Prepared by National Geographic Boclety,
Washington, D. C.—WNU Service,
BRITISH expedition recently
explored a new region—a re-
glon among the treetops of 100
to 200 feet forest giants In
British Guiana,
Here, indeed, was a place worth
every effort to investigate—a rolling,
wind-tossed sea of green extending for
several thousand square miles, and
teeming with a life which was blolog-
ically unknown. Lured by its promise,
a group of men decided to examine an
area of forest on the right bank of the
Essequibo river.
They were equipped with a variety
of climbing apparatus, such as line-
shooting machines and rocket-firing
guns for propelling ropes over high
branches, thousands of feet of cordage
for making hauling constructions, pul
leys for use in block and fron
spikes for building spike ladders, and
wooden scaling ladders capable of ex
tension. Long-range spray pumps were
procured for shooting poisons at in-
sect warriors that in-
vasion of their
The area ideal for a
survey; for it was as nearly primeval
forest as could be found. Here every-
thing was in an unaltered state, with
all the trees in their natural
tions, as they had no doubt existed for
a thousand years or more.
The forest
straight trees,
with broad
like pillars,
roof. The
were of smaller size,
by thousands, all
gling, jostling wit}
thelr efforts to
the tree-roof.
tackles,
would obstruct
homeland.
selected was
associa-
of tall,
monsters,
was composed
Some were
bases
the
majority,
buttressed which,
overhead
however,
owded together
supported
vast
tree examined
was perfectly straight. Hardly one
had a branch until near the
where, at a height of 70 feet,
occurred into a simple fork,
Bush ropes of every degree of thick.
ness spread about In this th
straight poles, Some swung across In
pendent loops. or hung down like loose,
swinging twisted
themselves round the great tree trunks
in strangling,
epiphytes, lichens
the trunks and high branches in trop-
eal profusion. Overhead the tree tops
nade a green and the
vegetation covered the floor
thick, soft mold
Formed a Roof With Windows.
Throughout the were g
ing lghts, bright streaks,
luminous patches, where shafts of
light, breaking through
reflected from the
as from a multi © 4 S11
rors, On
fertility:
prostrate trunks and
mold was equal evidence of death
and decay. The silence, the gloom,
the stillness, the luxuriance were most
fmpressive,
The oval-shaped heads of the trees
came close to other and Inter-
laced their branches, and ereepers and
bush ropes linked
form roof,
a perfect books equa-
torial forests lead one to Im.
gine. In places the tree crowns stood
out somewhat separately, The sky was
by no means completely hidden. Here
and there were windows, skylights in
the canopy, through which the sun-
light streamed lancelike to {lluminate
the “cellar” floor,
From the ground
only passing glimpses
the foliage. Monkeys
through it now and then
birds, such as parrots and
were seen here and there, splashes
of color in its shadows, Smaller song-
sters were evident only by their voices,
for In the difficult to
locate a bird the mass of
foliage, with powerful
glazses, one might see through aA can
opy window a lofty tree covered with
blossoms, about whick fitted bright
butterflies,
The expeditions knowledge of that
zone of life was confined to what a
gun could bring down from it for mu.
geum purposes, Of the intimate lives
of its birds and mammals it Is fair
to say that biologists knew very lit.
tle; and, so far as its smaller fauna
was concerned, its reptiles, insects,
arachnids, and other creatures, the
expedition was almost In complete ig
norance,
It was not difficult to move about
fn this primeval forest, Secondary
growth Is somewhat tangled, but the
primitive bush Is more open and ae.
cessible, There is no need to how
a way though it with an ax. What
checks progress Is usually a fallen
tree-trunk or a pile of roots or an
impassable swamp. Nor does thorny
vegetation cause trouble. There are
some palms with spiny tronks' or
stems, but never such barriers of
prickles as are common in less humid
forests,
canopy,
about
division
“ket of
cordage: others
serpentine coils. Mosses,
and ferns crowded
roof, fallen
with a
carpet of
forest
litter-
and
sun-
spots,
the roof, were
nnderlying foliage
f winded mir
the richest
giv. In the
rotting leaf
every side
and,
was
contrastis
one ar
them together to
a sort of though not such
thateh as on
often
one could eateh
the life In
went crashing
The larger
¢
Of
toticans,
gloom it was
through
Occasionally,
One soon finds how easy it is to get
lost in forest. On account of the
sameness of the vegetation on every
side and the absence of both horizon
and landmarks, it is a problem to re-
cover bearings once one becomes con-
fused.
he
Some Peculiar Trees.
of the great trees are
arresting. There is the stilted tree,
or awasakull, whose roots thrust
themselves above the ground and in-
cline to form a pyramid supporting
on its apex the tall, straight trunk.
