davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

suitable location for our camp half a
mile from where we landed. 1t was
lovely spot. from which we could
hear the gulping of the restless
waters and the rumble of large
boulders carried along the bed of the
stream. Juan and Alfredo brought
the canoes down to The lip of the
falls. where our camp was pitched.
, 1t was indeed risky business and
required great skill. Those of us who
remained on shore procured long
ropes and. standing as far out in the
current as possible, threw our lines to
the passing canoes. In this fashion
we hauled them in to the bank, safe
from the swirling whirlpools below
Our arrival at this gorge, named
Paixao by the Roosevelt party, was
an important day for us. This was
to be the acid test Of our endurance
and skill. On it hung the entire
issue of the expedition. What we had
passed through heretofore was child's
play compared with what we now
had to tackle. Upon reaching this
sinister chasm." Col. Roosevelt
wrote:
1.-THE men were growing constant
ly weaker under the endless strain
of exbausting labor. Kermit was
having an attack of fever and Lyra
and Cherrie had touches of dysen-
terry, but all three continued to
work. Our men were dis
heartened. weak and sick. Most OF
them had already begun to have
fever. There were already
two Of the camaradas who were too
weak to help the others. their con-
dition being such as to cause us Sc
rious concern"
1t was at this place that a Roose.
Welt camarada killed one Of his fell
low-men in cold blood. He was a
sergeant called Paixao. In the Bra.
lillian army. 1t is his name that the
rapids now bear.
When we came to make a detailed
survey OF the country 1t looked as If
we were up against a brick wall
The course of the river was flanked
with vertical faces of rock overgrown
with vegetation. Luiz and I spent a
whole day examining the countryside
and surveying possible route over
which to transport our cargoes. For
more than a mile we worked our way
along the narrow lodges on the cliff,
but still the river ran madly over
rocks and boulders at the bottom. 1t
seemed as IL we should never reach
smooth water. After six hours we
had literally squeezed our way out of
the gorge on to some level slopes,
over which we could move with
greater freedom.
HAVE already referred to the evil
dence Of Indian life encountered
during the last, few days; none of the
evidence had appeared to be very re.
cent, but now we came across indica.
tons that were quite fresh--twigs of
jungle plants broken by the hand of
man. Indians travelling through the
forest bend back the stems of plants
to act as sign posts in case they wish
to retrace their steps. The indications
We saw must have been made only a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10
rgna House of Byrd Adds New Achievements Its Record

lies who had found their way into that
wild and desolate region. Writing of
their religion, he said:
For want of men in Holy Orders,
both the Members of the Council and
Justices OF the Peace are empowered
by the laws of that Country to marry
all those who will not take One
another's Word; but for the ceremony
Of Christening their children, they
trust that to chance. If a Parson
came in their way, they will crave a
Cast OF his office, as they call it, else
they are content their Offspring
should remain arrant pagans as them
selves. They count It. among their
greatest advantages that they are not
Priest-ridden, not remembering that
the Clergy is rarely guilty of Bestrid
ing such as have the misfortune to be
poor. One thing may be said Of the
inhabitants of that Province that
they are not troubled with any Reli-
gious Fumes, and have the least
Superstition of any people living.
They do not know Sunday from any
other day, any more than Robinson
Crusoe did, which would give them
great advantage were they given to
be Industrious. But they keep so
many Sabbaths every week, that their
disregard of the Seventh Day has no
manner Of cruelty in it, either to
Servants or Cattle"
Describing some Of the early resi-
dents of North Carolina, in The
Dividing Line" William Byrd paints
a vivid picture of their Incidence:
They make their wives rise out Of
their beds early in the morning, at
the same time that they I've and snore.
till the sun has run one.third Of his
course. and dispersed all the unwhole.
some Damps. Then, after Stretching
and Yawning for half an Hour, they
light their Pipes, and, under the Pro-
lection Of cloud of smoak, venture
out into the open Air; tho, If it hap.
pens to bes never so little cold, they
quickly return shivering into the
Chimney corner. When the Weather
Is mild, they stand leaning with both
their arms upon the corn-field fence,
and gravely consider whether they
had best go and take Small Heat at
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

