LIBRARY
Gift of
BASSETT AND CELIA MAGUIRE
Nov. 1998
LIBRARY
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
BRONX, NEW YORK 10458
12
South American Butterflies.
\
TO THE RIVER PLATE
DBACK
-
IISSION TO
C:RIC TIONS
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SOUTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLIES.
1. Morpho achillcBna (Hiibner).
2. Ageronia velutina Bates.
3. Heliconius phyllis (Fabricius).
4. Catagramma cynosura Doubleday & Hewitson.
(Underside.)
0 . . , F.Z.S., :
5. Stalachhs phlegia (Cramer).
OF THE CAl IV^ CHANCELLOR OF
6. A grias sardanapahis Bates.
7. Cotaw /e5^'a (Fabricius).
8. Catoblepia berecynthus (Cramer).
9. Cattithea hewitsoni Staudinger.
10. Heliconius narccea Godart.
1 1 . Eresia simois Hewitson.
12. Eresia anieta Hewitson.
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i.
TO THE RIVER PLATE
AND BACK
THE NARRATIVE OF A SCIENTIFIC MISSION TO
SOUTH AMERICA, WITH OBSERVATIONS
UPON THINGS SEEN AND SUGGESTED
BY
W. J. HOLLAND
Sc.D., LL.D. (St. Andrews), F.R.S. (Edinb.), F.Z.S., Etc.
DIRECTOR OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM, LATE CHANCELLOR OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
AUTHOR OF " THE BUTTERFLY BOOK," ETC.
WITH EIGHT PLATES IN COLOR FROM DRAWINGS BY THE
AUTHOR AND 78 OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
ZTbe Umicfeerbocfcer press
1913
H7.
COPYRIGHT, 1913
BY
W. J. HOLLAND
Ubc "fcnfcfeerbocfecr press, IRcw
Co
THE MANY CHARMING MEN AND WOMEN WHOSE ACQUAINTANCE I HAD
THE HONOR OF MAKING IN SOUTH AMERICA
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK
PREFACE
SOME who are now engaged in literary pursuits
would no doubt be far more profitably engaged
in growing corn. 'The first call' belongs to the
stomach. There is always a market for breadstuff s.
" Literary wares," on the other hand, often go a-begging.
I have a friend who is a poet. For the last twenty
years or more he has every day composed for the news-
papers from four to ten stanzas of humorous verse.
I complimented him recently upon the fecundity of
his muse. 'Oh, that is nothing!" he replied. "There
is a man in Kansas who advertises that he will write
poems in exchange for garden-truck." Even poets
have stomachs, and call for food. Corn may be traded
for culture.
Happy then the lot of the farmer! He needs but
to carry his eggs to the market, and, if they be only
'tolerably fresh," he is sure to return with his pockets
filled with jingling dollars — or poems, if he lives in
Kansas.
In view of the foregoing reflections it may appear to
be a daring act for the writer to venture to add another
to the long and ever-growing list of books; more espe-
cially to add another tale to the many which have been
told by travelers. At first I hesitated, but finally
yielded to the persuasions of certain of my friends,
justly held in esteem by the literary world, who have
vi Preface
urged me to set down my impressions of a journey which
at all events was pleasurable to me.
I brought back with me from South America a large
series of photographs, some of them made by my
assistant, Air. Arthur S. Coggeshall, others obtained in
places visited by us. During my journey, at such
few moments of leisure as I could command, I made a
number of sketches both in oil and water-colors. Some
of these photographs and sketches I have used in
illustrating the book.
This book is not a manual of statistics; it does not
touch, except incidentally, upon the history of the
great republics of the south; it is not intended to be
in any sense didactic; — it is simply the record of a
pleasant journey, during which I saw much and learned
much which was of interest to me, and may also be of
interest to my readers. If they derive half as much
satisfaction from my pages as I had in my pilgrimage
to the " Silver River " I shall feel repaid.
W. J. H.
PITTSBURGH,
September, 1913.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. --THE DIPLODOCUS . . . . . i
II. — AT SEA . . . . . . .16
III. — LIVING THINGS IN THE WATERS . . 27
IV. — THE SOUTHERN HEAVENS .... 33
V. — A DAY IN BAHIA ..... 43
VI. — Rio DE JANEIRO ..... 57
VII. — RAMBLES ABOUT Rio DE JANEIRO . . 68
VIII. — SANTOS 79
IX. — MONTEVIDEO AND THE RIVER PLATE . 89
X. — LA PLATA ...... 108
XI. — ARGENTINA . . . . . .128
XII. — BUENOS AIRES ..... 147
XIII.- -THE DELTA OF THE PARANA . . . 166
XIV. — A TRIP TO MAR DEL PLATA . . .187
XV. — A MYSTERIOUS BEAST . . . .211
vii
viii Contents
CHAPTER. TA'.P
XVI. — LIFE IN LA PLATA .... 223
XVII.- -THE PRESENTATION OF THE DIPLODOCUS . 248
XVIIL— A TRIP TO TUCUMAN . . . .260
XIX. — LAST DAYS IN ARGENTINA . . . 286
XX. — SAO PAULO ...... 302
XXI. — TRINIDAD . . . . . . 3ir->
XXII.- -THE LESSER ANTILLES . . . 334
XXIII. — OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS . . 352
INDEX ...... 373
ILLUSTRATIONS
(In Color)
SOUTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLIES . . Frontispiece.
PAGE
MOONLIT CLOUD ON THE EQUATOR ... 26
SKETCH IN THE HARBOR OF BAHIA ... 42
VIEW OF Rio DE JANEIRO FROM THE HARBOR . 56
SUNSET AT SEA ....... 88
NATIONAL OBSERVATORY AT LA PLATA . . 222
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD ..... 3l6
MONT PELEE, MARTINIQUE ..... 334
(In Half -Tone)
DlPLODOCUS CARNEGIEI HATCHER ... I
Photograph of the Skeleton Mounted in the
Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh. Total Length
84^ feet; Height at Hips, 13 feet.
PRESENTATION OF THE FIRST REPLICA OF THE DIPLO-
DOCUS TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM 12
CROSSING THE LINE ...... 22
1. Some of Father Neptune's Minions.
2. The Chief Steward is Tumbled into the
Bathing Tank
ix
x Illustrations
PAGE
VIEWS ix BAHIA. . .... 52
1. View, Looking down from the Balcony of the
Elevator in the Upper City.
2. Interior of Church of San Antonio, Bahia.
OPERA-HOUSE, Rio DE JANEIRO. .... 62
AVENUE OF ROYAL PALMS IN THE BOTANICAL GAR-
DEN, Rio DE JANEIRO ..... 66
THE MONROE PALACE, Rio DE JANEIRO . . 68
STREET SCENES IN Rio DE JANEIRO ... 72
1. Vegetable Dealer
*
2. Poultry Vender
A GLIMPSE OF Rio DE JANEIRO FROM THE HARBOR,
WITH THE PEAK OF CORCOVADO SHOWING ITS
ABRUPT EASTERN FACE ..... 76
SANTOS 82
1. View of the Harbor.
2. Loading Coffee at Santos. Bananas Piled on
Forward Deck
MONTEVIDEO. 88
1. The Cathedral.
2. The Presidential Mansion
THE PLAZA HOTEL, BUENOS AIRES . . .100
THE RAILWAY STATION, LA PLATA . . .106
TEATRO ARGENTINO, LA PLATA . . . .108
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, LA PLATA . . .114
Illustrations xi
PAGE
THE PRESIDENTIAL MANSION AND THE PLAZA DE
MAYO, BUENOS AIRES 128
A VIEW IN THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN, BUENOS
AIRES ........ 146
VIEWS ON THE PAMPAS . . . . 152
1. Herd of Blooded Cattle.
2. Sheep. The Meat of the Country.
SNAP-SHOTS IN BUENOS AIRES .... 156
1. Guanacos in the Zoological Garden.
2. The Dairyman.
GRAND-STAND OF THE HIPPODROME, BUENOS AIRES . 160
BUILDING CONTRASTS IN BUENOS AIRES . . 164
1. Colon Theatre.
2. Humble Home.
SNAP-SHOTS IN THE CAMPO . . . . .166
1. A Guacho.
2. A Country Market-place.
MAR DEL PLATA ....... 186
1. The Beach.
2. Lodging House of the Hotel Bristol.
HANDLING GRAIN . . . . . .210
1. Hauling Wheat to Market. Seven Horses
Harnessed Abreast.
2. Grain Elevators, Buenos Aires.
FARM-LIFE ....... 238
1. Wheat Sacked and Piled after Threshing on
an Argentinian Ranch.
2. Argentinian Farm- wagon, Used for Heavy
Hauling.
xii Illustrations
PAGE
PORTRAIT OF DR. ROQUE SAENZ PENA, PRESIDENT
OF ARGENTINA ....... 248
ON THE WAV TO TUCUMAN .... 260
1. El Tigre. A Favorite Pleasure Resort near
Buenos Aires.
2. Tucuman, the Ancient Capital.
BUENOS AIRES. ....... 286
1. Monument of San Martin.
2. Glimpse into the Cemeterio del Norte
THE STAIRWAY AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE JOCKEY
CLUB, BUENOS AIRES ..... 290
ACONCAGUA 292
THE IGUASSU FALLS ...... 298
SNAP-SHOTS FROM THE DECK OF THE STEAMER . 346
1. View of Mont Pelee.
2. Negro Boy Diving for a Penny, Barbados
LIST OF FIGURES IN TEXT
1 . Diagram Showing the Succession of the Geologic
Ages, and the Origin in Time of Animals and
Plants ....... 4
2. Two caudal vertebras of Diplodocus . . 7
3. Breadfruit ....... 47
4. Jackfruit ....... 47
5. Eudcemonia semiramis ..... 74
6. Macro pus longimanus . . . . - 75
7. Dynastes hercules . . . . .78
8. Coffee in bloom ...... 86
9. Coffee in fruit . .86
Illustrations xiii
PAGE
10. Skull of Sabre-toothed Tiger . . .115
11. Skull of "pug-faced" or Niata cow . 117
12. Group of skeletons of Pigmy Camels (Steno-
mylus hitchcocki) . . . . .158
13. Carpinchos (Hydrochcems capybard) . .180
14. Crested Screamer (Chaunia chavaria) . .183
15. Silver-mounted Mate-gourd and Bombilla . 190
16. Vizcacha ....... 195
17. Mylodon robustus Owen .... 200
18. D&dicurus davicaudatus Owen . . . 203
19. Macrauchenia patachonica Owen . . . 208
20. Skeleton of Toxodon burmeisteri Giebel . . 209
21. Skin of Grypotherium domesticum Roth . .213
22. Ordure of Grypotherium domesticum Roth . 220
23. Cocoon of (Eketicus platensis . . .229
24. Head of Everglade Kite (Rostrhamus socia-
bilis) ........ 233
25. Shell of Ampullaria canaliculate, . . . 233
26. Scissor-tailed Fly-catcher (Milvulus tyrannus) 263
27. Carancho (Polyborus tharus) . . .284
28. Nine-banded Armadillo .... 287
29. Armadillo-basket ...... 287
30. Pod of Cacao (Theobroma cacao) . . .327
31. Guacharo (Steatornis steatornis) . c . 332
32. Caricature from Caras y Car etas . . . 364
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To the River Plate and Back
CHAPTER I
THE DIPLODOCUS
"I wish I were an ichthyosaurus
And could swim the Lias ocean,
And eat fish. But, oh! I am not.
Alas! I cannot be an ichthyo-
Ichthyosaurus ; for I 'm a diplo-
Diplodo-do-docus. I can tie
My rubber neck into a knot."
SONG-BOOK of the Geological Society of America.
ON November n, 1911, Mr. Andrew Carnegie
dictated a note to the writer, in which he stated
that he had received from Dr. Roque Saenz Pena, the
President of the Argentine Republic, a letter suggesting,
that, inasmuch as replicas of the skeleton of Diplodocus
carnegiei had been presented to the national museums
of various European countries, a like donation to the
National Museum of Argentina would be greatly
appreciated. Mr. Carnegie went on to say in his note
that the expression of the wish of a king or president
is not to be lightly set aside, and accordingly instructed
me to prepare such a replica, as soon as it could be
conveniently done, and to arrange for its installation
2 To the River Plate and Back
in such museum as might be designated by the proper
authorities.
At this point the reader, unless he is well versed in
the recent progress of paleontological research, may
well ask: "What is a Diplodocus?'' He will find him-
self in the same frame of mind as the French Secretary
of Legation who was being entertained in Philadelphia,
and came to his host with a troubled countenance
saying: 'I have been here for some days and I hear
everybody speaking about ze Biddies. Vat ees a
Biddle? Je ne comprends pas."
Before answering the question, a little preliminary
discourse of a semi-scientific nature is required for
the enlightenment of the uninitiated. Should any one
of my brethren of the Geological Society of America
chance upon this book, he is at liberty to omit the
perusal of what follows on the immediately succeeding
pages.
The world in which we live is a very old world.
Many things have happened during its long existence,
and one of these, which is of interest to all of us, is the
evolution upon its surface of plants and animals. No
recording angel has written down the story of this
process, and we are left to decipher it, as well as we
may, from the records, more or less confused and frag-
mentary, which we find in the sedimentary rocks.
These are the rocks, which once were mud and beds of
sand, in which were buried bits of wood, leaves, shells,
and the bones of various animals. In the lapse of
ages the mud and the sand became cemented together
and hardened, carrying with them as integral parts of
their substance the remains which were included in
them. These sedimentary rocks in the aggregate are
very thick. It has been estimated that they have a
The Diplodocus 3
perpendicular depth of fifteen miles or more ; not in one
place, but when they are arranged in chronological
order according to the times of their deposition. Their
strata have been studied carefully, have been classified,
and many of them named.
Lying on the crystalline rocks, which do not appear
to have been laid down in water, there are great series
of strata, consisting at first of the debris of eroded
igneous rocks, which are known as Archean, in which
the evidence of the existence of life is mostly inferential,
based upon the fact that graphite and limestone occur
in these beds. Upon these were subsequently deposited
layers of mud, which settled down, when the world
was young, at the bottom of ancient seas and oceans.
In these are found here and there the remains of marine
animals and plants, mostly of a lowly organization.
To these very old strata geologists have applied the
name Paleozoic, because they contain relics of the most
ancient forms of life, the word ''paleozoic' being com-
posed of two Greek words which mean ;' ancient" and
;'life." Superimposed upon these older formations
is another great series of rocky layers, some of which
were laid down in the seas, others of which were formed
on low-lying swampy lands, and still others in the beds
of rivers and estuaries. These strata geologists are
accustomed to call Mesozoic, the word being again
formed from two Greek vocables meaning "middle'
and "life." Still higher up in the ascending series is a
third great aggregation of stony beds, to which geolo-
gists have given the name Cenozoic, compounded of
Greek words which signify "new' and "life." These
beds are often called Tertiary.
In the Paleozoic sandstones and limestones, as has
been intimated, we have the remains of creatures which
4 To the River Plate and Back
lived in the seas; such as corals, shell-fish, trilobites,
and in the upper strata curious fishes, mostly long since
extinct. In the Mesozoic beds, which are of marine
GEOLOGIC
AGES
QUATERNARY
(AGE OF MAN]
CENOZOIC
OR
TERTIARY
AGE OF MAMMALS)
MESOZOIC
(AGE OF REPTILES)
PALEOZOIC
(AGE OF FISHES;
ARCHEAN
OR
EOZOIC
IGNEKXJS
OR
AZOIC
Fig. i. — Diagram showing the succession of the geologic ages
and the origin in time of animals and plants. (Modified after
Leconte.)
origin, we find the remains of marine life, but we also
find in some of the strata great beds of coal, formed no
doubt on swampy land raised above the level of the
sea; and we find further fishes and reptiles in great
numbers, curious birds with teeth, and in the upper
The Diplodocus 5
strata a few very primitive mammals. In the Ceno
zoic rocks occur plants, fishes, reptiles, birds, and mam-
mals, gradually becoming, as we approach the top of
the series, more like the creatures which to-day exist
upon the globe. Finally on top of the Tertiary we
find the soil and gravel in which man of to-day plays
his part.
The reptiles, which most concern us in this narrative,
reached their highest development in Mesozoic times
in point of numbers and variety of species. The Meso-
zoic age has been called 'the age of reptiles," as the
Cenozoic has been called 'the age of mammals."
But many of the reptiles of the Mesozoic were not like
the reptiles of to-day. There were great groups of
them which have become totally extinct, leaving no
survivors at the present time. Among these were the
dinosaurs. Towards the close of the Mesozoic age
they attained their greatest development, and then in
early Cenozoic times gradually died out. There were
probably hundreds, even thousands, of different kinds
of dinosaurs, which at one time lived upon the globe.
We know that some of these were quite small; others
were the hugest animals which have walked on four
feet upon the surface of the globe. It was the discovery
of fragments of some of these larger reptiles which led
Sir Richard Owen, the great English naturalist, to
coin a name for them, compounded of two Greek
words, oeivoq (deinos), meaning 'terrible," and aaupos
(saurus), meaning 'lizard." Dinosaurs are reptiles,
which lived in the Mesozoic and at the beginning of the
Cenozoic ages, millions of years ago. As I have inti-
mated, not all of them were "terrible." Some of them
were quite small. And these smaller reptiles are only
called dinosaurs, because they belong to the same natural
6 To the River Plate and Baek
order to which the huger beasts of which I have spoken
have been assigned by systematists.
One of the great formations of rock belonging to the
Mesozoic age is known by geologists as the Jurassic,
so called because it is finely developed in the Jura
Mountains. But this formation is not confined to
Europe. Jurassic rocks occur in all parts of the globe.
They have become the hunting-ground of those who
desire to obtain well-preserved specimens of dinosaurs.
There are great exposures of the Jurassic among the
Rocky Mountains in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and
other States.
One of the most indefatigable students of the extinct
life of the North American continent was the late
Professor Othniel C. Marsh of Yale University. He
consecrated his life and the fortune bequeathed to him
by his uncle, the celebrated philanthropist, George
Peabody, to the task of elucidating the story buried in
the strata. He died a poor man, before the work he
had undertaken had been completed. Generations
of men are likely to follow him to the grave before the
whole story is rescued. Among the strange forms,
fragments of which were obtained for Professor Marsh
by his assistants working in the Jurassic strata of
Wyoming, was that of a dinosaur, to which he gave the
name of Diplodocus. The word is compounded from
the Greek words CITAOCX; (diploos), meaning ''double,"
and co/.6<; (dokos), meaning "beam," or " rafter."
In the Sermon on the Mount the word dokos occurs in
the well-known passage where The Great Teacher says,
' First cast out the beam [rafter] out of thine own eye ;
and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out
of thy brother's eye." The reason Professor Marsh
chose these words in coining a name for the newly
The Diplodocus
a
Fig. 2. — a, b, Two caudal
vertebras of Diplodocus; c.
chevrons on under side of
tail.
discovered beast was the fact that on the lower side
of the tail of the animal, where the vertebras come
together, there are little bones known to anatomists as
chevrons, which in the case of these particular animals
look like little rafters, and which are arranged in pairs.
This arrangement, it has
since been discovered, is not
altogether peculiar to the
species of the genus Diplo-
docus, but occurs in other al-
lied dinosaurs; nevertheless,
the name having been orig-
inally given to this form,
according to the laws of
scientific nomenclature it
cannot be changed. Professor Marsh obtained
through his assistants, principally through the labors
of Dr. S. W. Williston, now the Professor of Paleon-
tology in the University of Chicago, some of the limb-
bones, two somewhat fragmentary skulls, various
vertebras, and other parts of the animal, sufficient to
enable him to form an approximate idea of what it
may have been like. The question of its form and
structure was nevertheless left for want of more
material in a somewhat uncertain state. Subsequently
Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn obtained a pelvis
and the greater part of the tail of a diplodocus, and
published a paper enlarging our knowledge of the
framework of the animal.
Shortly after the death of Professor Marsh, Mr.
Andrew Carnegie expressed to the writer his wish that
the Museum of the Institute which he had founded in
Pittsburgh should undertake the task of prosecuting
scientific researches along the same lines which had
8 To the River Plate and Back
been followed by his lamented friend, Dr. Marsh, and
added the promise that he would provide for this
purpose the necessary funds. It was a noble sugges-
tion and a noble promise. Work was immediately
begun and success speedily crowned the efforts of the
talented assistants whom the writer was able to gather
about him. Early in July, 1899, a telegram was re-
ceived from an exploring party in Wyoming announcing
the discovery not far from the banks of Sheep Creek
in Albany County of the remains of a diplodocus more
perfect than had thus far been discovered anywhere.
The discovery had been made on July 4, 1899. During
the summer and fall of that year, Dr. Jacob L. Wort-
man and his assistants, chief among them Mr. Arthur
S. Coggeshall, labored continuously, and quarried out
a large quantity of pieces of rock containing the bones
of the monster. In the autumn these were brought to
the laboratory of the Museum and the bones were extri-
cated from the matrix. In the following spring the
work was resumed under the care of that admirable and
indefatigable collector, Mr. John Bell Hatcher. The
remains of another specimen of the same species and
of nearly the same size were found in the same deposit
quite near by. The second skeleton supplied some
parts which the first failed to yield. In the end it
was discovered that by combining the two specimens
a complete skeleton could be assembled.
Meanwhile, the writer, using the material secured,
endeavored to reconstruct the skeleton in outline, and
drew a rough preliminary sketch which he sent to Mr.
Carnegie, who was sojourning at his summer home in
Scotland. The drawing was hung upon the wall of
one of the pleasant rooms of the castle. Some time
afterward King Edward VII. called upon Mr. Carnegie
The Diplodocus 9
at Skibo. While there his eye chanced to rest upon
the sketch and his curiosity was excited. 'What is
this, Mr. Carnegie?" he said. "Ah!" replied Mr.
Carnegie, "a namesake of mine, one of the biggest
quadrupeds which ever walked the earth." The King,
who, as the Prince of Wales, had long served as a
member of the Board of Trustees of the British Museum
at once replied: 'We must have one of these in the
British Museum. Do not fail to secure us a specimen."
Shortly afterward Mr. Carnegie wrote a letter to the
narrator, and, after telling about the visit of the King,
concluded by expressing the hope that the wish of His
Majesty might be gratified, also suggesting that another
specimen should at once be sought, and, if found,
turned over to the British Museum. The writer knew
that, aided by the best of prospectors, he might search
for months and for years without obtaining another
specimen so perfect as the one which had been dis-
covered, and which was about to be set up in the Museum
in Pittsburgh. Accordingly he wrote to Mr. Carnegie
explaining the extreme improbability of promptly
complying with His Majesty's wishes, and suggesting
that a replica, an exact facsimile of the existing speci-
men, might be made; and that for purposes of study
and exhibition such a replica might serve almost as
well as the original. The fact that the making of such
a replica would involve a great deal of care and inge-
nuity, and considerable expenditure of time and money,
was made clear. After a month had passed a reply
was received expressing doubt as to whether the
Trustees of the British Museum would care to accept
a replica, but at the same time expressing entire
willingness, should this be the case, to defray whatever
cost might be incurred. The writer at once addressed
io To the River Plate and Back
a letter to Professor Edwin Ray Lankester explaining
the matter, and not long afterwards received through
Dr. Lankester from the Trustees of the Museum in
London a communication, in which they expressed their
cordial appreciation of the generous thought of Mr.
Carnegie, further stating that a suitable place for the
display of the specimen would be found, and requesting
the writer to immediately proceed with the undertaking.
Never before had just such a task as this been
attempted. The skeleton measured eighty-four and
a half feet in length. The bones, though hard, were
in places delicate and extremely fragile. Difficulties
in the use of materials were encountered. The great
vertebrae, full of deep pits and crowded with slender
projections, presented many problems in treatment
which were vexatious. When at last the molds had
been made, and casts of the more than two hundred
bones had been secured, there remained the work of
designing a steel frame upon which they might be
assembled in their relative positions, and of providing
plans for a base upon which the whole structure might
rest. Professor J. B. Hatcher, Mr. A. S. Coggeshall,
and their assistants were tireless. At last the greatest
difficulties were surmounted. At that time there was
no unoccupied room in the building of the Institute
sufficiently large to permit us to erect the specimen
within its walls. With great courtesy the managers
of the Western Pennsylvania Exposition Society allowed
us the use of one of their vacant halls, and there we set
up the great skeleton preparatory to taking it down
again and shipping it to London. Before the work
was quite completed Professor Hatcher was suddenly
seized by a fatal illness and passed over into the endless
silence. It fell to the writer, who had taken an active
The Diplodocus n
part in the work, to carry it to completion. When it
was finished a few friends were invited to view the
restoration before it was made ready for shipment to
London. Some years afterward, in the city of Paris,
I met Emmanuel Fremiet, the veteran sculptor. We
were introduced to each other in the Museum of Natural
History in the Jardin des Plantes, where one of the
replicas of the Diplodocus had just been installed.
Standing opposite the skeleton, Fremiet said to me:
"I am not a paleontologist, and no doubt there is
much about this thing which is interesting, which I do
not understand ; but I marvel at it as a piece of work-
manship. From the standpoint of the sculptor, and
more particularly as a sculptor of animals, I wish to
express my admiration and my astonishment. How
did you do it?' Coming from a man who perhaps
was better able than any other to appreciate the
technical difficulties which had been overcome, I have
always felt that his words were cause for congratulation,
and I have often with pleasure repeated them to my
assistants. Our final success was largely due to these
faithful men.
On May 12, 1905, in the presence of a brilliant as-
semblage composed of men in all walks of life, princi-
pally men of science, Mr. Carnegie presented the first
replica we had made to the Trustees of the British
Museum. The gift was accepted on their behalf by
Lord Avebury, and pleasant words were spoken by a
number of those who were present. The Diplodocus
was the sensation of the hour in London, and the
attendance at the Natural History Museum was
reported to be the largest on any day since those
which had immediately succeeded the opening of the
doors of that great treasure-house of knowledge.
12 To the River Plate and Back
During the second week of April in the year 1907
the greatly enlarged buildings of the Carnegie Library
and Institute in Pittsburgh were formally rededicated.
From many lands came delegations of learned men
bearing felicitations. Among these visitors was a
company of eminent Germans, the representatives of
His Majesty, the German Emperor, and also a company
of distinguished Frenchmen representing their country.
They did not come with empty hands. The German
Emperor sent a right royal gift, consisting of books,
engravings, and photographs, illustrating the arts and
material progress of the Empire. The representatives
of France likewise were the bearers of choice volumes,
appropriately dedicated, and thus destined to be memo-
rials of their visit. Upon the morning of the second
day of the celebration the writer was summoned to the
telephone by Mr. Carnegie, who said: 'Did you not
once tell me that when you were making the replica
of the Diplodocus for the British Museum you had
made a couple of additional castings?' The answer
was in the affirmative. Then came the reply: 'The
kindness of our German and French friends on the
present occasion prompts me to do something in return.
