Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-18
GETTING OUT MAHOGANY.
Money in the business, With Hard and
Dangerous Work.

From the New Orleans Picayune.
Mr.. Fl. Schneider of Nicaragua is stop
ping at the Hotel Royal. The gentleman is
an extensive exporter Of mahogany from
the country. where he has resided for the
past few years, and where he has amassed
a competence in shipping that particular
and valuable wood.
Mahogany is a very valuable wood but
is hard to get out OF the forests where II
grows" he said to a reporter last night
However, it pays if one goes at it right,
and knows how to manage the business.
The way go about the work of getting
out mahogany logs is, first, to get a con-
cession from the Nicaraguan government
You must stand in as they say in the
United States, If you get a concession, but
an enterprising citizen from any country
can go there and establish himself in the
favor of the officials, and If he has a good
record at home as a man able to tend to
business they grant him a privilege But
that Is only the beginning of the trouble
one has in cutting and exporting the wood
You then proceed to make bargains with
the natives to cut and haul logs out of the
forests. If you treat them kindly they will
work for you for time at the least. The
best Indian labor costs about fifty cents per
to work. as they live on fruits, and can
sustain themselves without labor of any
trying kind. Half Of the year is called the
rainy season, and 1t runs from May to
October 1t Is then so wet that one finds
1t impossible to get out any timber and no
one will work for you during the wet sea-
son. When the dry season opens We COM
mence operations, and IL we can get
enough labor we succeed, but we have to
be careful with them, they become easily
misled and often think we are taking some
advantage of them. When they become con-
WINGED that something is wrong whether
they nave cause to believe that such is the
case or not, they get angry, and the feel
ing spreads among all the tribes. The
woods are SO dense and the work so try-
ing on men brought there from other coun-
tries that they cannot stand 1t. and there
is no profit in paying them what they re-
quire to risk their lives among the snakes
and In the Swamps where the mahogany
grows. When the timber is cut we haul
cart especially made for the purpose. 1t is
very slow process, but 1t is the only prac-
tlcabie way to get the timber out There
are 4oo and 900 logs to the acre. and the
price of the wood Is so high partly because
the timber is so hard to obtain"
What Is the price of mahogany?'
Inc average price Of a good mahogany
log Is SIS sell very few logs in the United
states, and my principal market is in
france. There ship practically all my
timber. The price is better in France, and
the money Is paid as soon as the logs ar
rive in port. There are not as many for
tunes in mahogany as some people imagine,
as the wood is too difficult to draw from the
tangled forests Of Nicaragua When a
man from the north goes to Nicaragua he
stands the climate very we'll for a wear
and Is very energetic, and wonders at the
spirit OF laziness that prevails among all
the people. But after awhile he Is over
come by the climatic conditions and gets
lazy and is unable to work three good hours
don't he
mahogany business is very pretty tn taIl
about and very nice In theory, and even in
price, but great deal Of the fancy profit
that apparently accrues on logs is lost in
the Tune ana expense one Is required to I'M
dergo to get the logs out and carry them to
the Ships - --N W