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Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013932953 
 
THE 
 
 RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 AMAZON 
 
 A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT RUB- 
 BER INDUSTRY OF THE AMAZON VALLEY, WHICH 
 COMPRISES THE BRAZILIAN STATES OF PARA, 
 AMAZONAS AND MATTO GROSSO.THE TERRI- 
 TORY OF THE ACRE, THE MONTANA OF PERU 
 AND BOLIVIA, AND THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS 
 OF COLOMBIA AND VENEZUELA 
 
 By 
 HENRY C. PEARSON 
 
 Editor of "The India Rubber World." Author of "What I Saw 
 In the Tropics," "Crude Rubber and Compound- 
 ing Ingredients," Etc. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 
 
 1911 
 
COPYRIGHT, I9II, BY 
 
 HENRY C. PEARSON, 
 
PREFATORY 
 
 I THINK it was in 1870 that I started to outfit my first expedition 
 to the Amazon. It was not in any sense scientific nor had I the 
 interests of the rubber trade then at heart. It was to be a hunting 
 and fishing trip solely, varied by occasional battles with- Indians. A 
 treacherous companion, to whom I incautiously confided some of the 
 outfitting details, betrayed the trust to my mother. She confiscated my 
 gun, an elder sister hid the ammunition, so I was compelled to abandon 
 the attempt for a short time, (forty years in retrospect is not long). 
 And what a satisfaction to feel that one's early ambitions are finally 
 realized, at least in part. 
 
 The delay in the journey altered my viewpoint somewhat, and 
 changed the equipment. The gun, hunting knife, and lasso did not 
 seem so important as a Letter of Credit; nor did I have that intense 
 yearning for slaughter that dominated Expedition No. i. 
 
 Then, too, much rubber research in other tropical countries made 
 the prospect of this trip particularly alluring. 
 
 From the time when La Condamine made his report to the Royal 
 Geographical Society at Paris upon the curious gum that he found in the 
 Brazils, the Amazon river has been visited by a procession of specialists. 
 Some went for adventure, some for trade and some in the interest of 
 science. To such as Humboldt, Agassiz, and Spruce whose search 
 was for knowledge the reward was the richest of all. 
 
 With one-half of the worlds product of India rubber coming from 
 the mighty Amazon, with the great northern states of Brazil, and notable 
 portions of Peru and Bolivia dependant wholly upon the rubber business 
 it seemed time that the story of "Ouro Preto" (black gold as the Brazilians 
 most appropriately call India rubber), be fully and fairly told. 
 
 Personally I am more than pleased that it is my fortune thus to 
 tell the story. Not altogether my own experiences but a composite 
 sketch, to which Governors of states. Captains of trading vessels, half 
 breed rubber gatherers, American, English, German and Brazilian business 
 men have all contributed. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 From Brooklyn to Barbados by Banana Boat — The Home of Sea i 
 
 Island Cotton — Some Interesting Rubber Planting Experi- 
 ments. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Exploring the Island in a Four Wheeler — Seas of Sugar Cane and 7 
 
 Sentinel Windmills — Barbados as a Halfway House Where 
 
 One Goes into Training for Tropical Adventure — A 
 
 Typical Tropical Golf Course — Boarding the Rubber 
 
 Boat for Belem. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Entering the Tocantins, the Neck of the Amazonian Rubber 16 
 Bottle — Real Equatorial Rains and Heat — The 100-Mile Run 
 to the City of Para — The Longest Way Round, the 
 Shortest Way to the Shore — Landing in the Midst 
 of Rubber. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Para a Pleasant Surprise— How the "White Wings" Work in 23 
 Para — The Yellow Fever Mosquito and How to Dodge it — A 
 Alilitary Fire Department — Bits of Early History. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Received by the Governor and the Intendente — Club Life on the 30 
 Amazon — Carnival Scenes — Brazilian Hospitality — Ham- 
 burger Tourists. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Para's "Wall Street"— How the Natives Adulterate Crude Rub- 38 
 ber — Examining for Adulterations — Hard Working Tropical 
 Longshoremen — Friendly Rivalry Between Para and 
 Manaos — Where Rubber Markets are Really Made. 
 
VIII CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 To the "Island of Tiger Cats"^ — "Overtapped" Rubber Trees — Rub- 43 
 bar Tree Diseases up the Amazon — Four-eyed Fish of the 
 Igarape — Explosive Rubber Nuts — Nipped by a. 
 Centipede. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Wonderful Museu Goeldi with its Fauna, Animate and Inani- 49 
 mate — Rubber in the Botanical Gardens — The World's 
 Greatest Authority on the Hevea and His Tropical Work- 
 shop — Sapiums and Balata in the Amazon — Tapping 
 Rubber Trees at Daybreak — The Identification 
 of Caucho — Braving the "Dangers" of the 
 Upriver Journey. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 How the Para Rubber Tree Got its Name — A Bit of Botanical 57 
 History — Grades of Brazilian Rubber — Hebrew Peddlers on 
 the Amazon — Distribution of the Industry — Outfitting the 
 Rubber Gatherers — The Rubber Gatherer and How 
 He Lives — Locating the Para Rubber Trees — 
 Tapping and Collecting of Rubber De- 
 scribed in Detail. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Smoking of the Rubber Milk — Palm Nut Fuel — What Becomes 68 
 of the Drippings — Branding — Method of Collecting 
 "Cameta"- — Indians as Natural Botanists — Size of Rub- 
 ber Trees — Various Inventions for Preserving Latex 
 and Smoking the Rubber Milk — Blending of 
 Other Rubber Milks with Hevea — Tapping 
 Season. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Source of the Amazon River — Early Traditions — The Start 78 
 Upriver — The Narrows — Forest Scenes — Our Butterfly Hun- 
 ter — Breves and the Ancient Channel — The River Cable 
 and Its Interruptions — ^The Wireless. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Jungle Study from the Chart Deck — The Southern Cross as it 85 
 
 Really' is — Into the Amazon Proper — Floating Islands — De-- 
 
 structive Work of Floods — Prainha on the Xingu — Fast 
 
 in a Mud Bank — Steering by Lightning Flashes — 
 
 Itacoatiara — The "Dead and the Living Rivers." 
 
CONTENTS IX 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Arrival at Manaos — Floating Docks of the Rio Negro — Transpor- 93 
 tation by. "Bonds" — The Great City of the Wilderness — Rubber 
 
 Revenues. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Bosque and Experimental Rubber Plantings — Real Wild 102 
 Indians — Exploring, up the Rio Negro — Rubber at "Paradizo" 
 Ranch — Drinking "Cupussu" — The Commercial Associa- 
 tion Rubber Exhibition — Tropical Colds and 
 Coughs — Manaos Mosquitos — Roasted Amazo- 
 nian Turtle — Rubber Tree-Planting Day. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Steamers of the Amazon — Interesting Bits of History — Mail 112 
 
 Delivery on the Upper Rivers — The Associacdo Commercial do 
 
 Amazonas — Borraclia — The Land of "Poco Poco" — 
 
 Footprints of Visiting Americans — Nine Dollar Head 
 
 Tax^Off for the Solimoes. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Railroad Building in the Heart of ^le Rubber Country — The -119 
 Cataracts of the Madeira — Batelaos — ]\Iadeira-;\Iamore Con- 
 cession — The Great Camp at Porto Velho — Caripuna 
 Indians. 
 
 s 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Rubber Manufacture "by Indians — Head Hunters — Rebellion of 129 
 Contest Laborers — Insects in the Railroad Camps — Early 
 Attempts at Railroad Building — The Mamore, the Beni 
 and the Madeira de Dios — Cannibal Indians. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The Bohvian Montana — Discovery of Rubber There — "Ouro 138 
 Vegetal" — Establishing Seringaes — Cart Roads — Liberal 
 Laws Passed — "Border. Ruffians" — How Bolivian Rub- 
 ber is Gathered — River Navigation by Balsa and 
 Callapo — A Rich Rubber Chieftian. 
 
X CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Rubber Forest Country of Peru — A Rubber Revolution — 150 
 
 Foreign Capital in Peru — Iquitos and Its Growth — The 
 
 "Dining Hall of the World" — Peruvian Indians — Various 
 
 Peruvian Rubbers — The Complete Story of Cau- 
 
 cho — Para Rubber of Peru. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 O Acre — The Richest Rubber Territory in the World — Romantic 161 
 History of a Tropical "No-Man's-Land"— The Acre War- 
 It Becomes Brazilian Federal Territory — Ownership of 
 Upriver Estates — Administrations of Laws in the 
 Acre — Mortality in Rubber Districts - — The 
 Seasons. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Matto Grosso, a Great Unexplored Country — Gathering of Matto 170 
 
 GrossG Rubber — Colombia on the Amazon — Hevea, Caucho, 
 
 and Balata — Venezula and the Rio Negro — "Angostura" 
 
 Rubber — The Casiquiare and the Forestal District — 
 
 Careless Rubber Gathering. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Down the Amazon in a Freighter — Saritarem and Wickham — The 178 
 Narrows Again — Arrival at Para — Rubber Planting Lands — 
 Examination of the "Rain Forest" — "Capoeira" Land. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Planting Interest in Pard — New Planting Laws — A Word About 187 
 the Tapping Season — What Para Rubber Trees Yield — The 
 Recebedoria. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Good-bye to Para — Wonderful Phosphorescence — In the Great 195 
 Coast Current — Short Stop at Barbados — Landing Rub- 
 ber Cargo at Brooklyn. 
 
 APPENDIXES. 
 
 A Word of Thanks — Statistics of Exports from the Amazon 203 
 Valley — Shrinkage of Rubber — Selling Conditions — Prices 
 and Speculation — Rubber Species on the Amazon — Early 
 Para Rubber Shoes. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 From Brooklyn to Barbados by Banana Boat — The Home of Sea Island 
 Cotton — Some Interesting Rubber Planting Experiments. 
 
 I HAD been planning an Amazonian trip for several years, only waiting 
 for the psychological period when everything would be ready for 
 a really profitable visit. When, therefore, during the latter part 
 . of 1909, prominent Brazilians began to call at my office, full of interest 
 in rubber planting and in new methods for collecting and coagulating 
 rubber, I 'felt that the time had come, and made rapid preparations for 
 the journey. The really luxurious traveler to the Amazon, if he be a 
 New Yorker, goes to Europe first, and is able to make the whole passage 
 on a big boat. It is a question, however, if he gets very much more 
 of comfort than I got on the little 3,000 ton steamer of the Koninklijke 
 West Indische Maildienst, which sailed from Brooklyn, a well known 
 suburb of New York, on the afternoon of January 3rd for Bridgetown, 
 Barbados, West Indies; certainly he does not get as much Amazonian 
 information en route. 
 
 It is a "Sabbath day's" journey from ^lanhattan by ferry and dock 
 trolley to the Bush Terminal pier, from which the southern boats start. 
 Ours was advertised to sail at i, o'clock. The steamship office informed 
 me in confidence that it got away at 2, my ticket read "Sailing at 3," 
 and we really got away at 4. 
 
 Built in Amsterdam in 1908, commanded by Dutch officers, with 
 Curaqoa negroes for a crew, and with only 13 passengers and a deck 
 load of mules, the tout ensemble was unique, and the voyage gave promise 
 of unusualness sure to appeal to one not wedded to luxury and the 
 beaten track. Escorted by tugs and saluted by a mob of "dago" 
 stevedores, we worked our way out through the press of tramp steamers, 
 lighters, and foreign shipping, and our journey was begun. The sea 
 was smooth and the tiny social hall and smoking room, bright with electric 
 lights, were very cozy. The impress of Dutch art was upon both rooms, 
 and showed in the inlaid tables, chairs, and walls, the Dutch-made rubber' 
 tiling of a pattern none but a Hollander could design, the upright piano 
 of hard action and soft tone, in a queer, stiffly ornamented case built in the 
 
 1 
 
2 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 side of the room, together with a fascinating panel painting of a mermaid 
 in a tail-maid suit, sitting upon a rock, and alluring a low browed savage 
 by blowing through a conch shell. 
 
 We had hoped for a smooth passage, and as we left New York 
 right after the great Christmas storm, yearned for warmer weather, 
 but it was not until the third day of the voyage that there was any 
 
 
 f^^^^i 
 
 
 P^S^^^^fR^^HH|K^H|^*5<t''C^^^^^J :..=::<:;■ .^'^r . 
 
 
 WIND MILL FOR CANE GRINDING; BARBADOS. 
 
 suggestion of either smoothness or warmth. A following wind from 
 the northeast chilled the air and made the Gulf stream a steaming 
 vapor crested caldron. 
 
 There were about the usual health seekers, in the persons of 
 middle aged individuals, who were fleeing from winter rigors of the 
 north to summer safety, an asphalt man and a drummer for a big textile 
 house. There was little, or no excitement, even when the friendly ones 
 in the smoking room succeeded in introducing the potent and pleasant 
 West Indian cocktail — the "Swizzle" — to the masculine contingent. 
 
 The usual route of the Dutch boats is outside of the West Indian 
 
OF THE AMAZON 3 
 
 islands, Barbados being the first land sighted, but for the sake of 
 smoother seas for his passengers the Captain took ' the inside route. 
 We, therefore, late on Saturday night, saw Sombrero in the distance, 
 and awoke Sunday morning off Sabre island, a brown sugarloaf peak 
 rising from the ocean depths. Later came Dutch St. Eustacia, which we 
 saluted. Then, running through white capped seas, we passed St. Kitts, 
 
 SQUEEZE ROLLS FOR CRUSHI^fG SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Nevis, Barbuda, and Guadaloupe. All day long we skirted shores where 
 the sea was a wonderful blue, Vhere mountain peaks were wreathed 
 in cloud, and the land, often heavily forested, showed the most wonder- 
 ful varied, and vivid greens — colors that only a tropical sun and abundant 
 moisture can create. That night, the last on board, we had a special 
 dinner, with ornamented menu, and, as a finale, ice cream served in 
 a huge block of ice, lighted by candles ingeniously arranged in crystal 
 niches. At nightfall we passed outside again between Dominica 
 and Martinique, and as it was squally the Captain spent the night on 
 the bridge, while the rest of us slept. 
 
THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 In the morning we were close to the island of Barbados, which 
 we partly circled, anchoring off Bridgetown at noon. A swarm of 
 boats manned by husky black oarsmen crowded along by the ship's 
 side, shouting anything and everything to attract attention to their 
 boats. They had given genuine darky names to their craft, such as 
 "Ladybird," "Lilywhite," "Mel Rose," etc. With all of our luggage 
 in "Lilywhite," we went ashore, passed the courteous customs success- 
 fully, leaving my heavy service revolver in their care untij I sailed again. 
 
 TYPICAL BARBADIAN NEGRO ,HUT. 
 
 and were soon bowling along the dazzling white coral roads to the hotel 
 at Hastings. Here we had lunch, and three hours later, the luggage 
 having arrived, were comfortably settled in cool, airy rooms, windows 
 and doors wide open, clad in linen suits, wondering how cold it was 
 on Broadway. 
 
 After all of the northern cold, and the boisterous and chilly sea, 
 it was supremely comfortable to relax in the semi-tropical warmth and 
 enjoy the evening stillness, broken only by the bird calls, the piping 
 frogs, and the distant plaints of sheep and goats. 
 
 Rubber has not as yet been successfully grown in Barbadqs. There 
 is, to be sure, a small planting of Funtumia on one of the estates, and 
 a few Ficus elasticas in the gardens, but that is all. Not that the 
 Imperial Commissioner and his associates are not on the watch for any 
 rubber producer that tnay be of use. Indeed, their quiet alertness was 
 fully proved when the "Ekanda" first came into brief prominence. They 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 secured some of the tubers, set them out, proved them useless, and 
 turned to other work before the rest of the world was through with the 
 preliminary discussion as to their probable value. Sugar is the great 
 staple, and often produced in the old fashioned way by hand labor in 
 planting and gathering, and often extracted by the wasteful windmill. 
 Something, like 500 tons of Manjack or glance pitch is mined in 
 Barbados. This form of asphalt is very solid and pure and is used in 
 
 GINNING SEA ISLAND COTTON, BARBADOS. 
 
 insulation quite largely. None of the small deposits that •! saw were 
 being worked, and the industry did not seem to be of great importance. 
 Of greatet interest than sugar and molasses is the Sea Island 
 cotton grown there. Barbados figures in the cotton trade possibly to 
 a greater extent than some may be aware. While cotton was found 
 native in the present area of the United States, there is no record of 
 that variety ever having been put under cultivation. The cotton now 
 grown in our country came from the West Indies. Just where is not 
 certain, but it may be mentioned that the "sea island" sort, the Gossypium 
 Barbadense, had its origin in Barbados. 
 
6 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 For a long time the West Indian planters seemed not interested 
 in cotton, but now, under the urgency of the British government that 
 every colony shall be self supporting, if not more so, they are planting 
 it and especially in Barbados. The amount of cotton produced is not 
 large as yet, but considering the enterprise of the planters as a class, 
 and the encouragement of planting interests by the governmental 
 authorities, it seems reasonable to expect an important development from 
 
 FIELD OF SEA ISLAND COTTON, BARBADOS. 
 
 the present small beginnings. Already the annual production is nearly 
 half a million pounds. 
 
 As a final touch to the subject came my visit to the Central Cotton 
 Ginning Factory, located at Bridgetown. Here a very careful Scot 
 somewhat reluctantly took us over the factory. That is, he was doubtful 
 at first, but after a bit warmed up and showed everything with enthusiasm. 
 The work of ginning, cleaning the seed, baling the lint, crushing the 
 seed, expressing and clarifying the oil, and grinding the cake, was well 
 done throughout. The machinery used was mostly English, with some 
 American for special purposes. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Exploring the Island in a Four Wheeler — Seas of Sugar Cane and 
 Sentinel Windmills — Barbados as a Halfway House Where One Goes into 
 Training for Tropical Adventure— A Typical Tropical Golf Gourse^Boarding 
 the Rubber Boat for Belem. 
 
 JUST to get an idea of the topography of the island, we rose early- 
 one morning and drove over to Codrington College, some 14 miles 
 away. The roads were all good, but narrow, with no sidewalks 
 even in the small towns. It was a wonder, so smooth were the roads, 
 that the 40 automobiles owned on the island, as well as the 1,500 bicycles, 
 were not equipped with solid tires rather than pneumatics. There were 
 no speed limits, but there were so many turns, and such a crowd of 
 foot passengers and vehicles, that more than 20 miles an hour was 
 out of the question. So smooth were the roads that boys with forked 
 sticks rolled three-inch iron wheels for miles — a form of toy not seen 
 ■elsewhere. 
 
 The drive was a very beautiful one, through great fields of sugar 
 cane, by big and little sugar mills, sometimes run by steam power, but 
 m.ore often by the wind. We stopped briefly at St. John's church, which 
 is situated on the top of a hill fronting the ocean, and climbing the bell 
 tower got a wonderful view of sea and shore. Then we wandered 
 through the ancient churchyard and looked at the quaint headstones and 
 limestone vaults, took photographs and went on our way. 
 
 A four-mile drive down a series of steep hills, where the driver roped 
 •one of the rear wheels to keep it from turning, and we were at Codrington 
 College, which we did not see much of, as the main buildings were being 
 repaired. Here under a huge tree, from the shade of which we evicted 
 several sullenly reluctant toads, we opened our lunch basket. We were 
 very comfortable, for the caretaker brought us chairs, and a "monkey" 
 of cool water, and the food was excellent. We loafed and smoked through 
 the heat of the day and finally, at 3.30 started back. On the way we 
 stopped at a sugar estate and saw a windmill at work and the process 
 of boiling the juice. The proprietor was an absentee, but his colored 
 
 7 
 
8 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 superintendent was elaborately polite and hospitable. After the ex- 
 amination of the plant he led us to the "gallery" (veranda) of the house 
 and treated us to a pitcher of the hot syrup. 
 
 The day following I called upon the American Consul, who promptly 
 put me up at the Golf Club, and was particularly helpful. Speaking of 
 golf, I had been advised that it was well before a journey to the Amazon 
 to get in as good a physical condition as possible. That was one reason 
 
 AVENUE OF ROYAL PALMS, BRIDGETOWN. 
 
 that I was glad to be put up at the Savannah Qub which institution merits 
 a little extra attention, as the links were different from any that I had 
 ever played over. 
 
 There is a station half way between Bridgetown and Hastings 
 known as Garrison. Here are arranged on three sides of the Savannah 
 the brick barracks and officers' houses that once sheltered full regiments. 
 To-day there is hardly a corporal's guard left. One of the buildings, the 
 'clock tower," where the regimental bands played, had been acquired by 
 the Savannah Club, that in the face of a dearth of m:,n has kept tennis. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 9 
 
 cricket, and polo alive, and incidently laid out a six-hole golf course. 
 The putting greens, circles of 23 feet, cut into the thick bunch grass 
 of the fields, were fine. Seeded to Bermuda grass, they are always, level, 
 free from worm casts, and as nearly perfect as possible. Then, too, 
 the course to the first hole, across the polo field, was such that one can 
 
 CODRINGTON COLLEGE, BARBADOS. 
 
 use a brassy, but nowhere else. All of the tees were built on a slant 
 and grassed because of the rains, and it was wonderful how far into the 
 sky one could drive a ball. The caddies, funny little darkies, went on 
 ahead and located the ball in the deep grass, and thereafter one used 
 a lofter. By the club rules if a caddy fails to find the ball, any other 
 boy who does gets threepence, to be deducted from the caddy's 
 fee. Very few balls are lost. Although it is hot there is usually a breeze, 
 and eighteen holes with tea afterward on the club "gallery" is a good 
 healthy afternoon's work, and pleasant finish. 
 
lo THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 Did I by any chance say there were no bunkers on the golf course? 
 1 was wrong. From one tee the drive was over the race course and a 
 high board fence. Then, too, there were the big banyan trees that 
 circled one green. The only play was to loft the ball up over the one 
 fronting you. Then the small movable bunkers, the tethered cows, 
 sheep, and goats, might all be called hazards. One cow in particular 
 lowered, her head and charged golfers whenever they indulged in too 
 much preliminary wrist wriggling. I did not blame her. If I had her 
 horns and bulk, I'd try to break up the practice myself. The goats 
 chewed the balls some, but that was only because they were thirsty 
 and hoped that some of the Americans were using watercore balls. Oh, 
 yes, there was much of interest and sport, particularly when a sergeant 
 was drilling the awkward squad on horseback on the polo field and you 
 were at the first tee. It was a poor drive that didn't get a horse or a 
 man, and the sergeant never knew what broke the formation. Then 
 at the last hole when you . sliced on the approach and cannoned on a 
 carom — no, caromed on a — well, hit one of the row of cannon, it only 
 threw you off a bit, and added to the zest. So I kept it up between 
 whiles, and awaited the boat that was to take me to Para. 
 
 The owner of the hotel was very much of a genius in making 
 his guests comfortable and, incidently, amusing them. Aside from 
 dancing and bridge for those so inclined, as he was not saddened or 
 disgusted if you had other preferences, he had a series of tallyho rides 
 that were unique. With good horses, and the only coach on the island, 
 he was a whip who would be accounted an expert anywhere. To be 
 conveyed over the slippery limestone roads on Saturday night, down 
 through the indescribably crowded streets, cutting close corners, around 
 the market and out under the low stone arch set in a very inconvenient 
 curve, through "Murderer's Lane" and home, was a delightful experience 
 and not without thrills. Then, too, there were his special excursions 
 ii the afternoon to the "haunted wood," the "baboon village" and the 
 "smuggler's cave," places not noted in the guide books, but full of fun 
 and interest. 
 
 I saw sights and wrote forenoons, and golfed at 3.30 each day, and, 
 by the time my boat arrived, was feeling very fit. Indeed, I should 
 advise any one coming in midwinter from the north to stop at Barbados 
 rnd get accustomed to warmer weather, and incidently rested and re- 
 freshed before essaying the heat. 
 
 Barbados is the health resort of those who find the climate of 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 II 
 
 South America too much for them. That is why I have given it so 
 much space, and why also I add the following personal conclusions: 
 
 Barbados is the oasis in the watery waste between New York and 
 Para where all wise travelers stop for rest and refreshment. 
 
 No bother at all with customs. They only tax tobacco and spirits. 
 
 MANJACK MINE, BARBADOS. 
 
 Everybody speaks English. The 200,000 residents are negroes, but 
 ai the same time British subjects. Two or three weeks' study renders 
 their English quite intelligible. 
 
 Clothing is as good and as cheap as anywhere in the world. Just 
 the place to buy for a journey up the Amazon. No, it did not fit. 
 
 George Washington, our own George, came down here when a 
 young man, and the governor hospitably gave him an elaborate breakfast 
 and — the small pox. 
 
 Gentle showers almost every day. Good water. No fleas, few flies, 
 and fewer mosquitoes. 
 
 Bathing ideal, but beaches are few and guarded by coral reefs 
 that are like the broken glass on the top of an orchard wall. 
 
12 
 
 ■THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 Living reasonable, labor plentiful, cheap, and profoundly inefficient. 
 
 Barbados is unique among the islands that crowd the southern 
 seas, in that it is dry, comparatively level, has no forests, is of coral 
 formation, and is said to be almost as healthy as Heaven. 
 
 It was 6 in the morning of a Sunday when the welcome information 
 came that our boat was in. So we got up hurriedly, finished packing 
 and went down stairs, fearful that we would not have time for breakfast, 
 for it was said that her stay would be only two or three hours at most. 
 
 PUBLIC GARDENS, BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS. 
 
 Somebody had blundered, however. It was not ours, but one from 
 Manaos and Para, and soon a number of bright young American engineers 
 from the Madeira-Mamore railroad came in. After a year in the 
 jungle they were glad of a vacation and were friendly, jolly and ap- 
 parently as healthy as if they had been at work on the New York Central. 
 We waited until 2 p. m. and at last our boat did arrive, and at 3 o'clock 
 we started for the pier. We had to hurry but managed to call at the 
 postoffice and extract a letter from a languid clerk after answering in- 
 numerable questions. Then I went to the custom house and secured my 
 revolver, and, boarding a shore boat, we got to the ship's side at ex- 
 
OF THE AMAZON 13 
 
 actly ten minutes of 4. A pretty close shave for she was to sail at 4 sharp. 
 
 We hastened to get our luggage stowed, fortunately exchanging our 
 cabin on the saloon deck for one on the upper with more room and better 
 air. Then we went out and took a last long look at the beautiful island 
 tViat had been our resting place for thirteen happy days ! 
 
 Having looked this look, we threw coppers to the diving boys, 
 chatted with the harbor police, and went in and smoked. At 5 o'clock 
 we came out and took a last long look at the beautiful island that had been 
 our resting place for thirteen happy days ! 
 
 Then we went to the cabin, rearranged our baggage, put on rubber 
 soled shoes, smoked a pipe, and at 6 o'clock went out on deck and took 
 a last long look at the island that had been our resting place for thirteen 
 . happy days ! 
 
 At 6.30 the agent came aboard, then three boats filled with females 
 and luggage — two females and several tons of luggage. The females 
 were dusky _ of hue, and the luggage was done up in wicker baskets, 
 bed quilts, and paper boxes. Finally the side ladder was up, the anchor 
 weighed, and we went on deck to take a last long look at the island that 
 had been our resting place for thirteen happy days ! 
 
 We had dinner that night in a cozy little saloon decorated with a 
 variety of foreign flags, to please no doubt the somewhat varied assort- 
 ment of humans who fronted the viands. There were Barbadians, 
 Brazilians, Peruvians, Mexicans, Swiss, Germans, English, and Ameri- 
 cans, the last named an interesting lot of engineers returning for a fresh 
 attack upon the jungle for the Madeira-Mamore railroad. 
 
 The smoking room crowd told weird tales of fevers, sicknesses, and 
 deaths, all of which we discounted, for were they not going back, and 
 was not the ship's doctor, a quiet, healthy man, going up the river for 
 his thirtieth visit? Still the stories were entrancing, especially when 
 they described that mysterious beriberi that begins in the legs, works up 
 to the heart, and ends in the burying ground. 
 
 The third day out I awoke with a feeling of numbness in my legs. 
 When I walked the deck it was quite painful. Remembering the vivid 
 descriptions of beriberi that I had heard from convalescents in the smoking 
 room the night before, the absence of fever, the way it affects the legs, 
 and so on, I began to think. Nor was I at all reassured when the ship's 
 doctor halted beside me as I leaned over the rail, and looking at me 
 keenly said : 
 
 "How do your legs feel?" 
 
u 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 "Oh, so so," I said truthfully — for they did, only the left felt more so 
 than the right. 
 
 "Humph ! Thought perhaps the combination of hot decks and rubber- 
 soled shoes might hade lamed you a bit. It does most people." he 
 answered, and my depression vanished. 
 
 Outside of the boat, her officers, and passengers, there was only 
 the monotony of the bounding billow. No gulls, whales, sharks, or sails. 
 Even Halley's comet, which should have been visible each night, was 
 regularly obscured by clouds. And as for sunsets we didn't have a real 
 
 CONSTABLE OF THE GOLF COURSE, BARBADOS. 
 
 one on the whole voyage. One evening three of the little Peruvian girls 
 played a trio on the piano ; while the others danced a graceful fandango. 
 Between whiles there was talk of Neptune coming aboard, and these who 
 had never crossed the Equator got very nervous and asked innumerable 
 questions. 
 
 I think it was at dinner that the Peevish Passenger who had only just 
 been able to crawl down to the table, catching a twinkle in the Captain's 
 eye, groaned : 
 
 "Here comes the whiskey joke." 
 
 "I'm a sailor twenty-six years an' I say water's a fine thing — with 
 a drop of whiskey in it," announced the Captain. (Much applause). 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 15 
 
 Another twinkle of the same eyes. 
 
 "It's eggs this time," whispered the P. P. 
 
 "If I 'ad my Hfe to live hover again I wouldn't go on as much 
 water as would boil two heggs," said the Captain. (More applause). 
 
 Suddenly the Peevish Passenger arose. 
 
 "I'm sick," he said, looking at the humorist. 
 
 "Wot of?" inquired the Captain 
 
 "Of them eggs. This is the tenth v'y'ge you've served 'em up, and 
 they're gettin stale," and" he stalked unsteadily out. 
 
 AN AGGRESSIVE BOVINE BUNKER, ON THE GOLF COURSE, BARBADOS. 
 
 All through the voyage every one who knew enough took quinine, 
 loafed, read, and kept generally quiet. Indeed, although the sea was not 
 unusually rough, the boat rolled so constantly that the best sailors among 
 the passengers frankly acknowledged their discomfort. It was not so 
 much the fault of the boat; it was the cross seas stirred up by the 
 steadily blowing trade winds that did the mischief, and we were thankful 
 when the light off Salinas (on the BraziHan coast) was sighted and 
 we picked up a pilot for the hundred-mile run up the river Tocantins to 
 the city of Para — or Belem — the last lap of the journey down the Atlantic. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Entering the Tocantins, the Neck of the Amazonian Rubber Bottle — 
 Real Equatorial Rains and Heat — The 100-Mile Run to the City of Para — 
 The Longest Way Round, the Shortest Way to the Shore — Landing in the 
 Midst of Rubber. 
 
 OUR craft was first and last a rubber boat and had carried millions 
 of dollars' worth of fine Para to the States and to Europe — 
 $4,000,000 in one cargo. Almost from the beginning the Captain 
 and officers talked rubber. They spoke with pride of Riker's plantation 
 rp at Santarem, and said he had 50,000 trees and was already tapping. 
 Posted in the chart room was the following: 
 
 "SHIPMENTS OF RUBBER IN MANAOS, PARA AND OTHER 
 
 PORTS. 
 
 Special Notice to Captains and Officers. 
 
 ■'We desire to call the special attention of our captains and officers 
 to the fact that for some time past rubber cargoes have come forwara 
 with the weights in kilos incorrectly marked on many of the cases, 
 the result being that whenever these cases are landfed here broken, the 
 vessel is invariably called upon for the deficiency between the foreign 
 and the English weight. 
 
 "We, therefore, insist upon the utmost care being taken in receiving 
 and stowing this description of cargo, so that the cases stand no possible 
 chance of being broken, and that a thorough search for loose rubber be 
 made in all lighters before being taken away from vessel. 
 
 "It is also important that very special attention be given to ports 
 of destination on cases of rubber for Havre, and that shipments of 
 pellcs and other loose rubber belonging to various consignees be en- 
 tirely separate; different holds preferred. Great care must be taken 
 in the storage of nuts and Lisbon cargo, that the immediate discharge of 
 rubber in Havre and Liverpool be not interfered with. This is very 
 important." 
 
 16 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 17 
 
 We had been in the 
 mouth of the Amazon for 
 certainly twelve hours, and the 
 yellow waves gave no sug- 
 gestion of saltness. We told 
 each other the ancient tale of 
 the boat's crew perishing 
 from thirst, hailing a passing 
 vessel and begging for water, 
 and getting the well-known 
 reply, "Dip it up then; you're 
 in the mouth of the Amazon." 
 We never realized what a 
 mean trick was played on 
 those thirsty mariners until 
 we got a deckhand to dip up 
 some water. It was exceed- 
 ingly brackish and far from 
 drinkable. 
 
 At nightfall it began to 
 rain in torrents and we felt 
 our way up to the pilot boat, 
 which lay rolling in the trough 
 of the sea in a manner that 
 suggested discomfort to those 
 on board. After a time a 
 boat put off from her side 
 and we saw it jerkily ad- 
 vancing over the waves to 
 meet us. That is, we didn't 
 see the boat — it was too dark 
 for that; we saw the gleam 
 of a lantern at intervals v;hen 
 it rode on the crest of a wave. 
 The pilot, a huge Indian, 
 caught the side ladder and 
 climbed aboard with sur- 
 prising agility. 
 
 After about half an hour 
 
i8 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 steady steaming, through sheets of rain illumined by occasional lighting 
 flashes, with the lead going constantly, we anchored in 15 fathoms of 
 water to wait for daylight before proceeding up the river. At 5 o'clock 
 the next morning we started on again, and soon it was light. The 
 yellowish green water had taken on a deeper yellow and the morning 
 was a mixture of rain squalls and short intervals of sunshine. The 
 Tocantins looked like one of our own great lakes after a storm. In all 
 directions were floating forest wreckage and marsh grasses, and in the far 
 distance the low lying coastline. 
 
 NATIVE FISHING BOAT, TOCANTINS RIVER. 
 
 Soon we began to see the fishing boats of typical Portuguese con- 
 struction, fitted with sails, dark brown, red and blue. As we got further 
 up the river the water became calmer. Did I mention that it was grow- 
 ing warmer all of the time? It certainly was hot, and those who were 
 tc remain on board the boat during its stay in port were already get- 
 ting out mosquito bars. The captain explained to me the reason for 
 anchoring the night before. It seems this coast is afflicted with unusual 
 and strong currents. He pointed out a bank which a huge freight 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 19 
 
 steamer skirted by unlucky chance one dark night, running her bilge 
 keel upon it, and turned turtle almost instantly. Then, too, he showed 
 us the reefs where only a short time before another huge freighter 
 had been wrecked, the captain blowing out his brains when he found 
 his vessel was a total loss. Soon we sighted some of the many islands 
 with which the waterway is filled, and then almost at once got our first 
 glimpse of the water front of the great Rubber City. 
 
 In coming up to Para everything is on so large a scale that one 
 
 BUSINESS STREET, PARA. 
 
 gets no idea at all of the wonderful configuration of the country. The 
 view is confined to wide expanses of muddy water, low shores, densely 
 overgrown with tropical forests, and a few islands. A bird's eye view 
 would show islands big and little by the thousands, rivers of all sizes 
 coming in from every point of the compass, almost; creeks, lagoons, 
 waterways, the whole lower country a gigantic plain rising but a few 
 feet above tide level, sparsely settled, the riot . of vegetation crowding 
 
20 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 every inch of space, and even stretching far out into the quiet earth- 
 laden waters. 
 
 We passed in safety the httle Portuguese built fort that guards 
 the entrance to the harbor, skirted the shore where the great plant of 
 the Port of Para* is located, and finally dropped anchor about a mile 
 from the piers. When the great tropical contractors finish their work, 
 Para will have a fine system of granite quays, at which steamers may 
 discharge and load, and passengers go ashore over a gangplank. Until 
 that is done, cargoes are handled in huge lighters covered with movable 
 
 RUBBER WAREHOUSE, PARA. 
 
 sheet iron awnings, and passengers go ashore in launches, tugs or 
 rowboats. 
 
 I had heard many stories of the vigilance of the customs officials, 
 and that everything paid duty. I, therefore, took only hand baggage' 
 for the first trip ashore, and even then would have had trouble with the 
 camera had not a smoking room friend explained in profuse Portuguese 
 that I was intimately connected with the Intendente (mayor) and ha^. 
 
 *The American corporation improving the liarbor. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 21 
 
 come from New York purposely to get his photograph. Both federal 
 and state customs, who were aboard almost as soon as the anchor was 
 down, passed me at that. They don't take any chances, however ; a 
 passenger going ashore even for a few minutes cannot return to his 
 boat without a permit from a shore official, and luggage may remain 
 in the custom house until the Amazon freezes over, if the officials do 
 not choose to bestir themselves. At least so everybody says. To finish 
 my own custom house experience, a newspaper friend went next day. 
 
 TYPICAL RUBBER OFFICES. PARA. 
 
 picked out my luggage, got it passed and up to the hotel within two 
 hours. He did this by reading again and again to the board official 
 a personal estimate of the writer that he himself had caused to be put 
 in the daily papers. In self defense the customs man marked the luggage. 
 The shore tug on which we embarked took us within a hundred 
 yards of the shore and then tied up to one of the huge lighters, where 
 we were to be transferred to a small rowboat. We saw a couple of 
 porters jump on the lighter, walk around its shelflike edge, and disappear 
 
22 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 on their Way to shore. Rather than wait for the boat, I followed and 
 wished I hadn't, for the other side of the lighter was made fast to 
 what was once a long wooden pier, but the planking having all been 
 removed there remained an uneven, rotting nailstudded skeleton with 
 the yellow water looking surprisingly dirty and deep beneath it. I 
 got ashore all right, but the broiling sim and my exertions put me in 
 a perspiration that would fill a Turkish bath attendant with envy. 
 
