Evening star., 1937-04-05
EXPLORER TELLS
Of WEIRD JUNGLE
Chattering, Creeping Life in
Silent Forests of
Venezuela.

fhe experience and discoveries OF
a. expedition into the PerHd
mountain region OF Venezuela,
,phere savage Indians resist all en-
crodchments OF civilization, are told
here In series OF four articles, OF
nhich this is the second. The
priter, an experienced explorer, IS
professor OF genetics at Syracuse
University.
BY DIR. ERNEST REED.
MARACAIBO, Venezuela, March 8
rbv courier from the Perija Noun
tains) Arising at 3 am, we set out
from Maracaibo an hour later in an
old automobile, which, with its owner,
We had hired for our expedition. Our
reute lay In direction slightly west
Of south and our goal for the day was
the village OF Machiques, a distance
OF but 80 miles. This is at the foot
Of the Perija Mountains in the valleys
Of which live the Indians we were
seeking.
The trail is through forests, jungles
and over plains. The soil is sandy
clay, mostly sand. Many loW-lying
outcrops Of rock are on every hand
The trail Is 80 miles of deep holes,
Suts. rocks, and bridgeleSs streams.
It reminded me of no mans land
In the World War after several artil-
lery bombardments.
We got well under way in the dark
ness Of night and the silent forests
hugged us on both sides. AS the dim
hight Of morning crept over the sky,
the silent forests awoke with chatter
fngs and songs of many kinds OF
birds and the ungles took form in
large trees entwined with vines. The
undergrowth was thick with high,
tangled shrubs, ferns and vines; alb
solutely impenetrable.
Jungle Proves Terrifying.
do not wish to convey the impress
sion that all was beauty, for 1t does
not impress one that way. 1t is wild;
Il is nature under the tropical sun and
rains In vigorous ENHANCEMENT. One
can't escape the feeling that all this
profuSion Of life is all tangled up.
this being due to the great vines that
reach out like the arms of enormous
devil-flsh firmly gripping all things.
It Is not beautiful.
The evergreen or hardwood forests
Of the North are often beautiful, and
not at all like this jungle or profuse
life. There is no forest carpet here;
beneath the trees is the jungle, and,
winding and twisting throughout all,
the vines. 1t is awesome, unapproach
able, impenetrable and perhaps ter
fifying, for one knows Of the snakes,
the spiders, ants, and myriad things
which exist in there In reality and
which become multiplied many times
In the Imagination.
The many varieties of birds along
the trail break the impaling grip Of
the jungle and keep one ever on the
alert to see their peculiar shapes and
sizes and gorgeous colors.
Our car caught af1re under the hood
after several hours Of rough punish
ment. This gave us a short stop
In which to wander about. Though
we had not seen it, we found our
in the River Apon. Here, too, the
overhanding arms of the jungle trees
claimed everything, sand bars. fallen
logs Of huge dimensions and rocks
Uttered the path of the flowing waters.
Birds were everywhere, long-legged
water birds, small sandpipers, red,
black, gray, yellow BIRDS birds OF all
eolors. Parrots shrieked over US In
f1ocks.
Familiar Fungi Found.
On the other side OF the trail I
climbed into the jumbled plant growth
but a few feet. Lizards scooted.
Among some rotten fallen logs found
fungi and was curious to observe the
nature Of these. They were Of the
same genera as those occurring in
Northern forests. In but few minutes
and within small area I found the
sulphur -colored Poiyporus (perhaps
the same as our genus sulphurouS
because OF the COLOR; two other
Polyporus forms OF the feshy, shelf
forming types, and fourth, fiat,
3ungous, undifferentiated in form, no
parts like toadstool, but just a fiat,
flngous mass, exactly like our genus
Poria which one so often sees rotting
the logs of bridges as one canoes
the streams OF the Adirondacks. It
grows mostly on the under, the shady,
side Of the log. Life forms are much
the same everywhere. The way the
forms commingle in communities Of
life varies greatly and minor differ
snces of the species or varieties occur
IN scattered and sometimes widely
separated groups.
The vibrant heat of the tropical
sun increased as the day got UNDER
way. The birds hid away In shady
hooks and we, ever more silently and
hstlessly, bumped on to Machiques,
which we reached at noon.
Machiques is trading post It
ties in a broad plain about 10 miles