NOBEL pens spit HOES Vv ESRB ey THE pA SHRI Xe 2 TUESDAY, MAY 28, 28, 1912. Solomon, a Poisoned Stream, a. Primitive OF{}THE AMAZON.CA 8 | Reon hs | : White Man T. ells cof a Jungle " Wireless" Other Wonders of the- Aborigines. + : OW I came to be living in a maloea) or tribal hut of the Mangeroma Indlaiis, fn the' heart of the Amazon jungle; bas been told in my previous stories. Briefly, after Jerome, the ht last of my. companions, bad perished with the « dover, X had dragged myself on all fours through the "all but impenetrable underbrush, until, when I ver ably believe I could not have advanced a dozen feet 'further, I had been picked up and carried I knew not. whither and cared for daring five days of deliviam and fever. : When consciousness finally returned to me I 41d not -- Copyright, 1911, by the New York Herald Co. All rights reserved) arrows and I my automatic revolver, although I had no great intention of using it. What little ammunition was left I desired to keep for emergency and, besides, 1 reasonéd that 1 might at some future time be able to use the power and noise of the weapon to good ad- vantage if 1 Yet the Indians ignorant of it for the present. We had scarcely gone a mile from the maloca when fully realize where I was. When waking I would lle ' for hours in a sort of bewilderment, wondering whether the dim recollections gf the awful experi. eheos I had been through were realities or merely fever dreams. Then one morning 1 waked with a elear mind and 8 full realization of my plight. There must have been wome trace of the fever left, for my first impulse 'was & strange, unmanageable curiosity as to how many persons were in the great, semicircular hut in which -¥ found mydelf. I immediately began to count them end vesched 2 though 1 may have counted some of them twice. The malocs is an institution munch resembling the Long House of the famous Five, Nations of New York 'Colonial days. Many families inhabited it, each fam- /4ly retainkig a' small space for ts own use. This I /#wtheted from the. way in which groups of mén and women were huddled about a Gozen or more fires, the 'women cooking and the men lying jo hammocks apd eating. ' 1. did not kpow In what manner 1 would be tested a the savages, so for a time I lay there with my eyes Halt closed, trying to get my bearings, Just behind fhe 1 heard what seemed to be a discussion. Two men, ¥ Judged; were conversing in iow, guttural syllables, 'ahd In some way I felf that I was the subject of thelr t4ik. Suddenly, with no sound of motion, a hand was 1413 60 my shoulder, 1 turned over startled and saw the face of Jabe, the Indfan with the blow gun whom 1 had seen In the forest before misfortung had over- token us. My heaft beat wildly and I scarcely dared breathe, 1 was. inthe the hands of the Mangeromas. Their repu- tation was, to say the least, not savory, and it was a in my wind why they bad saved my lite. Al- they lve by themselves and seldom invade an- other's territory, they are more dreaded by the peoples of the Amazon than is the fatal cobra. 1 sickened at ele that they were cannibals. Behind Jahe itood a sleek sided, well fed man Whom, from bis bearing and from the gaudy, splendid 'which vere inserted in the cartilage of his nbse, I took to be the chief. He regarded me coldly, with & stéNd, unblinking expression which I could oot | Toad "f guppose this tableau. lasted for about twenty * gétonds, 'but to tie it seamed. that it had no end. I wanted to spring at bis throat, then to run, then to Wide gain into the fever where at least the borrors $8re not real. Then quietly, without the flicker of a Slates fn bis expression, the chief made a conven- tions) 'sign with his left hand which means "Wel | comer In' the eestacy 'of 'relief which seized me I sprang from the hammock to greet him, but my limbs were weakened by the fever and I tottered into Jahe's arms, I think withont an effort he picked me up and placed we in the hammock. Then the chief, with a look which approached a smile as nearly as abnything 1 ever saw on the face of a Mangeroma, pointed to the hammock in which I lay, to the walls of the maloca, 'and to the: food which the women were preparing, at the same time uttering a sound which resembied * "sfetpeh-als" By this I took it that I was welcome to stay as long as 1 desired. » «he hospitality of my friends 'proved unbounded. Phe chilaf appointed two women to care for me, and 'though they: were not startling in_any point of Seanity, they were as kind as any one could have eens: to me; watching: me when | tried 'to walk and 'supporting: me when I became too weak. There was 4 ~eevtain soup they cooked, which was served In | m/h#it\bread-fmit gourd and was delicious. . Many , of the other dishes they prepared were delicious, , 'but there were others which were nauseating and: which I. bad to force myself tg eat: I soon that It was. impolitic to refuse any dish. no ; capugnant. « Oue day the chief, who t me much of-his lapguage, so i signs and words I could speak fm, had prepared a very special dainty ich be art me to partake. Nona of the was permitted to eat it. At the first mouth. Ainearly choked. Not only did the meat which one gia mgredionts taste and swell as though d "for weeks, but the herbs which sed were so bitter and gave out such a