September i, 1910.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



417 



Construction Train on the Madeira-Mamore. 



and only impenetrable jungle was to be found where once ran 

 the pioneer Madeira-Mamore railroad. 



The Madeira river, above the falls, is fed by several great 

 rivers that drain an immense territory which is rich in rubber. 

 There is, for example, the Guapore, that drains both Bolivia and 

 Brazil, rising far up in Matto Grosso ; the Mamore, the Beni, and 

 the Madre de Dios — all great rivers, together with hundreds of 

 lesser. This upper country has many thousands of miles of 

 navigable streams at the time of high water, and once the rail- 

 road is finished, hides, cinchona, and a great variety of other 

 products, as well as rubber, will find their way out through the 

 Amazon. 



AS TO THE SUAREZ INTERESTS. 



The completion of the Madeira-Mamore railway will in a 

 measure affect the Suarez interests. Suarez y Hermanos, or 

 Suarez & Brothers, known in London as the largest shippers of 

 Bolivian rubber, in which they have made millions, have their 

 headquarters just above the first of the Madeira falls. 



The creator of this company, Nicholas Suarez, although worth 

 millions, is a quiet, thrifty, hard-headed man of business. Of 

 Bolivian birth and speaking only Spanish, he has for years prac- 

 tically controlled the carrying trade up and down the Madeira, 

 as well as the gathering and collecting of the rubber along many 

 of the great waterways above the falls. 



If Suarez's life history could be written it would prove a very 

 stirring tale. He began as a trader for rubber, dealing with 

 savages whom none other had dared to even communicate with. 

 Soon he and his brothers began to acquire great concessions. 

 They pushed further and further into the interior, trading with 

 the Indians, practically ruling them, and avenging any insult 

 or lack of faith most terribly. One of his brothers was mur- 

 dered by savages, and it is said that Nicholas Suarez practically 

 exterminated the tribe to whom his murderers belonged. 



He employs probably about 4,000 men, and is said to be worth 

 from $35,000,000 to $40,000,000. A born organizer, he is still a 

 simple, saving man of the people. But his nephews, liberally 

 educated, living in Europe, are genuine men of the world. 



The Suarez rubber, by the way, is not put up in cases, but is 

 shipped in bulk to London. 



Bolivian rubber, although at present such a factor, dates back 

 onlv a few years. It was first discovered in 1878, but it did not 

 appear on the market until 1893, when the grade known as 

 "Mollendo" began to be shipped from the Pacific port of that 

 name. This, to be sure, was not wholly Bolivian, but was partly 

 a Peruvian product. The tree that produces it is undoubtedly a 



Steamer at Porto Velho. 



[The starting point of the Madeira-Mamore railway.] 



Hcvca and is said by some to be the Hevea lutea. It grows on 

 the uplands to an altitude of 3,000 feet, and on sloping well 

 drained ground, and not in swamps or where it would be subject 

 to inundations. 



There are two collecting periods — from April to July and from 

 October to March. The trees are tapped for about three months 

 each year, and then are allowed to rest. The rubber when car- 

 ried up the rivers, by muleback over the mountains, by boat across 

 Lake Titicaca, and by railroad to Mollendo, is said to cost, ex- 

 clusive of the export duties charged in Bolivia, about 40 cents 

 a pound. 



Bolivian rubber is gathered somewhat differently from that 

 down river. There is used a mango — literally a handle to 

 which is attached a flat disk 6 to 8 inches in diameter. This is 

 used as the ordinary paddle is. Where much smoking is to be 

 done a disk to which two handles are attached at opposite sides 

 is substituted. These handles are supported by cross pieces 

 which allow the disk to revolve rapidly over the buyon, or 

 smoking pot. Indeed, to facilitate matters, there are sometimes 

 three or four of these pots in a row. 



Two methods of branding rubber are in use. One which is 

 known as "fire" branding consists in heating a die and pressing 

 it into the outside surface of the rubber. The other way is to 

 have the name of the seringal cut on the surface of the paddle; 

 then when the pclle is cut open the rubber is found to have 

 taken an exact replica of the brand. 



In the upper rivers, where the water is very shallow, the rub- 



Embarking Cattle at Carscaray. 



[An important food source for the rubber regions.] 



