OCR Text |
Show LEHI FREE PRESS. LEHL UTAH TRY THE HONE DollieOr inoco OUR COMIC SECTION D ate rei5 m re Lres of Little Men Q Bteno 1 gotta have sons help. This Job's too much of a steady grind. Boss Better stand the grind a little longer. It may make yon sharp. NO XYQ BOYS THERE en, 5f '.4 - ' ' y "Tommy had a disappointment while In Greece." taj. t eke) '- -, & 4 ' v 4 EE 32 32E Oeoirrkphlc 8octety. Prepared by National eerrice Wunlngton. u. u. wy TllII up the Orinoco In the wake of Alexander von Humboldt, a century and a third after the voyage of that fa- Jtnous naturalist and explorer, finds the .great stream little changed. The Orinoco ranks third among the alters of South America. Estimates of its length are as diverse as they are .numerous, and all are but approxima--tlons- , for the uppermost reaches have )ver been charted; but probably the best figures ara those of the Venezuelan national cartographic office 1,800 kilometers (1,118) miles). The mighty stream sprawls across the map of Venezuela like & giant fishhook, the shank flattened out to form a delta, the point stuck far away somewhere la the shadowy range called the Sierra Parima. 'Its tawny flood Is discharged Into "the Atlantic through no less than 30 distinct channels radiating northeastward from the main stream In the form of a fan. Only two are considered practicable for steamers. Cano Macareo, which offers the most direct route from Port of Spain, Is used so long as the depth of the water Is sufficient; at other times boats enter via A in: ; i i 3 ike ier s The delta has been graphically de-- l .scribed by Beebe as the land of a single tree. He refers, of course, to I "th red mangrove, that grotesque tree I that stands on its toes like a fright-ned sand crab poised for flight ; but I 'while the mangrove Is the dominant ! "tidewater tree of tropical seas the world around, It is not by any means I th only species In the Orinoco delta. I Graceful palms soon appear above the I bush growth, and it is not long before I thf banks are lined with forest trees of I great variety. Along the upper reaches of the Cano Macareo are ex-- l tensive cacao plantations. Beyond the Delta On the second day of a steamer trip I tip the Orinoco, the boat emerges from I the delta Into the Orinoco proper a I river of truly majestic proportions and I placid surface, though jaundiced of countenance. Wide savannas roll away either hand, those - to the south ion against the rocky, hills that held Sir Walter Raleigh's I last hope of redemption. t. Some distance higher up, two ancient I forts occupy strategic positions atop rocky eminences on the right bank where the river Is squeezed into a nar-( row channel. These are Los Castlllos, I endi mark the site of the old Spanish Tillage of San Thome, which was cap-- I tured and ultimately destroyed by Sir I Walter's forces In 1618, on that inlml-- I table adventurer's last expedition to s the; Orinoco in search of El Dorado. tThls fracas with the Spaniards cost I Sir; Walter bis elder son and his own I bead. Four hours above Los Castlllos the I j steamer stops at San Felix, a small i right-bantown which has long func- tloned as the port for the famous gold r fields of Venezuelan Guayana. t' For the third time passengers go to bed to the churning of the stern pad- dies, but awake to face Ciudad Boll-- j var, surmounting a low rocky hill on f the south bank, her whitewashed walls NH somber when the first I rays of sun-- I light strike the cathedral's checkered I tower. In Culdad Bolivar This little city of 17,000, 228 miles from the sea, Is the capital of the and gateway to an j state of Bolivar . , enovuious region as yet served only by river. It Is the metropolis of the Ort- iboeo. It was founded by the Spanish i In 17C4, under the name of San Thome, tLd exhibits the massive, boxlike, houses built In solid blocks, fthe : protruding, heavily barred and shuttered windows, and entrancing patios so typical of Spanish America. It chief claim to fame Is that It Is the birthplace of the Venezuelan constitution and Angostura bitters, f Quite naturally, the town soon came to be known as Angostura (strait), between its rocky hill and the one from which Soledad faces It, the jr his 1 sed ver PS' ;dy 5ay our ace - 1 : ft K gold-bear- are k !' lr In tha be- QUALIFICATIONS TTT An Orinoco River Turtle tkt ist thatr find anybody who longed to a Greek letter society." K wis ons on What was "He couldn't - lertl' en- -- f beq e whole Orinoco is squeezed to a width of only 800 yards. Swirling with tremendous force through this narrow gap, the river has scoured out a channel to a depth of 2G2 feet below sea level. The mean depth of water is 335 feet, but the river