Morning journal and courier., 1888-10-16

pearl d1VerS or the western coast. They are mostly half-breeds or negroes, for white men l seldom engage in it, though the business might be made extremely profitable. A Yularo can be distinguished at glance from natives of other professions" as easily as 8 cowboy in genteel society, or miller fresh
 from his mill, not only by his general air of daredevil don't-care-itiveness, but by the
 thick coating of caoutchoue that covers his
 clothing from head to foot. This extra coat
 ing aceumulates gradually by contact with
 the rubber trees, without intention on the
 part of the wearer, and in time renders his
 garments absolutely waterproof and almost
 indestructible.
 The hunters are fitted out by the shrewd
 traders of Parismina, much as American
 miners used to be supplied with "grub
 stake" in their search for precious metals.
 Each Yularo is provided with a gun,
 quantity of ammunition, boat and a sufa-
 cient supply of salt, four and pork to sus-
 tain him from two to six months. All this
 is charged to his account at the highest mar
 kst price, and in return he stipulates to sell
 to this same accommodating dealer, at some fixed sum per pound, all the caoutchoue he
 may collect during his trip.
 A journey to the woods may occupy weeks or months, according to the will of the Yul- arc; after which he returns to the village,
 not to leave it again till the last cent Is spent which he has earned or can beg, steal or bor- row, and all the credit exhausted that he can obtain by promises upon the next expedi-, tion. It is not strange, however, that they are reluctant to return to such dangerous e6- lies, for under every leaf of the tropical for est some vsnomous creature is lurking, and eternal vigilance is the price of safety. The ! hunters life is little above that of the wild beasts, wkose howls make the night hideous around him, and he is constantly exposed to thousand perils, seen and unseen. Not only are there hungry jaguars and punas, ! wild boars and other powerful animals, but ! more to be dreaded are the deadly reptiles, some of them no longer than your hand. There are tiny lizards, the exact color of the leaves under which they hide, whose | bite is fatal; innumerable bugs, beetles and insects, many of them more dangerous | than the ratt1er of northern wilds, ! which at least gives some warning of his intention to strike, while, even more to be feared than the monstrous crocodiles of the lagoons and the enormous ssrpents of hug \ ginR proelivities, gre tha levers that nightly stalk abroad with the noxious vapor of the terra caliente.
 | Aside from the scant 1ations he brings, the Yularo's food consists mainly of wild hogs, ! or such other animals as he may be able to ! kill, eked out by tortillas, aud, as an occa- l sional luxury, dish of red beans stewed in ! fat. Monkeys are considered the choicest of l morceaux, particularly the large red species, which highly relished by the hunters | as are raecoons by southern darkies, or Thanksgiving turkeys by New Englanders. The Yularo has no other implement than @ ! short rope of cactus fibre, of his own twist | ing, and huge maehete-the latter rude | sort of sword or knife which every Central ! American who is engaged in any out-of- door ! occupation carries upon all occasions. The hunter ties one end of the rope around his i waist, throws the other over the lower branches and scrambles up the tree, maehete ! in hand. Having reached convenient limb
 he secures himself by means of the rope and proceeds to make an incision in the tree, from l which-gradually letting himself downward E-he cuts deep channel through the thick ] bark, around the trunk to the ground. In I most cases the careless fellow cuts much deeper than is necessary, thereby ruining the ! future usefulness of the tree; for if pen- l knife, or even pin, be thrust into thrifty l young tree the milk" spurts out in copious flow.
 The yeilowish- white juice resembles good I rich cream more nearly than anything else
 If the tree is fully grown and has never be
 fore been tapped the sap will flow from ! the incision in streams, and running down
 the channel, is received into a pit dug at she
 roots. The fluid is generally ooagulated witt the sap of wild vine somewhat resembling ! the grape, which overgrows all these tangled | forests, and acts the part of rennet to chees
 l curd or fmother" pulque to maguey juice
 for after it's addition the milk is soon hard
 I ened into solid cakes of India rubber al | ready for transportation.