THE IGUASSU FALLS AND PARAGUAY
IMPORTANT ARGENTINE CITIES
Among the nations of the ancient or the modern world, not one do we
know with a history in some respects so extraordinary as that of
Paraguay. Yet of the thousands annually who will soon be making the
South American Tour, scarcely one would be tempted by _historic
interest_ to journey 1000 miles from the beaten track. But _the
greatest waterfall in the world_! Ah, that is another matter! A
waterfall bigger than Niagara, as high and with more water? Truly,
that is the tale! So while the majority, who wish to make the trip
in three months or so, or who have come in the wrong season, may go
directly on from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, some will decide to
visit the Iguassú Falls, and then, being near, will cross over to
Asunción, the capital of Paraguay.
To a few it would be pleasant to make the entire journey upward in
the fine steamers of Mihanovich. Although the banks of the wide
Paraná are too distant and too flat to afford much scenic beauty,
there is some interest in calling at various cities along the way,
and in noting the gradual change from a temperate to a tropical
clime, with the variation in verdure and animal life, especially of
birds; higher up between narrowing shores or islands are fascinating
stretches of forest, interspersed with pretty pastoral scenes. All
the way to Asunción, a week’s journey, one may sail in the same
commodious steamer; but if first visiting the Falls, a change will
be made at Corrientes; for the Alto Paraná on which Posadas is
situated is more shallow than the Paraguay on whose bank is
Asunción.
The shorter way, appealing to the greater number, is to go by rail
to Posadas, thence by steamer to the Falls and return, continuing by
rail from Posadas to Asunción. The river route, obviously shorter
coming down, may be taken for the return to Buenos Aires, or the
rail route through Posadas.
The cross-country ride through the provinces of Entre Rios and
Corrientes on the way to Posadas will give a view of the fertile
pampas and their rich agricultural products, of enormous herds of
cattle, and of the wooded banks of the Uruguay; through Misiones, of
a pretty rolling country. The towns are generally small. At last
accounts a day and a half was required for the journey.
=Posadas=, capital of the territory Misiones, is a thriving town of
10,000 inhabitants, destined to more rapid growth, now that it has
through railway connection with Buenos Aires, and, after crossing
the Paraná, with Asunción; the whole section will share in the
prosperity promoted by better transportation facilities. The three
hotels of Posadas, one of which, terms, $2.00 a day, is called
fairly comfortable, will be sure to improve. There is a fine
Government Building on the principal plaza and other public
edifices, a beautiful promenade with native and exotic trees. The
river is here about a mile and a quarter in width.
=Iguassú Falls.= To visit the Iguassú Falls one sails from Posadas
in a boat of moderate size 100 miles up the Paraná to the mouth of
the Iguassú, and half a mile up that stream to Port Aguirre, where a
building, called a hut, serves as hotel, store, and post office. As
the Alto Paraná separates Argentina from Paraguay, the Iguassú
separates it from Brazil, flowing from the east, from its source in
the mountains near the Atlantic. Twelve miles more one proceeds on
mule or horseback, a four hours’ ride. By 1915, so rapidly are
improvements made, doubtless there will be an automobile traveling a
good road; and a primitive establishment on the edge of a rocky
gorge will have been transformed for the globe trotters into a large
hotel with luxurious accommodations. Perhaps, however, the tourist
who arrives before the pristine beauty of the wild surroundings are
converted into artificial adornment may enjoy equally well the
magnificence of the spectacle. From the inn near the Falls, a public
spirited and wealthy lady of Argentina has had a roadway
constructed, 65 feet wide, more than half a mile along the bank of
the stream to the top of the Argentine Fall. For the river, here a
mile and a half in width, double that of Niagara, also has two
falls, the Brazilian farther up nearer the other shore. In the midst
of this primeval tropical forest, the roar of the great cataract is
startling; on the other hand it may seem still more startling to
approach through an absolutely silent forest quite to the edge of
this tremendous cataract, the wind sometimes unaccountably carrying
the noise in an opposite direction. Above the Falls the river is
very wide; taking a sharp turn it makes three leaps, the last about
200 feet, where unequal erosion has given something of a horseshoe
shape. Zigzag paths cut in the cliff lead down to several beautiful
view-points. When the stream is low, it may be crossed above the
Falls by canoe and wading, to a point called the Garganta del
Diablo, the Throat of the Devil, close to the Brazilian Falls; the
traveler with steady nerves leaning over the precipice, in the midst
of howling waters and showers of spray, may there have a glorious
view of the foaming abyss beneath. In low water the Brazilian and
Argentine Falls each measure a quarter of a mile along the edge.