If it should be thought appropriate to tender to the
museums in Berlin and Paris the same gift we made to
London, please take up the matter with the gentlemen
who represent Germany and France, and arrange to
do so." It did not take long to act. The German
Minister of State, Herr Theodor von Moeller, and
General von Loewenfeld were in a few moments in the
office of the Director and a statement of Mr. Carnegie's
thoughts was made to them. They appeared greatly
pleased. Baron d'Estournelles de Constant and Mon-
sieur Paul Doumer were shortly afterward apprised in
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The Diplodocus 13
like manner of the desire of the founder of the Institute,
and they also expressed satisfaction. General von
Loewenfeld with soldierly promptness resorted to the
use of the cable, and on the morning of the following
day presented a reply from His Majesty, the Kaiser,
which was as follows:
GENERAL VON LOEWENFELD,
Carnegie Institute,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Sprechen Sie Mr. Carnegie fur seine Darbietung, die ich
gerne annehmen will, und fur die mir durch das Geschenk
erwiesene Aufmerksamkeit, meinen warmsten Dank aus.1
WlLHELM.
From President Fallieres, at a later date, there came
in response to the personal representations made to
him by the French delegates, a graceful acceptance of
Mr. Carnegie's offer.
As a result of the events just narrated it came about
that at the end of April in the year 1908 the writer,
accompanied by Mr. Arthur S. Coggeshall, repaired
to Berlin and there installed in the Royal Museum a
replica of the Diplodocus, following that act in June
by rendering the same service in the Musee d'Histoire
Naturelle in Paris.
Meanwhile the Imperial Museum in Austria and the
Italian Museum of Paleontology in Bologna had re-
quested and been promised the same gift. The replica
presented to the Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria
was installed in the Kaiserliches Konigliches Natur-
historisches Hofmuseum in September, 1909, and
1 Translation: "Please express to Mr. Carnegie my warmest thanks
for his offer, which I am happy to accept, and for the attention shown
me by his gift. WILLIAM."
14 To the River Plate and Back
accepted in person by the Emperor; and the replica
presented to the King of Italy was installed at Bologna
in October of the same year.
While the writer was in Paris in 1908, he made the
acquaintance of the Grand Duke Wladimir, the uncle
of His Majesty, the Czar of Russia. The Grand Duke
spent some time in the company of the narrator exam-
ining the replica, which was in process of being set up
at the Jardin des Plantes, and in conversation about
its discovery. Before taking leave he turned and said:
'In view of the fact that Mr. Carnegie in his great
generosity has been presenting these remarkable things
to various countries in Europe, tell him from me that
he must not overlook Russia." In due course of time
I mentioned the incident to our Maecenas, and he at
once expressed himself as glad to act upon the sugges-
tion. In the spring of the year 1910 a replica was
installed in the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St.
Petersburg. On all of these occasions the liveliest interest
was shown not only by the learned, but by those in the
ordinary walks of life. The Diplodocus has been called
"the beast which has made paleontology popular."
The reader now understands why the long journey to
the southernmost of the American republics was
undertaken. It was for the purpose of setting up in
the museum at La Plata the seventh reproduction of
the colossal mesozoic reptile, the bones of which had
been quarried from the Jurassic beds of Wyoming in
the summer of the year 1899.
For various reasons the writer shrank from the
journey. A multitude of uncompleted tasks stared
him in the face; he feared the loss of the time which
would necessarily be consumed; he was not in the best
of health, and was in very low spirits. He endeavored
The Diplodocus 15
to draw back and to substitute another in his place,
but failed. Finally, summoning his resolution to the
task, he went, and now he is glad that he acted upon
the promptings of his kind friend, Mr. Carnegie, who
repeatedly urged him to go. The voyage acted as a
restorative. For a tired man, suffering from mental
and physical exhaustion, there is no journey which
can be made from the port of New York which is more
likely than this to prove beneficial. The run across
the Atlantic to Europe is now made all too quickly.
The traveler is no sooner installed in his cabin than he
must begin to make preparations to disembark. The
voyage to Argentina, occupying nearly thirty days,
over calm summer seas, in comfortable ships, which
from time to time call at points which are full of interest,
is to be recommended to any one as tending in the
highest degree to recuperate exhausted energy. Of
the pleasures of this voyage, of the thoughts which it
awakened, and the impressions which it made, the
succeeding pages will tell.
CHAPTER II
AT SEA
"Thou boundless, shining, glorious sea;
With ecstasy I gaze on thee."
Friedrich Leopold, Graf Stolberg.
PROMPTLY at half-past nine on the morning of
August 2Oth the cables of the ship Vasari were
slipped, and she made her way from her berth at Pier 8,
Brooklyn, to the lower harbor and cast anchor opposite
the Statue of Liberty. Large steamers docking in
Brooklyn are forced to quit their berths before the tide
begins to set toward Long Island Sound, as, otherwise,
they might be driven against the abutments of the
narrow channel before they could be pointed and
brought into position to use their full power against
the stream. An inspection revealed the fact that none
of the luggage belonging to the writer and his assistant
was on board. Appeal was made to the purser.
"Were your things on the dock?' he said. 'They
were. We brought them ourselves. Here is the
receipt of the baggage-master.' 'Well, make your-
selves comfortable! They will be found when we get
under way. I have often met people like you, who
raise a fuss because things are not in sight. Your
stuff is on board. Go and get your lunch and keep
cool. I will bet you ten dollars the things are on the
ship!' The prospect of making the voyage to Argen-
16
At Sea 17
tina, lasting a month, with only two collars and a
toothpick as a wardrobe was appalling. We did not
' make ourselves comfortable, " we did not "keep cool. '
We rummaged the ship and visited every stateroom.
We had the baggage-room unlocked and inspected its
contents. We went down into the hold. We 'raised
Cain.' Our baggage was not on board. Resort was
had to the wireless telegraph, and the tug, which came
to take the agent of the company ashore, finally brought
our trunks. The jolly purser confided to me after-
wards that when the tug came alongside he overheard
me say "There are my things!" and that he forthwith
' took a sneak. ' We sailed in peace.
The pilot was dropped. The ship was pointed for
Cape St. Roque, the easternmost projection of the
South American continent, and we steamed away.
A few sails were dimly seen at sunset under the shadow
of a thunder-storm, which was hanging over the coast
of New Jersey. These were the last sails to greet our
eyes for fourteen days until we came in sight of the
harbor of Bahia in Brazil.
The path of the ship led immediately into the Gulf
Stream, the eastern edge of which we crossed after we
had been out three days. These were the hottest days
of the entire voyage. After we had traversed the
Gulf Stream we presently came into the region of the
northeast trade-winds, and a refreshing breeze blew
day after day, imparting coolness to the staterooms.
In the region of the " doldrums '; or equatorial calms,
there was, contrary to expectation, a pleasant wind,
and after we had doubled the eastern point of South
America we came into the region of the southeast
trade-winds, and leaving the sun behind us to the
north, reached away during the last days of our jour-
To the River Plate and Back
ney into the waters of the South Temperate Zone.
We faced no stormy weather during the voyage. Not
a single person, man, woman, or child, in a company
of over one hundred and fifty first-class passengers,
complained of sea-sickness. The 'fiddles'' or table-
racks were never used in the saloon, and the purser
informed me that only once during the past three years
have they been called into requisition, and then it was on
a midwinter trip, as the ship was approaching New York.
' I was afraid, ' he said, ' that we could not find the
fiddles on that occasion, as they had been so long stowed
away, but they turned up after we had made a hunt for
them, and were in use for two meals. ' It is impossible
to choose any route out of New York harbor which is
more certain than this to lead into pleasant weather.
The life on our steamer in most respects was like
that on any other great liner, with certain exceptions.
On the North Atlantic, between New York and Europe,
in the middle of the morning passengers are offered
hot broths and tea and coffee, and in the middle of the
afternoon are served with warm drinks, even in summer.
On the Vasari clam-broth and bouillon were replaced
by ice-cream; the tea was iced; and most passengers
elected lemonade instead of coffee. On the North
Atlantic, even in July and August, rugs and heavy
wraps are much in evidence; on the Vasari the ladies
toyed with their fans and danced at night in airy
costumes. Nobody thought of closing the ports until
we had passed the equator, when it began to be cool at
night.
The first day out a huge canvas tank was set up on
the forward deck and from time to time was filled with
fresh water from the sea. Here every morning many
of the passengers, arrayed in bathing suits, came for a
At Sea 19
grateful and refreshing plunge. The tank every after-
noon was a welcome resort for the boys and girls on
board.
Of children the ship had its full quota. There were
five baby-carriages on board and five jolly babies were
daily trundled to and fro, cooing, laughing, and kicking
their legs in the air. Of larger children there were
about thirty, who had many a game, and many a romp.
One of the pleasant incidents was a dinner for the chil-
dren, which was given the day before we reached Rio de
Janeiro. On that occasion it fell to the lot of the writer
to award to the young people the prizes which they had
won in the "potato races, " the " egg-and-spoon races, '
and the games of ring-toss and shuffle-board, which
had been played on deck. On the evening of the same
day awards were made to their elders, who had joined
in like sports, or who had won prizes in the 'bridge
tournaments" and in the masquerades which had taken
place. There was not a little musical talent on board;
and a couple of enjoyable concerts were given in which
professional and amateur performers joined amicably,
and won the gratitude of their fellow-travelers.
The company in the first cabin included a large num-
ber of men belonging to the different branches of the
engineering profession. They wrere either going out
for the first time, or else returning, to take charge of
work upon the railways, or the great electrical enter-
prises which are being developed in South America.
A still larger number of the passengers were representa-
tives of firms engaged in the manufacture and sale of
agricultural machinery. One of these men was a veteran,
and repeatedly had visited the interior of South America,
going from ranch to ranch giving instruction in the
use of American mowers, reapers, and steam-plows.
20 To the River Plate and Back
Originally beginning life as a jeweler in a small town in
western New York, he had drifted to Chicago and
found employment with a firm engaged in making agri-
cultural implements, and years ago had been sent to
Argentina as a demonstrator. He was a typical "New
York Yankee, ' ' and the recital of his experiences, told
in his drawling vernacular, interlarded with Spanish
expressions, was infinitely quaint and droll. The
learned professions were represented by several physi-
cians, lawyers, and clergymen, the latter missionaries
returning to their charges after their furloughs. All
were men of culture and refinement with whom it was
a pleasure to converse.
The " Crossing of the Line" occurred on August 3ist.
The event had been anticipated by many with interest
and curiosity. One gentleman, speaking about the
matter, remarked: 'We shall no doubt feel it an hour
or two before we get there, and probably an hour or
two afterward. ' As the equator is an imaginary line,
what my friend expected to feel I am at a loss to imagine.
Another fellow-voyager approached me and seriously
inquired ' how long I thought it would take us to get
over the line." When I told him the feat might be
accomplished in about a second of time he looked mysti-
fied and even disappointed. I did not press him to
explain himself. It would hardly have been polite to
do so. To what sort of nautical acrobatics he was
looking forward will ever remain a puzzle to me. On
the morning of the eventful day a proclamation was
read at breakfast, announcing that Father Neptune
and his daughter, attended by their court, would appear
on board at two o'clock in the afternoon, and then pro-
ceed to initiate into the mysterious rites of his realm
all those who were for the first time invading his do-
At Sea 21
mains south of the equator. During the forenoon of
the day there were many conferences between the "com-
mittee of arrangements" and the proprietors of a circus,
who were traveling as second-class passengers. At the
appointed hour a procession took place upon the upper
deck. It was headed by Neptune and his daughter.
Neptune was clothed in a sea-green robe, held his
trident, wore a crown of gilded pasteboard, surmount-
ing his flowing locks which were composed of strands
of oakum. The discerning eye detected under the
disguise the rotund outlines of the purser; and under
that of his daughter the somewhat diminutive form
of the second steward.
The reason for the frequent conferences, which had
been held with the owners of the side-show in the morn-
ing, now became plain. The theatrical properties of
the troupe had been brought into requisition. The
chief steward arrayed as a ballet dancer, and the barber,
wearing the mask of a clown, on his head a fiery red
wig and in his hands a razor three feet long made of
gilded wood were prominent among the merrymakers.
A motley company composed of the ringleaders in
'the smoking-room crowd" wearing masks and strange
disguises followed. A platform had been erected in
front of the swimming tank. On it the chief steward,
provided with a whitewash brush and a big bucket of
paste, took his place. Beside him stood the barber,
stropping his gigantic razor upon a yard of burlap tied
to a derrick-boom. The first victim was a young lady
who seemed to feel that it was her duty to be initiated.
She came forward smiling, wearing a silk gown. She
seated herself upon the barber's stool. Her head was
anointed with paste, the barber made a few passes
with his mimic razor, and then in a twinkling, heels
22 To the River Plate and Back
over head, she was flung backward and soused in the
tank by the minions of Neptune. The ship's surgeon
and the fourth officer were the next victims. They were
followed by others until the tank was full. Those who
were floundering in the bath now resolved upon reprisals.
The first attack was made upon the chief steward. He
was seized from behind and waltzed into the tub, from
which he emerged looking like a drowned rat. After
him came the barber, from whose pockets, crammed
with colored papers, oozed bright green, pink, and
yellow dye-stuff. 'Beau-ti-ful as the rainbow!' he
exclaimed, as he crawled out of the tank and again
took his place on the platform, and began to strop his
razor. The fun now rose to its height. One by one
the company of merrymakers were caught and pro-
testing, struggling, kicking, rolling, were brought to
the tank and flung over its sides. It no longer contained
sparkling water, but a broth of paste, paint, floating
wigs, and other accoutrements. Those who had met
their baptism in it had an hour's w^ork before them in
their private baths to remove the stains of their experi-
ence. Each reveler received a diploma, properly
signed and sealed by Neptune, attesting the fitness of
the recipient to sail ' the seven seas. '
The ocean is glorious, but nowhere more so than in
the equatorial regions. Each day of the voyage pre-
sented a panorama of sea and sky in which the play of
color and of shifting lights was dazzling. The water
of the deeps of the tropical Atlantic, when seen from
the prow of the ship, glows with color like the breast
of a bird of paradise. Dark purples, lapis lazuli, re-
splendent greens, soft reds, and rich bronzy tints melt
into each other and shift and change with every passing
cloud and every motion of the waves. The depth
Crossing the Line.
Some of Father Neptune 's Minions. The Chief Steward Arrayed as a
Ballet Dancer.
Crossing the Line.
The Chief Steward is Tumbled into the Bathing- Tank.
At Sea 23
and intensity of the blue tints of the tropical ocean
provoked comment from even those who otherwise
appeared indifferent to the charms of nature. At night
under a full moon the reflection of the clouds on the
dark sea was infinitely tender and pleasing. During
the period we were on the Gulf Stream and until we were
beyond the mouth of the Amazon the clouds were a
splendid study. They are prevalently of the stratus or
cirro-stratus form on the North Atlantic, but over the
warm seas through which we passed there hung great
masses of cumulus, ' thunderheads, ' as I have often
heard them called, like those which rise over the land
in hot midsummer days. The long cold streamers of
the North were replaced by huge columns of soaring
vapor, over which the sun cast a robe of splendor.
Below them like a purple veil often hung the rain,
showing that they were being forced to return a part of
the burden of moisture which they were trying to carry
away. I had looked for fine displays of electricity
in tropical latitudes. Strange to say the only lightning
I saw during the outward voyage appeared over the
coast of New Jersey. 'Jersey lightning"1 is famous.
However, upon the return voyage we witnessed a
magnificent electrical storm as we were approaching
Bahia. We were close to the land and the night
was very dark. The sea was calm. All at once a
flash of lightning illumined the sky and revealed for an
instant the hills, the beach, the palm-trees on the shore ;
and then instantly the pall of darkness was thrown over
the whole enchanting scene. We waited for a minute
1 This allusion should be explained for the benefit of those who have
not pursued their studies in the Princeton Theological Seminary. In
the Neo-caesarian dialect "Jersey lightning" is a synonym for "bad
whisky. "
24 To the River Plate and Back
and then again the fires of the sky lit up the sea and the
land. It was an amazing and a charming sight, to see
the world, bathed as in sunshine, rush into view out
of the darkness and then disappear. It was as if a
series of magnificent views were being projected upon a
dark screen by the hand of a celestial worker of wonders.
The writer found his favorite perch at the prow of the
ship. There, either standing or sitting, he passed
many hours watching the waves and scanning the skies.
He was not without pleasant company. Many of his
shipmates discovered the same point of vantage, and
we discussed together many things which were suggested.
The ocean is the gift of the nebula out of which the
earth was formed. There was a time when it did not
exist, except as an immense mass of heated vapor,
which the hot ball of matter, about which it clung, re-
fused to allow to rest upon its surface. But the earth
slowly grew cold; the raindrops which fell upon it
ceased to hiss and sizzle on its red-hot rocks. They
drenched the mountain tops; and after a while formed
brooks and rivers, seeking lower levels in obedience to
the law of gravity. Ponds, lakes, seas, and oceans
were accumulated in the hollows. It was a long pro-
cess. Millions of years passed before it was consum-
mated. As the water fell, it leached their salts from
the slowly disintegrating rocks, and carried them into
the seas. The ocean is a great dripping-pan, the
ultimate receptacle of the waste of the land. The ocean
is a grave ; at its bottom rest the remains of unnumbered
and innumerable things which once lived in its waters.
Much of the land to-day is sea-bottom from which the
water has been withdrawn. The marbles, the lime-
stones, and the chalks consist of the consolidated re-
mains of the dead which once tenanted the seas.
At Sea 25
The ocean is the mother of life. The destroyer has
also been the nurse. Without water there can be no
life Lean over the prow and listen to the sound of the
rushing waves. It recalls the noise of the leaves in the
forests when the winds are passing over them. I like
to imagine, as I listen, that the sea is prophesying, and
declaring that her gift to the earth is to be the wood-
lands and the groves. The sun kisses the sea, and the
spirits of the waters rise like Aphrodite from the foam,
and, veiled in fleecy clouds, flee to the land, sprinkling
the sweet distillations of a million leagues of purple
water over the thirsty soil, and forthwith Flora awakens
and weaves her woodland temples garlanded with
blossoms. The lowly mosses of the North, the pines
of New England-, and the palms of Brazil are the gift
of old ocean.
Sir John Hunter once said: !<A man is compounded
of about twelve pounds of mineral salts and two buckets
of water. ' The statement is chemically correct. Every
one of us contains in his body a part of the sea, loaned
to us for the time being and brought to us as a gift
by the clouds and the rain. The earliest forms of
animal life upon our planet were marine. From out of
the seas came the first ;' swarms of living creatures";
they were followed in due time by the 'fowls of the
air " ; and later by the "beasts of the field. ' The final
product of evolution is man. How recent, when studied
from the standpoint of the geologist is the history of
our race! I stood under the Arch of Titus in Rome a
few years ago. I looked up and read the inscription. I
said to myself, 'How modern! This arch was built
less than two thousand years ago; the great reptile, the
reproduction of which I am bringing as a gift to the
King of Italy, lived fifteen millions of years ago; but
26 To the River Plate and Back
he was even then a comparatively modern form of life,
the product of an evolution which had been going on
for aeons before his advent!'
Will there ever come a time when the prophetic
declaration, There shall be no more sea,' shall be
fulfilled? It is possible. Swinging out there in the
night is the full-orbed moon. There are no seas or
oceans upon it, but it is literally covered with volcanoes.
A glass of only moderate power reveals the peaks and
the craters. These volcanoes are the best proof pos-
sible that at one time there must have been an abun-
dance of water on the surface of the moon. We know
how volcanoes are formed. Water sinking down into
the earth, which is still hot in its interior, is gradually
heated and becomes steam. When the pressure of the
steam reaches a certain point there is an explosion
and a pyramid of mud or of lava is thrown up. We
know that water is necessary to the formation of lava.
The constituent minerals in the primitive rocks in the
presence of water may be converted into lava at com-
paratively low temperatures. The volcanoes on the
moon show that this little attendant globe was once
covered by seas. They are invisible now. What has
become of them? They have been simply sucked down
into the rocks as the moon grew colder and colder,
just as water is sucked up by a sponge. The same thing
may happen to our old world in future ages. And the
air may at last go the way of the water, as it apparently
has gone in the moon, which has no atmosphere.
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CHAPTER III
LIVING THINGS IN THE WATERS
" In the seas and fountains that shine with mom
See, Love is waking, and Life is born,
And breathing myriads are breaking from night
To rejoice, like us, in motion and light." — -Bryant.
WE saw but little life during the voyage. Now and
then we caught sight of a school of porpoises in
the distance, and on several occasions as I stood at the
bow of the ship I observed these creatures racing with
the great vessel as it forged through the waves. Once
there were ten of them, five on each side, and they kept
up with the steamer for twenty minutes, although she
was going at fourteen knots an hour. They hardly
seemed to move their bodies as they made their onward
rush, except when they took a plunge. Just before they
rose for their leap out of the water they made three or
four rapid strokes of the tail from side to side, and thus
propelled shot forth from the wave into the air and de-
scended at a steep slant, only immediately to rise again.
The open nostril or blow-hole was conspicuous as they
emerged. The bodies of the two biggest specimens ap-
peared to be scratched or scarred, as if they had been
fighting. The race they made with the ship was quite
exciting but at last they apparently became tired, and,
shooting away to the right and to the left, disappeared.
27
28 To the River Plate and Back
Hearts of muscle could not keep up in the race against
the tireless heart of steel, which unceasingly pulsed
within the great ship.
For two days before we reached Bahia whales were
rather numerous. We often saw them spouting. The
water driven from their nostrils looks like a puff of
rifle-smoke. None of those which I happened to see
was very near to the ship, but an excitable gentleman
informed me one day that in the morning, while I
was at breakfast, a whale had been seen alongside,
" and, " he said, " he stood up on his hind legs and looked
me full in the face.' I naturally regretted having
missed so marvelous a spectacle. In my wanderings
to and fro upon many seas I have often seen whales.
The largest number which I ever saw at one time was off
the Banks of Newfoundland, in the fall of the year 1877.
We fell in with a school of sixteen finbacks. Some of
them were huge fellows. Having ' ' the freedom of the
rigging,' I went aloft, and from my lookout near the
masthead I had a fine opportunity to observe them.
They came quite close to the vessel, and one of them,
when within half a cable's length, breached, throwing
himself almost entirely out of the water. The sea was
quite calm, and it was exceedingly interesting to look
down into its glassy depths and follow the movements
of the monsters as they raced with the ship. The
racing instinct appears to be almost universal among
animals. I have observed it in the case of dolphins,
porpoises, and whales. It is common in dogs, as every-
body knows. I have even observed it in the case of
butterflies. Riding with a friend one afternoon from
La Plata to Ensenada, I noticed that specimens of
the common Thistle-butterfly (Pyrameis) frequently
rose from beside the road and flew along, racing with
Living Things in the Waters 29
the carriage. I had my butterfly-net with me, and
succeeded in bagging several specimens. If they had
not pursued us, they would not have been caught.
The small boy who runs along the pavement trying
in a burst of speed to keep up with a passing automobile
reveals the survival in him of the same instinct which
is shown by the lower animals. This racing habit is
curious.
But we were speaking of whales. Bahia is a whaling
station, and we were told there that the catch made by
the whalers at that port during the past summer had
been exceptionally good, and that over forty large
whales, each yielding five hundred dollars' worth of oil,
had been taken by the local fishermen. They go out
in small craft, harpoon their mighty quarry, and then
tow the carcasses to the shore, where the blubber is
flaked and tried out.
The only other mammals which we observed during
the voyage were seals. These wre saw in considerable
numbers at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. On our
way from Montevideo to Buenos Aires at intervals the
shy creatures would raise their heads from the muddy
water, gaze for a moment, and then dive out of
sight.
There was a remarkable absence of birds during the
early part of our voyage. I do not recall having seen
a single bird upon the Gulf Stream. Now and then as
we approached the southern continent we saw a few
petrels, but it was not until we came close to the shore
that birds became numerous. During the last days of
the voyage, after we had left the tropics behind us,
several species of gulls appeared in numbers straggling
in the wake of the ship, and also numerous Cape-
pigeons (Daption capense, Linn.), the elegant black and
30 To the River Plate and Back
white plumage of which made them very conspicuous
as they pattered to and fro over the waves, or rose and
came circling about the ship. In the muddy waters
of the Rio de la Plata cormorants were common.
Shortly after entering the Gulf Stream, and there-
after until we reached the Tropic of Capricorn, flying-
fishes were exceedingly numerous. They ran in great
schools. Standing at the prow it was highly interesting
to watch them as they rose from the bow-waves and
fled from the advancing ship. Some were less than an
inch in length and when on the wing looked like small
dragon-flies darting out of the water; others were as
large as a mackerel. Occasionally hundreds of them
would rise up together and shoot away. Their flight
suggested that of a covey of quails. They often flew
to a great distance. Now and then I noted individuals
which must have flown a hundred yards, and sometimes,
I think it is no exaggeration to say, twice that distance.
Everything seemed to depend upon the way in which
they met the wind on rising from the water. I observed
them very carefully to detect whether in their flight
they vibrate their fins, but they apparently never did
this, except just at the instant when they emerged from
the water, when the great pectorals seemed to quiver
for an instant as they met the air. It looked as if they
were trying to shake off the drops still adhering to them.
The tail is used to give direction and to maintain
proper poise. A hundred times I noted that, as they flew,
they just touched the tops of the waves with their tails,
thus keeping themselves pointed at the proper angle
to the wind. One fine big fish as he came out of the
water rose perpendicularly into the air like a kite against
the breeze. It looked for an instant as if the wind,
which was very strong, would blow him over backward,
Living Things in the Waters 31
but a big sea passed under him; his tail touched the
crest of the wave, and he was thrown forward into the
proper angle toward the wind, and then, rising like an
aeroplane, started off, making the longest flight I saw
on the whole voyage, almost disappearing in the distance
before he dropped, head on, into the side of a big roller.
Flying-fishes are very good to eat. The flesh is firm
and tastes like that of a Spanish mackerel. On the
return voyage we took on a supply of flying-fishes ob-
tained in the market of Bridgetown, Barbadoes, and
for several days the bill of fare at dinner enumerated
among other comestibles " filet of flying-fish. '
Standing at the prow of the ship we now and then
saw sea-pens (Pennatula) floating in the water. They
were deep purplish red in color, but were not very
numerous. Occasionally we saw ' Portuguese men-of-
war" (Physalid), their white floats followed by their
long purple processes streaming behind them. Ugly
things they are to handle, and the first officer told us a
story about one of his inexperienced shipmates who
some years ago had seen one of the things in the harbor
of Bahia and seized it with his naked hands. The terri-
ble nettle-like stings infected his right hand and arm,
which became inflamed and swollen so that for over a
week he was incapacitated for duty. Now and then
we saw masses of Vellellidcz, which are closely related to
the Portuguese men-of-war. They were not, however,
nearly as numerous as I have seen them on the Pacific,
between Vancouver and Yokohama, where untold
millions of them at times cover the sea for miles. They
are quite small, not more than an inch in diameter.
