The herald., 1898-02-06

| Very practical jokes are, however,
not unknown, as the following will
| demonstrate. BY way of appreciation,
| however, it is necessary to premise
little, Acayucan, the county seat. Is
situated some seven or eight leagues
from San Juan Evangelsta, and GER
| tain amount of rivalry exists between
the two places. San Juan people con-
slider the Acayucanites a trifle lazy and
| lacking in enterprise. The people of
lAcayucan, on the other hand, decry San
Juan as an unhealthy place and extol
| the climate of their own town. Not
long since a commission of government
engineers was sent to this part of the
country to survey the line for short
railway. The people of Acayucan de-
| cded to give them q grand welcome.
| The commission, however had to go by
way of San Juan, reaching that place
first. They were expected by the Acay-
ucan people to arrive on a certain date.
Shortly before this gang of very dirty
gypsies arrived at San Juan, and after
| telling the fortunes of all the clients they
could get gave out that they intended to
go to Acayucan. This was the oppor-
| tunity of lifetime for the San Juan
people, so they concocted a story, TAX
ing the telegraph operator into their
confidence. They gravely informed the
chief of the gypses that the Acayucan
| people were consumed with impatience
| for their arrival that their fortunes
might be told, and that if they would
leave that day at a certain time they
would take up a small subscription to
help them on their way. They then
wired the village notary or some other
| functionary that the commission had
arrived and would start Immediately for
Acayucan, and that as an act of courtesy
they would send herald little in ad-
vance, who would blow his horn, a conch
shell, as soon as he reached a little
bridge which spans small creek at
the outskirts of the village. The ap-
proach is quite sudden, everything being
hidden by dense lines of mango trees,
thus most favorable for a successful de-
nouement. Sure enough at the expected
time the note of warning was heard by
the Acayucan people, who turned out en-
masse, led by the jefepolitico, alcalde and
other functionaries, while a brass band
played appropriate music. Presently
the tattered outfit arrived, much aston
ished at what was going on. The hoax,
HOWtNcl, dliuOSl lllllItQlattly dW Itd
on the now enraged Acayucanites, who
received the gypsies with kicks and
cuffs, ordering them off to Oluta under
pain of immediate lock up in the carcel
for vagrancy should they fail to move
off promptly. Meantime the overjoyed
San Juan people lay back under their
portales consumed with fiendish delight.
From San Juan upwards the country
rises, stretching away on both sides of
the Trinidad in ranges of hills of no
great height. AT San Juan EVangelista
the river divides the Colorado and the
Trinidad together being the San Juan.
Nearly all American or English settle
ment in this region Is confined to the
! Trinidad river district, some forty set
| tiers being engaged in coffee raising
| principally, though rubber, cacoa and
vanilla is receiving some attention.
| Rubber and vanilla are indigenous in
| this district. At San Juan steamer navi-
CATION ends as in operation at present,
and horses, mules or canoe enable one
to penetrate for long distances. as well
defined trails lead off to many villages
in the interior Throughout this whole
region are to be found the remnants of
the once fine rubber forests, now nearly
exhausted. Few large trees are seen,
the Indian for the last quarter of a CEN
tury ruthlessly destroying all large ones
in search of the precious gum, girdling
them and tapping them to death, car
ing nothing for the future of the tree
so long as all the gum could be extracted
at one or two tappings. Similar reck-
less treatment has diminished the out
put of the accessible forests of Brazil
and Central America until the serln-
guiros, or rubber gatherers, have been
compelled to push into the far interior
of Bolivia hundreds of miles from the
coast Owing to this we have seen the
steady rise in cost of this most i'm
portant article from nominal figures to
nearly a dollar pound. Careful returns
show that the worlds consumption of
India rubber in 1896 exceeded 100, ,000, 900
pounds, worth more than $50 900, 900, this
while the demand is steadily increas-
ing and natures supply diminishing
AS yet the cultivation of rubber is in it's
infancy, but we are compelled to accept
it as offering the only solution for the
worlds future supply, and even at half
the present price the profits must be
enormous.
For the first few leagues after ieav-
ing San Juan the country is rolling, of
a somewhat gravelly formation. Many
oaks are seen, remarkable circum-
stance in the tropics, at elevations under
1000 feet above the sea. In this connec-
ton, as an evidence of the richness of
the sylvia, no less than twenty eight
species of quercus are accredited to the
state of Vera Cruz. Orchids are very
common on the oaks, the rough bark
forming suitable medium for their
roots. A few lycastes occur, and many
epidendrums and orecidiums, some with
snowy flowers. In this district prickly
palm is very common. a species of
astrocaryum.
Rising gradually some open country
is reached, when a magnificent view is
disclosed. Glorious forest land stretch
ing away for leagues toward the majes-
tic Coatzocoalcos. Occasionally we
startle the faisan real a fine gallina-
ceous bird with white meat like a
turkey, and dressing about eight pounds.
and smaller species. Further up in the
hills the peccary is found running in
droves. 1t resembles a small hog and
it's flesh is very palatable. One has to
stalk near some stream where they may
come for water. This is easily known by
the many foot marks on some sandy
playa bordering the stream. They are
timid and inoffensive except when
xyonnded when theV will charge and