CHAPTER 1 .
A Not Unnatural Enterprise This is written from memory , unfortunately .
If
I 0
could have brought with
me 0
the material
I 0
so carefully prepared , this would be a very different story .
Whole books full of notes , carefully copied records , firsthand descriptions , and the pictures -- that ’s the worst loss .
We 1
had some bird ’s - eyes of
the cities 2
and
parks 3
; a lot of lovely views of
streets 4
, of
buildings 5
, outside and in , and
some of
those gorgeous gardens 6
95 , and , most important of all , of
the women 7
themselves 7
.
Nobody 8
will ever believe how
they 7
looked .
Descriptions are n’t any good when it comes to
women 9
, and
I 0
never was good at descriptions anyhow .
But it ’s got to be done somehow ; the rest of
the world 10
needs to know about
that country 11
.
I 0
have n’t said where
it 11
was for fear
some self-appointed missionaries 12
, or
traders 13
, or
land-greedy expansionists 14
, will take it upon
themselves 15
to push in .
They 15
will not be wanted ,
I 0
can tell
them 15
that , and will fare worse than
we 1
did if
they 15
do find
it 11
.
It began this way .
There were
three of us 1
,
classmates 98
and
friends 96
--
Terry O. Nicholson 16
(
we 17
used to call
him 16
the
Old Nick 16
, with good reason ) ,
Jeff Margrave 18
, and
I 0
,
Vandyck Jennings 99
.
We 1
had known each other years and years , and in spite of
our 1
differences
we 1
had a good deal in common .
All of us 1
were interested in science .
Terry 16
was rich enough to do as
he 16
pleased .
His 16
great aim was exploration .
He 16
used to make all kinds of a row because there was nothing left to explore now , only patchwork and filling in ,
he 16
said .
He 16
filled in well enough --
he 16
had a lot of talents -- great on mechanics and electricity .
Had all kinds of
boats 19
and
motorcars 20
, and was
.
We 1
never could have done the thing at all without
Terry 16
.
Jeff Margrave 18
was born to be
a poet 24
,
a botanist 25
-- or both -- but
persuaded
him 18
to be
a doctor 100
instead .
He 18
was a good one , for
his 18
age , but
his 18
real interest was in what
he 18
loved to call “ the wonders of science . ”
As for
me 0
, sociology ’s
my 0
major .
You 27
have to back that up with a lot of other sciences , of course .
I 0
’m interested in them all .
Terry 16
was strong on facts -- geography and meteorology and those ;
Jeff 18
could beat
him 16
any time on biology , and
I 0
did n’t care what it was
they 28
talked about , so long as it connected with human life , somehow .
There are few things that do n’t .
We 1
three had a chance to join a big scientific expedition .
They 29
needed
a doctor 30
, and that gave
Jeff 18
an excuse for dropping
his 18
just opening practice ;
they 29
needed
Terry 16
’s experience ,
his 16
machine , and
his 16
money ; and as for
me 0
,
I 0
got in through
Terry 16
’s influence .
The expedition was up among
the thousand tributaries and enormous hinterland of
a great river 32
31 , up where the maps had to be made , savage dialects studied , and all manner of strange flora and fauna expected .
But this story is not about that expedition .
That was only the merest starter for ours .
My 0
interest was first roused by talk among
.
I 0
’m quick at languages , know a good many , and pick them up readily .
What with that and
a really good interpreter
we 1
took with
us 1
34 ,
I 0
made out quite a few legends and folk myths of
these scattered tribes 35
.
And as
we 1
got farther and farther upstream , in a dark tangle of
rivers 36
,
lakes 37
,
morasses 38
, and
dense forests 39
, with here and there
an unexpected long spur running out from
the big mountains beyond 41
40 ,
I 0
noticed that more and more of
these savages 42
had a story about
a strange and terrible Woman Land in the high distance 11
.
“ Up yonder , ” “ Over there , ” “ Way up ” -- was all the direction
they 42
could offer , but
their 42
legends all agreed on the main point -- that there was
this strange country where
no men 91
lived
11 -- only
women 43
and
girl children 44
.
had ever seen
it 11
.
It was dangerous , deadly ,
they 42
said , for
any man 45
to go
there 11
.
But there were tales of long ago , when
some brave investigator 46
had seen
it 11
--
a Big Country 11
,
Big Houses 47
,
Plenty People 48
--
All Women 49
.
Had
no one else 50
gone ?
Yes --
a good many 51
-- but
they 51
never came back .
It 11
was no place for
men 52
-- of that
they 42
seemed sure .
I 0
told
the boys 28
about these stories , and
they 28
laughed at them .
Naturally
I 0
did
myself 0
.
I 0
knew the stuff that savage dreams are made of .
But when
we 1
had reached
our 1
farthest point , just the day before
we 1
all had to turn around and start for
home 53
again , as the best of expeditions must in time ,
we 1
three made a discovery .
The main encampment 54
was on
a spit of land running out into
the main stream 56
, or what
we 1
thought was
the main stream 56
55 .
It 56
had the same muddy color
we 1
had been seeing for weeks past , the same taste .
I 0
happened to speak of
that river 56
to
,
a rather superior fellow with quick , bright eyes 97
.