puigent. that my month puckered and the muscles of rétused. to awallow;, 'The chief was en- you. not. iy ABBY" he. asked In the dialect. am alka me," 1, teolfed ax, politely, ot op fathers. and their fathers, he said. "You shall eat Tm sors Ufo the play~ Lend he Bel One." , who rt ne aang In 'Tact, thete would have nt Ate gives lleds vim pe al more brilliant than I had ever seen him wear and wearing a colored girdle or waist cloth, which was his court robe, sat cross legged near the fire In the centre of the maloca. In the reddish light of the fires, dimmed by the smoke, very little of which ever es- caped through the hole which served as a chimney, the scene was weirdly fantastic. On the opposite side of the fire from where the chief sat.lay the body of the hog, aud each side of it stoud the two hunters, straight as saplings, and gazing stolidly ahead. In a semicircle, facing the chief and surrounding the hunters, sat the tribe, squatted on the ground. The chief jr ned. to fog to take a place heside him. The men their stories, each begging the chief in pierre language to remember 'hat he had ever been faithful to the tribe, and assuring bim that the "We Had Not Proceeded Far Up the River When the Canoes Came tc a Stop and Our Opera- tor Béjar to Beat Upon His Instrument." we discovered on the opposite side of a creek, some hundred yards distant, a wild Leg reoting for food. We were on a slight elevatior ourselves apd under cover of the brush. the hog being exposed to view on the next kuoll, Almost simultaneously my two com panions fitted arrows to thelr bowstrings: lustead of shooting In the usual manver they placed the great and second toes of the left foot on the cord, and with their left arms. gave the proper 'tuclination to the bows, which were at the least seven fodt long: With a whirr the poisoned atrows left the: weapims, apd while the cords still twanged satled gracefully sind, describhig a hyberbola, dropped with n speed which made then almost visible, and rlungeit finite the ant mal at each side of his neck a little distance hack of the aut of the skull. i The hog dropped in his tracks, and I doubt if he could have lived even though the arrows had not been * poisoned. his feet together with vegetable careied it to the maloca. All the way the Indians dis- puted as to who was the owner of the carcass. From time to time they put thelr burden on the ground to te and 'argue. 1 thought they would come to : * blows, and when"they appealed to mie 1 declared that hie: arrows' hud descended so raphily that 1 had been unable to follow them with my eye und 'could not tell which 'had found the mark fivst. A few yards from the but my two friends fell to arguiug again, and a the other. My suggestion that the game be divided 'was scoffed at. Such.a hing would have been con sidered In a way mythical. Finally tte dispute grew to such proportions, the relatives of each buliter join- ing in 'the debate, that the chief sent a Messenger lo fearn what was the tronble. x Good One would reward him if he gave a decision favorable to the speaker. When they had finished the chief turned to me, "What would you do, white man?' he asked, J 1 would give half to each," I. replied "Ungh!™ grunted the chief. and there was no doubt that he held poor.epialon of my logic. The Chief's Decision. In a very dignified manner he arose, examined the game very. minutely, then scrutinized each of the dis putants, "The hog Is mine" he said The matter wis ended. There seemed to be no dis position' 16 ramble or to appeal again to the clief's sagacity. The tribe applanded by grunting, At any rate the chief bad shown bo partisanship. My life among the Mangeromas was for the greater part free from adventure, and yet I was more than once withiy an ace of meeting my ond. In fact, 1 think I looked more squarely into the ayes of death in that peaceful little communtty than ever | did In the wilds of the jungles or in my most perilous adden res, 3 i The little creek which ran near the malcta supplied the Indians with water for aff purposes. What wash. fig was done--and that was very little--vas done at a distance down the stream, so 2s not to nufit the water for drinkiug, and whenever I was thirsty 1 was 0 the habit of stooping to the stream or scooping the "Go" - "flukd Up in my curved hands, One morning I had been ramping through the jungle with a party of natives who were in search of foodstuffs. We were tired and hot, and my throat was parched almost beyond en- durance when we came upon a stream which 1 took to be the sams which rau by the maloca. My friends _ were at a little distance from me, beating through he brush. As 1 resched 'ths water's edge 1 stooped to quench my thirst. Dust efits ny lips touched 'the water. the handkedohier bp i i nd nee Co esuie loosened the * rectly in fromt and sin 3 ihe 3 4 Sed the wet end back my Shirt. Then } to 'have carried awdy three or four of théin gins. TH "= I hesitated a second in pleasant anficipation, my lips pursed to welcorze the life giving draught. At that second I was, literally spc-Xing, two inches from a terrible death. Before the first drop had touched my lips there was a cry behind me. I turned slightly and then a rough hand gripped my shoulder and I was flung backward full length on the ground. Angered, I sprang