Another striking kind Is the fluted
tree, or yururu, with the whole length
of Its trunk marked by deep longitu-
dinal grooves, as if it were composed
of a thick bundle of smaller saplings,
More abu: but the less at-
tractive, mora, the Immense
trunk base 1 Is drawn ont
Some most
none
of into
1o1
HIRE
the witches’ seats of
hi mneys, some of
wing a sinuous course
the ground,
11 varieties
give them
sted with such
Me Can scarce.
» between them and
The
the forest
it arrived,
expedition’s chief trouble In
impness, When
was at its
height, Every day rain fell In torrents:
the
came fron
the wet season
was S80 per cent saturated with
leaf in forest
A step into the bush meant
”
oanked to the skin: and,
every the
once
One had to
starting off
in the sodden clothing of the
As na
never dried
ustomed to
consequence of
and
were
animal
photo-
Much
in a
im.
moisture, boots
of leather soon
a green mold:
specimens rotted:
ates refused to
I dry.
has been
tropical
written of 4
but few writers
that the
dampness,
seomforts
press readers
trouble |
The ex)
¢
real
persistent
weed tios ad. of
ion its
of
share of insect pests, the
chief w the ticks and bhete
These minute creatures, speck.
live
While
ted on
course,
which
ere the
rouge,
ike In size, freely the forest
wandering about,
underneath
ind their way to
The
igible harvest
was much the more annoying of
two, It the skin,
making a re that felt like
an attack of rash. The only
way to deal with 2e tiny creatures
over the whole body care
and pick them off. The
on
vegetation
they wil lew
which fo
the tenderest parts of the skin.
bete rouge, an
clothes,
they #OON
almost inv
mite,
the burrowed Into
irritation
nettle
was to go
fully
penalty g 1
tant duty as a sleepless
scratel
ond
all-impor
night of
Indians Helped the Climbers.
Members of the expedition antiel-
pated difiicalties of many kinds, for
they had been impressed upon them
before they for Guiana, The
trees, they had been warned. were too
tall and straight and branchless for
climbing ; their timber hard
to take climbing irons: thelr crowns
were full of dangerous rotten
branches to afford footing: the foliage,
everything, swarmed with armies
venomous ants; and even If they did
get into the would be
able to see the dense
vegetation, difficulties
that had been for them.
Fortunately they found that they had
been considerably exaggerated.
The first tree they attempted to
climb was one that they had left for
the in the center of their
camp clearing. Confidently they
brought Into action their rocket ap.
paratus and the line-throwing gun. but
both proved virtually useless They
sent their missiles forcibly enough
too forcibly in fact-not only into the
canopy but far above it! It was Im-
possible to aim the rope over the
branch selected and to bring the end
back to earth through the tangle.
The devices of civilization thus fall.
ing them, they engaged the services of
two Arawak Indians, who provided
much more satisfactory help, since
they had been accustomed to elimb
and tap for its milky gum a sort of
rubber tree known as the balata.
By using loops of rope passed around
their bodies and the tree trunks, these
“balata bleeders” could make ascents
in any part of the forest,
They first attacked the camp tree,
climbing it by means of spikes on
thelr leather ‘boots, and carrying a
light line with them up to the first
fork at 75 feet. Meantime a block-and.
tackle apparatus had been got in read.
ness, The upper end of it was made
fast to a suitable branch: to the low.
er end was attached a seat made of
straight pleces of stick eut In the
forest, somewhat after the fashion of
a bo's'n's chulr., Seated on’ this, one
could be haalel to the point of fixa-
tion In the crown of the tree.
sailed
was too
too
canopy, they
very little In
Such were the
predic ted
purpose
AGE FINDS JOY
IN QUIET WAYS
rare as valuable men,
tent with what I can find.” (What
would she have thought of the output
todny?)
of books,
Continuing, Lady Mary writes: “As
Compensation for Passage of |
the Years.
