The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-08-14
THE YULAROS.
CHARACTERISTICS or THE RUsBga
MEN or COSTA RIGA.
A Trip to the Woods-Going into Camp
1870. Gathering the Sap of the Kab-
Der Tree-coIlectins the
Coas ulated juice.
rsan Jose Cor. courier-Journal.l

fSan Jose Cor. Courier-JournaLl
Limon, a new town, from which q rail.
road is built to the interior, Is the only port
in Costa Rica on the Atlantic side Paris
NINA, small village on the coast half way
between Limon and Greytown, has, with
the rubber gatherers In its neighborhood,
several hundred inhabitants, all engaged In
some way in India rubber. From this dis
trict large quantity Of rubber is gathered
every year The greater part Of it is shipped
to Greytown, which alone formerly ex.
ported from 6o0oo to 10000 pounds per
month. These Yularos, or rubber men, are
generally fitted out by the traders on the
coast, with a gun and ammunition, a boat,
some lat meat, salt and -four. sufficient
for from one to six months, all Ut which Is
charged to them, and In return for which
the Yularo stipulates to sell all the rubber
collected during the trip to the trader at
some fixed price. They are all negroes or
half-breeds, no white men being engaged In
the business though it Is profitable where
new trees are encountered. They are gen.
orally the men of the worst class even of
their race
After each trip to the woods occupying a
few weeks or months as the case may be,
they return to the trading villages from
which they receive their outfits, not
to leave again until they have spent
all that they have made, be it
much or little, and exhausted all the credit
they can get by promises upon their next
venture in the wooiS They can at once be
known by the thick coating of rubber with
which their clothing. from head to foot, is
covered. This accumulates gradually and
without intention by constant contact with
the rubber tree, and in time renders every
fhav tap-
live lives OF extreme exposure, but little SUI
perior to the animals Of the forest by which
they are surrounded, wandering as they do
all day through the wood in quest of rubber
trees. and sleeping at night at their roots,
or at best with a shelter Of palm
leaves laid loosely on sticks over
their heads Their food Is mainly
wild hogs and such other animals
as they may be able to kill The monkey,
especially the large, rel species, is highly
esteemed by them as an article OF diet, az
indeed it is in many parts of Spanish
America, by both foreigner and natives of
tastes harder to satisfy than those of the
Yularo. They are generally expert hunters,
and though armed with guns a North
American would be afraid to shoot, are
often more successful than accomplished
sportsmen with the finest breechloaders
As soon as they arrive on the ground Sc
lected for their work, and a rough camp Of
poles and palm or wild plantain leaves 10
made, they set out in search Of rubber trees,
AMI as these are found, they climb them to
tho top Of the trunk by means OF a short
rope, which encircles both the man and the
tree. From here they commence cutting a
spiral channel through the bark and
around the tree a. they descend to
the ground. This is done with q machete, q
sharp knife or sword from twenty-four to
thirty inches In length, and which is in uni
versal use and constantly worn by nearly
every one in Spanish America Of any out
dor occupation. Through the cut thus
made the zap OF the tree, IL fully grown and
never cut before, flows abundantly down its
sides into the cans, or sometimes only pit
dug at the root to receive 1t. The sap can
not be better described as to its color, con-
sistency and general appearance than liken-
ing 1t to milk, or, perhaps more nearly still,
new cream. The blade Of penknife run
into the bark will cause for some time a
copious flow OF this milk, as the rubber men
call it. This Is coagulated with the juice of
wild vine something like that of the craps
which grows in all parts Of these forests,
and after few hours the milk becomes
solid cakes Of rubber fit for export
The parts which adhere to the tree, of
which there is always large quantity, are
after ward torn off and wrapped in bundles of
long stringy masses called berucha. This is
not as valuable as the solid cakes, though
much OF it Il also exported, being the pro-
duct more especially Of trees which have
been cut befora, and which have only q
small quantity Of sap The process Of rub
Der collecting Is different in Brazil and some
other countries, but this Is about as simple
one as can be devised, and Is in universal
use in this latitude A good tree from its
hrot cutting will perhaps yield fifty pounds
of rubber. though at present tn, Yularo, un-
less fortunate in discovering q new
district of uncut trees, finds but few
30 profitable, as perhaps largely
over half Of those worked have
been cut before, and some two or even three
times, and many are cut when too young
for the best yield for fear that some other
hunter may cross them and drain them OF
tbeir milk.
Could the collection Of rubber b. system
atized and only such trees as arrive at
maturity be cut, and then ~ an extent not
to cause death, the production of rubber
would be very lEuch larger. This, though,
however desirable seems impossible. as the
trees grow In public forests over which any
police surveillance Is difficult and is not even
attempted, while the rubber hunters are all
irresponsible and improvident men who try
to get all they can during each hunt The
government has recently offered grants of
and 20 tho.e who would plant trees on them,
hnt few So far have taken advantage Of this
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