sources of supply. There was a
certain tree that we tapped for milk
1t was like cream and had pleasa mt
taste. All we had to do was to make
! an incision in the trunk and the lateX
ran freely. AS n substitute for sugar
we raided bees nests for honey. For
tunately we were never short OF some.
| thing TO smoke. although we had no
| longer any cigarette papers. BuSsey
| irreligiously used the pages of a Bible
as a substitute. Doc was less fas-
| tidious and consumed old advertising
sheets or any scraps of paper he
could lay hands on. To follow in the
wake of his canoe was like travelling
behind bonfire.
Col. Roosevelt's narrative abounds
| in reference to things that enabled
me to follow his movements closely.
| He spoke, for instance, Of certain
rock in mid-channel that had almost
wrecked his canoe. He described a
SIN river that had been christened
Rio Kermit" We found the stream.
with the little falls near its mouth
and the Roosevelt camping ground.
OF the Rio Cherrie," another stream
further down. he wrote az follows:
The loads were carried. to the other
side of little river coming in from
the west which Col. Rondon chris
tened Cherrie River. Across this we
went on bridge consisting of huge
tree felled by Macario. one of our best
men,"
We came across this tree in an ex-
cellent state OF preservation. with the
AK marks still visible on the hard
wood stump. Incidentally 1t saved us
the trouble Of making a bridge our
selves. In the latter stages Of the
expedition I noticed that Col. Roose-
velt's powers of observation were less
acute, or II he noted things of promi-
hence he did not write about them.
The ever that gripped him and the
trouble he had with a bruised leg
must have had their effect.
My party was In excellent spirits.
but the men showed signs Of the
strain under which they were work
ing. Spells Of fever and days of indis'
position were becoming common: yet
every one kept on working in a most
praiseworthy manner. There seemed
to be some unseen power holding
them together and goading them on
In imost superhuman effort. The
disaster to Bob's canoe no doubt had
a salutary effect and after all might
have been a blessing in disguise.
A FTER several days of hardship
"A we were once more on the wind
ing river road that leads to. Manaos.
At our last stopping place we had
run across Indian trails. And now,
passing swiftly downstream, we
noted q number Of abandoned Indian
huts in a clearing. 1t seemed highly
probable that we should meet these
denizens Of the forest before long.
On February 81 our three canoes
slid into the upper reaches of a mar
row gorge, going through some swift
passages on the way. AT a nasty
looking curl we pulled up alongside
face OF rock that seemed to over
hang the river. Caution was the
| better part of valor, so we chose a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

In London in 1716, leaving to him the
care Of two little girls.
From that time until 1928 he re-
manned abroad. His daughter Evelyn
was the reigning belle at the court of
st. James and his intimates were
those of the highest nobility. To
crown all this, in 1874 he married
Maria Taylor. an English heiress, and
two years later came back to Vir-
ginia, where he spent the balance OF
his days. He died in 1744, at the age
of 10 years.
William Byrd II was unquestion-
ably the most conspicuous figure OF
colonial days. Not only was he
receiver general Of his majesty's
revenues, but was three times ap-
pointed public agent to the court Of
Great Britain. finally being made
president of the Virginia Council.
Politically he stood supreme; so.
cially he was the arbiter; and intel
lectually. he was gifted far beyond
the majority Of his day. No scholar
could write better English than Will
liam Byrd. as Is proved in his journal.
known as THE Westover Manu-
scripts" He was an ardent agri-
culturist as we'll as keen sportsman
dAAN HO Wdo dB BOOu d pdLLiOt 90 Ao
was courtly cavalier.
The time.stained marble which
marks his resting place under the
| oaks Of Westover tells in messy let
tiers that he was born to one of the
amplest fortunes in the country; that
he made happy proficiency. in polite
and various learning" and for
knowledge. wit, virtue. birth or high
station. and particularly contra cted
most intimate and bosom friendship
with the learned and illustrious
Charles Boyle. Earl Of Orrery."
On the other side Is hewn that he
was called to the bar Of the Middle
Temple, visited the court OF France
and was made a member Of the Royal
Society. Thus" runs the epitaph.
'eminently fitted for the service and
ornament Of his country, he was made
Receiver.General OF his Majesty's
Revenues here. was thrice appointed
Publick Agent to the Court and Minis.
try OF England"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