 We landed right in the rubber district. There was rubber every- 
 where, on the sidewalks, in the streets, on trucks, in the great storehouses 
 and in the air — that is, the smell of it. We didn't pause to see the 
 rubber men then, however, but went up a narrow street. to the electric 
 car line, swung aboard, and were soon at the Cafe da Paz and located 
 in comfortable rooms. 
 
 Breakfast is 12 o'clock noon, in Para, and while I was enjoying 
 the meal, I took occasion to chat with an American commercial traveler 
 who came to Brazil once a year. It makes me proud to see evidences 
 of American enterprise in foreign countries, so I asked him a few 
 questions. 
 
 "Do many commercial travelers visit this port?" 
 
 "Lots of them," said he. 
 
 "How many American drummers are there in town at present?" 
 
 "Pm the only one," was the reply. 
 
 "How many Germans are here?" 
 
 "Eighty," said he. 
 
CHAPTER IV- 
 
 Paea a Pleasant Surprise — How the "White Wings" Work in Para — The 
 Yellow Fever Mosquito and How to Dodge it — A Military Fire Department — 
 Bits of Early History. 
 
 I MUST confess that I was agreeably disappointed in Para. The 
 steamer gossips had said much about the city, and little that was 
 good. I paid 12 milreis a day at the hotel and found both service 
 and food excellent. The gold milreis, the standard of the Brazilian mone- 
 tary system, is equal to 54.6 cents in United States money. Business, 
 however, is conducted mainly on a paper money basis, with the price of 
 the milreis varying with the rate of London exchange, which averages 
 a little over 15 pence, or 30 to 31 cents. 
 
 My bedroom, with its lofty bare walls, 12-foot double casement, 
 and narrow bed with mosquito net draped over a white parasol 
 and hanging in graceful folds to the floor, was just my idea of a tropical 
 apartment. To be sure, if one lighted a lamp and put it in the open case- 
 ment at night, it was possible to coax mosquitos in. Some visitors do this 
 and then kick. I did not. I had my cheerful little brown chamber man 
 look through the net in mid afternoon for mosquitos, then tuck it secure- 
 ly under the mattress, and what few bites I got did no harm. 
 
 As long as we are talking about mosquitos, there are two kinds that 
 work mischief — the little black ones that carry malaria, and the larger 
 striped ones that may or may not provide yellow fever. We recognized 
 both kinds and they recognized us, but nothing came of it. 
 
 The day of my arrival a Portuguese physician, who was a friend of 
 mine in Rio, called and left a packet of powders with directions 
 to "take one every morning," and I would not have yellow fever. His 
 medicine was all right. I took it three days and escaped ; then somebody 
 stole the box and so I couldn't experiment further. Speaking of yellow 
 fever, it would be foolish for any one to disregard ordinary precautions. 
 But to my mind the pneumonia of our Northern clime is much more easy 
 to get and just about as fatal. Yellow fever is endemic in Para. There 
 ■were several deaths a week while I was there, but it was a question if they 
 
24 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 were all yellow fever. Most of those who died from it were from the 
 lowest classes, who weaken their stomachs by drinking cachaca and 
 then get what may be a low malarial fever or almost any kind of bilious 
 fever; it all goes down as amarello. 
 
 The city itself is exceedingly beautiful. Near the water front it 
 develops some smells other than those produced by rubber, but up in the. 
 city proper it is fine and clean. The cafes, with tiny round tables out on 
 the sidewalks, remind one very much of Paris. In the residence section — 
 for example, the Avenida Nazareth — the elegant homes, luxuriant tropical 
 gardens, the well-paved streets, and the shaded sidewalks are worth com- 
 ing a long distance to see. Before daylight every morning, an army of 
 
 THE AVENIDA REPUBLICA, PASA. 
 (At the right is shown the Hotel da Paz). 
 
 laborers sweeps every city street, using broad palm branches, one of which 
 does the work of a dozen brooms. The litter is then carted away in huge 
 covered tip carts, each drawn by a single well-fed, patient-eyed steer. Then 
 in the afternoon the heavy showers come and help notably in this street 
 cleaning. The city in many respects is very modern. Automobiles are there 
 in plenty, and as there are no speed limits, the drivers scorch up and down 
 any and all streets at 35 to 40 miles an hour, but with no accidents as far 
 as I could observe. 
 
 The police service is excellent, and one cannot go anywhere after 
 dark without seeing a policeman at almost every corner. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 23 
 
 The parks both in the city proper and beyond the city limits, as well 
 as the magnificent Botanical Gardens, are beautiful beyond compare. 
 
 It is, to be sure, a tropical city ; that is, it has its hours of relaxation 
 every day, and its days almost every week. Certain of the offices, for ex- 
 ample, open at 9 in the morning, close between 11 and i, and close again 
 at 3. They also keep the bars up Sunday and feast days, which latter are 
 many. While the lesser officials watch the clock and kill time, the 
 
 PRACA DA INDEPENDENCI.\, PARA. 
 
 Intcndente works day and night, so 'tis said, and it is to his energy 
 and foresight that many of the beautiful buildings and parks, as well 
 as public utilities, are due. 
 
 There is an excellent fire department, with the best tropical equip- 
 ment I have seen. Accustomed to the freedom of American cities, I 
 started to walk into one of the central stations one day to look it over, and 
 was promptly held up by a businesslike young chap with a Mauser rifle, 
 who called for the Corporal, who reported to the Captain, who in turn got 
 
26 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 SALON IN THEATRO DA PAZ, PAItA. 
 
 the Cominandante. He very politely detailed an officer to show me through 
 the yards, stables, gymnasium, dormitories, and munition room, and to 
 examine the engines, hose carts and ladder trucks. It was the first com- 
 bination of barracks and engine house that I had seen, and I was much 
 interested, and said so to the Commandante, the Captain and the Corporal, 
 
 PUBLIC LIBRARY, PARA. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 27 
 
 each of whom saluted politely with outstretched hand and raised hat as I 
 left. To the sentinel I gave a big black cigar with a gorgeous band on it, 
 and underneath the band a revenue stamp, which every cigar in the Brazils 
 is obliged to wear. 
 
 Para is a very old city and was actually founded four years before 
 the New England Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock. The founder 
 was a fighting Portuguese named Francisco Branco who drove out the 
 French, who had no right there. For twenty-five years, or until 1641, 
 the state of Para was part of the province of Maranham but in that year 
 it became independent. Then the Dutch took possession of the city but 
 
 CITY HOSPITAL, PARA. 
 
 after a time got weary and abandoned it. In 1641 there was a strong 
 company formed in Portugal called the General Commercial Company 
 of Brazil. It had a monopoly on Amazonian commerce, it's only duty to 
 the home government, besides making money for it and for themselves, 
 being to keep other trading vessels out of the waterway. It kept 31 
 armed ships in commission for this and was in full control for 70 years. 
 The commerce had grown so that in 1700 Para afforded the best 
 market in all of the Brazils, shipping great quantities of cacao, vanilla 
 and indigo, and raising some coffee. Cattle raising was also introduced 
 or a large scale on the island of Marajo. In 1741 La Con''amine visited 
 
28 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 Para, sent out by the French Royal Geographical Society, to discover 
 the real shape of the earth. That he did not decide it was flat after 
 seeing the lay of the land in that part of the world speaks much for his 
 perspicacity. He has also gone down into history as the first scientist 
 to report vipon india-rubber. The good father, familiar with the metal 
 piston syringes used in Europe, was amazed and delighted with the rubber 
 syringes made by the Omagua Indians. He was also further amazed 
 
 FIRE DEPARTMENT ON PARADE IN FRONT OF THEIR BARRACKS, PARA. 
 
 when he discovered that an Indian chieftain giving a banquet, presented 
 a syringe to each guest for use before eating. 
 
 Up to 1 74 1 the state of Para reached inland as far as it chose but 
 in that year the great state of Amazonas was created, and definite 
 borders given to each. 
 
 When in 1822 Brazil separated itself from Portugal, Para did not 
 approve, and the government at Rio sent a warship up to reason with 
 them. Its mere presence quieted things down and there was no blood 
 
OF THE AMAZON 29 
 
 shed. Thereafter, however, there was a strong republican sentiment in 
 the city and state and in 1889 when the Republic was declared, the 
 people of Para welcomed it gladly. 
 
 The city of Para at the present time has a population of about 
 100,000 people. It is on gently undulating ground rising very gradually 
 from the river front. There are no real hills in the city proper or near 
 it. Deep natural ditches called igarapes, "canoe paths," run far inland 
 from the river, many of them containing water enough to float canoes, 
 and small boats. The tide rises and falls regularly in these natural 
 waterways sometmies for miles from the river. Not only the mainland 
 but the islands have hundreds of these natural water paths that afford 
 access to the interior where road making would be difficult. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Received by the Governor and "Intendente" — Club Life on the Amazon — 
 Carnival Scenes — Brazilian Hospitality — Hamburger Tourists. 
 
 A FRIEND had suggested, almost as soon as I landed, the advisability 
 of visiting the Governor and, when I agreed, promptly arranged 
 for an audience. But I was in flannels and my frock coat had 
 been carried off, I knew not whither, to be pressed. The Yankee Consul, 
 however, stepped into the breach and communicating to the Governor 
 my predicament, the audience was set for the day following. To learn 
 all of the details, I meandered over to the consulate, where the Consul 
 greeted me like a long-lost brother. If I had come from Ohio, his native 
 State, I believe he would have embraced me. A husky, warm-hearted, 
 quick-tempered, bustling Westerner, he won my heart then and there, and 
 when he came around next morning in a taxicab with a visiting rubber 
 manufacturer from the States and a leading Brazilian rubber merchant, 
 I was glad I was ready. 
 
 A frock coat and a top hat are not the most comfortable things in the 
 tropics, but we all wore them. And as the other three were stout and I 
 am not; my collar didn't wilt until the audience was over, which is more 
 than they can say for themselves. The Governor received us on a sort ol 
 divan flanked by four chairs, which we occupied. We talked about 
 rubber planting, in which he is very much interested, and he said that 
 the State was willing to do anything in reason to encourage planting. , 
 corporations. 
 
 "My friend on the right is one of the largest manufacturers of rubber 
 in the world. He uses only Para rubber, and his factory is. in Ohier," re- 
 marked the Yankee Consul. 
 
 If he had said "Erhio" or "Oheeo," I think the Governor would have 
 understood that he was referring to the Mother of Presidents. But as it 
 ivas he only looked blank and murmured a compliment, while the Visiting 
 Manufacturer's eyes twinkled as he thought of his last year's bill for re- 
 claimed rubber. 
 
 It is difficult for a democratic American to know how to address high 
 toreign officials. The Visiting Manufacturer called the Governor "Mon- 
 
 3° 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 31 
 
 sieur, the Signor," which sounded well. I didn't catch the Portuguese 
 rendering of the title, but turned into English it reads "Mister the Mister," 
 which, although respectful, is slightly tautological. 
 
 It was'nt really a heart-to-heart talk as the Governor knew no English 
 and we knew no Portuguese, and I think his Excellency was glad when 
 it was all over. Not that he showed it in any way. He was every mo- 
 ment the courteous, polished dignified gentleman, and the next day sent 
 his aide de camp around to my hotel to return the call, and, before I left 
 
 TYPICAL CITY STREET, PARA. 
 
 the city, sent me a score of beautifully illustrated books and some marvel- 
 ous maps for souvenirs of my visit. His word also placed everything in 
 the beautiful public library at my disposal. 
 
 We also made a formal call on the Intendente. According to 
 his enemies, he is another Richard Croker. He received us at 8 o'clock 
 in the morning at his home, a fine big palace of a house, with broad 
 verandas and magnificent apartments opening one into the other. He 
 had with him the secretary of the municipality, a huge, intellectual, coal- 
 black negro, who is probably the finest orator in Northern Brazil, and is 
 
32 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 called the "Booker Washington of South America." I asked the Intendente 
 why, instead of shading the streets of the city with mango trees, he had 
 not planted rubber trees? He answered promptly that years ago 
 there was much tuberculosis in the city; that the mango gives off 
 an aromatic balsam that is very healing, and that consumption had practi- 
 cally disappeared since the trees had matured. Besides, the poor people 
 practically lived upon the fruit of the tree for weeks at a time. 
 
 The Visiting Manufacturer, who evidently had been picking out the 
 wrong cabs, said to the Intendente : 
 
 "Why don't you fine cab drivers who do not use rubber tires?" 
 
 The reply came : 
 
 "I have done better than that; I have taken the tax off of rubber 
 
 PROPOSED NEW MUNICIPAL BUILDING, PARA. 
 
 tired vehicles and kept it on steel shod ones Now it's up to you to make 
 better tires so that our drivers will all be able to use them." 
 
 After that we retired, the Intendente wearing the honors. 
 
 Para has a number of daily newspapers. Two of them, however, are 
 loaders. One is owned by the Intendente, who edits it vigorously and 
 wisely. The other the Opposition Paper, with just as much vigor and 
 great plainness, disagrees with everything the government does, whatever 
 it is. Both have large circulations and both are excellent papers. 
 
 There are a number of good clubs. The Yankee Consul put me up at 
 the Para Club, where I met the bankers and steamship and rubber men — 
 American, German and English — and had some really good exercise at 
 billiards in spite of the sultriness that evening often developed. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 33 
 
 Then a rubber importer in New York had written the president of the 
 Sport's Club, who invited me to their functions. I also went to a ball at 
 the Universal Club, which must have been a very swell affair, for the 
 streets were lined with people who got their reward by seeing us go in 
 and out. 
 
 The resident head of "Casa Alden" also asked me to soap my legs 
 and come out to the Golf Club with him. The saponaceous preliminary 
 
 EXAMINING RUBBER FOR SHIPMENT. 
 
 that he advised is for the purpose of amusing moquecns, small and 
 active red bugs that live in the grass, outside of the city limits, particularly 
 on golf links. If one's legs are soaped the bugs get so engrossed with 
 climbing up as far as the kneee, then coasting down to the instep, that 
 they forget all about biting. 
 
 More interesting than a city are its inhabitants. The people at Para 
 are Brazilians and Portuguese. Although the former come largely from 
 Portuguese stock they do not like to be mistaken for-natives of the mother 
 country, so proud are they of their own. They are a sensitive, hospitable, 
 
34 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 enthusiastic race, with a very decided genius for and appreciation of the 
 fine arts. Many of the substantial business men are Portuguese and one 
 often sees exactly the same types as once made the men of Portugal the 
 foremost explorers of the world. The better class in Para are exceedingly 
 well dressed and no politer people are to be found anywhere. 
 
 It was "carnival week" while we were there, and there was ample 
 opportunity to see the whole city at play. As the beautiful floats passed, 
 the showers of confetti were constant and the flower fights vigorous. 
 Then in the afternoon, when the rain drove. the revellers indoors and the 
 cafes were packed to suffocation, a little glass atomizer made its appear- 
 ance. It was filled with perfume and sold for 4 milreis. How many 
 tliousands were emptied in the course of a few hours who can say ? No" one 
 escaped who came within range, and for twenty-four hours every food 
 product in the city tasted of perfumery. Through all the festivities I saw 
 nothing but good-humored fun, and was wonderfully impressed with the 
 graceful, unconscious courtesy of the people of this tropical city. 
 
 Speaking of hospitality, I wish I had space to describe in detail one 
 dinner at the home of a wealthy and cultured Brazilian, a large owner of 
 rubber lands in the Acre, that I enjoyed. It would take pages to picture 
 the cool spaciousness of the dwelling, the beautiful courtyard garden, with 
 its rare blooms and extensive orchid trellises, and the dinner itself, simple 
 and appetizingly elegant, and my host, who in almost perfect English 
 touched lightly on current events in Europe and America and showed a 
 knowledge of Paris, London, Berlin, and New York that made me envious , 
 but I know I could'nt do it justice, and I must pass it simply as one of 
 my pleasantest rnemories. 
 
 Every winter that great educational institution, the Hamburg- 
 American line, gathers together some hundreds of untraveled Americans 
 and projects them upon the people of other climes. They learn many 
 thmgs in the voyages ; that is, they have ample opportunity to do so. 
 
 Sitting at midday breakfast in the Cafe da Paz one morning, I knew 
 tiiat one of these great excursion steamers had arrived, for the advance 
 guard of the army that would soon overrun the city began to trickle in. 
 They were a comely, well-dressed, respectable lot, and I viewed them with 
 much interest. The self-conscious swagger (we are all afflicted with it) 
 that the men took on because they felt that many strangers were looking 
 at them in a foreign tongue, was most exhilarating. The half-pitying 
 glances that they cast about were not contempt, but simply embarrass- 
 ment. They were wondering in their innermost recesses what the well- 
 <!ressed foreigners thought of these fine specimens of American manhood. 
 
►+. JO 
 
 I- "=1 
 
 ■ o 
 o 
 
 ■ o 
 
 >." 
 
36 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 And those foreigners, sitting erect over their breakfasts, were probably 
 wondering what the weahhy and somewhat noisy Americans thought of 
 the fine specimens of BraziHan gentlemen that they saw for the first time. 
 Both were self-conscious to the last degree, only the Americans showed it 
 and the Brazilians did not. 
 
 Having heard that Portuguese was the language of the country, the 
 tourists had a feeling that no one there understood English, or at least 
 not very well, and it came with rather a shock to me that I was also with- 
 out the pale. My knowledge came this way. Two nice old chaps stopped 
 in front of me and one said : 
 
 "Do you speak English?" 
 
 "A leetle," was my reply. 
 
 "Good ! Well, we want to take a trolley ride and go as far as we 
 can. Understand? See?" 
 
 "Si, Senor, you wish to go up zee balloon. I can arrange him." 
 
 "No, no, don't do that. Not a balloon, a trolley car — goes on rails," 
 showing me in pantomime how an electric car ran, and making a buzzing 
 sound that was most illuminating. 
 
 "He is off his trolley, yes ?" I remarked engagingly to his companion. 
 Then' seeing he; had left his sense of humor aboard the boat, and they 
 were likely to get away, I went on hurriedly : 
 
 "Oui, yes, si Senor, you wish the trolley tram. The zip car. It is run 
 by zee door. Go out to Sousa. It's quite a long ride out to Sousa and a 
 pietty one, and if you stay aboard the car, it will bring you back saving 
 a transfer." 
 
 I got interested in describing these details and forgot my accent. Just 
 as I finished one of the inquirers said : 
 
 "You speak very good English." 
 
 "So do you," said I. 
 
 "But r come from Boston," was his retort. 
 
 "So do I," was mine. 
 
 I forgot to say that before L left my table two tourists sitting at 
 another facing me were enjoying huge glasses of excellent Brazilian beer. 
 One of them desirous of knowing the brew, held his glass aloft (he wore 
 cotton gloves, by the way, to protect his hands from yellow fever mos- 
 quitos) and, addressing me cordially, said: 
 
 "Pilsener? Is this Pilsener beer?" 
 
 "Thank you," I replied courteously; "I drink only zee chmpagne.' 
 I should be glad of a leetle bottle." And I beckoned to his waiter, while 
 he gulped the remainder of his drink and bolted. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Para's "Wall Street" — How the Natives Adulterate Crude Rubber — 
 Examining for Adulterations — Hard Working Tropical Longshoremen — 
 Friendly Rivalry Between Para and Manaos — Where Rubber Markets are 
 Really Made. 
 
 THE center of the rubber interest in Para is, very naturally, where 
 the houses of the great importers, or rather exporters, are located. 
 These are on the water front and are not only easily located by 
 the pleasa:nt smell of rubber with which the air is permeated, but during 
 crop arrivals by the great quantities of rubber arriving and departing in 
 bulk and in cases, often temporarily piled everywhere and anywhere. The 
 carelessness with which this valuable product is handled would be a shock 
 to any member of the Rubber Stealings Committee. Evidently there is 
 no rubber thievery in Para. 
 
 A narrow street running from the water front up into the city, known 
 &.? "Wall street," is where most of the rubber' purchasing is done. When 
 a steamer arrives with rubber for the various aviadores, they gather on 
 this street or in an open room that leads off from it, and the representa- 
 tives of the big buyers being present, the various lots are disposed of. 
 There are brokers, but they do only a fraction of the business. 
 
 Each of the rubber houses employs a very capable body of men who 
 receive the rubber, cut and examine it, and pack it in boxes for shipment. 
 The cutting of the rubber is an absolute necessity, as some lots are badly 
 adulterated. This adulteration takes three forms: In one, a subtance 
 tabatinga is added to the latex, giving a short fiibered rubber that 
 is wholly without nerve. The second is the addition of farinha, 
 which increases bulk and weight, but also makes the rubber very short and 
 pasty. The third is a mixture of sand and farinha which is perhaps the 
 worst of all. 
 
 The adulteration of fine Para by the addition of farinha or sand is 
 not new by any means. Back in the '50's Herndon reports that the 
 natives thus "diluted" rubber. The gatherer does not put the farinha in 
 altogether for the sake of adding weight; its presence causes a quicker 
 
 38 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 39 
 
 coagulation, and if he gets in too much he adds a Uttle lemon juice and 
 is able to produce exceeding smooth films, free from bubbles and very 
 Cjuickly. The rubber looks beautifully, that is, until a minute red ant 
 burrows into it and eats the farinha out. Then when it is cut open the 
 whole of the fraud is apparent and it is rejected. Of course it some- 
 times happens that farinha rubber is shipped before the ants get a chance 
 at it, and the amount present may be so small that the examiner may not 
 note it when he cuts the pelles open. It is necessary for the manufacturer, 
 however, to know whether it is there or not, as the strength of the 
 rubber will show an extra shrinkage if it is present. 
 
 PARA RUBBER IN HENERATAGODA GARDENS, CEYLON; 
 
 Grown from seed secured in Brazil in 1S76. These trees have furnished seeds for more than 
 600,000 acres of planted Hc.'ca in the Far East. 
 
 A very simple test is to have a water solution of iodine and 
 potassium iodine which may be applied with a brush to the freshly 
 cut surface. If farinha is there the surface will turn from a yellowish 
 mahogany color to blue. 
 
 Coarse Para or Negroheads have ever offered to the careless or 
 ■dishonest scringuicro an irresistable chance to cheat. The ball is made 
 up normally of strips of rubber that have coagulated on the cuts in the 
 trees and from drippings during smoking. How easy to put in a few 
 stones, a bunch of burlap sticky with half coagulated rubber, or a 
 billet of wood as heavy as iron. It gives more weight and at the store 
 
40 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 he is sure to get extra supplies for it. These things are therefore added 
 and carefully hidden by an outer coat of rubber and it is months usually 
 before his sin can find him out. The cutting of every pelle by the 
 exporter however, and the rejection of those which are not up to grade, 
 has done away with a very much of this sort of adulteration. 
 
 To refer again to "Wall street," time was when all the rubber buying 
 was done in a saloon there, but that is a thing of the past, and while some 
 is still sold in the "street," most of the purchasing takes place in the offices 
 of the great operators. Most of the rubber is shipped in eases made of 
 
 BRAZILIAN MACHINE FOR SMOKING PARA RUBBER MILK. 
 
 American pine. I saw a few boxes made of native wood, but the lumber 
 v/as heavy and brittle and not to be compared with the imported white 
 pine, either for safety or ease in working. 
 
 The rubber warehouse men are perhaps the best paid of any laborers 
 in the city. They receive about $4 a day, and extra for night work and 
 Sundays. When rubber is arriving they work willingly night and day, 
 often drenched to the skin by heavy tropical downpours, which they don't 
 seem to mind in the least. But the laborers are not the only hard workers. 
 When the gum is arriving, the exporter, if he is in the market, is kept ex- 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 41 
 
 ceedingly busy. A single small steamer coming in from the islands, where 
 she stopped at perhaps a hundred landings, may have rubber from 200 
 or 300 shippers, consigned to 75 or 80 different houses. All of these 
 interests, seringueiros and aviadores, knowing more or less about the 
 market, are intent on getting the best price and also on the passing of any 
 doubtful rubber without question. To do his own house justice and to 
 satisfy the sellers keeps the exporter very busy, and he often works nights, 
 but not out in the pouring rain. 
 
 The price at which rubber is sold in Para and Manaos dominates 
 
 
 inS SEIXXOUEjno 
 
 
 TYPE OF STEAMER USED IN THE AMAZONIAN BASIN FOR RUBBER TRANSPORTATION. 
 
 the spirit of the people, and in boom times, when money is plenty, it is 
 spent most lavishly. A rich Brazilian, even if it is only temporary wealth 
 due to a sudden rise in the rubber market, will buy anything, from an 
 automobile to an opera troupe, and plank down the cash with joy. 
 
 ^Para being the mother of rubber export has not been without twinges 
 of jealousy over the wonderful development of her daughter, Manaos. 
 She never wished the child to come out of swaddling clothes, because 
 she saw a decrease in rubber revenues as a result. Therefore "Manaos is 
 unhealthy and not a place to visit ;" "everything in rubber worth seeing can 
 be seen at Para," et cetera. 
 
42 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 Manaos also affects to scorn Para.. "She's old-fashioned and con- 
 servative;" "her rubber forests are rapidly being exhausted," and so on. 
 Then when the representatives of these two great cities meet they are good 
 friends and patriotic Brazilians. Their attitude reminds an American of 
 
 DISHONESTLY PREPARED STRIP RUBBER. 
 
 the rivalry between Chicago and St. Louis. It harms no one, and it makes 
 both cities more alert and aggressive. 
 
 It doesn't take very much perspicacity to figure out the fact that the 
 rubber market is not made on the Amazon, but in the great outside 
 centers, like Londoq and New York. During the crop season in Para 
 
 ROPE CONTENTS OF THE ABOVE. 
 
 the operators are in constant communication with their principals in 
 Europe or America, and in semi-constant touch with their houses at 
 Manaos. Each firm has its own cipher. None of them know each 
 other's cipher; whether they know the rest of their numerals, it is hard 
 to say. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 To THE "Island of Tiger Cats" — "Oveetapped" Rubber Trees-^Rubber Tree 
 Disease up the Amazon^ttFour-eyed Fish of the Igarape^Explqsj(ve Rubber 
 Nuts — Nipped by a Centipede. 
 
 ONE of the leading exporters in Para is a, wonderful producer 
 of artistic photographs, It is natural that he should have 
 taken boat journeys through the islands and up and down the 
 great rivers, not only in se9,rch of rubber knowledge but in pursuit 
 of his own particular fad, It was most gratefully, therefore, that 
 I accepted his invitation to take a launch trip to Isla des Oncas, the 
 great island that lies some miles to the south of the city. This island 
 is cut in two by a narrow natural canal which at high water is navigable 
 by canoes and rowboats. To catch the tide meant an early start. So 
 I awoke the Yankee Consul and the Visiting Manufacturer at 4 o'clock, 
 and after coffee we hastened down to the water front, arriving just 
 as the Exporter appeared, with several porters laden with eatables and 
 drinkables. 
 
 To cross to the island we embarked in a little three-cylinder kerosene 
 launch and soon were chuff-chuffing across the bay for the "Island of 
 Tiger Cats." Once over to the mangrove-fringed shore, we coasted 
 up and down until finally the sharp eyes of our pilot detected the little 
 opening of the channel. We were then transferred to the rowboat 
 that had been trailing behind. 
 
 The launch turned back and we entered the dim tree-shaded channel. 
 In some places it was so narrow that there was barely room for the 
 oars ; in other places it was from 10 to 20 feet wide. The water was 
 the same yellow brown tint that the whole Amazon affects. From the 
 start we saw rubber trees — the old settlers that had been tapped for 
 generations, their trunks swollen, scarred and disfigured by thousands 
 of machadinha strokes. Often pole stagings had been erected about 
 them, crude contrivances to allow the rubber gatherer to reach hitherto 
 untapped surfaces. 
 
 The trunks of the trees as far as one could reach were not only 
 
 43 
 
44 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 MANGROVES, SHORE OF ONCAS ISLAND, NEAR PARA. 
 
 swollen as if they had woody elephantiasis but the surface was gnarled, 
 twisted and roughened. This surface was covered with a very thin 
 attenuated bark, that often yielded but little latex. The real trouble 
 is not that the tree has been overtapped but that the cuts have been 
 too deep and into the wood. Up to the present time there is no record 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 45 
 
 of any overtapping of the Hevea trees if only the lactiferous ducts 
 are severed without reaching the cambium. As for disease in rubber 
 trees, we are apt to jump at the conclusion that the jungle-grown 
 wild tree is healthier than its plantation prototype. 
 
 When the canker appeared on the planted Para trees in Ceylon 
 all the world knew of it. At once the cry was that nature abhorred 
 man's attempt to coerce her. That tropical trees could not be planted 
 in groves — if they were, that nature would send disease or pest to 
 restore the equilibrium. To an extent this is doubtless true. It, how- 
 ever, assumes that the Hevea in its native forest surrounded by trees of 
 
 -* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 , >y" 
 
 ^S%"' 
 
 ■< 
 
 
 ~ r--^ 
 
 .« 
 
 IGARAPE, ONCAS ISLAND. 
 
 Other kinds is free from fungi and destructive insects. This, however, 
 is not the case. Dr. Hennings of Berlin, Dr, Huber of Para, and Dr. 
 Ule, all have discovered parasitic fungi on the Hevea and on the Castilloa 
 Ulei. Not in one place, but from the lower Amazon up to the Andean 
 slopes. The fact is that just as the well fed, right living civilized man is 
 healthier, stronger, and more productive than the savage, so the cul- 
 tivated Hevea, whether in Amazonia or elsewhere, will be a larger, 
 stronger, healthier tree than that which struggles up in the inhospitable 
 jungle. 
 
 But to return to our boat journey. On the surface of the igarape 
 
46 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 through which we were passing often appeared a curious Httle fish, 
 with a pair of bulging eyes in the top of the head to view the upper world, 
 and another pair underneath to view the nether world. As we got further 
 into the island the waterway broadened. We passed many little river 
 huts, and occasionally met a canoe whose occupants courteously and 
 gravely bade us bom dia. The curving stream, fringed with palms, 
 
 , 
 
 
 ■J 
 
 IK^^^M 
 
 
 
 ■1^ 
 
 
 1 ■ i 
 
 ^0 ■ X' 
 
 
 .1. ; 
 
 ^ ' 1.4&L 
 
 
 rr 
 
 L,,i»«»?!»-_-jfJ^^ .yi ii^-^J^Mj,.-^ 
 
 (*^ 
 
 1 ^^Kf^^S^^B^^^Lx- ^ Jmhh 
 
 1 p 
 
 |:,5=*%r.|i 
 
 
 
 
 
 ASHORE ON ONCAS ISLAND. 
 
 hugh mocco-mocco plants with white calla Hke blossoms, and great 
 ceiba trees, was wonderfully beautiful. 
 
 Of animal life we saw little; of birds there were parrots and hawks; 
 of animals, one black monkey; and of insects, great blue butterflies, 
 and one huge bird catching spider as big as a saucer. 
 
 Our botanist also pointed out a cow tree, that looked as if it 
 
OF THE AMAZON 47 
 
 had been much milked. The natives use the milk as a beverage with no 
 serious after effects. It is known as the "massaranduba" and it secretes 
 cteamy latex, said to be very pleasant to the taste. The milk after 
 standing, ferments and partly coagulates, the product being an 
 exceedingly sticky, resinous mass that may or may not contain a certain 
 amount of india-rubber. It is said that on the upper rivers certain of 
 the balata trees furnish milk that the natives also drink. 
 
 A MUCH TAPPED RUBBER TREE, PARA. 
 
 We went ashore and filled our pockets with nuts of the rubber 
 tree as souvenirs. The nut of the Hevea looks something like that of 
 the horse chestnut only it is three parted, containing three speckled 
 seeds. They look like smooth, slightly flattened nutmegs. As these 
 seeds ripen, the outer envelope bursts with a sound like a far away 
 pistol shot and the rich oily seeds drop to the ground. A number of 
 rodents, the agouti in particular, at the sound of this popping make 
 for the foot of the tree. Here they often encounter a very venomous 
 
48 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 snake which lies in wait at the foot of the rubber tree for just such 
 hungry seed seekers. 
 
 As we were emerging into the river on the other side of the 
 island a sudden shower fell, and we all held a tarpaulin above our heads 
 until it was over. It was then that my companion exclaimed that a 
 wasp had stung him. The wound didn't look like a bee sting, as there 
 
 BRAZILIAN BUSH KNIVES. 
 
 were two '.ittle punctures, close together. Being on the back of his 
 hand he was advised to suck it as a precaution, which he did, and no 
 inflammation followed. 
 
 The rain having ceased, the tarpaulin was put away, when some- 
 body said "There goes a centipede," and we caught a fleeting glimpse 
 of something that looked like an elongated earwig which ran into the 
 Visiting Mrnufacturer's pocket. It was rather a trying experience. 
 
 MACHADINHA, OR RUBBER TAPPING AXE. 
 
 but he never turned a hair and sat perfectly calm, while the Exporter 
 with a pair of small scissors very gingerly turned the pocket inside out, 
 but did not find a cent or pede, either. A moment later the insect was 
 discovered in the fold in his trousers, and very dexterously nipped with 
 scissors and thrown overboard. Then we all breathed a sigh of relief, 
 for the bite, though not dangerous, is apt to give one fever for a few days. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Wonderful Museu Gozldi with its Fauna, Animate and Inanimate — 
 Rubber in the Botanical Gardens — The World's Greatest Authority on the 
 "Hevea" and His Tropical Workshop — -"Sapiums" and Balata in the Amazon — 
 Tapping Rubber Trees at Daybreak — The Identification of "Caucho" — Braving 
 the "Dangers" of the Upriver Journey. 
 
 I HAD visited the Museu Goeldi many times while in Para, and each 
 time was more and more impressed with the natural wonders 
 of Brazil. The museum is crowded with birds, insects, reptiles, 
 animals — or, rather, their carefully preserved cadavers — and a week 
 of careful looking would not enable one to observe in detail a half 
 of what is there. The result is the visitor goes away with a misty and 
 mixed recollection of moths as big as shingles, flies the size of one's 
 hand, beetles bigger than mice, great lizards, monstrous alligators, and 
 snakes of all sizes, colored in infinite variety. Birds grotesque, birds 
 beautiful; animals unbelievably strange, and fish of such infinite variety 
 that imagination itself pauses helpless in stunned surprise.. 
 
 In cages, dens, and enclosures surrounding the museum buildings 
 are also housed a goodly number of living representatives of those in 
 the cases inside. Not that I spent all of my tirne either in the museum 
 or the zoological garden, for there is the botanical garden also. And 
 furthermore, there is D'r. Jacques Huber, who knows more about the 
 Hevca species than any one else in the world, who has gathered many 
 of the typical sorts about him, and is steadily observing them day by 
 day as they develop into mature trees. 
 
 The doctor, by the way, in the course of our many conversations, 
 suggested a new theory for the greater "nerve" in smoked rubber than 
 appears in the unsmoked. He explained that a pelle, from- the time 
 it is formed, undergoes a natural, continuous, solidifying pressure, caused 
 by the evaporation of the water from the outside layers and their 
 consequent contraction. Unsmoked rubber, on the other hand, put 
 up either in sheet or rectangular block form, experiences no such pressure. 
 
 49 
 
50 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 The theory seemed to me worthy of note. I remember that in Panama, 
 in gathering Castilloa rubber, we rigged some crude presses to get the 
 v/ater out, and in some instances, where the rubber was left for a lo'ng 
 time, its strength was greatly enhanced. 
 
 As I have said, the worthy Doctor knows the Heveas. He has 
 quietly, patiently, and persistently specialized on them for years. And 
 it was with exceeding interest that I heard him state that the Hevea 
 Brasiliensis is after all, the one producer of really high grade rubber. 
 He knew them all from the Brasiliensis to the Spruceana, and named 
 twenty varieties and their characteristics ofif hand. One that was new 
 
 BWjME^. 
 
 
 [■R.) 
 
 ..l^fe-...^. . , ^^ 
 
 
 W-; ,;:;;' "ii^^^ip 
 
 IfflP^S 
 
 ^. • ■ ''■-■^^m^f^^i 
 
 ... t ■,.. : -;■--- 
 
 ^^ff^ 
 
 
 t"^5fSli"*!^«iig£?_ 
 
 
 NURSERY OF YOUNG PARA RUBBER TREES, MUSEU GOELDI. 
 
 to me was the Randiana, named after the orchid collector Rand whom New 
 Englanders will remember and regret. A very thrifty specimen of this 
 is in the gardens, but it gives no latex. It is this eminent botanist's 
 opinion that many other Heveas will be discovered, and he is ever on 
 the outlook for them. 
 
 Nor is his attention concentrated upon the trees that produce fine 
 Para rubber. The Sapiums, which are most plentiful throughout the Amar 
 zon country, are known to him equally well, and he has gathered ten 
 varieties into the garden for observation. Most of them produce a latex 
 that is exceedingly resinous. One or two species, however, give a good 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 51 
 
 'grade of rubber, and were labor plenty they would be well worth 
 exploitation. 
 
 I had many samples of balata from the Amazon region and took 
 occasion to ask him of the Mimusops in the Brazils. Just as much at 
 home on that topic as on Hevea, he named a dozen varieties and told 
 of sections where the trees are abundant, although the gum is not 
 gathered or valued at present in Brazil. 
 
 The learned Doctor has worked for many years in Brazil, often- 
 times I fear without the appreciation that his energy and industry have 
 deserved. At last, however, both the government and the world at large 
 seem to be awakening to his value. What he had long wished for. 
 
 ' '■' '^■'.-'■^^ 
 
 ■ .^■-•-■■. 
 
 ■'■■' ■ . : 
 '•1* 
 
 VV' ' ' ^^^BJKt^^^i^^^Bsi '^y ^4y 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 ^'^ri 
 
 ',* 
 
 >##';,.:.;/'ff^f 
 
 "f ItLl 
 
 \ ■ ■-■*■;.■ 
 
 0^^mk% 
 
 
 
 •;--jQf< -." -"^ .^^^' ^ ■ ""> ^ 
 
 
 MUSEU GOELDI — ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. 
 
 an experiment station, has been established about 150 kilometers from the 
 city, situated on the railroad that runs down to Braganga, and he is 
 much encouraged. By the by, he has invented a tapping tool that looked 
 pretty good to me. I went out to the gardens at daybreak and saw him 
 "herringbone" some Hevea Brasilicnsis trees with it. It is interesting 
 to note that they gave exactly the same product for their size as Hevea 
 trees in the Far East. 
 
