Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 November 1883 — A TRIP ON THE AMAZON. [ARTICLE]

A TRIP ON THE AMAZON.

It was in the month of April—-one of the hottest months of an unusually hot season—when I set out with my friends Dixon and Wilburg, on a trip down‘one of the' wild South American rivers—the Amazon. . Some natives, who were to accompany us on our trip, procured a boat that would carry us all, with our guns, ammunition, provisions, and a few kitchen utensils, that we might stop occasionally on the shore, and cook our meals, _._L : The vast jnngle of almost impenetrable forest, as it may justly be termed, was, at the time of which I write, the haunt of numerous wild beasts, and among these many huge tigers, which, from their immense strength and ferocity, proved themselves, in several encounters, such dangerous antagonists that few Europeans cared to attack them. It was a beautiful morning, for this torrid country, when we started on our journey, all of us in high glee, and our Indian guides making a dreadful noise with their voices, which we afterward learned was the music of these uncouth natives. Our adventures on the river trip were too numerous to mention. But an adventure, moredhrilling than all the i others, I must speak of here. One day we had traveled rather late into the night, without seeing a suitable place to land, when, about 10 o'clock p. m., I discovered through the gloom the faint outlineof what appeared to be an island. We used our hands vigorously as paddles, and succeeded in throwing the boat near enough to land to get hold of the shallow bottom, when I jumped into the water and hauled it upon lapd. The island proved to be quite a large one, and having secured the boat, we proceeded to examine our new territory. It was further above the water than most of its fellows, and had a few trees and an abundance of shrubs growing upon it. r—“lf there is any dry stuff here we. might have a fire,” said Dixon. “Your matches are wet.” - “No; I have them in a tin box, and I guess they will go.” “If you think so, we can easily find something dry enough to burn. There is plenty of drift-wood on the island.” 1 took a stick and whittled it down till I came to the middle, and soon had .a little pile of Yankee tinder for»Dixon and the rest to experiment upon. We tried his matches, and, after several vain attempts to light one, at last succeeded, and my whitflings were soon in a bright blaze. There was. plenty of fuel, and we did not apply any economy to the use of it. In less' than half an hour we had a brilliant fire blazing on the summit of the island, which illnmiButed the river forwgreatdlstiince. There was an abundance of long, coarse grass growing on the island, and a few moments were sufficient to enable us to gather a large pile of it, which we dried and disposed before the fire for a bed. Burying ourselves in the heap, we were soon stepping out of the region <of consciousness; but our devoting to the sleepy god were disturijed by an aoeident. I was almost gone, when Dixon suddenly jumped up and shouted to the rest to follow his example. Of course we obeyed, and discovered that we had made our bed a little too near the devouring element. The dry grass was in a blaze, and with considerable difficulty we saved the mass of it from destruction. We all laughed at the accident, and, having gathered more grass, and made a better disposition of it than before, we onee more retired to our couch. The fire had been carefully replenished, and we soon dropped off. I had do means of measuring time, but we did not sleep till morning. I was awakened by a noise near me, and started to my feet. The fire was still burning brightly, which showed that I had not slept long. By its light I discovered a huge alligator on the ground Dear us. He was headed toward the fire, and was evidently astonished at the novel aspect of things on his old homestead. I roused my companions, for alligators on the Amazon are not the harmless things they are on the much frequented rivers of the United States. Thev are regular rascals, and will bite off a man’s leg as quick as a ground shark. When the monster saw us he looked savage, and made toward us. It was a pleasant situation, let me inform my readers. We were unarmed, our guns being in the boat, though that did not

