Across the Andes . d andthe Indians shuffled and grinned as these cal-loused dities quavered through the I would stay, I was promised all kinds ofhunting—jaguar, tapir, monkey, wild hog, bigsnakes, and, as an additional lure, only half adays march back from the river a brush with thesavages! The palm roof of these men was thelast that I was to sleep under for many days. Before dawn the next morning the little camp- OFF ACROSS THE CONTINENT 319 fires of the crew sprang up along the bank; theTacanas shivered in the soft, cool morning air asthough it were a biting blast, and then, wit
Across the Andes . d andthe Indians shuffled and grinned as these cal-loused dities quavered through the I would stay, I was promised all kinds ofhunting—jaguar, tapir, monkey, wild hog, bigsnakes, and, as an additional lure, only half adays march back from the river a brush with thesavages! The palm roof of these men was thelast that I was to sleep under for many days. Before dawn the next morning the little camp- OFF ACROSS THE CONTINENT 319 fires of the crew sprang up along the bank; theTacanas shivered in the soft, cool morning air asthough it were a biting blast, and then, with thefirst rays of the rising sun, we waded aboardonce more and were off. Well into the fore-noon the Tacanas suddenly stopped paddling. Capibarra, patron I they whispered the bank, not forty yards away, stood thecapibarra, an amphibious, overgrown, long-leg-ged guinea-pig sort of creature, which blinkedat us with startled eyes. From the steady plat-form of the drifting canoe I fired, and missed. m.^. NEVER WAS SUCH AN EXHIBITION IN THE HISTORY OF FIREARMS. 320 ACROSS THE ANDES The second shot also missed. In brief, I emp-tied the magazine while the capibarra dartedabout in a panic, attempting to climb the steepbank. The bullets spurted dirt above, behind,below, and before him. The ninth shot at last laid him out was there such an exhibition in the his-tory of firearms. The crew in the meantime hadunlimbered their shotguns and arrows, and werealso pouring in a heavy fire, and with equally un-successful results; it sounded like a fair-sizedskirmish. At noon, when we tied up to thebank, the crew quietly departed into the junglefor game while I was busy; they would take nofurther chances with the larder with me along. Why did you not tell me? I spoke sternlyto the crew chief, but he only shuffled uneasilyon his huge bare feet; it was later that I learnedit was believed that my eye-glasses were the evilinfluence that made my rifle useless. CHAPTER XXIV THR
Size: 1850px × 1350px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1912
