This can
not be accomplished by an organic.
alton Of men whose motives are sell
nsh. Before identifying themselves
with tax league organizations. farm.
ers should satisfy themselves that the
leadership Is OF proper callber and
that tho organization win attack the
problem OF tax reform from the prop.
or angle.