to my feet ond drew the pistol which I always carried. There stood one of my friends with a grin on his face which must have met -a the back of his head. "Ungh," he grunted. "Polson™ "Are you crazy? I demanded, streain we drank of up above?' Then he expltined to me and as he talked my knees wabbied and I turned faint. I had barely missed one "Isn't that the L.A IHAFER, of the most terrible deaths a man can die. It s2ems that the Mangeromas often poison the streams below tueir deinking places in order to get rid of thelr enemies. In the present case it 'had been rumored at the maloca that a party of Peruvians-might be coming up the river and this is always a signal for alarm awong the Indians. Altt>ugh you cannot induce 4 native of Brazil te go into the Indian country the Peruvians a:2 more thar willing to go thers because of the girls. A band of Peruvians, or even two or three alone, Will sneak close to - malo -at nigat, 'force the door, "which 1s always bolted agilist the Eril Ome, hut which can he cut opes; and fire a volley of shots, Into the hut. The Midians sleep W with their blow gaps and hows Suspépded from the rafters and before they have collected thelr sleepy senses #nd pro- cured their weapons the Peruvians in the confusion On this account to Mangeromas hite the Peruvians and will go to any extreme th compass theld death. The poisoning of \he rivers is the favorite method, but this ofien results in injury to thé, muoecent and even to thelr own peeplé, though so delicate is thelr sense of smell that they can usaa Hy detect the olor of the poison if it Is strong e1 yough to kill, Two mouthfuls of the water which { bad attempted to drink, 1 was told, would have resulted in u death of agony before I copld have risen from fhe stream. It seems strange to me that during all. my. stay among the Mangeromas, who were heathens and can- nibals, 1 saw no signs of idolatry. They believed lm- plicitly in a good and an evil spirit. The good spirit seemed merely to exist and was not very active. He took no especial interest in protecting man. or In try- ing to guide him to a good life. He was purely pas. sive. The Evil One, on the other hand, was extremely energetic, and could be heard at nighttime shrieking and howling in his pursuit of those wandering alone in the forest, So thoroughly afraid is the Mangeroma of the Evil One that at night he bolts the only door to the majoea so closely that a mosquito could net crawl in. This keeps the, evil spirit out, bat it very pearly stifles one who is mot accustomed to sleeping in such quarters. The men all sleep In hammocks, while the' women have to content themselves with the pare ground. It is this fear that makes the Indians pave gevand 45 ithe fenthat ten ib dndians vr remains outside fhe Yu after dark, Sud Shef Bave thus no sentries. ew Suiuse sais of my Sisids. BRAT kindled a flame by means of my magnifying glass and a few dry twigs. A group of ten or twelve Indians had gathered, squatting in a circle about me, to see the wonder 1 wes to show them, but at the first sign of the tiny dames they rat howling to the malocs. I stood nonpiussed, the glass in my hand, until the chief emerged from the hut NNIBALS: Now T had no desire to part company with the Jas ment, as it had been too good a friend before, and 1 were again thrown on my own resources I might need it sadly, so thinking to deter him from asking fot it I explained that it was inhabited by a sort of a spirly who, would obey_none but me. Fear of the Evil Spirit. The chief shot me an angry glance and demanded why I brought evil spirits to hurt hi people. Explain as "would, 1 could not make him understand that the Spitit was harmless and could mot act without my. command, At last, in desperation, to appesse him offered to give him the glass, but he grunted in terror and told me that if I should use it again he wonld have nie strangled. It was two days before I was established again in the good graces of the chief. Tt was no easy position I occupied in the family of this despot. Kind as he was, the least thing insulted him, and my life was not worth a snap when he was angered. Besides this, I was entirely well of the fever and anxjous to return to my heme and to civill- sation. One night I explained as tactfully as 1 could to the chief that J was strong enough to march and that [ was desirous of going home to my own chief In to tell him how kind had been my treatment at hands of the Mangeromas. A little to my sur prise, the chief took my suggestion in good part and seamed rather pleased than otherwise. He never, 1 think, quite forgave me for the episode of the mag nifying glass. He was very kindly, however, 1nd told me that if { wenld wait until the next full moon he would take me te a triendly tribe further up the river, whe, in torn.' would see mé well on my way. This meant a Suiay of deveral weeks, but in addition to not wanting to offend my benefactor, I was more than giad of the help he promised. 