The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1881-03-11
Gathering India Rubber in Africa.

| VuthCtluB Anuih huDDCi IN hiihSas
Having passed fully three years on
the southwest coast of Africa, rs trader
for an English firm, will endeavor TO
describe the manner in which india
rubber is procured in that country, as
india rubber formed the staple produce
Of the district where ! was located.
The natives are in very rude, un-
civilized condition. They have no cur
reucy, and do all business By bartering
the native products for manufactured
stuffs. Their wealth consists chiefly
in the number of slaves they possess,
who fish, hunt and keep their plania-
tions In good order.
When rubber has to be collected from
four totem slaves get their flint muskets
in order, each carrying, in addition, a
long sword-shaped knife called a ma
chete, number of calabashes or jars to
collect the juice of the rubber vine and
little food that has been cured in
smoke, as they can find plenty Of sus-
tenauce in the bush without carrying it
about with them from place to place.
The vines are in some cases near to
the towns, but generally the natives
have to 90 several days journey into
the bush before they can sit down and
commence business. The vine itself is
of rough, knotty nature, about as
thick rs mans arm, and grows TO a
length of fully two hundred feet. Its
leaves are glossy, like those OF the
South American rubber tree, and a
large fruit, much liked by the natives,
is gathered from it. / have tasted it,
and found it very palatable, being
slightly acid. This vine (what its
scientific name is / don't pretend to
know yields several grades of rubber,
each of different commercial value, the
best quality being taken from the high
est part, and the poorest from the bot.
tom.
With their knives, or machetes, the
natives slash the vine in several places,
and put broad leaves directly under
meath the wounds for the juice TO drop
on, and which, being of strong, ad-
hesive nature, none Oft gets lost. When
the top part of the vine is bled, Gala
bashes, or jars, are placed with their
openings to the wounds, SO that none OF
it may drop on the branches of the
tree, and 80 get lost; but it Is not often
they trouble themselves climbing, un-
less the vines happen to be scarce in the
vicinity. The entire day they devote to
cutting; next day they gather what was
cut the day previous, and so on. Eack
evening, after collecting, they put all
the Juice they have into several iron
pots, OF earthen vessels of native manu-
facture, and boil it; at the same time
they can greatly improve the lowest
quality by adding little salt, and the
more they boil the juice the bet
ter it becomes. When sufficiently
boiled the water is poured of and the
Juice is allowed to cool, when it is fash
ioned according to the grade-ball, flake,
mixed, or tongue-and is ready for the
market. In this way about twenty or
thirty pounds day is generally col
lected. 1t is then taken to the factory,
and there exchanged for guns, cloth,
rum, etc. When it is received at the
factory it is carefully marked, classed,
weighed, and put into casks for ship
ment. 1t contains 30 much water that
twenty per cent. is deducted from the
weight of each cask, as that is about the
amount of shriDkage on the voyage.
This is, however, loss to the native.
as it is deducted from him when selling.
This vine, from my personal observa-
tion, is to be found in the south, but
along the coast line it is rapidly becom-
ing extinct, as the natives are so careless
or rapacious that in many cases they
completely sever the vine, thus killing
it, instead OF simply bleeding it.-PabIic
Era