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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1913)
Tirrc CM ATT A SOTDAV BE1S: .7ANTAHY 12. 1PI.T V On the Edge of Mahogany Land banana ami still left K esrb fmni hMHiR sections of ' I'hllHriHpbln one twenty ai-rra each Kver farm has It umic to spare At NVw Orleans the fruit to landed NATIVE. HUT. as. m (Copyright. 191J, by Frank O. Carpenter.) OUT HAKRI09. Guatemala. I vxritn yon from the edge of Mnliostim Ijaml. 'nils Mo tasup valley. Svhlch lies at the foot of the Ouutemoln. moun tains, baL-k of Port Ilarrloi. has hundreds of mahogany trees', wliliib are benm cut down by tho Vnlted Kmlt company. that tha land may be used for banana planta tions Tho mahogany In .n valuable that It sells Itj the pnund. and a few trees I would make a kooiI Income. I have been In thn maliogTHiiy country off and on over ' elnre I left Panama, and f learn that xaluable timber Is being taken rrom tha northern part of the Panama iPpiUilIc I found them exploiting the forests In Costa Hiea and Nicaragua, and am told that many mahogany camps arc now working In both Rritlsh and Spanish Honduras. Thw are American lumbermen Fendlnir mahogany In Panama all along the writ rousts of Central America. The logs are nt over the Isthmus by rail, and thence flipped to Kurope of the Ilnltnri tato.. Th trees they aro now cutting: hero still He In tho rlearlnp. but thoy will ho taken by train to Port narrlos, and thence shipped. CoutrnI .inirrlrnii Inlwrnnj. The mahogany of this part of the world I tho real article - have a so-called mahogany In tho Philippine?, ami there are falsp mahoganies In Nigeria. Ceylon, Madeira and California. Th true ma hocany, the wooil which makes the finest furniture on earth, romes from thla region. It is found In tho lowlands along the east coast from Merlon to Panama, a 'Hi nlyo In Columbia and Venezuela and In tho Islands of the Caribbean sea. The t'?r.x HVe mngniflcpiit. I have seen some I'M feet hBh and thirty-six feet In cir cumference. Hot a few rlso sixty feet above the ground before the branches Itofjln and some an so largo that five upii. jolnlnK hands, cannot encircle them. There Ir no such thins an a mahogany forest. The trees do not grow close to gether, but nt wide distances apart; and the mahogany hunters climb the high est trees of tho forest and pick out the mahocanles by their bright colored leaves. Tho leaves change from season to sea son and at times, they are as. gorgeous s our leaves in autumn. The hunter marks the mahogany by the color and then leads the cutters through the Jungle hacking to a road where the doomed tree stands. Often only two or three trees are found In an acre, but two trees per aero are enough to pay dividends. There is a lecord of one corporation which had a mahogany concession of about 2C.000 ncics. the total yield, of which was only sixty trees or less than two per square mile. I doubt If It paid. Hon- the IiKKlnK Is Done. The ordinary tree ought to bo at least a yard In diameter, and the average tree Is usually one or two hundred years old before It Is ready for lumber. Tho moat of the wood Is cut In the rnlny season, but as the trees are felled their limbs are cut off and tho logs are then taken to the nearost stream. They are" rafted down to market, or they may so to the railroad and ba taken to the ports on the cars. They are put upon shipboard, as soon as they reach port to prevent their being attacked by the teredo and other boring insects. The wood Is so valuable that It la handled Ilka fruit, and a close record is kept of It from the forest to the hands of the-consumer, Ono of tho chief markets la London, and others are New York and New Orleans. In thn Woods of Houdurna. A great deal of our beat mahogany now comeo from British Ilonduraa, and we get much also from the Honduras Re public The British Honduras timber Is exported from BeHze, which Is not very far from Port Barrios, and I am told that the wealth of that town has largely coma from this trade. Tha fo recti are exploited by lumbermen, who hire gangs if natives for the season, and have the nxportlng houses to advance the provis ions and cash to carry on the cutting, own manager, the account sheets being j kent separately so that it l known Just what each section costs and what t l ' yielding from yesr to ear. Indeed, a cost sheet Is kept of this hiuriticoa Just as In our factories and machine shops at home. The general manager of tho plan tation Is Mr. Victor M. Cutter. i young iNew Knglander. who came here a (mt 'ears ago. Just after graduating with high i honor nt Dartmouth. the same way. being there transferred to J e.itfi klnra- fur- u Itt.U. tab- li .. H ' ...... . v . r. ' ....... ..iiimi, mnc n iu nil parts of the Mississippi basin. The Im natuia for the eastern port of tho lnlted State usually go to the seaports of the Atlantic. Object Lessons for Control merleii. This work of thn Americans on the banana plantations Is n series of object Inssons III sanitation, nm-lmlltlirvt unit hits- l.ondliut lOnlt l. Miu-hlner,. j ,-.,...,.,, fnp , u,nl llf .,. 