1 had no desire to repeat my for mer experiences in the forests. AY last the moon was full and the expedition was organized. I was pot absolutely sure of how I would Be treated by the neighboring Indiuns, and T am ale most ashamed to say that despite the faithful, un- AWerving friendship which the Mangeromas had shown me | had it in my mind that they might at- tempt to do me some harm, so black was the name which popular conception had given them. 1 bad until this thoe never used my gun, but hefors we started on our journey I decided to give them an example of its power, hoping to awe them. Inviting thé chief and all the tribe to an exhibition, T explained that with thé litfle weapon 1 could make great thun- der 'and could bpre holes In a tree. The chief ex- amined the pistolngingerly. He had heard of such weapous, he sail, but supposed them to be much larger and heavier. This one, he thought, must be, a baby and he was inclined to doubt its power. Selecting an assal palm of about nine fuches Baws. eter across the brook, [ took steady alm and fired three times. Two of the bullets went through the same hole and the other pierced the trunk of the palm about two Inches higher. The chief himself hurried across the stream and examined the holes. He and some of his men discussed them for about an hour, The empty shells which bad been ejected were picked up by two young girls, who fastened them in thelr ears with coarse wirelike fibres, whereupoy a dozen other women crowded about me, beseeching me to give them more shells. I discharged more than a dozen of my precious cartridges to please these children of the forest, who were as completely slaves of fashion as are their sisters of more civilized lands. Early the next morning we started up the river. In one cance the chief and I sat ou jaguar skins, whils {wo savages paddled, In another were four 'men armed with bows and arrows and blow guns, and a fifth who acted as a "wireless operator." The system of signalling which he employed was by far the most Ingenious device I saw while among the savages, and considering their resources and the state of thelr civilization it was really remarkable, Before the canoes were launched one of the men fastened two upright forked sticks at each side of the fide about the middle. About three and a haif feet astern of these a crossplece was laid on the botiom of the craft. To this were fasténed twe short sticks, forked. Between each pir of upright forken sticks was placed a crosspiece, thus forming two horizontal pare, parallel to each other, one a few inches from the bottom of the boat and the other about a foot and a pove the gunwales, half bb four of bard wood, of different thick. nesses, about three feet long and efght inches wide, are suspénded from these horizontal bars, so as to hang lengthwise of the canoe and Inc [ined at an cngle of forty-five degrees. Hach pair of slabs, though sep- arated by a longitudinal atk, re Jolgy by end pleces ¢ finelr carved and pain Whe are flel or the signal man strikes these slabs with a heavy wooden mallet or hammer, the head of whiéh Is wrapped with an inch layer of caoutchoue and then with tapir skin. Each section of the wooden slabs gives forth a different tone when struck, and as I remember them they were the first four notes in the scdle. By means of all the combinations of these four notes, and by what corresponds to a dot and dash system, the. operator is dble to send any wessage to any person who understands his code. We had not proceeded far up the river when the canoes came to a stop and our operator began to beat upon his instrument. He repeated his message Seve eral times, but, receiving no answer, we proceeded for another mile. Then we stopped and signalled again. Very faintly came a reply. 1 learned afterward that we were at least five miles from the answering station, Our man was asking if we were welcome, the chisf told 'me. 1t was a moment of suspense for me. Per. kaps we would be repulsed, in which case I would be in g worse plight than before. Quivering on the gir chme the answer, ~ Dot, dash, dot, dot, dash, Welcomed by "Wireless." "We are welcome," sald the chief, and my heard pounded with joyousness as the canoes responded to the sinewy backs of the paddiers, Ajiother mile u uy the river and we stopped again, The mau in our ottur canoe was asking how many of our friends were waiting for us. "Two hundred," was the answer, "Are any strangers with you?' asked the man up the river, and the chief read me the question, We replied that there was a white man in our party, "Is he welcome?" asked our chief, Again | was In a perspiration of suspense, and the answer was slow In coming. "He Is welcome If you will vouch for him," thé decision, The chief repifed that I was a great and powerful friend of his, that 1 had lost my people and that I was seekifig help in finding them. After that there were no delays, though the operators kept signalling inces- santly. "Are you armed 7" we were asked, "Does thé cobra travel without his fangs?" was the reply of our chief, o must come no further unless you will leave your arms in the canoes," came to us. "We will do so If you will leave yours in the maloca," re our man. ei wes agreed upon, and sithough I was scary from my pistol, the chief sisted that not break fas with his friends, and I was was hildren and dogs, the ¢ br . fe tastes Hass sre 1 oo oe ] ein Anat ating na. - After the two chiefs had welcomed each' other, § was presented to my new friend. "What is your name?" he asked. " 1 sald, knowing that he Ba Te He asked me tosbow him what I had dose. Twoor St back inte a aa of