Separated by masses of rock in some places covered with forest, they
are then quite distinct; but when the river is high they are
practically one, the whole measuring nearly two miles across, indeed
a worthy rival of Niagara, as figures show, in the midst of wild and
delightful scenery.
Comparing this with the other two great cataracts of the world,
Victoria and Niagara, the African fall leads in height with a leap
from 210 to 360 feet, that of the Iguassú is 196-210 feet, and
Niagara but 150-164. The width of the Victoria is slightly more than
Niagara’s; the Iguassú with its 13,123 feet has more than double the
breadth. In the volume of water also the Iguassú is greater with 28
million cubic feet a minute to 18 million for each of the others.
Our great Niagara thus seems outdone by both, while in the magical
beauty of the surroundings there is no comparison. The Argentine
Government is already awake to the necessity of preserving from
spoliation by the greedy and destructive hands of men this one of
the world’s marvels for the admiration and enjoyment of posterity,
and is planning for the development here of a great National Park,
foreseeing that visitors will come from all parts of Europe and
America when aware of the attractions and that the comforts of
travel will be supplied.
One having the spirit of the true explorer may continue up the Alto
Paraná River, now dividing Paraguay from Brazil, 125 miles farther,
to the foaming cataracts of _La Guayra_, sometimes called the Seven
Falls and said to be the mightiest on earth. Above these is a great
lake from which the water emerging comes down over precipices
through a narrow gorge at one point but 250 feet wide. The waters
drop in one leap after another 310 feet, descending into the gorge
below with a force so tremendous as to form a maelstrom by the side
of which the Niagara whirlpool is a quiet spot. They are calculated
all together to have a force of 4.3 million horsepower, from a mass
of 13,000,000 cubic feet a minute. Four hundred miles farther up
stream are the Uberaponga Falls.
=Ruins.= One who delights in these will find a further attraction in
the territory of _Misiones_. Not so ancient as the Inca and other
remains in Peru and Bolivia, they still have an interesting history.
Here in Misiones, and in neighboring regions of Brazil, occurred the
earliest and most successful attempt yet made for the civilization
of native tribes, instead of their extermination or exploitation,
ruthlessly practiced for centuries in most parts of North and South
America. The earliest settlements of the Indians made by the Jesuits
were in the countries of Paraguay and Brazil; but as a result of the
attacks of the Portuguese, who carried the Indians off into slavery,
the Jesuits migrated to the south shores of the Alto Paraná and to
the region along the Uruguay, taking with them their protégés, who
through humane treatment had become submissive to their influence.
Thirty villages were ultimately established, which in 1732 were in a
prosperous condition with 30,362 families. Envy thus arose from
which and other reasons the Jesuits were expelled from the colonies
as also from Spain in 1768. Bereft of their leaders the Indians,
happily domesticated and employed, soon began to scatter, and in
1817 the villages were destroyed. The ruins of these large
establishments, surrounded and overgrown by thick woods, are mute,
impressive witnesses of the criminal folly of man and of the
destructive power of nature.
[Illustration:
A FRACTION OF THE IGUASSÚ FALLS
]
Such ruins exist at _Apostoles_, a railway station 35 miles from
Posadas, though the best preserved are at San Ignacio Mini, 11 miles
from Santa Ana, 1½ miles from the bank of the Paraná.
HISTORICAL
Before crossing the river into Paraguay, a glance at its strange
history is in order. Wonderful indeed it appears, that almost in
the center of this great continent, eight hundred miles from the
sea, a city was founded August 15, 1536, by three hundred
Spaniards, a full century before Roger Williams made a
settlement on the shores of Narragansett Bay and seventy-one
years prior to the first English colony established in North
America. The names of Juan de Ayolas and his faithful aid,
Captain Martinez de Irala, should stand out more prominently in
the list of American pioneers. A land route to the newly
discovered rich gold country of Peru was what they were seeking.
