Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ") 
March,  1888.  J 
The  Home  of  the  Cinchonas. 
145 
must  all  be  carried  with  him,  for  contrary  to  the  general  impression,  these  for- 
ests yield  almost  nothing  in  the  way  of  a  regular  food  supply.  We  are  accus- 
tomed to  read  in  novels  about  the  wonderful  production  in  tropical  forests  of 
berries  and  roots.  Whenever  a  traveler  in  the  stories  of  fiction  is  lost,  he  is 
always  saved  by  going  to  the  forests  and  collecting  some  roots  and  berries. 
The  traveler  in  reality  never  finds  them.  He  may  occasionally  come  upon  a 
spot  in  the  forest  where  they  are  abundant  and  again  he  may  go  several  weeks 
without  finding  anything. 
Even  the  savage  tribes  depend  upon  their  plantation  for  their  subsistence. 
If  now  the  cascarillero  became  lost  in  the  forest,  suffered  some  injury  prevent- 
ing him  from  traveling,  became  hemmed  in  by  a  sudden  rise  in  the  mountain 
stream,  or  suff'ered  some  like  injury,  he  was  in  imminent  danger  of  starvation. 
But  it  was  not  these  conditions  which  caused  the  high  price  of  cinchona  bark 
when  it  was  three  and  four  dollars  a  pound.  It  was  the  monopoly  which  ex- 
isted in  the  trade.  In  Bolivia,  a  single  individual,  through  intermarriage  with 
the  family  of  the  President,  whose  actions  were  those  of  an  absolute  despot 
rather  than  of  a  Republican  executive,  and  by  aiding  the  latter  in  plundering 
the  national  treasury,  secured  the  forcible  monopoly  of  the  bark  trade  . 
The  prices  paid  were  as  low  as  possible  without  removing  the  stimulus  to 
collection,  and  those  charged  as  high  as  the  world  could  be  forced  to  pay. 
The  mode  of  operating  by  this  gentleman  was  as  follows  :  Whenever  he  heard 
that  some  rival  firm  had  sent  a  man  in  for  the  purchase  of  bark  so  as  to  antago- 
nize him  in  his  business,  he  immediately  reported  that  fact  to  the  President, 
his  near  relative.  The  President  would  have  this  man  seized  by  his  soldiers, 
accuse  him  of  fomenting  treason,  punish  him,  often  with  his  own  hands,  and 
order  him  to  leave  the  country  on  pain  of  death.  It  seems  impossible  to  us 
that  a  President  could  act  this  way.  But  I  assure  you  that  this  President  is 
now  living  in  Paris  upon  several  millions  of  dollars  which  he  stole  from  the 
treasury ;  not  embezzled,  but  actually  stole,  sending  it  out  of  the  country  at 
night :  robbing  the  treasury  of  silver,  and  sending  it  out  of  the  country  at 
night  as  merchandise.  This  man  was  so  bold  as  to  seize  the  British  Minister^ 
who  remonstrated  with  him  for  some  of  his  actions,  beat  him,  tied  him  upon 
a  mule  like  an  ordinary  pack,  and  sent  him  out  of  the  country  with  orders  to 
never  return.  England  did  nothing  in  return  for  this  aff'ront.  She  considered 
the  country  beneath  her  notice  and  she  has  never  sent  any  representative  to 
that  country  since,  but  has  abandoned  it  as  a  savage  country,  and  Englishmen 
who  go  there,  go  without  protection. 
The  profits  of  this  trade  were  enormous,  millions  of  dollars  being  realized. 
Large  towns  sprang  up  in  the  wilderness  devoted  especially  to  this  industry. 
All  classes  pursued  it  to  the  neglect  of  everything  else.  When  the  business 
finally  collapsed,  most  of  the  inhabitants  fell  back  into  absolute  indolence. 
Under  the  process  above  described  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  supply  of 
bark  would  become  exhausted,  and  wise  foreigners  united  in  urging  the  produc- 
ing governments  to  take  steps  towards  perpetuating  the  native  stock.  But  no 
adequate  measures  were  taken,  and  finally  the  British  themselves  undertook 
the  task.  But  the  South  American  people,  not  satisfied  with  themselves  ne- 
glecting these  most  important  measures,  forbade  and  obstructed  the  efforts  of 
the  foreigners,  and  even  visited  them  with  violent  persecution.  But  in  spite  of 
all,  the  happy  result  was  accomplished,  and  all  of  the  most  valuable  varieties 
