The Republican journal., 1898-01-27
costa Rica's lndia-Rubber.

rARIsMINA, COSTA RIGA, Dec. 9th. As
.ta election of India rubber is an i'm
-tant industry of eastern Costa Rica,
nj. teIt in duty bound to find out some
.,. about it, from personal observation.
r.. path of duty is proverbially thorny,
,-a ours during the past week has been
81, ,ph indeed, though full of interest. At
near the mouth of all the large rivers
3D. .ntral America that flow into the Car
.al4sn sea, some trader, either English or
.resican, is doing f1ourishng business.
bungalow is fitted up as shop
,.. stocked with blankets, unbleached
,1,iu. canned goods, jerked meat,
uudensed milk, coffee sugar, tobacco,
..lH. gun powder, rope, machetes, and
similar articles necessary to the trade.
wien the unsophisticated Indian from
.L. uterior has collected canoe load of
produce, such as caoutehouc (raw
..Urrl. vanilla beans, sarsaparilla,
feathers, the tawny and notified
If jaguars and pumas, and perhaps
gold in dust or nuggets-he pays
.-. Ia the trader and an exchange of
m0 Titles is effected. To be sure the
r4u gets very little for his wares-not
If their real value, and cash plays
. part in the transactions; but he
dispose of his rubber, skins, etc,
qther way, and the little taste he
ri semi civilization is worth much
u ON the other hand, the trader
r1t nut himself off from his kind for
r...4 In due course of time he ships
pduce to New \ olk or London and
a a neat little profit of 800 per cent
. and the fortune he quickly accumu-
is sufficient recompense for few
f~ exile at the edge OF the jungle, with
snakes, monkeys, Indians and dead
uiaSmas for company. Most of the
chants are large employers of labor in
say of mahogany cutters and rubber
.-ctoIs. His men, Indians and Caribs
al -y bind themselves to the patron
certain period and become practical
,erts--for the laws regulating these
zos matriculados," as they are called,
a.. very severe and strictly enforced. The
faron," or master, fits out his men
t4e expedition, much as North Amer
.n miners used to be supplied with
rub stake in their search for precious
metals. Rubber hunters are here called
.ueroS or yularos. Each is supplied
D gun, ammunition, boat, the i'm
ements necessary to his work, and
enough salt, meal and pork to sustain
ina from two to six months. In return
T these favors. advanced gratis, the
0a1erS bind themselves to be diligent
4ud to return with the fruits of their
,lr 1T the expiration of the term. When
get back-if the snakes and pumas
iaguals and miasmas have spared
4 to return-each man must hand over
half of all the rubber he has collect
go the patron" and sell him the re-
uler at the current market price, less
No. value Of the GRUB stake at the
der own reckoning. Even that small
lion Of the profits of his toll and dan
is seldom paid to him in cash. but in
ODDS, tmeaning rum and tobacco
s'ly) and consequently all the evils of
truck system are rampant
lbs pursuance OF our quest for informa-
.u We came down to Parismina, a small
Nlst town in the very heart of the rub
district, midway between Limon and
eytown, the latter being on the line be-
zen Costa Bica and Nicaragua. Paris
fl.l IA. small coast Town, the terminus OF
new railroad, is the head centre of
sta klca S rubber trade. and Greytown
S principal port of shipment The
-4t or nine hundred Inhabitants of the
mer are all connected in one way or
aptl er with the rubber trade, and every
.4ing reeks and smells of it. We went up
-e Parismina river, 20 miles or so, and
Ien struck OIL into the forest short dis
'ance, to the nearest rubber camp. Our
escort vas an American, one of the prin-
pal traders of the section, with his wife
and two Indian mozos, and the convey
7nce was long, slim dug out AS usual.
7e started at the first glimmer of dawn
Z, after hasty almuerzo of bread and
otfee; and long to be remembered was
The dim passage of the rivera veritable
NJyx in the half-light under overhanging
ranches, with the black forest crowdng
lose on either side. Arriving at the
point of debarkati0n about a. m. we en-
oyed breakfast ashore in true gypsy fash
ion-keeping sharp eye out the while
nor probable snakes and possible pumas-
And never are rations quite so we'll relish
I'd as when eaten al fresco, after long
ow, the piece de INSTRUMENTATION
monkey steak, guinea pig, or what not
poked on the point of a maehete held
'yer a bush fire.
We were in luck-for rubber hunters
h@Vlng path already provided for us
through the jungle. The camp we visit
ed was an old one, and only three or four
miles from the river bank; but so appar-
"ntly impenetrable is the dense wall of
}tgetatlOu on either side the narrow trail