| few hours previous to our arrival.
| We proceeded with greater caution,
| keeping our eyes open for further
signs We passed by the trunk of a
milk tree from which the latex was
slowly trickling A man must have
passed barely two minutes ahead of us.
| About 400 yards beyond this point
we found the end of the rapids, the
! river subsiding into tranquil reaches
| of black water. We then went back
| to camp. choosing slightly different
route. AS we moved cautiously for
| ward we heard. sounds of running
| through the forest ahead Of us. The
next moment we stumbled over big
! Indian basket half full of forest fruit.
| Alongside OF It were a few ornaments,
evidently discarded in hurry by their
| owner. We touched nothing, but left
| a peace offering In the shape Of a
| large knife, Fastening back to warn
| the others Of possible trouble. We
came across the other men Of our
party not far off, busy widening the
| path. / told them briefly what we had
seen and cautioned them to keep a
! lookout.
Soon after left them there was a
| terrible yell from the forest and from
| dian Jumped out into the open. He
| was stark naked, and held a bow in
one hand and arrows in the other.
Like a huge apeman he beat his chest
| with his clenched hands and shouted.
Without hesitation the boys turned
about to retreat.
The moment they turned other
brown figures leaped from behind
other trees. All were armed and. like
their leader, they beat their chests
and yelled at the top of their lungs.
The situation was critical, and but
for Juan's prompt action tragedy
might have ensued. He shouted back
at the Indians, initiating their sounds
and gestures as best he could. He
then held up his machete so that they
could see its shining blade. He point
ed alternately to 1t and to the bows
and arrows Of the nearest savage, in
dicating that he was open to ex-
change. Slowly he advanced to the
leader, making sundry noises to init
mate that he was friendly. The hula
baloo subsidized, and the chief, plucking
up courage, advanced half a dozen
steps.
In few seconds he was holding the
large knife in his own hands, while
Juan grasped q 5-foot bow with bum
die of arrows. This was a signal for
others to follow suit, and in no time
my party had parted with their valu
able weapons and were the proud
possessors Of innumerable bows and
arrows--as much use to them as a
sick headache.
The Indians went wild with excite
| ment. They swung the machetes
about. slashing right and left at the
trees, and in general behaved like
madmen. Juan followed up his sue
cess with further signs to follow him.
Like general at the head of his
troops he led them back to camp.
where they promptly ran over every
thing and gave us much trouble. 1t
was almost impossible to get rid Of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10
Exploration Of Of Concluded in Spectacular Dash for Bls
CnHu Discoveries rf
. Unte Sa@Se lsofF rePrv Handicap

about. had been soaked in the rain.
Nothing. however. had been stolen.
Apparently the thought Of finding
some of those wonderful knives had
prompted the Indians to open and ram
sack our baggage.
%x
NEXT day we worked like ants
carting things back and forth
over the hills. There still remained a
portage of 300 yards to land our bag
gage at the foot of the rapids. We
! figured on shooting the canoes down
empty and started to make fOotpath
| through the forest We had advanced
barely so yards from camp when we
came to a halt There in the center
of the trail was planted an arrow.
| That is the Indian way Of saying
Stop and when he says stop he
means it.
| Such a turn of events came as a
surprise, and we went back to camp
| to think it over / made another care
| full examination Of the river with our
! head pilot. and as l scanned the rap
/
/ tongues of foam, | wondered which
! was the better Alternatives five-foot
arrow through ones stomach or the
| cold embrace of the hungry waters.
! Juan, confident as ever in the sea
WOrthineSS of our canoes, approved
/ the latter course. The arrow was sure
! death; the river held out some chance
! of safety. / agreed.
| Next morning we passed through
| the angry waters in safety. While
| speeding through the foam we had
| seen the Indians darting in and out
| among the trees. Whether they were
| sorry to have us go or whether there
was some sinister motive hack of their
actions. I cannot say. All 1 know is
| that we were glad to have put s3C
miles of dense forest between our
selves and them before nightfall.
Our troubles We're by no means
over. More and more rapids had tC
| be conquered: more heavy work to be
| dOne-and less food on which to do it
| Several times during the next week
overconfdence resulted in narrow es
| capes. but grave disaster was avoided
| and every day saw us nearer our goal
The river meandered all over tbs
map. 1t swung around in great
| curves. We never knew what trouble
might await us around each bend. anC
| forever there doomed up ahead of Us
! the possibility of delay and the crown
| ing danger Of nothing to eat.
At last we came to a long, Tranquil
stretch of water, and then, to our joy
saw a deserted shack standing on the
west bank. 1t must have been the
| temporary quarters Of some enterpris
! ing rubber gatherer. Soon after We
saw another hut on the eastern shore
and outside. on a line, hung pail
Of pants, tapping in the wind. We
gave one shout and made for shore
That evening Bussey expressed the
sentiments of the party when he sale
| that he had never before been sc
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

