The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 8, 1900, Page 12

[ N # THE SUNDAY CALL away from him in the direction indicated . and saw an open space in the follage of the trees. ‘Yes, It. must leave the mesa at the foot of that big white—' I was saying, when interrupted by a terrible blood-curdling cry of his horse, above which I heard the screams and oaths of the man. But I saw only a cloud of dust arising from the ground where he stood. My horse taking fright ran away with me toward the woods. The awful, terri- fying cries and screams and oaths, though actually only momentarily, ring yet In my ears. My horse fell at the edge of the timber, throwing me headlong. The fall stunned me. “When I recovered consciousness some days later, I was In a small bamboo hut, the home of an old native woman, Donnsa Garcla. When I opened my . she smiled and spoke some kindly word, which I did not understand, and placed te my lips a little tequile (a native brandy). I was tired and soon fell asleep agaim. When I next awoke the good donna (God bless her!) was watching near me with & bowl of broth for me. I was not allowed sentenced to be shot—escaped in the night to the Cuban coast and embarked on an American trampship bound for Honduras, where he landed early in the spring. Here he again deserted, but this time hoped to ach Ocos on the Pacific coast of Guate- la, where he could take a ‘coaster’ to [ nama, and there ship on an English ssel plying along the coast of South a. We became at once friends. ew to love the youth for his manly aracter and generosity. He was about 19 ye of age, handsome and ever spoke lovingly of his ‘Dulcina’ in Havana. He wore about his neck a litle chain to which was attached a locket. In the locket was the picture of a beautiful girl, with large dreamy eves, regular features of the type, and heavy long hair. A displayed even pearly teeth. A smile e dozen times a day he would withdraw this ut three months Il in with a poor Cuban deserter. learned his true name, but he an Acosta. He was accused rter from the patriot army Cuba. His corre- ing S h lady, sident of many ex- nent in these letters " sples, evidence letters, was (/%) 14 “RISING 1} ‘ AfS STIRRUPS, 4 HE LOOKED A1} ABOUT HIM1 leto an T Did the es contem ating the nto the pit & myriads of seemed addened for some days. When a 1t- irst inq Where was my ong enough, Donna good soul > through preter of how side by some me to her hut herb tea that n of how, by ar learned these give them to y Il not tell me fn the saddle pocket and bridle, carried aw never found. 1 cldents of the accident becs but it was many weel locket from its hiding place on his bosom Out. and press it to his lips. Poor lad! poor _One afternoon I concluded to look for D’RVERYN, M. D. S gave me move; and ad; of how le my he by, articular her as I a Izipompolo is the long name for the little fellow that builds the famous anthilis. Thesz hills to ten feet in height and are either entirely made of pulver cemented by the formic acid secretion from the bod of the ants, or else of a com- of straw, and earth. The anthills are very strong, be- ing ked by the sun until of almost the density of china. They are used by the tives g or cooking purposes, making excellent ovens when excavated and a fire placed inside. romeight e S be horse and in- rer, i go 1 e- months ago, " ¢ the spot where I fell. F > Ea s Thpes amontlis agel Ly ARt T0% Tections dnafeated b The hotter the sun the more active is the izipompolo. He is & now—white!” shuddercd as he stared Wwent out to most ferocious creature, and is, in addition, an arch demon of fals- in stlence tc ground bank of the stream- about : ity.. With ingenious deceit he will eat the heart out of a book, a CmegLadih ‘ly continued, “lay mile.. There I found the bundle of letters or a block of wood in such a way that it appears uninjured. But the moment you grasp it it crumbles into frag- ments and dust. This ant is also a scavenger. Kill a fly, mouse or frog, leave it on the ground and watch. Along comes an ant. He inspects the object, runs all over it, and, as it were, takes its measure. Then he departs, and socn returns, leading a convoy, which either carry the object off bodily or set about excavating the victim with their remembered the ¥ gtrong mandibles, so there remains nothing but a skeleton covered by the cuticle if it be fur or leather. These ants have a great fancy for greasy, oily or sweet sub- i stances, and so are unwelcome visitors to the housewife’s larder. with its white arms stretched ghost In the black forest. Tt w thing 1 could certainly -recogn this tree was where the road § where I fell. I then looked over the open and saw little mounds scattered here and ¢ there, but could not make out even the X X g ) for the most part through a forest over & cart road, on cither side of which were tangled vines and cane brake, so dense that to leave the road was impossible, even for a dog, much less a man on herse- back. It was hot, and the dust was near- ly knee-deep to the horses, but about 2 o'cleck in the afterncon we came out into an open glade covered with a specles of dry foxtall grass. The sun was burn- ing. The road lay across the open, but not straight, as it appearcd it might have done. I had noticed this peculiarity about the roads crossing the open country in many parts of Central America; but 1 direction in which 1 last saw the saflor. I remembered seeing him ride upon a mound; cries of thé frightened horse, the screams of the horror - stricken man, the cloud of dust, my own horse running away. Looking about some little t'me I found signs of where my horse went down. I followed the tracks back over the m always before this foilowed the well- beaten track, not for any reason only that it was easfer to do so than to get my old horse out of it. We had not gone far in this open when we observed about a mile way what semed fo be a loop where the road turned towards the forest, leaving the plain only about five hundred yards from us. We thought to cut across and strike the road again and thus save a couple of miles. When off the road a lit- tle way we found the ground to be very uneven with ridges and hollows, and lost sight of the road entfrely. To get a bet- ter view, my companion rode upon a lit- tle knoll and halted. Raising himself in his stirrups, he looked all about him. “There it is over there,’ he called, point- tag over my head. I turned and looked They were not very distinct, but I finaliy came to where we had separated, and, taking the tracks of his horse, followed them until I came within view of what seemed to be a sink in the ground. I cautiously walked toward it. It proved to be an actual sink. A strange feeling of awe and fear came over me. No one had seen my companion nor his horse since that day. Could it be that he was in this pit? 1 asked myself. I shuddered. My soul shrank within me at the thought. I Jay down and crawled to the brink and looked over into it. Oh, horrors! There sat the man astride his horse. Every ves- tige of clothing and flesh of man and horse were gone. The saddle was gone. The bottom of the pit was covered deep with frofefetoeofofenl el oofeofest b Among some of the tribes of Bushmen and Kaffirs this appetite is turned to a dreadful purpose. Prisoners of war are fastened to a tree infested by these insects or to one of the anthills, their bodies smeared with honey or fat. Soon the feast is reported and the ants issue in myriads and literally gnaw the flesh from the bones, the victims dying a slow and fzarful death. Indeed, it is true that a skeleton left by them may retain its perfect form. If not disturbed, the ants caity out their work until every vestige of flesh is removed and the white skeleton re- mains glu®d together by the dense ligaments, which the hot. dry air converts into structures as rigid as the bones they hold so ;inn~ ly. No more beautiful anatomical specimens can beobtained than the skeletons of birds and the like “dressed” by thess dissecting- room experts. £ e e et il SRR R S TR B I B B A S S ;