 The rubber known as caiicho had been on the market years before 
 the tree that produces it was identified botanically. For a long time 
 IT was claimed that it was an Hevea product In 1898, however. Dr. 
 Ruber visited the Ucayali river and, after much searching, was able to 
 find a few caucho trees. The difficulty in finding them was due to the 
 
52 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 fact those that remained were growing- in dense forests far removed 
 from the waterways. It will be remembered that the tree is cut down 
 in every instance to secure, the rubber ; hence its scarcity. At the time 
 of his visit it was not blossoming or fruiting, and only leaves and twigs 
 could be secured, but these proved it to be a Castilloa. Dr. Huber and 
 the Italian botanist Dr. Buscalioni agreed that it must be the Castilloa 
 elastica, and it was not until some years later that it was identified as 
 a different species, Castilloa Ulei. 
 
 To those who are interested in the sources of rubber, caucho was 
 for a long time thought of as existing only on the upper waters of the 
 Amazon, notably in Peru. Dr. Huber and his colleagues, however, 
 
 found it in practically the whole region of the lower Amazon, the 
 Trombetas, Tapajos, Xingu, and Tocantins rivers. Indeed, it is be- 
 coming evident that where Heveas flourish Castilloas grow equalUy well, 
 and the reverse is also true. During the year 1909 the state of Para 
 shipped nearly 1,000 tons of caucho. 
 
 I dislike exceedingly to confess it, but I got badly frightened in 
 Para and came very hear taking boat back to Barbados and sending the 
 usual excuses to friends in Manaos, such as "important cables," "business 
 complications," or the like. It came about this way. The friendly 
 Americans and English resident there are delighted to receive and en- 
 tertain fellow countrymen. Many of their visitors, however, are woe- 
 fully unfitted for tropical life and make ideal "fever food." Others pay 
 
2; 
 o 
 
 N 
 
 < 
 
 c 
 
 5 
 
 
 I 
 
 a 
 
 « 
 
 
 3 «i 
 
54 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 no attention to cautions, but go out and hunt for fever^ and find it. 
 Then resident friends are obliged to answer frantic cables, furnish 
 physicians and nurses, and stand the brunt of all the worry. Oftentimes, 
 too, they supply the funds necessary for cure or decent interment. They 
 
 THE TREE FROM WHICH CAUCHO COMES, "CASTILLOA ULEI." 
 
 are perfectly willing to do this — that is the former — and their kindness 
 and generosity are spontaneous and without limit, but the strain tells. 
 
 If they are somewhat fearful for a visiting friend in Para they 
 are doubly so for one who goes to Manaos. When, therefore, one 
 after another showed me cables and letters full of fever stories from 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 55 
 
 the upriver rubber center it began to make an impression, and I found 
 myself formulating reasons for dodging. But if one will only dose 
 one's self with a sufficiency of forebodings, a reaction is sure to come, 
 and courage returns. This was my case. And of a sudden I found 
 myself determined to discover what Manaos would do for me. Further 
 
 HEVEA RANDIANA — A BARREN RUBBER TREE. 
 
 than that came the belief that with common sense and care I should 
 probably get through all right. They were exceedingly nice, those 
 friends of mine, when I rendered my decision. One, with a whimsical 
 smile, said : 
 
 "It's sure to be interesting anyhow. Say your prayers and trust 
 in cascara." 
 
56 THE RUBBER COUNTRY- 
 
 Another secured for me the cabin de luxe on a fine Hamburg-Ameri- 
 can boat and outlined a river journey princely in its comfort and very 
 speedy. This I refused, although with real regret. I had my eye on 
 one of the smaller Booth boats that had accommodations for only six- 
 teen passengers and would carry on that trip only two, myself and 
 companion. It was a freight boat, going upriver almost empty, which 
 would mean hugging the shores to avoid the current. It was a rubber 
 boat, and its captain had been making the river journey for 30 years. 
 There would be no shufifleboard, no pleasantly wasted hours in the smok- 
 ing room, no fascinating acquaintances. All of which would give me 
 added time and opportunity for observation and work. 
 
 We boarded the boat in the early afternoon and the Captain 
 promptly gave us the run of the ship. There was no social hall but the 
 chart house deck, above which was the bridge, was roomy, high above 
 the water, screened from sun and rain, and, although the Captain's 
 private domain, he made it ours for the river voyage. If I had out- 
 fitted a swell ocean going yacht the equipment would not have been as 
 practical as that afforded by this steady, roomy, matronly freighter. 
 
 The anchor came up about 5 in the afternoon and, facing a pleasant 
 breeze, with half of the propeller out of water, "grinding air," we started 
 out through the tangle of low, heavily-wooded islands that cluster about 
 the mouths of the Para and Tocantins rivers, heading for the "Narrows" 
 in the care of two Indian pilots who knew the many channels day or 
 night by instinct. Unless it came on to rain very heavily we would run 
 all night. It was soon too dark to see much, so I turned in. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 How THE Para Rubber Tree Got its Name — A Bit of Botanical History^ 
 Grades of Brazilian Rubber — Hebrew Peddlers on the Amazon — Distribution 
 OF THE Industry — Outfitting the Rubber Gatherers — The Rubber Gatherer 
 AND How He Lives — Locating the Para Rubber Trees — Tapping and Collecting 
 OF Rubber Described in Detail. 
 
 THE present botanical name for the tree that produces the best 
 grade of Para rubber is Hevea Brasiliensis. Those who write 
 informing articles on India-rubber from ancient encyclopedias are 
 very apt to speak of the tree as Siphonia elastica. As a result there has 
 been some confusion. This is what happened. 
 
 In 1775 the botanist Aublet named a Para tree found in French 
 Guiana as Hevea Guyahcnsis. 
 
 In 1807 Persoon thought Siphonia elastica sounded better and so 
 renamed it. The name stuck for about 60 years. 
 
 Then Miiller reestablished the name Hevea and the whole botanical 
 world to-day stands by his decision. 
 
 The rubber that is collected in the state of Para comes in three 
 grades: fine, (Una), medium (entrafina) and coarse (sernamby). This 
 latter grade is known in England as negro heads. The rubber gathered 
 on the island of Marajo and other islands and on a portion of the main- 
 land is classed as Islands rubber. An especially good grade known 
 as Caviana comes from the island of that name. Other rubbers prodiiced 
 chiefly on tributaries of the lower Amazon are Cameta from the Tocantins 
 river; Xingu from the river of that name and Itaituba from the Tapajos. 
 Upriver rubber is the general name for all of the rubber coming from the 
 state of Amazonas and the upper tributaries of the Amazon. This is, 
 of course, Para rubber in the three grades aforementioned and is graded 
 as Manaos and Madeira. The products of the great rubber producing 
 territory in Bolivia', Peru and the Acre are also known as Upriver. 
 
 Curious bits of history as to the early trade in Para rubber are 
 constantly cropping up. Back in the early 'go's the lower Amazon was 
 overrun by Hebrew peddlers who went about in boats, supplying whatever 
 
 57 
 
58 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 would tempt the rubber gatherer and for a time they practically monopo- 
 lized the rubber trade there. The State, however, put a tax of $500 a 
 head upon them and while it did not actually drive them out of business, 
 it checked them so that other merchants had a chance. 
 
 Fine Para is brought to the city in bulk, the coarse often being 
 strung on lengths of bush rope like a huge necklace. Both fine and 
 
 "hevea brasiliensis," the para rubber tree. 
 
 coarse are sometimes packed in barrels and if the receptacle be tight 
 it is filled with water to prevent shrinkage. 
 
 To show how generally rubber is distributed throughout the state, 
 49 of the 53 municipalities produce it; the bulk coming however, from 35. 
 Each municipality is governed by an Intendente with a power to assess 
 local taxes, all of which are collected at Para. On rubber they amount 
 to /4 to ^ a cent per pound. This is in addition to the regular state 
 export tax of 22 per cent. When steamers arrive from any of these 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 59 
 
 municipalities, at Para the captain is obliged to produce an exact manifest 
 of cargo and submit it to the recebedoria and only when they issue a 
 clearance certificate can the consignee secure any portion of the cargo 
 
 The beginning of rubber production is really with the aviador, who 
 furnishes the rubber producer, or seringueiro, with all supplies and, in re- 
 turn, receives and sells his rubber. The aviadores, and there are hundreds 
 of them, big and little, have outfitting places not far from the water front 
 in Para and Manaos. Some of them are not much more than offices : 
 
 
 § - 
 
 m 
 
 k 7 \i^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 \SU^^mB% 
 
 m 
 
 
 i 
 
 ^^B^^^^B^^ ^Hs^^v 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 LEAVES AND NUTS FROM THE HEVEA BRASILIENSIS. 
 
 others are great and well-stocked stores. When an aviador discovers 
 what a seringueiro is going to need for the coming season, he supplies 
 what he may have from his own stock, which may be much or nothing. 
 He then divides the order into dry goods, provisions, etc., making up 
 separate orders for city merchants who handle these goods. They fill the 
 orders, packed and delivered on the pier for shipment. The aviador then 
 bills these goods, accepting in payment therefor, notes that range from 
 three to six months. These notes are discounted by the local banks, and 
 sometimes are extended for another six months, if times are hard. The 
 
6c- 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 discount rates are from lo to 24 per cent., according to the standing of 
 the merchant. 
 
 The aviador is overcharged in his purchase about 50 per cent, by the 
 general merchant This is because of the risk that the latter takes, as some 
 aviadores never pay at all, while others may not be able to pay for one or 
 two years. When the awacJor receives rubber he sells it for the seringueiro, 
 who is credited with the amount received. In remitting to theseringueiro, 
 if money is sent, the commission is 20 per cent. ; if merchandise, 10 per 
 cent. 
 
 In times past, according to the stories of some rubber merchants, it 
 
 EUBBEE TREE GROWING ON RIVER BANK. 
 
 (Showing taproot reaching barely to the water. The laterals never thrive where it is 
 
 permanently wet.) 
 
 was an exceedingly easy thing to become an aviador. One asset only 
 was necessary. That was the friendship of a director of a local bank. 
 The man who planned to become an aviador would register his firm at the 
 Junta Commercial with a capital perhaps of 50 contos. Through the 
 director he would discount notes for that amount. This money would 
 be used for buying shares in that bank, which would be pledged in another 
 bank for a certain amount. This money he would deposit in a third bank. 
 By this means the aviador was able to give two banks as references. In 
 one of them he was a stockholder to the amount of about 45 contos, and 
 in the other a depositor of 40 contos. Without a cent of money of his 
 own, he would be rated as being worth about 100 contos When he there- 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 6i 
 
 fore sent letters to rubber producers offering to outfit them and sell their 
 rubber, they were much impressed and he got the business. 
 
 The manner just cited is not the usual way, by any means, and it 
 could not be done to-day. The bulk of the rubber business is built with 
 real capital and many of the aviadores are seringueiros who, selling their 
 places or retaining them as they choose, established themselves in Para or 
 Manaos as aviadores. The aviador is the most generous man in the world 
 in certain respects. He will gladly supply the seringueiro with two or 
 three times as much as he orders, and when the proper time comes take 
 
 SKETCH SHOWING TRUNK OF HEVF.A BRASILIENSIS AND 
 LACTIFEROUS TUBES MUCH ENLARGED. 
 A — Latex tubes in bark. C — Wood. 
 
 B — Cambium. D — Proper depth of cut. 
 
 a mortgage on his estates, and very rarely is the mortgage liquidated. 
 Indeed, many times it is foreclosed and the seringal or rubber estate 
 thereafter is the property of the aviador. 
 
 The aviadores also attend to another detail of the rubber gathering 
 business, which is the arranging for contract laborers. Each year, before 
 the beginning of the rubber season, they send agents to Ceara, Rio Grande 
 do Norte, Parahyba and Piauhy, where abide the hard-working Brazil- 
 ians, commonly known as the "Cearenses." They live very well by culti- 
 
62 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 vating the land and raising cattle ; that is, when the rains are regular ; 
 but one dry season works great havoc. Their crops are destroyed, the 
 cattle die of hunger and thirst, and the Amazon and rubber gathering is 
 all that stands between them and starvation. It is usually necessary for 
 the agent of the aviador to advance a little money and pay the passage of 
 the laborer to the seringal. These advances are later deducted from his 
 earnings. 
 
 The Cearense, with what little baggage he owns, including always 
 
 DWELLING OF RUBBER GATHERERS ON THE AMAZON. 
 
 a gaudy handkerchief and a business-like stiletto, is loaded on one of 
 the small river boats with hundreds of others and started on his journey. 
 This is at the time of high water, the start being made in the latter part of 
 March or the first part of April, and it is probably the beginning of May 
 before the seringal is reached. Here he is installed in one of the thatched 
 huts provided for the laborers, if he has his family with him ; if he travels 
 as a bachelor he may sling his hammock in a large thatched house with 
 the rest of the unmarried men. '; 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 63 
 
 A seringal is really a little village, which centers about the big frame 
 house roofed 'with tile where the manager lives, where is also the office 
 and the store. Round about this are grouped the thatched huts of the 
 
 PLAN OF A SERINGAL. 
 
 (Showing Estradas, Number of trees in each, and seringueiro's huts. Hut number 1 houses 7 
 men, who work 15 estradas; number 2, 6 men 12 estradas, and number 3, 2 men, 5 estradas.)- 
 
 laborers. These villages are located on rising ground beyond the reach 
 of the river, and cut off as they are from the rest of the world for months, 
 at a time, the manager is really absolute ruler. 
 
64 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 The Amazon begins its great rise in December, and the land is not 
 uncovered so that men can work until about the middle of May. During 
 all of this time the tapping of rubber trees is discontinued. The laborers 
 who remain, spend their time in smoking and sleeping and in endless 
 
 ' . ' .■■■■'>.. y^- 
 
 "'' ■■-'"■, 
 
 *■■-■' ■■■; 4 ", 
 
 
 "^^|<- 
 
 iiliiiiiiiiiMl'**"" 
 
 ^'■'^^l^^v^^A^' 
 
 W^!r^.,;2l^^'fe'^ 
 
 |^^HH| 
 
 yM. 
 
 
 IfL 4^* "^ ^^'VI * ^ ^Jfcffia^BMJ^^B^^B 
 
 
 
 
 SERINGUEIRO GOING HIS ROUNDS, 
 
 trivial gossip. Occasionaly they take too much cachaca and do some 
 desperate fighting. According to a physician whom I know, whose prac- 
 tice lies in the waterways above Iquitos, the Cearenses do a good deal of 
 shooting at each other. One of his chief duties was the extraction of 
 bullets from rubber gatherers' arms and legs. He said they never seemed 
 to hit each other in the body, and it was only rarely that one was killed. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 65 
 
 His fee, incidently, for extracting a bullet was paid in rubber, and at 
 present prices would be about $1,000. 
 
 As has been often explained, a tropical forest rarely shows a pre- 
 ponderance of any one kind of tree. It is a heterogeneous crowding of 
 hundreds of different kinds of trees, criss-crossed and lashed together by 
 giant vines. Where the rubber trees flourish they may be thirty feet apart 
 or hundreds of feet apart. They certainly are never close together. In 
 order to work them, narrow pathways are cut through the forest, leading 
 
 m^i^ 
 
 TAPPING A PARA ROBBER TREE. 
 (The seringueiro holds a hatchet in one hand and in the other a latex cup; several cups have 
 already been attached to the tree; he carries a can for collecting latex artd always a gun.) 
 
 from one tree to another in some general direction, until 50 er 60 trees 
 have been located. The path then turns, either to the right or the left, 
 and is continued back to the central camp from rubber tree to rubber tree. 
 This makes a very irregular ellipse and is called an estrada, or path. 
 
 The rubber gatherers do not waste effort, and if the reader has pic- 
 tured a sylvan pathway, broad and smooth and easy to traverse, he is 
 going too far. A stranger, unused to a forest, would never suspect the 
 
66 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 existence of these paths, and once he was on one would have difficulty in 
 following it. 
 
 The first thing the laborers on a seringal are set at, when a new 
 season begins, is the cleaning of the old estradas. Five or six months in a 
 
 "SERINGUEIROS" BRINGING HOME LATEX. 
 
 tropical forest bring great changes. Huge trees have fallen across the 
 paths, dragging others in their fall and often making impassable barriers 
 around which a way must be cut. Vines and young trees have sprung 
 
OF THE AMAZON 67 
 
 up and grown enormously, and everything that nature could do to efface 
 man's Avork has been done. So that the cleaning of the estradas is no 
 light task. It means not only reopening the path, but cutting a circle 
 about two feet wide around each rubber tree, so that there will be room 
 to work. Then comes the opening of new estradas, if there are laborers 
 enough to work them. And next in order is the tapping. 
 
 This starts very early in the morning. The seringueiro rises at 4 
 o'clock, boils some coffee which he hurriedly drinks, and, provided with a 
 machadinha, or little tapping ax, and several hundred tin cups, starts 
 barefooted for his estrada. When he reaches the first rubber tree he 
 attaches as many cups as the size of the tree warrants, usually in a circle 
 as high up as he can conviently cut. These cups are attached directly 
 under the cuts, and catch the latex or rubber milk as it flows out. 
 
 The capable rubber gatherer carries a little finely kneaded clay to 
 stick the cups to the trees if he uses clay cups ; if he uses tin ones the top 
 is bent over and caught under the bark. A great many gatherers rub 
 the tree down with cocoa husks before tapping. This removes mosses and 
 enables them to affix their cups much more easily. A native gatherer 
 will often point out a tree calling it cancado, which means that it gives 
 little latex and is diseased and not worth tapping. 
 
 There is a great difference in trees as far as the production of latex 
 goes. Some bleed freely, others reluctantly ; some furnish thick, creamy 
 latex, others thin latex, and occasionally one gives none at all. 
 
 Although alone in the jungle that shelters many wild beasts and 
 venomous snakes, the rubber worker is very rarely molested. The wild 
 creatures all get out of the way of man when they can. To be sure, 
 if the tree tapper should leave his pile of tin cups for a short time, a 
 trouble seeking monkey might swing down from the branches above, 
 lift the stack, and throw it high in the air just for the delight of seeing 
 the cups scatter. 
 
 From tree to tree goes the rubber tapper until all on his estrada have 
 their girdle of cups. He now discards the tapping tool and, taking some 
 vessel,' very frequently an empty kerosene can, begins the collection of 
 the latex. His first visit is to the tree first tapped, where the latex has 
 probably ceased running, and the cups may be a quarter, a half, or nearly 
 full, depending on the productiveness of the tree. By the time he has 
 finished this round and collected all of the latex it is 9 or 10 o'clock, and 
 he is ready for breakfast. This he prepares himself and it usually con- 
 sists of dried beef and beans, always accompanied by farinha. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Smoking of the Rubber Milk — Palm Nut Fuel — What Becomes of 
 THE Drippings — Branding — Method of Collecting "Cameta" — Indians as 
 Natural Botanists — Size of Rubber Trees — Various Inventions for Preserving 
 Latex and Smoking the Rubber Milk — Blending of Other Rubber Milks with 
 Hevea — Tapping Season, 
 
 THE rubber worker is now ready to do the day's smoking. On 
 the fire smoldering in his hut he heaps some of the heavy oily 
 nuts that are borne abundantly by the "urucuri" palm (Attala 
 cxcelsa) . Over this, if he has it, he places a funnel that is like a truncated 
 cone open at each end, part of the lower edge being cut away to make a 
 draught. Until recently these cones were made of earthenware and were 
 heavy and rather fragile. To-day the aviadores supply them in sheet 
 iron with handles on the side. These are much more portable and not 
 breakable, but the seringueiros, that is, the old expert ones, detest them. 
 They complain that the iron throws ofif so much heat that their work is 
 much more disagreeable that when they used clay cones. 
 
 When the smoke is coming thick and hot from the funnel, the 
 seringueiro winds a bit of freshly coagulated rubber about a piece of 
 wood, shaped something like a canoe paddle, and thoroughly dries it in 
 the smoke. Then he dips this in the latex and holds it again over the 
 smoke until that film is dried. Over and over again he repeats this 
 process, the ball growing in size with every dipping. Where large balls 
 are to be made that cannot easily be handled, a rest is made by driving 
 two forked sticks into the ground with a cross piece connecting them. 
 In the middle of this cross piece is a loop of bush rope into which one 
 end of the pole holding the rubber ball is thrust. The seringueiro, grasp- 
 ing the other end, swings the ball over the smoke and turns it easily. As 
 a further assistance a loop of bush rope coming down from the roof of 
 the hut helps the laborer to hold his end of the smoking pole. 
 
 Quite a variety of palm nuts may be used in smoking. The best are 
 said to be the "iuaja" (Masumileno regno) but they are hard to find. The 
 
 68 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 69 
 
 urucuri {Attala excelsa) is what is commonly used. What is known as 
 the "uanassee" is also used but is said not to give as good a result, although 
 these nuts are very abundant and easily obtained. The palm nuts used 
 
 THE URUCURI PALM. 
 (The nuts of which are used in smoking Para rubber.) 
 
 are as large as a small hen's egg, are very solid and full of oil, and pro- 
 duce a dense rich smoke and a hot fire. The peculiar odor of these 
 burning palm nuts penetrates the forest for long distances and is often 
 
70 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 a help in locating the camps of the rubber gatherers. Just what the smoke 
 of the palm nut does that other smokes will not accomplish the Indian does 
 not know. He explains that it is o pungimento (the strength) which 
 is a good explanation as far as it goes. 
 
 A part of the process of coagulation that is not generally described 
 and indeed that many say does not exist is heating the latex before 
 applying it to the paddle that it may coagulate more readily. Many 
 have stated that the latex of the Hevea produces 54 of its weight in 
 rubber. Actually it is about 1/3 for an average. Careful workmen 
 rub the paddle with clay to keep the rubber from clinging too closely to 
 
 CAMETA, ON THE AMAZON AND TOCANTINS. 
 
 the wood. They also warm the paddle thoroughly in the hot smoke be- 
 fore they begin. 
 
 As the rubber is coagulated, the color of the pelle is first a silver 
 grey, then yellow, and finally almost black. 
 
 The smoked biscuit is very soft when it is first formed and sweats 
 a great deal of water. It is laid with the paddle still in it on a board to 
 dry out over night. The next morning it is cut off and there is still 
 so much water that the rubber cuts like cheese. 
 
 Much of the latex coagulates in the air. This is in the form of 
 thin films on the sides of the vessels, drippings in various parts of the 
 camp, and latex that started to coagulate before there was time to smoke 
 it. This forms the grade known as coarse Para. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 71 
 
 Day after day until Saturday, the jmuj-wcn-o pursues his monotonous 
 task. On that day, he, with half a dozen others or more, whose estradai 
 join his, take their balls of rubber to the seringal, where they are credited 
 with the number of pounds gathered, at say 50 per cent, of the market 
 value as they know it. The other 50 per cent, is to indemnify the owner 
 of the seringal for shrinkage, freight, and so on. The rubber ball is then 
 branded with the mark of the aviador and stored awaiting shipment. 
 Often times too it is sunned with the result that the outer surface becomes 
 very dense preventing the moisture that is on the inside from escaping. 
 
 His week's work finished, the seringueiro goes to the store, gets 
 supplies of provisions for the next week, not forgetting plenty of cachaca, 
 which are debited to him at about 100 per cent, above the cost price. 
 
 The owner of the seringal makes his profit almost entirely out of 
 what he sells to the seringueiro . The latter is obliged to buy goods only 
 at the store, or else hunt some other seringal, the owner of which must 
 assume his debt, which always exists, with a 20 per cent, increase for 
 the transfer. 
 
 The grade or rubber known as Cameta is a seniamby that is not 
 smoked but coagulates in the cups on the trees. The seringueiros like to 
 gather rubber in this way as it avoids the trouble of smoking. Beside 
 this, if perhaps they can tap 150 trees if they are working for fine they can 
 tap 250 if they are after Cameta. This rubber is much inferior to fine 
 and brings less in the rubber market. Therefore the state revenues are 
 much less. In order to force the rubber gatherers to produce more fine 
 and less Cameta the state of Para seriously considered putting a tax of 
 10 cents a pound on Cameta. 
 
 A native rubber gatherer, knowing nothing of botany, in fact ignorant 
 of almost everything except his own particular craft, can pick out a Hevea 
 Brasiliensis from any other Hevea at sight. Something that he detects 
 in the texture of the bark, in the way the tree grows, enables him to 
 decide at once and he is always right. The expert botanist, however, is 
 obliged to see the flowers and even then the differences between the 
 various Hevea blossoms are so slight that he may be in error. 
 
 Years ago it is said that the rubber gatherers were in the habit of 
 taking a length of bush rope, looping it about the foot of the rubber tree, 
 close to the ground, then twisting it tourniquet fashion, after which 
 they tapped the tree. This was said to exhaust the tree and was prohibited 
 by law. 
 
 The size of Para rubber trees has been variously stated. Cross 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 73 
 
 measured many in the lower islands, particularly on Marajo, and found 
 them to be from 3 feet to 6 feet 10 inches in circumference 3 feet from 
 the ground. He saw no trees that were more than 60 feet in height, 
 although the forest there affords other trees that are 80 to 100 feet 
 in height. Wickham exploring the plateau lying between the Madeira 
 and Tapajos rivers, land, that is,- never inundated, found mature trees 10 
 to 12 feet in circumference and 70 and 80 feet in height. 
 
 The native method of smoking may not always be followed in 
 Brazilian forests. Numbers of other processes have been experimented 
 with. It will be remembered that Brazil exhibited at the World's Fair 
 in Chicago, 1893, samples of Para rubber which had been coagulated by 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 IIJ 
 
 [ 
 
 
 
 3. 
 
 BRAZILIAN MACHINE FOR COAGULATING LATEX. 
 
 adding sulphate o! alumina to the latex. It was believed that this 
 would revolutionize the smoking process, and be much quicker and 
 cheaper. The rubber, however, was found to be quite brittle and rather 
 short lived and th^ process never came into general use. 
 
 Various processes for preserving the latex so that it should not 
 coagulate before the gatherer had an opportunity to smoke it have also 
 been invented by Brazilians. There was, for example, the Torres system, 
 by which a liquid added to the latex preserved it for more than twenty 
 hours. This preservation was said to be made of a combination of the 
 juices of a number of vines, the names of which were kept secret. This 
 w-as invented in 1894, but never was adopted by the rubber gatherers. 
 
> 
 
 c 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Q S 
 
 "^ >. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 75 
 
 Ten years later Pozelina appeared. This was also a secret compound 
 and it was claimed for it that it added to the value of the rubber 50 per 
 cent, but the seringueiros would have none of it. 
 
 In 1908 Seringuina appeared and the inventor received many 
 assurances of interest on the part of the Brazilian government. Bottles 
 of latex preserved by it, were sent to the writer in New York and the 
 rubber milk is still sweet and uncoagulated. So far as is known, how- 
 ever, none of the large operators in crude rubber have made it useful at 
 their Seringaes. 
 
 Years ago appeared a machine for smoking latex known as 
 Coutinho's. Ten years later, improved, it again appeared as Danin's. Both 
 inventors were Brazilians who were perfectly familiar with the native 
 methods of curing rubber and thdr manifest inadequacy. The improved 
 machine has a hollow cylinder into which both smoke and latex are 
 admitted. As the cylinder is rotated the latex spreads over the inner 
 surface, is brought in contact with the smoke, coagulates in thin films, 
 and is cut off in sheets when the process is finished. 
 
 A recent instance of Brazilian alertness was the invention of the 
 DaCosta Smoking Coagulator which is used not only in Brazil but on 
 the great rubber plantations in Ceylon, and the Federated Malay States. 
 The apparatus is a simple arrangement of steam-boilers and smoke 
 furnace whereby steam and smoke together are forced into cans of 
 latex until coagulation is effected. 
 
 The proportion of coarse or scniamby varies with different localities. 
 In 1903-04, 50 per cent, of the rubber exported from Para was sernamby 
 while of that exported from Manaos the proportion was only 20 per cent. 
 
 It is a question how much real Para rubber, that is, rubber made 
 wholly from Hevea milk, appears in the market. Dr. Huber long ago 
 called attention to the fact that rubber gatherers Avere in the habit of 
 tapping SaphuHS that were near the estradas and mixing that latex with 
 that of Hevea. Wherever in the Amazon basin the Hevea Brasiliensis 
 is found there also flourishes great variety of Sapiums, many Mimusops 
 and other trees that are abundant latex producers. Left to themselves 
 the seringueiros are sure to mix in any milks that will coagulate. Indeed, 
 as the learned Doctor observes, perhaps they get a tougher and better 
 product for so doing. However this may be, it is certain that for some 
 reason or other, the rubber made from the pure Hevea milk in the Far 
 East has not yet shown the nerve that is characteristic of upriver fine. 
 
 The tree tappers are not careful of the trees. Naturally improvident 
 
76 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 they would destroy them in one year • if it meant more rubber, but 
 fortunately more rubber cannot be gotten in this way from the Hevea, 
 and so the trees survive and continue to produce year after year. There 
 
 SPIRAL TAPPING OF HEVEA BRASILIENSIS. 
 
 are stories of rubber gatherers on the upper reaches of the river who 
 build fires about the bases of the great trees to stimulate the flow of 
 latex, but no one seems able to verify such tales. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 77 
 
 The tapping season may last from three to six months. This de- 
 pends on location, and on the size and condition of the trees. Sometimes 
 the trees are tapped daily, sometimes every other day. Often they are 
 given a rest for a year. The amount of rubber secured per tree is difficult 
 to estimate, but it probably does not exceed two or three pounds, and in 
 some districts that have been constantly worked for a number of years 
 even less than that. Old rubber men tell stories of estradas of a hundred 
 trees that would turn in 20 to 30 pounds of rubber a day, but they agree 
 that the time of such production is long past. 
 
 The age at which Para rubber trees are big enough to tap depends 
 largely upon their surroundings. Cultivated trees may be tapped when 
 they are four to five years old, that is if the tapping be done carefully. 
 These that grow in the partially cleared forest will take from 10 to 
 15 years to arrive at the tappable size. Para .trees, selfplanted, that 
 manage to struggle up in the dense forest, probably take 25 to 30 years 
 to attain to the proper size for tapping. 
 
 The actual extent of the rubber forest in the Amazon country is 
 unknown, but according to those who have done a good deal of exploring 
 only the fringe has been touched. The scr'uiiiaes and temporary rubber 
 camps are all located along the waterways. 
 
 This means working the territory about a mile inland. The rest 
 of the forest, comprising thousands of square miles, is as yet untouched. 
 This is true not only in Amazonas and the other great interior states, 
 but of the state of Para as well. With labor and proper exploitation 
 four times as much rubber could come out of the Amazon as is obtained 
 at present. 
 
 The securing of laborers is the most difficult part of the undertaking. 
 To get a rubber estate in the Amazon valley is easy. Millions of acres 
 of land with rubber trees are without owners. The land costs nothing, 
 the government exacting a fee only when it is registered. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Source of the Amazon River — Early Traditions^The' Start Upriver — 
 The Narrows — Forest Scenes — Our Butterfly Hunter — Breves and the 
 Ancient Channel — The River Cable and its Interruptions — The Wireless. 
 
 FAR up on the eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes is a tiny lake- 
 let of ice-cold water from which flows a little brook. As this 
 increases in size and gets large enough to be worth naming, it is 
 called Tunquragua; further down it becomes the Maranon, the Solimoes, 
 and the Amazon. Indeed, it is the Amazon from the little Peruvian pond 
 to the great 158 mile wide delta, thousands of miles to the east. The 
 great river takes its name from a tradition that its shores were peopled 
 with bands of warlike females, whose fierceness appalled even the early- 
 Spanish adventurers. Pterhaps tliere were such. Their descendants, 
 however, have changed, for- no quieter, more peaceful, unobtrusive 
 women exist anywhere to-day, than in the basin of the Amazon, whether 
 Brazilian, half breed or Indian. 
 
 Many picturesque stories come down to us from the hardy and 
 adventurous pioneers of the past. There was Sir Walter Raleigh's 
 narrative of a race "with eyes in their shoulders and a huge mouth 
 situated just below the clavicle." Then, too, there were those who saw 
 in the cow-faced manatee, suckling its progeny from a pair of leathery " 
 breasts, a beautiful water woman or mermaid. Of the great river 
 itself, however, they saw only what was so, and early described its 
 great delta with a current felt more than a hundred miles out at sea. 
 They knew, too, of the northward sweep of the Amazon and of how 
 it had built and was building the fertile lowlands of Dutch and British 
 Guiana by its vast deposits of Amazonian mud. 
 
 Every one asserts that there is no need of mosquito bars going 
 up or down the Amazon, but I had mine adjusted in spite of the 
 pitying smile on the face of my companion, who didn't unpack his. I 
 had an extremely self-satisfied feeling when I awoke about midnight and 
 heard him at work hastily getting his protector into position. Not that 
 the mosquitos were bad or numerous, but they were aboard. I was 
 
 78 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 79 
 
 up at light and, after a bath in the alluvial soup the river furnishes, 
 went on deck. The boat was ploughing through a lakelike expanse 
 of water, with islands in all directions. It is difficult for one who has 
 not studied' this subject particularly to appreciate how many thousands 
 of islands, big and little, are crowded into the lower Amazon. 
 
 As the river was rising we passed through and by acres of floating 
 grasses, weeds, and logs, the larger masses being easily avoided. About 
 lo o'clock we entered the Narrows, our channel . being perhaps 300 
 yards wide. On either side the low lying alluvial shores were thick 
 
 AN ISLAND IN THE LOWER AMAZON. 
 
 with palms of various kinds, together with Spanish cedars, rubber trees, 
 acacias, and a great variety of hard woods, over which ran a riot of 
 vines^ big and little, every inch of land far out into the water being 
 crowded with luxuriant vegetation. 
 
 At close range the forest is so dense and covers such an area 
 that one does not easily appreciate how huge some of the trees are. 
 When one measures, however, a silk cotton tree that is from 30 to 40 
 feet in circurnference, and they are not uncommon, one's ideas are 
 modified. Many of the vines and trees were masses of beautiful 
 flowers, and while the epyhites and orchids that clung to and clustered 
 on trunks and branches did not show many blooms, they added to the 
 decorative effect wonderfully. We looked here for the manatee, or 
 
8o 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 sea cow,, which lives out its quiet uneventful life in these waters, 
 shyly avoiding everything animate everything but its own kin. But 
 we had no luck. 
 
 Every now and then we passed a ' seringueiro's hut, or barracao, 
 close to the water's edge, built on posts above the rise of the river, while 
 in front of it were tethered one or more canoes, the only means of trans- 
 port, and indeed of refuge, when the water is very high. These huts 
 were simple in construction, made of poles lashed together with bush 
 rope, the sloping roofs covered with broad palm leaves. The floors 
 
 SCENE IN THE NARROWS. 
 
 were of rough hewn logs, with a pile of clay or earth for a fireplace, and 
 no chimney. Oftentimes the whole front of a hut was open. So close 
 did we run to the shore that we could see the owners idling in their 
 hammocks and many times surprised coveys of naked children, who 
 promptly fled to cover, only to venture out when we got by. Some of 
 the older ones, to be sure, would jump into canoes and paddle toward 
 us, coming close to the stern as we passed so that the wash of the 
 steamer tossed their frail craft up and down most perilously, which ad- 
 venture they hailed with shrill squeals of delight. 
 
 We saw many such huts, and it is from them that the impression 
 often is gained that the whole population oi the Amazon valley is made 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 8i 
 
 up of hut dwellers. Such is far from being the fact. On the rising 
 ground, away from the river bank, are some magnificent estates, or 
 fasendas, with fine buildings, great herds of cattle and horses, and very 
 considerable plantations. Vast areas of the country are, of course, 
 not only unsettled but unexplored. And these fasendas, widely scat- 
 tered as they are, do not make the showing they deserve- 
 As we ran close to the shores we were constantly flushing flocks 
 of birds that looked like short tailed pheasants. They were very 
 striking in their brown and red plumage, and as they flew along the 
 
 "SERINGUEIRO"'s" HUT ON THE AMAZON. 
 
 margin of the stream, alighting often and balancing themselves on sway- 
 ing branches near at hand, it looked as if sportsmen were few. We 
 put them down as Brazilian partridges, but learned later that they 
 were a sort of gilded buzzard, iinfit for food, and altogether despicable. 
 It was a disappointment, for all the way to Manaos they persisted, 
 sometimes in flocks of a hundred or more. Of alligators we saw not 
 one. Not that this saurian had disappeared permanently, but the high 
 
82 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 water had driven it into the smaller waterways somewhat removed from 
 the river proper. 
 
 In the afternoon of the first day, the ship's doctor, net in hand, 
 came to our deck and talked very interestingly of his ambitions as a 
 butterfly hunter. It was his first visit to the tropics and he was gather- 
 ing everything in the insect line that he could catch. Like a wise man, he 
 had secured the help of the crew, and, it was an object, lesson, to those 
 who venture up river without mosquito bars, to review a night's accu- 
 
 THE' BUTTERFLY HUNTER. 
 
 mulation. There were enormous bettles, moths, gigantic praying mantis, 
 ichneumon flies, and bugs unclassified by the score. Then in the daytime 
 came the shy, quick moving butterflies in blue, yellow, and green, and thin 
 waisted wasps and hornets, all of which kept him busy. 
 
 Tlie course for many years was by Breves, the principal settlement 
 on the island of Marajo, at one time the center of the rubber trade. 
 There the channel was so narrow that an anchor was let go and the 
 boat swung around before it could head right to go on. One of the 
 river pilots, however, once asked permission to take a boat through 
 another channel that he had discovered — the one we were in — and since 
 then the old passage had been abandoned. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 83 
 
 Breves is also noted as the .first cable station after one leaves 
 Para. The cable was laid by the Amazon Telegraph Co., Limited, Eng- 
 lish, under a concession from the Brazilian government granted in 1895. 
 A survey of the river at low water was at once made and the cable laid 
 early in 1896. Between Para and Manaos there are the following cable 
 stations: Breves, Gurupa, Monte Alegre, Santarem, Obidos, Parantins, 
 and Iticoatiara. There are also some short branch lines, making 16 sta- 
 tions in all. Soon after the installation of the cable some changes in the 
 river bed broke it and for nearly a year it was practically useless. It was, 
 however, repaired and in 1900, 20,000 messages were sent over it, and a 
 
 BREVES, ON THE LOWER AMAZON. 
 
 year later just double that number. The service as yet cannot be said to 
 be perfect, but interruptions are becoming less and less frequent. 
 