With this end in view Ayolas established a fortified settlement
on the site of Asunción; then having made peace with the Indians
he pursued his way north and west in the hope of winning through
to Peru. For this purpose he had been sent by Pedro de Mendoza,
after that leader had established a small colony at Buenos
Aires. Sailing up the river to a natural port which he called La
Candelaria, he left here the ships with Irala and forty men,
with orders to wait for him four months. Then he plunged into
the vast and gloomy forest.
Somewhat later the Governor of Buenos Aires, Francisco Ruiz
Galen, hearing of Ayolas’ disappearance, with six ships and two
hundred men, sailed up to Asunción, arriving about when Irala
for the second time returned from La Candelaria for necessary
supplies. Galen, asserting authority, refused Irala a vessel to
go back. Months elapsed before the faithful Irala with angry
urging at length obtained the vessel. It was now the autumn of
1538, long after the time set for Ayolas’ return. Still Irala
waited, ignorant that Ayolas and all his followers were lying
dead in the forest not far distant. For while Irala had been
urging his demand for the vessel and supplies, Ayolas, who had
journeyed among hostile Indians, swamps, and forests to the
mountains of Charcas, had returned unscathed with gold and
silver to find the banks of the river deserted and no vessel in
waiting. The tragedy was complete when the Indians fell upon the
little band and slaughtered every one. Again Irala descended to
Asunción and again returned to wait, till at last he learned
from the Indians of the unhappy fate of his chief and sadly went
back to Asunción. There he was enthusiastically acclaimed
Governor and Captain-General of the colony.
Although his subsequent career was far from smooth he was more
fortunate, as well as more faithful and able, than most of the
_conquistadores_, at last, while still in office, dying
peacefully, in 1557, at the age of seventy. Years of jealousy
and strife followed. Meanwhile the settlement at Buenos Aires
had been abandoned. Though re-established in 1580, Asunción
remained the chief Spanish city on the eastern slope of South
America until near the close of the eighteenth century. When,
however, in 1776 a Viceroy was appointed for the region of La
Plata, he had his seat in Buenos Aires. Some time after the
revolution there of May 25, 1810, a small army was sent from
Buenos Aires to Paraguay with the expectation that they too
would revolt. Instead, the Argentines were defeated; but a
little later the people of Paraguay demanded the resignation of
Governor Velazco. It was given and a new government was
peacefully organized, to be followed by many changes, until in
1844 Carlos Antonio Lopez was elected President. This office he
held until his death in 1862 when he was succeeded by his son,
Francisco, both men being really dictators. Unfortunately the
son, who had visited Europe, conceived the idea of becoming a
second Napoleon, and at once began to strengthen and discipline
the army and to fortify the country. Uruguay, as usual involved
in difficulties, appealed to Lopez for assistance against
Brazil. Lopez, on his way to invade that country crossed
Argentine territory although permission had been refused.
Uruguay meanwhile becoming reconciled with Brazil, Paraguay
became involved in a war against these three countries.
Presumably, a war between one small country and the two greatest
of South America would be of short duration. Not so! Six years
the war continued, inflicting upon the little country, through
slaughter and disease, loss and suffering unparalleled, costing
the allies also severe distress. No more heroic struggle is
recorded in history. Though with a splendid army of fighters,
the resources of Paraguay gradually diminished, a victory
winning no lasting good. A chain barrier fixed across the river,
with fortifications, long kept the enemy out. Wooden cannon were
constructed from the hardwood of the forest; but at last the
forts were passed. In December, 1868, after a severe defeat,
Lopez abandoned Asunción to continue his struggle in the
interior. Defeated in August, 1869, in a last battle, he fled
farther into the forest, till finally, March, 1870, his horse
becoming mired in a swamp, he was killed by a spear thrust after
refusing to surrender.
Freed at last from his ruthless domination the country had
peace; but alas! of the population of nearly a million and a
half six years earlier, but 280,000 it is said remained. An army
decimated is supposed to suffer terrible loss. Here five-sixths
of the entire population perished, the cattle and agricultural
resources were destroyed. Few able-bodied men had survived; boys
even to the age of ten had been impressed into the army;
delicate women had been compelled to work in the fields for the
production of grain to sustain life, and had suffered many
unspeakable hardships. The struggle of the Greeks against the
Persians was not so desperate, or prolonged to so bitter an end.
