Evening Star Newspaper, January 29, 1929, Page 16

TRAIL OF FAWCETT PURPOSELY HIDDEN Expedition Finds Explorer Gave Out Misleading Information. Comdr. Dyott tells in the third of his articles the story of the search jor Col. Fawcett, missing explorer; of his party’s trek across the Matto Grosso of Brazil and the country visited by the hostile Gayapo In- dians. BY G. M. DYOPT. Col. Fawcett left Baikari on May 21, | 1925, and nine days later sent back letters from a place he called Dead | Horse Camp. This was the last au- thentic news from him, but it did not help us much because no one knew | where Dead Horse Camp was. When writing to the Royal Geo- graphical Society he had disclosed his plans to the extent of saying that on leaving Baikari he would strike north to the Paranatinga River, and at a given point turn east toward the Xingu. When we came to follow along his trail we found it turned off to the northeast and took an entirely different direction. By a stroke of good luck we fell in with a Baikari Indian called | Bernadino, who had accompanied Faw- | cett. He steered us across country to " on | The radio station at Baikari Post, the last outpost of civilization. a stream known as the Kuluseu, down it dhe il et which the Fawcett party had sailed | THE EVENING William De Mello, the Dyott expedition operator, Jack Martin, assistant, standing. STAR, WASHINGTON, in two canoes. This saved us a world | of trouble and enabled us to get on the scent without much loss of time. There are no regular trails of any sort in this region. only those made by wandering tapir or Indian paths that criss-crossed the open chapada in rather a confusing manner. It was obvious from the start that Fawcett had not only taken no one into his confidence, but had intentionally given out information calculated to mislead any one who tried to follow. He had good reasons for thinking others might try to do this. Followed by Prospector. In one of his early trips a French prospector had trailed him in for some considerable distance, and as surely as Fawcett broke camp in the morning the prospector would be there by nightfall pitching his tent and waiting for the next move. ‘We came near to having a similar experience. When we were in Corumba a German clamored persistently for us to take him. He followed us.to Cuyaba and there again tried to force himself upon us. When we finally started he told every one that it was his intention to follow close behind us and take ad- vantage of our presence to insure his own safety in the district. ‘The lack of authentic information upon which to work and the difficulties Wwe were up against can be gathered by quoting from a letter Fawcett wrote on March 14, 1925. It ran in part as fol- lows: “I am not giving you any closer in- formation as to locality because I do not want to encourage any tragedy for an expedition inspired to follow our footsteps under the impression that it is an easy matter. * * * It must be un- derstood that it is on the face of it & highly dangerous undertaking. * * * For the present no one else can venture- it without encountering certain catas- trophe.” Desolate Country. ‘The country into which we were pro- ceeding with such light hearts was va- cant beyond belief. It is open, hard and rocky. Nothing grows on the hills except coarse grass and a few miser- able trees, twisted all askew in their ‘licl of agony, have a hard struggle to !exist during the six months when no rain falls. | In the hills, valleys and ravines are | trees of better proportions. They mark | the water course. Alongside the big- | ger rivers a belt of forest is usually found. " In all this vast sweeping country not |2 solitary white man lives. As far as | human eyes can see and further there |is not even a half-white inhabitant. | Only Indians living by themselves in ‘?he utmost simplicity. - These consist of a handful of Baikaris who cultivate | the soil in a crude way and are quite peaceful. Their enemies, the Gayapos, are more numerous. They are hunters and travel far in their quest for game. Fish, flesh or fowl, it makes little difference to them so long as they get it. From the head waters of the Paranatinga north- ward for several hundred miles these dreaded slingers of clubs may be en- countered. vent settlers entering the region. It seems strange to think of these enormous spaces where nothing of any moment happens. Murders and atroci- ties unheard of are committed by the Indians witheut any newspapers featur- ing the events in glaring headlines. Prior to our arrival the Gayapos killed 8 number of Baikaris. .This was too much even for thei -ieaeq‘ ul nature and they retaliated by killing 50. Gay- apos. But who cares or bothers®™ One might as well squash a handful of ants. Freezing at Night. Our party rode through the dismal wilderness hour after hour, day after day. Roasting by day and frozen stiff at night when the thermometer would drop forty degrees within.a few hours. ‘We must have presented a curious spec- tacle. Jack, with his long legs dang- ling on either side of a small mule, reading a novel as he went, and Bill De Mello, the wireless expert, perched up on the back of another. It was the first time he had ever ridden one, but he got on famously and stayed on, too, which was more to the point. The camaradas walked on their own It is the Gayapos who pre- | ing: bare feet and had no difficulty keeping pace with our extremely slow rate of travel. They had no desire to lag be- hind. They were afraid of Indians and didn’t wish to be picked off by a stray arrow from the bush. Of all the men Jose, the cook, was the most timid. The usual terrors of the jungle assumed exaggerated propor- tions in his simple brain. He was stuffed full of tales that would scare the life out of any one who believed only one-quarter of them. He was a good cook but a bad character. He never ceased complaining about his defense- less state and one evening spoke to me on the subject, pleading for