June 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



421 



Our first stop occurred in mid-stream, when three Indians in 

 a dug-out intercepted us to put a passenger aboard. He, how- 

 ever, apparently concluded not to go after all, secured a bottle 

 of rum and returned to his canoe. In the meantime one of the 

 Indian women sold a green parrot for a couple of strings of beads, 

 so that our fif- 

 teen minutes' 

 wait was not 

 wholly in vain. 



Further up 

 stream the banks 

 showed a clay 

 formation, mot- 

 tled red and yel- 

 low with a light 

 yellow stratum 

 at the top. They 

 were cut down 

 as straight as if 

 the work had 

 been done by a 

 spade, and with 

 the crown of 

 jungle were e.x- 

 ceedingly pic- 

 turesque. 



We stopped at 

 the town of Bar- 

 rancas to dis- 

 charge cargo and passengers, the latter being a picturesque young 

 American engineer, dressed in khaki, with an ammunition belt 

 and revolver swung over his shoulder, who was on his way to 

 rich iron mines of which he was the superintendent. Incidentally, 

 this ore is all shipped into the United States, and there has not 



Bleeding B.\l.\ta Tree After Felling. 



The chi«f and only industry at Barrancas is a great establish- 

 ment for packing and tinning fresh meats, and is owned by 

 Germans. From there we turned down-stream and entered an- 

 other estuary, and then came into the Orinoco proper. The next 

 event of interest was the meeting with The Masparo, a small 



edition of our 

 own craft — with 

 which we ex- 

 changed mails, 

 saluted and part- 

 ed. By mid- 

 afternoon ranges 

 of mountains 

 could be dis- 

 cerned in the 

 distance, and as 

 the sun set we 

 were able to des- 

 cry on a lofty 

 eminence the 

 two forts of 

 Guayana la Vi- 

 eja. One of these 

 is untenanted, 

 but in the other 

 is a company of 

 soldiers, whose 

 duty it is to 

 challenge all who 

 pass up the river. In response to our whistle a boat put off, se- 

 cured the passenger list and allowed us to proceed. This list was 

 at once telegraphed up to the authorities in Bolivar and had any 

 of us been undesirable, they would have been all ready for us. 

 The main ri\er was fully half a mile wide now, and as the 



C.\MP OF B.\L.\T.\ Men^ Lower Orinoco. 



been the slightest attempt on the part of the Venezuelan Govern- 

 ment to handicap the enterprise, as yet. We found the steamship 

 Mansares anchored here, waiting for the rainy season and water 

 enough to go higher up-stream. 



moon was full, it was almost as bright as day. At nine o'clock 

 we stopped at San Felix, the great balata port. About all we did 

 was to put a few passengers ashore with their extremely varied 

 and nondescript luggage. Then on we went in mid-stream under 