This, moreover, was wholly unnecessary, the Dictator Lopez being
the culpable aggressor; none the less, this story of the
unparalleled heroism of a people should be more familiar to the
world outside.
A season of recuperation and freedom followed, but many years
were needed for the nation to retrieve in population and
resources the position it held before the war. Not yet indeed
are the inhabitants so numerous, nor have they learned the
advantages of peace. No longer ago than November, 1911, an
insurrection broke out, which for six months or more caused
devastation and bloodshed. It is to be hoped that peace will now
be preserved.
Curiously enough, the people of Paraguay pride themselves upon
being the most homogeneous and united of all the South American
Republics, as they are among the best fighters. Not that they
are of pure Spanish descent! They are an amalgamation of the
early Spanish settlers with the Guaranís, the most numerous and
intelligent of the Indian tribes in the neighborhood. An
illustration of the fallacy of certain theories, the result is a
strong and handsome white race, preserving with Spanish culture
and virtues the warlike nature of the Guaranís and unusual
virility for a people on the edge of the tropics.
From Posadas across the river to Villa Encarnación the through
trains are now carried on large ferry boats as planned. The journey
to Asunción may therefore be made by through cars from Buenos Aires,
the road having recently been widened, and iron bridges erected over
the various streams. It is a pretty, rolling country, still sparsely
settled, with forests, open grass lands, and occasional small
villages and farms.
=By River to Asunción.= Should one prefer to sail up the river to
Asunción and return by land, which on some accounts might be the
more pleasurable, one would drive in the early morning to the docks
of the Darsena Sud, whence the great steamers of the Mihanovich
Lines ply to Montevideo and to the north. Also there are boats of
the Lloyd Braziliero twice a month. Excellent steamers provide every
essential comfort, and the person for whom the sea is too boisterous
may find pleasure in this experience. Unless with a considerable
party one should be something of a linguist to enjoy fully the
excursion, as the crowd will be cosmopolitan, representing perhaps a
dozen different countries.
A multitude of vessels will be passed ere the ship sails freely on
the great brown stream, so like the sea except in color. It first
seems like a river, only on the entrance to the Paraná, where the
steamer winds in and out among low islands, fringed with rushes and
willows. Several ports are passed on the left bank, but most of the
way now, as far as Corrientes, the stream is so wide that only one
bank is visible. The water swirls along 2½ knots an hour. There are
vistas of green and silver, occasional sails, and gradually higher
banks.
=Rosario.= The first call is made next morning at this, the second
city in Argentina, with nearly 200,000 population, founded by
Francisco Godoy in 1725, but having small prosperity until, in 1859,
General Urquiza made it a port of entry. Ocean steamers drawing 24
feet come to its docks, for as a grain port it leads Buenos Aires.
The city is situated on bluffs, one says 60, another, 300 feet high.
An expensive system of docks has been arranged to suit the varying
height of the river. Sacks of grain are sent down through chutes
into the holds of the vessels. The river here is said to be 20 miles
wide, though with numerous islands it does not so appear.
[Illustration:
JUDICIARY BUILDING, ROSARIO
]
[Illustration:
RESIDENCE ON AN ARGENTINE ESTANCIA
]
Rosario is a great railway center, roads leading to Mendoza and the
Trans-Andine, to Bolivia, of course to the Capital and to other
cities; it is expected that a road soon will extend to the Amazon
basin. Rosario compares with Buenos Aires somewhat as Chicago with
New York; it may have a similar if less rapid development. On higher
land, with wider streets than Buenos Aires, in other respects it is
naturally inferior. There are several hotels, the Grand, Central,
Royal, Britannia, and Frascati called comfortable, with prices more
moderate, as they should be; the new Victoria Restaurant is good
enough for any one. There are excellent public buildings, especially
a magnificent Custom House, the Palace of Justice, a busy Bolsa
(Exchange) on calle Córdoba, a handsome street with good shops; a
beautiful park, boulevards, and fine dwellings. Electric cars supply
adequate service. There are many English here, who have a pleasant
Club; also there is a Strangers’ Club.