1 have been much Interested dttrlng my J trnl America. Most of the estates have sia in O-ntrnl America In the handling') f the banana crop, and especially 'n i nat-hlng how tho negroes transfer tho ftult from the cars to the ships. At Port I .fnon. Costn Hlca. this Is done bv ma- chlncry The fruit Is cart led from tlu plantation over tho railroad In leaf-lined cms to tho s(le of tho ship as It lies at the wharf The tracks am so laid that largo hospitals and tho employes arc taught to take care of their health. Thn workmen's houses are raised upon pole the vegetation being out away and the lands drained to got rid of tho mosquitoes Tho laborers are made to keep clean and they are shown how to treat them selves for tropical diseases. The United tho the trnlnloid of bananas Is patallel with:1'""1 miwn "" flRhtlng the steamer, and tho fruit from a half , ""okworm. and It has Its doctors glv of tl sho'Udcv hihI ii'ks nntl the treattneiit of the Hiilinals septus cniel to an BAtrcipe American axes are giudua'ly coming Into use. but the most of the cutting of the lighter sort ts done with the maohcte, much like a corn eptter. Kvery native Central American carries a machete. It Is n good weapon of defense against man or boast, and It enables him to make his va through tho Jungle It outs his grass for ha and tho green corn for his cattle Aftrr the cattle are dead, the machete chops them tip to make beef and Is also employed In hog killing. It serves to cut out the weeds from the corn patch and with It the native punches holes In the ground where he drops the grains of corn at planting time. He then cover the torn with his heel and sitting down, lets nature do the rest ragua has more than 1.000,000 of cattle anil Salvador In proportion to Its slxe ha more live stock than aw other Centra American republic. KKANK fl. CAP.PBNTTJR. BACK TO LAND MOVEMENT InntilllO t ttr Mnn to Grni the Clmrms of Kurly Dnmi, Secretary Wilson of the Department of Agrloulturo, said tho other dy: "It has become the fashion for every body to declare that the profit frwn tho high cost of living all goes to the farmer We hear on all sides about the farmer' . automobile and talking machine, his sluu rugs and player piano, hts wife's furs, his daughter's college education and o forth and so on. -We miiHt take these statements with a grain of salt. 1 wish tho farmer all the success In the world, but there's far morn Tcnchlnu MtoeU Forming. The Americans here are teaching the natives something of stock farming, uud the day mas come when meat from tn- Ing i!,..,! ,,,,rl III r..llMi-n nllr Mir hlltclier i-iirn-r In 11 t.ivv 1 hoitrd the OtllCr dSV dor.en different cars can be transferre-i medicines ami treating tne ttumerous n- , blllts In Costa Ulca there are large than In all this talk or rural luxury ann to the ship at tho same time Uvea among It emplo es who urv so af ranches belonging to the bnnana plant- ; opulence. The loading Is by movable carriers 1 fllcted. Bverv patient who comes to the ers where working' cattle for the plantn- ' "A city chap, the story ran. went on a , whloh run upon wheels. Baoh carrier I? a long belt about two feel In width, so arrange dthat one end of It rests over tho opening Into tho hold, and the other nut on tho wharf. This holt moves by machinery, and the bananas, thrown upon It bv laborers, neo carried Into the hold. 1 have seen four rivers of bananas thus moving for hours, carrying fruit InUi a ship. The men aro rx trained that the stream of fruit Is continuous, the management knowing Just how many bunohes one man can carry In an hour, and how long It takes to unload each car. The ship upon which 1 came hero had In Its hold M.OM hunches of bananas bound for New Orleans. Bach of those hunches had at least V) Individual 1m- nsnas. and nltogother they were enough iv nnvo given every iinin. woman nno child In New York, Tloston, Chicago and hospital on account of malaria or other turns ate rented. The l ulled Fruit com- farm to help with the harvesting in re fevers or on nccuunt of wound received , pany has some dnlrv cow and its men turn for his boaid. Is treated also for hookworm. 