MY TREE 



43 



The branches were fifteen inches thick and very 

 strong. We could sit comfortably on them and 

 look about us and down on the plants below. Not 

 many white people get to see the jungle from 

 above (Fig. 20). 



I myself had seen it before only from a narrow 

 trail, or working my way through the vines, ferns. 



Fig. 20. Looking down on the jungle roof 



and palms, where, if I was content to travel 

 slowly, I seldom needed to use my machete to 

 cut a path, though sometimes i was obliged to 

 get down on my hands and knees to crawl under 

 a tangle of bamboo vines or look for the next 

 clear spot. A well-sharpened knife made a path 