the Hough; but generally find reasons
to put it off till another time"
The author had a knack of telling
things, no matter how dry. humor.
ously. Describing a night spent at the
home Of Gov. Spotswood. he wrote:
"-supped about 8, and then pratt.
It'd with the Ladys, TIL twas time for
Travellour to retire We all
kept Snug in our several apartments
til Nine. Having employ'd about 2
hours in Retirement, Sally'd out at
the first Summons to reakfast,
where our conversation with the
Ladys. like Whip Sillabub. was very
pretty. but had nothing in It,"
William Byrd's treatment Of his
favorite child. Evelyn, even yet is
held up as the one great bit Of con-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10


again OF the House of Byrd.
An admixture of adventure
and scholarly sagacity seems
to be in the blood Of these VirginianS.
inherited through eight generations.
That spirit which carried William
Byrd II on explorations over land and
sea in the early eighteenth century
today finds its counterpart in Comdr.
Richard Evelyn Byrd's flights in
quest of scientific knowledge.
Those qualities which won for his
ancestor appointment from King
George II as receiver general OF his
ma iesty's revenues in the colonies re-
appear in Gov. Harry Flood Byrd
brother OF the air navigator, who
occupies the executive mansion at
Richmond.
Thomas Boiling Byrd, orchardist,
Youngest brother OF Dick and Harry,
also follows in the footsteps OF his
forbear, whose reputation as an 1gri-
culturist was widespread.
While these brothers are totally
unlike in the character OF their Serv-
ice and aspirations, Virginians see in
them the second emergence Of the
Byrds 10 fame.
William Byrd I, founder Of the
house in America. who was most
astute man OF AFFAIRS, came 10 Vlr-
ginia in 1874, and his son. the second
william. born the same year, proved
one of the best-rounded. most brilliant
personages Of colonial times. He was
called William Byrd II. and the name
Of the father always was dimmed in
contrast to that of his famous son.
So II is with the Byrds of today.
Their father, Richard Evelyn Byrd,
sr., was a Virginia lawyer and states
man, the son Of Col. William Byrd,
Confederate soldier and adjutant
general of Texas. a grandson of VIII
liam Byrd III. Richard Evelyn Byrd.
sr., did not live, by a few months, to
see his sons, Tom. Dick and Harry,
reach the pinnacle OF their fame.
OF all the Byrds, William II is the
best known. He had an aristocratic
xoNnect4on IN EnGlaaA, where he was
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

educated. In accordance with the
times, he pursued a gay life in Lon
don. He seems to have been g. well
come guest at the pleasure-loving
court ruled by George II.
However. when his father died, In
1904, he returned to Virginia and took
possession of the plantation Of West
over, on the James River, where he
laid the foundation Of one Of the great
'est fortunes in the colony.
From the first William Byrd he
inherited 1921 acres Of land, with
ample means to maintain 1t, and
when, in I706. he married Lucy Parke.
daughter OF the Governor of the
Leeward Isles, a goodly sum was
added to his possessions.
William Byrd's first sorrow came in
the death OF his wife. wh!ch occurred
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10
Gan photographs by Wide World Photos J

domination against him. That he
than that he was intensely proud of
her, and yet, for some reason, he
withheld from her the one great hap
piness she craved, forcing upon her
a broken heart and an early grave.
Evelyn was born in 1908 at West
over, and though other children came
TO him, it was always this beautiful
daughter who held first place in his
heart. When she was 8 years old
her father had her taken to London.
After as good a schooling as could be
gained in Europe, Evelyn Byrd, at 16,
made her initial bow before George II,
and became the toast Of two worlds.
There is more than one story of the
love affair that brought so soon to a
close the life of Evelyn Byrd. The
most probable version of all seems
that in which Charles Mordaunt.
grandson and heir Of the Earl Of
Peterborough, figures. Mordaunt was
noble, manly, handsome; Evelyn Byrd
was aristOcratic, wealthy, beautiful
and had drawn the eyes Of the world
toward her. In the match the smart
world. with one exception. seems to
have seen perfection. That exception
was William Byrd II.
Though William Byrd and Lord
Peterborough had been stanch
friends, something came TO pass which
changed them into the bitterest ene-
mics; some say it was cards. others
religion, and again a darker reason Is
limited. Be that as it may, William
Byrd refused to sanction the love
affair, and, regardless of the triumphs
she was leaving, brought his daughter
back to Westoyer to die Of a broken
heart.
In the garden at Westover tho
lovely Evelyn found a grave in which
to rest forever. She died November
Is, 1897.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

