Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1889-04-20
HUNTERS OF cAouTcHouc.
Tho Risks Run by Men in Quest Of III
Milk Snn.

Milky Sap.
The Yularoes, or rubber hunters Of
Costa RIGA are the most irresponsible and
ignorant OF creatures, whose first object,
when out on an expedition, is TO secure as
much caoutchouc as possible, and next to
damage the prospects of other Yularoes,
regardless of the future A thrifty tree at
it's first cutting ought to yield not less than
fifty pounds of rubber; but the hunters
of today find few SO profitable, unless
they penetrate far into the virgin for
ests, and are fortunate enough to dis
cover an entirely new district. In the
sections already worked most of the trees
have been tapped several times, and
many of them were spoiled at the outset
by having been cut too young because its
greedy discoverer feared that il the prize
were left to attain perfection another
might secure it. Were the matter regu-
lated by judicious laws, SO that only ma
ture trees might be tapped, and those not
to an extent to cause death, the produc-
ton of caoutchouc would soon be
source of wealth to the republic. The
Costa Rican government begins to be
alive to this fact, and has recently offered
extensive grants Of land to any who will
devote themselves to the culture of rub
Der trees. ert ia.H4
Among the inhabitants of Central
America the Yularoes form a distinct
class, by all odds the lowest in the coun-
try, unless it may be the Caribs of Guat-
emala or the pearl divers of the western
coast. They are mostly half breeds or
negroes, for white men 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 a cowboy
in genteel society or miller fresh from
his mill, not only by his general air of
dare devil don t-care-itiveness, but by
the thick coating of caoutchouc that
covers his clothing from head to foot.
This extra coating accumulates grad
ually by contact with the rubber trees,
without intention on the part of the
wearer, and i'll time renders his garments
absolutely waterproof and almost indie
structible.
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 pro-
vided with gun, a quantity of amnau-
milton, boat and sufficient supply of
salt, flour and pork to sustain him from
two to six months. All this is charged
to his account at the highest market
price, and in return he stipulates to sell
to this same accommodating dealer, at
some fixed sum per pound, all the caout
chouc he may collect during his trip.
A journey to the woods may occupy
weeks or months, according to the win
of the Yularo, 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 borrow, and all the
credit exhausted that he can obtain by
promises upon the next expedition. 1t is
not strange, however, that they are reluc-
tant to return to such dangerous exiles,
for under every leaf of the tropical for
est some venomous creature Is lurking,
and eternal vigilance is the price of safe
ty. The hunters life is little above that
of the wild beasts, whose howls make
night hideous around him, and he is con-
seen and unseen. Not only are there
hungry jaguars and pumas, wild bears
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; inmmerable bugs, beetles
and insects, many of them more danger
Gus than the RATHER of our northern
wilds, which at least gives some warming
of his intention to strike, while even
more to be feared than the monstrous
crocodiles of the lagoons and the enor-
nous serpents of hugging proclivities,
are the fevers that nightly stalk abroad,
with the noxious vapor of the terra
caliente
Aside from the scant rations he brings,
the Yularo's food consists mainly of wild
hogs, or such other animals as he may
be able to kill, eled out by tortillas, and,
as an occasional luxury, dish OF red
beans stewed in fat. Monkeys are con-
sidered the choicest of morceaux, par
ticularly the large red species, which are
as highly relished by the hunters as are
raccoons by southern darkies, or Thanks
giving turkeys by New Englanders.
The Yularo has no other implement
than short rope of cactus fiber, of his
own twisting, and huge machete-the
latter a rude sort of sword or knife which
every Central American who is engaged
in any out door occupation carries upon
all occasions. The hunter ties one end