URUGUAY: CAPITAL, DEPARTMENTS, CHIEF CITIES, PORTS
THE CAPITAL
=Montevideo=, the capital and chief port of Uruguay, with a population
approaching 400,000, is a pleasant city, a more homelike place than
Buenos Aires and preferred as a residence by many, though doubtless
more persons enjoy life better in the larger gayer capital. Favorably
situated near the entrance, but on the Plata River, on a peninsula of
high ground which shelters a good harbor on the west, while attractive
beaches lie on the side towards the ocean, Montevideo is in some
respects a contrast to South America’s metropolis, 100 miles distant,
on the other shore. With fine drainage facilities it is a clean
healthful city, well lighted, and well served by electric tramways.
Pure water is brought a distance of 30 miles. Though with fine
buildings, theatres, broad, well-paved avenues (150 miles of them),
open squares, and attractive parks, the city seems quite up to date,
yet somehow a trifle old fashioned, with an agreeable air of solid
respectability. The hotels are comfortable, but only those facing the
beaches, at a distance from the business section, are really of the
first class. An underground telephone system is proposed.
DEPARTMENTS
=Canelones= is directly north and east of Montevideo, extending along
the River Plata. In proximity to the Capital and with good rail
connection, fruit growing and agriculture are important, viticulture
is common; but even here the pastoral industry leads. Canelones boasts
of several towns of 8000-10,000 population, one of which, Pando, a
pleasant agricultural centre, is connected with Montevideo by a good
macadamized road.
=San José=, west of Montevideo and Canelones, has industries similar
to the latter with timber in addition, supplying wood for fuel and for
building.
The capital, San José, with a population of 15,000, has the distinction
of being the largest of the country towns as distinguished from the
ports. It has a good macadam road to the capital, Montevideo, 60 miles,
and an up-to-date flour mill.
=Colonia=, west of San José, running up to the entrance of the Uruguay,
is called the richest Department of the Republic. Agriculture, dairy
farming, fruit and viticulture are well developed; its stone quarries
are worked; and lying opposite Buenos Aires, with good steamship
service to that city as well as rail connection with Montevideo, it is
certain of increasing prosperity.
The capital city of Colonia is a quiet old town with historic
associations; a new town three miles east has been created as a
pleasure resort. Colonia Suiza, with 4000 people and many Swiss
chalets, is devoted to the dairy industry; one enterprising proprietor
who began as a milk peddler now turns out from his factory in the
spring one ton of butter daily.
=Soriano= on the Uruguay River, nevertheless has its chief town,
Mercedes, population 18,000, on a tributary, the Rio Negro, here
one-fourth of a mile wide. The main industry is cattle raising; the
town has a saladero and is also a centre of charcoal making. Stone
quarrying is carried on in the Department and some minerals exist,
topaz and amethyst in considerable abundance. A peculiar water stone is
of curious and undetermined origin.
=Rio Negro= follows on the north of the Negro River, the chief centre
for the breeding of live stock, as might be expected from the fact that
the capital is Fray Bentos, the original home of the Liebig industry,
beginning in 1865. The company now owning nearly 5,000,000 acres, and
establishments elsewhere, Fray Bentos is of less relative importance
than formerly; yet with 180,000 cattle slaughtered here in a single
season, the business is considerable. It is quite a model town, with
good streets and homes for employes, schools, etc.
=Paysandú=, the next Department north, has a larger population of which
the capital of that name contains nearly half, 22,000, being the second
city of the Republic in commercial importance. Electric lights and
telephones are in service, also horse cars. Here the stream narrows and
this is the last port of call for ocean steamers. The chief employments
in the Department are agricultural and pastoral; there are some meat
curing factories.
=Salto=, Department and city, each with larger population than the
Department south, is also a pastoral region; but it is rich in
minerals, and is an important wine producing district, where a great
variety of other fruits, including oranges, flourish well. Here the
Uruguay River is bridged to Concordia in Argentina, an important
railway centre. This is called the head of navigation, as here are
falls and rocks, but smaller boats ply the river above.
=Artigas=, the most northern Department with a long frontier on
Argentina and Brazil both, has some railway service, though not the
main line to Brazil. The capital, Artigas, population 10,000, is on the
Brazilian border. This Department has more timber, hard and soft, and
less agriculture and grazing. Some districts are noted for minerals and
precious stones.
