MONROE DOCTRINE. 
347 
Chap. XXI.—B. P.] 
Northern brother, blinded by what would be a wicked 
were it not a ridiculously silly doctrine, which per¬ 
mits the guilt of murder (Maximilian’s for example), 
the most reckless profligacy and crime, a reign of 
chaos, and the return of a magnificent country to its 
primeval state, rather than allow other nations to assist 
in turning the tide in an opposite direction. 
Before saying good-bye to Greytown (for I shall 
not take the old ‘ Gorgon ’ back again), I may as well 
mention the reason why that port still maintains any 
vitality. It is owing to india-rubber; and india-rub¬ 
ber has been its salvation. India-rubber trees grow 
in groups all over the country, especially on the banks 
of the rivers and creeks ; and as sugar is to the West 
Indies, so is india-rubber to Greytown. The export 
of that article, now rendered very valuable by the ex¬ 
tension of marine telegraphy, has kept the body and 
soul of Greytown together. 
India-rubber, “ Ule ” of the Creoles (or “Tassa” of 
the Mosquito Indians), the produce of Castilloa elastica, 
is now an important article of export all along the 
coast; and Greytown is the principal port whence it 
is shipped. Expeditions for collecting india-rubber 
are organized by a number of men clubbing together, 
and applying to one of the dealers to furnish them 
with the necessary outfit, including provisions, blan¬ 
kets, machetes, axes, pans, pails, buckets, etc. They 
bind themselves before the local authorities to deliver 
to the dealer the produce of their work at a fixed 
price. This formality gone through, the men—or 
Uleros, as they are called—enter on a series of de- 