Their short tentacular processes when examined near
at hand are of a beautiful blue color, but as they appear
against the white foam of the bow-wave they resemble
32 To the River Plate and Back
bits of charcoal churned about and rolling over in the
water.
One phenomenon which awakened my astonishment
as we went along the coast south of Santos deserves
mention. When over thirty miles from the land spider-
webs came floating through the air. These spider-
webs were snowy white and were easily seen. I called
attention to them at the time, and afterwards when on
land I found that they were quite numerous. I did
not secure any of the spiders which make them. But
I saw them floating in the air over the pampas just as
I had seen them floating over the ocean. Butterflies
and other insects have frequently been noticed at great
distances from the shore. Carried into the upper regions
of the air they may be blown far out to sea. I have in
my possession a hawk-moth, which flew on board a
ship and was captured four hundred miles from the
land.
Only once did we witness a display of the phosphores-
cence of which so much has been written by those who
have sailed in the tropics. The night was intensely
dark, the moon having not as yet risen. About the
prow of the ship and along its sides there appeared to be
great balls of fire flashing in the water. The top of every
wave was illuminated, and far away toward the hori-
zon every whitecap seemed to be twinkling with stars.
The light is emitted by various forms of marine life.
In this case it was of course impossible to decide what
creatures they were which were giving forth this wonder-
ful light, but it is quite likely that we were plowing
our way through swarms of large jelly-fishes, or medusae,
some of which emit phosphorescent light.
CHAPTER IV
THE SOUTHERN HEAVENS
" A million torches lighted by Thy hand
Wander unwearied through the blue abyss;
They own Thy power, accomplish Thy command,
All gay with life, all eloquent with bliss." -Derzhavin.
AT night, when we were not watching the clouds
and the sea, we gazed at the stars. Less than a
week after sailing the Polestar sank so low toward the
misty horizon behind us that we could no longer see it.
One by one the familiar constellations of the north
disappeared from view. We began to look for the
appearance of the Southern Cross. One evening just
after sunset we saw * the pointers, ' Alpha and Beta
Centauri, but the Cross had already set. On the
following evening we made out the Cross just above the
horizon. It was a distinct disappointment to many
who beheld it for the first time. ; The flaming Southern
Cross, " about which so much has been said and written,
cuts a rather sorry figure in the sky. The captain of
the ship said to me as we stood looking at the constella-
tion : ' It is not a true cross. ' The stars are not located
in relation to each other in such a way as at first glance
to suggest the outline of a symmetrical cross; and
furthermore they are too widely separated from each
other to make the constellation impressive. In fact
there are a couple of other groups of stars in the south-
3 33
34 To the River Plate and Back
ern heavens which come much nearer forming " crosses,"
and one of these groups is known as the "False Cross. '
Only one of the stars of the four composing the Southern
Cross is of the first magnitude; two are of the second
magnitude, and the fourth is a star so small that it is
scarcely visible except on very clear nights. During
the greater part of our time at sea only three of the
stars could be seen without a glass, and the constellation
suggested a 'triangle' rather than a 'cross.' We
soon grew tired of looking at Crux australis.
But if the Southern Cross was a disappointment, the
heavens above us were not. There were remarkably
fine displays of the zodiacal light just after sunset;
and when the afterglow had faded, the skies seemed to be
fairly palpitating with stars. Some of these are ex-
tremely brilliant. Alpha Centauri, one of the " pointers '
of the Southern Cross, is the fixed star which is nearest
to our solar system. It is four and four-tenths "light-
years" distant from us. That is to say, it takes light,
traveling at the rate of 186,327 miles a second, four
and four-tenths of a year to come to us from it. Sirius,
the Dog-star, is approximately eight and eight-tenths
"light-years" distant from us, almost exactly twice as
far away. Alpha Centauri is twenty-five and a half
trillions of miles from our sun. It would take a rail-
way train, traveling with the speed of the Twentieth
Century Limited, and making no stops, fifty-two mil-
lions of years to go from our sun to Alpha Centauri.
There does not appear to be any danger of an immediate
collision with the nearest fixed star. I am glad I have
seen it. The outlook is reassuring, and I can go to
bed at night and sleep peacefully.
'The Clouds of Magellan,' stray universes, widely
separated from the Milky Way, which they resemble,
The Southern Heavens 35
though much smaller in extent as seen from our earth,
attracted our attention. Detached groups of suns, so
far away that they seem to be drawn together and melt
into a pale haze in the midnight sky, they teach impres-
sively the vastness of that immeasurable domain
through which run the unchanging laws of Him who
said, "Let there be light.' How infinitely little man
appears when we contemplate the heavens in full view
of the teachings of modern astronomy. If the Psalmist
could say as he gazed at the sun, moon, and stars:
'What is man that Thou art mindful of him?' how
much more reverent ought we to be as with bared
foreheads we look up into the purple vault above
us and reflect upon the illimitable distances, the tre-
mendous velocities, and the prodigious momenta
of the uncounted suns and worlds which are threading
the mazes of space!
Standing under the stars the paleontologist cannot
fail to recall that his astronomical brethren in a certain
sense are also paleontologists, 'l students of ancient
things.' We have been told that some of the light
which touches the human retina, as we stand at the
eyepiece of a telescope, must have started on its earth-
ward journey from the remoter points of the universe
millions of years ago. In other words, when we peer
through a powerful telescope directed toward the more
distant parts of that great complex of which we are
ourselves an insignificant portion, we do not see things
as they now are, but as they were long ago. Could we
behold the Clouds of Magellan exactly as they are at the
present instant of time we might discover, because
light is so laggard and has so far to come, that changes
have occurred of which we as yet have no intimation,
and concerning which information will only be received
36 To the River Plate and Back
in our world in future ages. The remoter heavens
at which we gaze are not the heavens which now are,
but the heavens which once were. The astronomer,
like the geologist, is to a certain extent the student
of an ancient history.
Certain stars attracted immediate attention by their
brightness. One of my fellow passengers, who, like
myself, was fond of : 'star-gazing,' approached me
one evening with the request to give him the name of
the 'planet'' to which he pointed. Its steady and
brilliant light justified his momentary belief that he
was looking at one of the planets, but it was Sinus.
Even more wonderful to me than Sinus was Canopus,
that mountain of blue fire, which after midnight
glowed in the sky with a splendor second only to that
of the planet Jupiter. If anywhere there be a central
fountain of fire before which other suns pale into
insignificance, surely this is it. Although it shines
so resplendently, astronomers have not as yet been
able to compute its distance from our solar system.
We saw a number of meteors. None of them were
very brilliant. It is really surprising how few of these
things ever reach the surface of the earth. Most of
them cannot be more than a few grains in weight.
They come flying out of the deeps of space, are caught
by the attraction of the earth, rush down toward its
surface but the friction generated as they move
through the air produces such a heat, that they ignite
in the presence of the oxygen of the atmosphere and
burn up before they reach the lower layers of the all-
enveloping air. My dear old friend, the late Henry
Ward, scoured the world in quest of meteorites. I
loved him very much. I have on my desk a paper-
knife made out of a sliver of a meteorite, which fell
The Southern Heavens 37
at Toluca in Mexico, and which he presented to me.
I do not know whether there is anybody else who cuts
open his magazines with a piece of a star. The Ward-
Coonley collection, which was the result of a great
expenditure of time, effort, and money, contains speci-
mens representing several thousand "falls.' It is one
of the most complete collections of its kind now in
existence. Ward often visited South America in quest
of specimens about which he had heard. He used to
tell amusing stories concerning his adventures. No
hardship was too great for him to encounter if thereby
he could only add another specimen to his collection.
A great many meteorites have been found in South
America. There is a big one in the museum at Rio de
Janeiro, which came from near Bahia. When I was a
student, the place which Ward occupied in later years as
a collector of meteorites was held by my teacher, Pro-
fessor Charles Upham Shepard of Amherst College.
He was running a race with Professor Maskelyne of
England in an effort to make the most complete col-
lection of meteorites in the world, and before his
death claimed writh apparent justice that the only
collection exceeding his own was that preserved in the
Imperial Museum in Vienna, The dear old doctor
used to lecture most entertainingly and instructively
upon the composition of these fragments of stellar
matter which he had gathered. Among them, I recall,
was a small meteorite which he obtained in a curious
way. It fell one afternoon in the fall of the year and
struck the roof of a barn, where two men were engaged
in flailing buckwheat. It tore away a number of shin-
gles from the roof, bounded off, and fell into a field near
by. A small dog saw it fall and rushed out into the
field and began pawing about the hole. The men,
38 To the River Plate and Back
alarmed by the loud report, rushed out, and, attracted
by the peculiar actions of the dog, went to the spot,
and after a while succeeded in digging out the stone,
which Professor Shepard subsequently bought. Upon
concluding the recital of this story, the Professor was
accustomed to remove his spectacles, and, wiping
them with his handkerchief, remark: 'That was a
wise dog; he recognized the Dog Star as soon as he saw
it. ' The feat performed by the dog in this case was,
however, surpassed by my friend, Professor O. C.
Farrington of the Field Museum in Chicago. A few
years ago hearing of a fall, which had taken place in one
of the Western States, he made a series of computations
which led him to infer that the aerolite must be lying
approximately in a certain position upon the earth's
surface, and then taking a train from Chicago, he went
out upon the prairies of Kansas, and after tramping
around for a time, found the very spot and dug it out
of the ground. An equally curious case is that of the
Saline Township meteorite, as it is called. Mr. S. A.
Sutton of Hoxie, Kansas, was frightened one night by a
blinding light and a loud noise, and thought the lamp
was exploding in the front hall of his house. He
sprang to his feet, and then saw through the window a
great trail of dazzling light in the sky and realized that
it was a meteorite which had passed overhead. Being
a surveyor and mathematician he made computations,
and at last by their help succeeded in locating the stone,
which is now in the Field Museum. It weighs more
than sixty-eight pounds.
It is fortunate for the inhabitants of the earth that
there is so little flotsam and jetsam in space and that
meteoric bodies are as rare as they are. It would not
be a pleasant thing to be perpetually colliding with the
The Southern Heavens 39
remnants of smashed worlds. In 1827 a man was
killed at Mhow in India by a falling meteorite. Strange
things are always happening in India. Where people
starve to death by tens of thousands, and thousands are
annually devoured by tigers and killed by snake-bites,
it would be singular if some one were not now and then
knocked down by a falling star. The population in
India is crowded, you know.
When we had crossed the Tropic of Capricorn the
fact that we were in another hemisphere began forcibly
to impress itself upon us, as we looked at the heavens.
Orion in September stood in the south with his heels
toward the zenith and his head toward the horizon,
just the reverse of what is true in the north when
this constellation is visible. The tail of the Scorpion
pointed upward. The ' Man in the Moon ' likewise
had changed his apparent position. His eyes appeared
to be toward the eastern horizon, as if he were lying
on the side of his face. The sun shone in the north
and our shadows pointed toward the south. Every-
thing was topsy-turvy. But we were on the underside
of the world, and seeing things as we might see them at
home if we always walked on our heads.
I have a friend who has a telescope with which he
beguiles his evening hours. One summer night the
man-of -all- work, a German, who had been a couple of
years in America, having put the lawn-mower into the
tool-house, came and stood near by, evidently filled
with curiosity as he saw his employer training his glass
at the skies. He was invited to take a peep, and
explanations were given. Presently he turned and with
evident amazement and pleasure exclaimed: 'Mein
Gott! dose vas de same shtars I used to see in Tscher-
many!' Of course! Both Germany and the United
40 To the River Plate and Back
States lie north of the equator. But when one arrives
below the equator one sees constellations different
from those which fill the northern heavens. Many of
them have been defined and named in comparatively
recent times, and bear designations which are quite
unfamiliar to us who have always done our star-gazing
" north of the line. ' We are familiar with the Greater
Bear and the Lesser Bear, with Cassiopeia and Androm-
eda; we know Orion and the Greater and the Lesser
Dog; but we have never seen Pavo, the Peacock;
A pus, the Bird of Paradise; Horologium, the Clock;
and Equus Pictorius, the Painter's Easel. The Air-
pump, the Sculptor's Workshop, the Telescope, and the
Microscope are constellations new to us. We do not
see these and twenty other constellations either in
Germany or the United States.
The progress made in astronomical science during the
last century has been as great as that which has been
made in any other department of science. Much of
this progress is due to the refinements in instrumental
equipment which have been made possible by the
ingenuity of men who have had at their command the
mechanical devices of the nineteenth century. The
huge telescopes which are used to-day could not have
been constructed in those ages which lacked the steam-
engines, the lathes, the screw-cutting machinery, and
other appliances which are found in modern workshops.
The science of astronomy owes a great debt to such
consummately skilled mechanics as Alvan Clark of
Cambridge and others. The invention of the spectro-
scope and the application of the knowledge acquired
through its medium has vastly extended our acquaint-
ance with the physical composition of the sun and other
celestial bodies. Many of the secrets of the skies
The Southern Heavens 41
have been wrested from the darkness by the help of
photography. In fact the greater part of the work
which is being done to-day in the field of astronomical
research is being accomplished by means of specially
adapted photographic cameras. Photographic nega-
tives are more sensitive to the action of light than the
human retina, and the records which they furnish are
more correct, and are of course permanent. "The
personal equation' is to a certain extent eliminated
in photographic records. No two men see things
exactly in the same way; in fact, no two pairs of
eyes are exactly alike. The testimony given by as-
tronomers who have reported what they have seen,
when standing at the visual end of the telescope, is as
variant as the- testimony given by witnesses in law-
suits. The camera, on the other hand, if properly
adjusted and properly handled, gives sure results.
Astronomical research in these days has resolved itself
very largely into a quest for good photographic nega-
tives of the heavens. The popular conception of the
astronomer as sitting at the eye-piece of a great tele-
scope, sweeping the depths of space with eagle eye, is
reflected in the well-known lines of Keats:
" Then felt I like some watcher of the skies,
When a new planet swims into his ken."
''The watcher of the skies" nowadays is represented
by a small piece of glass, coated with a properly pre-
pared emulsion, upon which the distant heavens are
focussed, and which is exposed for minutes or hours at
a time to the starlight. The final result is a negative,
which presents the appearance of an assemblage of white
fly specks upon a dark ground. When one of these fly-
specks is discovered to have become a little elongated
42 To the River Plate and Back
the suspicion arises that it may be a moving body,
its orbit traceable upon the background of the ap-
parently motionless fixed stars; and when it is found
after successive exposures to have changed its relative
position from night to night and week to week, it is
finally announced to be an asteroid, or the satellite of
one of the larger planets, as the case may be. There
is then proper joy in the astronomical world, the news-
papers herald the discovery in large head-lines, the
lucky finder is made a Doctor of Science, and has his
name enrolled among the immortals. The negatives
meanwhile are stored away in the vault of the obser-
vatory, and common men go on toiling and moiling as
before. It has been my pleasure to be personally
acquainted with a great many of the leading astrono-
mers of the past and present generation on both sides
of the Atlantic. With some of them I have been
intimately associated, and I have learned to entertain
for them and their work the highest admiration.
No study is more elevating and inspiring than astron-
omy. It may, however, be questioned whether, viewed
from the utilitarian standpoint, the results which are
being achieved by it are as valuable to mankind as those
which are being achieved in some other branches of re-
search. In proportion to the large expense which is
necessary in order to add a little to our knowledge of
the distant universe what may be learned seems to be of
less importance to humanity than the knowledge which
remains to be secured nearer at hand by the physicist,
the chemist, the geologist, the botanist, and the zoologist.
But it is eight bells and time to turn in!
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CHAPTER V
A DAY IN BAHIA
" Yon deep bark goes
Where traffic blows,
From lands of sun to lands of snows;
This happier one
Its course is run
From lands of snow to lands of sun."
T. Buchanan Read.
ON the morning of September 4th, after having
been at sea for fourteen days, we found ourselves
approaching the broad harbor of Bahia. A long low
point of land, at its extremity a tall lighthouse, jutted
out into the sea on the northern side of the entrance.
Over this we got a glimpse of the roofs and towers of
the city. On the far-off southern side of the harbor
were ranges of verdurous hills, which gleamed brightly
in the sunrise. Rounding the point upon which the
lighthouse stands, we made our way westward and
cast anchor before the town. A couple of forts, one of
which was originally built by the Dutch during their
occupation of the country, guard the roadstead. The
city stretches for a couple of miles along the curving
shore of the bay, and is divided into upper and lower
sections. The lower section occupies a narrow stretch
along the water-front and is raised only a few feet
above the level of the sea. Large docks are in process
of construction. Behind these rise warehouses, banks,
43
44 To the River Plate and Back
and office-buildings, in which various commercial
firms have their headquarters. Towering above the
lower city along the whole front of the harbor is a steep
escarpment several hundred feet in height. On the
upper plateau, separated by this high bluff from the
lower town, is the residential section. Here are the
homes of the affluent, and also of many of the poor.
Here is the cathedral, and here are many churches,
numerous convents, a great theater, the mint, the
palace of the Governor, the medical college, and
beautifully arranged parks. Here, too, are located
many of the better shops, where goods are sold at retail.
Access to the upper city is gained by circuitous routes
leading around the great wall of rock which faces the
harbor, or through a couple of deep depressions which
interrupt its face. These longer routes, which must be
employed for vehicular traffic, have been supplemented
by inclined planes and a great double elevator, or " lift, '
which runs both by day and by night.
We went ashore in small boats. A shower of rain
swept over the bay as we left the ship, but was instantly
succeeded by bright sunshine. The oarsmen hoisted
a rude sail and we were not long in reaching the land.
As we approached the dock we were impressed with the
scenic charm of the place. The great cliffs over-
hanging the red roofs of the lower city wrere draped
with the richest tropical verdure. The architecture of
the houses recalls that of Lisbon and other cities of
southern Europe. The buildings are tall and narrow,
five, six, and even seven stories high, roofed with tiles.
Across the water came the sound of church-bells, for it
was a day of festival.
After landing, my first errand was at the bank, for as
yet I had none of the money of the country in my pos-
A Day in Bahia 45
session, and without money the path of the traveler
may be hard, even if interesting. It is pleasant to
read books describing the adventures of tramps abroad,
but it is preferable when in a strange land to have
enough change to enable one to buy a banana, if de-
sired. Brazilian money is somewhat anomalous, though
quite logical. The unit is the real, which is equivalent
in value to about iVo of a mill in the coinage of the
United States. The principal coin of Brazil is the
milreis (a thousand reis), a piece of silver worth in
exchange thirty-one cents of the money minted in
Philadelphia. Five hundred reis is equivalent to 15^2
cents, 100 reis to 3^ cents of our coinage. I drew ten
pounds sterling on my letter of credit and found myself
the proud possessor of 158,790 reis. Here appeared
to be a sudden and marvelous accession of wealth, but
"riches soon take to themselves wrings and fly away.'
There is another side to the story. The charge for
sending a cable message to the loved ones at home,
consisting of but three words, was 9000 reis; a ticket
in the elevator which took me to the upper city was
100 reis; and the conductor of the tram-car charged
me the same amount for carrying me about ten squares,
when I got to the top ; my lunch cost me 5000 reis, and
it was very simple and not particularly good, consisting
of fruit, a leathery omelet, rolls, and coffee. If I had
grown suddenly rich, I began to grow as suddenly poor.
In the United States it is said that people have in re-
cent years come "to think in millions"; in Brazil they
think in milreis. The sign for the milreis is the well-
known mark of the dollar, $. It is at first blush start-
ling to have a memorandum presented to you in your
hotel after breakfast, stating that you owe for your
eggs and coffee the sum of 3$ooo; and it is positively
46 To the River Plate and Back
alarming after a stay of five days to have a bill presented
to you on leaving for ioo$ooo. But it is not so bad as
it looks.
While attending to my small affairs at the bank and
in the telegraph office, I became separated from my
friends who had come on shore with me. They told
me that they were going to the upper city and would
proceed slowly, so that I could overtake them. But
they had vanished, and I was left alone "a stranger in
a strange land. ' Solitude, however, is not necessarily
misery. A man who is alone can often learn as much
as one who is attended by companions. Making sure
that I had lost my comrades, I boarded the street-car
going east, and resigned myself to my fate. I did not
know the amount of the fare, but selected the smallest
piece of coin I had, 400 reis, and gave it to the conductor,
and he gave me back 300 reis as change. How far the
fare would have carried me I do not know, but we had
only gone a short distance when I spied the entrance
to a park. I beckoned to the conductor; he rang the
bell; the car stopped. As I had been riding along the
street my attention was attracted, as it had been before,
to the fact that most of the people appeared to be of
African descent. Bahia is in fact the capital of the
"Black Belt" of Brazil. It is said that in the interior
of the state of Bahia there are colonies of blacks who
have reverted to the ways of 'darkest Africa.' The
streets, filled with gaudily clad negresses carrying
their burdens upon their heads, the tropical sunlight
glowing upon the walls, the rich, luxuriant vegeta-
tion in the gardens, brought back to me memories
of northern Africa. Bahia would furnish splendid
studies for an artist who revels in color. From this
point of view it seemed to me quite as attractive as
A Day in Bahia
47
Tangier and similar places now greatly frequented by
painters.
But I was at the entrance of the park adjoining the
Governor's palace. It is located on the very edge of a
steep bluff overlooking the city and the bay. The
panorama is imposing. After wandering along the
paved walk, protected on its outer edge by a balustrade
of stone, and feasting my eyes upon the prospect, I
turned to more nearly examine the various growths
Fig. 3. — Breadfruit (ro nat. size). Fig. 4. — Jack fruit (2-0 nat. size).
about me and to observe what I could discover of
tropical life. At the lower end of the walk stood a
number of fine specimens of the royal palm (Oreodoxa
regia) ; mimosas overhung the path with their delicate
foliage, decked with blossoms looking like pompons
of yellow silk. There were parterres of flowers and
hedges of roses in full bloom. Here and there a yellow
butterfly (Catopsilia eubule) fluttered about. I had,
alas! forgotten to bring my butterfly -net with me, but
consoled myself with the reflection that the species
is common, and occurs, though rarely, even in Pennsyl-
vania. Among the trees which shaded the entrance
48 To the River Plate and Back
to the park were a number of large specimens of the
jack tree (Artocarpus integrifolia). The species has
been introduced into the American tropics from the
East Indies. It is closely related to the breadfruit
(Artocarpus incisa), which was introduced from the
South Sea Islands, and has become universally diffused
in the West Indies and the northern parts of South
America. The leaves of the breadfruit are very broad
and palmately incised, the leaves of the jack are much
smaller and entire. The fruit of Artocarpus incisa
is about the size of the head of a child, while the fruit
of Artocarpus integrifolia, which grows out of the side
of the trunk or the larger branches, is a huge thing, as
big as a large watermelon, weighing thirty or forty
pounds. The flesh of the jack fruit is coarser and more
woody than that of the breadfruit, and not so palatable,
though I must confess after eating roasted breadfruit
that I do not regard it as a very choice viand. I have
eaten things I liked better. From the trunks of the
jack trees in the park in Bahia were hanging several
large specimens of the fruit, at which I gazed with
interest. It was the first time I had ever seen the
plant in life. In a fountain in the park were a couple
of small alligators and a big turtle, which a little
mulatto boy was teasing with a long stick.
As I was going out of the park a well-dressed gentle-
man came toward me, and I ventured to accost him in the
French language and inquire whether I was correct in
my surmise that the stately building at the entrance was
the palace of the Governor. He responded courteously
in the affirmative and volunteered the information
that he himself was the private secretary of the Gover-
nor. We stood and chatted for a few moments.
I told him that I wished to improve my few hours on
A Day in Bahia 49
shore by seeing something of tropical nature. He ad-
vised me to take a certain street-car, the directions
for reaching which he kindly gave me, and by that
means to go to the Vermilion River, a favorite bath-
ing-resort by the side of the sea. I thanked him, took
his advice, and was well repaid for so doing.
Leaving the upper plateau covered with buildings,
the electric tramway descends by a number of sharp
turns into a narrow valley, where I found myself
journeying along rapidly under a growth of fine tropi-
cal trees. After a while we emerged from the shadow
of the woodland and came out to the beach. Here
the vermilion-colored cliffs were bordered by a strip of
clean white sand, through which protruded great rocks
clothed with seaweed where the tide reaches them. The
blue ocean was full of dancing waves, which came roll-
ing ashore, throwing up great clouds of spray. A
headland covered with stately palms jutted out to the
right, its red cliffs circled below with a wreath of white
spume. Hawks and vultures were lazily sailing in the
air. A fisherman on a catamaran was plying his
calling amidst the surf. At intervals of about ten
minutes he would venture out, cast his throwing-net,
and then ride in on the top of the rollers, bringing in his
catch of fishes, which glittered in the sunlight as if
they had been made of burnished silver. As he hauled
his rude craft ashore, an old negro crone, only a little
less naked than the man, and a couple of children
went down and helped him to disentangle the fishes
from the net. They had already filled several large
baskets. The fishes seemed all to be of one species,
allied to the herrings of our northern waters. But
what interested me most was to find the beach behind
the sandy reaches full of flowering plants, upon which
50 To the River Plate and Back
there were swarms of butterflies and other insects,
many of them long known to me through specimens
preserved in my cabinets, but which I here for the first
time saw upon the wing. The hour I had at my com-
mand was all too short. I could have spent days here
content to observe the ways of plants and insects,
birds, beasts, and men.
I returned to the city as I had come, glad that I had
at last seen a little of that tropical life in the midst of
which I first saw the light of day, but which until that
moment had been for me little more than a tradition
handed down to me in my early boyhood by my father
and my mother. Here everything recalled to me the
tales told to me when I was a child of life lived in an
Antillean Eden. I remembered that I had been told
when a child that my nurse, bearing me in her strong
arms, used to take me into the cane-field and pare for
me a joint of cane that I might enjoy it. More than
threescore years have passed since then, but I could
not resist the temptation to purchase a stick of cane
from a passing vender, and, paring it, I tried to conjure
up a vision of my infancy when I was ' ' little massa. '
Alighting from the car which brought me back from
Vermilion River I spied a party of my shipmates at
luncheon in one of the hotels ; they beckoned to me and
I joined them. After luncheon we undertook a round
of the churches. There are eighty-four of these, most
of them in the upper city. The Church of San Antonio
first claimed our attention. It is a large building
the interior of which is elaborately ornamented by
carvings in wood, which have been gilded. They are
said to have been made by resident monks, who spent
a vast amount of time in planning and carrying out
the designs. The effect is gorgeous, but not otherwise
A Day in Bahia 51
impressive. I succeeded in gaining admission to the
private quarters occupied as offices, meeting-rooms,
and library by the resident clergy. Here were some
interesting old books, pictures, and historical relics
which appealed to my fancy more than did the heavily
ornate decorations of the nave and chapels. The
minor ecclesiastic who showed me around and explained
everything in Portuguese was very polite and obliging.
