ASCENDING THE PLATA AND PARANÁ.
From the River Tigre I proceeded on foot to Buenos Ayres. When within
a league or two of the city, I passed a fine _quinta_ inhabited by a
Scotchman, who had resided several years in the republic. Two Irishmen,
mounted high upon a cart, were driving through the gate, and one of
them, after scrutinizing my appearance, shouted to me, “Sure you’re an
Irishman--are ye not?”
I answered that I was a North American, and belonged in Boston; when
the other man inquired if I happened to be acquainted with a family
by the name of Kelley, adding that the head of said family was a half
brother to his wife.
I tried to show my questioner that Boston was a large place, with
inhabitants so numerous that I had not yet had the pleasure of the
acquaintance of his relatives; and, after giving the latest news of
the great metropolis, and what was transpiring when I left it, I
parted from the cartmen and pursued my journey, philosophizing on
the wonderful race of the Irish, and the fact that, no matter what
corner of the globe we may be in, we are certain to find this people
represented, sometimes by a great many individuals.
When I reached the city of Buenos Ayres, I learned that the boat was to
leave on the next morning; and, to prevent detention, the consul gave
me a note addressed to the captain of the port, who at once furnished
me with a passport. Persons about leaving the province are required to
advertise their intended departure during three successive days in one
of the three or four daily papers that are published in its principal
city. This regulation is designed to prevent the departure of debtors
for other “parts unknown,” without settling their accounts; but the law
is no less ineffectual than inconvenient, as it has been found utterly
impotent to accomplish the object for which it was designed. Before
sailing, I visited the bark, to bid adieu to the rough but honest
hearts that had been my associates during our long passage from Boston.
I was received with joyful demonstrations. I divided the contents of my
trunk among the sailors, and, after a pleasant chat with the mate, was
about to leave the vessel, when the “distinguished Irish barrister’s
son,” our cook, hinted that he had a word for my private ear. I
followed him to the galley; closing the doors, to keep out intruders,
he offered me a seat, and began the following conversation: “My dear
friend, do you ever partake of that which makes men’s sinews as strong
as iron bands? If so, here is the bottle just smuggled aboard by the
‘patron’ who brought you from the city. No! you won’t dhrink? I’m less
bashful. Here’s to a short parting, and may you not yield your heart,
as I once did mine, to any señorita on your journey.” Here he took a
good pull at the bottle, and continued: “What shall I do without you?
I’m puzzled to know, with no kindred intellect on board to cheer me
on the homeward passage. However, I have long intended to prepare a
work on the ‘Irish Karákter in America,’ that will occupy my mind, and
make the time pass less tediously. It will make at laste five volumes,
and I’m keeping a ‘dialogue’ (diary) for notes every day.” After he
had enlarged on, and explained the character of his embryo book, I
turned the subject by remarking that it seemed strange that a man of
his poetic nature had never been entangled in the bonds of love. “Ah,
now! ye’ve said it,” exclaimed the “doctor.” “I have passed through
that experience; but the cratur, woman, has been no blessing, as the
poets say, but a perfect bane, to my poor heart. It was woman who drove
me from my position in society to this galley.” Here the cook was
obliged to draw a pull of comfort from the bottle. “When I was only
sixteen years of age,” he continued, with a sigh,--whether of love or
in consequence of the strength of the liquor I was uncertain,--“my
father had a frind, who was also an Irish barrister; this gintleman had
a daughter like an angel. I was young and beardless, she a few years
older than meself. I became so deeply enamoured that I offered her me
hand and me hat (heart); at which she softly replied, ‘Mr. W., you
are too young.’ I, however, pressed me suit, for women want a deal of
coaxing; but she only smiled. At last, when I grew quite urgent,--for
an Irishman coorts in earnest,--she referred me for an answer to the
second of Samuel, tinth chapter, and the last part of the fifth verse.
I turned at once to it, for I thought that by it she meant to accept me
suit, and in a bashful way told me as she did; when what was my horror
and shame to read the following words: ‘Tarry at Jericho until your
beard be grown, and then return.’
“Would you believe it, my friend?--this little incident became known
to my acquaintances, and for shame I was forced to leave the country;
and for eleven years I never saw ould Ireland again.” I thought that,
considering his beardless condition, the Irish girl’s answer was quite
_Pat_ to the occasion. The rum was now deeply affecting my friend’s
intellect; and just as he was about to recite a “stanza,” I rose to
leave, saying that I could protract my stay no longer. Embracing me
affectionately, and repeating the lines about “tarrying in Jericho
until your beard be grown,” he bade me adieu; and the last I heard of
him was his singing at the top of his voice, “O, whiskey! whiskey is
the life of man! O, whiskey for me, Johnny!” Bidding farewell to the
rest of the crew, and refusing some pieces of silver which old Manuel
insisted upon forcing into my pockets as fast as I could take them out,
I went over the rail, and with the “patron” pushed off from the vessel
towards the city.