 If rubber is high, there are some who claim that the cable is pur- 
 posely cut to keep the news from reaching Manaos, until certain trades 
 are effected. I only met one man who would a;cknowledge that he had 
 actually seen the cut ends, and he was not an 'expert on cable matters, 
 and might not have been able to tell a plain fracture from axe work. 
 My own idea is that the river itself is perfectly competent to supply 
 enough interruptions to suit anybody. Certain it is that one steamer is 
 kept busy nearly all of the time attending to the thousand mile strand 
 that binds the two rubber cities together. 
 
 There is also the wireless that proudly lifts its head to heaven at 
 Para and Santarem. Its brief history is this: 
 
84 ■ THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 In 1894 certain enterprising Americans organized a company to con- 
 nect Para and Manaos by rneans of a wireless system. According to 
 English papers, secret experiments had been carried on prior to this 
 between Manaos and Iquitos and were most successful. When the con- 
 cession for its installation was granted, and the equipment began to 
 arrive, what profound thankfulness filled the hearts of the many who were 
 marooned in Manaos, often for a week at a time, hungering and thirst- 
 ing for news of the outside world. Their hope for freedom, however, 
 from the vexatious tyranny of the great river has so far borne no fruit. 
 Messages were dispatched from either end, but failed to be received. 
 The official explanation, I believe, was that the precipitation was so 
 great as to interrupt them; or was it that there was too much air in 
 the atmosphere? A more probable reason is that the messages sent in 
 the daytime over the rubber forests were gummed up by the flowing latex 
 and fell short of their destination. Nor were night messages any^ more 
 successful. The big Brazilian fire flies, which are sporty things anyway, 
 got in the habit of racing with the electric sparks and often times beating 
 them. It will be evident to the most shallow thinker that an operator 
 standing on a tower in mosquito ridden Santarem, with a butterfly net 
 in one hand and a receiver in the other, sorting fireflies from flashes, 
 would at times be slightly inaccurate. And accuracy in matters wire- 
 less is a prime necessity. So Manaos did not get its relief, and the 
 cable company have an extension of their contract and are laying a 
 second cable in the river bed. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Jungle Study from the Chart Deck — The Southern Cross as it Really 
 IS — Into the Amazon Proper — Floating Islands — Destructive Work of Floods — 
 Prainha on the Xingu — Fast in a Mud Bank — Steering by Lightning 
 Flashes — Itacoatiara — The "Dead" and the "Living" Rivers. 
 
 FROM the start we secured the use of a pair of pow^erful glasses, 
 the property of the Captain, which gave us ghmpses into the 
 jungle that were fascinating. We could pick out rubber trees 
 nearly every time, particularly where they had been tapped. I had long 
 been wondering why it was that the Hevea was able to withstand the 
 inundations and still be thrifty. A very cursory examination of the 
 Amazonian soil tells the whole story. It is an almost impervious, water- 
 proof clay, which would take months to saturate, and then would not 
 be waterlogged. 
 
 That afternoon we ran through an extremely heav)- shower and 
 looked back on the biggest, most gorgeous, double rainbow I have 
 ever seen. With nightfall came the great frog concert, varied by the 
 screaming of nightbirds and the chirping of innumerable insects. Sitting 
 on deck, pajama clad, enjoying the gentle breeze caused by the boat's 
 progress, with the dusky loom of the jungle on either side and the 
 "gorgeous Southern Cross" above us, the scene was, in tourists' phrase, 
 "one to inspire sentiments of awe.'' I always admired this last phrase 
 until I actually saw the Southern Cross. I had read of it as a "blazing 
 aggregation of stars of the first magnitude, holding the center of the 
 Cerulean dome." The "intermediate" geography that I first studied had a 
 half page illuminated picture of it. When finally, after much search- 
 ing, I saw it, I was filled with awe — at the imagination that could see 
 beauty in that little shrinking, out of plumb collection of blear eyed stars, 
 let alone making a constellation of it. It is an insult to Orion and all 
 of his family. 
 
 I do not feel that in the foregoing I have given a clear idea of our 
 course, or what we saw before we emerged into the Amazon. Let me 
 put it briefly. 
 
 85 
 
86 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 We went north from Para, with Oncas island on the left, head- 
 ing for Point Musqueiro on the mainland, then west and south 'in the 
 Para river, passing Caprin light on the southwest. Next came Mandilhy, 
 which also has a light; then through Jaraca channel, with Muru-Muru 
 island on the left; where one out of every three steamers gets stuck in* 
 the mud ; by the village of Antonio Lemos, where is situated a cable 
 station; past the village of Gurupa by Baxio Grande island, and at last 
 we were in the Amazon. 
 
 The river was now three miles wide, instead of a few hundred 
 
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 THE AUTHOR S QUARTERS ON THE CHART HOUSE DECK. 
 
 yards. The jungle was more open, the clearings larger, and off to the 
 north the eye was delighted by the tree crowned heights of the Sierra 
 Jutahy. One wondered why those broad mesas were not the site of a 
 healthy, breeze swept city. We still kept close to the shore, sometimes 
 on one side, then on the other, to avoid great shoals that form and dis- 
 .appear almost overnight. Occasionally there was a break in the forest 
 wall and we would see vast savannahs, grass covered, their light green 
 surface standing out in bold relief against the dark green background 
 of the forest. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 87 
 
 Speaking of floating debris, the bow of our boat caught a log which 
 jammed crosswise and held in that position, and we pushed it upstream. 
 It gathered everything that came its way, and the result was that in 
 a couple of hours the sturdy engines were not only forcing the boat 
 upstream, but a floating island a quarter of an acre in extent, made up 
 of logs, driftwood, grasses and floating wreckage of all sorts. After a 
 time it grew to be such a burden that the engines were reversed and 
 we ran backwards until clear of it to avoid making an island that might 
 dam the river. 
 
 The banks of the river were now strongly marked and from 6 to 
 
 FLOATING GRASS ISLAND ON THE AMAZON. 
 
 10 feet high above the water level. On every tree that fringed the 
 edge, and indeed on the thick growing shrubs and vines, could be seen 
 the distinct highwater mark of the previous season in the shape of mud 
 stains. This line showed that the river had still 10 feet more of rise, 
 to reach last year's level, and by the way it was coming up it would un- 
 doubtedly do. it. More and more we saw the work of the floods. Great 
 stretches of devastated forest, covered with rank reeds and grasses, 
 huge dead trees piled in picturesque confusion upon the river's edge. 
 On a small map the river looks straight and its channel is well defined. 
 In fact it pursues a sinuous course and is everywhere interrupted by 
 
88 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 islands big and little, so much so that unless one refers to a chart 
 it is difficult to know when one is really passing the mainland. 
 
 We saw many large birds, water turkeys, blue herons, egrets, and 
 thousands -of parrots. We passed the confluence of the Xingu river, 
 then the little settlement of Prainha, a town of some 300 inhabitants, 
 its houses painted blue and white with red tiled roofs, its fleet of canoes 
 and its excellent river walls, with buttresses for strength and steps 
 down at the water's edge at each end. Above the town were extensive 
 cornfields and pastures where many horses and cattle were grazing. The 
 current was decidedly swift along there, and we moved up stream slowly. 
 Once fairly by the village we lost touch with mankind, the river 
 
 SANTAREM, AND AMERICAN SETTLEMENT. 
 
 broadened to about eight miles, and except for the rounded peak of 
 Serra Urubucoara all that we could see was yellow water and great forest 
 covered plains. A great river like the Amazon, subject to floods, always 
 builds banks for itself even if it tears them down again. The larger 
 and heavier materials brought down by the floods are piled on the "near" 
 banks and promptly covered with verdure. For miles we passed banks 
 10 or 12 feet above the water level and the impression was that the land 
 sloped gently up from them. But when a break came in the forest 
 wall, great meadows would be shown a trifle lower than the river bank, 
 these meadows in turn sloping up into grass lands where cattle fed by 
 the thousands, shoulder deep in the luxuriant growth. 
 
 I had heard many say that the journey up the river, except as one 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 89 
 
 passed through the Narrows, was uninteresting and dreary. Aly mental 
 picture had been of an expanse of water so broad that the shores dimly 
 seen offered nothing of interest. Perhaps I didn't question the right 
 men. I once knew a man in the gas stove business who visited England 
 in the summer time and all he could describe on his return were the 
 thousands of chimney pots on London dwellings. May be I had taken 
 the view of a chimney pot traveler. Actually, every waking minute 
 disclosed something worth seeing. The river is from 5 to 15 miles wide 
 and the scenery constantly changes. The stories that, for example, in one 
 place it is goo feet deep, are exaggeration. I followed the charts closely 
 and the greatest depth recorded is 300 odd feet, which of course is good: 
 
 OBIDOS, ON THE AMA20N. 
 
 The third night out it was very dark and as we worked slowly up- 
 stream we saw a winking light far ahead. Soon we learned that the 
 speedy Hamburg-American boat, on which we so nearly took passage, 
 was fast in a mudbank. We solemnly took her mails and went on through 
 the darkness, promising to report her at Manaos. We got to bed late 
 that night because of the excitement, but were up at day light as 
 usual, and found the surface of the river even more thickly littered 
 with logs — logs that were thickly crowded with passengers. There is a 
 little black and white river gull that exists by the million in the upper 
 river. They love to settle on these floating' logs and sail and sail. 
 The way they crowd every available inch of space above the water 
 reminds one of a Hudson river boat on a hohday ; there is not room 
 for even one more. 
 
90 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 During the night it came on very dark with thunder showers 
 but we did not stop, the pilot calmly steering by the flashes of lighting. 
 Very early in the morning we passed the Tapajos river and the town 
 of Santarem. Here is a settlemnet of some 2,500 people. Santarem is 
 noted, as far as Americans are concerned, as a place where a body of 
 Confederates from Tennessee established themselves after . the civil 
 . war. They believed in slavery and moved to a country where they could 
 own slaves. Somebody in Brazil must have heard of it, for not long 
 after their establishment slavery there was abolished. Somebody ob- 
 
 GATHERING TURTLE EGGS. 
 
 serving .Santarem from the deck of a passing steamer, quizzing a captain 
 who approved of nothing outside of his far away northern home, wrote 
 of the American colony there as being in a "deplorable condition." That 
 descriptive phrase clung and was copied far and wide. The fact is the 
 descendants of the fighting Tennesseeans are a healthy, active, enter- 
 prising lot, who own saw mills and cattle ranches and who have the only 
 large rubber plantations on the Amazon. They already have some 80,000 
 trees and are putting in 40,000 more. They employ Indians and have 
 made a success of that type of labor. 
 
 More and more the character of the river bank changed. Often it 
 was a palisade of clay, 10 to 20 feet high, its face as smooth as if cut 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 91 
 
 with a spade. Near Obidos this was particularly marked. This town, 
 by the way, shows up very well from the water front. Its public 
 buildings, church, and dwelling houses — many of them of the bungalow 
 type — are all in view, as the town is built on a sloping ground. Above 
 the town the river bank is very high, and the clay strata, in lavender, 
 yellow, and red, is very striking. For the first time in the journey our 
 pilot seemed in doubt, and kept the lead going for many hours. Then 
 it was the Captain told us stories about running ashore. It is not. par- 
 ticularly dangerous when the river is rising, as one is sure to get off in a 
 few days. He told of one tramp boat that ran aground five times on 
 
 ITACOATIAEA, OR SERPA. 
 
 the journey from Para to Manaos. His own boat was hung up on a 
 mud bank once for 13 days, and right in a mosquito colony at that. Then 
 there was a Booth boat in the upper river that was fast for six months 
 up on' the bank where the floods had left it, and was about to be dis- 
 mantled when a huge section of the river bank caved in, depositing the 
 boat, right side up. far out in the deep water. 
 
 Did I mention that we had some hundreds of crickets aboard, and 
 that they gave nightly concerts ? Like the cockroach they ate soiled hand- 
 kerchiefs, starched collars, and book bindings, but they were not sordid 
 about it. They did stop to fiddle now and then. But the cockroach 
 thinks only of filling his little tin clad belly, and racing across the floor 
 to be stepped on when one is barefooted. 
 
 In the upper reaches of the river, at least along the banks, there 
 
92 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 seemed to be few rubber trees. This in spite of the statement of the 
 ship's doctor that all of the large ones on the bank were rubber trees — 
 some of the crew had told him so. We did not see the Parintins hills 
 above Obidos, which mark the boundary of the states of Para and 
 Amazonas, because the rain blotted out most of the landscape. When it 
 ceased we were close in shore opposite a great ranch where were cattle 
 and horses by the hundred. ,It was imported stock too. One huge 
 snow white Indian bull, standing like a statue in white marble, occupied 
 the foreground until we passed out of sight. More and more we saw 
 clayey palisades, riddled with holes like sand martin's nests, their tops 
 draped with blossoming vines, the body of the bluff often made up of 
 such brilliant colors that it looked like a petrified rainbow. In the little 
 lagoons and eddies were natives fishing, and often times a turtle hunter, 
 bow and arrow in hand, watching the water for a shot. It was growing 
 warmer all the time, for the breeze was with us, and the smoke of the 
 steamer showed it by drifting upstream a little faster than we could go. 
 
 We got to Serpa, or Itacoatiara, which is situated at the junction 
 of the Madeira, just at nightfall. Here the engineers of the Madeira- 
 Mamore railroad have their headquarters, and the town is healthy, lively 
 and interesting. Here also is the home of an American named Stone. 
 He has thousands of acres under cultivation and is prosperous, capable, 
 and as much an American as he was when he settled here 40 years ago. 
 
 In due time we reached the junction of the Rio Negro and the 
 Amazon, or the Solimoes, as it is here called. The Solimoes, yellow, 
 muddy, swift, comes resistlessly in from the south, and, meeting the slow, 
 densely black flood of the Rio Negro, holds it back, shoulders by it, 
 crowds what does escape downstream to the northern bank, where for a 
 time it shows a narrow ribbon of black water and then disappears. 
 
 Manaos is situated up the Rid Negro, and we therefore turned into 
 that stream. Crossing the water line it was startling to see how plain 
 the demarkation was. On one side a boiling coffee colored flood, on the 
 other a dead black lake. Occasionally an island of coffee colored water 
 appeared boiling and swirling on the inky surface of the Rio Negro, but 
 of blending there seemed to be none. Such is the contrast between the 
 quiet black Rio Negro and the swirling yellow Amazon that the In- 
 dians call the former the "dead river" and the latter the "living river." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Arrival at Manaos — Floating Docks of the Rio Negro — Transportation 
 EY "Bonds" — The Great City of the Wilderness — Rubber Revenues. 
 
 LEAVING the muddy Amazon, we were soon forging through the 
 black waters of the Rio Negro. On the north were high, red, clay 
 banks, rather scantily clothed with vegetation — that is, as compared 
 with the jungle lands below. Native houses began to multiply and soon 
 we saw the Manaos in the distance. A little later we anchored out in the 
 stream, as several ocean steamers which were discharging at the floating 
 docks took up all of the room. Hardly was the anchor down before friends 
 were aboard who attended to all of the customs formalities, and we 
 walked by the Federal and State customs men just as if they were non 
 existent, and, embarking upon a launch, were soon ashore. 
 
 The great Rubber Congress was in session, or soon to be, and the 
 Commercial Association paid me the compliment of making me its guest, 
 with the privilege of living at a hotel, or at the house of the local rep- 
 resentative of "Casa Alden." I chose the latter, for had I not met him 
 in Boston the year before, and was he not an American with an 
 American wife and Yankee baby born in Brazil? 
 
 There was much excitement in the rubber market the day of my 
 arrival. The first of the series of spectacular jumps that carried the 
 precious commodity up to $3 per pound had occurred, and then the river 
 had interrupted the cable. Fortunately there was little rubber in to quar- 
 rel over, but everybody was on the qui vive just the same. 
 
 We walked from the substantial quays that form the boat landing, 
 past the imposing custom house, to one of the rubber warehouses, and sat 
 there and chatted and smoked while we cooled off, for the day happened 
 to be hot. Then we visited several others in the same line and learned 
 the latest news, which was but a repetition of the story already told, 
 The rubber houses in Manaos were almost exact duplicates of those in 
 Para — a huge warehouse on the ground floor for receiving, examining, 
 and boxing; ofifices on the floor above, always with a large staflf of 
 assistants and clerks. As in Para, rubber was everywhere in evidence. 
 
 93 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 95 
 
 Open wagons loaded with it passed continually. One enterprising house 
 had a motor truck that crashed along the pavement with just the same 
 awkward energy it would display in New York or London. 
 
 Later we took a carriage and drove to the residence where I was to 
 be quartered; a fine modern house in the residential part of the city, 
 where I received royal entertainment and the home cooking for which 
 my soul had been yearning. 
 
 We might have taken the "bond" instead of a carriage, but the elec- 
 tricity was weak, and the' cars were only crawling as they made their 
 
 EXAMINING RUBBER IN MANAOS WAREHOUSE. 
 
 rounds. In answer to the reader's unspoken question, an American was 
 the first man to build a stretch of mule tram cars in the capital of what 
 was then the Empire of Brazil, and had the privilege of issuing bonds on 
 the value of his franchise. He was also allowed to sell tickets for pas- 
 sages, wholesale, and these became so handy in commercial operations that 
 they soon formed a fair part of the circulating medium. To these 
 tickets, the name of "bonds" was given, and soon this term became the 
 recognized word for street cars of every tram^yay system throughout 
 the country. 
 
 The street subway line in Manaos was built by Americans — in fact. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 97 
 
 "financed by them — and later sold to the government and for a time the 
 -service was good. Then one noon the engineer and his helpers had their 
 siesta interrupted by the blowing out of a cylinder head on the great 
 «ngine. Unfortunately no one was hurt, the aforementioned public ser- 
 vants escaping. At the time of my arrival new equipment was going in, 
 competent engineers had been engaged and better service was in sight. 
 
 After dinner that evening a "Renault" car with a bright yellow 
 body and the muffler wide open drew up in front of the door. It was 
 garrisoned by an expert driver and a friendly young French Brazilian- 
 American interpreter, which car and appendages I learned had been 
 
 THE AUTHOR, HIS INTERPRETER, AND THE RENAULT. 
 
 placed at my disposal during my stay in the city. One of the first uses 
 to which I put it was to tour the town. 
 
 The city itself is a counterpart of what a young, rich, North Ameri- 
 can city would be that had grown up overnight. Not architecturally, of 
 course, for the tropical world envolves a style of its own, and gorgeous 
 colorings come without bidding and are most fitting. The public build- 
 ings were beautiful ; particularly the $2,000,000 theater situated on an 
 eminence in the middle of the city dominating all the rest. Palaces, 
 parks, libraries, hospitals, were very fine. Sandwiched in between them 
 were waste places, old fashioned tiled residences, and much that showed 
 the sudden growth of the city, but all this was being rapidly changed. 
 
9S 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 When one considers that this city is a thousand miles from the seacoast, 
 in the heart of a vast tropical jungle, with wild Indians within a hundred 
 miles of it, its presence seems incredible. In a way, it is as modern as 
 New York or Chicago. The latest Parisian fashions are there, and al- 
 most anything that civilized man desires obtainable. Prices are high, to be 
 sure, because both luxuries and necessities are imported and subject to a 
 duty of 100 per cent. But when something besides rubber is produced 
 by the magnificently fertile lands that surround it, Manaos will be one of 
 the great and beautiful cities of the world and living as reasonable as 
 anywhere. 
 
 Both the State and the Federal revenues naturally come very largely 
 
 TRANSFEREING CASES OF RUBBER BY AERIAL GABLES. 
 
 from rubber. These taxes are assessed on the average price at which 
 rubber is sold- for a certain period. The Amazonas State tax on rubber 
 is 19 per cent. There are minor taxes on rubber also — for instance, 
 local improvement taxes of i to 2 per cent. 
 
 The state of Amazonas, in the '8o's, passed a law assessing an export 
 tax of $500 on every rubber plant exported and $100 on every kilogram of 
 rubber seed exported. It was also forbidden to tap any rubber tree that 
 was not 25 years old, the fine being $1,000. Furthermore a premium of 
 $1,000 was offered for each 1,000 rubber trees, planted and cultivated, 
 when they should arrive at the age of two years. 
 
 The city has naturally elements of the picturesque. It is built on 
 a group of hills, and while this has involved much cutting and filling, and 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 99 
 
 many retaining walls, it adds both to its sightliness and healthfulness. 
 Some in Manaos have the ambition, which may not be as wild as it seems 
 at first, to negotiate a short cut to the United States by way of British 
 Guiana. All they would have to do would be to go up the Rio Braijco, 
 cross to the Essequibo, and come out at Georgetown, Demerara. 
 
 Dominating vast fertile plains, drained by the Rio Negro, the 
 Solimoes, and the Madeira, with their mighty tributaries, the wealth that 
 is sure to flow into this center is incalculable. To-day the main export- 
 
 THE AUTHOR IN AN AMERICAN HOME, MANAOS. 
 
 ing business, rubber and Brazil nuts, is handled by Portuguese, Brazilian, 
 German, English, and American firms, less than 20 in number. 
 
 The people of the city had an exceedingly alert carriage — surprising- 
 ly so for those who dwelt on the equator. Laborers, whether busy 
 at the docks or in the warehouses, were really working. Perhaps they 
 ought to, for they received somewhere from 15 to 20 milreis a day. 
 
 I do not think I spoke of the magnificent spread of the river in front 
 of the city. It forms a great pool, four or five miles wide and . deep 
 
lOO 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 enough at low water to accommodate ocean steamers. During the 
 rainy season the river rises from 30 to 40 feet, and this was why the- 
 company that had the concession to build docks passed so many sleepless. 
 nights. They have finally anchored huge docks a little way off shore, 
 and when the river rises pay out the anchored cables so that the dock 
 rises with it. Goods are sent ashore from these docks on long aerial 
 cables. I was told that it cost 38 cents to transfer each case of rubber 
 from the pier to the deck. Not a long journey, but expensive when one 
 
 CUSTOM HOUSE, MANAOS. 
 
 considers that that is just about what it would cost to ship the same case 
 from New York to Australia. 
 
 The floating dock was built by the Manaos Harbor Co., Limited, 
 a company made up o'f Brazilian capitalists, English and Brazilian steam- 
 ship companies, a wealthy English rubber importing company, and others. 
 This company under contract with the Brazilian government built a fine 
 custom house and a quay with an earth backing, the length of the city's 
 water front. The land reclaimed by filling became their property. In 
 addition to this they received, for building the floating dock quays and 
 storehouses, the right to levy tolls for 60 years. The transfer of cargo 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 lOI 
 
 FLOATING DOCKS AND AERIAL CABLES. 
 
 from the ship's hold to the warehouse is a long step in advance of the 
 ancient method in vogue in Manaos harbor, which involved anchoring in 
 midstream, transferring to barges, loading into carts, unloading at the 
 warehouse, boxing, carting to the pier, loading again into barges and 
 finally into the steamer that took it down river. 
 
 ROADWAY TO FLOATING DOCKS. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Bosque and Experimental Rubber Plantings — Real Wild Indians — 
 Exploring, up the Rio Negro — Rubber at "Paradizo" Ranch — Drinking 
 "Cupussu" — The Commercial Association Rubber Exhibition — Tropical Colds 
 and Coughs — Manaos Mosquitos — Roasted Amazonian Turtle — Rubber Tree- 
 Planting Day. 
 
 I WAS pretty busy, for the Rubber Congress was on, and the meetings 
 were exceedingly interesting. As the detailed story of that great 
 convention has already been told, I am going to confine myself to 
 the more personal narrative. For example, the visit of four of us to the 
 Bosque — the very extensive experiment station on the outskirts of the 
 city. We went in carriages as far as we could, then up to the broad 
 plateau where the planting was done. There were some thousands of 
 Hcvea trees planted in partial shade in paths cut through the jungle. 
 They were doing jiicely, and although it will take them a trifle longer 
 to mature, I believe the planting will be most successful. We also ex- 
 amined a large planting of bananas. As this fruit brings 8 milreis a bunch 
 in the field, this experiment also should be successful. 
 
 Then we explored, walking through wonderfully beautiful forest 
 paths, down by the old waterworks with its big cement tanks now aban- 
 donedf into the great forest park that one of the former governors had 
 projected. Other and more needed improvements had absorbed the city's 
 money, and the jungle was rapidly and effectually recovering its own. 
 Outside of the park we hunted for wild Heveas, but found only the Guyan- 
 ensis. There was also a vine which we could not identify, full of very 
 sticky, rubbery latex. 
 
 In Manaos the laborers are practically of the same type as in Para, 
 except that the Indian mixture seems a little more evident. One is nearer 
 the great wild tribes of the upper rivers, so that the blowgun with its 
 poisoned arrows, necklaces of human teeth, and feather headdresses are 
 often brought in. Occasionally, too, specimens of the real wild Indian 
 may be seen. A young EngHshman whom I met had spent some 
 months up in the Putamayo district and brought down with him a nina 
 year old boy as body servant who was a veritable little savage. Friendly 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 103 
 
 WATERWORKS, MANAOS. 
 
 THEATRO AMAZONAS, MANAOS. 
 
I04 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 and smiling he was when all went right, a murderous little tiger if things 
 went wrong. He would accept reproof from his master but from no one 
 else. One day a man servant struck him and his master returned two 
 hours later to find the boy sitting in the courtyard, a loaded) Winchester 
 across his knees, and all the servants hidden in a hastily barricaded room 
 from which they dared not emerge. Had the offender shown himself 
 the boy would certainly have shot him. 
 
 The president of the Commercial Association, although he bore a 
 German name, was not phlegmatic. Indeed, he had abjured Teutonia 
 and was a Brazilian of the Brazilians. Athlete, sportsman, ban vivcmt. 
 
 RIVER EXCURSION NEAR MANAQS. 
 
 business man, he defied climate and care, was always on the move, and 
 kept .others moving also. It was he whO' chartered the Suprema, a typical 
 liffle river iteamer, and took a few of us up t& -the Rio Negro for a 
 day's jaunt. " - ~ 
 
 The "black river" for miles and miles up into the interior is nothing 
 less than a chain of great lakes, and my host unfolded a weird scheme for 
 navigating it by means of boat aeroplanes, which, like gigantic flying fish, 
 should skip from one lake to another. He made it appear quite feasible, 
 and if such a thing is ever done he will be just the one to furnish the 
 courage and dash to put it through. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 105 
 
 Our first pleasurable experience on this voyage was breakfast served 
 on an ingenious table, which, when not in use, folded its legs, rose to 
 the ceiling, and hung high above our heads. The meal was excellent — 
 a freshly caught river fish, the pescadas, a wonderful salad, fruit and 
 coffee. 
 
 Out of sight and sound of the city the solitude was oppressive. 
 It may have been that the jungle covered shores had lost their charm 
 or— and this is more likely — it may have been the total absence of bird 
 and animal life for which the Rio Negro is noted. 
 
 Soon we entered an estuary and after an hour or more of steady 
 steaming sighted a clearing that indicated our near approach to "Paradizo" 
 
 VIEW ON THE RIO NEGRO NEAR MANAOS.' 
 
 ranch. Hardly had we got ashore before we saw rubber trees, and many 
 of them. Much to my surprise they were planted in regular rows and 
 were big, young, and lusty. I had heard only the day before, from one 
 well versed in rubber, that thf Hevea Brasiliensis would not grow up 
 the Negro. Yet here it was. I'his planting, although 20 feet above the 
 water as it then stood, was subject to inundations and apparently suffered 
 no harfh, while further up the slope were trees equally large and healthy 
 that were above high water mark. The Botanist of our party soon dis- 
 covered a borer beetle that was inditstriously puncturing many of the 
 trees, and we fell to and helped him to coax larvce out of their holes for 
 later entomological examination. If I know anything about that Botanist, 
 
io6 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 and I think I do, he will make that particular breed of beetle sorry that 
 it ever tackled rubber trees. 
 
 Later we visited the comfortable ranch houses, saw them make 
 cassava, admired the beautiful flower gardens, filled our pockets with 
 Hevea nuts, and turned toward our boat and Manaos. It was on this 
 excursion that we tried cnpussu, a drink made from a creamy, pulpy 
 fruit that is deliciously refreshing. The proper way to imbibe it is to 
 slowly sip a goblet of it, then swallow half a pint of gin to head oflf the 
 
 PLANTATION HOUSE ON MO NEGRO. 
 
 cramps, then a cup of black coffee to head off the gin. One of our 
 party who despised gin and did not care for coffee was the busiest man in 
 all Brazil for 24 hours after finishing his goblet. 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting of the sights in Manaos was the double 
 exhibition of Amazonian products. I call it double because there was 
 first a rubber exhibition arranged by the Commercial Association for those 
 attending the Congress, and in the same building a varied collection of 
 native products that were to go to a European world's fair. In the 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 107 
 
 former were, specimens of fine and coarse Para rubber, of caucho, and 
 a great pelle of rather sticky rubber from the Hevea Guyanensis. One 
 enterprising and wealthy seringueiro had prepared block, crepe, and pan- 
 cake rubber after the fashion of the preparation in the Far East, and it 
 certainly was as good as any plantation rubber in the world. There were 
 also gathered and shown all of the tapping and coagulating tools and 
 utensils used in Brazilian rubber gathering. 
 
 What the country had done agriculturally and industrially was shown 
 in the wonderful exhibits of cereals, textiles, coffee, cacao, and woods 
 
 RIO NEGRO "pelle" OR RUBBER BALL OF 700 KILOGRAMS. AT MANAOS EXHIBITION. 
 
 of all degrees of hardness, beauty of polish and variety of grain. There 
 was also ornate feather work, gorgeous native embroideries, and won- 
 derful hammocks. 
 
 These exhibitions were opened by the Governor in person, and all 
 came in frock coats and tall hats. As each visitor entered the door, the 
 Police Band, which was lying in wait in an alcove, burst forth with a 
 brazen crash of welcome, while the newcomer, trying to look dignified 
 and free from self consciousness, wabbled through the vestibule and 
 lost himself in the crowd where he could watch the next fellow do the 
 same thing. 
 
 I did not find the heat too oppressive. It got up in the go's some- 
 
io8 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 times, and there was the usual fight against' mildew, which proved it to 
 be somewhat damp. Mine Host, his wife, and the baby all caine down 
 with severe colds while I was there, which I believe was wholly due 
 to the dampness. I do not expect to make Manaos my permanent resi- 
 dence, although one might do worse, but if I do, my sleeping quarters 
 will be on the second floor and not on the ground floor, for that is where 
 one takes cold, and a cold once taken in the tropics is as hard to cure 
 as a sprained disposition. 
 
 Another thing, every window and door in my house should have 
 screens, even if none other in the city followed suit. The yellow fever 
 
 MACHINE FOR SMOKING LATEX. 
 (Earthen smoking cone on the extreme right.) 
 
 mosquito is a city dweller, and if he was driven out of Panama by screen- 
 ing and a little sanitation, he can be out of Manaos. The government 
 is ahve to it, but the people, foreigners and all, seem indifferent. While 
 I was there the Inspector Sanitaria sent out a circular illustrated with 
 pictures of mosquitos, which was passed from house to house. It was, 
 however, in Portuguese, and I was unable to decide whether the Culex, 
 kneeling in prayerful attitude, or the Anopheles, standing on its head 
 as if about to turn a joyful somersault, was the one to avoid. 
 
 At first I kept close tabs on the death rate in the daily papers through 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 109 
 
 my Companion. I showed- him the Portuguese word for fever, and his 
 statistics grew larger day by day. Finally I discovered that he believed 
 that Fever eiro (February) meant fever. Therefore, if it happened to 
 
 '■<^Ns ' >y^ 
 
 RUBBER TREE PLANTED BY THE AUTHOR IN MANAOS. 
 
 be the 20th of the month, dispatches of the day before would appear 
 throug'hout the paper "Fevereiro 19." Adding them up he got a daily 
 death rate of something like 350 and sure to increase to the end of the 
 
no 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 month. It speaks much for his self poise that he was not at all startled, 
 even if I was. 
 
 One of my early visits was to the Governor, who impressed me as 
 most anxious to give his State a capable, businesslike administration. I 
 attended all of the functions that made up that notable week from the 
 
 CHURCH OF ST. SEBASTIAN, MANAOS. 
 
 laying of the corner stone of the new brewery to my own lectures in the 
 Theatro Amasonas. I enjoyed official breakfasts, private dinners, and 
 "sing songs." But of all the meals, some of which were magnificently 
 served, none tickles the palate of my memory like the turtle roasted 
 in the shell with farinha that my hostess prepared for me. It was in- 
 
OF THE AMAZON in 
 
 describably delicious. At last I could comprehend how an Indian could 
 stand day after day in a cranky canoe, in the broiling sun, on the off 
 chance of shooting an arrow up into the sky, that it might drop, impale, 
 and secure this most delicious of crustaceans. 
 
 It was my suggestion, and I am proud of it, that got the Governor, 
 his staff, and a dignified committee out of their beds very early one morn- 
 ing to plant Hevea rubber trees in one of the public parks. It seemed as if 
 in that great city some one ought to know how the tree looked that pro- 
 duced its wealth. Yet few of the business men could tell me whether 
 the leaves of the Hevea Brasiliensis grew in clusters of three or thirty- 
 three. So I suggested city planting and they assented with enthusiasm. 
 
 The Governor planted his tree, the President of the Association his, 
 ^planted mine, then came Dr. Huber, with many others, and we sprinkled 
 that beautiful park with thrifty seedlings that, according to latest ad- 
 vices, "are doing well." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Steamers of the Amazon^Inteeesting Bits of History — Mail Delivery on 
 THE Upper Rivers — The "Associacao Commercial do Amazon's" — "Boeracha" — 
 The Land of "Poco Poco" — Footprints of Visiting Americans — Nine Dollar 
 Head tax — Off for the Soliomoes. 
 
 MANAOS has direct sailings for the United States and Europe, and 
 a great fleet of steamers, big and little, that go to all the upper 
 rivers, even to the slopes of the Andes: 
 
 The carrying trade of the Amazon is done, first, by ocean going boats 
 of such lines as the Booth, Hamburg-American, and Lloyd Brasileiro, 
 many of which visit Para and Manaos only, while others go a thousand 
 miles further up to Iquitos ; second, by a fleet of river steamers, several 
 hundred in number, that belong some to individuals and some to com- 
 panies. The Amazon Steam Navigation Co., Limited, for example, the 
 oldest, has about forty steamers and many tugs and lighters. Their 
 boats are from 150 to 800 tons burden, and the company is subsidized 
 by both State and Federal governments to run regularly up some of the 
 great tributaries of the Amazon. 
 
 Time was when the flat bottomed stern-wheel Mississippi type of 
 steamer was very generally used, but it has practically disappeared. The 
 twin screw steamer is to day the usual thing — that is, for the better 
 class of river boats. Some of these are fitted with electric fans,, ice 
 machines and excellent accommodations for first class passengers. The 
 boats are usually two deckers, both being open. The lower deck is iox 
 the engine, cargo, animals, crew, and third class passengers. This deck 
 is usually loaded in layers — merchandise, mules and dogs at the bottom, 
 passengers in hammocks just above, with an animated top layer of par- 
 rots, monkeys, and insects. The upper deck, reserved for officers and first 
 class passengers, has a few four bunk cabins and a long table aft where 
 meals are served, and is very comfortable. 
 
 The real beginning of steam-navigation on the Amazon was in 1853, 
 when a Brazilian company ran regular steamers between Para and 
 Manaos. In 1866 Brazil declared the Amazon a free waterway. This, 
 however, does not mean the river all the way up to Iquitos, nor does it 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 "3 
 
 include the great tributaries. It means the Amazon from the Atlantic 
 up to where the Rio Negro enters it, 900 odd miles away. Thus under 
 a strict ruling, Manaos, which is five miles up on the Rio Negro, and the 
 settlements on the Solimoes up to Iquitos, would be deprived of this 
 boon. The result is that the great affluents of the Amazon are navigated 
 only by vessels that sail under the Brazilian flag, except under special 
 treaty. 
 
 Several Brazilian companies started soon after this, but their ex- 
 istence was brief and they sold their steamers to private firms. In 1872 
 the Amazon Steam Navigation Co., Limited, was registered and equipped 
 especially for work on the Amazon. This consisted mainly in handling 
 
 PALACE OF JUSTICE, MANAOS. 
 
 freights and passengers between Para and Manaos. By means of sub- 
 sidies and special concessions, however, they were induced to extend the 
 service to most of the important affluents of the Amazon. For example, 
 they were allowed to raise freight rates 25 per cent, and passenger tariffs 
 30 per cent. In return for this they .agreed to run more boats on the 
 Madeira and Puriis and to establish a monthly service on the Araguary 
 '\ilriver. 
 T~^~^ Of the hundreds of steamers privately owned no two are exactly 
 alike. All types of engines are represented, and of propellers one would 
 not believe that so many patterns had ever been made — a great handicap 
 in repairing. These boats do not pretend to run on schedule time. They 
 leave when they get ready, go where they choose, and arrive when they 
 
114 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 can. The result is a great deal of wasted effort. It often happens, on 
 the main river or some of the great tributaries, that a party expecting the 
 boat will wait for days and finally go back in disgust to their seringal. 
 Then a week or more later the boat arrives and sends out an expedition 
 to find the seringal and secure its freight. 
 
 According to Brazilian law any and every boat navigating their 
 waters must carry mail if requested to do so, and that, without re- 
 compense. A wise old Portuguese sea captain described to me the mail 
 carrying of some of these smaller, boats that went far into the interior. 
 Not being paid for the service the owners were resentful, and sometimes 
 
 COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION BUILDING,. MANAOS. 
 
 when away from the restraints of civilization the mail bags were viciously 
 dumped overboard. At other times they were completely forgotten, 
 and after months of journeying were brought back and delivered to the 
 postoffice from which they started. 
 
