Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-30
4 Woman Missionary Tells How tho
NnIiNea GnIInrI IL.


In the months OF March and April during
the rainy season one sees busy life in the
native towns of the French Congo, relates
the New York sun. The men are preparing
to go to the bush to cut rubber Every
women and child seems to have something
to dc, ana even the men do not lounge about
as usual. but are sharpening their knives
and machetes and putting their guns into
proper trim. The women are digging
casSava, and some of them are washing 1t
and preparing chiguanga or native bread.
Others are cleaning the cassava with knives
and Tying 1t into mattets made from palm
leaves. This kind Of cassava is roasted
over the fire and eaten warm, while the
bread Is eaten cold and Is mostly used on
the road. The men carry their guns so
they may kill the game which abCunds in
the forest.
When all is ready a drunken carousal and
dance are given the night before the start
by way of saying farewell to the villagers
left at home. Sometimes a good place with
plenty of rubber plants Is found after a
march of two or three days, but oftener the
journey takes week or more. In this case
the men keep carriers on the road with food
for them, because there is nothing to be had
in these parts with the exception of game.
The rubber in central Africa is not a tree
but vine, often three or four inches in
tallest trees, and the natives often use one
of the vine TO ascend the tree. After the
branches are reached, which in most cases
are at least fifty feet from the ground the
men proceed to cut the vines away at the
top, leaving only one for their descent and
this one, II possible, not a rubber vine 1t
seems strange that the natives cut away
the rubber plants and so destroy them in
stead OF tapping them, but they are too law
TO learn any other way.
After the vines have fallen they are cut
into lengths OF three or four feet, and the
juice Is collected into iron pots. This is a
tedious job. The piece of the vine is held
over the pot, first by one end, then by the
other until the juice ceases running. Then
the piece Is cut again TO get at any Juice
which may have been left in the middle
After pot is nearly full a rest is taken, and
this juice is boiled for nearly two hours, and
during the boiling process, is mixed with the
juice of other vines and some lime juice, so
that the mixture is more sticky and easier
formed into balls.
As soon as il cools down sufficiently to be
handled the hardening rubber is shaped by
winding II a5 first around a stick. After a
bit the stick Is pulled out and the ball is re-
balls weigh three pounds or more each In
others FIVE OF them make pound. The
purity OF the rubber depends much upon
how much other juice has been added. The
best and purest Is that obtained from the
juice without boiling. This is only found In
the shape OF bracelets, because the natives
wind the Juice as II runs out around their
wrist and let II dry there. When perfectly
dry 1t slips of easier This would be trans
parent rubber II the skin and fingers OF the
natives were not so very dirty.
The natives often used to put foreign sub
stances, such as small stones, palmnuts. and
little balls OF grass into tho rubber balls 10 |
make II heavy, They were soon found out !
and every bali Is now cut through the cen
Ter to reveal its mixture. often the rubber
is buried for some days because IL draws !
the moisture from the ground which adds |
10 the weight, Cheating is resorted TO be- |
cause the pay is so poor. II takes a party |
Df eight or ten men and boys six to eight |
weeks to gather from eighty to\lOO pounds of |
rubber The value OF this. II all Is first |
lass, is from 200 to $50 yards OF cotton cloth |
'r forty gallons OF rum or three or four |