About noon on the following day, the Uruguay, in which I had taken
passage, weighed anchor, and commenced the ascent of the river against
a strong current which made the old boat tremble from stem to stern.
The passengers on board were a motley crowd--merchants, soldiers,
gauchos, and emigrants of every size and color. One hundred men, women,
and children from the Basque provinces were on their way to Paraguay.
Two hundred more were soon to follow in another party, they having
already arrived at Buenos Ayres. This immigration was the commencement
of a plan of President Lopez, who was encouraging French immigrants to
come, rightly believing that they would benefit his little republic.
Among the Basques whom I saw was the wife of Montez, the president’s
interpreter, on her return from a European tour. This lady, who acted
as matron for her countrywomen, spoke seven languages fluently. She was
enthusiastic regarding the prospects of the new colony.
Late in the afternoon we passed the islands of _Martin Garcias_ and
_Los Dos Hermanos_, and entered the beautiful Paraná, whose current is
more gentle than that of the Plata. The country by the river is flat,
until we near Rosario, where the banks come down to the water’s edge in
the form of sand hills. The undergrowth was thick in a few spots, which
served, a few years since, as hiding-places to the dreaded jaguar, an
animal which is, however, now seldom met with south of Santa Fé.
At noon on the 30th of March we dropped anchor before the town of El
Rosario (the Rosary), having been forty-eight hours in the trip. I
was paddled ashore from the steamboat by a native in a log canoe, and
succeeded in landing with dry feet. Luckily meeting an Englishman,
I was directed by him to the house of Mr. G., to whom I had letters
of introduction; and from him and his amiable wife, a native of the
country, I received every attention that even a long acquaintance would
have warranted.
Rosario, situated in latitude 23° 56′ south, longitude 60° 32′ west, is
about three hundred feet above the level of the sea. The town contains
seven or eight thousand inhabitants, the greatest portion of whom
have sprung from the Spanish and Indian stock; while the amalgamation
of races has introduced a great variety of shades of complexion, as
well as of character, among the population. The streets, like those of
Buenos Ayres, intersect each other at right angles. The sidewalks are
paved with a coarse-grained brick, about fourteen inches long by six
broad, and a little more than an inch in thickness.
Rosario has one church and two schools, of which one is a private
seminary, and the other supported by a public fund. There is also in
process of erection a small hospital, to contain two wards, one for
male and one for female patients. It was nearly finished at the time
of my visit, and would soon be ready to receive the poor invalids
of the vicinity. This hospital was erected, without assistance from
the authorities, by means of a subscription raised among the wealthy
citizens. The people of Rosario, unlike the inhabitants of most
Spanish-American towns, appear to take great pride in the advancement
of the place, which is beginning to rival Santa Fé, a large town to the
northward, which formerly monopolized the interior trade; but of late
years, in consequence of the energy of its merchants and its proximity
to Buenos Ayres, Rosario has diverted a huge portion of the business
from Santa Fé to herself, and continues to encourage it by proposing to
build a bridge seventy yards in length across a river that lies between
Cordova and Paraná. If this enterprise is not abandoned, it will
attract to Rosario many caravans which are accustomed to trade higher
up the river. The Sabbath prior to my departure had been appointed for
a meeting of the citizens to act regarding this matter.
A new line of diligences had been running for three months between
Rosario and Mendoza; they left monthly, while another line ran more
frequently to Cordova, a town in the interior.
Rosario supports a printing-office and a semi-weekly newspaper, that
promises soon to be issued daily. Sloops, schooners, and small brigs
are constantly arriving and departing; and with all these facilities
for business and travel, Rosario, in its present growing condition,
will shortly prove the most important town of the Paraná.
The police force is organized in the usual South American manner, and
consists of a few mounted _vigilantes_ armed with swords, and dressed
in peaked cloth caps, long red ponchos, and pantaloons, underneath
which the frills of the _calconcillas_ (gaucho drawers) may be seen.
Like physicians, they are allowed to gallop their horses in the
streets, while all others are prohibited, under penalty of a fine of
one dollar, from doing so. _Vigilantes_, when sent to arrest a person,
are usually accompanied by a higher officer, as they are an ignorant
body of men, and frequently not of the strictest integrity.
Although Rosario is the seaport, or commercial town, Paraná, is the
present capital of the Argentine Confederation. A national bank had,
not long before my arrival, been established by the confederacy, of
which the headquarters were fixed at Paraná, with branches in the
provinces; but before it had been six months in operation, the whole
affair exploded, as the confederate states, unlike Buenos Ayres,
have little or no revenue. The government had also appropriated sums
towards building a railroad from Cordova to Mendoza or Copiapo. Mr.
Allen Campbell, a well-known North American engineer, was engaged to
superintend the construction of the road; but, in view of the poverty
of the country, the dangers arising from civil wars, the paucity of
emigration to the interior, and the universal indolence of the natives,
it is hardly possible to predict for this undertaking any remarkable
success for many years to come.