Show CITIES 9 0 OF YUCATAN in the fall of the your year 1890 a 11 representative of the london times in iii company with a member of the in ill tite decided to 0 o eipl ore the wonderland of if yucatan the southern benins penin billu 0 1 of mexico wid and after receiving from the genial diaz president of ico several letters of intro cuc tion to various caldes Ale Al aldes and commandants Comman dantes of f the provinces awo and barrios lying south of the city ity of alex mexico co the two adventurers accompanied by a wiry old mexican cali guide jose gonales ales left die che capital of the republic c of mexico and made a start on what proved to be a most eventful trip through the mountains und and swamps of a comparatively mik I 1 lown and anex unexplored p lored country their outfit consisted of three sturdy mexican horses and two wicked little pack mules a corn camping outfit and arms arins and ammunition calculated to last during th twelve months r journey I 1 I 1 I 1 MEXICAN PECULIARITIES tile the boutney join ney for tile the first month led led through the partially desert lands of NM mexico eXiCO bouth of the capital th the e course t tending ending southwesterly 30 uth westerly toward tile the foot hills of the sierra nevada mountains at which they ar w rived rive d five week i after leaving the city of if mexico the young I 1 men were both fluent sp spanish ailish students and decided before starting on their thair perilous journey to pose as spanish students traveling fo for r pit pl casuse and health A peculiarity of the mexican is that an american or as they are termed I 1 gringo 1 is id it fair object of plunder under adv siny and all circumstances cum cuni stances but the laws of hospitality tire are incz n pronounced in in the wilds of as anywhere ou on out eur i ill h hence the ex claimed to lo be without money and in iii nd of bed and board I without money and without price ance I though fo for r the sake of keep keeping ilig up a semblance of they never failed to giap aliv children of the kindly INI medici exic n who ulio entertained them pre ants of small c coins 1 strings of beads i and other kotlier iorli articles of small value to the objective point of their ole ir journey the buried city of palanque yucatan DEADLY S I 1 leaving the sandy cactus covered plains the trail led through it a wonderfully picturesque country the foot hills and mesas stretching strete lhing to the westward were covered with a dense growth of multicolored multi colored flowers and the air was laden with almost overpowering perfume the scrub liveoak live oak of tile the plains disappeared and the hillsides hill sides I 1 were cover covered d NA with th a donee denee growth of lf mimosas mim min losas resembling mahogany and stately gum trees while liere here find and there blossomed the curious though deadly arbol do de agua aua or water tree the guide warned his patrons to avoid swi swinging nging their hammocks beneath these trees as they possessed the peculiar quid quality ity even in the ino most s intense tropical heat beat of constantly dripping poisonous water from their dia mond shaped soaped leaves imd and neither animal nor fowl ever rested be beneath ileath their dampened shade the guide explained th that t unwary tra travelers veers frequently spread their blankets under the agua treb to find themselves 81 burning with fever as soon i 1 s the dampness from froin t fank tree lina saturated their cloth clothing ipg small red blotcher blotches blot ches clies appeared all over the body find and as the fever in creased these spots filled filled with pus while the skin skill became blackened and terribly irritated the torture terminating in fearful paroxysms and a most painful death ENCOUNTER COUNTER RN WITH SNAKE about noon of tile the sixth sabbath actor leaving tile the city of mexico the explorers yere were riding through a deep canyon winding upward through the foothills the newspaper correspondent frank willis willi was slightly in advance followed by the pack mules liis his companions and their guide the young man had a weakness and had fiad it ft as severely as ever falls to the lot of man he feared every variety of snake as it is stated the devil fears holy water suddenly his little horse stopped and stood trembling his sharp ears thrown forward and evincing evi bici ng every sign of fright the 1 young oung mans sc scattered i thoughts wore were abruptly reca recalled ile from his northern home hime to present conditions and looking up litt lie saw swin yin directly ahedo of him h iiii suspended from the ole limb ot of a eniti I 1 in nn mense indis u I 1 ful that lie held a 0 loaded witt win chester cheater in his liand hand the I 1 adl searel scared cordob corro sp bilde n t quit i 0 e hurri hurricane catie deck deaki of i his brOl lelO wilh far greater celesty ce CLIL lerty alpin irace und with a series ot of yells calls that would have coite credit to nn apache Aia clie br tab on the war alah took the hack 1 1 w k trail ut lit championship speed nor lot stopped his hid flight until lie lidid placed the entire entyre ou outfit t ai 1 he between twedell himself find and the repulsive cepul sive monster lose joae poured a load of buckshot into i ato the boa ano and ended the episode without fat batul al re suits stilts to anything but bu his hid snake nake s ship A measurement of the constrictor conat rictor satisfied the explorers that the newspaper mun man ex exhibited habited consider considerable uble wi wisdom sloin in III not standing upon ceremony but beating a ina masterly sterly retreat to be continued in next issue |