I spent half an hour with him and regretted that I
could not have stayed longer. The views from the
windows of this part of the complex of buildings are
very charming, and I sat down at one of them and for
a few moments feasted my eyes with the sight of the
city and the distant hills.
On returning from the little tour of exploration in the
hidden parts of the church, I again found that I had
lost my companions, and forthwith proceeded to visit
one or two other churches, which were said to be worthy
of inspection. But to one who is familiar with the
ecclesiastical architecture of Europe, who has studied
the cathedrals of England, Germany, France, and
Spain, who has seen St. Peter's in Rome, and the gor-
geous basilicas of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the
impression left upon the mind by the churches of Bahia,
some of which date back for a couple of centuries,
is upon the whole quite disappointing. Their white-
washed exteriors, standing forth with dazzling clearness
against the deep blue sky of the tropics, are certainly
more effective from an artistic standpoint than their
interiors.
Forsaking the task of exploring churches, I betook
myself to the shops, the market-places, the streets,
and lanes. There was little here which was attractive,
but much to interest. The goods displayed were
52 To the River Plate and Back
principally, if not entirely, of European or American
manufacture. The great majority of the stores or
shops consist of a single room with a high ceiling, open-
ing out to the street, as do the shops in Spain and
North Africa. At times I could almost imagine myself
back again in Granada or Tangier. The merchants
sit surrounded by their wares at their elbows; the
artisans, the cobbler, the cabinet-maker, the book-
binder, the printer, work in full view of the passers-by,
and exchange greetings and carry on conversations
with the people who loiter past the open front of the
little rooms which they occupy. Some of the lanes are
almost as narrow as in an old Moorish town, and once
I had to step aside as a street peddler came along
with his donkey bearing a pair of panniers contain-
ing the wares which he was retailing. The incident
suggested the Orient.
I noted the fact that there was nothing in the way of
manufactured articles which might be regarded as
characteristic of the country, and used as souvenirs
of my visit. The absence of artistic instincts among
the craftsmen struck me. It is so totally unlike what
is seen under like conditions, in many similar places
in Italy, France, and more particularly in Japan. It
might be imagined that in a land which is rich in its
products, and where the necessities of life are easily
supplied, the consequent leisure would lead to activities
along artistic lines, but the impulse is apparently
lacking. Something more than idleness and pictur-
esque surroundings is necessary to awaken artistic
yearnings and activities. The decorative, imitative, and
interpreting spirit must exist in the blood of a people.
Environment alone will not produce them. Africa
since the days of the Pharaohs has not shone resplen-
View of Bahia Looking down from the Balcony of the Elevator in the
Upper City.
Interior of Church of San Antonio, Bahia.
A Day in Bahia 53
deritly in the annals of art. Portugal has produced few
painters and sculptors ; you could count them on your
fingers. The people of Bahia, representing in great
part the blood of Angola, or other West African coun-
tries, or the commingling of African blood with that
of Portuguese sailors and adventurers, is qualified for
exertion along many useful lines, but the imitative
arts have not up to the present time taken deep root.
There may come a change in the future; but it will
be by a process of instillation, rather than education,
and the result in the event will probably not be epoch-
making.
There are no arrangements in Bahia for warming the
houses. None are needed. It is always summer in
Bahia. The kitchen is the only place where fire is
required, and the furniture for cooking in the homes
of the common people is very primitive. Wood and
charcoal are the fuel employed. I saw negroes carry-
ing fagots of firewood tied in bundles and fixed as huge
loads upon their backs, just as they do in Morocco, or
as I have seen poor peasants in the south of France
performing the same service.
As there is little need of fire, so there is little need of
clothing, except for purposes of ornament. In the
case of the juvenile population among the poorer
classes the necessity for other apparel than that pro-
vided by kindly Nature is apparently not recognized.
I passed a number of houses, where the younger chil-
dren were playing in puris naturalibus . Thus arrayed
they even appeared upon the streets, and I saw one
fond mother leading along the sidewalk two little
figures in bronze, which might have served as models
for Cupids.
The discovery of Brazil was made by Pedro Alvarez
54 To the River Plate and Back
Cabral on March 9, 1500, although Pinzon in January
of the same year had sighted land in the neighborhood
of Cape St. Roque. Cabral made his landfall at a
point which is now included in the southern part of the
Province of Bahia. He thought the land to be an
island and called it the Island of the True Cross, a name
which did not stick. Cabral' s discovery was quickly
followed by the sending of fleets to possess the country,
but, as no gold was found, there ensued disappointment.
The only thing of apparent value which was discovered
was dye-wood, known then and now as "brazil-wood, '
and this wood gave its name to the country. Vessels
were sent out to get brazil-wood and the 'Brazil-
coast' soon became known. The first European
settler was Diego Alvarez, who was a deserter from one
of the ships which had gone out to get dye-wood. He
established himself in 1509 at Bahia, and saved him-
self from being eaten by the cannibal Indians by the use
of his musket. The Indians nicknamed him 'Cara-
muru "• or " the lightning man. ' Eventually he married
the daughter of a chief and had a brood of mestizos by
her. Forty years afterwards the first real colonists
of Bahia appeared and the half-breed descendants of
Alvarez were of great service to them in dealing with
the Indians.
Founded in 1549, until 1763 Bahia was the capital
of Brazil. Not long ago it was regarded as the second
city of the country in commercial importance; but
during the past three decades it has been outstripped
by Sao Paulo. The population of Bahia has more
than doubled since 1890 and is said to exceed two hun-
dred thousand ; but that of Sao Paulo in the same time
has quintupled and is now over four hundred thousand.
The growth of these South American cities in recent
A Day in Bahia 55
years has been quite as rapid as that of the cities of
the United States.
Bahia during the more than three hundred and fifty
years of its existence has witnessed many stirring scenes.
On May 9, 1624, Piet Heyn, "the Dutch Sir Francis
Drake, ' took Bahia from the Spaniards, who, having
annexed Portugal, claimed and held the place at that
time. The capture of Bahia was a daring exploit, and
was accomplished by Heyn in a hand-to-hand conflict
against apparently overwhelming odds. The following
year a combined fleet of Spanish and Portuguese
ships, fifty-two in number, armed with eleven hundred
and eighty-five guns and carrying twelve thousand
five hundred men, was sent to recapture the place, and
succeeded. The fleet was the most formidable sent
out by Spain since the days of the Grand Armada. The
valiant Dutch commander of the garrison, Jan van
Dorth, had been killed in a skirmish before the arrival
of the Spaniards. His successors were incapable, and
though a strong Dutch fleet was on the way to rein-
force Bahia, they came too late, for the garrison had
already surrendered. Then in 1627 Piet Heyn came
back. He had a vastly inferior force, but he was a man
who did not know fear. He sailed into the harbor
in the teeth of the forts. He ran his ship between the
two biggest Portuguese men-of-war, and when the gun-
ners on shore slacked their fire for fear of hurting their
own countrymen, the intrepid Dutchman proceeded
then and there to sink the flagship of the Admiral, and
captured the rest of the fleet of twenty-seven sail
lying under the guns of the place. For a while he
roamed up and down the coast destroying or capturing
every craft which flew the Spanish or Portuguese flag,
and then returned to Holland with so much bootv in
56 To the River Plate and Back
the form of thousands of hogsheads of sugar and ship-
loads of hides that the coffers of the Dutch West
India Company were enriched, and the Directors were
able to send him out on an expedition to the Caribbean.
In the fall of the year 1628 he captured in the Bay of
Matanzas the great treasure-fleet of Spain carrying
cargoes appraised at nearly fifteen millions of florins,
and dealt a deadly blow to the sea-power of that country,
which so long had been trying to strangle the liberties
of the Dutch.
From 1623 until 1647 the Dutch were more or less
securely intrenched at various points along the Brazilian
coast from Cape St. Roque to Bahia, and at one time
it seemed that they would be left the masters of the
situation; but political changes in Europe, mistakes in
the administration of the Dutch West India Company,
and the revival of the power of Portugal, led to their
final overthrow. There are still many people who
to-day express regret that the Dutch did not perma-
nently occupy the country, and a prominent citizen of
Bahia, with whom I conversed, said to me that in his
judgment it would have been a great blessing for the
land had the States General of Holland been by a
kindly Providence assigned the task of developing the
region and its institutions. It was, however, ordained
otherwise.
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CHAPTER VI
RIO DE JANEIRO
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Hail ! City of the tropic seas,
Queen of the headlands, veiled in light,
Pillowed among thy purpling peaks,
Sun-decked, and robed in white!
Thy feet are laved by Ocean old.
Thy head is crowned with bloom,
And Flora from her cups of gold
Pours o'er thee rich perfume.
ON the morning of September the 7th we came in
sight of the mountains which guard the coast
just north of Rio de Janeiro. They are bold in outline
and their precipitous walls of rock in places rise up
grandly from the ocean. At the openings of valleys
were narrow strips of level land covered with forests.
Occasionally a clearing and human habitations could
be seen, and here and there were white beaches against
which the surf lazily rolled. Fishermen in small
boats were plying their business on the smooth waters.
A monastery on a little rocky islet not far from the
shore attracted attention. The forests of palms
crowding to the edge of the water reminded us that
we were still in the heart of the tropics. At last we
turned in nearer to the coast. A crag, so steep that it
looked as if a goat would have difficulty in obtaining
a foothold upon its lower slopes, rose above us. Beyond
57
58 To the River Plate and Back
it was a small island topped with palms. Still farther
south, above the blue horizon, serried peaks guarded the
dim distance. The bow of the great ship swung closer
in shore, and was pointed toward the spot where the
palm-clad island and the tall crag seemed to meet.
It almost looked as if we were going to run ashore, but
the big man with the kindly face up on the bridge knows
the coast. He has brought ships in and out of these
rocky inlets for forty years, and understands his
business. The ship does not slacken her speed, but
rounding the foot of the crag, passes through a narrow
entrance, coming so close to the island that the waves
which she throws up chase after each other and dash
in long lines against the rocks. We are so near that we
can do a little botanizing and with the naked eye can
make out the species of the trees before us. Suddenly
a noble panorama is disclosed. Tall hills on the right
are topped in the distance by taller mountains. Dead
ahead is Sugar Loaf, a huge cone of granite, rising, a
great monolith, from the quiet water. Back of it in
the blue distance are Corcovado and Tijuca, their
slender peaks pointing into the sky, "the fingers of
God,' as the natives call them. A rock which looks
like the hull of a ship which has " turned turtle ' lies
on the port bow. Ahead of us is a city, its towers and
palaces showing white in the sunlight against the dark
green of the mountains behind it. Scores of steamers
are lying at anchor, among them, clad in mail, two
huge dreadnoughts. We are in the harbor of Rio de
Janeiro, the most beautiful harbor in all the world.
As we came up through the narrow entrance a puff
of white smoke rolled from the embrasure of a fort at
the right, and was followed by a hollow boom, which
reechoed from the cliffs. The discharge was repeated
Rio de Janeiro 59
again and again. And then we saw that over the low
rock ahead a flag was flying, and we made out openings
in its sides, and presently from these the fire spat and
the smoke poured. Other forts, here, there, every-
where began to thunder. It was exactly noon. What
did this cannonading mean? Oh! it was only the sign
of popular rejoicing. The yth of September is the
national holiday of Brazil and corresponds to the
4th of July in the United States. It was Independ-
ence Day. We were running the forts at the entrance
without being 'stormed at by shot and shell.' The
smoke of the cannonade drifted out over the channel
and became so thick that it partly hid from view the
city and the shipping in the distance. We had chosen
a fine day on which to make our landing. Rio de
Janeiro was en fete, and as we emerged from the veil
of the powder-smoke we saw that the men-of-war were
gaily dressed with flags ; we saw that every ship at an-
chor was flying the colors of Brazil ; we heard the sound
of martial music coming from the shore; bands were
playing; rockets were banging; and firecrackers were
snapping everywhere. These Brazilians celebrate their
"Seventh' with as much noise as we celebrate our
"Fourth. ' And now the screw has stopped ; we begin
to move slowly and more slowly still. As we hang over
the rail we can at last scarcely detect any motion.
11 Let go ! ' comes the command. A hoarse roar of chains
at the bow! a splash! we are at anchor! Before us lies
the capital of Brazil.
Owing to the fact that the stevedores at Santos were
on a strike our captain had received instructions to
discharge the cargo intended for Santos at Rio. We
were accordingly informed that we would make a stay
of from four to five days, and I therefore determined to
60 To the River Plate and Back
leave the ship and go ashore. A strong argument for
this course was the fact that I had discovered at Bahia
that immediately over my cabin there was a steam-
winch, which would be in operation both by day and
by night. Proximity to this noisy monster would make
sleep on board impossible. When selecting cabins for
a coasting cruise, let me recommend fellow-travelers
to look out well for the location of the winches. A
winch overhead is worse than nightmare.
We had scarcely come to anchor when we were sur-
rounded on all sides by small rowboats and lighters.
One of them brought a man who ran up the ladder, and
called out my name. It was startling. Fancy at
once conjured up visions. Could he have some dread
message to convey to me which had come from far off,
under the seas? I was speedily relieved and reminded
that two days before I had sent from the ship a Marconi-
gram asking that a room be reserved for me at one of
the hotels. The man who sought me was the messenger
of the house, who came to inform me that the only
vacant room was at my disposal, and to help me on
shore with my luggage. I was glad that I had sent
my message. There are numerous excellent hotels in
the city of Rio de Janeiro, located on the main avenues,
but, as a naturalist, I wished to be a little nearer
Nature's heart than I could be in these, and therefore,
on the advice of friends, had selected a hotel which
was in the outskirts of the city, half-way up the flank
of Corcovado and embowered among the rich forests
of its slopes. It was for me a happy choice, and a happy
chance that my message had found its way through
the air when it did.
Leaving the care of my luggage to the courier of the
hotel, I joined a large company of my fellow-passengers
Rio de Janeiro 61
in boarding a steam-launch, which quickly put us
ashore. A tram-car conveyed us to the terminal station
of the electric railway, which ascends the slopes of the
mountain and by which my destination could be most
speedily reached. The cars are open, permitting the
passengers to see everything. After a little delay we
were off. The road rises rapidly. In half a minute
we were flying along on a level with the roof of the
great opera-house and many of the most imposing
edifices of the lower city. Then we sped over the arches
of the old aqueduct built by the Jesuit Fathers more
than one hundred years ago. Under us were busy
streets and flat-roofed houses which fill a narrow but
densely populated valley. The tops of four or five
lordly palms rise to the level of the tracks, and we were
almost near enough to touch their feathery fronds
waving in the sunlight. Having crossed the aqueduct,
the road ascends the hillside and winds upward, past
beautiful villas embowered in gardens, rich in flowers.
The poinsettia flaunts its crimson bracts over the walls ;
bougainvilleas in sheeted masses of purple blossoms,
more splendid than the robes of an emperor, cover
arched gateways; a score of species of palms, conspicu-
ous among them the royal palm, raise their stately
columns, fifty, seventy, and one hundred feet into the
warm air; the perfume of blooming orange-groves
invades the senses. The road winds to the right and
to the left, at each turn disclosing a new outlook over
the harbor, the tree-clad hills, the mountains encircling
the horizon. Every view is a picture of transcendent
loveliness. Higher and higher we rise. At last we
plunge under the shadow of great trees loaded with
orchids and freighted with pendant lianes. We are
in the midst of the tropical forest. We look down into
62 To the River Plate and Back
deep ravines where the sunlight glimmers on the tops
of tree-ferns and feathery bamboos, where the monarchs
of the forest have clothed themselves in bloom, white,
purple, yellow; where birds of gorgeous plumage flash
from branch to branch ; where great blue morphos, the
jewels of the world of butterflies, gleam like huge
sapphires as they lazily float upward and downward
and are then lost to view in the deep umbrageous
recesses. A glimpse at this world of wonders and the
car stops at the entrance to the elevator, which quickly
raises us to the outer courtyard of the hotel, which is to
be our home for four memorable days. We find our-
selves in an abode of comfort, with the forest all about
us, but through the setting of its walls of green disclos-
ing magnificent views of the distant city, the bay, and
the mountains. Here I rejoice at the thought of
1 taking mine ease in my inn, ' and here I am happy
to find a place from which to sally forth into the
tropical "Urwald. '
It only took me a minute or two to deposit my
impedimenta in my room, to fling open the shutters,
and to see that the windows commanded a most noble
view, and then to unpack my insect-nets and other
paraphernalia of the entomological chase. It was near
the middle of the afternoon and rather late for an ento-
mological foray, but the temptation could not be resisted.
My path led me upward through the grounds of the
hotel, amid gardens and orange-groves ; upward through
copses and thickets; upward by a path at the end of
which I found that an observation-tower had been
kindly built ; and climbing its stairway I seated myself,
tired of the stiff climb and ready in the warm light of
the declining day to yield myself to the enchanting
influences of my surroundings. Overhead soared a
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Rio de Janeiro 63
score of vultures; near by in the trees several species
of cicadas were singing their vespers ; that gaudy, noisy,
and popular South American songster, the Bienteveo
(Pitangus bolivianus) was calling from tree to tree; a
dozen birds, all of them strangers to me in life, were
flitting about and making the gardens vocal with song.
Far away was the blue horizon of the ocean ; the shining
roadstead of the harbor gleamed brightly under the
westering sun; all around the strange huge bulks of
the mighty cliffs and escarpments, recalling the bold
faces of the mountains which encircle the Valley of the
Yosemite, loomed skyward. The distant booming cf
cannon, the faint jangling of bells, the noises of rejoicing
in the city came softly to the ear. It was delightful
to sit in the waning light of a lovely sunset, amidst the
languorous tropical air, and in solitude drink in deeply
the impressions of the hour.
I was roused from my reveries by a droning beetle,
which wavered a moment in its flight, and fell a victim
to my net. I realized that out of the herbage around
me were issuing the swarms of insects which emerge
at dusk. The electric lights about the hotel were already
beginning to twinkle. I made my way downward by the
path I had come, and found myself presently under the
electric lamps busily engaged in sweeping into my net
beautiful creatures, large and small, some of which I
knew at a glance as old friends and others I recognized
as forms which were strange to me. At the dinner
table the attention of the throng of fashionably dressed
ladies and gentlemen was attracted to a large moth,
brilliantly colored, which came fluttering about the
tables. I slipped into the hall and seized my net, and
as the gay insect came by, with a quick stroke captured
it; I was greeted with a salvo of applause from the
64 To the River Plate and Back
assembled guests, and immediately found them all to
be most kindly interested in my entomological pursuits.
One lady came to me and informed me that if I would
go to one of the upper corridors I would find a large
moth resting in a corner where she had observed it
before coming down to dinner. Two little misses
tripped up to me and told me that I must go to the big
electric lamp at the corner of the hotel, where I would
find a half-dozen moths resting on the wall. The
manager and the waiters came to my assistance and
informed me of discoveries which they had made, and
from nine until eleven o'clock I worked industriously,
accumulating a large number of specimens of beautiful
tropical lepidoptera, which it took me until midnight
to put into papers for safe-keeping. It certainly was
for a veteran entomologist an evening of unalloyed
pleasure. And like it were all the evenings of my brief
stay in this interesting spot.
On the morning of the next day when I awoke after
a refreshing sleep I lay for a few moments gazing out of
the tall windows, which reached from the floor to the
ceiling. In the far distance I heard the tooting of
locomotives and the deep growl of a big steamer
signaling her departure; near at hand I heard the
twittering of sparrows about the eaves, the sharp
eager notes of swallows circling through the air, the
call of the Bienteveo, and the warbling of a thrush.
Light fleecy clouds were hovering about the wooded
peaks. I sprang up and looked down with delight upon
the world robed in green. It was Amerigo Vespucci
who said that " if Paradise exists on this planet it must
be near the Brazilian coasts." Of all that coast the
most beautiful portion lies around the great estuary on
which Rio de Janeiro stands.
Rio de Janeiro 65
I had set apart this day for a visit to the city. I
resolved that I would begin by calling upon Dr. Orville
A. Derby, the Director of the Geological Survey of
the country. Dr. Derby holds an enviable position
among the citizens of the Brazilian metropolis, where
he has resided for forty years. He was one of the trusted
scientific advisers of the late Emperor, Dom Pedro II.,
and has been active both under the empire and the
republic in developing the resources of the land,
which he has made his home. His unfailing kindness
to men of science who visit Brazil, and his great learning
have won for him a host of admiring friends, and I
felt that it was a privilege as well as a duty to call upon
him to express in person my cordial appreciation of
the services he had rendered to Mr. John D. Haseman,
whom the Carnegie Institute sent to Brazil in 1908,
and who for nearly three years had served us there as
a field naturalist, making many interesting discoveries.
I found Dr. Derby at the hotel where he resides,
and at leisure for the day. We lunched together,
and my host exerted himself to select from the volumin-
ous bill of fare viands characteristic of the country.
Among other things we had some delicious shrimps
fresh from the sea, quite equal in flavor to the best
New England lobsters. We had boiled cabbage-palm
and fried plantains, dishes not known outside of the
tropics. The Brazilian cheese was very good, and I
was informed that dairy products are beginning to be
exported in considerable quantities from Rio de Janeiro.
The coffee was veritable nectar. Three-fourths of the
coffee consumed by mankind comes from Brazil, and
the art of brewing a good cup of coffee is certainly
understood in Rio.
After luncheon we repaired to the Geological Museum,
66 To the River Plate and Back
where my learned companion showed me the collections
representing the minerals and fossils of the various
formations which he has been assembling for many
years. He conducted me through the laboratories;
and I was deeply interested in a number of fine relief
maps which he has prepared or has in process of pre-
paration. An unfinished relief of very large size,
showing the whole of Brazil, adjusted to the curvature
of a globe of immense size, particularly attracted me.
I was also very glad to see a relief map of Rio de Janeiro
and its environs and to receive from Dr. Derby a most
interesting and instructive account of the geology of the
district. We talked about the mines, of precious
stones and metals, and of the coal-fields of Brazil.
The question of a fuel supply is one of great importance
in all of the South American countries. The coal at
present used is imported from overseas. The deposits
of coal in Brazil thus far discovered are not extensive
in area and are of inferior quality, though by proper
treatment it is believed that these Brazilian coals may
be utilized to advantage. However, the development
of railways is likely to be much retarded by the lack
of cheap fuel. To sacrifice the great forests of valuable
woods to the devouring maws of steam-engines would
be a frightful act of vandalism. Fortunately, in the
vicinity of Rio de Janeiro and other cities in Brazil
there are fine waterfalls, and these are being harnessed
and used in the service of the electric railways. On the
broad plains of the south and the interior such sources
of power are of course lacking. There are reported to
be extensive beds of coal in Bolivia, but as yet they are
wholly inaccessible, though the problem of reaching
them is attracting attention.
After leaving the Museum of Geology we repaired to
The Avenue of Royal Palms in the Botanical Garden, Rio de Janeiro.
Rio de Janeiro 67
the Botanical Garden. Calling at the house of the
Director we learned to our regret that he was not at
home, and proceeded in a leisurely manner to walk
through the park, in which is gathered one of the most
superb collections of tropical vegetation which exists.
The chief glory of this wonderful garden is found in the
avenues of royal palms, some of which have survived
the vicissitudes of a century and still are apparently
filled with pristine vigor, sending their columns aloft
into the air, great rounded shafts of supple wood,
crowned with huge coronets of exquisite foliage. We
lingered in the garden until it was nearly dusk, and
then repaired in company to my hotel upon the moun-
tain side, and until nearly midnight sat and talked of
mutual friends who are leaders in scientific research, and
of the great future that lies before Brazil, destined with-
in the next two hundred years to be the home of one of
the greatest nations upon the globe. We parted with
the promise that on the evening of the morrow we would
go together and visit the house of a friend who has the
largest collection of butterflies in tropical America.
CHAPTER VII
RAMBLES ABOUT RIO DE JANEIRO
"Father, thy hand
Hath reared these venerable columns. Thou
Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down
Upon the naked earth, and forthwith rose
All these fair ranks of trees."
W. C. Bryant.
THE days of my stay in Rio de Janeiro, which suc-
ceeded that first day, passed so pleasantly in the
company of Dr. Derby, were devoted in part to sight-
seeing in the town, and in part to long rambles among
the tropical woodlands and mountains.
Accompanied by friends I visited the Annual Exposi-
tion in the Academy of Fine Arts. There were a few
good pictures by Brazilian artists, but most of the
canvases were not such as to attract prolonged attention.
Art is still in its infancy in Brazil; nevertheless several
of the pictures showed a fine sense of color and vigorous
handling. There is some talent in the land which is
worthy of being encouraged.
The impression made upon the traveler by the life
of the streets in Rio de Janeiro, in fact in all South
American cities, is such as to recall the lands of the
Mediterranean, rather than those of northern Europe,
or the United States of North America. The manners
and customs are those of southern Europe. The
street-merchants and market-women, the porters and
68
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o
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s
(U
Rambles about Rio de Janeiro 69
cabmen, the crowds on the side-walks reveal by a hun-
dred little traits in action and address that they belong
to the Latin rather than the Teutonic races. Who in
England or the United States has seen men carrying
their stock of vegetables about from house to house in
baskets slung at the ends of a yoke-pole? But in Italy
and Spain and North Africa such sights are common,
and everywhere in Rio de Janeiro we encountered
them.
Many of the public buildings of Rio de Janeiro are
excellent in design and appearance. The influence
of French taste is conspicuous in many of them.
The Opera House, modeled after that of Paris, is as
fine a building as its prototype. The Monroe Palace
is recognized at once as the Brazilian Building which
graced the Exposition at St. Louis, and which, trans-
ported to Rio, now adorns the Avenida. There are
numerous streets which compare favorably with similar
streets in any of the great European capitals. The
most attractive feature of Rio is the system of boulevards
intersecting the lower portion and bordering the water-
front. Nowhere in the world is there a more beautiful
drive than that afforded by the Avenida Beira-Mar.
The road-bed is perfection, and the exquisitely beauti-
ful views of the bay and the mountains, which it offers
at every turn, cause all other great municipal thorough-
fares to suffer by comparison. The Riverside Drive
in New York, the Thames Embankment in London,
the Avenue des Champs Elysees in Paris lack alto-
gether the elements which combine to make the
great Brazilian avenue the magnificent promenade
which it is. The Hudson is a noble stream, and the
Palisades are striking; but to produce in New York
the effect of the view at Rio it would be necessary to
70 To the River Plate and Back
bring down the White Mountains from New Hampshire
and set them up in the New Jersey marshes, put the
cliffs and mountains of the Yosemite into the regions
of the Bronx, and build a section of the maritime Alps
of Italy from the Atlantic Highlands to Newark. After
all this had been done there would still be lacking the
sun and riant vegetation of the tropics.
At various points there are small parks exquisitely
kept, and numerous monuments commemorating his-
toric events and personages. Mons. Georges Clemen-
ceau in his recent book entitled South America of To-day
criticizes in a good-natured manner the tendency
which is so apparent in South America to embellish
open places with monuments and groups of statuary
commemorating men of less than world-wide fame.