=Rivera= is next along the Brazilian border, one of the largest
Departments. The capital, population 15,000, is a clean, well paved
town, of growing importance as the terminus of the Central Uruguay
Railway, here connecting with the Brazilian Railway to São Paulo. The
Department, though thinly peopled, has considerable agriculture and
gold mines of importance.
=Tacuarembó=, directly south, largest of all the Departments, is the
most sparsely populated. It is chiefly devoted to agriculture; tobacco
flourishes, and rice culture has met with some success. Gold and
manganese are found.
=Cerro Largo= next to Rivera on the Brazilian border is chiefly
pastoral with agriculture advancing. Its prosperity is likely to
increase with connection with Brazil now planned from the capital,
Melo, 14,000 population, the present railway terminus.
=Treinta y Tres=, its capital with 8000 population, is chiefly pastoral
with very little agriculture; it is well wooded with valuable timber.
The great Lake Mirím along the eastern border is of much value, and
further railway construction will promote development.
=Rocha=, south of Treinta y Tres, has also a long eastern frontier on
the Lake, a bit of Brazil, and much on the Atlantic. Grazing is the
chief industry with some viticulture. Seal fishery is important, and
there are minerals: copper, gypsum, alabaster, marble, jasper.
=Maldonado=, south of Rocha and east of Canelones, also borders on
the ocean at the southeast. Chiefly pastoral, the Department has some
agriculture and wine making. There is seal fishing on the islands
off the coast. Timber will soon be important as tree planting is
encouraged by the Government. The British Consul received a gold medal
for planting over 10,000 maritime pines. The beginning was difficult,
the young trees being continually buried in masses of sand. Dunes are
characteristic of this coast. But when the trees were once established
continuance was easy and now 100,000 or more are flourishing in this
section. Others followed the example, making land formerly worthless
now rated at $5-$25 an acre. Piriápolis, a new town west of the capital
city, is a remarkable place due to the patriotic energy of Señor
Piria, who here began planting trees over 20 years ago. These are now
a forest, with millions of trees, seven miles of eucalyptus woodland
stretching from the Piria castle to the ocean, near which a hotel has
been erected and chalets, the beginning of a prosperous town and summer
resort. A railway serves this western edge of Maldonado.
=Minas= is back of Maldonado and west of Rocha. It has pastoral and
agricultural industries with a good endowment of minerals.
=Florida=, west of Minas and north of Canelones, abounds in cattle and
is developing agriculture.
=Durazno=, north, in the centre of the Republic, is also chiefly
devoted to cattle raising.
=Flores=, west of Durazno, is not well populated and is chiefly
pastoral.
PORTS
=Ocean Ports.= The only ocean port of importance in Uruguay is
Montevideo and this indeed is on the Plata River. It ranks, however,
among the best in South America in depth, capacity, and ease of access,
admitting ships of 32-foot draft at low tide. A free port for goods in
transit, where they may remain a year in the Custom House without tax,
it has excellent docks and harbor works, including ample warehouses and
facilities for handling all classes of merchandise, 1400 tons unloaded
in ten hours. A port railway serves to connect sea and land traffic,
transferring passengers as well as freight directly from steamers to
railway cars. The port works constructed by the French, concluded for
the most part before the War, cost in the neighborhood of $40,000,000.
In the vicinity a Hotel for Immigrants accommodates 1000.
Ships of many lines call in passing, passenger steamers for Buenos
Aires and many which do not go up the river, either because of too
heavy draft, or to save time when on the way to the West Coast or to
other ports. For some this is the ultimate destination. Nightly trips
between the two great cities are made by steamers of the Mihanovich
Line, which rival all but the finest plying between New York and
Boston. Smaller steamers sail from here or pause on their way up the
Uruguay, or the Paraná and the Paraguay, the latter perhaps going
through to Corumbá, 1800 miles, those for the Uruguay at most 300 miles
to Salto or Concordia.
=River Ports.= Montevideo would strictly come under this head. Others
of importance are Colonia on the Plata and Paysandú on the Uruguay,
to which ocean steamers of 14-foot draft may ascend; to Salto beyond,
steamers of 8-foot draft. Above the rapids at Salto on the Uruguay and
on a few of its branches smaller steamboats and other craft are used.
The Rio Negro is navigable 50 miles to the town of Mercedes. The entire
fluvial navigation is 700 miles. The Uruguay Navigation Company with a
capital of $10,000,000 has recently been organized for traffic on the
Plata, Paraná, Uruguay, and Paraguay Rivers.