December i, 1905.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER V70RLD 



75 



had any time for a week. It was told us incidentally during the 

 day by one of the officers that the report had gone abroad in 

 Barranquillathat the president of the United States had been 

 assassinated— a report circulated probably by some one who 

 was feeling sore about Panama. The matter furnished a day's 

 excitement, until the arrival of the next steamer confirmed its 

 untruthfulness. We knew that nothing of the kind had hap- 

 pened, however, so were not worried by the report. 



The following morning found us at the entrance of the harbor 



FIGURES IN THE MAP RELATE TO THE LOCATION OF RUBBER PLANTATIONS (MEN 

 TIONED ON ANOTHER PAGE) BELONGING TO THE FOLLOWING 



8 

 9- 



I. JUAN C. OLIFK 

 2 CICERON ANGEL. 



3. CARLOS NICOLAS KKKKI-R lO. 



4. GONZALO ZUNIC.A II. 

 5 MELUK & CO. 12. 



6. DELFINO DIAZ. I3. 



7. MANUEL RIOS. 



LOUIS CONZALLS. 

 ABUCHAR HERMANOS. 

 RENE GRANGER. 

 LOUIS M SANTAMARIA. 

 FRANCISCO DE B CARASCO. 

 " LE BARRIGONa" — DE LA 

 TORRE BROTHERS, 



at Cartagena. We entered by the old Spanish forts, passing 

 groves of palms, coming into a beautiful stretch of harbor 

 where fronting us lay the old walled city, built close to the 

 water's edge, with a background of tree clad heights, a sight 

 picturesque and beautiful, a wonderful contrast to the Colom- 

 bian towns we had just left. Making fast to the pier, the 

 steamer was at once surrounded by dugouts, in which natives 

 with monkeys, parrots, coral, etc., tried to tempt money from 

 the reluctant pockets of the passengers. Getting ashore we 

 took a short railroad ride to the middle of the city and 

 breakfasted at the Hotel Americano. Even here there 

 were few Anglo-Saxons. Indeed one of the store- 

 keepers to whom we had letters of introduction said 

 at that time there were only 7 Americans, 4 English- 

 men, and 3 Germans in the city. The old city was fas- 

 cinating in the extreme and we spent every moment 

 that we could spare in viewing the walls, the cathe- 

 dral, the fortifications, and the public buildings. We 

 also went up against a native manufacturer of Panama 

 hats and each bought several of them. Incidentally, 

 of course, we looked for rubber, but found that there 

 was very little in town. Indeed few knew anything 

 about rubber any way, either wild or cultivated. A 

 young Philadelphian who went down with us reported 

 that on his company's concession, which covered 

 some 200 square miles, the natives had cut down 

 nearly all the rubber trees, and that that sort of work 

 had followed throughout the whole of their district. 



It was a very fortunate accident that at this junct- 

 ure brought me in touch with Mr. Henry G. Granger, 

 United States consular agent at Ouibdo, Colombia, 

 and it is due to his instant good will that the follow- 

 ing record is here appended. 



Quibdo, by the way. on the river Atrato, in western 

 Colombia, is a town of some commercial importance 

 in that region, as well as a political center, being the 

 residence of the prefect of one of the provinces. The 

 term "theChoci'>" mentioned by Mr. Granger is a 

 legacy from former days, when a province existed by 

 that name, derived from an ancient Indian race called 

 the Chocos. The region referred to now, however, 

 forms a portion of the present department of Cauca. 

 Mr. Granger's information follows: 



" Thirty years ago the production of wild rubber in 

 the Choco amounted to several million pounds per 

 year. The trees were cut down and bled to the 

 branches. As the wild Castilloa here runs a free latex, 

 it is gathered in kerosene cans or holes in the ground 

 and is brought to market in solid cakes. Owing to 

 the destruction of the trees, the output steadily fell 

 ofT and the cakes became adulterated by earth and 

 non elastic saps mixed in to make weight until the 

 business became pretty well discredited, and relatively 

 non important. Then attention began to be called to 

 small balls of rolled strips, chaza (pronounced 'chassa') 

 which were brought in by Indians and occasional 

 negroes, which were taken from cultivated trees by 

 culling the bark with machetes at intervals of a few 

 inches as far as a man could reach. The cultivated 

 trees are called ' borroso ' as they give a thick latex 

 which runs but a short distance down ihe Hunk and 

 is gathered when dry by tearing cf! the strips and 

 rolling them into balls or packing in boxes in which 

 case they dry in the form of the receptacle. 



" Practically all traveling in the Choco is done by 