Ever since the days of Cicero's “De
Senectute,” which we labored over in
Junior high, as they eall it now, men
have been fretting about old age, a |
writer in the Indianapolis News com
ments. It is generally considered n |
time of life to be dreaded because of i
the sadness connected with declining
activity, But sometimes the window |
opens upon a new vista, and we fol
low Vida T. Seudder's pages in the
Atlantic with joy because they scem
SO sane, :
Having suddenly found herself ar
rived at Miss |
Scudder is her |
pen for the like |
predicament, regards it as a |
matter of triumph, rather than dis
couragement, to have reached a time
when one may be glad to be left off
of committees like responsibil
ties, and spend the remainder of her
days in the enjoyment of the scenes
of life from
has been
read, not cls
COUrse,
the age of
inspired
benefit
She
seventy,
take up
those In
to
of
and
the shelf to which she
relegated, when may |
igsics or any prescribed
but just what has long been
coveted as desirable or particularly
restful,
Lady
Mary W
ly ha Ii}
1] a
dent
are the tit}
amusemen
tive seenes
dulge wit!
for readis
valuable
Your youngest son is perhaps at
delight, not
ing that it is not a
much
with great ut all regret
gold and
an Arabian
horse, which he would not know how
manage I an idle
one
less wishing it
am reading
and am glad it Is not meta
physics to puzzle my fndgment or his
He for
Iealm
The methods
tory to mislead my opinion,
tities 1
Is strength by exercise;
oblivion,
if he
forget
gth and I
we hoth attain
desirable ends ™ How Lady Mary
his
infirmities,
improves siren
my
very
would have enjoyed a jig-saw puzzle!
The ty old lady of a genera
but gat by the fire
white cap and spectacles, knit
for the whole family. To
stout, wears
plea
tion lately gone,
with
ting socks
stylish
Oxford, In len of the some
and
forth to solve problems of polities or
bridge A
Hoosler friend sent
original verse;
the new
what passee lorgnette, seallies
contract dear
the following
young
me
Wit
SHE COULDN'T FIND IT
Fondly little Ruth's father
mother were watching thelr daughter
rock back and forth ecstatically in
the little black chair they had just
brought home to her.
Proudly the father said: “We got
in that li chair,
a bargain tie all
right I”
Whereupon Ruth proceeded to get
out of the chair, look at it closely,
{ and then to lift a
| and say:
“Where is It, daddy?
any bargain in my
woe-begone face
I can't find
apolis News,
Too Much Democracy
Friend—Don't 3 worry-—tomor
{| row, when you give your speech you
will have all int
you
eiligent men or
glide
Candidate for Parliament
what is worrying me, I would rath-
er have the majority.—Ia Jat.
ter (Berlin),
jut ire
INLige
HH
HIS ANSWER
Two little boys had put away in
the larder over night two small eakes
for consumption the next morning.
When, however, one of them went
the next morning to secure his cake,
he found only there, and that
had a large plece bitten out of ft,
Full of wrath, he went in search of
his brother.
“I say,” he demanded, “I want to
know who took that bite out of my
cake?"
“1 did,” answered his brother.
“What did you do it for?”
“Well, when I tasted it | found §t
your so I the other
| one !"—Chelsen Record,
one
was cake, ate
Good Rearoning
Ned vith his eonsin to
the for milk. They waited
while a cow was milked, got the milk
and returned home,
It was
er took
had gone
WTI FPR
COunLry
Ned's moth-
a very hot day,
the can of milk and said:
¢ 1
is still
warm.”
“Well, mother,” sald Ned, “it Is nc
s X ‘ ii i, "iL I8 no
wonder. The
COWS
were
hot
standing
right out in the boiling sun”
In a Circle
8 your new anti-
3 } (ul?
The Doctor--It is
{ ful that all
£0 BUCCERS
fol
ean treatment,
1 that they re
t treatment and
very
patients have to
i f17 x ¥ # g +11
it up with an antil
low
land t works so we
turn the antifa
then
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7)
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40
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We will test
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Built to equal all
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