For my part I rather like the evident loyalty of the
people of these countries to the memory of those who
have been their leaders and benefactors. Granting
that their names are little known in Europe or the
United States, they were the men who laid the foun-
dations of the institutions and the laws which to-day
bless the nations whom they served, and it is fitting
that those who come after them should remember them.
There is quite too much haste in these times to bury
our dead in forget fulness. Republics are proverbially
ungrateful, and I esteem it a hopeful and pleasant sign
that here in these southern lands the duty of the present
to remember the benefactors of the past is being felt.
But "God made the country, man made the town.'
I prefer the country. The result was that I devoted
less of my time to rambling about the streets and market-
places of Rio, and more to the woodlands and mountain-
tops. Two afternoons were given to pedestrian ex-
cursions along the route of an abandoned railway
Rambles about Rio de Janeiro 71
leading through the forest beyond the hotel. The track
goes around the jutting shoulders of the hills, and rich
tropical forests overhang it. Great tree- trunks veiled
by creeping aroids, covered with parasitic growths,
rise on all sides. Orchids were abundant. For part
of the way the track runs alongside a section of the
old Jesuit aqueduct built of massive masonry, which
still in part provides a supply of water to the city.
The masonry was covered with a thick coat of green
mosses, and in the chinks grew delicate ferns. In the
narrow ravines, through which the streamlets came
bounding from the hills, tree-ferns were abundant. The
great variety of families and genera represented in
these hillside growths was one of the things which
attracted immediate attention. In our northern wood-
lands there generally appear to be certain dominant
forms in a given locality; in one place the hills are
covered by oaks and chestnuts ; in another by pines and
birches; in still another by beeches and poplars. It
was not so on the mountains about Rio de Janeiro.
There were indeed certain species, individuals of which
were more numerous than others, but there was every-
where a bewildering variety of species. The larger
trees within a radius of a quarter of a mile belonged to
at least twenty families and forty genera, and I have
no doubt, taking into account the woody shrubs, these
numbers would be doubled. Brazil is the metropolis
of the Melastomacecz, and if any family appeared more
prominent than another it was these. There were
many species of palms. It was just the period of the
springtime, if there can be said to be a vernal period
in a land where "everlasting spring abides, " and many
of the larger trees were in bloom. It was an impressive
sight to stand on a jutting eminence and look down over
72 To the River Plate and Back
a densely wooded slope reaching like a robe of emerald
into the valley, and here and there to see lordly trees
veiled to their outermost branches with blossoms,
white, yellow, purple, scarlet, or blue, giant bouquets
set here and there in the midst of perennial green. The
comparative absence of lowly composite flowers, which
are so common in northern latitudes, was noticeable.
They were not altogether wanting, but their place
seemed to be largely usurped by verbenas, begonias,
caladiums, and cannas. Convolvulaceous and legumi-
nous plants, large and small, were abundant. A
species of xanthoxylon with great yellow spikes of
bloom grew abundantly in spots. The brambles of
our northern woods were replaced by lantanas. Among
the herbage I noticed some species evidently escaped
from cultivation, for instance, here and there a stray
coffee-plant in full blossom. This child of the Abys-
sinian highlands has found a congenial home in the
American tropics.
But even far more interesting to me on some accounts
than the magnificent vegetation was the wealth of
insect life. Here I had an opportunity to observe
close at hand those most magnificent of all South
American butterflies, the morphos, numbers of which I
found flitting by the pathway. Nothing in all nature
exceeds the brilliancy of these huge blue insects, as they
flutter into the sunlight, suddenly disappearing as they
pitch upon the ground or a twig, closing their wings
the under sides of which, through adaptation to their
environment, cause them to be instantly invisible,
except to one who is keenly watching them. I came
upon them seated upon the ground, and was unaware
of their presence until suddenly, like a gleam of burn-
ished metal, their wings flashed open and they flew
Vegetable Dealer, Rio de Janeiro.
Poultry Vender, Rio de Janeiro.
Rambles about Rio de Janeiro 73
away. Here, too, I had the great pleasure of observing
the curious habits of the butterflies belonging to the
genus Ageronia, which invariably light head downward
upon the trunks of the trees, with their wings expanded ;
and here I heard them as they circled about emitting
that curious sound concerning which Bates, in his
A Naturalist on the Amazon, has written. Just how
these frail little creatures produce a loud clicking
noise as they dash about in the air is an unsolved
mystery. Here also for the first time I encountered
in life the curious butterflies belonging to the genus
Ithomia and allied forms. They seemed to be the
ghosts of living things, so thoroughly transparent are
their wings, and it was only by sharply noting the few
bright spots upon them that I was able to follow them
in their flight. Their pursuit seemed to be the chase
of the invisible. Besides the butterflies, which were
numerous when the sun was bright, there were many
species of gaily colored moths, which are diurnal in
their flight, and which hovered over flowers or flitted
up from among the herbage. Some of these moths
have a wonderful resemblance both in the form of their
bodies and their wings to the bees and wasps, among
which they feed upon the same food-plants. One of
the marvels of the insect world is the great moth
which is occasionally found about Rio de Janeiro, and
which is characterized by its remarkably prolonged
hind-wings, as well as by the beauty of its colors. It
is known by the scientific name of Eudcemonia semi-
ramis.
Of the Hymenoptera there were many species. A
great black wasp (Pepsis) three inches in length was
quite common and very conspicuous when feeding on
the spikes of the blooming xanthoxylon. I captured a
74 To the River Plate and Back
couple of fine specimens. A large bumble-bee with black
wings and reddish body was at work everywhere. Ants
of various kinds appeared to be numerous. Dragon-
flies were abundant, but proved difficult to capture.
The beetles of Brazil, especially those the larvae of
which feed upon wood and leaves, constitute a mighty
Fig. 5. — Eudtemonia semiramis.
| natural size.
host. It is probable that only a small part of them
have as yet been named and described. We know com-
paratively little of their habits and life-history. The
Cerambycidce, or Long-horn Beetles of Brazil, include
many thousands of species as yet unnamed. There is
in my custody a collection of these interesting insects
in which I am told by one of my assistants that there
are certainly twelve thousand species, the greater
Rambles about Rio de Janeiro 75
part of which he has been unable thus far to identify.
They all came from Brazil. To name and describe
them is in itself a life-work, which awaits at this moment
the proper man. Among the Cerambycidce of Brazil
are many most singular forms. Perhaps the most
remarkable insect of the group is the great beetle which
bears the scientific name
of Macro pus longimanus.
Its back is marked with
curious hieroglyphic de-
vices. The Dynastidce, an-
other family of showy bee-
tles, is also well developed
in Brazil. The most strik-
ing of all is the Hercules
Beetle, which ranges from
the Island of Guadaloupe
to Uruguay.
Birds appeared to be nu-
merous, and to my great de-
light I heard the call of the
Bell-bird, though I did not
0 rig. o. — Macropus longimanus.
see the beautiful creature. i natural size.
I do not think it possible
that I was mistaken in this. Some years ago in the
Zoological Garden in London there was a captive
specimen of the bird, which constantly emitted its
strange metallic note, and I studied and listened to it
for half an hour. The same sound rang out again and
again from one of the lonely dells on the face of Corco-
vado. I attempted to locate the bird, but it appeared to
be hidden in the deep foliage.
The afternoon of an almost cloudless day was given
to the ascent of Corcovado. This is made easy by the
76 To the River Plate and Back
railway, which has been built almost to the summit.
It is operated in the same manner as many of the rail-
ways which have been built in Switzerland to enable
tourists to gain peaks, which a few years ago were only
to be reached by vigorous effort. Under the skies
of Brazil the most devoted worshiper of the alpenstock
is justified in substituting for the toil of his muscles a
small contribution of cash from his pocket and for-
getting the glory he won in his youth by many a reckless
ascent. The railway climbs up by way of a gorge in
the steep mountain-side, through which a brook comes
foaming downward. Great trees overhang the track
and through their tops are caught glimpses of the land-
scapes below. The last one hundred or more feet of
the ascent are made by flights of steps cut in the solid
rock, up which the tourist must go as a pedestrian.
On the summit have been built a small pavilion, and just
below it on the narrow edge of the mountain a platform
about five feet wide, protected on both sides by balus-
trades. Walking to the end of this platform the
observer looks out and down upon the world below him,
as a man looks down from the basket of a balloon.
Were he to leap over the balustrade he would drop
nearly a thousand feet. The view is magnificent. On
the east lies the Atlantic Ocean, a mass of sapphire,
over which white fleecy cloudlets wander landward;
to the north and the west is the bay, sprinkled with
green islands, a sheet of lapis lazuli inlaid with emeralds ;
in the further distance to the north and west are the
Organ Mountains, some of which lift their heads seven
thousand feet above the sea; to the south are Tijuca
and a hundred green hills; immediately below lies the
city, spread out as upon a map, every avenue, every
building in full view. Along the white roadways the
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ed
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Rambles about Rio de Janeiro 77
street-cars move to and fro looking like ants, and
human beings are mere specks of black, scarcely dis-
tinguishable except with an opera-glass. We staid
a half -hour upon the summit feasting our eyes, and then
the writer walked down the mountain botanizing and
entomologizing as he went. The walk was hot, but
it is never to be forgotten. What pleasure to be alone
in the woods, with no sounds but those of the wind, the
brooks, and the birds ! What exquisite delight to ram-
ble free of foot along pathways lined with plants,
known hitherto only by carefully nourished specimens
grown in conservatories, or preserved in herbaria.
If a visit to the palm-house at Kew is a delight, what
a delight it is to have the whole wide world apparently
transformed into a colossal conservatory, and to be free
to go up and down in it, gathering flowers everywhere.
The five days at Rio de Janeiro came all too quickly
to an end. I promised myself as the anchor came up and
we stood out to sea that, if life and health should be
spared to me, I would again some day renew my ac-
quaintance with this fascinating region, of the charms of
which I had only had a taste.
As we made our way out of the bay I recalled what I
had read of the history of the spot. Here the Huguenots
of France once assayed settlement, and the memory of
their occupation is perpetuated in the name of the
fortified island which still bears the name of Villegagnon,
the commander of the company of French Protestants
who made the first attempt to colonize the region in
:555- They were driven out a few years later by Mem
da Sa, the Portuguese Governor of Brazil, who laid out
and effected the settlement of what is now the busi-
ness quarter of Rio, and remained as Governor until
his death in 1572. It is as idle to speculate as to what
7* To the River Plate and Hack
might have been the issue of a French occupation of
Rio dc Janeiro as it is to imagine what might have been
the result of a permanent occupation of the coast to
the north by the Dutch. Rio de Janeiro during the
period of the Napoleonic wars became the refuge of
the Portuguese King and court. King John VI. of
Portugal fled before the advance of Marshal Junot and
his army and on November 27, 1807, accompanied by
fifteen thousand people, carrying with them fifty mil-
lions of dollars in treasure, sailed away for Brazil, arriv-
ing at Rio on March 7, 1808. From that day to this
Brazil has been the principal home of the Portuguese
race. Brazil is greater Portugal, in the same way that
North America is greater England.
Between the little town upon which Mem da Sa
closed his eyes and the great city of to-day with its
million of inhabitants there lie nearly three centuries
and a half of human history. What changes have
taken place in the world during these three hundred
and fifty years! London, to-day the largest city on the
globe, had in 1560 less than one-fifth the population of
the Rio de Janeiro of the present. New York did not
exist, and it was not until fifty years after the city of
Rio de Janeiro was laid out that Hendrik Hudson in
his Half Moon entered the river which bears his name.
But in reality everything which makes life worth living
to-day seems to have taken place since the discovery
of the New World.
Fig. 7. — Dynastes Hercules.
i natural size.
CHAPTER VIII
SANTOS
' Town, tower,
Shore, deep,
Where lower
Clouds steep;
Waves gray
Where play
Winds gay —
All asleep. " — Victor Hugo.
WE left Rio about noon on September I2th, and
made our next call at Santos. The approach
to the city is by a narrow tidal river which threads its
way inland amidst mangrove-swamps, beyond which on
all sides rise high mountains. We took on a pilot as
we crossed the bar. He was a tall African from the
Cape Verde Islands. His ebony complexion was
matched by a rather natty uniform. I ventured later
to express to the captain my wonder at his being com-
pelled to entrust his responsibilities to the gentleman.
He laughingly responded, "You should see how I do
that. I give the orders, and he stands by and approves
and confirms them. No, sir; I do not resign my
responsibilities to black boys on this coast. I know
the coast better than they do. I have been on this run
for a lifetime. '
Santos used to be regarded as the most unhealthy
port in the American tropics. On the banks of the
79
8o To the River Plate and Back
tortuous stream, as we slowly made our way to the
docks, we saw the ribs of a number of American ships
rotting in the sluggish ooze, and I was told by the cap-
tain that these were ships which had been abandoned,
crew after crew having died on them from yellow fever,
and that they had been finally towed to the shore and
deliberately burned, because they were veritable
plague-ships and could not be taken away. Now all
is changed at Santos. The building of the new docks,
the consequent filling up of the low, marshy land on
the river-front, and the adoption of proper sanitary
precautions have led to the almost total extermination
of the mosquito, which bred the yellow fever. Prop-
erty values in Santos have risen within recent years
in a manner truly marvelous. The town is the port
of Sao Paulo, the capital of the state of the same name,
which is built on the uplands twenty-five hundred feet
above sea-level at a remove of two hours by rail from
Santos. The latter city has about seventy thousand
inhabitants; Sao Paulo about four hundred and fifty
thousand, more than half of whom are Italians.
The river-front of Santos for more than a mile is
faced by docks and warehouses of modern construction,
and these are being rapidly extended. The town is
compactly built. There is an extensive system of
street-railways, the service upon which is excellent.
By means of these access may be had not only to every
quarter of the city but also to the suburbs. Of these
the most attractive is Guaruja, where there is a noble
beach of pure white sand, much resorted to by sea-
bathers, and a number of fine hotels. Sao Vicente,
located about six miles from Santos, is the site of the
first permanent colony established by the Portuguese
in Brazil. Here in January, 1532, Martim Affonso da
Santos 81
Souza founded a little settlement, from which the way
was speedily discovered to the more healthful and
equally fertile highlands separated from the coastal
plains by the lofty escarpments which rise to a height
of from twenty-five hundred to three thousand feet
along the ocean. Da Souza was not, however, the
first Portuguese to establish himself in this place.
In the year 1511 Joao Ramalho, a Portuguese deserter,
had settled here, as had Diego Alvarez at Bahia two
years before. He too, like Alvarez, took to himself
an Indian wife, and when Da Souza arrived he was
glad to welcome his fellow-countryman, and his dusky
sons and daughters played an important role in en-
abling the Portuguese colonists to enter into friendly
relations with the surrounding Indian tribes. The
occupation of the highlands by the colonists speedily
cut them off more or less from communication with the
world and forced the Paulistas to become more and
more self-reliant. They developed energy and daring
in their new surroundings, and, as the colony grew,
they acquired an independent spirit. With courage,
boldness, and the hospitality of the frontier, they min-
gled ignorance and cruelty. The story of the colony,
about which centers the early history of the develop-
ment of the power of Portugal in Brazil, is in many of
its features not unlike the story of the winning of our
Middle West. Tales of hardship and privation, of
encounters with hostile Indian tribes, of restless migra-
tions westward in quest of lands and gold fill the pages
of the historian of Sao Paulo, as they fill the pages of
those who narrate the history of the Mississippi Valley.
The Jesuits played an important part in the movement
at first, but the people of Sao Paulo discovered after a
while that the theocratic ideas of these representatives
82 To the River Plate and Back
of ecclesiastical power were in conflict with their liber-
ties, and they hunted the Jesuits out of the country as
diligently as they hunted out the savages who refused
submission. The whole story has not as yet been told
as it deserves to be. The genius of some Brazilian
having the historical power of an Irving or a Parkman
should be summoned to the task of giving to the world
a complete record of this really wonderful chapter in
American development.
The city of Santos is dominated by a hill rising above
the town, on the summit of which is a shrine resorted
to by the sick, who are reported to derive great benefit
from the visit. A rather remarkable collection of wax
models such as are generally displayed in medical
museums, showing the nature of various diseases, is a
part of the furniture of this holy place. The small
parks of Santos, of which there are several, are well
kept, and contain fine specimens of tropical plants.
In one of the parks in the center of the city the muni-
cipal authorities have placed a colony of sloths. Some
twenty or more of these animals live among the branches,
and it was highly interesting, seated under the shadows
of the trees, to look upward and watch the slow and
deliberate movements of the creatures as they migrated
from bough to bough feeding upon the foliage as they
went.
That this is a very small world impressed itself
forcibly upon me in Santos. Upon the first occasion
on which I took a seat in one of the street-cars to ride
from the city to the dock, where the steamer was lying,
I ventured to ask of a gentleman, beside whom I
was sitting, whether the car I had taken would
convey me to my destination. I addressed him in
French, and he answered me in that language, but
View of the Harbor of Santos.
••.•...
Loading Coffee at Santos. Bananas Piled on Forward Deck.
Santos 83
quickly said in excellent English, ' ' You are an American,
not so?' I answered in the affirmative, and he went
on to tell me that he was a graduate of Cornell Univers-
ity, had married in the United States, and we presently
discovered that we had a score of mutual acquaintances,
among them one of my own classmates, who for years
has been the honored professor of the German language
and literature in Cornell.
The State of Sao Paulo produces from its fertile
acres more than one-half of the coffee which is annually
consumed in the world. While our steamer lay at the
wharf we took on board five thousand bags intended for
the coffee-market of Buenos Aires. There were twenty
or more large steamers engaged in loading coffee. The
sacks of coffee, which each weigh one hundred and twenty
pounds, were carried on board on the backs of men.
The bearers as they came to the hatch let the sacks fall
upon a chute, and they disappeared into the hold, where
a crowd of men were engaged in piling them. As soon
as each bearer had dropped his burden he returned at a
trot for another. The procession formed an endless
chain of carriers, one half loaded with sacks, the others
hurrying back for a new load. Their movements
were quick and agile. There was little suggestion of
" the land of manana. ' The gang seemed to represent
many nationalities. It was composed mainly of negroes,
but I recognized Italians, Portuguese, East Indian
coolies, and a couple of Japanese. They were all
bareheaded, many of them barefooted, and all quite
lightly clad. The perspiration fairly dripped from them
as they dashed up and down the gang-planks. They
earn from four to five dollars a day when engaged in
loading, but employment is not constant. An attempt
is being made to dispense with the service of men in
84 To the River Plate and Back
loading, and some of the warehouses are being
fitted up with conveyors which are intended to carry
the coffee-sacks from the storage rooms to the hold
of the steamers as they lie alongside. None of these
conveyors seemed to be in operation at the time we
were there. The fact that Santos is a coffee-port was
not only taught us by our eyes, but also by our noses.
There is an all-pervasive smell of raw coffee on the
docks; one detects it as one walks the streets.
The use of coffee as a beverage is quite modern. The
ancient Greeks and Romans knew nothing of the fra-
grant bean. The native home of the plant is Africa,
and Coffea arabica, which is the species generally
cultivated, grows wild in Abyssinia. There are several
other species, one of which, known as Coffea liberica,
is very common on the western coast of Africa. The
first references to the plant occur in Arab literature.
There are a number of curious legends as to the manner
in which the use of coffee arose. One tale, which I
remember to have read somewhere, assigns the first
use of coffee to the monks of the Convent of St. Cather-
ine at the foot of Jebel Musa in the Sinaitic Peninsula.
The abbot had long been vexed by his inability to get
some of his monks to observe their vigils. They per-
sisted in sleeping, when they should have kept awake.
One day the goatherd of the convent complained to the
abbot that he was having trouble with his flock; that
they would not sleep; and kept him up all the night
by their ungoatlike conduct, being apparently cursed
by insomnia. The abbot made inquiries and discovered
that this conduct was most noticeable when they fed
in one of the ravines where there grew a shrub with red
berries, upon which they browsed. He ordered the
goatherd to bring him some of the leaves and berries
Santos 85
of the plant. This was done, and the abbot caused an
infusion to be made, which he administered to certain
of his most notoriously lazy monks. The potion had
the desired effect, and they staid awake at night, after
it had been given them. After awhile they came to
relish it, and as the result of an accident, by which some
of the coffee-seeds were scorched in a fire, the fact that
the beans were improved by roasting and the infusion
made more palatable, was discovered. Probably this
story is a fiction. The use of coffee as a beverage
was, however, confined to the region about the Red Sea
until quite modern times. It first spread into Persia
and Arabia. The pilgrims to Mecca learned to use it
at Aden. The Hadjis brought a knowledge of the
beverage back with them to Cairo and Constantinople.
At first there was a great deal of opposition to its use
by the Mohammedan rulers, and it was declared to be
intoxicating, and therefore forbidden by the Koran.
But the opposition proved ineffectual and the Syrians
and Turks became confirmed drinkers of coffee. Its
use was introduced into England in 1652 by a merchant
named Edwards, who traded with Smyrna. At the
end of the seventeenth century the Dutch began to
grow it in Java, and early in the eighteenth century
introduced the plant into their West Indian colonies
and Dutch Guiana. A Franciscan monk, by the name
of Villaso, is said to have taken the first coffee-plant
to Rio de Janeiro in 1754, and from the little sapling,
which he carried across seas, all the millions of coffee-
plants in Brazil are descended.
The coffee-plant is a low shrub or tree with long,
shining, dark green leaves. The blossoms, which are
formed in the axils of the leaves, are pure white and
fragrant. A coffee-plantation in full bloom is a beauti-
86
To the River Plate and Back
ful sight. The blossoms are succeeded by the berries,
which, when ripe, are bright red. Each berry contains
two seeds, or "beans," which are placed in the shell
with their flat sides face to face. The gathering and
hulling of the coffee employs a great many people in the
season. The trees are pruned back, or pollarded, to en-
Fig. 8. — Coffee in bloom. Fig. 9. — Coffee in fruit.
From drawings made by the mother of the writer in Jamaica, West
Indies, 1846.
able the pickers to reach the branches. Little cultiva-
tion is required, except to weed the ground in which the
trees grow and keep it mulched with rotten leaves and
vegetable compost. In a coffee-plantation the shrubs
are set out quite thickly, about five hundred to the acre.
There are hundreds of thousands of acres planted with
coffee in Santos, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and the ad-
jacent provinces. The cultivation has grown to such an
extent that there has been a decline in prices, which the
Brazilians have sought in part to overcome by restricting
Santos 87
planting. The coffee-growers of Brazil are resorting
to the same tactics which have been used by agricultur-
ists in other lands, which produce different crops. The
consumer is being made to pay tribute. Soil and sun
are ready to do their work, but the human agent is
bent on keeping up prices, or forcing them to higher
levels.
While thousands of sacks of coffee were being put
into the hold, the forward decks were being piled high
with thousands upon thousands of bunches of bananas.
They were brought alongside in lighters, and then taken
on board in slings lowered from the derrick-booms.
The bananas were of the common variety, which is
now known everywhere. But there are a great many
varieties of the Musa sapientium, as there are of other
cultivated fruits. There is a little banana not bigger
than the thumb of a man, which grows in bunches not
more than a foot in length, and which is called dominico
by the Spanish-speaking people of South America.
This variety is far superior in delicacy of flavor to the
larger kinds, and is well adapted to be a dessert-fruit.
I wonder why we do not find it in our northern markets.
The fruit of the plantain, which by some botanists is
regarded as a mere variety of Musa sapientium, by
others as a distinct species, Musa paradisiaca, is general-
ally cooked when green. Plantains are larger than
bananas, coarser in flesh, and with less flavor. They
are sliced like potatoes and then fried until thoroughly,
brown and crisp. Thus prepared they not only look
like fried potatoes, but taste not unlike them. The
banana and the plantain were most probably introduced
into South America from the far East. They do not
appear to grow wild in the American tropics. The
clearings on the hillsides and in the valleys about Santos
88 To the River Plate and Back
are covered everywhere with dense growths of bananas
and plantains. The greenness of a hill covered with
bananas can only be likened in its intensity to the
greenness of the Irish hillslopes in springtime.
We did not make a long stay at Santos. Arriving a
little after noon on September I3th we sailed just before
nightfall on the evening of the day following. The
forenoon of the latter day was devoted to sight-seeing
and the futile quest of butterflies. The morning was
cloudy and there were showers, so that my winged
friends of the fields and gardens did not appear in any
numbers and I was disappointed. Butterflies love
sunshine. They are part of the world of light and cheer.
I do not believe that in that old world of darkness, which
existed under the fog-laden skies of Mesozoic times,
there were many butterflies. That was the age of
cockroaches. When our coal-beds were in the process
of formation cockroaches were numerous and big,
but I doubt if there were many butterflies.
The night was cloudy as we slipped out of the river
and faced the sea. The wind was from the south, and
there was a chill in the air. The lights of the shore
quickly receded, and we went below to get our dinners,
and pass the evening playing bridge- whist. The
brilliantly illuminated and cosy cabin was in agreeable
contrast to the dark, cold exterior. We knew we were
approaching the south temperate zone, and began
to think of getting out warmer clothing than we had
hitherto worn.
CO
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O
03
CD
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O
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The Cathedral, Montevideo.
I
L
The Presidential Mansion, Montevideo.
CHAPTER IX
MONTEVIDEO AND THE RIVER PLATE
"By the rushy-fringed bank,
Where grows the willow, and the osier dank,
My sliding chariot stays. " — Milton.
FOR two days we steamed southward at full speed.
Now and then during the first day we saw on the
western horizon the distant mountains which guard the
eastern coast of the Province of Santa Catharina in
Brazil. They were often lost among pale purple clouds,
which they so closely resembled that it was only pos-
sible to distinguish them by their serrated outlines.
During the second day we knew that the great Province
of Rio Grande do Sul lay on our starboard beam. Our
Captain, however, had plotted his course far off from
the coast, and we vainly searched for a glimpse of the
land. The shore is low like that of Uruguay and Argen-
tina, and it is only by keeping close to it that it becomes
visible from the deck of a steamer. The air grew
colder day by day. The wind was from the south and
seemed to have in it the tang of frost. The Captain
said: "If I were to hold away to the southeast at the
rate we are steaming it would not be very long before
I should be able to show you icebergs. '
On the morning of the third day after leaving Santos
we found that we were steering to the southwest, and
89
90 To the River Plate and Back
shortly afterwards the prow of the ship came around and
pointed due west. The color of the water began to
change; it passed from deep blue into green, and then
became yellow, and presently plainly showed that it was
full of mud. We were approaching Maldonado, the
southeastern port of Uruguay at the entrance of the
Rio de la Plata. This mighty estuary is one hundred
and eighty miles wide at its mouth. The drainage of
the greater part of the southern half of the continent
pours through it into the ocean. It is the widest river-
mouth in the world. Its navigation is dangerous. In
every direction there are shallows and treacherous
sandbars. The navigable channels are subject to
shifts and changes, and many a good ship has in times
past stumbled upon the shoals and been hopelessly
wrecked. The banks on either side are low, and but for
the muddiness of the water, the seaman might not
know that he had left the high seas behind him. When
we entered the stream the wind was blowing from the
southeast and the waves were choppy. The upper
regions of the air were filled with a thin haze, through
which the sun shed a pale light. A silvery sheen was
imparted to the water. One of my shipmates, noting
this phenomenon, remarked: "I now know why the
name Rio de la Plata — River of Silver — was given to
this body of water. It looks just like molten silver. '
Unfortunately history contradicts the pleasant fancy
of my observant fellow-traveler. The early Spanish
voyagers to South America had only one motive for
coming to these far-off lands, and that was to acquire
a store of the precious metals. The auri sacra fames
reigned in the breasts of the conquist adores. The
discovery by Sebastian Cabot and his comrades of a few
silver trinkets in the possession of the aborigines who
Montevideo and the River Plate 91
lived on the banks of the river, and which they had
obtained in barter from the distant tribes of the Andean
region, caused the first visitors to the country to give to
the stream the name by which it has since been known.
