The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-10-29
An AMERICAN MINERS
VIEWS ON COLOMBIA
THEY SEEM TO TRY TO coLLEc,
PANAMA INDEMNITY FROM
INDIVIDUAL AMERICANS.
(New York SUM

New York SUM
ut is not for me to be saying how
much more than the $4,000, 900 the
United States proposes to pay Colon.
bia that modest country would grab of
II 1t had chance" said a New Yorker
who has been down there along the
Magdalena river valley prospecting
"But l am willing to say how much
individual Colombians will grab off Of
the helpless foreigners they get in
their clutches who have business
there and have to stay there to look
after 1t.
"Of course transportation is the
chief expense and the steamboat com.
panies on the Magdalena and ITS
branches owned by Colombians and
principally under German manage.
ment, seemed to want to get out Of
Americans all they think we possibly
could owe them for the Panama trans
action. Fare on the boats to Ell Dor
ado, say 500 miles up the river and
half as long coming down as going up,
is $50 in gold each way and no ex-
cursion rates. Once I had occasion
to make trip requiring a day and
half up river and about three hours
down-boats never run at night. the
fare being So. Going up ! got forr or
five meals, but coming down diant
get anything except passage, and the
fare was the same.
No Refund on That Line.
another time was booked to go
from Caceres to Porto Valdevia on the
Cauca river, fare 1880. The water
was low and starting out late in the
afternoon We went about 100 yards
and stuck in a bend in the river We
put back, the captain saying he would
have to wait for more water. We
waited two days and no water coming
the captain said he would go back
down the river and we could go on up
by canoe. We did, but did the COM
pany pay for the canoe? 1t did not,
neither did It give us back the $3.50
we had paid for the 300-foot ride 1t
had furnished. We objected-there
were three or four of us to go up the
river and the captain said the COM
pany couldn't return fares nor did It
feel under any. obligation to pay for
our canoe travel.
Law? oh. well, you won't try Col
ombian law more than once guess
When 1t comes to freight charges, good
lord, there isn't any limit. Freight
from Baranquilla to Caceres, about
300 miles, Is $25 a ton and passenger
fare the same-not per ton, per per-
son.
Dredns Mining.
"Just the same It's a great country
to make money in for those who 60 at
1t right. Foreign capital there now is
in dredge mining but there are thous-
ands and thousands Of acres Of rice
and sugar lands which can be had TOR
practically nothing, and the rice OF
that country Is about the finest grown,
while the market Is there in Colombia
for all that would be raised for years
to come. Sugar the same, and coarse
brown sugar sells in quantity at
cents a pound, and paid 20 cents
pound for sugar for my own use. There
is million dollar sugar plant in op-
Grafton further down the river and
small one with $4,000 Colombian
capital Is to be put in operation later
That Is all the competition for thous'
ands Of square miles Of territory
1T is a healthy enough country 10
live in and you never feel the heat as
you do in New York City But don't
look for society along the Nechl river
where I am. Our biggest town mas
about 500 population, and to Baran.
quilla, our nearest real town, Is Soo
miles by water. II we go to Medell'n'
about the same distance, air line II Is
mule back and you get there when you
get there"