Henry Solomon Wellcome

“ The tract of country yielding the cinchona is not so unlimited as some writers would lead us to believe, nor is the supply inexhaustible; it is a fact recognized by natives and dealers, who are well informed about the extent and resources of the cinchona-bearing districts, that if the present ruinous system of destroying the trees is continued, and no effort made to propagate new growths, they will, before many years, be practically exterminated from their native soil. ”

“ Everything is saturated and dripping with moisture; the very air we breathed seemed a clammy, aromatic vapor. In these vast forests atmospheric changes are continuous and abrupt; drifting banks of gloomy clouds are followed by glaring sunshine, and then tempestuous showers—all in rapid succession. ”

“ The skeletons of hundreds of wretched peons can be seen in the far depths of the chasms below of some of the older trails, bleaching beneath the tropical sun, whose earthly toils were ended by a misstep on the verge of one or the other frightful precipice, and now and then ghastly human skulls are seen placed in niches or crevices in the projecting rocks of the mountain-sides along the narrow passage, suggestive of lurking dangers. ”

“ In case of war or revolution, every Indian peon is subject to military duty, and, if required, is forced to enter the army; sometimes it is impossible to obtain sufficient cascarilleros to make it pay to enter the forests; hence it is that political troubles in those countries so greatly influence the price of bark and quinine. ”

“ The Indians, in carrying bark, bear the main weight of the burden upon their heads, by placing over the forehead a strip of rawhide to which are attached cords of the same material lashed to the bale; they stoop forward to maintain their equilibrium, and use long Alpine sticks to steady and aid them in ascending or descending dangerous cliffs. ”

“ The admixture of inferior barks with higher grades is not so much the result of ignorance as sometimes supposed, for the bark-dealers are generally very expert in determining the different varieties and estimating the values of barks. ”

“ The next step of the cascarillero is to apply to a bark-dealer for funds with which to work the claim: if he can present satisfactory evidence that his forest is a profitable one, sufficient money is usually advanced, the merchant holding the title as security, with an agreement that the bark shall be delivered and sold to him exclusively; sometimes the dealers purchase claims outright, and employ men to work them. For many years the bark-trade of Bolivia was monopolized by the Government ”

“ The almost continuous revolutions and wars in those South American countries so unsettle everything as to render investments hazardous; the roads and ports are sometimes blockaded for months, preventing the importation of goods or shipment of barks, often entailing heavy losses upon the dealers. ”

“ This district has been worked constantly for over two hundred years, and the quantity of bark it furnishes to the Guayaquil market has fallen off in recent years.
At Pueblo Nuevo, mules and servants were engaged for the journey to the mountains. Wheeled vehicles are useless, for want of roads, and all transportation is done on the backs of beasts or Indians. Before reaching the highlands, forests of ivory-nut palms with their long, graceful, feather-like branches, and scattered trees of Cinchona magnifolia, a valueless species, are met with. ”

“ It is next to impossible to enter it during the wet season. A master cascarillero with his gang (sometimes several hundred peons) establishes a main camp in the forest, on an elevated point where there is an opening in the forest, so as to allow the bark as much exposure as possible. The peons are formed into squads, and scatter through the forest, establishing small camps. When they are ready for work, and the bark-gathering begins, one or two from each division seek out the trees, while others cut down and peel them. ”

“ With the abundance of seeds yielded by the cinchonas, one would naturally expect young plants to spring up in great numbers, but such is not the case; the light-winged seeds mostly fall upon and adhere to the ever-moist foliage, where they quickly germinate and decay ”

“ To discover cinchona-tree patches in the forests, the cascarilleros ascend such high spurs as command a good view of the surrounding valleys and mountain-slopes. After discovering a forest that indicates sufficient value to render it profitable to work, a certain limit of forest land is condemned and a claim made to the Government ”

“ Beyond all doubt, the cinchonas might be successfully cultivated in their native country, especially in the exhausted forests; but the natives show no enterprise, and foreigners receive no encouragement from the governments to attempt it. ”