In this connection it may be worthy of note that there is
a widely spread belief that the name "Buenos Aires'
was bestowed by the first settlers because they were
pleased with the climate. But this is an historical
error. The first settlers on their outward voyage had
set up in the cabin of their ship a shrine to "Our Lady
of the Favoring Breezes,' and, borne by prospering
gales to the spot, their leader, Mendoza, gave it the
name Puerto Santa Maria de Buenos Aires. The airs
of the Argentine capital are at times something like
those of Chicago. Buenos Aires at certain seasons is
a very windy city, and the pamperos which come from
the southwest with almost cyclonic force are anything
but agreeable.
We gathered at the rail and strained our eyes to
catch a first glimpse of the land toward which we were
heading. The first thing to appear above the horizon
was the tall lighthouse on Lobos Island. Then on the
starboard we made out the low coast of Uruguay. A
little before noon we descried the eminence which
dominates the site of the capital, and could say, as did
the first explorer, ''I see a mountain' -Montem video.
At the foot of the hill, or Cerro, which is only 486 feet
above sea-level, there presently appeared, rising like
a mirage from the water, the roofs and towers, the
houses and gardens of the metropolis of Uruguay.
The natural advantages of the port are not great.
They are as small as those of Buenos Aires. But, just
as the art of man has atoned for the failures of nature
at Buenos Aires, so at Montevideo steps have been
92 To the River Plate and Back
taken at large expense to provide a system of break-
waters, enclosing a great area in which ships may safely
ride at anchor. We steamed slowly and carefully to the
entrance and slipped through the narrow passage which
has been left where the breakwaters, lying at right
angles to each other, nearly meet. The spume, driven
by the southeaster which was blowing, fell in great
sheets over the walls, on which, nevertheless, here and
there were standing groups of men and boys casting
their fishing-lines into the waves, and now and then
bringing up a fish, which flashed white in the sunshine.
The anchors went down and we waited impatiently for
the officers of the port to come on board and grant us
pratique. After an hour had passed the formalities
were completed and we were informed that we might go
ashore, but that we must be on board again at eleven
o'clock, because the voyage would be resumed at mid-
night. It was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon
when we found ourselves on terra firma.
The older portion of Montevideo is located on a ridge
which juts out westward in the form of a low promon-
tory, north and west of which is a shallow semicircular
bay, at the western extremity of which stands the Cerro,
surmounted by fortifications over which rise the tall
masts of the wireless signaling station. On the eastern
side the promontory faces the open waters of the ap-
parently boundless estuary, the left bank of which
trends to the northeast. On this side beyond the city
limits are low shelving beaches, on which in recent years
have arisen numerous bathing resorts. One of the most
frequented beaches is the Playa Ramirez, behind which
on higher ground is a great park (Parque Urbano),
Farther to the east on the low shore are Pocitos and
Capurro with beautifully arranged gardens and drive-
Montevideo and the River Plate 93
ways and a multitude of hotels, many of which compare
favorably with the finest establishments of their kind
in any part of the world. Montevideo is in fact not
merely a great commercial port, but a seaside resort,
to which the wealth and fashion of South America
repair in the hot season. The municipality is growing
rapidly and the numerous suburban towns and villages,
which are connected with the older city by an excellent
system of electric tramways, are increasing in size, as
shown by the large number of new and unfinished
buildings, about which workmen were swarming at the
time of our visit. The population of the main city
and its suburbs amounts at present to over three
hundred thousand inhabitants, and it is therefore
reckoned as fourth in the list of great South American
municipalities, being only outranked by Buenos Aires,
Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo.
To " do " a great city in a few hours is easier now than
it was fifty years ago. Then there were no electric
tram-cars and automobiles with the help of which to
annihilate space and save time. It may well be
doubted, however, whether with the modern inventions
we derive more pleasure from a tour of sightseeing
than we did when we had to repose our trust in our own
sturdy legs or those of a horse. We determined at all
events to make the most of our brief stay in the capital
of Uruguay. We resolved to keep our eyes and ears
open, and to see and hear all we could in the time at
our disposal, and to this end to employ an automobile
for at least a part of our time.
The first thing which impressed us was the substantial
nature of the improvements made upon the water-
front and the solidity of the warehouses and other
buildings about the wharves. The next thing was the
94 To the River Plate and Back
order and cleanliness which appeared to prevail every-
where. The third matter of remark was the absence
of negroes. Coming from Brazil we at once noted the
fact, that, though many of the people about us were
swarthy in complexion, showing their Spanish and
Italian descent, or even the admixture of Indian blood
in their veins, there were no people of the African
races visible. There are in fact few Africans in Uruguay
and not many of these are domiciled in the capital.
Uruguay is the last of the South American countries to
have been settled. Its original colonists were poor,
and did not indulge in the luxury of slaveholding to
any great extent. The policy of excluding the blacks
has since been followed, and the main immigration in
recent years has been from southern Europe. The
Uruguayans pride themselves upon the fact that racial
questions are not likely to trouble their republic in
the future. "Ours, ' they say, 'is a white man's
country. '
We began our tour on foot. At the gates of the dock-
yard we passed the officers of the customs, who, seeing
that we carried nothing more suspicious than umbrellas
and cameras, saluted us in friendly manner and allowed
us to pass on. Strolling upward into the town we
came to the shop of a money-changer and converted
a few English sovereigns into the coin of the country.
The currency of Uruguay is on a gold basis and an
Uruguayan dollar, or peso, is worth $1.035 in American
gold. The contrast between values as expressed in the
coinage of Brazil, from which we had just come, pro-
voked comment. Instead of paying two hundred
milreis for an afternoon paper, the newsboy demanded
four centesimos. It certainly was a liberal price for that
which we received and four times what would be asked
Montevideo and the River Plate 95
for a larger and better printed sheet in any North
American city, but the price did not appear quite as
startling as that demanded in Rio de Janeiro.
We presently came to the summit of the ridge upon
which the city is built, and along the top of which
is the main thoroughfare, the Avenida 18 de Julio.
At intervals this avenue leads into small plazas or
parks, about which stand the principal public edifices.
The lines of tramways running east and west do not
traverse these plazas, but pass around them, leaving the
broad, well-made pavement, which intersects them, as a
promenade for pedestrians. The first of these plazas
which we reached was the Plaza Constitucion. The
open doors of the Cathedral attracted us, and we took
a peep into the interior, which we found less interesting
than its quaint exterior. We soon turned eastward and
quickly walked through the tastefully arranged Plazas
Independencia and Libertad. Facing the former is the
Palacio de Gobierno, or Executive Mansion, over which
the flag of the country was flying ; on the latter stands
the City Hall, a building of imposing size, but not
especially attractive from an architectural point of view.
Farther out the Avenida we were greatly impressed with
the fine appearance of the new buildings of the Univer-
sity and the National Library. These would be an
ornament to any city. The University is prosperous
and well attended, especially by those who are desirous
of studying law and thus indirectly of qualifying them-
selves for the service of the state.
We were struck by the marked difference between
the domestic architecture of Montevideo and that of
Rio de Janeiro. The residences are low and almost
invariably provided with a patio, or inner court, as in
Spain and North Africa. Of this inner court, adorned
96 To the River Plate and Back
with blooming plants, cither growing in pots or urns,
or else in beds, often surrounding a miniature fountain,
it is possible to catch a glimpse through the glazed
doors leading from the vestibule. The effect is alto-
gether charming.
Our timepieces now suggested that we should adopt
some method of more rapid transit, if the task of seeing
the city was to be accomplished, and we first resorted
to a tram-car and went out to the end of the line. We
struck up an acquaintance with an elderly French
gentleman. He informed us that he had long been a
resident of Montevideo, and showed that he had pros-
pered, if prosperity can be deduced from a well-groomed
exterior, a happy air, and respectful recognition
accorded to him by his fellow-citizens as they boarded
and left the car. He was very affable and volunteered
interesting information as to the uses of various public
edifices which we passed and the names of the owners
of many beautiful villas which appeared as we entered
into the less densely populated portions of the town.
He professed sincere affection for his adopted country,
told us in glowing terms of the progress made in recent
years, spoke of its vast pastoral wealth, and of its
increasing commerce. It is not often that one meets
an expatriated Frenchman who views with such com-
placent eyes the new land in which he has settled, and
who does not very quickly announce himself as full of
longing for a return to the banks of the Seine. At last
he left us with a polite Bon voyage, Messieurs.
Near the end of the electric railway we were attracted
by the rather imposing buildings of the Italian Hospital,
which testified not merely to the benevolence of the
Italian residents of the city, but to their devotion
to the traditions of the land whence they have come.
Montevideo and the River Plate 97
The statues at the entrance bespoke an affectionate
regard for the family which reigns to-day in the oldest
of the Latin lands. The love still cherished for Italy
by Italians who have embraced citizenship in the South
American republics revealed itself to me on frequent
occasions in interesting and pleasing ways. When the
theme of conversation happened to be the land of the
Caesars it was sometimes amusing to observe with what
enthusiasm and animation these exiles spoke of "our
country' and "our king.' For a moment the fact
that they had forsworn allegiance to that king and had
adopted citizenship in a cis- Atlantic republic seemed to
be forgotten, as memory recalled the land of their
birth. They love no less the land in which they were
born because they have learned to love the land in which
they live. It is natural and well that it should be so.
It makes for the peace of the world. The sons and
daughters of Italy, Spain, and Portugal, living in the
republics of the south, appear to have a deeper affection
for the lands which they have left behind them than is
cherished by Anglo-Saxons and Germans in the great
republic of the North. I smile as I recall the worship-
ful reverence displayed by an old Italian woman who
was thefemme de chambre in a house where I was a visitor,
and who happened to spy upon the dressing-case an
Italian decoration which I had left there after a festal
occasion on the night before, when I had worn it. She
eyed it for a moment, recognized what it was, and taking
it up reverently, kissed it, saying : ' How happy you
must be to have received such an honor from our king."
It now became plain that if the remaining hours be-
fore sunset were to be employed to advantage we must
secure an automobile. The chauffeur was instructed
to take us to Pocitos. We had a peep at this resort
7
98 To the River Plate and Back
and saw some of the prettier suburbs of the city to the
northeast. We came back in the last glow of the even-
ing, while the stars began to twinkle above and the
brilliant electric lights of the avenues responded below.
It was time to think of dining. We found a good hotel
and enough to refresh the inner man. The service was
excellent, the viands palatable, and after our rather
strenuous efforts to obtain a general idea of the city
and its principal attractions it was good to rest. After
dinner we peeped into a theater, where we did not tarry,
as my companions confessed that they were not suffi-
ciently 'long on Spanish' to enjoy the play. One of
them suggested that he preferred billiards, and the
second of the two assenting, we went to a place where
the game was being played. It was a large hall with
a score or more of tables. I obtained a comfortable
chair and an evening paper, and while my comrades
punched the ivory balls, I read the news, puffed my
cigar, watched the crowd of players, and kept my eye
upon the clock. Everything was orderly. There
appeared to be no betting, but of this I cannot be
absolutely certain. Beer was being dispensed to the
thirsty at small tables. The people in the room were
genteel in dress, looking no different from similar gath-
erings in New York and Paris, save that here and there
was a man whose costume showed that he was a gaucho
from the country. My shipmate who had proposed
this diversion was an Australian. He said that he had
been a sheep-rancher in that land of the antipodes, and
now struck up an acquaintance with a man who was
engaged in the same business in Uruguay. His pleasure
was apparently unbounded. ' I tell you this is a great
country!' he exclaimed. "This is a sheep country,
and sheep countries are all right. That man I was talk-
Montevideo and the River Plate 99
ing to smelt of wool. It made me feel good to meet
him. ' As my acquaintance had already confided to
me that he originally was a veterinary surgeon, I
ventured to ask whether, if his newly found friend had
'smelt of the stable, " he would have enjoyed his com-
pany as much. He cast a withering glance at me.
' Naw ! a horseman is not for one moment to be com-
pared with a sheepman. '
The clock marked half -past ten, and I told my ship-
mates that it was time for them to put up their cues and
go to the dock. They assented, and in the moonlight
we strolled down to the wharf.
The next morning our steamer was ploughing its way
through the muddy waters of the Rio de la Plata. On
the surface everywhere were dead fishes. As we after-
wards learned, a strange and unknown disease had
seized the finny tribes of the great river and millions
of fishes had died. They were of all sizes and of many
species. In places their bodies were lying thick upon
the water, hundreds being visible at one time. The
disease was not confined to the area of water below
the city of Buenos Aires, but was prevalent throughout
the length of the river. Had the destruction been con-
fined to the lower reaches a suspicion that it was due to
the pollution of the stream by the sewage of the city
might have been entertained. But this was not the
case. Many years ago after the building of the great
Davis Island Dam on the Ohio River below the city of
Pittsburgh there came a dry season, and the fishes in
the harbor, poisoned by the contaminated waters, full
of chemical matter and the drainage of the mines along
the Monongahela, died and covered the water as they
did the Rio de la Plata. But, as I had occasion to
observe on an excursion made subsequently through the
ioo To the River Plate and Back
delta of the Parana lying far above the city of Buenos
Aires, the fishes in the upper part of the stream were
infected as much as in the lower portions.
About nine o'clock in the morning we began to dis-
cern the groves of eucalyptus-trees, the tall chimneys,
and the roofs of the loftier buildings of Ensenada, the
port of the city of La Plata; and then the still taller
eucalyptus-trees which fill the parks and line the
avenues of the city of La Plata itself. It was all very
distant and indistinct. Even a powerful glass failed to
reveal much. Ahead of us several small Argentinian
war- vessels were manceuvering. The larger men-of-war
of the Argentine fleet have their rendezvous much
farther to the south, at Bahia Blanca.
About noon we entered the channel, which has been
dredged through the muddy bottom of the river for
many miles, and which leads to the entrance of the
docks at Buenos Aires. The city like a low grey cloud
hung along the horizon, its features as yet scarcely
distinguishable. So recently as twenty years ago large
vessels coming to Buenos Aires were compelled to
anchor in the stream six or seven miles from the city.
Passengers and goods were carried in small lighters and
boats to the shore, and final landing was often effected
by means of carts with high wheels, which were driven
out into the water alongside of the boats, which, unless
quite small, could not reach the bank. This state of
affairs was adjudged to be no longer tolerable, and
accordingly a large loan was effected, and at an expense
of more than $70,000,000 the present North and South
Docks were constructed, and the channel through which
we were slowly steaming was dug. It is just wide
enough to allow two vessels to pass each other. Its
course is a mathematically straight line until, as it
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Montevideo and the River Plate 101
approaches the city, it bifurcates, one channel leading
to the entrance of the South Docks, and the other to
the entrance of the North Docks. The channels are
marked on either side by upright stakes, at the top of
which electric lights are displayed at night. The cur-
rent of the river throws the vast volume of mud, which
is always being brought down, toward the right bank,
on which Buenos Aires stands, and the operation of
keeping the channel open by dredging goes on continu-
ously throughout the year, and entails great expense.
We passed a number of dredgeboats hard at work as
we went up.
As we drew nearer and nearer to the city, several of
my fellow-passengers, whose homes are in Buenos Aires,
kindly pointed out to me certain buildings which are of
interest. There is only one " sky-scraper" in the capi-
tal, and it does not loom up imposingly. The dome of
the Capitol, recalling that at Washington, but smaller,
was easily recognized. The great Plaza Hotel, standing
on higher ground, presents its rather unbeautiful rear
facade to the river; its imposing front faces the Plaza
San Martin. The Palace of the President and various
other public buildings were visible in part from the deck
of the steamer. In the immediate foreground were the
dock-walls, back of which lay scores of ocean-going
vessels, their masts and funnels indicating the rendez-
vous in this port of the ships of many different merchant
fleets. Behind them ranged in monotonous succession
a long array of grain-elevators and warehouses.
The outward voyage had come to its end. The
great ship, which had carried us to the willow-lined
banks of the Plate, was slowly warped to her moorings
at the custom-house landing. But there were port
formalities to be arranged, and for nearly half an hour
102 To the River Plate and Back
we stood at the rail, looking down at the crowd, who
were waving handkerchiefs and calling out words of
welcome to the incoming passengers. I expected no one
to meet me. One of my fellow-passengers, accompanied
by his wife, was going to La Plata to assist in installing
some of the astronomical equipment of the National
Observatory, which has recently been placed under the
charge of Dr. W. J. Hussey, the celebrated astronomer,
whose achievements at the University of Michigan have
given him international reputation. They told me that
they had been informed by telegram that Dr. Hussey
would be at the dock to greet them. They presently
recognized him in the crowd ; and I had the honor of an
introduction at long range. The Professor informed
me that a deputation of gentlemen from the National
Museum at La Plata were on hand to welcome me. He
quickly found them, and introductions, also at long
range, took place, with waving of handkerchiefs and
lifting of hats in salutation. The leader of the party
was Dr. Santiago Roth, whose work is well known to all
students of South American geography and geology.
He was accompanied by Dr. F. Herrero-Ducloux, the
brother of the Assistant Director of the Museum, Dr.
Ernesto Herrero-Ducloux, who was prevented by illness
from appearing, by Senor Miguel Fernandez, and Senor
Debenedetti of the Museum. After all it appeared that
I was not to find myself a stranger in a strange land.
At last the word was given, and we descended the
gangplank. My newly made friends greeted me with
the cordial warmth which characterizes the hospitable
people of southern lands. Our baggage was found and
a polite officer of the customs quickly :< chalked'1 the
pieces. We were hurried to a couple of waiting auto-
mobiles and whirled through the streets to the station
Montevideo and the River Plate 103
of the Ferrocarril del Sud on the Plaza Constitucion.
We were informed that by an arrangement kindly made
by the authorities of the National University of La
Plata we would have our home in the residence of the
Director of the Observatory, which is very near the
National Museum, and instead of making Buenos Aires
our place of stay we would presently go to La Plata.
A cup of tea in the handsome restaurant of the railway
station was proposed, and, as the hour was early, Dr.
Roth suggested that the journey to La Plata be deferred
until about five o'clock, and that we should together
take a little stroll through some of the more interesting
parts of the great city. We went by tramcar to the
Avenida de Mayo, the 'Broadway' of the Argentine
metropolis, recalling in many of its features the avenues
of Paris. Seated in front of the restaurants were groups
of well-attired men puffing cigarettes and drinking coffee,
as they may be seen in the summer upon the boulevards
of the French capital. The waiters, clad in white,
looked as if they might have stepped out of the Cafe
de la Paix. We felt as if we were not on American soil,
but in France. We turned into the Calle Florida, the
fashionable street for shopping, in which at that hour
of the afternoon vehicular traffic is prohibited, and
which was filled with a crowd of people bent either on
business or pleasure. Gowns in the latest Parisian
style were everywhere in evidence. Gentlemen in cor-
rect walking costumes passed along, bowing to acquaint-
ances. At the corners young dandies congregated.
The street, like most of the older streets of the city, is
narrow. The shop fronts are imposing, and behind the
plate-glass windows, the choicest products of European
and North American skill were displayed.
We had not gone far when the writer recognized in
To the River Plate and Back
the throng his friend Dr. Bailey Willis, the son of one
of the famous poets of America, himself a famous geolo-
gist. We had not met since some years before we had
spent a pleasant evening together at the Cosmos Club
in Washington. ' ' You here ? ' ' and ' ' You ? ' Explana-
tions followed. Dr. Willis informed me that he was
under engagement by the Argentine Government to
carry on certain work in connection with the develop-
ment of a great territory in the western interior, which
it is desired to throw open to colonization. I explained
my errand, and with the promise soon to meet again we
parted company. Farther down the street we repaired
to the principal depot for photographic supplies to pick
up a few necessary articles. Then we wandered back to
the Avenida de Mayo, and by tramcar returned to the
railway station and boarded our train.
The railways in Argentina are largely under English
control, they having been built by English capitalists.
Some of the newer lines are the property of the State.
The railroad mileage of Argentina at the present time
exceeds that of all other South American countries
combined. At the close of the year 1912 there were
over twenty-six thousand kilometers of railway in opera-
tion in the country. The tracks are broad-gauge and
the railway carriages are commodious. The appoint-
ments of the train which bore us out of the station in
Buenos Aires to La Plata were sufficiently good to satisfy
the taste of the most exacting traveler. The distance
to La Plata is about thirty-one miles, and the run is
made in less than an hour.
The sun was just setting as we left the railway ter-
minal. The sky was overcast, but through a rift in the
west a flood of sunset glory was poured across the world,
reddening the lower surfaces of the clouds with crimson
Montevideo and the River Plate 105
and lighting up the white walls of the surburbs through
which we quickly passed. To the east we caught
glimpses of the river, now dark purple in the waning
light. The sky-line toward the sunset was interrupted
by buildings and by dark groves of eucalyptus. There
had been a few showers during the day and the country
roads along which we passed appeared to be veritable
sloughs. From the Atlantic far into the interior there
are no stones to be found in Argentina. The level prov-
ince of Buenos Aires, when first discovered, was as free
from stones as are the rich alluvial prairies of central
Illinois. It has been said that from the borders of the k
River Plate for two hundred miles inland it would have
been in the early days impossible to find a piece of stone
as big as a cherry. The making of good country roads
under such circumstances has been almost impossible.
The streets of Buenos Aires and La Plata, where stone
is used for paving purposes, have been paved with
Belgian block brought as ballast in ships coming from
Norway and Sweden. I was told that the curbstones in
the city of La Plata had all been imported from Euro-
pean lands. The country roads throughout Argentina
are very wide, having been given a breadth of forty
meters, or more than one hundred and thirty feet.
The motive for making the roads so wide was the fact
that in former times, before the introduction of railways,
the herders were compelled to drive their cattle and
sheep for long distances to the ports, and they were
forced to subsist on the way upon the herbage which
these broad roadways afforded. They cropped and
grazed as they went. The roads were intended to be
broad strips of pasturage, as much as lines upon which
traffic might be carried on by vehicles. In the rainy
season the highways of Argentina outside of the cities
loo To the River Plate and Back
are little better than unploughed grazing land full of
swampy pools. Here and there attempts have been
made to throw up the soil in the middle in the form of a
ridge and to dig alongside of this channels through which
the water may be drained away. But the era of good
roads has not as yet arrived in Argentina. Though
there are thousands of automobiles in the capital, I
suspect it would be rather a doleful undertaking at
the present time to make an automobile tour through
the country districts.
We passed through several large towns on the way to
La Plata. The most important is Quilmes, where is
located an important brewing establishment, said to be
one of the largest breweries in the world. Quilmes beer
is sold everywhere throughout Argentina and Uruguay.
In the southeastern suburbs of the same town, near
the railway, is a large glass-factory, engaged princi-
pally in making beer-bottles, hundreds of thousands
of which, piled up in the yards, covered acres of the
surface. The materials of manufacture are largely
imported from Europe.
The night fell quickly over the landscape. We
reached La Plata without having made a stop. On
alighting from the train I was struck with the grandiose
proportions of the railway terminal. It recalled Char-
ing Cross or Waterloo. I said to Professor Roth:
; The blood of a great many beeves must have paid for
this structure.' He laughingly assented, and said:
'Yes; everything in this country is made of 'beef or
'wheat/ We stepped out of the depot upon a bril-
liantly lighted avenue. The carriage of the good doctor
was awaiting us, and we were quickly conveyed to his
residence, where from his charming family we received
a welcome full of Teutonic warmth, and presently sat
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Montevideo and the River Plate 107
down to a table abounding in good cheer. After dinner
we were driven in the darkness to the residence of the
Director of the Observatory, where we received another
cordial welcome. The air was chilly, and it was pleas-
ant to gather in the cosy sitting-room before the grate in
which glowed a cheerful fire of Welsh anthracite. The
fuel of Argentina as well as the pavements come from
across the seas. We talked about the far-away land in
the north which we had recently left. We discovered
that we had many mutual friends. And then at last I
was ushered into my bed-room, a chamber recalling in
its appointments and lordly size the stately homes of
Spain. Adjoining it was a handsomely furnished salon,
which my host informed me I was free to use as a place
in which to receive visitors.
The silence of the night was unbroken save by the
voice of a small owl in the tree-tops, and I fell asleep
dreaming that I was still being ' ' rocked in the cradle of
the deep, " on which for nearly a month my nights had
been passed.
CHAPTER X
LA PLATA
"Ampie salle, ampie loggie, ampio cortile
E stanze ornate con gentil pitturc,
Trovai giungendo, e nobili sculture
Di marmo fatte, da scalpel non vile.
Nobil giardin con un perpetuo Aprile
Di varij fior, di frutti, e di verdure,
Ombre soavi, acque a temprar 1'arsure
E strade di belta non dissimile."
Francesco Turina Bufalini.
HPHE city of La Plata was called into being in the year
1882 as the result of political events. The com-
bined influence of the province and city of Buenos
Aires had so preponderated in the halls of national
legislation as to have provoked the jealousy of the
other provinces in the confederacy. It was there-
fore resolved to 'federalize' the city, separating it
from the province, and to give to the latter a new
capital. The site for this was selected on the pampa,
a few miles from Ensenada, which until the develop-
ment of the system of docks at Buenos Aires had
been the main port of entry for larger vessels com-
ing to the River Plate. The spot selected was an
expanse of treeless grazing land. A small arroyo, or
brook, discharged its sluggish waters, drained from the
prairie, into the inlet. This channel was forthwith
deepened and converted into a canal, and a basin,
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La Plata 109
capable of holding vessels drawing twenty feet, was
constructed at the upper end of the channel within the
limits of the proposed city. Plans for the latter were
drawn after the model of Washington. The streets
were staked out and an army of workmen was employed
to grade and pave them. The necessary funds to con-
struct public buildings were secured by the issue of
bonds, the credit of the province being pledged for their
payment, and their erection was commenced at once.
No detail was omitted. In addition to the buildings
necessary to house the government offices, provision
was made for a theater, for a zoological garden, a
system of parks, an astronomical observatory, a uni-
versity, a museum, a cathedral, in short everything
deemed requisite to the life of a large urban community.
