Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-03-15

NV Wanks River, through an
unmapped and but little
known area of Nicaragua
Ny usual good health had
suffered a shock due to ptomaine poi
son which had acquired from a stale
tin OF sardines. In pain, and abso-
1utely unable To work with the pad
die. l lay In the bottom of the pit
pan. This is a type of dugout canoe
used by the Sunni Indians.
Felipe handled the boat. He was
poised on a small platform carved out
IN the stern which permits the steers
man TO stand and guide the raft
through the racing waters. The river
was torrential. We frequently shot
through breath-taking rapids which
because they We're so unfamiliar to
US. offered continuous chances for
spills.
AS a precaution against such an ac-
cident, both Felipe and myself were
but scantily clothed. We had strap
ped to our bodies the most valuable
part OF our equipment-he his ma
chete," or long knife like cutlass.
and l the pouch which contained the
records of the trip, our first-aid kit
and credentials.
Felipe's skill as a boatman was, to
say the least, remarkable. 1t was "a
sight to have inspired a sculptor to
see his 1.-THE brown body. wet and
glistening in the sun. standing in the
stern of the pit-pan, right foot for
ward, left knee slightly bent, while
with his 10-foot pole, punting now
from the right, then from the left, he
safely guided the canoe through the
boiling, roaring passages.
And in that manner, first tumbling
through rapids, then gliding quickly
through comparatively quiet waters
Ia - vi . cot
speed. We hoped soon to reach the
rivers junction with the Wanks,
where there was a store and where
we hoped to get the relief of which l
was so badly in need.
We travelled for two days. and as
we advanced the river became safer
because the rapids grew less wild and
the distance between them longer.
Our hopes for safe termination of
our journey rose in proportion.
Wherefore, we entered a rather mild
rapid-mild at first glance. But al
most before we knew what was hap
pening to US. this was swirling us
around a bend of the river, and then
it dropped us over an 1S-foot cata-
ract,
The pit-pan was smashed on the
rocks below-all equipment and sup
plies were lost. Only with the utmost
difficulty and courage did Felipe man
age to drag himself and myself to
safety on shore.
Thus it was that Felipe and 1 found
ourselves stranded, practically naked,
and with 60 miles of uninhabited
jungle between ourselves and Fagots
store, the nearest point of civiliza-
toni
x !. y x
MY despair can easily be imagined.
octn
ishment at the philosophical good
nature with which Felipe accepted
our predicament. After he had rolled
and pounded out of me the several
quarts of water which l had taken
in during my imm in the river,
he smilingly remarked that / now
would be cured of my stomach trouble.
My bitter rejoinder was that there
was little use in having perfect di-
gestionAif there was no food to put
in the stomach. How on earth, l de-
manded, were we going to get any,
If we did not have clothes and weap-
ons with which to dare venture into
the jungle? He replied soberly:-"El
hombre que sabe, no muere en- la mon
tana."-("The man who knows, does
not perish in the jungle.D
Suiting his words to action. Felipe
at once proceeded to gather dry moss
and sticks and to prepare them for
fire, choosing for fireplace one of the
large boulders by the waters edge.
With the back of his "machete,"
which was still strapped to his waist,
and piece of flint picked from the
river bottom, he struck a spark and
very soon had a lively fire under way.
Then, using a large leaf, folded into
a cup-like shape, he scooped water
from the river and filled two holes
which had been weathered on the top
face of the boulder, close to the fire.
Placing numerous small stones In
the fire, and having taught me how to
remove them when hot with the aid
of two sticks, he instructed me to
heat the water by plunging the hot
stones into il. After which, he went
off down stream, cutting his way
along the bank of the river, remark
ing that he would return with the
"almuerzo" Qunch)
After about two hours Felipe re-
turned triumphant and heavily laden
with provision. He bore a generous
bunch of "yanten" leaves which, be-
sides providing an agreebly favored
tea, has the medicinal faculty of re-
Iieving intestinal irritation and pain,
a three-foot "iguana," which he had
stoned to death while ii basked in
the sun, and a "palmito" (the heart
Of a small palm tree,) which is a
delicious vegetable somewhat SINH
liar to asparag gus. With these spoils
Of his foraging trip, and with the
aid of the "fire-less" cookers, we soon
made our meal, to the great benefit
Of our bodies and the lifting of my
depressed spirits.
But a satisfying meal could not
make me forget the trials which still