Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-10-03

| so IL was his once tneN W'i' "i''i. H'
| happened 20 be down the river MINER ~
| tho time. so there was no one present
| Who tool, any particular interest In the
anair. Meeting no opposition, the mob
rad little 10 do but break The windows,
| make speeches, and go away again. NO
! American nag was found 20 tear up or
| tralnpie upon so that an Insult TO the
| national emblem did not enter into the
programme And all this time the VIII
| mington was calmly stcaming UP me
/ river.
Next day. when the Federal govern
| mont OF Brazil learned wharf had hap
pcned. apologies were pronercd with the
| utmost haste, and detailed Information
| was autographed up the river TO the ef-
feet that the mission OF the Wilmington
I was a peaceful one. undertaken with the
/ fun permission and approval OF the au-
| thoriues. If the incident had not ended
/ when n did. the result might have been
! much more serious. and the Wilmington
! would have had chance TO night herself
| out OF a situation quite NJ trying as mat
/ day az Cardenas. No one can doubt mat
| the vessel would have given q good ac-
! count OF herself, with her light draught
ugly fighting top. and heavy stern
chasers Queer az she looks she is just
as well adapted for the Amazon as for
/ the shallow rivers OF China, for which
she was planned
Brazilian boatmen ON the Amazon do
/ not lack energy Of one sort IL there Is
! profit in IL. Mr. Falls last journey down
| the river when starting for England
/ furnished evidence. lie had been far
| above Manaos. visiting various trading
] posts where he was well known. and
| different traders had given him parting
| present. Most of these were fine turtles,
| Weighing from $50 TO 300 pounds each
| AS each one was presented, Mr.. Fan
! chalked his initials on the shell ana took
/ 70 aboard the little steamer on which
/ he was travelling. AT last nearly thirty
/ turtles had been accumulated, and he was
pleased 10 think how ne would distribute
/ them among his friends further down
! the river and in Para, where they are
/ scarcer and OF more value.
A few hours after leaving Manaos on
! the downward Journey one Of the deck
hands came TO the cabin and reported
! that o. turtle had died, Mr. Fan went
below. saw the dead turtle, heaved a
| sigh of regret, and ordered IL thrown
| overheard. over the side it went and
he returned 10 his chair above.
| The day had not advanced far when
another report Of the same sort came up.
Mir. Fan went below. saw his defunct
property thrown overheard, and resumed
/ his station on the upper deck. A rev
| hours later the programme was repeated.
/ Day after day the turtles died and were
| thrown into the muddy Amazon. Inc
/ owner was discOnsOlate when he found
I less than a dozen remained out OF line
! fine lot with which lac had started, ana
/ ne could not account for the remarkable
/ mortality in turtles. IL seemed a. u
none would be left when he reached Para.
On the last day OF the voyage Mr.. Fan
/ was standing at the after rail or the
upper deck. looking down into the river.
/ Not many yards astern he saw dis
/ turbance in the water, AMI then the smell
! OF turtle cana 10 the surface. IL RAPID
/ IL overlook the steamer, rose out OF the
! water. dangled q moment at the end OF
q rope. ana then disappeared on the deck
/ below IL was a dead turtle.
one turtle had died on that voyage. lie
/ had been thrown overheard some twenty
times. with a rope carefully attached,
and each time had been brought aboard
again. while one IF the live turtles was
/ seouestereI elsewhere on the steamer.
! vigorous demand and search on The
/ part of Mr.. Fall resulted III finding his
/ colony Of turtles fourishing iu reth q
ment. each marked with his initial where
! he he'd Chalked il some days before. But
! the crew protested ignorance Of the al
/ fair. and no solution was attempted Oh
/ the mystery
/ We have been hearing OF late years
/ that the carelessness of gathering the
/ rubber crop was destroyip- the trees ID
! such number that the yield was dimin-
/ Ishing. and that rubber plantations would
/ have 10 be formed to encourage the pro-
duction OF that essential tree. Mr.. Fan
! declares that there Is no foundation
whatever for this belief, except the de-
| sire of those who have Mexican and
/ Central American rubber schemes TO SELL
/ He admits that the Brazilian natives are
careless. and could save the trees much
more than they do but he declares that
! I'm spite Of this fact nature IS gaining on
man. and the rubber forests are In
/ creasing instead Of diminishing. lie says
/ that enormous tracts yet untouched are
Immediately accessible from the Amazon
and the centres of the trade, and that
l the forests nov sought for the necessary
rubber supply are slight i'm extent COM
pared with the whole.
The mortality among the Brazilians who
/ harvest the gum is frightful. Several
steamers are chartered to take these
/ lalborers from the lower river 10 the
rubber country at the proper season, ana
/ hardly half as many are needed for those
who return. But their earnings are good
and the return Of those who have their
rockets full OF money IS more IMPRESSIVE
than the absence Of those who will never
come back and each year the number
is recruited with little difficulty. PRINT
tive conditions Of life in the forest
cruel climate. and carelessness Of per-
sonal habits unite TO encourage the fear
ul death rate in this labor.
The rubber season and the Brazil nut
season are at different times Of the year,
SO that one business-house can combine
the Industries Mr.. Fall handles more
than half the Brazil nut crop and has
done so for many years, so that he might
be expected to be fond OF that dainty
lie tells me, however, that he never
tastes them, even to sample nut out OF
the thousands Of tons which he handles.
Young Engishmen, Germans, and
Americans who 90 to Brazil in commer-
cIal enterprises on the upper Amazon find
the climate very trying, and many OF
them die i'm the epidemics Of fever. We
mad a young man aboard who was going
! from New York to Santos 10y way OF
London to enter the coffee-exporting
/ agency OF J. W Doane g. Co., Of Chicago.
| He was more than relieved TO learn that
the climatic conditions around Santos