“A number of blacks, bearing long poles on their shoulders, thickly strung with India-rubber shoes, also attracted our attention. These are for the most part manufactured in the interior, and are brought down the river for sale by the natives. It has been estimated that at least two hundred and fifty thousand pairs of shoes are annually exported from the province, and the number is constantly increasing. A few words here respecting the tree itself, and the manufacture of the shoes, may not be out of place. The tree is quite peculiar in its appearance, and sometimes reaches the hight of eighty and even a hundred feet. The trunk is perfectly round, rather smooth, and protected by a bark of a light color. The leaves grow in clusters of three together, are thin, and of an ovate form, and are from ten to fifteen inches in length. The center leaf of the cluster is always the longest. This remarkable tree bears a curious fruit of the size of a peach, which, although not very palatable, is eagerly sought after by different animals. It is separated into three lobes, which contain each a small black nut. The trees are tapped in the same manner that the New Englanders tap maple-trees; the trunk having been perforated, a yellowish liquid, resembling cream, flows out, which is caught in small clay cups fastened to the tree. When these become full, their contents are emptied into large earthen jars, in which the liquid is kept until desired for use. The operation of making the shoes is as simple as it is interesting. Imagine yourself in one of the seringa groves of Brazil. Around you are a number of good-looking natives of low stature and olive complexions. One is stirring, with a long wooden stick, the contents of a caldron, placed over a pile of blazing embers. This is the liquid as it was taken from the rubber tree. Into this a wooden ‘last,’ covered with clay, and having a handle, is plunged. A coating of the liquid remains. Another native then takes the ‘last,’ and holds it in the smoke arising from the ignition of a species of palm fruit, for the purpose of causing the glutinous substance to assume a dark color. The ‘last’ is then plunged again into the caldron, and this process is repeated as in dipping candles, until the coating is of the required thickness. You will moreover notice a number of Indian girls engaged in making various impressions, such as flowers, &c., upon the soft surface of the rubber, by means of their thumb-nails, which are especially pared and cultivated for that purpose. After this final operation, the shoes are placed in the sun to harden, and large numbers of them may be seen laid out on mats in exposed situations. The aboriginal name of the rubber is cahchu, from which the formidable word of caoutchouc is derived.”
THE OLD ROUND TOWER AT NEWPORT.
THE ROUND TOWER AT NEWPORT.
“The tower”—“the old round tower”—“the old stone tower,” at Newport, Rhode Island, if not one of the wonders of the world, has at least excited wonder enough in some of its inhabitants, and been a monument of deep interest to the traveler, the antiquarian, the controversialist, and the poet. Its appearance may be seen in the cut below, which is taken from a drawing made on the spot. For a long time it was the prevailing belief, that it was built by the Northmen, who, it was supposed, coasted along the New England shores as early as the twelfth century. Even the society of Danish antiquaries, gravely came to this conclusion, from some drawings and accounts that were sent them; and the discovery of a “skeleton in armor,” on the main land, near Newport, gave currency to this impression. Later investigations, however, have settled the point that it was originally built for a windmill, about 1676. It is about seventy-five feet above high-water level in the harbor, and about one hundred and twenty rods from the shore. Thus has been dissipated the foundation of many a wild theory, and many a joyous hoax of other days.
SUBMARINE OR DIVING ARMOR.
DIVING ARMOR.
The mention of the India-rubber tree, on a previous page, suggests the application of the valuable substance derived from it, to one of its many important uses, viz., to the submarine or diving armor. This is represented in the cut below, where the diver, or person about to descend into the sea, is seen encased with a water-proof dress, made chiefly of India rubber. His feet are heavily loaded with boots which have soles made of thick plates of lead. On his head is a helmet-shaped covering, made of iron, from which rises a hose, through which fresh air is forced to him, by powerful air-pumps, when he is under the water. This helmet, which is well padded, is furnished with two glass eyes, which are protected by wire gratings. Around the waist is a strong girdle provided with iron rings, one on each side, from which ascend cords to the persons in the boat from which the diver descends, for the purpose not only of aiding to guide him over the rocks, and helping him to an upright position, but to serve for signalizing in case of sudden danger or accident, and as a means of hauling him up when required. Thus although the diver is at perfect liberty to direct his own movements, he is still held in leading-strings from the boat, and all his motions are vigilantly watched and cared for by his companions above. To aid him in keeping under water, the diver also wears two heavy plates of lead, one in front and the other behind, which are so adjusted as to leave his arms at liberty, and at the same time give equilibrium to his submerged body. In this case, he also has a bag in front, into which he may put valuables of small size picked up in the deep, such, for example, as pearls, or amber, both of which have been sought for by persons thus equipped.