 Of great importance to city and sta.te is the Associagao Commercial 
 do Amazonas. Every business house in Manaos, of any prominence — 
 Brazilian, Portuguese, English, German, and American — is represented in 
 this Association. Nor is this all ; business interests throughout the state 
 of Amazonas, particularly in the upper Amazon, are also members. It is 
 really a State Board of Trade, active, progressive and comprehensive, and 
 vital. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 115 
 
 Maiiao^/ 
 
 JarUini i-X Pvii.y 'i-:.i. ..vl I 
 
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 Iff 1 i " r^^^m 
 
 
 iK^^ 
 
 ^,. "' 'WW - 
 
 f '-'^tji^HiJiHJi^^ ' 
 
 
 ~'i^-:-^JSk>^^:,^j:i-^ 
 
 ■ ■ - <>(^,. ■ ^;^^. ■' "^T- S "^^ ■-- 
 
 «^-5.,.:-V- 
 
 ^ft'^^^^ft;- ■ 'S^^ -^'^^^^^^ 
 
 eJ-**!- 
 
 ^isfi«l 
 
 ^^mS^-; 
 
 
 '." " ' ' ; '■ '■■ 
 
 
 " ■ , r-'t 
 
 JARDIM DA PRACA GENERAL OSORIO, MANAOS. 
 
 "victoria REGIA" in estuary of the AMAZON. 
 
ii6 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 Organized 35 years ago, its history has been marked by varying 
 degrees of activity, but it has stimulated cooperation in the direction 
 of the general welfare of the city and state. Its work has been much 
 broadened since its reorganization under the new statutes of May 28, 
 1908. 
 
 The visitor to the Amazon country, whatever tongue he may speak, 
 soon learns some Portuguese. One word in particular impresses itself 
 upon him from the beginning, that is borracha. He hears it in the streets 
 of the cities, on the river steamers, in the jungle, and soon learns that it 
 means "rubber." Like all people of Latin extraction, the Brazilians 
 
 JARDIM DA PRACA DA CONSTITUCAO, MANAOS. 
 
 are very apt in coining expressive phrases. They often call india-rubber 
 ouro preto (black gold), a fascinating term, perfect in its complete sug- 
 gestiveness. 
 
 Some people at Manaos are still wrathful over an article published 
 in a New York daily back in 1907, entitled "Peter Panning in the 
 Land of Poco Poco." It was an alleged interview with Casper Whitney, 
 illustrated by reproductions of photographs, such as all tourists may pur- 
 chase anywhere in Brazil. One of these was labeled "Iridian of the Up- 
 per Amazon Never Before Seen by White Man." Another pictured In- 
 dians found only in the Argentine republic, some 2,000 miles from the 
 region in which "Peter Pan" was "pocopocoing." By keeping the canoe 
 close in shore he fortunately slipped by without attracting the attention 
 of these savages ! 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 117 
 
 He went cautiously up the Amazon as far as Rio Negro, where he 
 found that "steamboat navigation ceases." Here he took to canoe, paddled 
 past Manaos, with its waterfront crowded with buildings and its huge 
 floating docks, passing through the fleets of ocean going steamers that 
 crowd the river basin even to midstream, and saw only jungle covered 
 shores and watery wastes never before trodden by the foot of white man. 
 From danger to danger, from little jeopardy to great jeopardy, he ad- 
 vanced up to the Casiquiare river. His adventures were marvelous. 
 
 STAFF HOUSE, FOR AMERICAN CLERKS, MANAOS. 
 
 He fought his way through school^ of crocodiles that slew natives right 
 and left ; slept in trees while cannibals held orgies on the ground beneath, 
 and at last — worn, ragged, half starved, but with unfaltering imagination 
 — he came down the Orinoco, never before seen by white man, and was 
 safe. 
 
 Peter need not go so far afield for material. A little "panning" 
 nearer hpme would surely get color. Why not offer his daily story on 
 "Jigging for Giraffes in Jersey City,'' and be back in the hall bedroom 
 before dark? 
 
ii8 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 A city so far removed from New York as Manaos is an ideal re- 
 flector of the sort of permanent impression a foreign visitor, leaves behind 
 him. It is usually some particular idiosyncrasy, mannerism, or fad that 
 is held in remembrance. Thus, for example, Manaos remembered a 
 speculative rubber promoter as possessing a very broad, tooth showing 
 smile ; a millionaire yachtsman and Wall Street magnate as a good natured 
 "prince of perspiration" ; a New York city official, once in rubber, as 
 dictating to three stenographers at once (why didn't he hire one good 
 one?), and so on. 
 
 Perhaps the one whom they remembered best, and with surprised 
 awe, was a certain boyish American, who appeared on the avenida, coat- 
 less, vestless — the .only, man in Manaos without belt or sash, his trousers 
 held up by good, old-fashioned "galluses." This youngster crossed the 
 Andes, bought rubber, came down the Madeira and got it through to 
 New York at a profit. Not only that, but he engaged to build a Madeira- 
 Mamore railway. Others got concessions to be sure, and he did not, 
 but it was not owing to his lack of ambition. 
 
 When the time came for our departure from Manaos, the steamboat 
 
 company allowed us to go down on a cargo boat. At first the officials 
 
 strongly advised our waiting for a week for one of the regular passenger 
 
 boats, picturing the discomforts of a vessel not fitted for passengers, 
 
 . but finally capitulated. 
 
 ^^ Gne very interesting formality that we were obliged to go through 
 before leaving Manaos was the payment of a head tax amounting to $9 
 for permission to leave the country. I tried to get the official to make 
 it $8.98, but got not the slightest encouragement. I was further obliged 
 to deposit with the steamship company $50 to be turned over to the 
 hospital board in Barbados for care or funeral expenses in case 1 arrived 
 at that careful island with yellow fever. 
 
 Early on Sunday morning, therefore, we said our good byes and made 
 our way down to the pier, where a delegation from the Commercial Asso- 
 ciation was waiting to bid us hon voyage. We all shook hands and sai(i 
 nice things to each other; the president gave me a beautiful spray of 
 orchids, the Catalaya superba, and with a final adieu we went aboard. 
 Shortly after, the boat started down the river. Our last glimpse of 
 Manaos as we steamed away was the huge dome of the theater, its rich 
 blending of red, blue, yellow, and green tiling blazing in the sunlight 
 like a gigantic fire opal. We passed by the red clay shores, and at 
 length out of the black water of the Rio Negro into the yellow Amazon 
 again. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Railroad Building in the Heart of the Rubber Country — The Cataracts of 
 
 THE ilADEIRA — "BatELAOs" — MaDEIRA-Ma MORE CONCESSION — ThE GrEAT CaMP AT 
 
 Porto Velho — Caeipuna Indians. 
 
 I HAVE already mentioned the great number of workers, engineers 
 and others, whom we met going and coming from the headquarters 
 of the Madeira-Mamore railway, but it was not until I got to 
 Manaos that I really appreciated what a great undertaking it was, and' 
 how energetically it was handled. One of the partners in the contracting 
 firm that was' putting the road through resided there, and I got to know 
 him well. His official headquarters were at Manaos. But Itacoatiara, at 
 the mouth of the Madeira river, was the place" where supplies were 
 stored, and many of the men housed going and coming from the railroad 
 camps. 
 
 The ^ladeira, it will be remembered, is the Amazon's greatest 
 tributary. It comes from Rohvia and furnishes about the only outlet for 
 that landlocked republic. From where it enters the Amazon to San An- 
 tonio, nearly 500 miles away, it is navigable by ocean steamers. Then 
 come 250 miles of rapids, in which there are nineteen cataracts. When 
 the water is high, the big rubber batcldos are able to get through by 
 floa;ting part of the way and making portages around the falls, but shoot- 
 ing the rapids. These portages are furnished with narrow guage tracks. 
 The batcldos are unloaded, pulled upon a small truck, and dragged up 
 over the hills, and then eased down on the other side. The return trip 
 involves 25 portages, and three trips a year are all that is possible. The 
 enormous effort required in moving these heavy boats can hardly be 
 imagined. Every season at low water new roadways must be made by. 
 clearing the great boulders out of the river bed, and then laying a cor- 
 duroy road of green poles, over which the keels of the bateldos can slip. 
 Where it is possible they use block and tackle to help in pulling, but some- 
 times everything must be done by main strength. 
 
 There is a loss of 10 to 15 per cent, of the rubber sent down by the 
 upsetting of the scows. Not only that but many men are drowned. 
 The bateldos, by the way are flat bottomed scows 30 feet long and 8 feet 
 
 119 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 121 
 
 wide, and carry about lo tons of rubber. They are manned by i6 
 paddlers, or bateleiros, and usually make the journey down in 20 days, 
 while it takes 60 to return. Transportation difficulties particularly where 
 there are cataracts as there are in the Aladeira, are very great. For ex- 
 ample, the journey from Para to the Beni river took a trifle more than 
 200 days. The return trip down stream took 70 days. Freight rates 
 going up were from $800 to $1,200 per ton, and for the down trip from 
 $300 to $350 per ton. 
 
 It is commonly believed that because of the marvelous waterways 
 
 HAULING RUBBER BOAT AROUND THE FALLS OF THE MADEIRA, OLD REGIME. 
 
 possessed by northern Brazil railroads are neither necessary nor 
 likely to be built. Time was when it was thought that the ^lississippi 
 and its tributaries would be all that the Middle West would ever need 
 for transportation. To-day those waterways and half a dozen great 
 railroads are often unable to handle the merchandise offered them. His- 
 tory will undoubtedly repeat itself in Brazil. Railways from the great 
 province of Matto Grosso will carry rubber and other products south and 
 east, opening up an enormous territory. Running northward from the 
 
122 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 FALLS AND RAPIDS ON THE MADEIRA EIVEK. 
 
 CONSTRUCTION CAMP, MADEIEA-MAMORE RAILWAY. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 123 
 
 heart of Matto. Grosso to the beginning of navigation in such rivers as 
 the Tapajos and the Araguay, perhaps joining the upper end of the 
 Madeira-Mamore, they would open up a country of inexhaustible wealth 
 The day will come, too, when Manaos will be connected with the Guianas, 
 certainly by wireless and almost as certainly by railroad. 
 
 Brazil already has a fine railroad system but it is almost all in the 
 south. The Madeira-Mamore railroad is the precursor of a great num- 
 ber of roads that will undoubtedly be projected to open up the vast 
 country of the Amazon valley. The concession for the building of the 
 
 ^-jl£ir.. 
 
 CONSTRUCTION WORIf IN PROGRESS. 
 
 Madeira-Mamore railway was granted to a Brazilian in 1906 and at once 
 transferred to the Madeira-Mamore Railway Co., a corporation organized 
 in the United States. This company was financed by the Brazil Railway 
 Co., and a company known as the Port of Para, both American, each 
 owning 50 per cent, of the stock of the Madeira-Mamore railroad. 
 
 The Madeira-Mamore road will be 210 mile^ lony and will open up 
 2,500 miles of navigable waters in Boliyia, the Acre, and a part of Matto 
 Grosso. In June, 1910, 55 miles from Porto Velho to Jaci-P'arana were 
 open for traffic. ;The road has since been extended to the river Mutum- 
 
124 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 CAMP HOSPITAL FOR LABORERS, MADEIRA-MAMORE RAILWAY. 
 
 ROCK CUT ON RAILWAY LINE. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 125 
 
 Parana, about 100 miles further, and one train a week is run for freight. 
 As the charges have been about $300 per ton down the Madeira and $400 
 per ton going up, the railroad can cut these rates in half and still make 
 money. It has been estimated that the annual transportation charges 
 over the Falls were about $2,500,000. 
 
 The headquarters of the construction camp was not at San Antonio, 
 but at Porto Velho, where were assembled from 4,000 to 5,000 men. Of 
 these 300 to 400 were Americans. Here were built substantial quarters 
 for the engineers, bunk houses for the men, an up to date thoroughly 
 
 A BAD LANDSLIDE ON THE RAILWAY. 
 
 equipped hospital, ah ice plant, and large storehouses. The company 
 had also drilled wells for water, and was making every effort to keep 
 the men well. In spite of that, there were sometimes nearly 300 men in 
 the hospital and seven to ten doctors and eight male nurses were constantly 
 employed. The experiment of having female nurses was tried, but 
 they were married and carried away so constantly that it was voted a 
 failure. 
 
 The camp was under military discipline, and liquor was taboo. 
 In spite of this the native laborers smuggled in more or less cachacm 
 The most troublesome diseases were beriberi, blackwater fever, and dys- 
 
126 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 entery. Quinine, of course, was the remedy generally used and most 
 potent. It was bought by the ton, and three laboratory men were 
 kept busy from morning until night making it up into pills. 
 
 The town was noted as publishing the only Englisih paper on the 
 Amazon, called The Porto Velho Times. The first issue appeared on 
 typewritten sheets. Then the company sent in a font of type and a print- 
 ing press, and the paper appeared with more or less regularity. It was a 
 remarkable looking sheet typographically. There were no "w's" in the 
 font, and two "v's" placed close together were the alternative. The 
 
 TRACK LAID, MADEIRA-MAMORE RAILWAY. 
 
 paper was full of camp news and genuine fun, and everybody sub- 
 scribed. Under the general announcements of the paper's scope and 
 policy appeared the subscription price, which was — 
 
 Six months, nothing. 
 Three months, half price. 
 
 The name of the paper has since been changed to The Porto Velho 
 Marconigram. 
 
 The railroad workers were only in this camp at stated seasons. Some 
 of them were far ahead with the preliminary party of engineers, who 
 were deciding upon the location, or they might.be nearer the camp on 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 127 
 
 MAKING QUININE CAPSULES IN THE HOSPITAL. 
 
 :^r'^^KiS 
 
 CONSTRUCTION TRAIN, MADEIRA-MAMORE RAILWAY. 
 
128 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 construction. The company paid the men on the loth of every month, 
 and five men were in the employ of the pay office to prepare the 
 $175,000 that the paymaster carried in person to the various camps. 
 
 All of the men were obliged to sign a contract to pay no court to the 
 
 CARIPUNA INDIANS AND BARK BOAT. 
 
 Caripuna Indian women, nor sell firearms to the men. If this con- 
 tract was violated they were discharged without pay. The result of 
 this wise policy was that the Indians were very friendly, and furnished 
 the camps with many turtles and lots Df fish. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Rubber Manufacture by Indians — Head Hunters — Rebellion of Contract 
 Laborers — Insects in the Railroad Camps — Early Attempts at Railroad 
 Building — The Mamore, Beni and the Madre de Dios — Cannibal Indians. 
 
 IT would be strange in a rubber country if there were not some 
 rubber manufacture. And there is much. Nearly all of the In- 
 dian tribes make rubber ponchos, kit bags, and some very curious 
 toys. In making a rubber bag, they first make a bag of fabric, some- 
 times of prettily flowered calico, which they stretch over a frame un*'' 
 the surfaces are smooth and taut. Then they take caucho milk, never 
 using Hevea, and stir into it powdered sulphur, the proportion be- 
 ing a tablespoonful of sulphur to each liter of latex. After stirring the 
 liquid thoroughly, they apply it to the cloth with a feather and give it a 
 sun cure. If sulphur is not obtainable they use gunpowder. When the 
 sulphur compound is spread over flowered calico the colors show through 
 and the bags are extremely pretty. The gunpowder mixture, of course. 
 is black and not transparent. 
 
 These bags will outlast a dozen made of vulcanized rubber and are 
 eagerly purchased by engineers and prospectors. 
 
 A great many other useful articles are made, such as cigar cases, 
 tobacco pouches, and ammunition bags, and even rubber shoes. Of 
 course the latter are not made for export. Occasionally a native makes 
 a clay la.st, puts thirty or forty coats of latex over it, with additional 
 coats for the sole and heel. Then a couple of days later he draws or- 
 namental designs with a knife or a piece of wire, allows the shoes to 
 stand a week to dry out and then they are finished. 
 
 Some of the Indians on the upper Amazon made wonderful feather 
 ornariients. Notably headdresses of the most brilliant feathers, and 
 although the height of the crown was 3^ feet it was exceedingly light 
 and was as easy to wear as a pith helmet. If made at all at the present 
 time it is only by tribes far in the interior of the Upriver country. A 
 lost art among the Indians far up the Amazon is the preparation of 
 human heads in miniature. These heads, of which numbers are still 
 
 129 
 
igo 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 to be found in museums, are about the size of an orange, with the fea- 
 tures almost perfectly preserved, and the long black hair intact. The 
 process consisted in carefully extracting the bones of the skull, bit by bit, 
 tanning and shrinkage the cartilage and finally the wearing of the head 
 at the waist by means of a cord threaded through the lips, in the fashion 
 that the North American Indians wore scalps. 
 
 The railroad company shipped in beef on its own steamers from 
 
 J«'~-t-'^r^.»i 
 
 * '-.|f^ 
 
 INDIAN COATING CALICO BAG WITH RUBBER MILK. 
 
 Manaos, and furnished such deHcacies as Boston baked beans and rice 
 ad libitum. 
 
 The day laborers were a mixed lot gathered from all parts of the 
 world. An unfortunate experiment on the part of a German contractor 
 took place while I was there. He brought in 600 laborers from Ger- 
 many, mostly Polish Jews, and agreed to pay them 60 cents per cubic 
 yard for digging dirt. He was to get $1 a yard for it, and pocket the 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 i',i 
 
 difference. The workmen in a few days after they were located dis- 
 covered that other gangs were getting $i. They promptly struck and 
 walked 80 kilometers back to camp. The camp manager, when he heard 
 the whole story, promised to cancel the contract and give them $1 per 
 yard. This they refused. He then offered to put them at work on 
 
 RUBBER ARTICLES MADE BY INDIANS ON UPPER RIVERS. 
 
 buildings and other jobs. This they also refused. He then offered 
 them free transportation back to Manaos, but again met stubborn re- 
 fusal. He was finally forced to disarm them and drive them from camp. 
 They then built rafts and started to float down to Manaos. Many of 
 them died and the residue were- picked up by a river steamer and taken 
 to Manaos and placed in charge of the German consul. As I was leaving, 
 
132 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 the German government was getting busy with the idea of seeking re- 
 dress. 
 
 Perhaps the greatest curse in this upper country is insects. There 
 were flies innumerable, together with moyaquils (called "bachoburna" 
 there), chiggers, ticks, flies, and mosquitos by the million. 
 
 INDIAN HEAD' DRESSES. 
 
 The railroad company established wireless stations at ^lanaos and 
 Porto Velho, which worked perfectly from the start. Later they 
 planned to have another station at Villa Bella, at the farther end of tjje 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 133 
 
 road. It is qviite possible, once these are installed, that they can com- 
 municate with Bolivian wireless stations, which would give Manaos an- 
 other means of sending messages to the outside world. 
 
 The engineers go with the company under contract for a period of 
 
 HUMAN HEADS, SHRUNKEN, USED AS INDIAN WAR TROPHIES. 
 
 two years, with a three months' vacation, which they usually spend in a 
 trip to the United States. They are very well paid, as a class, and those 
 who are suited to the life really enjoy it. I met two whom I had pre- 
 viously known in Panama. They were on their way to the States for 
 
134 
 
 THE, RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 their vacation. One was in perfect health; the other had chills and 
 fever at regular intervals, but was filling up on quinine, and had no 
 thought but to return when his vacation was over. They had many 
 interesting and unusual stories to tell. of happenings up in the wilderness. 
 One of them told of the possessor of an honored English name who was 
 compelled to drop it and take another. It came about in this way. 
 Whenever a companion called him by his surname, it was greeted with 
 shrieks of laughter on the part of the natives. Not only that, but if 
 he met a native on the trail, the latter would speak his name and then 
 
 AN INDIAN SLING SHOT. 
 
 go into convulsions of merriment. When he learned that his patronymic 
 was a native word which meant the concrete and ultimate result of a 
 strong cathartic pill, he promptly called himself "Smith." 
 
 The story of the earlier efforts to build railroads around the Falls 
 of the ^Madeira is wonderfully interesting and singularly romantic. 
 The first real attempt was made some forty years ago, under a con- 
 cession to the Bolivian Steam Navigation Co., the contractors being 
 an American concern. The whole scheme originated in the enterprise of 
 Colonel George Earl Church, a noted American civil engineer, who 
 proved to both the Bolivian and Brazilian governments the necessity 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 135 
 
 for such a road. The ColHns company made a survey, sent in much 
 equipment, and had laid about five miles of track when the English 
 bondholders got frightened, put an injunction on the funds of the com- 
 pany, and after much litigation got the money and the Collins company 
 got nothing. The American loss was something like $500,000. The 
 Brazilian government later put through a new survey, but were not 
 ready to finance the proposition at that time. Then came the Acre dis- 
 
 MOSQUITO PROOF HEADGEAR USED BY ENGINEERS IN BRAZILIAN FORESTS. 
 
 pute and the cession of that rich rubber territory to Brazil, with the 
 .agreement that the railroad should be built at once. 
 
 According to common gossip in Brazil, the American engineering 
 company who are putting it through agree to have it completed in three 
 years' time. The Brazilian government pays all of the bills and the con- 
 struction company gets 10 per cent, of the money expended for its 
 trouble. The road is narrow guage and many of the bridges now of 
 timber construction will be replaced later with solid masonry. 
 
 Except in the towns very few traces of the Collins enterprise remain. 
 
136 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 The roadbed, rails, and all had absolutely disappeared, and only im- 
 penetrable jungle was to be found where once ran the pioneer Madeira- 
 Manlore railroad. > ; 
 
 The Madeira river, above the falls, is fed by several great rivers 
 that drain an immense territory which is rich in rubber. There is, fof 
 exaniple, the Guapore that drains both Bolivia and Brazil, rising far up 
 in Matto Grosso; the Mamqre, the Beni, and the Madre de Dios — all 
 great rivers, together with hundreds of lesser. This upper country 
 has many thousands of miles of navigable streams at the time of high 
 water, and once the railroad is finished, hides, cinchona, and a great 
 
 
 \ 
 
 " 
 
 j 
 
 
 i: 
 
 \ 
 
 \ ^'^^^im^ 
 
 / 
 
 d 
 
 ■. 
 
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 M 
 
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 .■.a,^Utjfg.^^^**^^f'^^^Smmmi^^ 
 
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 ■ .M'^^^R 
 
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 "SS^?*'" ' "^^^0(^' "'^ 
 
 
 
 
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 y 
 
 
 
 STEAMEK AT PORTO VELHO, MADEIRA-MAMORE RAILWAY. 
 
 variety of other products, as well as rubber, will find their way out 
 iJirough the Arriazon. 
 jk Pioneers in the upper Amazon country whether they were explorers, 
 railroad surveyors or rubber gatherers, have, in the past been very much 
 harassed by some of the wild Indian tribes. For example: "The can- 
 nibal Tauapery Indians often attacked, killed and ate rubber gatherers, 
 saving the right leg as a trophy." Then too, the Acarinus Indians, on th^ 
 Rio Pauhiny, were said to attack rubber collectors, carrying away their 
 heads as trophies. From the upper Tocantins came often reports of Ita- 
 cayuna Indians, a very primitive tribe, unacquainted with .the use of iron, 
 who made huts of woven twigs and branches, "broken with their teeth." 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 137 
 
 Whether they killed the rubber gatherers with the same weapons, does 
 not appear. 
 
 ^ There are many small and exceedingly warlike tribes scattered 
 through the Amazon basin that have at times wiped out settlements of 
 rubber gatherers. That any of them are cannibals, however, is yet to be 
 proved. Furthermore the owners of the serikgaes exact a heavy penalty 
 for massacres and the reports of killing are becoming less and less fre- 
 
 '■MBilM 
 
 •■■ -:■■:„■ . ■■ ■ 
 
 ■■H.^ -rT/^ 
 
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 ,,,;,::-, ''t':^:ii.. ,c. 
 
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 PP-^ 
 
 
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 .r^^^^i^S^^M^^'^AT 
 
 
 
 ^E^ 
 
 
 RELIC OF THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT SAILKOAD BUILDING ON THE MADEIRA. 
 
 quent. To-day there are really no unmixed wild tribes of Indians on the 
 lower Amazon or its navigable branches. There were many such but 
 they have become extinct. It must be remembered that there are great 
 tracts of land in the Amazon country where there are no Indians at all. 
 The remaining wild tribes, as a rule, live back in the forests above, the 
 limits of navigation. It is claimed that there are about 250,000 Indians 
 in the Amazon basin, and whether wild or Christianized, they have the 
 sariie civil rights as the whites. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The Bolivian Montana — Discovery of Rubber There — "Ouro Vegetal" — 
 Establishing "SEbiNGAEs" — Cartroads — Liberal Laws Passed — "Border Ruf- 
 fians" — How Bolivian Rubber is Gathered — River Navigation by "Balsa" and 
 "Callapo" — A Rich Rubber Chieftain. 
 
 TO-DAY one third of the world's supply from South America of fine 
 > Para rubber comes from Bolivia and the Acre. The discovery 
 of rubber in the Bolivian Monta a dates back to 1869, when two 
 Bolivians obtained specimens and sent them to Europe, the report being 
 that the gum was of the best quality. As a result of this a few started 
 gathering at Cavinas, 100 to 150 pounds at a time, rowing up stream 200 
 miles, then transporting it across country 60 miles and sending it down 
 over the Falls of Madeira. Bolivian rubber did not appear on the mar- 
 ket, however, until 1893, when the grade known as "MoUendo" began to 
 be shipped from the Pacific port of that name. 
 
 Dating back to 1827 there had been the report of cannibals on the 
 Beni river, and the region was so dangerous that it was considered fatal 
 to any one penetrating its murky forests. Political criminals were 
 therefore sent there in lieu of sentence of death. In 1880 an American 
 traveled overland from the Pacific with a few rubber gatherers in his 
 train. He failed to locate any cannibals, and in four months had 600 
 gatherers at wOrl<. An adventurous French baron, accompanied by lead- 
 ing American importers, further explored the river in 1893. As a result 
 of this, a company was formed for exploiting the resources of the Beni, 
 but nothing was accomplished. In the meantime it became- widely known 
 that the Beni country was rich in rubber, cinchona, and precious metals. 
 It was also proved, that the Indian residents were not only harmless 
 but very friendly. 
 
 Interest in rubber continued to increase, steam launches were put 
 on the Beni, Madre de Dios and Mamore, and transportation either toward 
 the Falls of Madeira or up the Punis toward the mountains was made 
 much easier. For example, in 1891, 35,000' quintals of rubber, carried 
 by donkeys, mules and llamas, went over the Andes. It was then planned 
 
 '38 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 139 
 
 NAVIGATION ON THE UPPER RIVERS. 
 
 to avoid the Falls of Madeira by a canal connecting the Beni and the 
 Puriis. 
 
 At this time the population, exclusive of wild Indians, was re- 
 corded as 22,000. Bolivian rubber was considered so valuable that it was 
 called oujo vegetal (plant of :gold). 
 
 
 
 
 ^^■if'-"" ■ "'^^'^^^B 
 
 
 , ;<^^«'*r^?*'*^^'i^p! 
 
 
 
 
 ^r'2|:?^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 SORATA, BOLIVIA. 
 
I40 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 BRIDGE BUILT OF RAILROAD RAILS. 
 
 The ubiquitous Hebrew peddler early penetrated to this part of the 
 world and got full value for his wares. One of them, supposing that 
 the natives would be great gamblers, took in many packs of playing cards, 
 but found no sale for them until he segregated, the face cards and sold 
 them at a high price as likenesses of the saints. 
 
 Numbers of grea.t seringacs were early formed — one for example, 
 
 A LEVEL STRETCH ON- THE MADEIRA. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 141 
 
 '£..'.k~S^^&; 
 
 A "balsa" transporting rubber. 
 
 on the Orton river, with 1,000 rubber gatherers and equipped with every- 
 thing to do the business comfortably and economically. - 
 
 The Bolivian rubber was acknowledged to be of the very highest 
 
 WEIGHING CAUCHO, BOLIVIA. 
 
142 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 grade and ran 86 per cent. fine. The government export tax upbn it 
 is 14 per cent. 
 
 The Bolivian government acted very wisely in dealing with 
 concessionaires, foreign and native, and in guarding their rights arid 
 rights of laborers. It passed laws regulating the concessions, allowing 
 anyone to explore for rubber trees. 
 
 Concessions were granted by estradas; no individual being allowed 
 to own more than 500, and no corporation more than 1,000, a tax of 
 one boliviano (96J/2 cents gold) for each estrada being the annual rental 
 
 STRAW . BOATS ON LAKE TITICACA. 
 
 for fifteen years. A heavy penalty was imposed upon persons holding 
 rubber trees not legally obtained. For the protection of laborers it was 
 decreed that they need not accept food or clothing in lieu of wages ; that 
 there should be no corporal punishment ; no depriviation of personal 
 liberty, and, if diseased or ill, they were entitled to free medical at- 
 tendance. 
 
 Under these laws some great colonization schemes were projected 
 and hundreds of miles of good cart roads built. One very ambitious at- 
 tempt to get an outlet into the Amazon was the building of a cart road 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 143 
 
 around the Falls of the Madeira, 112 miles of which was completed. 
 The project was abandoned, however, as it was impossible to get laborers 
 to complete it. 
 
 It is interesting to remember that the history of Bolivia con- 
 tains no instance of diplomatic claim against that country for any vi- 
 olence, damage, or injury to foreigners. Foreign capital and particularly 
 alert promoters were quick to appreciate not only the richness for op- 
 portunity but also- the safeguards she extended to them. In July, 1900, 
 
 TAPPING PAEA RUBBER TREE, BOLIVIA. 
 
 concessions were taken out to the number of 17,345 estradas- Numbers 
 of the concessionaires were willing to pay one holiviana per estrada for 
 one year, and then, float the concession, as the contract did not require, 
 development. The Bolivian government, beginning to appreciate that, 
 in spite of the tremendous numbers of concessions granted, the amount of 
 rubber was not increasing as it should, made a new law, restricting the 
 area granted to individuals and companies, and putting a value on the 
 land of 10 reis per square meter. Two years later it was found that 
 
144 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 110,000 cstradas had been abandoned; presumably they were taken up 
 by promoters who had no intention of developing them. 
 
 The great seringaes were not established without much trouble. For 
 example, one company floated in Europe started some 500 _people for 
 the Amazon, reaching Para in flood time. They went on and, trying 
 to reach their river by a short cut, had many accidents and many of the 
 adventurers died. The remainder got there finally, but most of their 
 
 SMOKING PAKA RUBBER, BOLIVIA'. 
 
 troubles could have been avoided by a little knowledge of conditions in 
 the Amazon basin. 
 
 Had it not been for the tremendous cost of transportation the con- 
 cessionaires and trading companies would have made millions. For in 
 1882 they were paying gatherers $9.65 per 100 pounds of rubber. In 
 1900, however, the price had been increased to five times that amount. 
 
 One of the greatest companies administered by Americans had much 
 trouble in getting the natives to work. They, therefore, imported a few 
 Italians and secretly paid them high wages to act' as pace makers. The 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 145 
 
 result was that the natives got in a perfect frenzy of accomplishment 
 which they have lived up to ever since. 
 
 Recurring to the transportation problem, it will be remembered 
 that, for the cession of the Acre territory to Brazil, Bolivia received 
 $10,000,000*, which she pledged herself to spend upon railroads. . To 
 carry this out the Bolivian Railways Co. was incorporated, to expend 
 $35,000,000 in railroads that should improve the outlet of Bolivia to the 
 Pacific, and also by stretches of roads around cataracts to open up 
 transportation through the Montana. 
 
 Most of the great rubber estates both on the upper and lower Amazon 
 
 CUTTING RUBBER FROM PADDLES, BOLIVIA. 
 
 are to-day owned by wealth}^ individuals or companies. Their first 
 titles came to them through discovery and occupation. Later surveys 
 Were made and legal titles were granted particularly where the first oc- 
 cupant got in financial difficulties and a creditor took, the property over. 
 There are still properties for which the owner has no real title and which- 
 he holds because of his expertness in handling a rifle. 
 
 These are the men who in the past were preyed upon by bands 
 ' of "border ruffians" called capangas, who descended on them and gath- 
 ered in their rubber in swift night attacks. These "border ruffians" were 
 
146 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 said to be employed by negociantes or traders and the different bands 
 were in a state of constant warfare with each other. These battles 
 were not very sanguinary. An eye witness relates a pitched battle be- 
 tween two armed bands where 2,000 shots were fired, the total execution 
 being one bullet hole through the shirt of the leader of the attacking 
 party. Appalled by such a happening, he promptly put a white cloth on 
 a pole, raised from behind a stump where he was crouching, while he 
 led the charge and promptly surrendered. 
 
 The tree that produces Bolivian rubber is undoubtedly a Hevea and 
 is said by some to be the Hevea lutea. It grows on the uplands to an 
 
 FIRE BRANDING RUBBER, BOLIVIA. 
 
 altitude of 3,000 feet, and on sloping, well drained ground, and not in 
 swamps or where it would be subject to inundations. The trees are 
 tapped for about three months each year, and then are allowed to rest.. 
 The rubber when carried up the rivers, by muleback over the mountains, 
 by boat across Lake Titicaca, and by railroad to Mollendo, is said to cost, 
 exclusive of the export duties charged in Bolivia, about 40 cents a 
 pound. 
 
 Bolivian rubber is gathered somewhat differently from that down 
 river. There is used a mango — literally a handle to which is attached 
 a flat disk 6 to 8 inches in diameter. This is used as the ordinary paddle 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 147 
 
 is. Where much smoking is to be done a disk to which two handles are 
 attached to opposite sides is substituted. These handles are supported 
 by cross pieces which allow the disk to revolve rapidly over the huyon. 
 
 suAREz, Bolivia's rubber baron. 
 
 (Sketched at his home in Bolivia for the Author.) 
 
 or smoking pot. Indeed, to facilitate matters there are sometimes 
 three or four of these pots in a row. 
 
 Two methods of branding rubber are in use. One which is known 
 as "fire" branding consists in heating a die and pressing it into the out- 
 side surface of the rubber. The other way is to have the name of the 
 
148 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 seringal cut on the surface of the paddle; then when the pelle is cut 
 open the rubber is found to have taken an exact replica of the brand. 
 
 Iii the upper rivers, where the water is very shallow, the rubber 
 takes its first journey on balsas, or small rafts. If they are to pass over 
 rough water, the logs of which they are made are hollowed out. These 
 recesses are filled with rubber and the whole is floored over, so even if the 
 crew is upset or lost the rubber survives. Two or more balsas joined 
 together form a callapo, which is used when the river broadens to admit 
 larger craft. Still further down the rivers the batelao — commonly pro- 
 nounced "batalone" — is used as freight carrier. 
 
 BOLIVIAN TAPPING AXE. 
 
 (The first view shows 'the full size of the "mackadine.'' The second shows an outline, with 
 the eye for a handle 2 feet long.) 
 
 The dry season in the Bolivian rubber country is from June to 
 November and the rainy season from December to May. The climate 
 is hot and exceedingly humid. There is a decided drop in the tempera- 
 ture at night, much more pronounced than in the lower Amazon, and 
 the consequent danger from chills. The disease most prevalent is 
 tertian fever, called terciana, and a large percentage of mortality is 
 due to it. It is claimed that there is not much danger from this if one 
 avoids freshly plucked fruit and alcoholic beverages. 
 
 One of the most romantic figures in the Amazon basin, who is 
 established above the Falls of Madeira, is Nicolas Suarez. Of Bolivian 
 birth and speaking only Spanish, he has for years practically controlled 
 
OF THE AMAZON I49 
 
 the carrying trade up and down the Madeira, as well as the gathering 
 and collecting of the rubber along many of the great waterways above 
 the falls. 
 
 If Suarez's life history could be written it would prove a very 
 stirring tale. He, began as a trader for rubber, dealing with savages 
 whom none other had dared to even , communicate with. Soon he and 
 his brothers began to acqviire great concessions. They pushed further 
 and further into the interior, trading with the Indians, practically 
 ruling them, and avenging any insult or lack of faith most terribly. 
 One of his brothers was murdered by savages, and it is said that 
 Nicolas Suarez practically exterminated the tribe to which his murder^ 
 ers belonged. 
 
 He employs probably about 4,000 men, and is said to be worth 
 from $35,000,000 to $40,000,000. A born organizer, he is still a simple, 
 saving man of the people. But his nephews, liberally educated, living 
 in Europe, are genuine men of the world. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Rubber Forest Country of Peru — A' Rubber Revolution — Foreign 
 Capital in Peru — Iquitos and' Its Growth — The "Dining Hall of the World" — 
 Peruvian Indians— Various Peruvian Ruebers^The Complete Story of 
 Caucho — Para Rubber of Peru. 
 
 FULLY two-thirds of the territory of Peru, an immense region of 
 700,000 square miles, is embraced in the forest lands east of 
 the Andes, known as the ■ Forest Country, or Monta a,' and is 
 watered by a great network of rivers. These forests are not only rich in 
 cinchona, ' vanilla, and cacao, but there is a great deal of india-rubber. 
 As far back as 1853, Markhafei visited rubber camps there, and among 
 other things described the sitigular vessels used for conveying latex. 
 They were joints of bamboo, thr^e feet long and four inches in diameter, 
 and called ypas. These are 'still used. 
 
 Pohre Peru (poor Peru) was most expressive. Robbed of her 
 rich nitrate beds by Chile, her rich silver mines owned by British capi- 
 talists, the cinchona industry ruined by plantations in the Far East, 
 the railroads in the hands of a British corporation, and the customs 
 pledged to them, with millions of acres of the best forest lands given 
 away to the same outside interests, it surely was "poor Peru!" 
 
 The mining engineers were the first to appreciate the forest wealth, 
 and great tracts of land were acquired not only to exploit the minerals, 
 but rubber and other products. This practically put foreign capitalists 
 in charge of the best of the Montana regions. Then Brazilian rubber 
 gatherers in the territory, together with native gatherers, started an in- 
 surrection, the idea being that the territory became a Brazilian de- 
 pendency. The government at Lima dispatched an armed force over 
 the three ranges of mountains and declared Iquitos a closed port. The 
 soldiers, however, preferred rubber gathering to fighting, and were 
 supposed to have joined the revolutionists. The result was the appoint- 
 ment of a commission of arbitration and the discovery that Peru did 
 not know what her eastern boundaries were. The commission decided 
 on the river Javary as a boundary line, incidentally cutting off from 
 
 150. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 151 
 
 Peru a very large and rich rubber territory, not purposely, but because 
 of a mistaken idea as to the direction in which the Javary ran. 
 