1 am told tell me that the gress there makes e- "Tho first morning when the farmer that this Is doing great good and that an cellent beof. Indeed, there Is money to j pnllod him, It was so dark and frosty that Increase In the working efficiency of the i be made In raising stock, all the way j tt, ctv pimp couldn't resist another brief from Panama to .Mexico, ntesc mgiiiauus unooxe tmforo getting up. The labor contracts are usually made dur ing the Christmas holidays, the men be ing hired by the year. Six months' wages are usually paid In advance, one-half of which Is In goods and the other half cash. Tho lumbormeu arc as dissipated us ore those of our own and other countrlo-, and they usually have a carouse before they leave Belize, during which time the cash disappears. They now leave and go Into the woods, where they build camps of huts thatched with palm leaves. Including a larger building for the store and dwelling of the overseer. Tho labor Is divided into gangs, each of which has a captain. Tho work Is done by the task. The .best laborers are out at daybreak, and a good man can finish his task by 11 o'clock. He can then spend tho Vest of his day In hunting or fishing, or he can cut out of mahogany paddles and other things for which there Is a ready market The lumber camps are not pious places. Many of the laborers aro roughs, and there aro frequent fights and conslderbale drunk enness. There are also bad women who follow the camps, and the crowd is not a Bunday sohool one. The overseers live well. Each has his own boat with from twelve to twenty Indian rowers, and hid own cook and Indian valet. , FelltnK Slahoajany. The green mahogany Is not easy to fell and the bringing of a large tree to the ground is. a day's task for two men. The cutting is done about ten feet from the base on account of .the wide spurs which project from the trunk and a -platform or scaffold has to be erected where the eawmen and axmen can stand. V , After the trees are felled roads have to be made to the rivers and the streams pn the way must be bridged. Much of the wood Is hauled upon rude trucks which have wheels of solid wood sawed from the end of a log and having Iron boxes fitted Into tho center. Much of the work is -done In the night by torchlights of pltohptne. All this Is In the dry season. The rafting Is done In the late summer or fall and the camps break up about the middle of December. After that the laborers return to Belize and they then receive the balance duo them, which re mits In another great spree. In Spanish Honduras. I understand there Is a great deal of mahogany yet uncut In Spanish Hon duras or the Honduras Republic. Mahog any grows In tho valleys all over tfiat country, and especially In the lowlands The highest point of Woman's hap- 'along the northern coast of the Caribbean plnesa 1b reached only through moth- jea. erhood, In the clasping of her child U fur tl,ls mmr inland within her ami.. Yet tht mother-to- "' or m,,ro inlles" tl,at ",e ?lllef anana be Is often fearful of nature'a ordeal PnUUon. are. and not far from the sea V .viini;. li,,! I" 'he 8111116 reK'on aro Immense coooanut and 'brinki from the .uttering incl- f thouwind. ot bearlne dent to ita consummation. But for T . nature's ills and discomforts naturs The most of the banana industry' be- provides remedies, and in Mother's n0ngs to the United Fruit company, and Friend is to b found & medicine of ,that company has a line of steamers great value to every expectant mother. 1 which piles regularly between Port Oor- It is an emulsion for external tez and New Orleans, calling at Port Uar- appllcatlon, composed Of ingredients irlos and Belize on the way. The shlp- whlch act with beneficial and sootb- ments of bananas amount to 2.000,000 tag effect on those portions of th j bunches and upward per year, which system involved. It is intended to mean an assregate than 300, prepare the system for the crisis, and 000.000 bananas per annum, rhe business thus relieve, in great part, the suffer- carrie? rmra'.Sama rll . . ,. Guatemala, c'osta Hlca and Panama. The ing through which the mother usually , lantatlon. nav many ttu raI,r0ads for passes. Tho regular use of Mothers rarrv,nir the fr,,it. They are divided into cleared, It is burned over and then the markers go through uud &takc out the holes where the plantH are to be set. The banana plants come from sprouts of the older trees and thoy are set out about as far apart each way as the trees of the average peach orchard. They are planted among the hnlf-burned logs and grow without cultivation. The only thing Is to keep down tho weeds, when the logs will soon rot away. I have seen plants growing among trees as big around aa a flour barrel, and In going over tho plantations have had to keep to tho paths In ordrr to mako my way through upon hornebock. About a year after sotting out the ba nanas they are twenty or thirty feet high and aro ready to fruit. Bach tree beais but one bunch of