The Rio Roosevelt is no longer
the River of Doubt. but river of
fact" The following article COM
pletes the story Of the expedition
that followed the course of Roose-
welt and Rondon down the treach-
erous Brazilian stream that cuts
thousand mile path through the
steaming jungle. 1t was a ragged
group Of men that emerged at
Manaos with memories of periious
rapids, strange Indians, feEer,
armies of insects and the satisfac-
ton Of having accomplished re-
markahle journey without a single
CASUALTY
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

of the rope, under the surface OF the
rushing water, was our canvas boat.
We hauled on the line but could not
bulge it, We stood in the water up TO
our armpitS pushing and pulling, but
without effect. There was nothing to
do hut take the whole thing to bits.
We knew every bolt and rib by heart
and SO. piece by piece, we dismantled
it and transferred the parts to the
other canoe. The keel was broken
into splintors and two ribs were miss
ing. otherwise everything was res.
cued. Within three hours the wreck
age had been safely piled up on the
bank a quarter of a mile away and
we were Fastening downriver to look
for the rest Of our party.
On landing them l learned that
the prompt action of Bussey and
Doc had saved a good portion Of
my photographs. Four out of six
of the fiber cases had beeu picked
up. also camp bed and a few
other odds and ends az they We're
floating past their canoe. Our heavy
handle of tobacco. in its waterproof
bag. was also rescued.
| think we all felt a trife detected
that night after the wrecks Every
VIZ ip9i va Ilfiitti t't anu
there was some doubt as to how we
could continue with only two canoes
at our disposal. The prospect of
spending n week making a dugOut
was not attractive. We camped for
a night which proved TO be a perfect
nightmare, creeping hordes Of ants
thrOnging our encampment and max
ing sleep or rest impossible. AT dawn
we went back TO the wreCkage and
toiled all day with our rough tools.
By nightfall the wreckage Of the cam
vas craft had been transformed into
d serviceable boat.
Having spent most of the two weeks
past in rain. our clothing was begin
ming to disintegrate. Nothing would
dry out thoroughly in the forest
shade. Also, our numerous passages
through the jungle had torn our
clothes 10 shredS and what had not
suffered from thorns had been chewed
by ants. We presented 4 most dis.
reputable appearance. our rags held
together with safety pins, and in this
ventilated condition we were an easy
mark for singing and biting insects.
Dressing in the morning was deli
cate operation, for it was easy to
put arms or legs through the wrong
holes.
X X x
IT is always a problem to know
what to discard on a trip of this
kind. A good deal of excess ma
terial has to be thrown away in
emergencies to tighten loads. In our
case the misfortune that befell Bob
Young's canoe made an involuntary
cut in our baggage, especially in edible
stores. Our large tin of beans had
been lost, our emergency dehydrated
foods had gone; most of the coffee had
shared the same fate as had every
ounce of sugar. An occa sional fish or
a stray monkey shot near camp
helped to replenish our larder. but
we could not always depend on such
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

Time is the surest Judge of truth.
/ am not vain enough think 1
have left no faults in this. which
that touchstone will not discover, says
Dryden.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

A little kingdom was left behind
as result Of his accumulations, for
his estate had grown to about 180, 900
acres. crowned with one Of the richest
mansions In America.
One historian said, He left behind
him net only the reputation Of q good
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10

citizen but that OF the great Virginia
wit and author OF the century"
When William Byrd was travelling
with the first surveyors of the great
Dismal Swamp OF Virginia his atten.
ton was attracted by the manners
and customs Of the struggling fami-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-10
BY ALLYN b. TUNIs.

" HERE is something to stir the
imagination in the Towering
again OF the House of Byrd.
Il An admixture of adventure