Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-16

THE directors attention was distracted from
the motor boat for couple OF hours while
Schwartz busted himself with more than his
usual speed. He raided the over-heated wine
cellar and brought forth very considerable
quantity Of the company's excellent absinthe
This he unhesitatingly poured into the gasoline
tank Of the boat, and then sat down to play
with the carburetor until he could get that i'm
portant mechanism to mix exactly the proper
proportion Of air with the absinthe. The task
was not simple, but Schwartz kept at 1t and
finally, to the delight Of the manager the
sound Of the engines exhaust began to punc-
tiate the silence Of that jungle station.
I. in canoe padded BY some poems, put in
my appearance at the station just as Schwartz
together with the director and the manager,
DISAPPEARED upstream, and at the time I won
dered why it was that the exhaust Of that boat
should consist OF q CLOUD Of green smoke that
was redOlent Of anise seed.
It was only after the director had left that
] learned the answer, and then Schwartz adj
mitted that that half-hour boat trip up the
Javary had been taken on $45 worth of the
company's best ahsinthe.
The ridiculous extravaganza, however lasted
In that region for only about two years. Then
the bubble burst. and most Of those who had
been so plutocratic along the Javary worked
their passages to wherever they had originated,
as hremen or wood paSserS on the river steam
erS, were carried back as repatriated paupers
or slid once more into their former mode of life
while the victrolas and the pianolaS weathered
and fell to pieces during the succeeding rainy
seasons, or were dumped on refuse piles when
their internal mechanisms gave way before the
insidious attacks of rust and decay
But before that time came found it neces-
sary to take q patient to Manaos, there to put
him on o ship for Europe in order that his
convalescence might be successful. And while
was idling about ManacS, waiting for an up-
steamer. had
successfully for 10 years. seized me- and when
had managed, by great good fortune, to rid
myself Of the worst of it, l. too decided to con-
valesce away from the Amazon Valley. Thus
it was that early in 1911 landed at Bridge
town. Barbados, there to idle about until once
more felt strong enough to continue my still
unsuccessful search after the fortune that
found 1t so easy to elude me-
While had been in the Putumayo, I had
thought more than a little about the horrors Of
that place. but once had left the district I
managed, with fair degree of success, to dis
miss the whole matter from my mind. I had
no responsibilities so thought-calling upon
me TO aid the poor devils of natives who Suf-
fered beneath q yoke so terrible that ones
imagination cannot supply even the lighter de-
tails. But now that I was In Barbados, with
nothing to do and with no responsibility save
that Of recuperating from my attack Of yellow
fever, stumbled upon the one man in all the
world who had set himself the task of aiding
the unfortunate Weetoto Indians to escape
from the abominable overlordship of the PERU
Wan employees of q British rubber-collecting
company, Sir Roger Easement was the man.
It seems strange that that generous, honest,
high-principled person should have died the
death Of o traitor during the World War. That
he was slightly unbalanced fully believe, but
I am certain that he was IS sincere and as
honest as any man who ever breathed. There
b no doubt, OF course. as to his attempts 10