39 



chicle thus soon became one of the principal exports of several Mexi- 

 can and Central American states, and in 1930 the import of chicle 

 into the United States had risen to nearly fourteen million pounds 

 (U. S. 1932). In its half century of growth the chewing gum in- 

 dustry has made phenomenal progress, and at the present time ranks 

 among the big American industries. The manufactured output in 

 1930 was valued at more than seventy million dollars, representing 

 a retail business of over a hundred million dollars. 



Chicleros and the Present Native Method of 

 Tapping and Preparing Raw Chicle 



The native laborers or Indians who bleed the sapodilla trees and 

 gather the chicle are known as chicleros. No particular group or 

 tribe of natives has a monopoly of skill in this profession, and chic- 

 leros of almost every race, color, nationality, and intermixture are to 

 be found. The native Indian of southern Mexico and Central Amer- 

 ica, however, is generally regarded as the most skillful, careful, and 

 desirable. Steadiness of hand and accuracy in manipulating a ma- 

 chete as well as a certain amount of skill in climbing are the prime 

 requisites of a good chiclero, and only a small proportion of the na- 

 tive labor is capable of bleeding chicle. The chiclero is thus regarded 

 as a skilled worker in the tropical forests and is among the best paid 

 of all native laborers. Since the chicle tapping season is dependent 

 on the rainfall, the chicleros spend the greater part of the rainy 

 season from July to February in the chicle forests. As soon as the 

 tropical rains start in June, the exodus of chicleros from the coast 

 towns and villages into the jungle of Peten, Quintana Roo, Yucatan, 

 Campeche, Chiapas, and British Honduras begins. For the purpose 

 of companionship as well as assistance in certain aspects of the work, 

 they generally go in small groups of from two to five, and may often- 

 times take their families with them to form large camps. 



While in the chicle forests the chicleros live in temporary camps 

 close to the scene of operation. These camps are generally located 

 on the edge of a lagoon, swamp, or savannah where water is avail- 

 able, since a constant water supply is necessary not only for drinking 

 and cooking but for the molding of cooked chicle as well. As a con- 

 sequence, the camps are generally situated where mosquitoes and 

 other blood-sucking insects are likely to be most numerous. In fig- 

 ures 4 and 5 is shown a portion of such a chicle camp at the border 