make much difference. But “where there is a will there is a way,’* and, most emphatically, we had a will. The way suggested itself to me, and I seized onb of the logs which we had piled the fire, one end of which was a living mass of fire. Dixon and Willburg imitated my example, and thus armed, we moved toward the “varmint.” The rascal quickened his pace, and as he approached us, he opened his tYemendous mouth wide enough to "have taken in one of us. He did not take either of us in, but, indeed, took the w’armest dose of medicine that ever passed his jaw. It would have been horribly cruel, had not the act been done in self-defense; but when he opened his mouth I jammed the log, which was about six inches in diameter, down his throat. Such a roar as followed the assault I never heard! The alligator barked, spit, rolled over and over, kicked, scratched, and bit the ground. lu his mad struggles, he rolled down into the water and disappeared. We heard the water boil around, as he raged in his agony, but we saw no more of him. After this adventure we decided that it was not safe to sleep unguarded, and we compromised by taking turns. After I had watched about two hours by our camp-fire, I called up Dixon, who took my place, and I buried myself in the bed of dried grass before the blazing logs. I was so completely exhausted that I dropped asleep like a tired, wornout child. This time I had my nap out, for, when I waked, the sun was just rising, and one of the half-sleepy natives was on watch. Dixon was quite sound asleep in the grass, and Willburg was snoring like a torrent by the half-smol-dering fire. I got some wood and replenished our fire, so as to be in readiness for breakfast, and having nothing else to do I took a walk to explore the island. Passing round the beach on the current side of the island, I had nearly reached thejower extremity, when my attention was attracted by a splashing noise in the water not far from me. Advancing a few steps further, with a thrill of terror, I discovered a large tiger lying upon the beach. He was an ugly-looking beast, and my first instinct was to clear out, and not attempt a closer intimacy. He kept his tail flying up and down, slapping the surface of the water, and my curiosity, rather than my devotion to the science of Natural History, prompted me to ascertain the cause of this operation. The tigar was watching his tail with an interest that meant something, as he flapped it on the water. I stood very still, for I nad no wish for an introduction to his savage monarch of the South American forest. Suddenly the tiger made a spring, and to my astonishment I saw him catch in his claws a good-sized fish, which he instantly devoured. Then I understood his object. He had come out to the island on a fishing excursion to procure his morning meal. The motion of his tail somehow attracted th’e fish, and they were lured by it to the surface of the water, where they readily became the prey of the sharp-clawed fisher. It was a novel way to catch the finny inhabitants of the river, but I aft rward learned from the Indians that it was not uncommon to see tigers engaged in this sport. I had seen enough, and would have been quite content to return from the scene of operations. But this, it seemed, I was not to be peacefully permitted to do, for as I turned to leave, the monster discovered me, and made a bound toward the place where I stood. I had learned that wild beasts, though savage and untamable, are natural cowards. I therefore, with a self-possession at which I was myself surprised, stood my ground, and tried to stare the majestic creature out of countenance. He fixed his‘glaring eyes upon me, and uttered a low, prolonged growl. If I had had a rifle with me, I doubt whether I should have had the courage to fire at him, for these animals, when wounded, are perfect demons of ferocity. But I had no weapon more potent than a jack-knife, and all I could do was to stand my ground. The tiger evidently overestimated my prowess,for though he continued to face me, he did not attempt to spring on me, as I was fearful he would. I knew if I turned he would spring upon me, and that would be the end of me. There was scarcely an alternative left for me, and I had almost made up my mind ixflHr torn : there is life there is hope, though my hopes seemed very indefinite. I kept retreating slowly, a short step at a time, still facing my savage foe, and he as steadily crept upon me. I cannot undertake to tell how long it took me to come up with the fire, for in that terrible suspense every moment seemed an hour; but, at last, I reached the fire, where Dixon and Willburg were still snoring, unconscious of danger. To my surprise, the natives had retired to the boat, and were lying snugly under cover in the stern, sound asleep. I called Dixon and Willburg by name, but then did not hear. I called several times before I could bring either of them to* their senses, when Willburg, at last, awoke, looking round in astonishment, as I rushed to the boat for a rifle. “What’s the matter?” asked Willburg. “Don’t you see that tiger?” I asked from the boat as I seized my gun. “He has had his eye upon me for an hour!” His cheek blanched as he looked at the ferocious beast, now crouching near the sleeping form of Dixon, his tail vibrating in an ugly way. Willbnrg was not a man to run, whatever the danger. He looked at the tiger and then at me. “Keep silent, when I shoot, for God’s sake !”T cried, taking aim at the, ferocious beast. I fired, and the shot seemed to take effect, though not fatally; for the tiger raised himself, as if for a spring. The explosion of the gun awoke Dixon, who lifted his head, and stared around in wonder. “For heavens sake, Dixon, lie still!” cried Willburg. “Don’t yon see that tiger at your back ?” . (( The warning was sufficient for the uriterrified Dixon, who did as he was prompted, and sank quietly back to his