 In the meantime the great foreign companies were opening roads 
 and doing much to make the country accessible. One company alone 
 in nine years opened 270 miles of fine road over the Andes to the nav- 
 igable waterways of the Montana, and in 1904, 1,300 miles of such roads 
 had been constructed. The result was that many regions of the Inambari 
 and Madre de Dios were within three days of Mollendo. In 1902, the 
 fishing village of Iquitos had grown to a city with a population of 7,000, 
 made up of Peruvians, half castes, and Hebrews. A fairly good road 
 way connected it with Lima, the journey taking about twelve days. 
 
 KVi 
 
 'mm 
 
 W^^^^^BK^^^^—J^ ^Simm 
 
 iq^^^^HV|HSS^^ 
 
 SMOKING PARA RUBBER, PERU, 
 
 Fifty steamers plied between the city and the interior, carrying supplies 
 to the various rubber camps and bringing down rubber. 
 
 The export of rubber by way of the Amazon at that time had been 
 for two years a monopoly, controlled by an English steamboat company 
 who employed five vessels for this purpose, vessels especially built 
 so that they could navigate the river even at the time of low water. One 
 result of this steamship monopoly was that freight rates were very high, 
 sometimes exceeding the price of the cargo. About 1906, however, direct 
 shipments were inaugurated from Iquitos to New York and Liverpool, 
 and the city flourished as a result. The following year 7,000 passengers 
 arrived at Iquitos, all of them connected in some way with rubber in- 
 terests ; 540 steamers weighed anchor from that port during that year 
 and 21 local dealers (called ncgociantes) , all of them foreigners, export- 
 
152 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 ed 7,000,000 pounds of rubber, two-thirds of which was "Para." In 
 1909, the exports of rubber from Iquitos had increased 33 per cent, over 
 the last figures given. 
 
 The province of Loreto, of which Iquitos is the capital, is so rich 
 in forest products that Humboldt spoke of it as the "dining hall of the 
 
 SHIPPING RUBBER AT MOLLENDO, PERU. 
 
 world." Iquitos, a few years ago only a collection of palm thatched 
 huts, is a rich thriving city to-day. With mean temperature of 75" to 
 80° F., it is comfortable, and with fourteen to twenty feet of water in 
 the broad river upon which it is situated, it can accommodate ocean 
 going steamers. The Amazon, called Maranon there, is navigable some 
 300 or 400 miles beyond the city. In other words, there is a good nav- 
 
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 M 
 
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 Oi 
 
154 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 igable waterway from Manaos up the Amazon for about 1.600 miles. 
 More and more steamers go to Iquitos and, eventually, it will be a city 
 of great commercial importance. The Peruvian Montana is as rich as 
 any part of the tropical world, and when its quarter of a million Indians, 
 many of whom are excellent workers already, awake to the dignity of 
 lator, a greater wealth than that possessed by the Incas will be pro- 
 duced by them. 
 
 Speaking of Indians, one of the most important tribes, the Campas, 
 located on the Ucayali, number some 40,000, and are said to be descended 
 from the Aztecs. Less important are the Peros, Conibos and Ship- 
 ibos. These are expert canoeists and hunters, very courageous and 
 keep contracts most faithfully. These Indians wage relentless war- 
 fare against the wholly savage tribes, capturing them whenever they 
 
 STEAMER ON THE MARANON ABOVE IQUITOS, PERU. 
 
 can, and bringing them to the rubber camps where they insist on their 
 being taught to gather rubber. The general Indian word for rubber 
 throughout Eastern Peru is "sandouga." 
 
 A great many interesting stories come from the interior, as is 
 natural. For example, it is said that the Indians of the upper Amazon 
 had a telephone system of their own, using rubber in its construction, 
 and there the story ends. 
 
 There are three distinct kinds of rubber gathered in the Amazon 
 provinces of Peru: (i) Caucho, which is the product of the Castilioa 
 Ulei; (2) seringa, borracha or jebe ftno, which comes from a Hevea; 
 and (3) the orco-jeringa or "weak fine" Hevea. There are a number of 
 theories regarding the reason for the shortness of fiber in the weak 
 fine. The common belief is that, as it is found on high lands far above 
 
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156 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 the sea level, it is due to location, where the Hevea is not at its best. 
 It is possible, however, that it may be caused by the admixture of 
 another latex with that of the Hevea. 
 
 The tree producing caucho was for a long time unidentified, and 
 little was known about it, except that the rubber was gathered by a 
 system that involved the destruction of the tree. This method still 
 obtains and is as follows : 
 
 Near the base of the tree a broad V-shaped cut is made and the 
 latex is caught in an earthen vessel, or sometimes in a waterproof bag. 
 After all the latex has been drained out of such incisions, the tree is 
 cut down. Then circular incisions are made about the trunk, about two 
 feet apart, and the latex is caught in basins or calabashes. The milk is 
 
 RUBBER gatherers' HUTS, PERU. 
 
 next passed through a sieve to remove bark and leaves, and then is 
 ready for coagulation. Very often the rubber gatherers hew a trough 
 in the soft wood of the fallen rubber tree in which to coagulate it, 
 while others dig a hole in the ground and pour the milk into it. If the 
 natives have soap or the juice of the Peruvian vine called leche camole, 
 the latex coagulates very rapidly, and the result is a square block known 
 as caucho, or Peruvian slab. This slab, cut in slices, forms what is 
 known as caU|Cho strip. The grade of rubber known as caucho ball is 
 made up of the strings of rubber that coagulate in the incisions on the 
 tree and are Stripped off a couple of weeks after it has been cut down. 
 For the sake of convenience in handling they are made into balls. 
 For a long time caucho came only from Peru, but it is now found 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 157 
 
 to be distributed widely throughout the Amazon valley. The caucho- 
 gatherers in large parties disappear into the trackless forests and travel 
 sometimes for hundreds of miles over territory never before explored, 
 destroying trees wherever they find them.. It is claimed that the gatherers 
 get from 15 to 25 pounds of dry caucho from one tree. It has often 
 been suggested that the latex could be taken out much as the Hevea 
 latex is. Native gatherers, however, claim that such cutting of the bark 
 results in destruction of the tree by either disease or insects. It is also 
 claimed that, when the tree is cut down, shoots spring up from the 
 
 TAPPING PARA RUBBER TREE, PERU. 
 
 stump that in a short time become thrifty trees. It is said that every 
 eight years a cauchal, which is where the caucho trees flourish, can 
 be harvested. 
 
 When one considers the slow growth of trees in the dense forest, 
 however, the Bolivian contention that it takes twenty years to renew a 
 cauchal seem more reasonable than the Peruvian. 
 
 The word caucho, really the Spanish for caoutchouc, has been the 
 cause of a great deal of misunderstanding. Many writers speak of 
 "caoutchouc" and of its destruction in Peru. Readers suppose they 
 
158 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 mean that Hevea trees are cut down as well as the Castilloa, which is 
 not the fact. Nearly all writers on Peru and Bolivia make this mis- 
 take, and even the official publications are not always clear. The word 
 caoutchouc means rubber of any and every kind. Indeed it is a synonym 
 for india rubber. Caucho, on the other hand, is a specific trade name 
 of worldwide acceptance for the product of the Castilloa Ulei. 
 
 The gathering of caucho is done by bands of 80 to 100 Indians, 
 organized and led by two or three white men. While the band are 
 able to shoot some game and thus live on the country, they also carry 
 supplies as they are liable to be lost in the forests for months. Their 
 food supplies consist of dried iguana, monkey and parrot flesh, fried 
 fish, farinha, cachaca, tobacco, and so on. 
 
 In searching for caucho trees, they look on the ground and locate 
 
 TT^_ — ~- — 
 
 
 
 !«<«%■.■■ 
 
 
 
 SETTLEMENT SHOWING EDGE OF THE GREAT MONTANA, PERU. 
 
 the great laterals that extend many feet from the tree trunk. They 
 speak of two kinds of caucho, the white and the black. The difference, 
 however, is only in the color of the bark. The latex of the caucho 
 coagulates by itself if left in the clay lined holes into which it is poured. 
 The invariable custom, however, is to mix soap with it and leave it over 
 night. The coagulated mass in the morning is said to throw off the 
 most disgusting odor which kills even the hardy mosquito of the Montana. 
 Caucho gatherers suffer from rheumatism, enemia and dysentery, but 
 the death rate among them is small. The Indians like the work and it is 
 very easy to secure laborers. The gatherers carry very few tools. An 
 American axe does most of the cutting. Instead of tin cups they take 
 certain leaves, fold them ingeniously and sew them, replenishing them 
 at each fresh cauchal. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 159 
 
 The gathering of Hevea or Para rubber, which is also a large 
 factor in Peruvian exports, is guarded by laws that are quite similar 
 
 VEGETATION ON THE RIO UCAYALI, PERU. 
 
 to those in force in Bolivia. These laws are of two sorts. One form 
 of contract is for the leasing of the lands containing riibber trees; the 
 
i6o 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 other for the renting of estradas of 150 trees each. For the first the 
 concessionaire pays a royalty of a trifle less than a cent a pound for 
 the rubber extracted (2 soles per quintal) which is collected with the 
 export duty. Under the second form, the government charges about 
 10 cents a year for each hectare (aibout 2^4 acres) of land upon which 
 the estate is situated. 
 
 The Peruvian government allows these contracts to become effec- 
 tive only when the land is viewed by an expert surveyor and approved. It 
 also demands a guarantee from the concessionaire in the way of the 
 purchase of interest bearing bonds, which are held for the purchaser's 
 account, the interest being paid to him. The government has been 
 
 PERUVIAN MACHINE FOR SMOKING "heVEA" LATEX. 
 
 exceedingly generous with those taking up lands and has voted many 
 valuable concessions to the companies that have constructed roads. 
 
 Americans, that is North Americans, believe firmly that they are. 
 the only real inventors on their own particular hemisphere. To them 
 is submitted a picture of Morinha's rubber smoking apparatus* invented 
 by a native Peruvian. It is very simple and "fool proof" enough to 
 be used by the most stupid Indian gatherer. The ordinary smoking cone 
 is employed, above which in a rectangular closed chamber is a revolving 
 drum turned by hand so that the latex may be evenly treated by the hot 
 smoke. 
 
 The government export tax on rubber is 14 per cent. 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 "O Acre" — The Richest Robber Territory in the World — Romantic His- 
 tory OF A Tropical "No-Man's-Land" — The Acre War — It Becomes Brazilian 
 Federal Territory — Ownership of Upriver Estates — Administration of Laws 
 in the Acre — Mortality in Rubber Districts — The Seasons. 
 
 PERHAPS the most interesting of all rubber producing territories 
 in South America is Acre, or The Acre — not a state but a 
 Brazilian Federal territory. It lies in the upper Amazon valley, 
 close to Peru and Bolivia, and is watered by a labyrinth of rivers great and 
 small. Of these rivers the Amazon, the Javary, the Ucayali and the Madre 
 de Diosy with others, either form boundaries for the territory or make 
 the forests of easy access. It is probable that no other part of the world 
 is richer in rubber than is the Acre. Most of the rivers are navigable, 
 some of them for hundreds of miles, and the territory is easier to reach 
 from Para and Manaos than any other large Brazilian rubber producing 
 territory. The country is healthful and the flood seasons brief. The 
 climate is not as humid as in the lower Amazon valley, and the heat is 
 not so unbearable as in the latter regions. 
 
 Prior to 1899 the Acre was practically unknown, w^as called "No- 
 Man's-Land," and actually belonged to neither Bolivia or Brazil. This 
 triangular block of heavily forested territory, more than 66,000 square 
 miles in area, was not coveted by any one until rubber began to come 
 out of it in ever increasing quantities. This rubber exploitation was 
 accomplished almost wholly by Brazilians with Cearenses for laborers. 
 
 The territory had two natural outlets — one through Bolivian terri- 
 tory over the Falls of the Madeira and into the Amazon, the other, 
 down the Puriis through Brazilian territory and into the Amazon. The 
 last named was the best of the two because of the open waterway to 
 Manaos. 
 
 Although there were only two seringaes belonging to Bolivia in 
 the Acre, a Bolivian custom house was established in 1899 on the Acre 
 river and duty collected on most of the rubber that came out of that 
 territory. Four months in that year Bolivia collected duty on 2,605,992 
 
 161 
 
1 62 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 pounds fine and 370,636 pounds coarse. Then the BraziHans in the Acre 
 rebelled, started a revolution under Galvez, and formed what was known 
 as the Independent Acre Republic. The leaders offered citizenship to 
 all residents in the district, Bolivians and Brazilians, with the exception 
 of Nicolas Suarez, who was declared "dangerous." The population 
 of the territory was then about 18,000, and as rubber collectors were 
 able to get all the way from 13 to 55 pounds of rubber a day, they 
 fully appreciated the value of the territory. For some little time it 
 
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 INUNDATED FOREST IN THE PURUS RIVER VALLEY. 
 
 was practically a free state, although the leaning at Rio Janerio was for 
 Bolivian supremacy. 
 
 In 1902 Brazil formally granted the territory to Bolivia and helped 
 that country to recover the Acre from the hands of the revolutionists. 
 Shortly after this Bolivia granted the whole territory to an American 
 syndicate. This caused a great deal of feeling in Brazil, and the treaty 
 ceding the territory to Bolivia was withdrawn. Brazilians seemed to 
 feel that in the granting of such a concession the United States would 
 
OF THE AMAZON 163 
 
 gain control of the upper Amazon, and their daily papers were filled 
 with articles predicting calamities of various sorts. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Acre, backed by the state of Amazonas, 
 were particularly bitter in their denunciation of Bolivia's act. They 
 considered it a great wrong for a private corporation organized under 
 foreign laws to receive any such grant. .They claimed that the Acre 
 belonged to Brazil ; because of its configuration ; since all of its rivers 
 flow into the Amazon, being the only practical outlet from the country ; 
 because there was no Bolivian population there ; and finally that the 
 Bolivians had shown utter inability to develop the territory and leased 
 it to foreigners. 
 
 This inaugurated the "Acre war." Bolivia raised money and sent 
 1,000 men over the mountains. It took this expedition four months to 
 reach the seat of trouble. The warfare was of the guerilla type. 
 For example, the revolutionists attacked Nicolas Suarez and sacked and 
 destroyed two of his rubber warehouses on the Acre river. The old 
 man himself escaped to the Orton river, raised a force of rubber gath- 
 erers, came back and thoroughly trounced the revolutionists. A few 
 days later, however, the colonel in charge of the Bolivian forces sur- 
 rendered unconditionally to the revolutionists. 
 
 In the meantime Brazil was in a position to put on the screws, 
 and she did it. She refused to allow supplies for the syndicate to go 
 up her rivers and not only that but no member of the syndicate, em- 
 ployee, or laborer was allowed to use her waterways. A commission 
 from the American syndicate had in the meantime made application 
 to England, Germany, and Belgium and proceeded up the Amazon as 
 far as Manaos. There is no record of their getting any nearer to their 
 lands than that point. 
 
 About this time, however, the dispute was settled, Brazil paying 
 a cash indemnity to Bolivia, granting her perpetual free transit through 
 her territory, and outlet through the Amazon. Brazil also agreed to build 
 a harbor on the Madeira river, a railroad around the Madeira Falls, and 
 purchased the concession owned by the American syndicate. In return 
 the territory became wholly Brazilian and is administered as a federal 
 possession. 
 
 As always happens during family quarrels, business suffered during 
 the Acre war. The shipments of rubber in 1898, 2,000 tons, dropped in 
 1900 to 800 tons. Shortly after this the Brazilian Federal government, 
 with an idea of stimulating production, reduced the export tax on Acre 
 rubber from 23 per cent, to 15 per cent., allowing it to be shipped from 
 

OF THE AMAZON 
 
 165 
 
 either Manaos or Para. Manaos promptly protested, claiming that rub- 
 ber g.atlierers in Amazonas near the Acre district would smuggle their 
 rubber over the border and ship it in as an Acre product. The hgures 
 were therefore changed back to 23 per cent., of which 8 per cent, was 
 to be. refunded when it was positively proved that the rubber came 
 from the Acre. 
 
 One of the first things the Federal government did was to issue 
 a proclamation forbidding laborers to leave the employ of their masters 
 
 'seRINGAL" SEBASTOPOL, on the IPURUS. 
 
 if they were in debt to them. They were heavily fined for so doing as 
 were also the owners of seringaes who hired them. 
 
 Laws were also issued by the Prefect, requiring • owners of ser- 
 ingaes for two years or more to stake their boundaries so as to obtain 
 titles. They were required to pay to the Federal government 5/100 of 
 a real per square meter for the land. Provisional titles were also issued 
 to those who explored and took possession of land for six months. Both 
 territorial and Federal government shared in this fee, making owner- 
 ship doubly secure. After 30 provisional and 10 or 12 filial titles had 
 
1 66 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 been granted it was discovered that the Prefect had no authority. This 
 was the cause of much confusion as some who had lived there for years 
 and made great sacrifices that the country should be Brazilian were 
 placed in a position where they practically had no titles for their 
 properties. 
 
 The ownership of rubber estates in the Amazon country is very 
 interesting. Of course where large seringaes are established and fine 
 buildings put up, good titles are forthcoming. A great many claims, 
 however, belong to business houses in Manaos and Para. These they 
 
 TOWN OF CANUTAMA, ON THE PURUS. 
 
 sell or rent, and get them back again in either case very often. Along the 
 more accessible waterways the country has been thoroughly prospected 
 for rubber and it is all owned. But there are scores of small tributaries, 
 accessible to steam launches, awaiting discovery and occupation. Taking 
 possession of a tract is often the only title for years, then perhaps the 
 nominal owner dies and his chief creditor pays for a survey and pur- 
 chases the land from the government. The smaller owners of such 
 estates are often obliged to defend themselves from rubber thieves and 
 even the larger estate owners have men with rifles to protect their 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 167 
 
 property. Years ago the same state of affairs existed on the lower 
 Amazon, but disorders of that sort have ceased and it is only far in the 
 interior that the individual makes and executes his own laws. 
 
 Brazil divided the Acre territory into three districts. In each the 
 Federal law is administered by Prefects and they in turn are responsible 
 to a Governor. It is a curious fact that Bolivian money is very largely 
 used for the Acre district, and is the basis of all exchange. 
 
 Although the laborers are illiterate, the owners of the seringaes 
 are among the most alert and progressive business men in the Amazonian 
 basin. Some of them control immense properties, own their own steamers, 
 and are experimenting with new methods of collecting and coagulating 
 
 CONFLUENCE OF THE ACRE AND PUEUS RIVERS. 
 
 rubber constantly. For example, some of them have looked into the 
 coagulation of latex as it is done in the Far East. If some such method 
 were adopted it would be a great boon to the laborers. To-day, the 
 man who smokes latex over the palm nut fire gets overheated, and then 
 plunges into a nearby stream to cool off. The result is fever and often- 
 times death. 
 
 The Acre district has a number of towns that are rapidly becoming 
 important; it also has newspapers and in 1909 held a rubber congress. 
 Among other questions considered at that convention were the protection 
 of Brazilian supremacy in crude rubber, the systematizing of the business 
 
i68 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 of collection and shipment, and the securing of greater profits. The 
 spirit of modernism also is growing very rapidly. In 1909, when crude 
 rubber went to $1.56 a pound, one of the "cities" proclaimed a holiday. 
 A parade was formed, speeches were made to and by the government 
 delegate, and the whole population was treated to champagne. 
 
 Much of the upper part of the Acre is still practically unexplored. 
 The isolated rubber gatherers there are visited by peddlers in canoes who 
 smuggle to them provisions and liquor and get rubber in return. It is 
 said that individuals on river steamers lower down are not averse to 
 doing the same thing. Of late years not only have Cearenses gone up 
 
 OUTFITTING RUBBER GATHERERS AT A "SERINGAL" ON THE ACRE RIVER. 
 
 the river but many Barbadian negroes have become rubber gatherers. 
 The mortality of the rubber districts of Brazil has always been 
 large. It was reported for example, when the census of the Puriis river 
 district was taken, that enough immigrants had gone there to make a 
 population of 40,000 yet the figures showed 16,000 remaining. It is not 
 probable that all or one-half of the 24,000 missing perished. Still a 
 great many were victims to disease, as a rule brought on by their 
 own lack of care. The traveler's tales that each ton of rubber costs a 
 
OF THE AMAZON 169 
 
 human life cannot be substantiated. Natives die off from cachaca, from 
 fevers brought on by drinking unboiled water, and because they will 
 not protect themselves from mosquitos at night. At present there is 
 no way to make them take better care of themselves. 
 
 In the upper valleys the rainy season begins in September and ends 
 in December, while in the middle and lower valleys it is months longer, 
 beginning in November and terminating in March. In the southern 
 regions the rains begin in June and end in October. It will thus be 
 seen that the Acre territory offers a much longer working season than 
 the others. The iine grade of rubber known as "Puriis" comes from 
 the Acre. In the dry season, which is when most of the tapping is 
 done, the seringuieros live very well indeed. In addition to their regular 
 supplies, there is a great variety of game — wild pigs, tapir, deer, black 
 monkeys, and turtle. There are also fish, great and small, wild turkeys, 
 geese and ducks, and turtle eggs by the canoe load. Although fresh 
 vegetables are not obtainable, there are many forest fruits that take 
 their place and prevent illness. The fresh meat must of course be used 
 at once as it will not keep. Turtles, however, are kept in stock by penning 
 them in a pit until ready for cooking. 
 
 The wet season, however, is a time of trial. Rain descends in sheets 
 and appalling thunder showers are almost of daily occurrence. It is 
 apparently hotter than ever, a steamy hotness that is very trying. The 
 river rises so that rubber gathering is impossible. The fish disappear in 
 the ilooded lands and are almost impossible to catch. Tapir, deer, wild 
 pigs and even the game birds seek the higher lands far away from the 
 river. Insect pests multiply and, between threatened starvation or anni- 
 hilation by mosquitos or hungry alligators, the seringueiro is at his wits 
 end. Of course he could provide against this very easily but he never 
 does. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Matto Grosso, a Great Unexplored Country — Gathering of Matto Grosso 
 Rubber — Colombia on the Amazon — "Hevea," Caucho, and Balata — ^Venezuela 
 AND the Rio Negro — "Angostura" Rubber — The Casiquiare and the Forestal 
 District — Careless Rubber Gathering. 
 
 THE great Brazilian state of Matto Grosso, in the southern part of 
 which were at one time productive diamond fields, will doubt- 
 less be the next great producer of rubber. It produces con- 
 siderable now, but has possibilities in the way of infinitely greater pro- 
 duction, once its territory is explored. It is over 500,000 square miles in 
 area, reaching from Amazonas on the north to Paraguay on the south. 
 The Guapore river, which flows into the Amazon through the Madeira, 
 is part of the boundary line between this state and Bolivia. The river 
 just named is but one of a number of important streams, coming from 
 the great forest reaches in which is much rubber. Of the others, per- 
 haps the Tapajos is the most important. 
 
 The state of Matto Grosso is very sparsely populated, 150,000 souls 
 being a liberal estimate. No portion of the Brazils is perhaps better 
 named than this, the words meaning "Dense Forests" — practically as 
 dense, indeed, as at the time of its discovery 400 years ago. The forest 
 lands are wonderfully rich in valuable woods, medicinal plants and barks, 
 and all the sturdy pioneer needs to do is to go in and help himself. 
 
 It was as late as 1893 that rubber trees were discovered in Matto 
 Grosso and the official report declared that there were "thousands 
 of millions" of them. In 1900 a party of young Americans went to 
 Matto Grosso to hunt for rubber. They disappeared into the trackless 
 forests and were never heard of again. A relief expedition sent in 
 months later could find no trace of them, and indeed came near suffering 
 the fate of those whom they were trying to relieve. 
 
 With the extension of railways from southern Brazil, the opening 
 up of such great concessions as that granted to the Madeira-Mamore 
 Railway Co., on the Guapore river, and the constant pushing up such 
 rivers as the Xingu by rubber hunters, the forest interior must soon 
 be known and exploited. 
 
 170 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 lyi 
 
 Undoubtedly Matto Grosso rubber came out through the Xingu, 
 the Tapajos, and the Guapore long ago, but with no record of just 
 where it came from. No such system for rubber collection, as yet, obtains 
 in this little known territory, as is in vogue in the rest of the Amazon 
 valley. Where there is regular rubber gathering, estradas are laid out,. 
 
 9 a t l a N T 1 c 
 M'i OC E A X 
 
 E.F.Fisk, N.T. 
 
 MAP OF THE VENEZUELAN FORESTAL. 
 
 each gatherer attending to something like lOO trees. According to de 
 Mello, latex cups are not attached to the tree itself, but little troughs 
 made from the wood of the "bority" palm are fastened to the tree with 
 pegs, the joint between tree and trough being filled with clay. He claims 
 that the milk is coagulated by the addition of alum dissolved in hot 
 
1/2 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 "BATELAO" IN THE RAPIDS, UPPER RIO NEGRO. 
 
 water. The freshly coagulated latex is then pressed between boards to 
 expel as much water as possible. 
 
 His description is not altogether clear in many respects, and it may 
 be that he has confused the coagulation of the Hevea latex with the 
 boiling of the "mangabeira" milk. It is, however, true that much of the 
 
 EMBARKING CATTLE ON THE UPPER RIO NEGRO. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 173 
 
 Matto Grosso rubber is poorly handled, and is usually air cured instead 
 of being smoked. That, however, will rectify itself when the territory is 
 opened, as the smoked product brings a much better price. Matto Grosso 
 "coarse" is to-day quite common ; "fine" and "medium" are also on the 
 market. The state export tax on rubber is 20 per cent. 
 
 Most of the rubber exploitation in the Brazils has been south of the 
 Amazon. That there are a great variety of rubber producing trees north 
 of the Amazon is undoubted. There are many sections where the Hevea 
 
 RIVER SCENE ON THE UPPER RIO NEGRO. 
 
 Brasiliensis does not seem to be present. The Guyanensis, however, is 
 very widely distributed, and produces a rubber that is well worth gather- 
 ing, although it is probable that it needs different treatment in coagu- 
 lation from Brasiliensis. 
 
 The Amazon for more than 600 miles forms a boundary between 
 Brazil and Colombia. There is a vast territory north of the river that 
 is watered by the Putumayo, the Napo, the Caqueta, and their tributaries, 
 forming a wonderful system of waterways into a country rich in Hevea 
 
174 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 TOWN ON THE RIO EEANCO. 
 
 "FAZENDA CAPELLO" ON THE RIO BRANCHO. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 175 
 
 rubber, in caucho and balata. Very considerable quantities of rubber 
 come to Manaos from this section. This territory has been more or less 
 worked for many years, although the rubber has not been very extensively 
 gathered, the early exploration having been for quinine. It appears on the 
 map as being Colombian property, but it is well to add that it is claimed 
 by Peru. Indeed, Peruvian custom houses were established and taxes 
 collected on all exports. The governments of Colombia and Peru, how- 
 
 "SERINGAL" on the RIO BRANCO. 
 
 ever, put in force a modus zivendi. giving both countries equal rights 
 on the Putumayo until the boundaries are settled by arbitration. 
 
 The southeastern federal territories of Venezuela, notably Amazonas, 
 drained by the Rio Negro, are rich in rubber trees. A certain amount 
 of rubber known as "Angostura," fine and coarse, comes down to Manaos 
 and once the territory, particularly to the east of Bolivar, is explored, 
 both rubber and balata undoubtedly will be found in abundance. There 
 are scanty records of theTubber that comes from Venezuela by way of 
 
1/6 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 the Rio Negro. Sometimes it is noted and oftentimes it is claimed as a 
 Brazilian product. In 1902, for example, 48,000 kilograms of fine Para 
 and 20,000 of coarse were credited to Venezuela, but other years, when 
 just as much came in, there are no official figures to show for it. 
 
 FOREST SCENE IN COLOMBIA. 
 
 The upper Rio Negro, it will be remembered, is joined to the upper 
 Orinoco by a river known as the Casiquiare, so that there is a waterway 
 from Manaos to the upper Orinoco. It is a narrow, turbulent, canal 
 
OF THE AMAZON i77 
 
 river with one small cataract and several rapids, and is really navigable 
 only to expert canoeists. 
 
 The Venezuela territory, that has its outlet through the Rio Negro 
 and depends on the city of Manaos for its market is called the Forestal 
 District, and is some 300,000 square miles in area. Nearly the whole 
 of this is at present government land. Some 38,000 square miles of this 
 rich land is drained by the Rio Negro. Parts of the country are , hot 
 and unhealthy. The inhabitants of this part of Venezuela are chiefly 
 Indians. For example, in the territory of Amazonas the population is 
 46,000, of which more than 45,000 are Indians. They are a docile, un- 
 ambitious type of humanity, willing to work under proper direction. 
 
 The Venezuela government is more than willing to have this terri- 
 tory developed and concessionaires who take up development problems 
 honestly and energetically get excellent treatment. Promoters of fraudu- 
 lent schemes, however, once they are recognized, can get into more 
 trouble than anywhere else in the world. 
 
 Rubber gatherers up the Rio Negro are more careless than they 
 are south of the Amazon. They make a trough around the body of the 
 tree, using the pith of the "miriti" palm. Above this are made incisions, 
 and as the latex runs down into the trough, it drains oflf into a little 
 earthen pot set on the ground. Hardwood smoke is used in curing 
 instead of palm nuts. 
 
 Just as a bit of rubber history : An alert promoter once interested 
 American capitalists to the extent of backing a great rubber gathering 
 company on the banks of the Casiquiare. As far as could be learned the 
 nearest he got to his rubber fields was the city of Manaos, 800 miles 
 away. That, however, did not prevent him sending out exhaustive reports 
 of the number of trees that he saw, tapping that he did himself and 
 adventures that came his way. His descriptions of the flora, of bird, 
 beast and insect were marvelous, and were innocently published in the 
 company's advertisements. He was the only man in the world who ever 
 saw birds of Paradise in South America, and his company the only one 
 that ever published the fact of their presence among Hevea trees to 
 alhire investors. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Down the Amazon in a Freighter — Santarem and Wickham — The Nar- 
 rows Again — Arrival at Para — Rubber Planting Lands — Examinations of 
 THE "Rain Forest" — "Capoeira" Land. 
 
 THE journey down the Amazon was fully as interesting but briefer 
 than the upstream voyage. The captain was a veteran in the 
 Amazon trade, and knew Manaos thirty years before, when it 
 was only a farmyard, and Iquitos when it was an Indian village. He 
 gave me his cabin and laid himself out to make me comfortable. The 
 boat was a slow one, but with the current we had no trouble in doing 
 13 knots, and passed Itacoatiara early in the evening. The river had 
 risen 10 feet since we came up, and by the water marks on the trees 
 had still another 10 to go. The floating logs, trees, and grass patches 
 had multiplied greatly. 
 
 The food was excellent, the drinking water good, and, swinging 
 our hammocks high up on the rear deck, we were very comfortable. 
 The big, flatbottomed freighter was as steady as a rock, and slid through 
 the water as if she was greased. 
 
 I was tip at six the next morning and found it raining heavily. All 
 the forenoon we passed through exceedingly heavy showers. The rain 
 drove under the awning more or less, so I put on a rubber coat and 
 wondered if friends at home would believe how cool it was at midday 
 directly on the equator. We passed Santarem that afternoon, and got 
 a good view of the sandy beach in front of the town, its big white church, 
 and its little one story houses with the blue fronts and red roofs. We 
 also saw the wireless station — the "deaf and dumb wireless" as the 
 captain graphically described it. 
 
 The Tapajos river enters the Amazon opposite Santarem, and as 
 it is not as muddy as the latter, it shows the same line of black water 
 as does the Rio Negro, although in lesser degree. It is a good thing 
 to remember that Santarem is the place where Wickham back in the 
 '70's was installing a small rubber plantation and watching for Oppor- 
 tunity. Luckily for the planters in the Far East it came, when the big 
 
 178 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 179 
 
 British steamer Amasonas, without cargo and without cash to buy one, 
 hove in sight. Wickham, practically penniless, chartered it for the Indian 
 government, stored baskets of Hevea seeds in its huge hold, won hasty 
 clearance from Para for "rare botanic specimens," and got the seeds 
 to the Kew gardens alive and vital. Every Hevea tree in the Far East 
 and thousands in other parts of the world are a direct result of that 
 act. The British planters should erect a splendid monument at Santarem 
 in honor of Wickham, but they will never do it — with the consent of 
 the Brazilians. 
 
 It is interesting to note that Cross secured a thousand Hevea Bra- 
 
 AMERICAN HOME IN SANTAREM. 
 
 sinensis plants which he shipped to Liverpool in October, 1876. Wick- 
 ham's seeds reached Kew gardens, June, 1876. Both the seedlings from 
 Kew and the plants sent by Cross to Peradeniya and Heneratgoda gar- 
 dens, Ceylon. Wickham's undoubtedly got there first and made up the 
 government grove that afterward supplied rubber seed to every part of 
 the tropical world. 
 
 One night a boat of our own line saluted us in passing, showing 
 a flare which burned green for three minutes, then shot up three white 
 balls, lighting up the yellow waters and the black jungle most weirdly. 
 When we reached the place where the. German boat had grounded, al- 
 though it was broad daylight, it rained so heavily that one could not see 
 
i8o 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 a boat's length ahead. The pilot knew where we were, but he also knew 
 what the river could do in the way of making new channels and obliterat- 
 ing old ones, so we anchored until it cleared. 
 
 The next morning at 6 o'clock we were about twenty miles from 
 the beginning of the "Narrows." About 8 o'clock we were off Garupa. 
 where there is quite a settlement. Here the current was not as strong, 
 the shore began to be fringed with palms, and it grew much warmer. 
 We began to see rubber trees, huts on stilts, and banks awash at the 
 river's edge. We thought we had been through heavy rains. But the 
 shower that came driving up through the narrows so far outclassed any 
 
 PLANTED "heVEA" (32 MONTHS OLD) AT SANTAREM. 
 
 former experience that we decided we hadn't really known what rain 
 was. It passed after time, however, and we went on. The" Captain and 
 I had tea and toast, standing up to take it, for there was no dry place 
 to sit, even on that awning shaded deck. At 4.30 we passed through 
 Euro Grande, casting the lead every few feet, as many boats go 
 aground here. We got through without mishap, however, and turned 
 in at 8.30 that night, with the assurance that we could be in Para 
 at dawn. 
 
 The morning of our arrival at Para we were up at 5.30, sighting 
 the islands of the city an hour later. By g o'clock we had breakfast, 
 successfully passed the doctor and the customs, and, entering the launch 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 i8i 
 
 which friends had sent out, went ashore. To my surprise and pleasure 
 I found that the rubber exporters and merchants had arranged that I 
 should be their guest while I stayed in the city, as well as at a banquet 
 to be given that night at the Cafe da Paz. 
 
 &m. 
 
 CSS 
 
 l^y^- 
 
 iiPPm 
 
 -^^ 
 
 ffiBSl^;-* 
 
 
 v^^^'% 
 
 
 
 "•."',■3 
 
 \^^Mk^ 
 
 
 1 -*» 4.| 
 ■ * 
 
 
 VWL^^^Ki-.rx 
 
 
 M 
 
 1 
 
 
 -^^MiM 
 
 -^■^^ 
 
 
 '^:Mm^r^ 
 
 ^P 
 
 ^K #^^ fe 
 
 iWT^f^ 
 
 re^^ 
 
 I^HHB^e^''^'^^^ 
 
 
 Sfiv^ 
 
 
 
 ^-^M 
 
 ■■"'■ .**■■■ '^ 
 
 
 '^^"-'■y. ' --■ 
 
 YOUNG PLANTED "HEVEA" ON TAPAJOS PLATEAU. 
 
 I was fortunate enough to know the acting director of the Para 
 Agricultural Experiment Station and get his ideas on local planting. 
 He was a young American, was an instructor in botany in an American 
 
1 82 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 university, and later at the head of an important section in the United 
 States Department of Agriculture. More than any other he has studied 
 the problems of rubber planting in the state of Para. I quizzed him very 
 searchingly, and the following is his statement, almost verbatim, and it is 
 worth serious consideration : 
 
 Although in itself the greatest rubber shipping port in the world, 
 the immediate vicinity of the city of Para seems never, except by a 
 
 liiit'-' '^--^^ 
 
 1 - ' ■ ■' ■ 'if V^- .if ■•■- 
 
 OLD "HEVEA" trees IN THE FOREST NEAR SANTAREM. 
 
 few better informed and more far sighted than others, to have been 
 considered seriously as a factor in the production of plantation rubber. 
 Nevertheless, this district possesses advantages and opportunities af- 
 forded by none other. 
 
 The city's proximity to the sea and its natural advantages as a port 
 are so well known and its advantage in this respect over upriver points, 
 where higher freights would be unavoidable, are so apparent that they 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 183 
 
 may be passed over. Then Para possesses a railroad of 250 kilometers 
 (155 miles) in length, which affords access, ignoring the still much too 
 prevalent beHef that Hcvca delights in wet and swampy locations, to a 
 tract of well drained and healthful territory, immune to the caprices 
 of annual floods, which is capable of producing a grade of rubber com- 
 parable to any now coming from the Amazon valley. This territory was 
 
 OLD "heVEAS" on border OF STREAM NEAR SANTAREM. 
 
 personally inspected by the writer with the express purpose of investigat- 
 ing its suitability for rubber culture. 
 
 This section, speaking of the more accessible portion south of the 
 river, forms part of the great forest system of the lower Amazon and 
 extends in an unbroken stretch, practically without variation, eastward 
 to the sea and southward to the mountains. The formation is a typical 
 tropical rain forest ; the large trees, among which are some veritable 
 
U2 
 O 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 w 
 
 K 
 
 Z 
 O 
 
 U 
 
 6. 
 
 o 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 185 
 
 giants, stand comparatively far apart and represent almost innumerable 
 species ; the undergrowth is somewhat more compact, the small trees are 
 straight and slender while the whole is intertwined with llanos and made 
 practically impenetrable. Extremely hard and durable woods are plenti- 
 
 THE STREET OF CEARENSES, PARA. 
 
 ful, some defying both the axe and the agencies of decay, but the trees 
 of any one given species are so isolated and difficult to find and reach 
 that remunerative lumbering is out of the question. The small trees and 
 llanos, or cipos. serve many useful purposes in the construction of houses, 
 fences, and tools. 
 
