The climate of the South American rubber country is usually fatal to white men, and even among the Indians the fevers, the poisonous insects and reptiles, and the other perils of a tropical forest cause a high death rate. The production of South American rubber is limited by a shortage of men rather than a shortage of trees.
In December the rainy season begins. The waters of the Amazon begin to rise and the work ceases. The superintendent and many of the workers go down the river to Para and Manaos or to villages on higher ground. However, a number of the laborers usually remain in the huts, loafing and fighting the animals and insects that seek refuge from the rising waters. They have but little to eat, and during the entire season practically no communication with the outside world.
A Home of the Rubber Gatherers
Courtesy of the United States Rubber Co.
At the end of the rainy season, early in May, the laborers return to their task. The quick-growing vegetation has filled the estradas and this must be cleared away and perhaps new estradas opened. An estrada is simply a path leading from one Hevea tree to another and circling back to camp. Each estrada includes about one hundred of the scattered Heveas.
After having established themselves in camp the natives take up their monotonous round, which is followed day after day as long as the rubber trees continue to yield their valuable sap. When the seringuero starts out he equips himself with a tomahawk-like axe having a handle about thirty inches long. This is called a “macheadino.”
Tapping Hevea Rubber Tree—Brazil