136 RUBBER PLANTING ON THE 



had a blossom that for size put in the shade anything that I had ever 

 seen. I do not recall the botanical name, but it is of the family that 

 produces what is known as the "Dutchman's pipe." We saw several 

 of them, and finally secured a blossom. In size it was as large as an 

 old fashioned Shaker bonnet, and must have weighed a pound and a 

 half. It was not pretty, except in a bizarre tropical sense, but was 

 simply a type of what the richest of soil, plenty of moisture, and con- 

 stant warmth can produce. 



There seem to be few poisonous plants ; the most common is a lux- 

 uriant shrub with a crown of handsome white flowers, which acts like a 

 gigantic nettle, instantly paralyzing the hand that grasps it. This is 

 very plentiful, and its Spanish name means "the evil woman plant." 



None of the forest through which we passed would be called prime- 

 val as there were no trees that were over one hundred and fifty years 

 old. Just why this is so, none can tell, but that the land was once 

 densely inhabited is proved by bits of pottery, arrow heads, etc., that are 

 to be found on every plantation, and in the railroad cuttings in great 

 abundance. And that reminds me that at La Junta Mr. Shufeldt gave 

 me a hideously interesting little clay idol which he found in a vegetable 

 garden there. I unwittingly left it on the table in my room at La 

 Buena Ventura, and I wish to warn the genial householder that I am 

 coming down soon purposely to recover it. 



Meanwhile, hot, perspiring but cheerful, we were plodding on 

 towards the Tehuantepec Railway that was miles and miles in the dis- 

 tance. Finally, however, we reached Sanborn, soon to be a metropolis ; but 

 when we arrived it was simply a camp where men were grading, felling 

 the forest, and getting ready to put up a modern railway station, which 

 is to have a telegraph and telephone office, and all sorts of modern 

 conveniences. This place, by the way, is about eight miles from La 

 Junta, and will be its railway station. It is named after one of the 

 prominent officials, who, besides his interest in rubber planting, has 

 purchased a big block of land, and is going into lumbering, brick making, 

 and a variety of industries that will be of marked benefit to that section. 

 At Sanborn we struck good luck, for we had not been there five minutes 

 when a locomotive whistled, and soon the construction train crawled 

 into sight. We boarded the flat car in front to keep from being set 

 afire by sparks from. the wood burning engine, and we continued our 

 journey. 



Arriving at Santa Lucretia in due time, we disembarked and 

 wended our way to the town proper which consists of a hotel on stilts, 