=Paraná.= Above Rosario a call on the other side is made at
_Diamante_, then one at Paraná, capital of the Entre Rios Province,
a pleasant town of 30,000, founded in 1730 by a colony from Santa
Fé. On the Plaza de Mayo is an imposing Government Building, and a
Cathedral whose twin white towers are seen afar. The Plaza Alvear
near the river is more beautiful, with graceful palms and flowering
trees, above which rise the towers of a fine church, the San Miguel.
The Paseo Rivadavia, a broad, shaded promenade, conducts to the
Urquiza Gardens. Here broad walks and stone stairways, among
blossoming shrubs and flowers, and handsome trees, lead down to the
river or to the top of gentle slopes, which afford a panorama of the
winding river and of a broad expanse of rolling country, especially
admirable after the flat plain. A large new theater offers
entertainment. We have doubtless all heard that “If wishes were
horses, beggars might ride,” and in Paraná they really do. The city
has electric cars, the workshops of the Entre Rios railway, and is a
distributing and shipping point of importance, also an educational
center. One interested in this phase of Argentine life may visit the
School Alberdi, seven miles distant, a Normal College of
Agriculture, the only one in the Republic. It aims to furnish all
the learning necessary for rural managers, the knowledge requisite
for the administration of an _estancia_, both for cattle raising and
agriculture, to give information as to suitable exploitation of
especial sites, and, besides furnishing technical knowledge, to
develop initiative, perseverance, and ability for direction and
organization. The estate covers 1000 acres, cultivating wheat, flax,
corn, oats, alfalfa, potatoes, besides 5000 trees of choice
varieties.
=Santa Fé.= Opposite Paraná is _Colastine_, the port of _Santa Fé_,
the former for ocean vessels, smaller river steamers only sailing up
the tributary, Quiloaza, to the capital city, seven years older than
Buenos Aires. This also was founded by Juan de Garay, a short
distance from the larger river, as in those days of smaller vessels
a quieter port was desirable than the unruly Paraná. Once a rival of
Rosario, it has now with a population of 50,000 been left far in the
rear.
One of the public buildings, the Casa de Senadores, is a historic
place where in troublous times five National conventions have been
held, 1828-31-53-60-66; many provincial assemblies have met here for
constitutional reforms of the Province. From the lofty tower there
is a fine view of the city and surrounding country. Among other
important buildings are schools, a Public Asylum, and several
churches, the Metropolitan erected 1741 originally with a single
nave, two being added in 1834. Some historic relics within are four
splendid marble basins for holy water, gift of the Tyrant Rosas, a
chasuble of richly embroidered satin made at Misiones about the
middle of the last century, a painting from Cuzco, of date 1751,
representing the beheading of Saint Firmin, a Christ sculptured in
relief on a block of fine white marble framed in Corinthian bronze,
and a portrait of Saint Peter. The Church of St. Domingo, corner 3rd
of February and 9th of July, commenced in 1786, now entirely
renewed, contains a silver tabernacle with Byzantine design, a
diadem of the patriarch Santo Domingo, and other valuable relics.
San Francisco Church, Comercio and Ecuador streets, begun in 1652,
completed 1680, has relics of the noted general, Stanislas Lopez,
who is buried under the cupola, and a remarkable Jesus of Nazareth.
La Merced, on Comercio and Gen. Lopez streets, built in 1728,
contains a fine oil painting of the Virgin. The Cathedral now in
construction, in the form of a Latin cross, will be a monumental
work. A statue of San Martin, like the one in B. A., adorns the
plaza of his name, the pedestal representing a condor, the symbol of
strength and of the victories of the great General contributing to
the Independence. A municipal theater which cost $125,000 has a
handsomely decorated foyer. The hotels, Grand, Central, etc., are
all rather poor.
Higher up the Paraná, towns are more scattered but calls are more
frequent. _Santa Elena_ is a town with a large _saladero_, a
meat-curing factory. At _La Paz_ wood and charcoal are an important
element of trade. The scenery becomes more pleasing. A severe
thunderstorm may afford temporary excitement. Crude native boats
floating down stream are met, bamboo laden schooners, rafts of
quebracho timber. These, too heavy to float, are supported by common
wood placed beneath. The ports _Bella Vista_ and _Piraguacito_ are
centers of the quebracho industry. This remarkable wood, the name
meaning hatchet-breaker, one of the hardest known species, is
largely used for railway ties throughout South America, and to some
extent for furniture. From the red colored variety tannin is
extracted, so valuable in the tanning of hides. This was first
effected in France in 1874. In 1889 the first factory for tannin
manufacture was erected at Puerto Casado, Paraguay, the country
where it is most largely produced.
