Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 October 1898 — Gathering Rubber on the Congo. [ARTICLE]

Gathering Rubber on the Congo.

The rubber of Congo Is not a tree, as many suppose, but a vine, often three or four inches in diameter, and is found in the jungle climbing up trees, sometimes to the height of fifty feet. The natives who live in idleness at all other times, work hard during the season of rubber gathering. The Inhabitants of the villages indulge in a tremendous debauch before the cutters start out, after which the men, laden with a supply of food, for there is nothing to eat in the rubber districts, strike boldly off for the jungle. As only the upper and smaller portions of the vine produce the best sap, the men have to climb to the highest branches frequently to do their work. The pieces are cut and thrown to the ground, and are cut then again into lengths of three to four feet and held over pots for the Juice to run out. After a sufficient quantity has been gathered it is boiled down for several hours, after having been mixed with the juices of several other vines to make it more sticky and more easily formed Into balls. The best and purest robber is obtained by the natives catching the juice as It runs around their wrists and dries in the form of bracelets. When set it comes off easily, and would be perfectly clear If the negroes’ arms and bands were clean.