more ade- quate protection against wild beast, etc. I was adamant. He was the sort of fellow who would be reckless with a | h gun if he had one. Hence, I saw to it that he was not provided with fire- arms, only the usual large knife which is customary throughout South America. He continued to elaborate on the risks he was running and ended up by say- “I walk on foot through this dirty wilderness with only a miserable knife by my side to protect me. Nevertheless if the patron does not mind if his cook gets killed, all right—I will travel thus.” Needless to say it was “thus” that he traveled. The third day out he was greatly perturbed. = We had barely started when far off on the side of a distant hill little curls of blue smoke were seen ascending heavenwards. It was the bivouac of some wandering In- dians. Such a sight caused us all a certain amount of concern. We ex- pected to meet the Gayapo Indians, but we were anxious to postpone contact with them as long as possible, because they have a bad habit of slinging clubs at people. The idea being to break the legs of their enemies and then finish them off at leisure. (Copyright, 1929, by the North American Newspaper Alliance.) (Im his next article Comgdr. Dyott tells of reaching the Amazon water shed and preparation for the plunge into the jungle.) In 1783 there were but 43 newspapers in the United States. i WOMAN’S ANKLE HURT WHEN STRUCK BY AUTO { Driver of Machine Takes Her to Hospital—Girl's Lip Is Cut | as She Walks Into Car. ! Mrs. William Archer Dyer of 820 Con- necticut avenue was struck down by an automobile yesterday afternoon as she was crossing Vermont avenue at H street. She suffered a slight injury to her ankle. Elmer R. Hopwood, 19, of Yerkes, Pa., driver of the car, took Mrs. Dyer to Emergency Hospital, She later went ome. While going around the west side of Iowa Circle last evening, Mary Rudd, 38, of 1323 Ninth street, walked into he side of an automobile being operated by Robert A. Humphries of Berwyn, Md., Humphries picked her up and took her to Emergency Hospital. She was treated for a cut lj) Sure Way to ' Stop Coughing | This Prescription Relieves | | Almost Instantly | | Coughing is usually due to causes | which patent medicines and cough Syrups do not reach. However, D0, GEORGETOWN GROUP COMMENDS FIREMEN Resolutions Adopted by Citizens’ Association Say Criticism of Department Unjust. Commendation for the District Fire Department was voted in resolutions adopted by the Georgetown Citizens’ Association at a meeting in Potomac Bank Hall, Thirty-second and M streets, last night. The resolutions, presented by Frank P. Leetch, declared that criti- cism of the department was unjust and expressed appreciation for the co-oper- ation afforded by mnearby suburban companies and those from Baltimore in filling the outlying station houses va- cated by equipment needed at the scene of the recent F street confla- gration. Retention of the masonry structure of the old Aqueduct Bridge on the north bank of the Potomac River and its con- I DONT THE COLD, SON. THE DRUG STORE SLOAN'S LINIMENT Thoxine, a famous doctor’s prescrip- tion relieves coughing with the very | first swallow. It works on an en- tirely different theory, has a double | action, relieves the irritation and | goes direct to the internal cause. Unlike most cough medicines, ‘a‘hoxlne Lc:nta}l‘:s rm'p chloroform, |dope or other harmful drugs. Safe | for the whole family. | lent for sore throat. Quick relief guaranteed or your money back— 85¢, 60c and $1.00. All druggists.— | Advertisement. | TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, #829. version into a pier for recreational ac- tivities was urged in resolutions sub- mitted by the committee on recrea- tion. Approval is given to a bill pend- ing in Congress for the removal of the bridge structure, but it is desired that the stone abutments of the Georgetown span be permitted to stand. It is also urged that an inexpensive foot bridge be erected at Twenty-seventh street extended to make Rock Creek Valley more accessible to residents of Georgetown. Dorsey W. Hyde, jr., chairman of the committee on streets and highways, submitted a report. which was adopted, and which recommended that roadway surfacing and repair be undertaken on Thirty-first and Thirty-second streets between M and P streets, Reservoir street from Valley street to Wisconsin avenue, Thirty-seventh street north of O street, the entire distance of Twenty- eighth street, and S street adjacent to ‘Wisconsin avenue. mended that Dumbarton avenue be more adequately lighted, that Water street be properly drained and that sidewalks attention. Elimination of projecting curb lines at the southeast corner of KNOW WHATS THE MATTER WITH ME, MAMMA. MY ARMS AND LEGS HURT SOMETHING .FIERCE". THAT'S| FROM PLAYING OUT IN R seno pauL o ForYA 35¢ BoTTLE OF SLOAH’S LINIMENT. YOU'LL FEEL FINE AS SOON AS | PUT SOME ON YOUR PAIN SPOTS, EXPOSURE ? Sloan’s Liniment KILLS PAIN, It was also recom- | throughout the entire sectfon be given | == Thirty-first and P streets and the south- east corner of Wisconsin avenue and R street also is urged. The secretary was directed to com- municate with Senator Phipps, imdi- cating the association’s favorable action with respect to furnishing free text books in District public schools. Advantages of the Community Chest were outlined by Joseph Kaufman, a speaker in the drive, who declared there is a certain class of people in every cos- mopolitan center who do not “get the breaks” and who of necessity must be cared for by those more fortunats. President B. A. Bowles presided. B We Pay You DAILY BALANCES 2% 3% 4% terly. Interest on checking accounts on daily balances compound- ed monthly. Interest on ordinary savings accounts—compounded quar- Interest on special savings cer- tificates — compounded semi- annually. The Munsey Trust Co. Munsey Building Pa. Ave., Bet. 13th & 14th Sts. N.W. 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