The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-04-18

#T64HH
puts An equal profit for himself ON the pric,
q tho provisions. Tho freight ID ado M
iieht matter, 10 that the rubber Rnthersi
hhs 70 pay two, thrae or four times tho Par,
price TOT tho plainest nauasHttiss OF life, III
- q wondsr that the missrAbly fed swamu
laDOrar can live ut NIL.
KIT he does. Hs rolls ont OF hia ham
MOCK as soon AZ u IL light In tbs morning
thGas bis ,guip Of rum Aad uAiabash 81
nolles, and starts ont to visit his rubbei
traes. Ho sometimes wears q shurt pair ol
pfeaehfs. and occasionally 4 shirt. III
goes barefoot, for he must wxds through
.ns swamp mud and oozs Of the tide up 10
~ kheea, y often up TO his waist In
water. 10 takes 4 basket full Of sarthsn-
ware gu cups, : hunk Of adhesive clay, and
q little narrow hlAdsd hstshat.
iI ne adopts the most approved method
OF tapping the treas, h. reaches O. high an
70 can with his hAtvhst, making IN Incl
slon IN the bark, but not reaching through
70 the weod. The milk i'm mauiatslv begins
to issus in rapid drops or littls streams.
with . apht Of tho adhesive clay he inme-
d1ntei.y fastens one Of his litsls pill slay
cups JUST below the bleeding Qagk, and
mods tho CLAY 70 ~ to mako al Tho rubber
mllk now into tho aup. Three Suoh gashes.
q equal distances around shs tree, ana at
eqnal helght, Is ths rule. TLs next day he
VIII make three more gnahss in the same
way, just Q little below these three, and 20
continue until by the snd Of the season he
VIII nave reached tina ievel OF tho ground,
Each OF his 100 or 100 treea ID treated in tho
Sans way, and he returns home after hav-
INK travelled from three to five miles, bare
and alrnost naked, through thorny
and misunderstanding swnmps.
When he reaches his hus again no takes
another Rulp from his d%emiiohn, snAtohes a
breakfast Of salt fish and mandioca meal,
which are often moldy from the fosking
OF tha swamp. and then starts out
again with his oalabnsh buckets to gather
the milk, which by this tins has ceased to
Ills gill cups are full, or nearly 50,
and when he reaches home he has milk
enough to make four kilos Of rubber, ON an
average. The next task il this coagulation
Of the milk. For this purpose he has a jug
shaped furnace, made Of earthsnware.
called . boiso, open Mt bottom and top, and
9 small aperture at the side to admit
air for the combustion. III this piece
81 furniture ho builda a IRE, or rather q
gmudRs, with the nuts OF the inaia or uru-
palm. The dense black smoke which
rolls from tho open top of the boiao is the
rsaRent which ooapulates the milk. For
his purpose the rubber gatherer has
q . oanoe, which he smears
will not adhere to it. This is sus-
pended by means Of q cord from tho limb
= tree just abOvs the smudQs. The milk
. poured over the blade Of a paddle, which
. then turned over and round about in the /
'moke, and in = few moments the 6lm Of
:abbsr j. ooaRulatsd. The same process is |
Of waiting with milk and smoking
growing lump until il reaches the weight
II fRsm five to twenty-five kilos or more,
lhsn it il stripped off from the paddle IA a
nitten il pulled off from ones hand. This
pail 10 the crude rubber Of mnnerce. If
ne ooagulatinR has been carefully lone it
. line" rubber; if carelessly done, andths
all on being ont open at the exporting
rarsho7se shows signs Of poorly coagulated
nilk or slight mixtures Of foreign sub
tanoes. such RS mandioca meal, it is classl-
I'D a. 'lniddlinR dne'' (entrefna). The1e
) also q coarser grade still. called sernnm-
7. the native Indian word for 'shells."
craps and bits that have dried
coaRalation proper, especially
ls Innings that form in the little earthen-
are cups and in tbs calabashes ndbuck-
ts used in handling tbs milk, az also the
that run down the trees from ac-
wounds. These are All rolled to-
sthsr in q mass. and would bring as good
leaves and other rubbish that manage
innocently" to stow thomsolves away ii
10 lump. u%.@E. %@.%
And this goes on four or five months at q
me, year in and year out. The trader is
10 slave OF his master in the city, and the
vamp lsboror is the slave of the trader.
ftsr the first year onch one is indebted TO
~ master, and the debt ID mover paid, but
sing paid forever. The system ID a bad
through and through. but it will never
, changed till some new method of coaR-
.atinR the milk is discovered. and groves
rubber trees in accessible local ties take
e place of swamps in the center of dense
rests. i