Rapidly growing trees were planted along the newly
planned streets and avenues. The officials of the
province were informed that they must make the new
city their home. The work was quickly done, and the
town sprang up like a mushroom over night. During
the early years of its existence there was a great deal of
criticism. Many of the officials preferred to live in
Buenos Aires, and only stayed in La Plata during office-
hours. The growth of population was slow at first.
Grass grew up in the streets. Visitors to Argentina in
recording their impressions of the country slyly derided
the "fiat city," and contrasted it unfavorably with the
great metropolis with its hundreds of thousands of
inhabitants a few miles away. One of my good friends,
a Professor in Princeton University, when he learned
that I was going to La Plata, where he had spent six
months about ten years ago, informed me that I had a
novel experience before me. 'You will find a city
with enough grass growing in its thoroughfares to feed
no To, the River Plate and Back
all the horses in Monmouth County. You will see an
array of splendid buildings erected at vast expense,
standing in almost deserted streets. '
I had arrived in this city in the darkness of the night.
I had detected no grass on the avenues over which the
carriage which had brought me to my new home had
rumbled. When I awoke I was filled with a strong
curiosity to see the place by the light of day. I arose
and looked from the window. I saw a beautiful garden
in which spring flowers were blooming. The peach
and apple trees were robed in pink and white. The
song of birds was in the air. The fragrance of freesias,
which bordered the parterres in great masses, was
wafted to me, and the odor of the eucalyptus-groves
which formed the background of the picture and over-
hung the house was gratefully pungent. After a bath
I strolled into the garden, and found on every hand
evidence that I was indeed installed in the midst of
astronomical surroundings. There came back to me
happy memories of pleasant times passed amidst like
environment among my brethren of the astronomical
cult at various places in the United States, in Tokyo,
on the banks of the Cam in England, in Paris, and where
upon the shoulders of the Glint the great domes of
Pulkova are lifted above the broad river-meadows of the
Neva. I was presently joined by my kind host, Dr.
Hussey, and he pointed out to me the various edifices,
and told me something of his plans and purposes to
employ the equipment of the observatory in such a way
as to make it useful.
The province of Buenos Aires has expended a large
sum of money in providing instruments, but until
recently has not always been successful in obtaining
the services of an eminently competent astronomer to
La Plata in
take charge of them. The observatory connected with
the old university at Cordoba, the capital of the adjoin-
ing province of the same name, though possessing less
costly equipment than that in La Plata, has achieved
notable results in the sphere of astronomical research.
The observatory at Cordoba was organized in 1870
under the direction of Dr. Benjamin A. Gould, who for
fifteen years continued the work, during which time
the observatory published a number of very important
papers. Dr. Gould was succeeded by his associate,
Juan M. Thome, from Pennsylvania, and lately the
direction of the observatory has been given to Professor
Charles D. Perrine, whose work at the Lick Observatory
had made him famous.
In April, 1887, fifty-six delegates, representing seven-
teen nations, met for the purpose of discussing plans
for forming a great catalogue of the stars. Stars to the
fourteenth magnitude were to be obtained on photo-
graphic plates. Each of the plates covers four square
degrees. It was estimated that it would require eleven
thousand plates to cover the entire visible heavens, and
that upon these plates there would appear, as small
white points, about thirty millions of stars. Out of
these it was determined to select for the permanent
catalogue the stars ranging from the first to the eleventh
magnitude, estimated to be more than a million in
number. Dr. Gould, of the Cordoba University, was
one of the leading spirits in organizing this great under-
taking. He, however, was unable to prosecute it very
far, owing to his removal to America, and the work in the
zones assigned to the observatory at Cordoba was largely
carried on by Professor Thome and his assistants. The
Uranometria Argentina up to date gives the magni-
tude of about eight thousand stars. In the Cordoba
ii2 To the River Plate and Hack
Durchniusterung there are about half a million stars.
In this work of photographing the southern heavens the
observatory at La Plata was intended to take a very
active part, but for various reasons very little has up
to the present time been done. Now, however, the
observatory has a most skillful astronomer at its head,
and it may be anticipated that it, as well as the observa-
tory at Cordoba, will begin to give a good account of
itself. It is true in all scientific effort that something
more is needed to achieve success than mere machinery.
Of what use are the most advanced appliances if there
be lacking the power to use them? The importance of
the human element dare never be overlooked. Some
very worthy people are obsessed with the idea that
power is secured by the multiplication of machines,
forgetting the fact that after all it is "the man behind
the gun'1 who should be the supreme concern. Here I
was standing in the morning sunshine, on the broad
grounds of an observatory where hundreds of thousands
of dollars have been spent in securing the very latest
and best appliances for discovering the secrets of the
skies, and yet where until this moment practically little
has been done, except to supply time-signals to the naval
stations of the republic, a service which could be ren-
dered at an outlay of a fraction of that which this great
establishment has cost. It is much easier to purchase
a supply of scientific tools than to find a man with the
genius to use them well.
It was with such reflections that I went with my kind
host on a stroll through the grounds of the Observatory.
He showed me the dome under which is the large refract-
ing telescope, the almost equally large dome under
which are the photographic telescopes. He pointed out
a dozen other buildings large and small, all prepared
La Plata 113
for use. He said: 'There is here enough scientific
apparatus to fully occupy the time of half a dozen
astronomers." We returned to the residence. It is a
large building, one story in height. In the middle are
two open courts or patios. Surrounding them are the
living apartments of the Director and certain members
of his Staff; the library, containing a fine collection of
books relating to astronomy and physics ; and a number
of offices and laboratories. The style of the building, as
that of most of the homes in La Plata, recalls Granada
and Seville. It was time for breakfast, which we
enjoyed all the more for our little promenade through
the grounds of the establishment.
We had not finished our meal when Professor Roth
was announced. " He appeared with smiling face, an-
nouncing that he had come to guide us to the Museum,
which is situated in the park facing the Zoological
Gardens, only a few steps from the Observatory. As
the Museum was the objective point of our long journey,
I was glad to immediately go with the genial Doctor,
and confess that when I first saw its exterior and entered
the building, I felt astonishment at finding so noble an
edifice, so well adapted to its purposes, in this far-off
land. The National Museum in La Plata owes its
existence very largely to Dr. Francisco P. Moreno,
naturalist, geographer, and statesman, who enjoys
the reputation of being one of the leading citizens of
Argentina. He devoted the earlier years of his life to
the exploration of southwestern Argentina and Pata-
gonia, and applied himself with unremitting assiduity
to researches in various departments of the natural
sciences. He thus laid broad and deep the foundations
of the knowledge of his country which subsequently
enabled him, as the High Commissioner of Argentina,
H4 To the River Plate and Back
to successfully guide the negotiations which led to the
adjustment of the boundary dispute between Argentina
and Chili. He ably represented his country in the
arbitration proceedings which were held in London and
concluded before the late King Edward VII. A war
between the two southern republics was thus happily
averted. Dr. Moreno is undoubtedly one of the most
learned men at the present time in South America, and
a true patriot. When the plan of creating the new
capital at La Plata was formed, he determined to
give to the Museum the large collections which he
had already made, and to consecrate to it his efforts
and a large sum from his private resources. This
great national institution may be regarded as a lasting
memorial of the intelligent and self-sacrificing labors
of this great man, whose best efforts were consecrated
to its foundation, and of which he was the first Director.
At either side of the main staircase leading to the
entrance of the museum are large models of the sabre-
toothed tiger, a huge cat which once roamed the
pampas, and which must have been more formidable
than the jaguar of the present day. To meet the archi-
tectural requirements of their position, the figures are of
colossal size, like the lions which are grouped about
Nelson's Monument in Trafalgar Square. They very
appropriately guard the entrance to this institution,
in which is assembled one of the finest collections
representing the animal life of the past in South America.
The rotunda of the Museum, which the visitor first
enters, is surmounted by a glazed dome and surrounded
by a circular gallery on the second floor. The walls of
the rotunda are decorated with large paintings repre-
senting the life of prehistoric man in the New World,
the customs of the Indians of the pampas, who until
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yesterday continued to make a bold stand against the
encroachments of the white settlers, and the landscapes
of the Andean region. These paintings were executed
by well-known German and French artists brought from
Europe for the purpose. The view of El Tronador, the
great alpine peak which dominates one of the valleys
in the lake-region of Argentina, is particularly impres-
sive. On the first floor of the rotunda, confronting the
Fig 10. Skull of Sabre- toothed Tiger, Smilodon
neogczus Lund. | natural size.
Drawn from specimens in the Carnegie Museum
entrance, is the skull of an enormous whale. The col-
lection of skeletons of the Cetacea in the possession of
the museum is singularly large and fine. Many species,
great and small, are represented. With the exception
of the great collection of whales in the British Museum
of Natural History made by the late Sir William H.
Flower, this appears to me to be the finest assemblage
of its kind in existence, and surpasses the British col-
lection in the fact that it is odorless. Every one who
has visited the "Whaleroom" at South Kensington
carries away a memory of the disagreeable smell of
whale-oil which pervades it. Here in La Plata they
n6 To the River Plate and Back
have succeeded in so thoroughly bleaching the bones
and removing the grease that no odor is perceptible.
I asked how this had been accomplished and was shown
a large tank in one of the courts, in which I was told
that a skilful German preparator had carefully boiled
the skeletons in a moderately strong solution of lye,
which he diluted from time to time as evaporation took
place. He certainly succeeded in performing his task
most successfully.
In the same gallery to the left of the entrance, in
which the skeletons of the whales hang from the ceiling,
there is a considerable collection of mounted skeletons
of recent vertebrates arranged upon the floor. Among
them I noted with almost covetous eyes the skeleton of
one of the strange niata race of cattle. In these crea-
tures there has occurred the same modification of the
bones of the cranium and the jaws which has taken
place in the bulldog. The bones of the nose and face
have become shortened, and the bones of the lower jaw
have assumed an upward curve. Charles Darwin in
The Voyage of H. M. S. Beagle speaks of having seen
living specimens of these animals. He says :
Their forehead is very short and broad, with the nasal
end turned up, and the upper lip much drawn back; their
lower jaws project beyond the upper, and have a corre-
sponding upward curve; hence their teeth are always
exposed. Their nostrils are situated high up and are very
open; their eyes project outwards. When walking they
carry their heads low, on a short neck; and their hinder
legs are rather longer compared with the front legs than is
usual. Their bare teeth, their short heads, and upturned
nostrils give them the most ludicrous self-confident air of
defiance imaginable.
According to information obtained by Darwin the
La Plata
breed originated about the middle of the eighteenth
century among the cattle belonging to the Indian tribes
living to the south
of the River Plate.
When Darwin
wrote, they were
reported to be the
commonest breed
in the possession
of the Indians, but
in the vicinity of
Buenos Aires were
kept as curiosities.
Dr. Bruch, the
learned Curator" of
Fig. 1 1 . Skull of " pug -faced
or Niata cow.
Zoology at the Museum of La Plata, informs me that
the race is either verging upon extinction, or has
already become totally extinct. Although it is still
reported to survive in the Province of Catamarca, Dr.
Bruch told me that a German naturalist, who recently
visited Argentina for the express purpose of studying
these creatures and traveled widely in quest of them,
was unable to see or secure a single specimen.
In the semicircular gallery beyond the collection of
skeletons is arranged a large assemblage of mounted
mammals, and still farther on the visitor comes to
the collection of birds. I was naturally interested in
closely examining everything presented to view, and
although upon the occasion of my first visit to the
Museum I was only able to give a passing glance to
the collections, I often returned at later times to study
the specimens. In the center of the building and
opening from the rotunda is the Gallery of Mineralogy,
in charge of Dr. Walther Schiller. The very extensive
ii8 To the River Plate and Back
archeological and ethnological collections are in part
lodged upon the first floor, but the greater portion are
displayed in the galleries upon the second floor. The
Curator of these collections is Dr. Robert Lehmann-
Nitsche. Both Dr. Schiller and Dr. Lehmann-Nitsche
are men of the highest scientific attainments, and their
contributions to those branches of science, which they
have made their special study, have given them inter-
national reputation. To the right of the rotunda we
were ushered into a gallery, at the moment vacant,
except for the wall-cases lining it and the presence on
the floor of the still unfinished bases upon which the
skeleton of the Diplodocus was to be set up. Here the
Staff of the Museum, so far as able to be present, met
us. We were told that Dr. Samuel Lafone-Quevedo,
the Director of the Museum, was on the seas, hastening
homeward after a vacation spent in Europe, and that
Dr. Ernesto Herrero-Ducloux, the Assistant Director,
who had been ordered by his physician to a health-
resort, would be back in a few days, and I was handed
a polite telegram from him, bidding me welcome in his
absence. Dr. Santiago Roth, as Acting Director,
informed us that the instructions sent by letter had all
been carried out, and that the force of laborers con-
nected with the institution was at our command. It
was not long before we discovered that there were differ-
ences of opinion among the learned gentlemen present
as to which would be the most effective way in which
to display the great specimen. One advocated putting
the head toward the rotunda, another advocated the
reverse. One thought the tail should be stretched out
to its full length, another thought that it should be
mounted, as he had seen it displayed in Paris, with its
tail curved forward toward the head. The discussion
La Plata 119
was amusing and was volubly carried on in French,
German, and Spanish, the disputants on the impulse
of the moment passing from the use of one language
to that of another. The ludicrous character of the
debate finally provoked a burst of laughter, and at
the suggestion of the writer it was decided that upon the
whole it would be best to defer the settlement of the
questions at issue until the return in a few days of
the Assistant Director, who would have plenary power to
decide them. It was pointed out that it would require
several days to carefully unpack the thirty-four large
boxes in the basement in which the replica had been
brought from Pittsburgh, and possibly to repair some
minor defects, should any breakage have occurred, and
that no time would be lost by letting the matter go over
until Dr. Herrero-Ducloux should resume his post.
Orders were at once given to begin the work of unpack-
ing. Thereupon Dr. Roth hurried me into the great
halls of paleontology, which are his special domain, and
pointed out to me the truly wonderful collection of
skeletons of the extinct animals of Argentina which has
been brought together. It was only a rapid glance
which could at the moment be given to these things, but
it was most illuminating and interesting. No collec-
tion in any museum is complete, but here I found what
I think must be admitted to be upon the whole the best
representation of the strange forms of mammalian
life which once existed upon the pampas. Many of the
specimens are singularly perfect, and all are well dis-
played and mounted. From the first floor we ascended
to the second, and were introduced to the Librarian.
We visited the Art Galleries in a hurried way, and the
rooms in which the students of art in the University
were pursuing their studies. Our round of these apart-
120 To the River Plate and Back
ments was merely preliminary, and was intended to
enable us hereafter to be able to get our bearings. Then
we descended to the basement and the laboratories and
the work of opening boxes began. Thanks to the skill
of the operatives in the Carnegie Museum and the good
judgment employed in packing the specimens we found
that there had been no breakage of consequence in
anything which we took out that morning, and this
experience was renewed on following days. Although
our boxes had traveled farther than ever on similar
occasions, the damage sustained in transport was less.
But thus far we had not seen anything of the "grass-
grown ' ' streets of La Plata. We were told that a stand-
ing invitation to lunch and dine at the Colegio Nacional
of the University had been extended to us, and the
Principal, Dr. Ernesto Nelson, came in person to rein-
force the kind invitation. It was the noon-hour, and
accordingly we quitted our work in the Museum, and
repaired in company with Dr. Hussey and Dr. Nelson
to the residence of the latter. Our walk led us by an
avenue, lined with stately eucalyptus-trees, to the
plaza, upon which stands the rather imposing building
of the municipal court, then to the right, past the main
buildings of the University to the buildings of the
Internada, or students' lodging-house. But we found
no grass in the streets. In fact the day of grassy streets
in La Plata has passed. It has survived the days of
its infancy. It is to-day a city of nearly one hundred
thousand inhabitants, and is fulfilling the hopes of its
founders. It is growing rapidly, and the fact of its
advancement is most plainly revealed in the increase
in the value of real estate which has taken place in
recent years. Listening to the accounts given me by
my friends, it was easy to understand that La Plata has
La Plata 121
had, as we say in the United States, a very substantial
1 boom, ' which is not yet over.
From Madame Nelson, the charming and accom-
plished wife of the Professor, and from various members
of the Faculty of the College, we received a pleasant
welcome, and soon found ourselves at table surrounded
by groups of manly young fellows, whose faces recalled
days long gone, when we were students, and had lunched
and dined in just such comradeship. If youth derives
a quickening impulse from contact with those of maturer
years, it is equally true that those of advancing years
find pleasure and profit from mingling with those who
are young. It was an inspiring sight to sit at table and
look around over the company of fine young men which
was gathered in- the dining-hall. They represented the
hopes of the best families in the republic. The com-
posite nature of the population of Argentina revealed
itself in the study of the faces before me. The lan-
guage in use was Spanish, but the blood of all races
showed itself in the countenances of the company.
One young fellow with ruddy complexion and flaxen
hair showed at first glance that he traced his descent
back to " Merrie England " ; another, of even fairer face,
that his forbears had come from Sweden; there was no
mistaking the Teutonic ancestry of a round- visaged,
sturdy lad who sat opposite me ; others showed by their
darker complexion and their glorious black eyes that
they were the inheritors of the traditions of the Latin
races. In some of the faces there was an even darker
tint, not unlovely, but attractive, which hinted at the
fact, that, when the land was first settled, an Indian
maid had consented to be wooed and won by some strong
man of European lineage, and had been a mother to his
sons. After luncheon many of these lads were intro-
122 To the River Plate and Back
duced to me. Their manly frankness and poise was
delightful. They were indeed 'young gentlemen.'
One of them confided to me that he was deeply inter-
ested in the study of geology and paleontology, and of
course he was cordially invited to come to the Museum ,
and learn a few things which might possibly interest
him. Another told me that it was his ambition, when
he had completed his course of study in La Plata, to
take a post-graduate course in North America, and
asked me to tell him about the great institutions of my
own land. We soon made friends. On this and sub-
sequently on frequent occasions the writer had oppor-
tunity to observe with pleasure the manner in which
Dr. Nelson and his associates, as the guardians of the
social life of the students in the college of the University,
are endeavoring to create in their minds a respect for
the higher ideals of a true democracy. The mainten-
ance of discipline and order is relegated very largely to
the students themselves, who constitute a miniature
republic, choosing their own officers, and laying down
their own laws, subject to the friendly advice and sug-
gestion of the Faculty. Dr. and Mrs. Nelson have both
lived and studied in the United States, and are endeav-
oring to apply the principles of advanced pedagogic
science to the practical problems before them. That
they are succeeding cannot be doubted, and in years to
come they will reap their reward in the gratitude of a
generation of men, upon whose shoulders the govern-
ment of the nation will then rest, and who will rise up
and bless them for the loving sympathy and inspiring
guidance which they received in their youth.
A few days later we were invited to attend the Com-
mencement-exercises of the University. They recalled
those of similar institutions in our own land three or
La Plata 123
four decades ago, before academic costumes had come
into vogue, and the pomp and ceremony which now
characterize such occasions had been initiated. It all
took me back to the days of my boyhood. There was
a great gathering of the friends and kinsfolk of the
young men. As a guest of the University I was invited
to a place upon the platform, and from this point of
vantage was able to scan the audience in which grave
fathers, fond mothers, and smiling senoritas composed a
picture upon which it was pleasant to look. It was not
unlike similar audiences on Commencement-day in any
North American college-town. There were depicted
in the faces before me the same anxieties, the same
hopes, the same pleasurable emotions, which I have seen
again and again on like occasions at home. All the
world is kin.
The President of the University of La Plata, Dr. Joa-
quin V. Gonzalez, who held the position of Minister of
Justice and Education during the Presidency of Dr.
Jose Figueroa Alcorta, the immediate predecessor of
President Roque Saenz Pena, I discovered to be a man
of lofty ideals and great personal charm. He lectures
upon international law and diplomacy. Associated
with him in the Faculty is Serior Don Agustin Alvarez,
who likewise has held high positions in the government,
and lectures upon the history of public institutions.
For Dr. Alvarez I conceived great admiration. He is
a diligent student of the institutions and the literature
of the English-speaking peoples of to-day, as well as
familiar with the best thought of continental Europe
and his own land. I found him as ready to talk about
Bernard Shaw as about Shakespeare, and as thoroughly
acquainted with the writings of Theodore Roosevelt
as with those of Alexander Hamilton. He has fine
124 To the River Plate and Back
command of the English language, and is keenly alive
to the play of wit and humor. Seated beside me at
table on the occasion of our first meeting, he began to
apologize for his defective English. "My dear Doctor
Alvarez,' I ventured to say, "you should make no
apologies. You speak English perfectly. But should
you even now and then make a slip, what would that
signify? Water in a cracked glass tastes as sweet to
the thirsty as if proffered in one without a flaw. The
purpose of language is to convey ideas/ He turned
and said: "Experience teaches me that language is
not always a vehicle for ideas. Some men, who have
a vast command of language, fail altogether to impart
ideas. Loquacity without sense is a common phe-
nomenon. ' I shall always remember this keen, quick-
witted gentleman. It is a goodly company of brainy,
high-minded men who have been brought together to
form the Faculty of this new university of the south.
I had the pleasure of meeting them all, and was greatly
impressed with their attainments and their earnestness.
It augurs well for Argentina that such men are in
charge of the education of her youth.
I had been but a few days in La Plata when my kind
host, Dr. Hussey, informed me that he had been in-
structed to repair to Rio de Janeiro to observe, on
October loth, a total eclipse of the sun, and insisted that
I should remain where I was. In effect he turned over
the residence of the Observatory to my care, bidding me
make myself at home during his absence. I am sure
he will testify that I did not interfere with the instru-
ments, or meddle with the signal -service, which he
left under the care of his assistant, Senor Chaves. His
major domo cared for my wants, which were not many,
and Mrs. Colliau with unfailing kindness attended to
La Plata 125
having my eggs and coffee prepared for me in the
morning. When occasionally of evenings I wearied of
solitude, I had the pleasure of enjoying the kind hospi-
tality of my friends of the Faculty, who invited me to
their homes, or I now and then betook myself to the
Sportman's Hotel, the leading establishment of its
kind in the place, where I was almost sure to find certain
'unattached" gentlemen of the Faculty, who were in
the habit of dining there. The Sportman's Hotel is an
institution of which I can only speak well, but it would
hardly be double-starred by Baedeker. Why it bears
its name is for me an insoluble riddle. The " ts " in the
word Sportsman being unpronounceable by those who
speak Spanish, it is called 'Spormans Hotel' by the
educated natives, and 'Pormans' by the cocheros.
There was a suggestion of propriety in the latter pro-
nunciation in view of some things. But I passed
some pleasant evenings there, and picked up a few
acquaintances who amused me. One evening I came
in a little early and found that I was the first person
to seat myself except a tall handsome man of alert
countenance, who was sitting at a small table next to
that at which I had placed myself. He presently
accosted me in pleasant tones and said, "You are a
fellow-countryman of mine, I judge, why should we not
take seats together? ' An exchange of cards was made.
I found that my acquaintance was a salesman, repre-
senting the largest firm in the United States engaged in
the manufacture of firearms. For nearly a lifetime
he had been engaged in furnishing weapons to the
Central or South American states, now dealing with the
governments in power, now furnishing the parties
essaying to get into power with the munitions of war.
I sat until near midnight listening with unabated
126 To the River Plate and Back
attention to the tales my newly-found acquaintance
told, realizing that in his graphic recitals of adventure
there was material for many a romance as stirring as
any which have made the reputations of noted writers,
whom I might name. During the long years that he
has been following his calling as a merchant of arms he
has seen the inside of many stirring movements. He
told me of the genuine patriotism and self-denial shown
by some of the men with whom he had had dealings in
the past, and he told me of some things which show that
the devil still has his servants on this earth. I cannot
repeat the tales he told me as they deserve to be nar-
rated, and, even if I could, it would perhaps not be
wise to do so. There is one, however, which I am
tempted to outline, omitting the names, which I still
recall. It is the tale of a railway which was stolen and
sold as junk. In the northern part of the continent of
South America there is a republic over which there
ruled many years ago a President who had a worthless
nephew. When the President came into power he
provided for this nephew by putting him at the head of
a railway belonging to the government. It was not
much of a road. It ran from a small harbor on the
coast about thirty kilometers into the interior and ended
there. The salary of the scapegrace nephew was con-
siderable, and was paid from the public treasury, irre-
spective of the earnings of the line. But although
his salary was regularly forthcoming, the nephew had
expensive and extravagant habits, and was always
looking about for means to lay his hands upon more
money than he received. It happened presently that
Captain P , an unscrupulous rover of the seas, who
owned and commanded a couple of large schooners,
with which he tramped from port to port, picking up
La Plata 127
odd jobs, drifted into the harbor and struck up an
acquaintance with the young man. After a while the
Captain approached him, saying : ' You are not making
enough money on your line. Do you wish to know how
you could make it pay you handsomely?' The
Captain found a ready listener. "The thing is simple.
Wreck it! Beginning up there in the country, take up
the rails, and bring them down to the port. I will load
them and sell them in New Orleans as junk. We can
get about $100,000 for the stuff. I will accept one
half as my share; you can have the other.' Under
pretense that the old rails were to be immediately
replaced by new metal, the thing was done, slyly,
quickly. When the storm broke, the Captain was
across seas, and the nephew was in Paris. Both are
dead now, and so is the President. Railways have
frequently been stolen in the United States, but the
thieves generally leave the rails upon the ground.
CHAPTER XI
ARGENTINA
" English and Irish, French and Spanish,
Germans, Italians, Dutch and Danish,
Crossing their veins until they \7anish
In one conglomeration." — Saxe.
IF an outline map of Argentina were to be superimposed
upon a map of North America, drawn to the same
scale, with its southern extremity resting upon the
southern tip of Florida, the northern part of Argentina
would overlap the greater part of Labrador. The
territory of the Argentine Republic extends from south
to north almost as far as it is from Key West to Davis
Strait. The area covered by the republic is equal in
size to all of the territory of the United States east of a
meridian drawn through St. Joseph, Missouri. As
great a range of climate as that which prevails between
Cuba and Labrador exists in Argentina. Tierra del
Fuego has a climate like that of northern Norway and
Sweden, but moister, and therefore less agreeable;
while the Territory of Chaco in northern Argentina
reaches into the tropics and has a very hot climate.
The greater part of Argentina lies within the South
Temperate Zone. Buenos Aires, the capital, is located
on almost the same parallel of latitude as Capetown,
the metropolis of South Africa, and the republic
extends twelve hundred miles south of this point, so
128
Argentina 129
that its southern extremity is as near the South Pole
as Sitka in Alaska is to the North Pole. The climatic
conditions are favorable to the Caucasian race, except
in the extreme south and the extreme north. The
people of Argentina, like the people of Uruguay, are
fond of boasting that theirs is a ''white man's country. '
The climate of Buenos Aires is not unlike that of
Jacksonville, Florida. In midwinter, that is to say,
in the months of July and August, a little hoar-frost is
reported occasionally to have been seen in the suburbs
after a cold night, and now and then a few needles of
ice form upon shallow pools, but this is very uncommon.
