Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1880-02-25
Gathering Caoutohouo

hat that We can we'll pull down over our
ears. Ii will be we'll for each to carry a
staH aud q machSts, too. The Mnchs;s Is
a broad heavy knife We must also be
very careful not to touch with our hands
any tree, branch, vine or plant, a. We
may grasp some singing insect, or
thorns which may not only TO very
sharp, but poisonous as we'll. remem-
ben once, to keep from falling, seizing a
bush called ehiehIcasiS, which filled my
hand with minute thorns, each produ-
cling q SENSATION like the sting vi a wasp.
The v pain lasted for about q quar-
ter OF an hour, but it was weeks before
the thOrns ceased TO annoy me, being so
small that | could not extract them.
We may see on our way some wild ami
mails and some very beautiful birds.
Monkeys are IN great abundance. One
kind, called bowling monkeys, make a
noise which sounds more like the roar OF
a lion or tiger than anything else, and is
quite startling the first time you hear it,
though the monkeys themselves are
harmless enough. Parrots. macaws,
parOquets, toucans and many other
birds, ARE TO he seen almost any
day. There are also pumas called the
American liOn), ounces. and two or
three varieties Of tiger cats; but all
these are afraid Of man, and generally
keep out OF sight. We may come upon
a band OF wild hogs, which, il in any
Observation-Disclosures will hardly deign 10
get out OF our way but instead Of grunt-
ing like the domestic hoy, will express
their dissatisfaction by champing their
jaws together.
We let the hunter take the lead, as
be has a keen eye for snakes. We shall
bud numberless insects, any mount Of
briers and thorns, aud altogether it will
be anything but u pleasant walk.
We shall not have gone far without
realizing that the Journey is a very dii-
hcult one, and without opening our
eyes with amazement at the wonderful
forest. There are multitudes OF
different kinds of trees growing close to.
gether, and some Of them are enormous
" large, so large that in this country
each one would be an object OF curios-
ity. The rest OF the trees range from
these huge fellows down To the merest
shoots, and from them hang perfect net
works OF Clinging vines Of all sizes, from
that vi a Kite string to that OF a good
sized cable. / have seen the vines from
fifty toa hundred feet long, no larger
than a Of your fingers, but 81 tough
aud flexible that they are used by the
natives for all purposes for which We
would use ropes, cords, or string. They
also are used for several other purposes,
house-building, for instance, being one
Of them, though you might think it a
stretch Of the imagination to call their
structure a house. But ii is, at least, u
h~abitatiOn, and in the building OF it
there Is not u SINGLE nail used-the side,
the ridge pOles and the rafters being
tied in place with vines, and the thatch
tied ON to them with the same. The
natives declare that the vines will last
and be as good as ever after 4 nail, in
their damp climate, would have rustcd
away. Whether that be true or not,
it is well hat they think so, for vines
are TO DO had for the gathering, while
nails arr very expensive. Worse, II
anything, than the vines in the forests,
is the underground, consisting Of canes,
bushes, weeds. several varieties Of caC.
tus and other thOrn-bearing plants,
Spanish bayonet and numerous plants
very much like il. Some Of them are
very valuable for their fbcrs, but all are
very difficult To travel through, being
Interlaced and matted together. You
can readily beliyc it no small labor to
work your way along, tO say nothing OF
the snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, and
other disagreeable things that you may
meet.
You would imagine that lew men
would be willing To undertake quite
such severe work, but so large are the
rcturnsin money when aman is OTdlnar-
lis successful, that plenty are ready to
90, ami indeed large numbers make 1t
their only occuPtion, going into the
woods, and remaining one, two aud even
three months at 4 time, according to the
luck they have.
All this WI find out on our way
through the tanglc, following rs closely
as possible at the heels OF our rubber
hunter. We are very hot and tired by
the time W. reach the tree, but We sit
down on anything We al ind,-a
stumu or log,-whilc Jaun, our hunter
friend, proceeds to tap his tree.
Jauu makes with the HUuch,ts, low
down upon the trunk OF the tree, two
deep scores, InCllnIug downward, and
coming together ut a very Obtuse angle,
lust below which lac secures "a little gut
ter made Of piece OF split cane lie now
makes, higher up, other scores, all lead
INK into the first two. Taking hold OF
some Of the pendent vines, he manages
" climb twenty or thirty feet high,
scoring and mutilating the tree most
irarlully. We conclude that with such
treatment "a this the tree will not last
many seasons, judiCiouslv tapped, 1t
would Weld twice a year for many
years, but IN order 10 get a little more
each time, these imprOvidcnt peoplec cut
the bark up so badly, that in a few sea
sons the tree is ruined.
Tho sap, or milk, begins To ooze ut
oncr, and runs down into the pan
placed To receive it, though We observe
1auu is likely To obtain considerable
Ld-ucld from the name IN which he
has arranged his scores, and particular
Ia from The height to which hc
has extcndud them. The appearance
of the sap is like that ui
r,ch cream, and, II left g.
itself. n would be days before it became
solid. but Juan soon finds a vine called
alLurlg. and sap OF this vine hc mlnglcs
with the milk this has the effect OF CO.
asulaung il, or making 1t solid, ina short
time. 10 that in the coursc OF a day 1t
viii lie ready to be removed, though 1t
will be some time longer before the
E,ggrLI i hard enough To- be stripped
from the tree. slowly the rubber, by
~rxposurct 10 the air, turns black, a YOU
generally SEE tt r. Lii, "a ~
NirL.iis fer March
Important Labor Negotiations
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