ADVENTURES IN THE MAHOGANY FORESTS 



the giants of the forest. The men who go in search of 

 "Red Gold" stake their Uves on their chances. In the 

 undisturbed virgin forest there is an ever-present risk 

 of being attacked by poisonous snakes that He concealed 

 in the stump of a hollow tree and resent the intrusion 

 of man. Hard by the great mahoganies are trees from 

 which a splash of sap will blind a man for many days. 

 The ax-men are in constant risk from falling trees, 

 and what is often worse because unexpected, a dead 

 branch will suddenly crash to the ground, slaying or 

 maiming the victim, who, unconscious of his danger, 

 was driving his axe into a living tree. There are other 

 hazards to which the adventurer in the mahogany forests 

 is constantly exposed. Without warning, he may en- 

 counter a tiny thorn, the prick of which will maim a 

 man for life, or cause his death from lockjaw and fever. 

 To all such perils the forester is never immune. With 

 others, he takes his chance, for his duty is to control the 

 felling and see to it that future supplies are forthcoming 

 to meet the demands of Western civilization. 



i«i 



