Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-09

4
| for construction of proposed British
| cruisers were proceeding.
lated about white Indians in these
| parts.
We would not wait for the Wicurus
| to think matters over.
Come with U.S." we said, as we be-
gan pushing away from the shore ano
| reckoning them to. follow. Let the
| chiefs come in their canoes. They VIII
receive knives and axes at our en-
=, campment"
The gap gradually widened and be-
| fore a counter protest could be raised
| the swift current had carried us out OF
! range. Some shouts were heard, but II
was too late for them to act had they
| had any evil design. The AnauquaS
and Kalapalos needed no urging. We
went flying off down stream as fast as
paddles could drive us, while thai
| swarm of brown human bees buzzed
disappointedly on the shore.
The Wicurus made full use of such
canoes as they had. We camped at
o'clock, but before darkness settled oul
numbers were swollen by the arrival OF
/ l8 of their tribeSmen. Competition fol
presents was now getting strong. The
| representatives of three different tribes
were with us, totaling 80 in all. How
| they Jared remains to be seen.
| We had a mere handful OF farinha
| for supper. There were no Succulent
| morsels of fish, for we had been too &C.
cupied during the day to do any fish,
ing. To bed therefore we went, and
what night Thunder rolled across
| the face of the sky and cold wind blew
Sleep was impossible. Twenty indians
| hung around us In their hammocks
like so many spiders. That alone
| would have prevented our taking much
rest Then it rained!
While it was yet dark we crept of
down the river. My canoe, leaking
worse than ever, required constant at
tention Again I asked Aloique about
our projected trip together. He seemed
positive that he could lead me to the
spot of the Fawcett murder in four
days time.
I told him that ! would take COM
panion with me. He informed me that
Rapatzi would also go with us, max
ing four In all. I was quite agreeable
and felt extremely satisfied to think
all was going so well.
Always There.
Throughout the day the little Wicurll
canoes logged our footsteps. Like five
shallow sources of black wickedness
they kept at uniform distance of 500
yards. Whenever looked around they
were always there at the same distance.
could see that If we collected many
more Indians on the way we would
soon land ourselves in q barrel of
trouble. So far we had managed to
maintain moral ascendancy over
these wild people. How long was 1t
going to last
Our progress was rapid. There was
no more lettering. Everyone was anx-
ious to arrive wherever our camp was.
We were not positive that we would find
any camp at all, and it looked uncom-
monty likely, for when we reached the
! confluence of the Kuluseu not a sign
OF our men was to be seen. We were
debating what to do when the ssund of
some one chopping wood echoed
through the evening air.
We followed a side chanel in the d.
rection from which the sound came and
there, sure enough, was one of our tents
pitched in the center of an expansive
sandbar, and Jack Whitehead, axe in
hand, was splitting wood for the eve
ming fires.
We fired a few shots, the signal
agreed upon to announce our arrival.
and then pulled for the shore.
The main body of the expedition had
travelled slowly. having taken five DAYS
to reach their objective. They had had
their experiences also. Indians had
Hooked down to meet them with OUT
stretched hands, but. wisely, my men
mad remained in their canoes and had
| only given a few insignificant gifts,
such as fish hooks, to the more impor-
tant-looking men.
A trail of fortune seekers had fol-
lowed them and their numbers were in
creasing daily. It seemed evident that
this sandbar was the gathering place
for all the tribes In the neighborhood.
Joao Climaco did not like the situa-
ton even for camping site. He babe
| the Baikari Indians cross to the oppo-
site shore and there among the trees
make a real camp fit to live in. He
went and so did all the Indians. Know
ing his dislike for their company, we
could not refrain from smiling.
The insect pest is not as bad in the
forest as it is on the open stretches of
sand for which reason the Indians pre-
fer the jungle for sleeping. We, on the
other hand, preferred the insects to the
Indians and were glad to be rid of the
latter's company during the night. Oui
camp had been well selected and its
strategic position proved our ultimate
salvation
| Copyright 1929 by North American
| Newspaper Alliance)