 THE RAILROAD TO BRAGANCA, PARA. 
 
 In this forest the rubber tree is no exception to the general rule, 
 as it is scattered and found in isolated locations like the other native 
 species. The large size of the specimens found, however, even when in 
 
i86 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 competition with other and oftentimes more vigorous denizens of the 
 forest, testifies to its adaptability to its surroundings. In some localities, 
 it is, of course, more plentiful than in others, as those who remember 
 recent newspaper accounts of discoveries made near the borders of 
 Maranham will know. There are also in the city and along the Braganga 
 railroad. Para rubber trees of a foot or more in diameter, which were 
 planted and are now producing rubber of the finest grade. These are 
 large, strong and productive, even when much crowded and neglected. 
 
 Labor does not present any unusual difficulties near Para, nor are 
 the forests difficult to remove. Raw labor is available in almost unlimited 
 quantities near the city. It is easy also to import men from southern 
 Europe and the Madeiras, a class which rapidly accustoms itself to the 
 climate, which is not at all unhealthful, especially in the higher districts 
 away from the vicinity of the rivers. 
 
 The native custom of clearing the land of forests is to fell the small 
 trees and ring, or kill by fire, such of the large trees as have not yet 
 been removed for their valuable timber, and then to set fire to the whole 
 when somewhat dry. This practice destroys the most valuable elements 
 of the soil for the time being, making it useless for more than one or 
 possibly two crops of corn or cassava, but the supply of potash made 
 available by the combustion of the timber serves as a stimulant for plant 
 growth, which can be improved upon later by mulching or by a system of 
 green manuring. 
 
 In what is known as capoeira land — i. e., abandoned clearings, which 
 have been covered by second growth — the cost of clearing is, of course, 
 much less ; the humus has been restored to the soil, oftentimes in greater 
 quantities than ever before, and a clearing can be made simply by 
 felling the young growth of trees, which can be left to decay. This does 
 away almost entirely with the extra expense of burning and cleaning up 
 after felling; besides it preserves the humus in the soil and adds an 
 additional amount with a mulch by its own decay. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Planting Interest in Para — New Planting Laws — A Word About the 
 Tapping Season — What Para Rubber Trees Yield — The "Recebedoria." 
 
 THE planting idea seemed to have taken a strong hold upon the 
 residents of both Para and Manaos. I talked long with one 
 large operator in the Acre who assured me that his house had 
 already planted more than 100,000 trees. There were those who were 
 urging the governor of Amazonas to grant subsidies and concessions 
 of all sorts, but while he was most favorable to the planting idea, he 
 did not see his way clear to favor exactly the plans put before him. 
 
 Para had just passed laws designed to encourage rubber planting. 
 These covered a premium for trees actually planted ; the gratuitous dis- 
 tribution of seeds ; and a reduction of 50 per cent, on the export duty 
 on rubber for ten years, and 30 per cent, for the next ten years. There 
 was also an opportunity for the company to borrow money from the 
 government at a fair rate of interest, and a proviso that the planting 
 company must maintain a school for twenty orphans who must be 
 taught the elements of tropical husbandry. 
 
 From a practical standpoint the trouble about any rubber plant- 
 ing proposition in Brazil is that governors, like our own presidents, 
 normally last only four years. An unfriendly governor may not be able 
 to cancel a contract, but he can easily interpret the various articles 
 so that it would be valueless. Not that there is any present indication 
 of such change or such attitude, but the time might come when such 
 action would be thought advisable. 
 
 My own hope was that the governments of both Para and Ama- 
 zonas would remove the tax on plantation grown rubber entirely for a 
 series of years. That they refused to do, as there were decided diffi- 
 culties in the way. For example, wild rubber prepared as is planta- 
 tion rubber would be sure to appear, and if a company owned both 
 wild and planted rubber the temptation would be to get most of both 
 kinds upon the market without an export duty. 
 
 Nor is the clause placing export duty of planted rubber at one-half 
 
 187 
 
1 88 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 that of wild rubber an attractive proposition. It should have been a 
 definite sum like 5 or 10 cents a pound; or a definite percentage on 
 the sales value of the rubber, say 5 or 10 per cent. Another thing, 
 the idea of the planter running an industrial school or orphan asylum 
 in connection with a business venture will not appeal to many. It is 
 more than likely that these laws will be amended and simplified. In- 
 deed, their very presence is a decided advance, and a strong symptom 
 of the desire of the government to encourage planting on a large scale. 
 It may be that I have not made it plain just when rubber is tapped. 
 Speaking broadly the tapping season is from August to January, about 
 six months. Actually there is tapping on all of the time, for in some 
 
 THREE YEAR OLD RUBBER AT DIAMANTINO. 
 
 places the inundation is not enough of a factor to stop it. It must be 
 remembered also that during the rainy season it doesn't necessarily rain 
 every minute and there are mornings when the seringueiros are able 
 to secure a certain amount of latex with no admixture of rain water. 
 
 A great many dififerent figures are given regarding the yields of 
 Para rubber trees for the season. In the lower Amazon some estates 
 are said to go as low as a pound a tree, others yielding 2 and 3 pounds. 
 When certain estates on the island of Marajo were sold a yield of 
 nearly 9 pounds a tree was claimed. An analysis of their annual pro- 
 duction however brought the figures down to about 7 pounds a tree. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 189 
 
 A prospectus of an Amazonas estate near Manaos claimed 17 
 pounds per tree, while an expert estimating on the same property put 
 the yield at 10 pounds per tree. Collins, in his report on the lower 
 
 AN INDIAN TAPPER WITH MODERN METHODS. 
 
 Amazon, spoke of a daily yield of 2 ounces per tree, which would 
 equal 22^ pounds per season. Conway, speaking of yields in Bolivia, 
 estimated that they were never less than 3 pounds per tree, and never 
 
I90 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 more than 7. A French Bolivian syndicate however iigured on 13 
 pounds a tree. Figures on the Puriis give 11 pounds per tree, on the 
 Jurua 15 pounds, and the Acre 9 pounds per tree. For an average Sir 
 
 Martin Conway's figures would seem 
 to be very nearly right. 
 
 At the same time no two estates 
 are ahke in yield. Trees vary 
 not only in size but in productive- 
 ness. Trees that have been tapped 
 for years give somewhat less than 
 those that have only been tapped 
 for a short time. In addition to this 
 some gatherers tap every day, some 
 every other day, some when they 
 please, and few keep records that 
 are at all reliable. There are oc- 
 casional tales of unusual yields like 
 the following: A man in Manaos in 
 whom I have every confidence told 
 me of a huge Hevea tree on the 
 Madeira that gave 190 quarts of 
 latex in one year. I don't know 
 how thick the latex was, but that 
 would normally mean something like 
 150 pounds of rubber. Which to say 
 the least would be unusual. 
 
 In justice to the poor rubber 
 gatherer who is considered careless 
 and dishonest as a rule, I found 
 many that were careful of the trees. 
 For example, they did not cut into 
 the wood of the tree at all. They 
 were aware that a borer beetle, the 
 punilha, is likely to attack the ex- 
 posed wood and destroy the tree. 
 For this reason some refused to 
 pick the sernamhy from the cuts, leaving.it as nature's protection against 
 disease and insects. 
 
 The pelles of fine Para are usually of a size to be conveniently 
 
 HERRING BONE TAPPING OF 
 IN SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 hevea; 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 191 
 
 ^-a^mm 
 
 •X-a^^^i 
 
 
 BUNGALOW ON THE LOWER AiMAZON. 
 
 handled in smoking and for ease in packing. They weigh from 10 
 to 100 pounds. Occasionally, however, big balls are made to order 
 that are afterward exhibited as curios. For example, in 1897 two 
 
 HUT OF A "SERINGUEIRO" NEAR PARA. 
 
192 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 huge balls were made for a New York importer. One weighed 864 
 pounds, the other 1279 pounds. It took something like 2500 pounds 
 of milk to make the larger ball. In 1909 a rubber gatherer and his 
 
 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIAN WITH BLOW GUN AND ARROWS, SKETCHED BY LIEUTENANT 
 
 GIBBON, U. S. N. 185 1. 
 
 two sons made a ball that weighed 11 18 pounds. They .worked five 
 months upon it, and brought it down to Manaos in a boat by itself, 
 taking 25 days for the journey. 
 
194 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 The method by which export taxes are assessed in Para and Manaos 
 is very interesting. These duties are all ad valorem and are calculated 
 not on individual shipments but by official (weekly) valuation. The 
 office of .state taxes, the recebedoria, receives every Monday morning 
 reports from the exporters of the different prices at which they pur- 
 chased the week preceding. These prices are averaged and the official 
 price, the pauta, is at once declared for that current week, being that 
 average. 
 
 This system applies to fine, coarse, and caucho, and has been in 
 vogue almost from the beginning of rubber export. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Good-bye to Para — Wonderful Phosphorescence — In the Great Coast Cur- 
 rent — Short Stop at Barbados — Landing Rubber Cargo at Brooklyn. 
 
 THE time came when I must say farewell to the fair city of Para 
 and the warm hearted and hospitable Brazilians. I spent the 
 last night at the home of a Brazilian friend; then, the next 
 morning, starting early, went to the steamship office, where a score 
 of friends had gathered to say good-bye. A little later, boarding a 
 launch, I reached my steamer and we were soon en route for Bar- 
 bados. 
 
 It was then that I met the Peruvian physician, of whom I have 
 spoken, who was ill of beriberi and was seeking the salt water, which 
 is said to be a sure cure. He scouted the generally accepted theory 
 that the disease comes from eating polished rice, declaring that no 
 one as yet had any idea of its cause. 
 
 In case any reader needs the services of this very skilful phy- 
 sician in Iquitos, his charges are 3 arrobas* of rubber for an ordinary 
 prescription and 25 arrobas for an operation, 10 per cent, to be added 
 for shrinkage of the rubber. 
 
 The Peruvian doctor, by the way, told me of a young American 
 in Para, who bought a motor car called the "Reo." He was proud of 
 it and proud of the name Reo, that appeared in gilt letters on the 
 ladiator. He also speeded the machine very rapidly. The courtly 
 Brazilians named him "The Reo," some in all honesty and others with 
 a smile of appreciation. He was much flattered until, one day, in brush- 
 ing up his Portuguese, he discovered that the word meant "Criminal." 
 
 As we passed down the Tocantins the Captain pointed out a dozen 
 places with broad, sandy beaches in a fairly high land, that were con- 
 stantly cooled by the trade winds, where in his judgment Para should 
 have been located. 
 
 By 4 that afternoon only one shore was in sight. The water 
 was turning from a muddy yellow to a tawny green and the ocean 
 
 *One arroba equals about 32 1/3 pounds in Brazil. 
 
 195 
 
196 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 CANOE HABEOR. PARA. 
 
 RUBBER IN CASES ON BROOKLYN DOCK. 
 
 (The long cases contain fine Para rubber just removed 
 
 from the steamer beyond.) 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 197 
 
 swell began to be felt. We left the mouth of the river just at sunset 
 and two hours later were fascinated by the wonderful spectacle of 
 a tropical phosphorescent sea. As the boat plowed through the water, 
 broad streamers of star sparkles undulated on each side and trailed 
 for hundreds of yards astern. Every breaking wave to the far horizon 
 was an island of white fire. So bright were these myriad lights that 
 we had difficulty in recognizing Salinas light, and were only sure of it 
 by its yellow color. Soon we picked up the pilot boat and watched with 
 
 BOAT LANDING, PAKA, 
 
 interest the half-hour struggle of the man in her little tender to get 
 alongside and take off our pilot. Finally, by making a long jump, he 
 landed sprawling in the boat ; then we turned in and slept soundly. 
 The next day we found the great current that sweeps northward 
 up the coast of South America, and which all navigators seek in going 
 north but avoid in -going south. The day was clear and bright, with 
 a strong breeze on our quarter. The big freighter, almost flat bottomed, 
 with no bilge keels, wallowed and rolled incessantly but pushed steadily 
 
198 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 WEIGHING RUBBER AT BROOKLYN. 
 
 (The empty case is being weighed, the rubber appear^ in a pile 
 
 in llie foreground.) 
 
 CRUDE RUBBER SAMPLE ROOM IN IMPORTER'S OFFICE, AMSTERDAM. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 199 
 
 forward. Fresh from the smooth waters of the Amazon and some- 
 what enervated by the heat, captain, officers, crew and passengers were 
 all qualmish and sometimes frankly sick. Salines and fruit salts were 
 abundantly in evidence. In 24 hours, however, all had recovered and 
 were very proud that our ancient ark has made 237 miles. The next 
 day it was 281, and the day following exactly the same. Directly after 
 that we were being interviewed by a brisk, young physician in the road- 
 stead off Bridgetown, Barbados ; were given a clean bill of health, not 
 
 THE LAST OF THE CITY SUBURBS, PARA. 
 
 even being put under observation, and our $50 deposit given back to 
 us. Then we got in the "Lilywhite," were rowed ashore, and the 
 tropical -part of the (Brazilian) journey was finished. 
 
 Then followed the run to New York, to the rubber docks, for 
 it was a rubber boat that I was on, and a view of the handling of 
 the precious commodity as it was landed. The rubber is packed in 
 wooden boxes, a case of fine Para weighing 395 pounds, while one of 
 coarse in a larger case will weigh about 700 pounds. Caucho, on the 
 other hand, is shipped in all sorts of odd sized packages. ' The Para 
 
200 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 1 
 
 
 "PELLES" OF PARA RUBBER IN THE STOREHOUSE. 
 
 cases are usually strapped and are very carefully stowed and cared 
 for from the time they leave Brazil. On their arrival in New York, 
 for example, the discharging begins at once, the amount for each con- 
 
 GREAT RUBBER STOREHOUSES, ST. KATHERINE S DOCK, LONDON. 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 20 1 
 
 signee being placed by itself. After the whole cargo has been unloaded, 
 the cases are weighed with the rubber in them. The rubber is then care- 
 fully unpacked and the case weighed. It is then repacked and de- 
 livered to the consignee. 
 
 No one knows better than the quiet, skillful stevedores the value 
 of the product they handle. The bartenders at the nearby saloons are 
 also aware of its value and are perfectly willing to accept it as legal 
 tender in exchange for drinks. In spite of the vigilant watch of those 
 
 INTERIOR OF STORAGE VAULTS IN RUBBER WAREHOUSES, ST. KATHERINES 
 DOCK, LONDON. 
 
 interested, considerable rubber is lost on the dock or in transit to the 
 warehouses of the consignee. The thief may be detected or he may 
 not. The fact that he has the rubber in his possession is not proof 
 tliat it was stolen. The pelles look so much alike that it is often im- 
 possible to establish title to them. 
 
 The value of the rubber cargoes is very great. In a single month 
 four steamers discharged at the Brooklyn docks 2,000,000 pounds of 
 rubber each, worth, at market price at that time, considerably more 
 than $10,000,000. 
 
THE FEDERAL TERRITORY OF THE ACRE, IN BRAZIL. 
 
Sketch Map 
 OK riiE 
 
 Madeira-Mamore Ry. 
 
 Nov. 1909 
 
 SaMoAn^onio 1 
 Falls , 
 
 I POBTO VELHO 
 
 iSuajara-assu 
 ■" Falls 
 
 Guaiora-merim ' 
 ^ Fal/s 
 
 Pailrood Cons+ruc+ed Ctmefre gauge) 
 Consirueiion in R-ogress 
 Location Surveys in Progress 
 Probable Roufe of LocaUon 
 Fails of fhe Madeira River 
 Scatm Kifomefras 
 
 KEV MAP 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 I WISH to express my thanks to Dr. Joao Antonio Luiz Coelho, Governor of 
 the State of Para, and to Colonel Antonio Clemente Bittencourt, Governor 
 of the State of Amazonas, for their personal assistance, and for that of 
 other officials which made my trip through the Amazonian rubber country so 
 fruitful. The hospitality and helpfulness of the Manaos Commercial Association, 
 and of the Brazilian, German, English, and American business men was of 
 untold value, and I take pleasure in acknowledging my appreciation. 
 
 213 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 EXPORTS OF RUBBER FROM THE AMAZON VALLEY. 
 
 THE figures which follow relate to the quantity of rubber shipped, by years, 
 from 1836 to 1909, inclusive. Prior to 1836, say for ten years, considerable 
 rubber was exported, but the records are fragmentary and unreKable. 
 The figures have been compiled from the records at Para, covering the whole 
 output of the Amazon and its tributaries. Succeeding tables give details of 
 exports from Bolivia and Peru, which figures are embraced in the total in 
 the first table. The statistics oL caucho, beginning with 1888, are in addition 
 to the output in each year of Para rubber. ! 
 
 PARA -RUBBER. .^ 
 
 Years. Pounds. Years. Pounds. 
 
 1836 . .' 416,295 1862 7,381,836 
 
 1837 624,624 1863 9,676,678 
 
 1838 535,986 1864 7,624,881 
 
 1839 861,894 1865 7,800,870 
 
 1840 854,172 1866 11,957,198 
 
 1841 746,328 1867 12,818,964 
 
 1842 594,792 1868 ...12,432,761 
 
 1843 748,473 1869 12,926,509 
 
 1844 992,673 '>»1870 14,523,577 
 
 1845 1,235,223 1871 14,883,866 
 
 1846 1,482,195 1872 18,078,570 
 
 1847 1,374,318 1873 19,341,005 
 
 1848 1,982,475 1874 16,974,408 
 
 1849 2,152,392 1875 17,005,972 
 
 1850 3,226,410 1876 17,400,148 
 
 1851 3,480,510 1877 20,273,825 
 
 1852 ..: 3,592,446 1878 20,302,871 
 
 1853 5,207,092 1879 22,300,117 
 
 1854 5,974,320 1880 19,094,691 
 
 1855 4,833,279 1881 19,145,552 
 
 1856 4,192,584 1882 22,159,542 
 
 1857 3,979,173 1883 17,202,766 
 
 1858 3,839,682 1884 24,657,600 
 
 1859 5,883,108 1885 25,920,400 
 
 ^1860 5,879,478 1886 27,918,000 
 
 1861 5,532,186 1887 29,458,000 
 
 214 
 
OF THE AMAZON 215 
 
 Para Rubber — Continued — and Caucho. 
 
 Years. Para. Caucho. 
 
 1888 30,701,350 2,323,116 
 
 1889 33,094,083 1,863,031 
 
 \890 33,947,463 2,121,363 
 
 1891 36,654,101 2,482,590 
 
 1892 37,738,681 2,981,132 
 
 1893 39,473,626 2,612,812 
 
 1894 39,940,822 2,901,292 
 
 1895 42,092,752 3,600,326 
 
 1896 43,697,417 3,826,706 
 
 1897 45,019,282 , 4,560,627 
 
 1898 43,877,636 4,322,179 
 
 1899 50,368,083 5.577,937 
 
 1900 52,793,538 6.053,520 
 
 1901 57,918,540 , . 8.720,556 
 
 1902 55,790,687 ". 7,018,829 
 
 1903 59,145,050 9,263,822 
 
 1904 57,640,396 9,776,704 
 
 1905 60,403,160 13,223,994 
 
 1906 62,560,813 13,928,248 
 
 1907 66,789,166 15,741,968 
 
 1908 67,389,821 16,349,551 
 
 1909 68,522,657 18,272,190 
 
 1910 36,999.965 12,940,76; 
 
 Total Exports of Bolivian Rubber. 
 
 [Para, including a little Caucho.] 
 
 Years. Pounds. Years. Pounds. 
 
 1890 646,800 1900 7,691,728 
 
 1891 759.000 1901 7,623,138 
 
 1892 799,480 1902 4,186,585 
 
 1893 868,600 1903 2,906,274 
 
 1894 1,391,500 1904 3,456,481 
 
 1895 1,804,902 1905 3,720,908 
 
 1896 2,509,566 1906 4,245,138 
 
 1897 3,683,295 1907 3,606,664 
 
 1898 6,943,100 1908 4,027,128 
 
 1899 4,708,000 1909 6,715,399 
 
 Peruvian Rubber (Para and Caucho) Shipped from Iquitos. 
 
 Years. Pounds. Years. Pounds. 
 
 1900 2,019,851 1905 5,166,110 
 
 1901 2,552,686 1906 5,747,625 
 
 1902 3,104,114 1907 6,903,237 
 
 1903 4,528,625 1908 6,781,573 
 
 1904 4,017,193 1909 6,086,375 
 
APPENDIX C 
 
 SHRINKAGE OF RUBBER. 
 
 CRUDE stock of nearly all kinds is measured by certain standards that are 
 absolute. The price paid depends entirely upon purity as compared with 
 the fixed standard. Sugar, for example, is carefully tested by the 
 polariscope, and the price paid for it depends upon the amount of the saccharine 
 matter found. 
 
 There is no standard for crude rubber. The highest grade of rubber, old 
 dry Fine Para, is not a standard, for no one knows what the shrinkage will be. 
 With new crop rubber it is the same. The shrinkage may be one figure, or it 
 may be 10 per cent. more. There is first the shrinkage en route or in store, 
 which is considerable, through the water drying out. Then there is the greater 
 shrinkage when the moisture, the carbon from the smoke, and other foreign 
 substances have been thoroughly removed by washing in the factory. 
 
 Para shrinkages, from Bolivian to Islands, vary about as follows : Fine, IS 
 to 20 per cent. ; medium, 16 to 22 per cent. ; coarse, 20 to 33 per cent. This in a 
 measure, is why Para and Manaos statistics do not jibe with New York and 
 Liverpool figures, for example. 
 
 Various grades of Para and Caucho rubber, showing percentage of shrinkages : 
 
 Class. Fine. Medium. Coarse. 
 
 Upriver 16-18 17-19 18-25 
 
 Peruvian 15-17 16-18 20-25 
 
 Bolivian 15-17 16-18 20-25 
 
 MoUendo 15-17 16-18 — 
 
 Madeira 15-18 16-19 20-25 
 
 Manaos 16-17 17-18 18-22 
 
 Angostura 16-18 17-19 25-30 
 
 Matto Grosso 16-18 17-19 18-25 
 
 Islands 18-20 18-22 25-35 
 
 Caviana 16-18 18-20 25-30 
 
 Itaituba 17-18 18-19 20-25 
 
 Cameta — — 30-35 
 
 Caucho balls 25-35 
 
 Caucho slabs or strips 35-42 
 
 RUBBER SELLING CONDITIONS. 
 
 Crude rubber is sold to the manufacturer in the main about as follows: 
 
 1. The seller draws up, signs, and sends a contract to the buyer, stating 
 conditions of sale. Silence on the part of the buyer is acceptance of contract. 
 
 2. Any change must be made 10 days from the dating of the contract. 
 
 2l6 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 217 
 
 3. The rubber becomes purchaser's property as soon as it leaves the seller's 
 hands, the buyer paying the freight. 
 
 4. SteaHng en route is the buyer's loss. 
 
 5. If the shipment is questioned as to quality, if bought by sample, that 
 is compared. If not up to sample, seller must replace the lot with what he 
 agreed to deliver. 
 
 6. The buyer is not allowed to select the good and reject the bad of any 
 lot. He must take all or none. 
 
 7. If the seller fails to make deHveries on or before the last week day of the 
 month specified, the buyer can enter the open market and purchase, charging 
 the loss to the seller. This, however, is very rarely done. 
 
 Rubber is purchased by the manufacturer by samples, the price depending 
 not only upon the grade, but also upon its dryness and cleanliness. Years ago, 
 when it took many months to get fine Para 'into the market, the water had dried 
 out of it, so that "old fine" meant a comparatively dry rubber. 
 
 To-day with the much quicker transportation and the immediate use to which 
 rubber is put, most of the grades contain much more moisture. 
 
 PRICES AND SPECULATIONS. 
 Average Monthly and Yearly Prices of New Upriver Fine Para Rubber for Eleven Years. 
 
 Jan. . . 
 Feb. .. 
 Mar. . 
 April . 
 May .. 
 June . 
 July .. 
 August 
 Sept. .. 
 Oct. . . 
 Nov. . . 
 Dec. .. 
 
 1900 
 .$1.09 
 . 1.07 
 .1.12 
 . 1.00 
 . .96 
 . .93 
 . .95 
 . .96 
 . 1.01 
 . .97 
 . .86 
 . .93 
 
 1901 
 f .90 
 .87 
 85 
 89 
 91 
 88 
 86 
 88 
 89 
 87 
 85 
 
 1902 
 f .81 
 .75 
 .74 
 .73 
 .73 
 .71 
 .71 
 .73 
 .76 
 .77 
 .80 
 .85 
 
 1903 
 
 % .89 
 
 .87 
 
 .91 
 
 .91 
 
 .92 
 
 .91 
 
 .95 
 
 .97 
 
 1.05 
 
 1.04 
 
 .97 
 
 .95 
 
 1904 
 $ .99 
 1.04 
 1.09 
 1.09 
 1.13 
 1.12 
 1.15 
 1.19 
 1.15 
 1.15 
 1.23 
 1.24 
 
 1905 
 $1.22 
 1.27 
 1.31 
 1.32 
 1.33 
 1.32 
 1.29 
 1.28 
 1.30 
 1.25 
 1.23 
 1.26 
 
 1906 
 $1.26 
 1.27 
 1.27 
 1.26 
 1.25 
 1.24 
 1.23 
 1.23 
 1.23 
 1.23 
 1.23 
 1.23 
 
 1907 
 
 $1.22 
 
 1.21 
 
 1.18 
 
 1.16 
 
 1.14 
 
 1.10 
 
 1.12 
 
 1.11 
 
 1.08 
 
 1.02 
 
 .99 
 
 .84 
 
 1908 
 
 J .78 
 
 .71 
 
 .76 
 
 .81 
 
 .88 
 
 .91 
 
 .93 
 
 .93 
 
 .99 
 
 1.08 
 
 1.21 
 
 1.19 
 
 1909 
 $1.21 
 1.23 
 1.24 
 1.23 
 1.30 
 1.43 
 
 72 
 .87 
 ,52 
 ,08 
 ,98 
 89 
 
 1910 
 $1.82 
 1.98 
 2.33 
 2.75 
 2.57 
 2.34 
 2.23 
 2.03 
 1.73 
 1.43 
 1.44 
 1.43 
 
 Average 
 annual 
 
 $.99 $.871 $.7Sf $ .94i $1.13 $1.28 $1.24J $1,094 $.93 $1.56 $2.01 
 
 The existence of speculation in crude rubber is both affirmed and denied 
 by those interested. In the Amazon country when rubber is low the producers 
 claim that speculators are at work. The higher it goes the more they talk of 
 the law of supply and demand. Normally the price of rubber is fixed by whatever 
 city, Brazilian, European or American, that may have the largest stock of fine Para. 
 Among manufacturers, whenever the price of rubber goes up it is laid to speculation, 
 and when it goes down they talk about the law of supply and demand. Never- 
 theless the whole business is speculative. There is no absolute standard as 
 to grade. No one can forecast what a crop season will produce. The manu- 
 facturers are unable to say what they will need a year ahead. Add to this, with 
 a rate of exchange constantly changing, how can anybody help doing some 
 speculating? 
 
2i8 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 Most large manufacturers buy for future delivery, in itself a speculation, 
 but a wise one. 
 
 Such a valuable product as Para rubber would naturally attract the attention 
 of big speculators, and "corners" would be attempted. A brilliant Brazilian 
 Baron, beginning in 1882, almost cornered Para rubber four different times, and 
 in doing this succeeded in forcing the price up to figures then thought prohibitive. 
 An American imjporting company also came very near effecting a corner on 
 rubber — in fact, did so until the banks got tired of carrying stocks; then prices 
 dropped very suddenly. 
 
 A line of speculation followed in the past by strong outside interests was 
 the securing of large quantities of rubber from the producers at exceedingly low 
 figures, when a marked rise in the market was not only in sight but practically 
 assured. This "bearing" of the market by outside interests has been taken in 
 hand by the Brazilian government. Branches of the Banco do Brasil have been 
 established on the Amazon. These banks are authorized to make substantial 
 advances on rubber in the hands of Brazilian producers, which means that the 
 rubber may be held until what is deemed a fair price be offered for it. In other 
 words, this is an adaption of the "valorization" plan that Brazil put in force to 
 keep the price of coffee where she believed it belonged. 
 
 Baron de Gondoriz who once, nay four times nearly cornered Para rubber,^ 
 thus arraigned the United States for her awkward commercial arrangements 
 with Brazil. Although written long ago it is pertinent to-day. 
 
 "If North America really desires more reciprocal trade relations with Brazil 
 they might be secured through the agency of a carefully managed bank at Para 
 based on American capital. The value of the business done here monthly is more 
 than $2,500,000, all through English banking houses, which make their money on 
 this large exchange. Two and a half millions are paid each month for the natural 
 products of the Amazon valley, two thirds of which go to the United States. 
 The rubber men of the United States pay gold coin through English banks for 
 crude rubber, and the rubber producer here pays the producer in merchandise, 
 making room for a heavy profit, by the way. The business in exchange is so 
 great that it is said that there is a broker for each firm in trade, the fluctuations 
 ill the price of exchange being something which the uninitiated find it hard to 
 comprehend. Usually when a foreigner's occupation is gone as a manager or 
 banker, he does not leave the company which he has severely condemned, but 
 he becomes a 'broker' and continues to live among the same objectionable people." 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 THE following is a fairly complete list of latex producing trees in the 
 Amazon basin of the three important classes — Hevea, Sapiiiin and 
 Mimusops. The two latter are not rubber producers at present chiefly 
 because they are not tapped. Most of the rubber comes from the Hevea sorts, the 
 Brasiliensis particularly, which furnishes the Para grade, and the CastiUoas Ulei, 
 from which comes caucho. 
 
 Species of "Hevea." 
 
 Name. Botanist. 
 
 Hevea Guyanensis Aublet. 
 
 H. nigra Ule. 
 
 H. lutea Muel. Arg. 
 
 H. apiculata Muel. Arg. 
 
 H. cuneata Huber. 
 
 H. Benthamiana Muel. Arg. 
 
 H. Ducket Huber 
 
 H. paludosa Ule. 
 
 H. rigidifolia Muel. Arg. 
 
 H. minor Hemsley. 
 
 H. micro phylla Ule. 
 
 Name. Botanist. 
 
 H. Randiana Huber. 
 
 H. Brasiliensis Muel. Arg. 
 
 H. Spruceana Muel. Arg. 
 
 H. similis Hemsley 
 
 H. discolor Muel. Arg. 
 
 H. pauciflora Muel. Arg;, 
 
 H. confusa Hemsley. 
 
 H. nitida Muel. Arg. 
 
 H. viridis Huber. 
 
 H. Kunthiana Huber. 
 
 Species of "Castilloa." 
 Castilloa Ulei 
 
 .Warburg. 
 
 Species of "Sapium."' 
 
 Sapium Marmieri i Huber. 
 
 5'. aereum Muel. Arg. 
 
 S. Pavonianum Huber. 
 
 S. Poeppigii Hemsley. 
 
 5". stenophylluin Huber. 
 
 S. tapuru Ule. 
 
 5. lanceolatum Muel. Arg. 
 
 Species of Balata. 
 
 Mimusops densiflora Huber. 
 
 M. amasonica Huber. 
 
 M. elata Freire. 
 
 M. Amazonica Huber. 
 
 M. Paraensis Freire. 
 
 M. discolor Freire. 
 
 2ig 
 
APPENDIX E 
 
 IT will be news to most, but in 1850 Para had a big rubber shoe factory of its 
 own. It came about in this way. The city of Salem, Massachusetts, back in 
 
 the '40's was most enterprising in fitting out trading vessels that went to all 
 parts of the world. One of the best known captains brought to the "city of 
 witches" a pair of pure gum unvulcanized rubber shoes on clay lasts. Some 
 bright Yankee saw that they could be made to take place of wool socks and 
 moccasins and imported several pairs which sold readily. The business in- 
 creasing, a Salem house established a rubber shoe factory in Para. Their shoes 
 were known under the name of Fabrica and sold all over the world, retailing 
 at SO cents to $1.25 a pair. 
 
 These thick, awkward, ill shaped shoes, with their crude ornamentation may 
 still be seen in museums. A few venerable shoe dealers also recollect their 
 own part in preparing them for market. When a box of shoes was received from 
 Para, they were stored in a cool cellar to keep them away from heat. Then came 
 the preparing them for sale. They were truned inside out, relieved of their 
 stuffing of hay, thoroughly washed, and stretched over wooden lasts. Some had 
 round toes, some pointed ; some were thick, some thin ; there were no rights and 
 lefts. They were, however, paired up as well as possible, warmed and molded into 
 shape; trimmed and varnished, and they found a ready sale. 
 
 They became very soft when heated and under the influence of cold grew 
 rigid as iron. They drew the feet excruciatingly. But thousands of pairs were 
 sold and there are those to-day of course who lament the passing of the pure 
 rubber shoes. 
 
 Salem also imported rubber bottles about this same time, which bottles 
 were cut up into strips for suspender webs. How large a business this was for 
 a few years is on record in the Salem custom house, in the handwriting of 
 Nathaniel Hawthorne, as follows : 
 
 Years. Pounds. 
 
 1850-1851 43,000 
 
 1851-1852 1,969,000 
 
 1852-1853 1,407,000 
 
 1853-1854 2,056,000 
 
 After 1854 the business of importing rubber into Salem dropped off very 
 rapidly, and ceased entirely in 1861. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Acre, The, Brazilian rule in 
 
 163, 165, 166, 167, 168 
 
 Cession of, by Bolivia 145 
 
 Climate 161 
 
 Government of 167 
 
 History 161, 162, 163 
 
 Rubber territory 161 
 
 Unexplored regions 168 
 
 Adulteration of rubber 38, 39 
 
 Amazonas, The (steamer) 179 
 
 Amazon river at Iquitos 154 
 
 between Brazil and Colombia.. 175 
 
 Depth of 89 
 
 Fishing boats on 18 
 
 Floating islands on 87 
 
 Floods 87, 88 
 
 Forest of 19 
 
 Mail service of 114 
 
 Mouth of 17, 18 
 
 Narrows of 79, 82 
 
 Palisades on 91, 92 
 
 Rise of 64 
 
 Source of 78 
 
 Steamers of 112, 113, 114 
 
 The "living river" 92 
 
 Width of 86, 89 
 
 Amazon Steam Navigation Co., 112, 113 
 
 Amazon Telegraph Co 83 
 
 Amazon valley. Rubber exports from 214 
 
 Americans in Brazil 34, 36, 118 
 
 Angostura rubber 175 
 
 Associagao Commercial do Ama- 
 zonas 114 
 
 Attala excelsa palm nuts 69 
 
 Aviador, Business methods of the. . 
 59, 60, 61, 62 
 
 Balata in the Amazon country.. 51, 219 
 
 Barbados, Arrival in 4 
 
 as a health resort 11, 12 
 
 Clubs in 8 
 
 Cotton in 6 
 
 "Ekanda" in 5 
 
 Golf in 8, 9, 10 
 
 Manjack in 6 
 
 Roads of 7 
 
 Rubber in S 
 
 Sugar in 5, 8 
 
 Barracao, the rubber workers' hut 80 
 Batelaos (rubber boats) 119,121 
 
 Beetle, Borer, in Hevea 105 
 
 Beni river 136, 138 
 
 Beriberi 125 
 
 Birds on the Amazon 81 
 
 Bolivia, Climate of 148 
 
 Land concessions in, 142, 143, 144, 145 
 
 Railroads in 145 
 
 Rubber exports from 215 
 
 Rubber in the Montaiia of 138 
 
 Bolivian Steam Navigation Co. . . 134, 135 
 
 Borracha 116 
 
 Brazil Railway Co 123 
 
 Brazilians, Characteristics of ....34, 41 
 
 Breves, a rubber center 82 
 
 Brooklyn docks. Rubber at 201 
 
 Butterflies on the Amazon 82 
 
 Buzzards 81 
 
 Cable stations 83 
 
 Cafe da Paz 34, 181 
 
 "Capoeira" land 186 
 
 Caqueta river 173 
 
 Casiquiare river, Rubber on, 117, 176, 177 
 
 Castilloa Ulei, Fungus on 45 
 
 growing with Hevca 51 
 
 the source of caucho. . . .51, 154, 156 
 
 Caucho gathering in Peru 
 
 156, 157, 158, 159 
 
 Identification of, in Brazil ..51, 52 
 
 Meaning of the word 158 
 
 Cearenses (see Laborers, Contract). 
 
 Centipede, Experience with 48 
 
 Central Cotton Ginning Factory ... 6 
 
 Church, George Earl 135 
 
 Clubs at Barbados 8 
 
 at Para 33 
 
 Coagulating machines 75, 160 
 
 Coagulation of rubber 68- 
 
 Codrington College 7 
 
 Colds, Tropical 108 
 
 Collins, James, quoted 189 
 
 Colombia, Rubber in 175 
 
 Commercial Association at Manaos 
 
 104, 106, 114 
 
 Congress, Rubber 93, 102 
 
 Consul, American, at Barbados.... 8 
 
 American, at Para 30, 43 
 
 Conway, Sir Martin, quoted 189 
 
 Cotton in Barbados S, 6 
 
 Coutinho (see Danin). 
 
