Evening star., 1925-09-06
Daring American Seeking Fad Gold Mine Ventures Sinister
n the of Giant tSucuru
Watched Unseen EyesTh Indians

on this southeriy shore of the river,
but the hostile Chervantes of the OPP
posite bank were reported to be power
full swimmers and for that reason ]
had even eXtinguished the campfire
after hastily cooking a frugal supper
Of rice and pork fat. For had no de-
sire to encourage some savage to swim
over and pick US off with arrows from
the outer darkness as our figures were
silhouetted against the fire.
There were good reasons why we did
not choose to sleep in the 30-foot dug
out on the river. Back in the early
days of my trip when / left Registo-
last outpost of civilization-to float
down the Araguaya, crowd had as
sembled to bid me farewell and to pre-
dict that I would never return.
And one of them had particularly
warned me against sleeping in the
canoe. For, infestiug the slackwaters
Of these rivers, the sucuru--a huge
unpleasant habit Of hauling sleeping G
human from his canoe and crushing
the life out Of him, to swallow then at
leisure on the Shiny bottom OF the
stream.
l personally met by first sucuru. by
the way, in nearly as disastrous a
fashion as this. II was our second
morning on this same ill-omened river.
Attracted by a flaming cluster of
orchids across an inlet in which i was
taking my early morning bath. l de-
termined TO wade across and get them.
WITH a sharp jungle knife ! set
w out-and was promptly assailed
by an enormous shoal Of tiny fish
that bit my legs with teeth like
needles. Distracted by this queer ex-
perience, | failed TO notice a motion
less, dead stick protruding from the
water-until 1t uncoiled in sudden
fury and lasheG itself around me!
Never will I forget the deadly pres
sure of those constructing coils, in
which I struggled with an excess OF
furious strength. Nor will l forget
the sense Of exalted relief when the
knife / so fortunately carried had
hacked the 20-foot monster TO pieces.
Three times ter I met and battled
with the sue .ru, and have brought
home with me three skins, 80 feet in
length.
But my Indian guides had another
reason. besides fear of water snakes,
for spending their nights on shore.
The Chervantes, they told me. have a
trick of swimming silently on their
and mouth above the surface. Thus
they can slip up to an invading canoe
and quickly dispatch its occupants.
Sleeping on the beach, my Indians as
sured me, with their ears TO the
ground, they would be awakened by
the faintest crunching footsteps of an
approaching enemy.
So here | was that night on the
bank of an unmapped river, cut on
L eIr, &c fKAf a N nn
white man. Somewhere up the stream
were the diamond gravels and the
legendary gold mine l had come to
find. Spanish explorers, two centuries
ago. had discovered il first, and had
enslaved the natives to work it.
The natives ultimately rose and mas
sacred their white masters; and they
have harbored by tradition from that
day to this an undying hatred OF all
foreigners. This ever-watchful venge-
fulness has given the river its name;
many an unnamed wanderer has ven
tured up 1t, but none has returned to
tell the tale OF what he saw.
Indeed. just prior to my expedition,
two other diamond seekers, making
their way up the Araguaya, had been
lured to the left bank of that river
the Chervantes' side-by the sight Of
wild honey in tree. Had they landed
on the other shore-the Island OF
Bananal-they might today be safely
washing diamonds at Casanunga.
But, for their foolhardy appetites.
they were rewarded with a shower of
poisoned arrows fired by unseen
marksmen. And their guns and sup
plies passed into the proud possession
of some triumphant tribesman. The
Chervantes. you will see, are not
cordial to strangers.
At that. these victims suffered a
pleasanter end than do those taken
prisoner by the Chervantes. Captives
are first turned over to women to
torture, and then, led by the chief to
a fire, are knocked into it by a war
clubs blow from behind. Their heads
are promptly removed, however, be-
fore becoming too badly scorched, and
are preserved as souvenirs.
THESE are the ingratiating habits
l. of the natives whose unwanted
visitor l was. All this on our friendly
old globe in the year 1924, If you seek
real adventure in an utterly unex-
plored wilderness of amazing extent
where savagery still openly fights the
advance guards of civilization, stick to
your own side of the globe and go
south to the mysterious interior of
Brazil.
I at least had been blessed with ad-
venture even before 1 reached the
camp on the River of Death where
was meditating thus. In July of last
year, coming up from the south