bananas, and when this Is taken off tho tree ( Is cut down and the sprouts which have grown up about its roots are left to produce the next crop. The cutting of the bananas Is with a sharp knife on the end of a pole, the cut tors catching the bunch ns It falls. The bananas are carefully handled. The plies, which wait for tho train, the laid on soft beds of leaves In order to keep the fruit from being bruised. Ilnnnnn Settlements. It Is a big task to start a banana plantation, and the plans must be care fully made. The estate Is first surveyed and paths and roads are laid out. the same being connected by tramways and railroads. And then the farm settlements have to be built and In each there must be a store, a carpenter shop and a black smith shop nnd also the stables and tho homes of the workmen. Some of tho managers and overseers bring their wives with them from the United States and they must have comfortable homes scroened with wire netting. Some of '.hcbe houses here are beauti fully finished and well furnished. They have the latest magazine and papers, and In some of them you will fltrtl many novels, histories and scientific books. Many of the white employes have hob bles. One may be un ornithologist, an other a bug-hunter ittid there are no end of collectors of orchids and other strange flowers. At the Virginia banana planta tion near here they have oulto nn aviary. containing many of the quaint birds of duatemala. These Include the wild tur key, which hn a brilliant yellow color, the tuma with Its gorgeous plumage, and the pojlceman-blrd, which makes a terrl ble screeching Jf strangers come near the houao. I do not know Jut how many thousand acres are planted to bananas In Spanish Honduras, but the Guatemala estates bp longing to the United Prult company cover tens of thousands of acres, and 20,000 acres ara already In bearing. This Is divided up Into banana farms of 1.OO0 Friend will repay any mother in tha comfort it affords before, and the help ful restoration to health and strength it brings about after baby comes. Mother's Friend Is for sale at drug ntores. Write for our tree book for ispettant moth- , ers -which contain", much valuable Information, and many suggestions of a helpful nature. farms, and each farm is a settlement ot Its own. The overseers are Americana, and tho labor Is largely done by negroes from Jamaica and the other .Islands of the West Indlos, who come here for tho purpose. MaUInK n Ilnnnnn I'lniilnllon, The process of making the plantations m about the sume everywhere. The Jun gle has to he cut down, and this means the felling of tree from three to ten feet In diameter and the cutting out of underbrush and Manas through which It h Impossible to go without u machete or I men has como from such treatment Pa nil Method In t'entrnl Vnierlcn. The Americans aro Introducing our farm machinery. Thoy havo American wagons and carts nnd also American plows nnd other farm tools. A to tho native, methods, everything Is rude I sec the farmer still using tho one-handled plow of tho Scripture, shod with a strip of pointed Iron about a big ns your hand, Tills turns the soil 1otli ways and only scratches tho surface The most e'lmimn cart hero has wooden wheels with hol lo tho oonter for the nxlcx, and It Is drawn by oxen yoked by their hoi tin The loads nro pulled by tho head Instead liHe fine pastures and the stock brings good prices. In upper Panama thev nro now raising beef for Colon and Panama Clt. and the future meat supply of the canal may como from here. rosla Hlca has live stock numbering more than half n million, besides mules sheep and goats, and Honduras has al most a half million head of cuttle alone, Hut he was, at that, out In the field by 1 o'clock. 'Kino morning,' he said to hts em ployer, genlall.i . "Through tho dim dawn light tho former scowled nt him. " 'it wns." he sRid. " Chicago rwrt. Qunker C)nl. Help others mid others will rwlp them- and a large number of mules pigs and i-lve flfc wi sheep It hn 1MMW acres devoted to renchlllg. pasture Here In GuuleinnlH the cattle arc fewer, hut the gnulng grouhds on the high plnlruus are of great extent, and well fitted for sheep, cattle and hogs. Nlca- Home oeonlo only seem happy when tht.y have bad new to tell. Pomotlmes Ifa Inline nnd not ti' stltlon thnt prompts a mart to nut off Ull Saturdnv what he might begin on TO dav. Hilhidelphla Hccord. rr'- BRADHEID REGULATOR CO., AtloU, Cs. xa. Aa toon us thy land uaa been j vTi tiacmeut Prescription that Soon Knocks Rheumatism The only logical treatment foi rheuma tism l through the blood The polBons ' that settle In muscles. Joints and back causing severe pain, must bo dissolved ' and expelled from the syftent or there can be no relief. This