222 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 Cow tree 47 
 
 Cross, Robert, quoted 179 
 
 Cupussu 106 
 
 Da Costa smoking coagulator .... 75 
 
 Danin's rubber coagulator 75 
 
 Dutch art 1 
 
 Ekanda rubber in Barbados 4 
 
 Estradas, Rubber 63, 65, 142 
 
 Exports of rubber from the Ama- 
 zon 214, 215 
 
 Export taxes on rubber 98 
 
 Farinha in adulterating rubber.. 38, 39 
 Fever, Occurence of, on the Amazon 52 
 
 Tertian 148 
 
 Yellow 23, 24 
 
 Ficus elastica in Barbados 4 
 
 Fire department of Para 25 
 
 Floating islands 79 
 
 Forest conditions of Hevea 183 
 
 Forests, Tropical 183, 185, 186 
 
 Clearing the land of 186 
 
 Fungus on rubber 45 
 
 Fuiituiiiia in Barbados 4 
 
 Garden, Botanic, in Para 25 
 
 Public, in Barbados 12 
 
 Golf in Barbados 8, 9, 10 
 
 Gondoriz, Baron de, quoted 218 
 
 Gossypium Barhadense 6 
 
 Government, Municipal, in Brazil. . 58 
 
 Governor of Para, Visit to 30 
 
 Guapore river 170, 171 
 
 Hamburg-American excursions ... 34 
 Hevca Brasiliensis as a rubber 
 
 source , 50 
 
 Fungus on 45 
 
 introduced into the Far East.. . 179 
 
 in Peru 159 
 
 in wet lands 85, 183 
 
 Naming of the 57 
 
 Nut of the 47 
 
 on the Negro 105 
 
 Overtapping of 45 
 
 planted in a Manaos park .... Ill 
 
 Yield of 71, 188 
 
 Hevea lutea 146 
 
 Hevea Guyanensis 107, 173 
 
 Hevea Randiana 50 
 
 Hevea Spruceana 50 
 
 Hevea, Varieties of 50, 219 
 
 Hotel in Barbados 10 
 
 Huber, Dr. Jacques 
 
 45, 49, 50," 51, 52, 75, 111 
 
 Indians, Friendly 128, 138 
 
 Peruvian 154 
 
 Indians, Preservation of human 
 
 heads by 130 
 
 Rubber manufacture by 129 
 
 Venezuelan 177 
 
 Wild 102, 136, 137 
 
 Iquitos 150, 151, 152, 154 
 
 RubDer exports from 215 
 
 Isla des Uncas (see Oncas Island). 
 
 Itacoatiara 92, 119 
 
 KoNiNKLijKE West Indische Mail- 
 dienst 1, 2, 3, 4, 18 
 
 Laborers, Contract .... 62, 63, 64, 65, 67 
 
 Difficulty of securing 77 
 
 German 130, 131, 132 
 
 Rubber warehouse 41, 102 
 
 Lake 1 iticaca 146 
 
 Madeira-Mamore railway 
 
 . . . .119, 123, 125, 128. 133, 134, 135, 136 
 Madeira river. Cataracts on ....119, 121 
 Difficulties of transporiation. 
 
 Transportation rates 121, 125 
 
 Tributaries of 136 
 
 Manaos, Arrival at 93 
 
 Climate of 108 
 
 Commercial Association 
 
 ...104, 106, 114, 213 
 
 Experiment station in 102 
 
 Planting Hevea in Ill 
 
 Price of living in 98 
 
 Rubber houses of 95 
 
 Subway of 97 
 
 Tram cars of 95 
 
 Manaos Harbor Co., Floating docks 100 
 
 Mangabeira rubber 172 
 
 Marajo island. Rubber on 73 
 
 Matto Grosso, rubber in 170 
 
 Milreis, the Brazilian money unit. . 23 
 
 Mimusops in the Brazils 51, 75, 219 
 
 Monetary system, Brazilian 23 
 
 Moqueens 33 
 
 Morinha's rubber smoking apparatus 160 
 
 Mortality in rubber districts 168 
 
 Mosquitos, Malaria 23 
 
 Yellow fever 23, 108 
 
 Museu Goeldi 49 
 
 Napo river 173 
 
 Negro (see Rio Negro). 
 
 Newspapers of Para 32 
 
 Nuts, Brazilian 99 
 
 for smoking rubber 99 
 
 Obidos, The town of 91 
 
 Ohio, A visiting manufacturer from 
 31^ 32 
 
 Oncas island . . '. . . . . . . .43, 46, 47, 48, 86 
 
 Orinoco river 176 
 
 Orton river 141 
 
OF THE AMAZON 
 
 223 
 
 "Ouro preto" 116 
 
 Ownership of estates 166, 167 
 
 Palm nuts for curing rubber 68 
 
 Para, Advantages of, in rubber pro- 
 duction 182, 183 
 
 Agricultural experiment station 182 
 
 a modern city 24, 25 
 
 Approach to 19, 20 
 
 a rival of Manaos 42 
 
 Carnival in 34 
 
 Clubs of 33 
 
 Farewell to 195 
 
 Fire department of 25, 26, 27 
 
 Gathering rubber in 159 
 
 Governor of 30, 31 
 
 History of 27, 28, 29 
 
 Intendente of 32 
 
 Mosquitos in 23 
 
 Newspapers of 32, 33 
 
 Office hours in 25 
 
 Population and situation of.... 29 
 
 reminder of Paris 24 
 
 Ru'^ber house in 38, 40, 41 
 
 Rubber shoes made in 220 
 
 Vigilance of customs officials, 20, 21 
 
 Peru, Land concessions in 160 
 
 Montaiia of 150, 151, 154 
 
 Opening up of 151 
 
 Rubber exports from 215 
 
 Planting interest in Para and Ma- 
 naos 187 
 
 Port of Para 20, 123 
 
 Porto Velho newspapers 125 
 
 Pozelina 75 
 
 Prainha 88 
 
 Price of rubber in Para 41 
 
 Purus river 139 
 
 Putumayo river 173 
 
 Railroad system of Brazil 123 
 
 Railroads, Early efforts at building 
 
 134, 135, 136 
 
 Railway from Para 183 
 
 Riker's plantation (see Santarem). 
 
 Rio Negro, Entrance into 93 
 
 Hevea on the 105 
 
 the "dead river" 92 
 
 Trip up the 104 
 
 Rubber, Adulteration of... 38, 39, 40, 75 
 
 Angostura 175 
 
 Bolivian 138, 139, 140, 142, 146 
 
 Bolivian method of gathering. . 147 
 Bolivian method of branding. . 48 
 
 Branding 71 
 
 Cameta 71, 75 
 
 city, Para the 19 
 
 Coagulating 70, 73 
 
 Congress at Manaos 93, 102 
 
 Coarse Para 70 
 
 Early trade in 57 
 
 Rubber export statistics 214, 215 
 
 forest. Extent of 77 
 
 gathering on the Rio Negro. . . . 177 
 
 markets 42 
 
 :\iatto Grosso 171, 172, 173 
 
 Native manufacture of 129 
 
 Palm nuts used iia smoking. . . . 
 
 68, 69, 70 
 
 pelles. Size of 192, 194 
 
 Peruvian 152, 156 
 
 planting in Brazil 187, 188 
 
 prices and speculation 217 
 
 prices in Para 41 
 
 Puriis Ib9 
 
 Rules for shipment of 16 
 
 selling conditions 216 
 
 ShrinKage of 216 
 
 Smoking 68, 69, 70 
 
 talk aboard steamer 16 
 
 Tapping and collecting of 67 
 
 tapping season 77, 188 
 
 Taxes on... 59, 98, 142, 160, 165, 173 
 
 Test for adulterated 39 
 
 trees. Diseases of 45 
 
 trees. How reached 65, 66, 67 
 
 trees overlapped on Oncas 
 
 island 43, 44, 45 
 
 trees. Size of 71, 73 
 
 trees, ^'ield of 188, 189, 190 
 
 Unloading cargoes of 200, 201 
 
 Yield of 71, 188, 190 
 
 Salem, Massachusetts, Rubber im- 
 ports at 220' 
 
 San Antonio 125 
 
 Santarem 90, 178, 179 
 
 Sapiuiii, Distribution of 75 
 
 Varieties of 50, 219 
 
 Savannah Club 8, 9 
 
 Season, Wet 169 
 
 Seringal, A 63, 64, 66 
 
 Seringueiro, Work of the 67, 68 
 
 Seringrina 75 
 
 Serpa (see Itacoatiara). 
 
 Shoes, Rubber, made at Para 220 
 
 Shrinkage of rubber 216 
 
 Siphonia elastica 57 
 
 Smoking rubber 68, 70 
 
 Solimoes river 92 
 
 Southern Cross 85 
 
 Species of Balata 219 
 
 Castilloa 219' 
 
 Hevea 219 
 
 Sapium 219^ 
 
 Speculation in rubber 217 
 
 Suarez, Nicolas 149, 162, 163 
 
 Sugar in Barbados 5, 7 
 
 Tapajos river 178 
 
 Tapping season 77, 188 
 
 tools for rubber 48^ 
 
224 
 
 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 Tax,' Assessment of export 194 
 
 Head, for travelers 118 
 
 on rubber exports 98 
 
 on rubber in Peru 160, 194 
 
 Thanks, The author's 213 
 
 Theatro Amazonas 110 
 
 Tocantins, The 18 
 
 Torres system for preserving latex 73 
 
 Trade winds IS 
 
 UcAYALi river 154 
 
 Ule, Ernest 4S 
 
 Urucuru palm nuts 68 
 
 Venezuela rubber territory, 175, 176, 177 
 
 Wages in rubber warehouses 40 
 
 "Wall street" of Para 38, 40 
 
 Waterway from Manaos to the Ori- 
 noco 177 
 
 Waterways of Colombia 175 
 
 of Northern Brazil 121 
 
 West Indies 3, 4 
 
 Whitney, Casper 116 
 
 Wickham (H. A.), gathering rubber 
 
 seeds 179 
 
 Windmill for cane grindmg 2 
 
 Wireless stations 84, 132, 133 
 
 Yankee Consuls (see Consul). 
 
 visitors in Para 34 
 
 Yield of rubber 77, 188, 190 
 
 XiNGu river 171 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Wind Mill for Cane Grinding, Barbados 2 
 
 Squeeze Rolls for Crushing Sugar Cane 3 
 
 Typical Barbadian Negro Hut 4 
 
 Ginning Sea Island Cotton, Barbados S 
 
 Field of Sea Island Cotton, Barbados 6 
 
 Avenue of Royal Palms, Bridgetown 8 
 
 Codrington College, Barbados 9 
 
 Manjack Mine, Barbados 11 
 
 Public Gardens, Bridgetown, Barbados 12 
 
 Constable of the Golf Course, Barbados 14 
 
 An Aggressive Bovine Bunker on the Golf Course, Barbados IS 
 
 Rubber Lighters and Frontage of the City of Para 17 
 
 Native Fishing Boat, Tocantins River 18 
 
 Business Street, Para 19 
 
 Rubber Warehouse, Para 20 
 
 Typical Rubber Offices, Para 21 
 
 The Avenida Republica, Para 24 
 
 Praca da Independencia, Para 2S 
 
 Salon in Theatro da Paz, Para 26 
 
 Public Library, Para 26 
 
 City Hospital, Para 27 
 
 Fire Department on Parade in Front of Their Barracks, Para 28 
 
 Typical City Street, Para 31 
 
 Proposed New Municipal Building, Para 32 
 
 Examining Rubber for Shipment 33 
 
 Part of the Dock System, Para 35 
 
 Cutting and Grading Fine Para Rubber in a Warehouse, Para 37 
 
 Para Rubber in Heneratagoda Gardens, Ceylon 39 
 
 Brazilian Machine for Smoking Para Rubber Milk 40 
 
 Type of Steamer Used in the Amazonian Basin for Rubber Transportation.. 41 
 
 Dishonestly Prepared Strip Rubber 42 
 
 Rope Contents of the Above 42 
 
 Mangroves, Shore of Oncas Island, Near Para 44 
 
 Igarape, Oncas Island 45 
 
 Ashore on Oncas Island 46 
 
 Much Tapped Rubber Tree, Para 47 
 
 Brazilian Bush Knives 48 
 
 Machadinha, or Rubber Tapping Axe 48 
 
 Nursery of Young Para Rubber Trees, Museu Goeldi 50 
 
 Museu Goeldi — Administration Building 51 
 
 Museu Goeldi — Reservoir 52 
 
 225 
 
226 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Hevea Brasiliensis — the Rubber Tree of the Amazon 53 
 
 Tree From Which Caucho Comes (Castilloa Ulei) '! 54 
 
 Hevea Randiana — A Barren Rubber Tree 55 
 
 Hevea Brasiliensis, the Para Rubber Tree 58 
 
 Leaves and Nuts From the Hevea Brasiliensis 59 
 
 Rubber Tree Growing on River Bank 60 
 
 Sketch Showing Trunk of Hevea Brasiliensis and Lactiferous Tubes Much 
 
 Enlarged 61 
 
 Dwelling of Rubber Gatherers on the Amazon 62 
 
 Plan of a Seringal 63 
 
 Seringueiro Going His Rounds 64 
 
 Tapping a Para Rubber Tree 65 
 
 Seringueiros Bringing Home Latex 66 
 
 The "Urucuri" Palm 69 
 
 Cameta, on the Amazon and Tocantins 70 
 
 Seringueiros Smoking Para Rubber 72 
 
 Brazilian Machine for Coagulating Latex 73 
 
 Beautiful Fasenda Near Breves 74 
 
 Spiral Tapping of Hevea Brasiliensis 76 
 
 Island in the Lower Amazon 79 
 
 Scene in the Narrows 80 
 
 Seringueiro's Hut on the Amazon 81 
 
 Butterfly Hunter 82 
 
 Breves, on the Lower Amazon 83 
 
 Author's Quarters on the Chart House Deck 86 
 
 Floating Grass Island on the Amazon 87 
 
 Santarem, and American Settlement 88 
 
 Obidos, on the Amazon 89 
 
 Gathering Turtle Eggs 90 
 
 Itacoatiara, or Serpa 91 
 
 Bird's Eye View of the Manaos Water Front 94 
 
 Examining Rubber in Manaos Warehouse 95 
 
 Manaos — Bird's Eye View of the City 96 
 
 Author, His Interpreter, and the "Renault" 97 
 
 Transferring Cases of Rubber by Aerial Cables 98 
 
 Author in an American Home, Manaos 99 
 
 Custom House, Manaos 100 
 
 Floating Docks and Aerial Cables 101 
 
 Roadway to Floating Docks 101 
 
 Waterworks, Manaos 103 
 
 Theatro Amazonas, Manaos 103 
 
 River Excursion Near Manaos 104 
 
 View on the Rio Negro Near Manaos 105 
 
 Plantation House on Rio Negro 106 
 
 Rio Negro Pelle of Rubber at Manaos Exhibition 107 
 
 Machine for Smoking Latex 108 
 
 Rubber Tree Planted by the Author in Manaos 109 
 
OF THE AMAZON 227 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Church of St. Sebastian, Manaos HO 
 
 Palace of Justice, Manaos 113 
 
 Commercial Association Building, Manaos 114 
 
 Jardim da Praca General Osorio, Manaos US 
 
 Victoria Regia in Estuary of the Amazon 115 
 
 Jardim da Praca da Constitu?ao, Manaos 116 
 
 Staff House, for American Clerks, Manaos 117 
 
 San Antonio, Head of Steam Navigation of the Madeira River 120 
 
 Hauling Rubber Boat Around the Falls of the Madeira 121 
 
 Falls and Rapids on the Madeira River 122 
 
 Construction Camp, Madeira-Mamore Railway 122 
 
 Construction Work in Progress 123 
 
 Camp Hospitals for Laborers, Madeira-Mamore Railway 124 
 
 Rock Cut on Railway Line 124 
 
 Bad Landslide on the Railway 125 
 
 Track Laid, Madeira-Mamore Railway 126 
 
 Making Quinine Capsules in the Hospital 127 
 
 Construction Train, Madeira-Mamore Railway 127 
 
 Caripuna Indians and Bark Boat 128 
 
 Indian Coating Calico Bag With Rubber Milk 130 
 
 Rubber Articles Made by Indians on Upper Rivers 131 
 
 Indian Head Dresses 132 
 
 Human Heads, Shrunken, Used as Indian War Trophies 133 
 
 An Indian Sling Shot \ . . 134 
 
 Mosquito Proof Headgear Used by Engineers in Brazilian Forests 135 
 
 Steamer at Porto Velho, Madeira-Mamore Railway 136 
 
 Relic of the First Attempt at Railroad Building on the Madeira 137 
 
 Navigation on the Upper Rivers 139 
 
 Sorata, BoHvia 139 
 
 Bridge Built of Railroad Rails 140 
 
 A Level Stretch on the Madeira 140 
 
 A Balsa Transporting Rubber 141 
 
 Weighing Caucho, Bolivia 141 
 
 Straw Boats on Lake Titicaca 142 
 
 Tapping Para Rubber Tree, BoHvia 143 
 
 Smoking Para Rubber, Bolivia 144 
 
 Cutting Rubber From Paddles, Bolivia 145 
 
 Fire Branding Rubber, Bolivia 146 
 
 Suarez, Bolivia's Rubber Baron 147 
 
 Bolivian Tapping Axe 148 
 
 Smoking Para Rubber, Peru ISl 
 
 Shipping Rubber at Mollendo, Peru 152 
 
 Typical Rubber Barracks Near Iquitos 153 
 
 Steamer on the Maraiion Above Iquitos, Peru 154 
 
 Only Practical Method for Obtaining the Latex of the Caucho Tree 155 
 
 Rubber Gatherers' Huts, Peru 156 
 
 Tapping Para Rubber Tree, Peru 157 
 
228 THE RUBBER COUNTRY 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Settlement Showing Edge of the Great Montana, Peru 158 
 
 Vegetation on the Rio Ucayali, Peru '. lS9 
 
 Peruvian Machine for Smoking Hevea Latex r 160 
 
 Inundated Forest in the Puriis River Valley 162 
 
 Seringal on the River Acre , 164 
 
 Sermgal Sebastofol, on the Purus .' 16S 
 
 Town of Canutama, on the Purus 166 
 
 Confluence of the Acre and Purus Rivers 167 
 
 Outfitting Rubber Gatherers at a Seringal on the Acre River 168 
 
 Map of the Venezuelan Forestal 171 
 
 Bateldo in the Rapids, Upper Rio Negro 172 
 
 Embarking Cattle on the Upper Rio Negro 172 
 
 River Scene on the Upper Rio Negro 173 
 
 Town on the Rio Branco 174 
 
 Fasenda Capello on the Rio Branco '174 
 
 Sermgal on the Rio Branco 175 
 
 Forest Scene in Colombia. . .'. 176 
 
 American Home in Santarem 179 
 
 Planted Hevea (32 Months Old) at Santarem 180 
 
 Young Planted Hevea on Tapajos Plateau 181 
 
 Old Hevea Trees in the Forest Near Santarem 182 
 
 Old Heveas on Border of Stream Near Santarem 183 
 
 Shipment of Caucho at Itaituba on the Tapajos 184 
 
 Street of Cearenses, Para 185 
 
 Railroad to Braganga, Para 185 
 
 Three Year Old Rubber at Diamantino 188 
 
 Indian Tapper With Modern Methods 189 
 
 Herring Bone Tapping of Hevea in South America 190 
 
 Bungalow on the Lower Amazon 191 
 
 Hut of a Seringueiro Near Para 191 
 
 South American Indian With Blow Gun and Arrows, Sketched by Lieut. 
 
 Gibbon, U. S. N 192 
 
 Indians of the Rio Negro 193 
 
 Canoe Harbor, Para 196 
 
 Rubber in Cases on Brooklyn Dock 196 
 
 Boat Landing, Para 197 
 
 Weighing Rubber at Brooklyn 198 
 
 Crude Rubber Sample Room in Importer's Office, Amsterdam 198 
 
 Last of the City Suburbs, Para 199 
 
 Pelles of Para Rubber in the Storehouse 200 
 
 Great Rubber Storehouses, St. Katherine's Dock, London 200 
 
 Interior of Storage Vaults in Rubber Warehouses, London 201 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 THE BEST GRINDER OR 
 
 WASHER FOR 
 
 PLANTATION WORK 
 
 SEND FOR DESCRIPTIVE MATTER 
 
 THE LARGEST MANUFACTURERS IN THE WORLD OF RUBBER MACHINERY 
 FARREL FOUNDRY &. MACHINE CO. 
 
 ANSONIA, CONN., U. S. A. 
 
 Branch Office: 1011 Williamson Building, Cleveland, Ohio cable address: "farrel" 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 IMPORT EXPORT 
 
 CRUDE RUBBER 
 
 All Grades— From 
 Primary Markets 
 
 ADELBERT H. ALDEN, Ltd. A. H. ALDEN & CO., Ltd. 
 
 r, , .yi , 24-25 Great Tower Street 
 
 rara Manaos , ■ r^ f> 
 
 London, t. C 
 
 A. H. ALDEN & CO., LTD. 
 
 H 24 Exchange Buildings 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 NEW YORK COMMERCIAL CO. GEORGE A. ALDEN & CO. 
 290 Broadway, New York 77 Summer Street, Boston 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 REVISED A.IVD ENLARGED EDITION 
 
 Crude Rubber 
 
 =A N D= 
 
 Compounding 
 In gred ien t s 
 
 A Text Book of Rubber Manufacture 
 
 By HENRY C. PEARSON 
 
 Editor of The India Rubber World 
 
 I 
 
 T is often a great convenience to have at hand, in 
 form for easy reference, a book that will remind 
 a man of something which he needs to make 
 use of in his work, without waiting to ransack his 
 memory for it, no matter how well he may once have 
 learned it. This book has been designed to serve 
 just such a purpose. In fact, the work was a 
 gradual development of a manuscript reference book 
 originally compiled by the author for his personal 
 use. Finding how convenient it was to be able to 
 turn to such a book, instead of haying to depend on memory alone for the infor- 
 mation it contained, the idea suggested itself that possibly others in the rubber 
 industry 'might find these notes equally serviceable, and this is why they have been 
 developed into a book. 
 
 We have no hesitation in saying it is the most important contribution ever made 
 to the literature of the manufacture of rubber, and the information is given in 
 succinct form. — Scientific American, New York. 
 
 The book will be a necessity in every factory. * =f * We counsel all inter- 
 ested in the rubber trade to obtain a copy. — The India Rubber lournal, London. 
 
 A rubber man wrote to the author : "Your book 'on rubber is a perfect 
 encyclopedia. I wish specially to compliment you on the excellent arrangement of 
 the matter. The comprehensive index at the back and the alphabetical subdivision 
 of many of the chapters make it exceptionally convenient as a work of reference. 
 I want to add, too, that, while doubtless intended chiefly for a book of reference, 
 you have succeeded in making it exceedingly readable." 
 
 Jl copy of the Index of this Work will be sent free on application. 
 
 The India Rubber Publishing Co. 
 
 No. 15 WEST 38th STREET, NEW YORK 
 
ADVER T I SEMEN TS 
 
 LLOYD BRAZILEIRO 
 
 (Brazilian Steamship Line) 
 
 Direct Sailings from New York to 
 
 ALL PORTS IN BRAZIL 
 
 Pier 5, Bush Terminal, South Brooklyn 
 
 Twice a Month to Southern Ports :— Pernambuco, Maceio, 
 
 Bahia, Victoria, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, and other South Brazil 
 Coast Ports. 
 
 Monthly Service to Northern Ports: — Para, Maranham, 
 
 Ceara, Cabedello, Natal, connecting with Company's steamers 
 for Amazon River and other ports. 
 
 Loading Berth: Pier 5, Bush Docks, South Brooklyn 
 
 For Freight or Passage, apply to 
 
 A. R. GRACA, General Agent, 8 and 10 Bridge Street, New York 
 
 Telephone, Broad 4190 
 
 Brazilian Coastwise Freight and Passenger Service 
 
 From Rio de 'Janeiro — North. One weekly sailing for Manaos, calling at 
 Victoria, Bahia, Maceio, Recife, Cabedello, Natal, Ceara, Tutoya, Ma- 
 ranhao, Para, Santarem, Obidos, Parintins, Itacoatiara. 
 One sailing every 10 days for Para, calling at Bahia, Pernambuco and 
 Ceara. 
 
 One sailing every fortnight for Penedo via Caravellas, Bahia, Estancia, 
 Aracaju, Villa Nova. 
 
 From Riode Janeiro — South. One weekly sailing to the River Plate, calling at 
 Santos, Paranagua, S. Francisco, Itajahy, Florianopolis, Rio Grande do 
 Sul, Porto Alegre,,Montevideo and Buenos Ayres. 
 
 One fortnight sailing to Florianopolis, via Paranagua, S. Francisco, 
 Itajahy. 
 One fortnight sailing to Cananea and Iguape, via Santos. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 A Book for Everybody Who 
 Has to Do with Rubber 
 Tires for Business or Pleasure 
 
 A 
 
 The newest, and we should say the 
 most complete, work dealing with the 
 subject of rubber tires. — The Canadian 
 Motor, Toronto. 
 
 Deals with the rubber tire of every 
 kind, and from every possible point of 
 vie-w.—The Automobile, New York. 
 
 The author has well succeeded in the 
 task. His book is an authoritative 
 source of information in this branch of 
 manufacture, and is to be complimented 
 for its accuracy. — Gummi-Z eitung , 
 Dresden, Germany. 
 
 Even the best informed will learn 
 something from it, and to the average 
 man with an interest in tires who once 
 gets hold of it, it will become an insep- 
 arable companion. — The India-Rubber 
 Journal, London. 
 
 There may be those who think they 
 
 ' know all about tires that is worth while, 
 
 but they will conclude differently if they 
 
 will peruse this well written volume. — 
 
 Carriage Monthly, Philadelphia. 
 
 Me. Pearson (the author) is a prac- 
 tical expert in matters pertaining to 
 rubber, and has since the very inception 
 of the pneumatic tire industry and trade 
 been in very close touch with that line. — 
 Das Radmarkt, Bielefeld, Germany. 
 
 Deserves the greatest attention from the rubber trade. — Le Caoutchouc 
 et la Gutta-Percha, Paris. 
 
 Price, $3.00 per Copy Prepaid 
 
 V. 
 
 The India Rubber Publishing Co. 
 
 No. 15 West 38th Street, New York 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 Bridge 's 
 
 Improved 
 
 and 
 Patented 
 
 Rubber Machinery 
 
 For Plantation and Wild Rut>bers 
 
 " Da Costa " Smoked Rubber. Rubber is now being exported from the far 
 East, etc., the latex of which has been completely coagulated by the Da Costa Patent 
 ' ' Rapid ' ' Smoking System and prepared by fridge 's Improved i^achineiy. This is 
 known as the "Da Costa" Smoked Rubber, and is commanding the highest market prices 
 as far as Plantation Rubber is concerned. 
 
 QP 
 
 All Kinds of 
 Latices can, be 
 Coagulated by 
 this System 
 
 QP 
 
 Made in V a - 
 rious Sizes to 
 Coagulate over 
 1,000 gallons per 
 hour. No Acetic 
 Acid Used 
 
 db 
 
 ADOPT AND SPECIFY- 
 
 'Che Da Costa 'Patent "Rapid" Smoke Coagulater and Bridge's Improved and Patented 
 'Preparation Machinery 
 
 Battery of Bridge's Patent Hydraulic Rubber Blocking 
 Presses and Power-Driven Pumps 
 
 Battery of Bridgets Improved underdriven Macerating, 
 
 Washing Creeping and Sheeting Machinery by 
 
 means of Oil Engine and Heywood Bridge's 
 
 Patent Friction Clutches 
 
 Plantations Completely Equipped with Machinery, including: Buildings, Engines' 
 Boilers, etc., etc. 
 
 Our Machinery is turning out the BEST Rubber. 
 
 Awarded GOLD MEDAL at the Mexican Exhibition. 
 
 FIRST PRIZE MEDAL at Coomassie. 
 
 We can also fit up RUBBER MANUFACTURERS with Machinery for Every 
 Branch of the Trade. 
 
 David Bridge & Co., Ltd. 
 
 ...Pierce Works... 
 
 Gastteton, - - Manchester, England 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 k BOOK m mm punters 
 
 By the Editor of The India Rubber World 
 
 The Home and. Colonial Mail. (London) says : "When Mr. Henry 
 C. Pearson started out to study rubber culture in the tropics, and to 
 record his impressions, he did his work thoroughly.'' 
 
 The South American Journal says: "From the view of the rubber 
 planter, and the investor in rubber plantations, the book is of the greatest 
 interest, showing comparisons of growth, methods of tapping, and prepa- 
 ration in various countries." 
 
 Price, $3.00 Prepaid 
 The India Rubber Publishing Co. 
 
 No. 1 5 West 38th Street, - - NEW YORK 
 
 =11= 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 Special Offer to the Planting World Jrc''<iSlSpro''duc?s"!! 
 
 Awarded Gold, Silver, Bronxe, and Commemorative Medals, Merits, Diplomas, and Certificates 
 at various International Exhibitions 
 
 ■ Numerous Unsolicited Testimonials 
 Highly recommended Arabica-Liberian Hybrid Coffee. Coffee Robusta, Tea, Rubber, including 
 Para, Ceara and Castilloa, Funtumia, Manibots Dichotoma, Fiaubyensis, Heptapbylla, Formosa Camphor, 
 and Soya Bean. 
 
 The following six Descriptive Price Lists are now being forwarded with circulars and special 
 offers ofSeeds and Plajits of rubber and other Economic Products to all countries, 
 
 1. Tropical Seeds and Plants of Commercial Products, enlarged editio'^. 
 
 2. Seeds and Plants of Shade. Timber. Wind-Belts, Fuel, and Ornamental Trees, Trees for Road- 
 sides, Open Places Pasture Lands, Avenues. Hedges, and for planting among crops,-(Tea. Coffee. Cacao, 
 Caradamons, &.c.) 
 
 3. Seeds and Plants of Tropical Fruit Trees including Mango Grafts, Citrus Grafts, etc. 
 
 4. Bulbs, Tubers, and Yams. 
 
 5. Orchids-Ceylon and Indian, including new varieties. 
 
 Seeds and Plants of Palms, Calamus, Pandamus, Cycads, Tree and other Ferni. Crotons Roses, 
 Dracinas, Shrubs and Creepers. 
 
 Touching a shipment of 100,000 Para Stunips. Mr. Francis Harman, Managing Director, Upolu 
 Cacao Co.. Samao writes to the "Ceylon Observer" of 22nd February dated 17th January. 1907 : — 
 " Gur Rubber stumps, purchased from William Bros., Heneratgoda. were a great success. We have about 
 90 per cent good in the nursery." 
 
 "SOUTH AFRICA."— The great authority on South African Affairs says:— "An interesting 
 Catalogue reaches us from the East. It is issued by William Brothers, I'ropical Seed Merchants of Hen- 
 eratgoda, Ceylon, and schedules all the useful and beautiful, plants which will thrive in Tropical and 
 Semi-Tropical regions, We fancy Messrs. William should do good business, for now that the great 
 powers have grabbed all the waste places of the earth, they must turn to and'provc that they were 
 worth the grabbing. We recommend the great Powers and Concessionaries under them to go to W ILLI AM 
 BROTHERS. 
 
 Agents in London: — Messrs. P. W. Woolhy A Co., 90 Lower Thames Street 
 
 Agents in Colombo, Ceylon: — E. B. Creasy & Co. 
 
 NO SOLE AGENTS ANYWHERE 
 
 Telegraphis Address: J. P. WILLIAM & BROTHERS 
 
 WfLLTAM. Heneratgoda, Ceylon Tropical Seed Merchants 
 
 Lieber: ^ s A. I. <feA. B, C. Codes used H enerateoda, Cey Ion 
 
 Weise & 60, 
 
 Rotterdam 
 
 (Nethertands) 
 Gable Address : Weise — Rotterdam 
 
 India Rudder 
 
 Guttapercha 
 
 Balaka 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 Jnji-ftB^' 
 
 PUBLISHED ON THE 1st OF EACH MONTH BY 
 
 THE INDIA RUBBER PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 No. 15 WEST 38TH STREET, NEW YORK 
 
 Edited by 
 HENRY C. PEARSON 
 
 ESTABLISHED in 1889, to represent the interests of the manu- 
 facturers and distributors of India rubber and allied goods in the 
 United States, this journal has broadened its scope until it now 
 commands a position of importance "as a record'of the rubber trade and 
 industry in all other countries as well. At the same time it has taken a 
 leading position as an exponent of the rubber planting interests and the 
 intelligent exploitation of forest rubber, while its statistical department 
 is more fully relied upon than any other source of information of this 
 class. 
 
 The publishers believe that to-day no other special journal published 
 covers its field so fully, or commands a circulation so wide spread or of 
 such a high character. The contents of The India Rubber World are, 
 for the most part, expert information, covering whatever is new in 
 factory processes, in applications of rubber, in company development or 
 changes, market conditions, and whatever' else may concern the entire 
 field of rubber interests. 
 
 As an advertising medium, it is believed that the paper occupies an 
 exceptionally high position as a medium for bringing manufacturers and 
 consumers of rubber goods into contact, and for attracting the attention 
 of manufacturers to new appliances and materials. 
 
 YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION: 
 
 United States and Mexico, - - - - $3.00 
 All Other Countries, 3.50 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 Wacuum Brping apparatus 
 
 The World/s Standard 
 
 IN THE FACTORY 
 ON THE PLANTATION 
 
 Apparatus specially designed 
 to treat low grade rubbers : : 
 
 J. P. DEVINE CO. 
 
 Factory : 
 Seventh and Maryland Sts. 
 
 Office : 
 428 Brisbane Building 
 
 BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 J 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 SCHOLZ & CO. 
 
 MANAOS 
 
 SCHOLZ, HARTJE & CO. 
 
 PARA 
 
 Exporters of 
 INDIA RUBBER 
 
 Also Cocoa and Brazil Nuts 
 From the Amazon River 
 
 London Bankers : COUTTS & CO. 
 Cables : Scholz, Manaos ; Frank, Para. 
 
 Letters: Scholz & Co., Caixa 80, Manaos (Amazonas) Brazil; 
 Scholz, Hartje & Co., Caixa 231, Para, Brazil. 
 
 Codes : A. B. C. 5th Ed., Liebers, Codigo Ribeiro, Leviathan, 
 Private. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 Rubber Machinery 
 
 FOR ALL PURPOSES 
 
 Washers, Sheeters and Blocking Presses 
 for Plantation Rubber 
 
 special Machinery for Guayule 
 
 Washer — Pulley Driven if Desired 
 
 FOR RUBBER MANUFACTURERS 
 
 Grinders, Mixers, Refiners, Calenders, Hydraulic 
 
 Presses, Spreaders, Bias Shears, Belt Folders, 
 
 Hose Machinery, Shafting, Gearing, 
 
 etc., etc. 
 
 Birmingham Iron Foundry 
 
 DERBY, CONN., U. S. A. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 Washing Machine 
 
 Shaw's Smoking 
 
 . . and . . 
 
 Coagulating Plant 
 
 Send 
 
 for 
 
 l^aTliculars 
 
 Coagulates all Kinds of Rubber 
 
 by the Smoking Process 
 
 in any Quantity 
 
 Francis Shaw & Co., Ltd. 
 
 CORBETT STREET IRON WORKS, •• .. BRADFORD 
 
 Manchester, England 
 
 Largest Makers in the World 
 
 ...of... 
 
 Rubber Plantation Machinery 
 
 Special Machinery for Send for Separate Cata- Machines Specially 
 
 Para and Costilloa logues of Machinery for Designed for Manual 
 
 Rubber Mill and Plantation Transport up Country 
 
 Special Offer 
 
 Send us your present and 
 future output of dry Rubber 
 and we will submit free of charge 
 plans, prices, and full particulars 
 of a complete Plantation Fac- 
 tory to prepare same for selling 
 at the best market prices. 
 
 We send our men to equip facto- 
 ries in all parts of the world. 
 
 '^'^■/i-.-SJi^' 
 
 Vacuum Drying Stove 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 Booth Line 
 
 (THE BOOTH STEAMSHIP COMPANY. LTD.) 
 
 REGULAR SERVICE BETWEEN NEW YORK 
 
 NORTH BRAZIL ^ 
 
 AMAZON RIVER 
 
 F»ORXS 
 
 VIA. BA.RBA.DOS, W. I. 
 
 DIRECT SAILINGS for 
 
 parA, manaos, maranham, 
 
 CEARA and PARNAHYBA, BRAZIL 
 and IQUITOS, PERU 
 
 THROUGH BILLS OF LADING AND PASSENGER TICKETS ISSUED FOR 
 ALL PORTS AS ABOVE 
 
 GALVESTON TO LIVERPOOL 
 
 TWICE A MONTH 
 DANIEL RIPLEY, Agent. GALVESTON. TEXAS 
 
 For rates and lurther particulars apply to 
 
 BOOTH & COMPANY 
 
 AGENTS 
 
 Rooivis 1711-12-13 white:ha.ll BUILDIIMG 
 17 BATTERY PLACE, - NEW YORK CITY 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 GRUNER & CO. CAIXA POSTAL No. 27 
 
 Telegraphic Address : " GRUNER " PARA 
 
 With Branch at MANAOS 
 
 DUSENDSCHOEN, ZARGES & CO. 
 
 Telegraphic Address: "ZARGES" Caixa Postal No. 6 A 
 
 Exporters of INDIA RUBBER and other Products of the jimazon 
 
 Private bankers, issuing drafts and letters of credit, undertaking collections, etc. 
 Representatives of : 
 
 HEILBUT, SYMONS & CO. POEL & ARNOLD 
 
 London & Liverpool New York, Boston & Akron 
 
 PONCIN, DUSENDSCHOEN & CIE. FLEISCHMANN & CO. 
 
 Paris & Bordeaux Antwerp 
 
 HERMANN MARCUS 
 Hamhurg 
 
 Agents and correspondents of numerous banks in all parts of the world doing business witb tbe Amazon countries. 
 
 Consignees of tbe steamers of the 
 Hamburg Amerika Linie Hamburg Suedamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft 
 
 Consulates of Germany and Holland 
 Codes used : ABC 4th & 5th Ed., Liebers, Ribeiro. 
 Out of 22,700 tons of India Rubber exported during the first half-year 1910 our share of export has been 7630 tons. 
 Out of 39.430 tons of India Rubber exported during the year 1909 our share of export has been 10,600 tons. 
 Out of 38.000 tons of Indian Rubber exported during the year 1 906 our share of export has been 8,240 tons, 
 idem 1907 37,500 t. 10.440 t. 
 
 idem 1906 34,770 t. 9,615 t. 
 
 idem 1905 33,900 t. 10,820 t. 
 
 NOTHING BUT GOOD 
 
 propositions enter into my business. 
 
 RUBBER LANDS 
 
 that will interest you. 
 
 Lands under cultivation and producing. 
 
 Other lands ready for improvements. 
 
 T>TT"Y"C'T>C Consult me in regard 
 AJ U M. X^lXvD to your requirements. 
 
 IMAXHAIMIEL IVI. LADD 
 
 Room 806, 257 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY, U. S. A. 
 
 CABLE ADDRESS: LAOLAND