=Corrientes=, founded April 3, 1588, with 25,000 population, is an
important and busy place, exporting rich woods for building and
cabinet making, sugar, cotton, and tobacco, horses, sheep, and
cattle. The city, three days from Buenos Aires, is 25 miles from the
junction of the two great rivers, the Alto Paraná and the Paraguay,
and from the frontier. To visit by this route Posadas and the
Iguassú Falls one would here change to a boat of lighter draft, as
rapids below Posadas allow passage in the dry season of steamers
drawing no more than three feet.
To Asunción one continues in the same steamer, as the Paraguay
River, though considerably narrower, permits steamers of 12 feet
draft up to that city. Floating islands are frequent, orchids and
parrots are numerous; alligators in profusion bask in the sun,
disdaining to move at the occasional crack of a rifle aimed in their
direction. Islands of green with flowers of lavender float upon the
stream. Blossoms of purple and of white depend from the creepers
which embrace the trees of the forest. Giant scarlet flowers a foot
in diameter spring from a green cactus. Human life is rare.
The first halt in Paraguay, now on the right bank, while Argentina
continues on the left, is _Humaytá_ where the familiar colors red,
white, and blue, appear instead of the Argentine blue and white
only. This being a garrison town, low barracks are visible and
soldiers in khaki. A conspicuous object is a great red brick church,
battered and rent from top to bottom, a mute and mournful witness of
that strange six years’ war. Attacked by the allies, the defensive
army under Col. Martinez made long and suitable resistance, at
length retreating to the church which was bombarded from the boats.
Surrender was at last compelled. Lopez at this was so enraged that,
as Martinez was not at hand, he seized his wife and dragged her
along with his army. After suffering frightful tortures, her hair
mostly torn from her head, she suffered death from merciful bullets.
That she was a relative of Lopez was nothing to the monster of
cruelty who caused a brother to be shot and his own mother to be
flogged.
The country on the left with low banks is called the _Chaco_, first
the Argentine, and above Asunción the Paraguayan; it is a wonderful
section many times traversed, but not yet thoroughly explored; with
the region to the north one of the least known parts of the earth.
From the highlands of Bolivia at the northwest the slope is
extremely gradual causing many swamps. With some poor land there is
more with rich vegetation, immense forests, wild animals of many
kinds, including boa constrictors. And there is a tale of a creature
called Mboya Jagwa, dog snake, a water serpent unknown to science,
60 or 70 feet long with a head like a dog and a hooked tail. The
Indians all agree in their description of it, and one village moved
to another part of the country because one of these creatures had
settled near by.
Two days have passed on the clearer waters of the Paraguay when a
strange sight appears in this alluvial land; some large stone
buildings and great boulders of red stone along the bank, then a
rocky sugar loaf mountain, not very high, a mere babe of a mountain,
but a pleasing sight in this flat land. A different country is here;
red cliffs, honeycombed with caves, rise from the shore. One more
corner, and the city of Asunción appears, after so much wilderness,
an imposing display of white walls, roofs and spires, facing not
only the stream up which we have sailed, but the broad Pilcomayo,
flowing in from the northwest, which marks on that side the boundary
between Argentina and Paraguay.
[Illustration:
GOVERNMENT PALACE, ASUNCIÓN
]
=Asunción=, capital of Paraguay, is called by one English writer the
cleanest, nicest town on the river above Buenos Aires. Situated on a
hillside above the stream, it has fine natural drainage; and good
air and sunshine make it a healthy place, to which many come from
the south to recover from tuberculosis. A thousand miles from the
sea it is only 203 feet above the ocean’s level. With a population
of 80,000 it is still a quiet, sleepy town; for several hours at
noon in summer the streets are practically deserted. The Gran Hotel
del Paraguay is supplied with baths, has French cooking, and English
is spoken. A Paraguayan _peso_ is said to be worth 8 cents gold, so
it may be well not to have too many.