He 57
told
me 0
that there was
another river 58
-- “ over there ,
short river 58
, sweet water , red and blue . ”
I 0
was interested in this and anxious to see if
I 0
had understood , so
I 0
showed
him 57
a red and blue pencil
I 0
carried , and asked again .
Yes ,
he 57
pointed to
the river 56
, and then to the southwestward .
“
River 58
-- good water -- red and blue . ”
Terry 16
was close by and interested in
the fellow 57
’s pointing .
“ What does
he 57
say ,
Van 0
? ”
I 0
told
him 16
.
Terry 16
blazed up at once .
“ Ask
him 57
how far it is . ”
The man 57
indicated a short journey ;
I 0
judged about two hours , maybe three .
“ Let ’s go , ” urged
Terry 16
.
“ Just
us 1
three .
Maybe
we 1
can really find something .
May be cinnabar in it . ”
“ May be indigo , ”
Jeff 18
suggested , with
his 18
lazy smile .
It was early yet ;
we 1
had just breakfasted ; and leaving word that
we 1
’d be back before night ,
we 1
got away quietly , not wishing to be thought too gullible if
we 1
failed , and secretly hoping to have some nice little discovery all to
ourselves 1
.
It was a long two hours , nearer three .
I 0
fancy
the savage 57
could have done it alone much quicker .
There was
a desperate tangle of wood and water 59
and
a swampy patch
we 1
never should have found
our 1
way across alone
60 .
But there was one , and
I 0
could see
Terry 16
, with compass and notebook , marking directions and trying to place landmarks .
We 1
came after a while to
a sort of marshy lake 61
, very big , so that
the circling forest 62
looked quite low and dim across
it 61
.
told
us 1
that
boats 63
could go from
there 61
to
-- but “ long way -- all day . ”
This water was somewhat clearer than that
we 1
had left , but
we 1
could not judge well from the margin .
We 1
skirted
it 61
for another half hour or so , the ground growing firmer as
we 1
advanced , and presently
we 1
turned the corner of
a wooded promontory 64
and saw
a quite different country 65
-- a sudden view of
mountains , steep and bare 66
.
“
One of those long easterly spurs 67
, ”
Terry 16
said appraisingly .
“ May be hundreds of miles from the range .
They 68
crop out like that . ”
Suddenly
we 1
left
the lake 61
and struck directly toward
the cliffs 69
.
We 1
heard running water before
we 1
reached it , and
the guide 57
pointed proudly to
.
It 58
was short .
We 1
could see where
it 58
poured down
a narrow vertical cataract from an opening in the face of
the cliff 71
70 .
It was sweet water .
The guide 57
drank eagerly and so did
we 1
.
“ That ’s snow water , ”
Terry 16
announced .
“ Must come from way back in
the hills 72
. ”
But as to being red and blue -- it was greenish in tint .
The guide 57
seemed not at all surprised .
He 57
hunted about a little and showed
us 1
a quiet marginal pool where there were smears of red along the border 73
; yes , and of blue .
Terry 16
got out
his 16
magnifying glass and squatted down to investigate .
“ Chemicals of some sort --
I 16
ca n’t tell on the spot .
Look to
me 16
like dyestuffs .
Let ’s get nearer , ”
he 16
urged , “ up there by
the fall 74
. ”
We 1
scrambled along
the steep banks 75
and got close to
the pool that foamed and boiled beneath the falling water 76
.
Here 76
we 1
searched the border and found traces of color beyond dispute .
More --
Jeff 18
suddenly held up an unlooked-for trophy .
It was only a rag , a long , raveled fragment of cloth .
But it was a well-woven fabric , with a pattern , and of a clear scarlet that the water had not faded .
No savage tribe that
we 1
had heard of made such fabrics .
The guide 57
stood serenely on
the bank 77
, well pleased with
our 1
excitement .
“ One day blue -- one day red -- one day green , ”
he 57
told
us 1
, and pulled from
his 57
pouch another strip of bright-hued cloth .
“ Come down , ”
he 57
said , pointing to
the cataract 70
.
“
Woman Country 11
-- up there . ”
Then
we 1
were interested .
We 1
had
our 1
rest and lunch right
there 78
and pumped
the man 57
for further information .
He 57
could tell
us 1
only what
the others 79
had --
--
no men 81
--
babies 83
, but
all girls 82
.
No place for
men 84
-- dangerous .
Some 94
had gone to see --
none 93
had come back .
I 0
could see
Terry 16
’s jaw set at that .
No place for
men 85
?
Dangerous ?
He 16
looked as if
he 16
might shin up
the waterfall 74
on the spot .
But
the guide 57
would not hear of going up , even if there had been any possible method of scaling
that sheer cliff 70
, and
we 1
had to get back to
before night .
“
They 86
might stay if
we 1
told
them 86
, ”
I 0
suggested .
But
Terry 16
stopped in
his 16
tracks .
“ Look here ,
fellows 87
, ”
he 16
said .
“ This is
our 1
find .
Let ’s not tell
those cocky old professors 88
.
Let ’s go on
home 89
with ‘ em , and then come back -- just
us 1
-- have a little expedition of
our 1
own . ”