318  SELLING  LATIN  AMERICA

strapped  with  iron  bands,  half  an  inch  wide
around  each  end,  and  wrapped  first  in  waterproof ­
  paper,  then  sewn  in  burlap,  and  NOT
TO  WEIGH  more  than  40  kilos  (about  100
pounds)”—do  exactly  this  and  NOTHING
more.
The  iron  bands  and  the  heavy  wood  of  the
packing  case  insure  protection  against  breakage ­
  during  its  ocean  and  railway  voyage.
The  waterproof  paper  will  serve  to  keep  the
contents  of  the  case  from  rain  and  snow
storms,  to  say  nothing  of  preventing  the  spray
of  the  ocean  while  it  is  in  the  lighter,  from
damaging  its  contents.  The  burlap  sewed
over  all  is  a  visible  defense  against  theft  en
route,  either  by  the  customs  authorities  or  by
the  pack  train  men.  The  weight  of  40  kilos
means  that  it  may  be  strapped  to  the  side  of  a
burro,  and  form  one  of  two  such  packages  to
be  carried  by  him.  Eurthermore  the  wood  of
the  case  being  half  an  inch  wide,  means  that
when  the  box  reaches  its  destination,  it  can  be
sold  to  the  coffin  maker  for  conversion  into  a
baby’s  casket,  because  wood  of  this  nature  is