On the main Plaza, of course, is the _Government Palace_, which was
built by Lopez just before the war and is now used for the offices
of the President and the Members of his Cabinet; the second story
windows afford a splendid view; here a breeze is ever blowing. The
_National Library_ deserves a visit, for it contains the finest
existing collection of old Spanish documents connected with the
history of the Plata region, and Jesuit annals from 1534 to 1600;
interesting accounts also of what was nearly a condition of State
Socialism under Dr. Francia and the elder Lopez. These documents,
carried off by the younger Lopez when he abandoned the capital, were
for many years in peasants’ houses at Piribebuy, where many valuable
manuscripts were used as waste paper.
The _Museo de Bellas Artes_ boasts of at least one Murillo and half
a dozen other paintings which would adorn any European collection;
portraits too of many historical personages. The streets, paved with
stone and lined with whitewashed walls, well reflect the sun; here
is repeated the saying that only the English and mad dogs walk on
the sunny side of the street, although the climate even in summer is
not marked by extreme heat. From Tacumbu, the summit of the ridge
above the town, a beautiful view will be had of long stretches of
winding river up and down, and leagues over the Chaco forests
opposite as well as the rolling country to the east. The forests are
not of one or a few kinds of trees. Out of a number of 163, in a
space 100 yards square, there were 47 (not 57) varieties. The land
is well adapted to intensive cultivation, on account of the great
variety of products which may be raised. There is good hunting,
boar, jaguar, monkeys, red wolf, etc., and a great field for
scientists in both vegetable and animal worlds. Also there is a
chance for the treasure seeker; for when Lopez fled from the capital
he took with him seven cartloads of specie, at least $5,000,000. One
cartload, on account of hot pursuit, was dumped over the bank into a
river. The rest was carried on and buried in the midst of a swamp
where it was marked by a wooden cross. This cross was burned in a
prairie fire, Lopez and all of his men perished, the records were
lost; but one man is reported as living who followed the wheel
tracks to the end. However, the money obviously belonged to the
Government of Paraguay and if found, which is improbable, a good
portion at least would have to be forfeited to the Government.
Every one who comes to Asunción will wish to purchase a bit of
Nanduty lace, as it is called, a specialty of Paraguayan handiwork,
some of it very fine and beautiful. It bears resemblance in patterns
to Mexican drawn work; it is not, however, drawn, but is genuine
lace. It may be purchased also in Buenos Aires; perhaps sometimes in
Montevideo, but none could be found there in 1912 in spite of a
strenuous hunt, nor in Rio either. The prices are moderate, and no
man need hesitate about purchasing a piece. No woman will.
Another specialty of Paraguay is the _yerba mate_, sometimes called
Paraguay tea, which is raised also in neighboring parts of Argentina
and Brazil. This herb, _Ilex paraguayensis_, or South American
holly, grows as a bush or tree resembling the orange. The leaves,
which are bright green, are used to make a tea, in these three
countries very popular with natives, and with many immigrants; it is
being gradually introduced into Europe. The leaf is smoked and
powdered. The beverage is made by putting some of this powder into a
small gourd called a _mate_, and pouring on boiling water. After it
has steeped a while, flavored with lemon or sugar, it is drunk
through a _bombilla_, a tube enlarged at the end to a sort of oval
ball, with small holes which admit the liquid, but are supposed to
keep out the powdered tea. The natives and others drink this on all
occasions. Taken in moderation it is very wholesome, of more or less
the same class as tea and coffee, but containing less tannin than
either; of caffein or thein it has less than tea but about the same
as coffee. It does not irritate but soothes the nervous system, and
is beneficial to the digestion unless used to excess. When used
_instead_ of food it becomes injurious. Thus a gentleman, Scotch,
who had been in the habit of taking 12 or 14 cups in the morning and
eating nothing until noon, at length found himself in a bad way.
Placed by his doctor on a sensible diet, a good breakfast with only
2 or 3 cups of _mate_, he found his health soon restored. It is
estimated that in South America, despite the great coffee
production, 10,000,000 persons drink _mate_. It is sold in England,
France, Germany, and other countries of Europe, the United States
being slowest in learning to appreciate its excellence. In 1909 more
than 2 million pounds were produced. Plantations are now being set
out and its production and consumption are certain to increase
amazingly.
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