has been known to rise 52 feet above low stage and flood the entire business section of the town. Culdad Bolivar is a pleasant place in early morning, when the market bustles with activity, and at evening, when the town turns out to take the air on the breeze-swep- t Paseo; at noontime it swelters in the glare and heat of a tropic sun, and even the Imperturbable burros nod as they mince streets. along the steep, Above the Angostura constriction the Orinoco is again a splendid stream, maintaining for several hundred miles an average width. Including Islands, of three and three-quartmiles. Below the little mud town of Maplre the Orinoco Is doubled back sharply by a range of hills and forced through two rocky channels so narrow that during the rainy season the current at times attains a velocity of 12 miles an hour. This Is El Infierno, the most respected rapid of the middle Orinoco. She You are positively the worst dancer I ever saw. lie Well It Is something to know that I excel In that respect at least. IMPOSSIBLE Cagey Caddy THE FEATHERHEADS T PO YOU THINK Yoii rCAM STILL PLAY CJOLF? IT'S A LOMGr HAVEN'T YOU TIME SIMCE YOU LAST PL AYE P flag-pave- d I SEErJ BEFORE? TUST AS CsOOP. AS Yessifc. er Gathering of the Turtles Above La Crbana the hills become higher and some sweep up from the very stream. . A thin line of gallery forest still hides the savannas from the river, but no tree relieves the somber slate-graof weathered granite. Table-land- s break in sheer cliffs; isolated bosses, knobs, and smoothly domes rise on every hand ; mon strous rocks are thrown bere and there In utter confusion, and where they are touched by the Orinoco In its rise and fall, are covered by a highly burnished enamel as black as ink. It is a strange, weird, fascinating region. Here on two islands of fine, buffy sand takes place the great annual gathering of turtles, one of the most remarkable phenomena of the Orinoco. In season, turtle eggs are to be found In the sand of almost every beach, yet in the whole course of the Orinoco and its tributaries only these two sand bars seem especially favored as nesting places. To these sand bars at the beginning of each year the big turtles come literally in thousands, followed by a human horde bent upon their destruction. Formerly there were no restrictions, and those who were able helped themselves, but in the many fights which ensued the natives spilled so much of their own blood along with that of the turtles that the authorities finally Intervened. Now. each year the turtle rights are sold as a concession to the tilghest bidder. In December the concessionaire raises small white flags on tall poles as a warning to steer clear of the fsland and not frighten the turtle vanguards. In season the camp at Playa Para-runa- , where the turtles concentrate in greatest numbers. Is on a high sandy bank, the only roof a thatched hut serving as a storehouse for provisions. Hammocks, unsheltered, hang from almost every tree. Craft of every description are tied up at the hank. Upper Reaches of the River As far as the "turtle Islands," and a little beyond, both sides of the Orinoco are Venezuelan territory. From the Meta southward to San Fernando de Atabapo the western bank belongs to Colombia. On a point of sand In the angle between the Meta and the Orinoco, barked by a low hill of naked black rock, stands Puerto Carireno, the only Colombian village on the whole frontier. It did not exist In Humboldt's day. A short distance above Puerto Car reno the Raudal San Borja a swift rapid confronts the voyager. A small steamer has great difficulty In fighting Its way through to calmer waters above. Approximately 60 miles farther up stream Is the small settlement of Puerto Ayacucho, Just below the two Impassable rapids of Atures. A4 EVER! CAtDlED I FER YOU "Simetimes 1 think," he began. "But not often, I suppose," the girl. TWO YEARS AJo AT . LONQrPEtM DOMESTIC BOY 11 p I I IWtfKlY KMOW IF YOU KEVEfVfcK. r d I - r t I m . I l 11 t 1 PUT VO YOU 5fc5 AklY tMPeDVEMFrslT SINCE LAST TIME:? 1 In - . a0"V L "Why L it you can never stay any- -' where very long?" "I have to go home and empty the Jrlp-paunder the refrigerator." S n WELL Wrtl no i GOING DOWN . YOU (SOT I A NEW SET OP I ROMS T)irKAY , w --- -- g jt Ayy -- i 7 j 1 HURT, FINKJEY J MiH I After the Battle FINNEY OF THE FORCE i. Ya" T i i . WAS IKA THAT A MOB? Young Lady Oh, heaven with you. Young Man Doctor I could dance to And can you reverse? ThatM Be Tough You must avoid all forms of excitement Male Patient But, doctor, can't I even look at them on the street? OMMY loM'T WAS THERE? N--7 WAS AMYBOPV4 ASK M6. . ; TjrAT I J yoU OR WAS You fQ WAS N Tjf poVoT , how pip jjj j ) J |