June, 1910,] 



487 



Saps and Exudations. 



ing three days on the way, and leaving 

 the train at a place called Tirapata. 

 From there we had to take animals 

 and ride across the large range of the 

 Andes, attaining ao one point an alti- 

 tude estimated at 17,000 ft. above sea- 

 level ; we then started down the eastern 

 slope over the now well-known trail of 

 the Santo Doniingo Mines. The change 

 in level was very abrupt, dropping: in 

 eleven hours from something like 17,000 

 ft. to 2,000 ft. The tiip took five days on 

 horseback, 



I was at that time surgeon of a 

 mining company whose directors, being 

 possessed of a lot of human nature, 

 thought that there was not enough 

 doing in extracting ores from the bowels 

 of the earth, and decided therefore to 

 branch out into the rubber business. 

 In pursuance of this scheme an expedi- 

 tion of whichl was a member was organ- 

 ised, and in due course started out. We 

 explored a big section of practically 

 hitherto unknown country, traversing 

 never before reached by white men and 

 discovering, among other things, a new 

 river, which, at the instance of the 

 Peruvian Government, we named the 

 West River, after a Dr. West who had 

 made some important exploration trips 

 some distance to the north during pre- 

 ceding years. We suffered many hard- 

 ships and went through many dangers, 

 but fortunately without any loss of life. 

 It was an intensely interesting and excit- 

 ing trip in every way. Without going 

 into the numerous details of our experi- 

 ences, I may say that the result of our 

 undertaking was the opening up of a 

 new rubber country, followed by the 

 formation of million dollar company to 

 exploit the same. I became surgeon of 

 the company in connection with my 

 medical work at the mines. Very soon 

 a force of between three hundred and 

 four hundred men was put to work. I 

 left the mining camp every six weeks to 

 go into the rubber country, taking with 

 me all necessary supplies. The count ry 

 was very unhealthy in parts the sick 

 list being as high at times as forty per 

 cent. Application was made to the 

 Bolivian rubber men for " Caouteheros." 

 The Company estimated that they had 

 available a yearly supply of 300,000 

 pounds of rubber, capable of being 

 largely increased. They ordered and 

 obtained from the United States, at con- 

 siderable cost, a shallow draft steamer 

 for general transportation service on 

 the rivers, and finally got things in 

 fairly satisfactory running order. They 

 worked the business in two ways. They 

 imported expert rubber gatherers to 

 explore and open up the rubber forest ; 



and they sent agents down certain 

 tributaries of the Amazon to interest 

 the rubber gatherers (who were mostly 

 Peruvians and Brazillians) in trading 

 with the company on a basis of exchange 

 of commodities. Thus the company got 

 a large quantity of rubber already pre- 

 pared by the native gatherers according 

 to native methods. 



To give you an idea of the cost of 

 getting that rubber out, I must tell you 

 that, after repacking it in such a manner 

 as to adapt it to transport on the backs 

 of niule? and Indians, it had to be carried 

 for at least ten days in this way to reach 

 the nearest railway station. Thence it 

 had to be conveyed to the Pacific port 

 of Molleudo, this taking three days and 

 forming the most expensive item in the 

 transportation bill. It may be asked 

 why shipment should not be made 

 directly down the Amazon to Para 

 instead of the seemingly complicated 

 route I have described. The answer is 

 simple, — namely, on account of the 

 existence of a series of rapids extending 

 for a distance of over one hundred miles 

 on the Modera River, the chief tributary 

 of the Amazon, which, although navig- 

 able at certain seasons of the year, are 

 very dangerous, making the percentage 

 of loss in their passage very high. To 

 make the business profitable, the 

 company had to buy the rubber at a 

 very low price, —50 cents per pound, — 

 exchange being the same as in Mexico. 

 If the company had gathered the rubber 

 themselves, it would have cost them 

 much more, on account of lack of experi- 

 ence in the work. The company spent on 

 enormous sum of money, principally in 

 the opening of amain trail and the build- 

 ing of stations, as well as on the in- 

 troduction of supplies ; so that they had 

 to do business on an extensive scale in 

 order to realise even a moderate return 

 on the capital expended. 



The chief product was rubber, derived 

 from a species of Hevea. This tree, 

 although presenting no very striking 

 characteristics, is easily recognised once 

 it is known. The natives cut down 

 entirely all - the large trees claiming 

 that they would die anyway, if left 

 to stand after two or three tappings, 

 by which a less quantity of caout- 

 chouc would be obtained than by one 

 thorough tapping completely drain- 

 ing the tree of its latex. Prom twenty, 

 twenty-five to one hundred pounds of 

 rubber were often taken from a single 

 tree. Young trees of volunteer growth 

 were always coming up, and it was said 

 that in ten or twenty years there would 

 be a new rubber forest. The forests in 

 which these Hevea trees occurred were 