former position, apparently unnoticed by the tiger, who was glaring at me with the gun in my hand. “What is to be done now ? ” said Dixon, bravely, / “I will tell you what is not to be done,” said I; “don’t show him your face, or he’H pounce upon you.” “How will the fire-brands work?” ask Willburg. . “If be is burned he will be furious.” “I am going to have one at any rate.” « , “Don’t use it, only as a last resort,” said Dixon; “and get one for me.” And, quick as lightning, Dixon leaped to his feet, and rushed for the fire. Willburg handed him a fire-brand, and exclaimed: “Let us to the boat. If we can get , into it we will stand a better chance.” The two men waved their fire-brands, and kept their eyes in the face of the monster, who seemed to be intimidated by their lively inanceuvering, and, strange as it may seem, did not leap upon them. Slowly and cautiously they backed down to the boat, and we pushed it off with our feet. The Indians in the stern snored as if they had not slept for years, and were not awakened Ijy all this confusion. “Kick those infernal rascals, Willburg,” said I, “and rouse them to a sense of their danger!” S. At this time the tiger gave a growl, and made a tremendous spring. — Dixon handed me a fire-brand, and just as th® tiger’s nose reached the bow, and his feet splashed at .the bow of the boat, I punched him in the face with the burning stick I held in my hand, and I am free to say that it was the foolishest thing I ever did in my life. His nose was severely burned; but, so far as disabling or intimidating him, it roused in him a degree of ferocity which greatly dimished the chances of our escape. “Look out,” shouted Dixon. ft He will upset the boat.” “Youmust keep her right side up; but hold on to the fire-brand. ” The tiger, repelled for a moment by the fire, immediately advanced to the assault. When he had come within a few feet of the boat he made a desperate spring, and fastened his paws upon 'the gunwale, struggling to throw himself into the boat. The crisis had come, and I again thrust the fire-brand into his face, and belabored him over the head with the stick. • But he held on with a tenacity that threatened dur destruction. Dixon, excited by the terrible fray, rose from his position in the bottom of the boat, for the purpose of coming to my assistance. V “Sit down, Dixon! More aft! We shall be swamped if you stir!” I roared, in tones that caused him instantly to obey. Seizing the brand he held, I applied it vigorously to the eyes and mouth of the beast, and then pounded him on the head till my strength was gone. But the tiger, exhausted by his strugglesand the maddening pain of the fire in his mouth and eyes, released his grasp and fell over backward into the water. The savage animal was hardly in a worse condition than I was, for w’hen he let go, I threw myself down in the bottom of the boat, unable longer to support even my own weight. Willburg sprang forward and took my place, but there was no longer any need of a defense, for the tiger was making the water boil with his tremendous struggles; it was evident that the fire had done its work upon his eyes, and that he could no longer see us. “Are you hurt?” demanded Dixon, when satisfied the tiger could not again attack us.” “We are now safe.” “Keep your eyes on the tiger,” I gasped. “There is no danger; he is settling up his accounts. The boat is drifting away from him, and we are out of his reach.” The knowledge that we were safe revived me, and in a few minutes I had in a great measure recovered from the effects of the struggle. We watched with interest the fearful spasms of our late foe, which grew fainter and fainter, and at last ceased. “He is dead,” said Dixon. “Died hard, too. I pounded him hard enough to have killed a horse.” ’ “He didn’t die of your pounding. It was the fire that did the work. The pain of his eyes caused those struggles, and he was drowned.” “We are rid of him, at any rate.” Just then the natives opened their eyes, and rubbed ttiein, yawning, as if they had not been on the verge of death. • “Shall we throw them overboard?” “No—no —let them alone,” said I. “The infernal sleepy rascals deserve a ducking, however; and if we could navigate this country without them, I should favor chucking a them overboard at once!”