prescription from u nuicu uucior is saiu to no working won ders all over the country. Hundreds of the worst cases were oured by It here last winter. "From your druggltt get one ounce Torls compound (In original sealed package) and one ounce of syrup of Sarsaparllla compound. Take theen two Ingredients home and put them Into a half pint of good whiskey, tihake tho bottle and take a tablespoonful before each meal and at hed-tltne." Itesulta como the flrU day. If your druggist does not have Torts compound In stook he will get It In a few hours from his wholekale hoiifce. Don't be Influenced to take some patent medicine Instead of this. In bis t on having the genuine Toils compound In the nroglnal, one-punue. sealed, yellow package Published hi the Globe Phar- I rear -ureal miu atones or 1 ntcago. Ad. January Special Furniture Sale R Sale Worthy the Name Offering substantial savings on desirable furniture. $12,000.00 worth of the famous Stickley Bros. "Quaint" Furniture in fumed oak for the Dining, Living Rooms and Library on sale at a saving of one-fourth, together with hun dreds of furniture pieces and suites for Parlor, Library, Living Room, Dining Room, in all woods, showing a positive reduc tion nf n fourth nnd ;i third. Dining iaoi Note the examples of Kound cV'mCdittmoter, lienor 1 .! : dcBlKn, tiodcBtal bano, soft brown filmed superior bargains this sale rffi' iond to s W, regular price nffprS. mice .' OV vm u Buffet (I.lko llliiHtratlon) Ftimod onk, hand wr night copper trlm mlnfifl. B0 Inchon long. -!! inclica deep, 4 4 Inches high; rogulur price dC7 ff $76.00, .lanunry Sulo prlciMiJ I .VvF Libr ary Table (Like Illustration) Quaint style fumed oak, corner poBtH. ex tended above table top, rounded off ond, 0111 largo drawer, haB underBlielf, 112 inclien long by' 28 IncheB wldo; regular price $21.00. A big bargain January $17 50 III w I PS ' MINI I 1 Rocker and Hrm Chair (Uko llluntratlon) High back, litis Spanish leather cushion. Beat with pad, leather panel back, fumed oak; regular price $17.00 Choice chair or rocker, January Sale Library Table (l,lke Illustration) ThlH Is a high gradi fumed oak, heavy mission table largo drawer nab wnuiiB uuu wiu ind well and pen backs, ono Binall drawer at each end; 45 Inches long. 28 inches wide; regular price $30.00, 'January $21.00 $12.75 Rocker and Arm Chair (Like Illustrutloii) Heavy, large size, fumed oak with deep cusnion or spanisn teauier; each piece sells regularly at $18.00. January Sale, $13 50 $27. CO Dining Table, fumed oak, round top, 4 8 Inches In diameter; January Sale S20.00 $15.00 Library Table, fumed oak; January Sale .. .. S10.00 $20.00 Library Table, mahogany; Junu " ary Sale $14.25 $09.00 Library Table, solid mahogany; January Sale : S48.00 $62.00 Duffet, fumed oak; January Sale ' 40.50 $50.00 Bookcase, fumed oak; January Sale S37.50 $5a.00 Leather Sofa, golden oak frame; January Sale S39.00 $05.00 Leather Sofa; January Sale S73.00 $110.00 Sofa Bed, golden oak frame, gen uine leather upholstered; January Sale fc S87.00 $G0.0O Couch, fumed oak; January Sale S45.00 $70.00 Mahogany Davenport. 0 feet long, denim covered; January Sule. . 53.00 $24,00 Uooker, mahogany frame, tapestry seat and back; January Sulo.. 10.00 M ThreePiece Suit KV (i.llie Illustration) Mahogany finish, with mahogany, panel back; upholstered In highest grade gemtino black icathor; settee, rocker and nrm chair. Regu lar selling price $49.00; January Sale $35.00 Rocker and Arm Chair (Like Illustration) (loud, generoun size, with lilEh bad;. Hont and back fitted with Kpanlah leather Ioohr cunhion, fruir.e ot coft hrnwn fumed oak. Regular Rolling price $30.00. January '')') (TA Hale price, either cluilr AA.alli ur rocker $4 5.00 Hocker,, denim upholstered, mahog any frame; January Sale S27.50 $50.00 Itocker or Arm Ohair, solid mahog any, loose cushion seat nnd back covered in heavy green panne velour; January Salo 830.50 $25,00 Settee, mahogany, denim seat: January Sale , . .10.50 $24.00 Settee, solid mahogany, panne vel vet seat; January Sale -18.00 $48.00 Serving Table, solid mahogany.; January Salo 24.00 $150.00 Sofa, red Morocco; January Sale .v 75.00 $44.00 Settee, mahogany, cushion seat silk velour; January Salo 29.00 $138.00 3-pleco lied Room Suite dresser, chiffonier and toilet table Toona ma hogany; January Sale 8103.00 $85.00 3-plece Suite, mahogany' finish frame, genuine leather upholstered; Jan uary Sale 857.00 $125.00 3-piece Mahogany Finish Suite, heavy design, genuine leather upholster ed seat and back; January Sale 84.00 OSTERMOOR MATTRESSES We offer a few In January Sale on account of ticks being slightly soiled from broken packages. $18.00 Ostermoor 13.75 $30.00 Ostermoor 17.75 Orchard & Wilhelm (Carpet (Company V