Farther south the winters are colder, and the tempera-
ture, throughout extensive areas, is much like that of
New England and the Middle States, but, owing to
the arid nature of much of this region, there has as yet
been little effort made to effect settlement, and it is
given over almost exclusively to sheep-herders and
cattlemen, who wander about from place to place in
quest of pasture for their animals. Still farther south,
in the region of the Straits of Magellan, the winters are
severe, although owing to the proximity of the ocean
and the direction of the air-currents, they are not as
rigorous as in northern Ontario, and southern Labrador,
with which the latitude corresponds. There is an
enormous precipitation of moisture in the southernmost
part of the land. Snow falls in Tierra del Fuego in
every month of the year, and when it is not snowing,
it is raining. The skies leak perpetually. This fact
has not deterred a few Scotchmen from taking up their
abode there, and they are engaged amidst the mists,
denser even than those of their own native highlands,
in raising sheep, which are reported to do well.
Topographically Argentina is divided into three
130 To the River Plate and Back
regions. The first includes the plains of the eastern
and northern parts of the country ; the second embraces
the Andean ranges and the high plateaus between
them ; the third is the elevated, more or less broken, and
arid plateau of Patagonia.
The eastern portion of the country from the Rio
Negro to the Pilcomayo is a vast plain raised but little
above the level of the sea along the Atlantic, but grad-
ually sloping upward toward the Andes and the north-
ern interior. This is the region of the pampas. The
word 'pampa, ' which is of Indian origin and means
' flat land, " is used in Argentina very much in the same
sense that the people of the Mississippi Valley employ
the word ' ' prairie. ' It designates a broad, level expanse
of country more or less densely clothed with low vegeta-
tion. The character of the vegetation varies according
to latitude. In the Provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba,
Santa Fe, Entre Rios, and the Territory of Pampa, the
prairies are absolutely treeless, except where in recent
years groves have been planted ; in the north they are
more or less densely covered with palms and other trop-
ical vegetation. These growths in the hot regions do
not, however, form unbroken and continuous masses of
forest, but are interspersed with open spaces, as was
the case in the semi- wooded prairies of Illinois, when
the land was first occupied. The appearance of the
country is in certain localities park-like, and those who
have visited the Gran Chaco dwell upon the fact that
the forest-masses often display such regular lines as to
suggest that they might have been planted by the hand
of man, which, however, is not the case.
Along the entire western boundary of the republic
rise the lofty ranges of the Andes, some of the peaks, as
that of Aconcagua, reaching a height far exceeding that
Argentina 131
of the highest Alps in Europe and like the latter covered
with snow-fields and glaciers. From the main ranges
in the northwestern part of the country there run out
toward the southeast longer spurs, and in the western
and southwestern portions many shorter spurs project
nearly at right angles from the main range. Between
the longer ranges in the northwest are high plateaus on
which but little rain falls. Between the shorter spurs
of the mountain masses in the west and south at the
headwaters of the rivers, some of which discharge into
the Atlantic, others of which in the extreme south send
their streams into the Pacific through narrow gorges
between the great peaks, nestle many beautiful lakes,
filled with limpid water derived from the melting snows
of the alpine summits which tower above them. The
lake-region of Argentina is a realm of scenic splendor
the beauties of which are only beginning to be known.
Hitherto this part of the great land has been almost
inaccessible, but those who have visited it are eloquent
in their description of the wonderful magnificence of the
scenery. In one of the lakes of this fairy-land Dr.
Walter G. Davis a few years ago planted between two
and three millions of the fry of the Speckled Brook-
trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) of New England. The
transportation of the eggs from Buenos Aires to Lake
Nahuel-Huapi required twelve days and the use of six
tons of ice. The ice lasted just long enough to enable
the Doctor to reach the lake with his delicate charge
uninjured. Had the journey required another day in
which to complete it, the venture would have failed;
but, as it was, the eggs were brought to their destina-
tion with little loss. Ninety per cent of them were
hatched, and on March 14, 1904, the fry were put into
the lake. Five years later to the day, on March 14,
132 To the River Plate and Back
1909, Dr. Davis caught three specimens, each weighing
five pounds, twelve and one-half ounces, which he has
now preserved in jars of alcohol in his office in Buenos
Aires, where I had the pleasure of examining them.
In a few years the western lakes of Argentina will be
resorted to not only by those who are lovers of beauti-
ful scenery, but by those also who are fond disciples
of Isaak Walton.
Between the high mountain ranges and plateaus of
the west and the wide eastern plains is a region of vary-
ing breadth and elevation, which is more or less arid,
save where irrigated by streams flowing from the cordil-
leras. The soil in this region is in places strongly
impregnated with saline and alkaline matter, and
there are depressions in which brackish ponds and
lakes have accumulated, and extensive areas in which
the alkali reveals itself in the form of white incrustations
such as are common in the 'bad-lands' of Wyoming
and Utah. The aridity of this tract is due to the fact
that the high mountains of the west intercept the cur-
rents of air laden with moisture which come from the
Pacific, while at the same time the winds from the
Atlantic are met and checked in their onward westward
flow by the downward currents of cold and dry air
which flow eastward from the Andes. The southern
part of Chili, unlike northern Chili which is almost
rainless and barren, is a region where the rainfall is
heavy and where dense and luxuriant forests of hard
woods cover the land. But as soon as the traveler
coming from the west has crossed the lofty snow-clad
ranges and has reached the eastern slopes of the Andes
and the plains at their feet, he discerns that the forests
of beech and other woods have disappeared and that
their place has been taken by cacti and crassulaceous
Argentina 133
plants characteristic of dry soil. There are only a few
localities, and these well toward the south, where the
mountain wall is low enough to allow the rain-clouds
to pass over, or where the chain is interrupted by valleys
coming down to sea-level, forming gateways for the
showers. Opposite these inlets on the eastern side of
the Andes are limited tracts where rain falls in sufficient
abundance to permit the growth of trees and rich pas-
turage. Such spots are, however, infrequent. Almost
the whole of northern and central Patagonia is dry, and
receives so little moisture that except in a few favored
places there is no temptation offered to the agriculturist
to settle. On the eastern coast in the Territories of
Chubut and Santa Cruz, there are colonies of Boers from
South Africa and of Welsh and Scotch, who are earning
a somewhat precarious livelihood as sheep-ranchers,
and about Punta Arenas there are extensive sheep,
ranges, but otherwise Patagonia is a land of desolation,
which will require a great deal of effort to make it
productive. ' Dry-farming, " as practised in our West-
ern States, may succeed to a limited extent; but the
higher levels must always remain more or less barren for
lack of water, though the lower levels are capable of
being irrigated by the rivers which traverse them.
Irrigation has been practised for a long time in some of
the older settlements. This is especially true about
Mendoza, where there are great vineyards and orchards.
At Mendoza the water flowing from the mountains is
distributed by an extensive system of canals and ditches
over the lower hillsides and levels, and the ground,
wrhich once produced little but cacti, has been made to
yield rich returns. The population of the country is
not at present so dense as to make the reclamation of
the arid lands a question of burning importance, except
134 To the River Plate and Back
here and there; nevertheless the far-seeing men at the
head of the government are already beginning to give
the matter careful consideration. With an area equal
to that of half the United States, Alaska excepted,
there are in Argentina only about seven and a half
millions of inhabitants, less than the population of
Pennsylvania. There is still 'elbow-room' for multi-
tudes of people. Exclusive of the great Province of
Buenos Aires, the country as a whole is still sparsely set-
tled, and even in Buenos Aires there are wide stretches
of land which are very thinly inhabited. To develop
the country and attract population is one of the aims
of the government. It was my pleasant privilege a few
days after my arrival to receive an invitation from
Dr. Bailey Willis to dine with him and to meet a number
of his friends. Dr. Willis has been selected by the
authorities of Argentina to conduct the survey of the
region about Lake Nahuel-Huapi and to aid in opening
it to settlers. The dinner took place at Charpentier's,
a famous resort, which is the Argentinian equivalent of
Sherry's in New York. Among those who were present
at the dinner were Senor Ramos Mejia, the Minister of
Public Works (obras publicas), Hon. John W. Garrett,
the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States,
Dr. Francisco P. Moreno, of whom I have spoken in a
previous chapter, Dr. Walter G. Davis, who for nearly
two-score years has been at the head of the Oficina
Meteorologica, Dr. Rollin D. Salisbury, the Dean of the
Faculty of Science in the University of Chicago, and a
number of other gentlemen of eminence representing
both Argentina and the United States. The room was
decorated with the entwining flags of the United States
and of Argentina, and around the walls were large
photographs showing Lake Nahuel-Huapi guarded by
Argentina 135
mountains rivaling those of Switzerland in their massive
uplift and beauty. Much of the time at this dinner
was taken up in discussing the wonders of this region.
The Minister of Public Works explained that the new
railroad running from Port Antonio westward to the
lake has already been completed for more than half of
its length, and turning to Dr. Willis he said: "The
remainder of the road I look to you, my dear Doctor,
to see completed by the spring of 1914. The money to
build the remaining miles is in the treasury.' When
this railway is completed it will open up a region as large
as the State of Massachusetts ; a country full of streams
fed from the snow-clad mountains, having numerous
waterfalls capable of driving as many spindles as are
now driven by the Connecticut and the Merrimac.
Into this region, Serior Mejia explained, it is the desire
of the government to bring hardy and thrifty people
capable of enduring the cold of winter. These people
will become the pioneers in the development of a great
state from the standpoint of the agriculturist and the
manufacturer. Those whom we wish to interest,"
said Dr. Mejia, 'are your thrifty Yankees of New
England and the industrious and hardy people of
Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland. For such people
we shall be able to hold out the inducement of farms
at comparatively small cost, and opportunities for en-
gaging in a multitude of industrial pursuits, for which
unlimited electrical power derived from the waterfalls
will open the way. '
The republic of Argentina is advancing by leaps and
bounds. Statements published as to population, re-
sources, railroad mileage, and the production of various
crops made only a year or two ago, are antiquated to-
day. The people have tacitly concluded that revolu-
136 To the River Plate and Back
tions are not profitable. In the last century they were
plagued with revolutions and counter-revolutions.
To-day they have settled down to the conviction that
an orderly government, well administered, affords the
best opportunity for development. The spirit of com-
mercialism and industrialism reigns supreme. The
Argentine has ceased to be a politician in the sense in
which he was a politician a few years ago, and has be-
come, like the people of our own country, keen in the
pursuit of the dollar. After all it is better that men
should chase dollars than that they should chase each
other with swords and bayonets.
In the development which has taken place in Argen-
tina during the past three centuries the foremost part
has been played by the Province of Buenos Aires. The
first Europeans to sight the land were a party of Spanish
explorers, who had set out under the leadership of Juan
Diaz de Solis to find a southwest passage to the East
Indies. Arriving in 1516, they landed, were attacked
by the Indians, and their leader was killed. Disheart-
ened they returned to Europe. De Solis was followed
four years later by the illustrious Ferdinand Magellan,
who on his voyage around the world entered the estuary
and sailed for some distance up the River Plate, then
turned, and went south without attempting to effect
a landing. In 1527 Sebastian Cabot explored the rivers
Parana, Paraguay, and Uruguay for considerable dis-
tances, building a fort near the mouth of the Uruguay
River and attempting a settlement not far from the
present city of Santa Fe. Nothing came of these efforts
except an increased knowledge of the geography of the
region. Cabot was followed in 1535 by Pedro de
Mendoza, a Basque of noble lineage, who had received
from the Emperor Charles V. a grant of all of what is
Argentina 137
now the most fertile and densely populated portion of
Argentina, upon condition that he would conquer the
country at his own expense and thereafter pay certain
profits to the crown. He entered the river and sailed
along the northern shore as far as the island of San
Gabriel, and then crossed to the south shore, landing at
the mouth of a small stream still known as the Riachuelo
or " rivulet. ' He gave to the spot the name of Buenos
Aires. The attempt to make a settlement proved a
disastrous failure in the end, because of the hostility of
the Indians. A permanent settlement in the region was,
however, effected in the following year (1536) by a
remnant of Mendoza's followers, who established them-
selves on the site of what is now the city of Asuncion,
the capital of- Paraguay. An attempt to renew the
settlement at Buenos Aires, made in 1542, failed, and it
was not until 1580 that Juan de Garay, a Basque, com-
ing down the river from Asuncion, succeeded in taking
the spot after a bloody conflict with the Querendi
Indians, whom he conquered and forced to serve as
laborers upon the farms which he allotted to his victori-
ous followers. Four years afterwards De Garay was
killed near Santa Fe by the Indians, who fell upon him
at night while he was in camp on his way back to
Asuncion.
During the thirty-eight years which had passed
between the first attempt to settle Buenos Aires and the
successful occupation of the spot by Juan de Garay,
a wave of Spanish colonization had swept into what is
now Argentina from the west. The conquest of Peru
by Pizarro and the Spanish occupation of northern Chili
was quickly followed by a movement from the Pacific
across the Andes. Expeditions from Peru established
settlements at Santiago del Estero in 1555, at Tucuman
138 To the River Plate and Back
in 1565, and at Cordoba in 1573. An expedition from
Chili in 1559 established a settlement at Mendoza, the
name being given in honor of the leader, who must not
be confounded with Pedro de Mendoza who had so
signally failed in colonizing the region about Buenos
Aires.
The occupation of South America by the Spanish
was effected by expeditions which in going out from
Spain very naturally followed the routes originally
pursued by Columbus and his successors. Nombre-de-
Dios on the northern shore of the Isthmus of Panama
became the rendezvous of the Spanish fleets, and all
commerce between Spain and Peru took place through
that port. The region now known as Argentina was in
the early days subject to the control of the Governor-
General of Peru. Spanish commerce with South
America was in the hands of a clique of wealthy mer-
chants in the city of Cadiz, who by reason of their ability
to influence the court had secured for themselves a
monopoly of the carrying trade. They succeeded in
effecting the passage of laws prohibiting all importation
and exportation of goods directly by sea from the region
of the River Plate and compelled all intercourse with
the valley of the Plate to follow the route by Panama
along the west coast and across the Andes. They even
went so far as to cause regulations to be passed making
it an offense punishable by death to ship in or out of the
River Plate by direct ocean routes any goods whatever.
Human governments have often been induced for self-
ish ends to violate the laws of nature. It may well,
however, be called into question whether any more
atrocious perversion of fundamental economical prin-
ciples was ever enacted than in this case, where a com-
munity, with nothing between it and the mother
Argentina 139
country except the broad highway of the seas, was
compelled by law to transport its exports and imports
across a continent, over a range of mountains from
twelve to fifteen thousand feet high, for thousands of
miles up the western coast, across the isthmus, and
thence to Cadiz by a sea-route as long, if not longer,
than that which lay between their ports and the home
country. The little settlements on the River Plate by
force of circumstances were compelled to become colo-
nies of smugglers, and even the officials sent out from
Spain to enforce the iniquitous regulations enacted at
the suggestion of "the gang' in Cadiz, themselves
became smugglers. In course of time the English and
Dutch sea-rovers made sport of the sea-power of Spain,
and English, Dutch, and French captains began to
trade, in spite of Spanish prohibitions, with the colonies
on the River Plate. Although the merchants of Cadiz
protested, and threatened dire vengeance, sometimes
even executed it, the shipmasters of the world began
to find out that hides could be bought cheaply at
Buenos Aires and that there was a ready market there
for European goods. For nearly two hundred years
the commerce originating on the great internal water-
ways which lead to and from what are now the republics
of Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay was
subjected to restrictions by the Spanish government
which simply appear amazing in the light of modern
progress, and even trade with Peru was after a while
only allowed to be carried on subject to a duty of fifty
per cent, ad valorem upon all goods either exported
or imported. The Portuguese, who established them-
selves directly opposite Buenos Aires, at Colonia, carried
on a very profitable contraband traffic. The people of
Buenos Aires after a time became accustomed to buying
140 To the River Plate and Back
and selling on the other side of the river, in spite of
governmental interdicts. The exactions of the Spanish
rulers continued even after Buenos Aires had been in the
year 1776 made the seat of a viceroyalty. Under such
circumstances it is no wonder that there finally grew
up throughout all the region a spirit of determined
opposition to Spanish control. If the people living in
the English colonies of North America resisted taxation
without representation, and found the Stamp-act intol-
erable, it is no wonder that the Spanish colonists in
South America, having patiently endured for over two
hundred years a system of exaction and repression, the
most astounding in the annals of government, should
have finally resolved to revolt. Following the example
of the Thirteen Colonies in North America, and strongly
imbued with the doctrines announced by the leaders of
the French Revolution, near the beginning of the last
century they threw off the yoke of Spain. The story
of that revolution is too long to be told here.
Trained in the school of despotism, it is not singular
that the people of these southern republics should have
encountered great difficulties in establishing govern-
ments strictly republican in their nature. Though
republican in name, most of the governments of Central
and South America have been more or less oligarchical
in their practical working. The nearest approach to
true republicanism exists to-day in Argentina, where
with great wisdom popular education has been made
compulsory, and where the youth of the nation are
being taught in the common-schools those things which
are fundamentally true in the life of a democracy.
It was the good fortune of the Province of Buenos
Aires to have reckoned among her citizens such a man
as San Martin, one of the purest-minded patriots whom
Argentina 141
any land has produced, and who as the years go by
grows more and more in the esteem of men. Although
in his old age he was treated with gross ingratitude and
suffered exile and penury, his noble example, like that
of Washington, has become an inspiration to the people
of his country. Bolivar has been called 'the Liber-
ator,' but the impartial student of South American
history realizes that the exalted character of San Martin
exceeds in rugged grandeur that of Bolivar as the sun
outshines the moon. He it was who freed the southern
half of South America from the yoke of Spain. The
Argentine Republic also owes a great debt of gratitude
to a man whom many now living recall as a friend and
acquaintance, Sarmiento, 'the Schoolmaster Presi-
dent, "as he has been called. He realized that the
greatness of a people depends not merely upon material
resources and wealth, but upon the quality of its man-
hood; and he it was who set about founding schools
for the common people and reorganizing the colleges and
universities throughout the land. The work which he
planned and began is now just beginning to bear rich
fruitage.
Without attempting to outline the long story of the
evolution of existing governmental institutions in
Argentina, it may be said that underlying all the various
movements was an impulse toward the establishment of
a national life and consciousness. There were unfor-
tunate episodes ; many mistakes were made ; unscrupu-
lous and incompetent men at times essayed leadership
and grasped the reins of power with attendant misfor-
tune to the state; but through the maze of conflicting
policies and varying experiments there emerged clearly
and ever more clearly the purpose of a free people to
secure for themselves the rights which belong to men
142 To the River Plate and Back
in virtue of their manhood. To-day Argentina is on the
highroad of national prosperity, having nothing to
fear except the dangers which arise from prosperity
itself. After having read everything available, and
having with my own eyes seen the results of the long
struggles which have taken place, and having had
the opportunity to learn from those who are to-day the
leaders of public thought and sentiment, what are the
aims and ambitions which they cherish, I cannot fail
to entertain a deep and sympathetic interest in the
people of this growing nation, who are surely unfolding
a character which is destined to give them a high place
in the future annals of civilization.
The population of the country is exceedingly com-
posite. Argentina, like the United States, has become
a melting-pot for the nations. Colonized originally by
Basques, many of the names of the older families recall
that fact, but all of Spain was ultimately represented
upon the soil. During the past century there came into
the land not a few people of English, Irish, and Scotch
extraction. The Germans are well represented and so
are the French. From Southern Russia in quite recent
years, there has taken place a large influx. During the
past forty years there has been a very great immigration
of Italians. It is a curious fact that owing to the
cheapness of steerage-passage from Naples and Genoa
there occurs every year in Argentina just before the
planting time and before harvest, a mighty inflow of
Italian laborers, who help to sow and garner the crops,
and then quietly take ship again and return to Italy,
where they arrive in time to render the same service
in their own country. Great groups of laboring men
make the annual pilgrimage from southern Italy to
the Plate, and sell their services for the busy months
Argentina 143
of the year in the wheat-fields, and then go back to their
homes. Some, who come with the expectation of re-
turning, settle down in the land, and thus a very large
part of the more recent additions to the population have
been Italians. The study of the railway maps and of
the names of stations and towns reveals in an interesting
manner how exceedingly various have been the nation-
alities of those who have occupied the soil. Temperley,
Claypole, Nelson, and Lincoln are towns with English
names. Rauch and Lehmann are places concerning
which it does not require a linguist to decide that they
were settled by Germans. Names like these are
sprinkled all over the map of the country, as well as
names which are purely Spanish and Italian.
Buenos Aires, the capital, is a cosmopolitan city.
The tendency of populations to concentrate in cities,
which is characteristic of modern times, is illustrated
forcibly in the case of this great community. There
are about one million and a quarter of people in Bucros
Aires. Rosario, the next city in size, has about two
hundred thousand. More than one-fifth of the popula-
tion of Argentina is gathered into its cities. There are
thoughtful men, with whom I conversed, who deprecate
this fact, as there are men in our own country who dep: e-
cate the tendency of the masses to congregate in the
towns. The cry ' back to the soil ' ' is being heard in
Argentina, as in the United States. Many of the wealthy
citizens of the Argentine metropolis are in fact agricul-
turists and great landowners. Their presence on their
estates being only required at certain seasons of the year,
they have elected to live in the city and to enjoy the
conveniences and social intercourse which are afforded
by urban life. They may be pardoned for their choice,
but for every millionaire who lives in the city there are,
144 To the River Plate and Back
as in our own crowded municipalities, hundreds and
thousands of people who are packed together in narrow
quarters eking out a miserable existence under circum-
stances decidedly unpropitious. Buenos Aires, like
New York and London, has its slums and squalid
tenement districts, many of the inhabitants of which
would be far better off if deported to the pampas and
made to take part in the healthful toil which falls to
him who is a tiller of the ground. It is hard, however,
to induce people who have lived in towns and cities in
Europe, when coming to America, to adopt the larger
and freer life of the open country. Farmers, like poets,
are born, not made. To induce a man who has been
trained to be a baker or small tradesman to become a
herder or a plowman is as difficult as to transform
a blacksmith into a sculptor, or a lawyer into a glass-
cutter. It can be done now and then, but only in
exceptional cases. The trouble in Argentina, as in the
United States, is that a great deal of the recent immigra-
tion has not proceeded from the agricultural regions of
Europe. Argentina, like North America, needs more
farmers and fewer hotel-waiters, bartenders, petty shop-
keepers, and people who live by their wits, without
having any trade in which they excel.
Though there has been a rapid growth in population
in Argentina in recent years, there is a comparative
dearth of labor, and wages are very high. The pro-
tective tariff which has been applied to a number of the
industries of the country has also had its effect in
raising the price of labor and commodities. The cost
of living in Argentina, as in almost all South American
countries, is great. The increase in the value of land
has been the main factor underlying the princely for-
tunes possessed by many Argentinian families. A few
Argentina 145
years ago the government sold off at auction large
tracts of land at little more than the cost of surveying
it. The reserve price was about $400 per square league.
A square league contains 6669 acres. Much of the land
thus thrown upon the market was very fertile and
admirably adapted both to grazing and agricultural
purposes. While the number of human beings in the
world is steadily increasing, the number of fertile acres
is stationary. The hungry millions of Europe were
calling for food ; the men of Argentina discovered that
they were in a position to supply it. They began to
grow wheat and corn in a large way. They took to
improving their live stock by importing the best strains
of cattle and sheep and horses from Europe and North
America. They discovered that by plowing under the
rough grasses of the pampa and sewing alfalfa or lucerne
they could secure perennial pasturage for their animals.
Farming became profitable and the value of the land
gradually began to enhance. Men who had bought
great tracts for a few cents an acre awoke to find pur-
chasers who were willing to pay anything from fifty to
one hundred dollars per acre for their holdings. Many
men who had bought a square league for $400 hold it
to-day at $300,000. Men who bought, as multitudes
did, from ten to twenty square leagues, are multi-
millionaires at the present moment. Some men ac-
quired great bodies of land, hundreds of thousands of
acres, for a song ; to-day they live in palaces, surrounded
with luxury. As the result of this sudden and enor-
mous increase in wealth there has been developed
in many cases extravagance. There are not a few
thoughtful men in Argentina who shake their heads as
they observe this tendency, and the comments they
made reminded me, as I heard them, of what I had
146 To the River Plate and Hack
heard falling from the lips of careful students of affairs
in our own land. It is a wise man indeed who knows
rightly how to use prosperity.
The development of luxury, ostentation, and reckless
extravagance on the part of the rich begets discontent
among the poor. The result is reflected in envy, strife,
and social disorder. This has been the teaching of his-
tory through all the centuries. The lands of the West
need not expect to be exempted from the operation of
those forces which have wrought in the human mind in
all past ages. Human nature has not greatly changed
since the days of Babylon and Rome. The injunction
of the Apostle 'not to trust in uncertain riches' is as
applicable to nations as to individuals. The secret of
true national greatness is found not so much in wealth
as in moral character.
' ' What constitutes a State ?
Not high-raised battlement or laboured mound,
Thick wall or moated gate;
Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned;
Not bays and broad-armed ports,
Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride;
Not starred and spangled courts,
Where low-browed baseness wafts perfume to pride,
No; — Men, high-minded Men,
• * • * • • •
Men who their duties know,
But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain,
Prevent the long-aimed blow,
And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain;
These constitute a State."1
1 Alcseus, Paraphrased by Sir William Jones.
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CHAPTER XII
BUENOS AIRES
"Ships, towers, domes, theaters, and temples lie,
Open unto the fields, and to the sky,
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air." — Wordsworth.
SIGNOR NEGRI, who was born in Elba, stood at
the entrance of the grounds of the Observatory,
looking up at the sky, a vault of brilliant blue flecked
here and there with white clouds. "Pah!' he ex-
claimed, 'the sight makes me sick. Look, Monsieur
le Docteur, at that sky — blue and white — the national
colors of Argentina — blue and white — eternally that
blue and white sky! I was born where the fogs often
came up from the sea. I adore fog. I am happiest
when it drizzles. But look at that audaciously blue
and white sky ! The sight fills me with bitterness. It
will not rain to-day; it will not rain to-morrow. We
are in for a long period of dry weather. I shall have to
bury myself indoors to escape the depressing effects
of that blue sky!" "But," I protested, "the sky
appears beautiful to me. I do not wish it to rain to-
day; I am going to Buenos Aires to see the Cattle
Show, and the Botanical and Zoological Gardens. '
'All! Monsieur le Docteur, there is no accounting for
tastes. You think that shamelessly blue sky beautiful?
I do not!' We got into the fiacre, for which we had
telephoned and which was awaiting us. The cochero
148 To the River Plate and Back
set us down in a few minutes at the railway station. It
was a holiday. The workshops of the Museum were
closed, and the men who were helping us had leave of
absence. We had determined that it would be well to
embrace the opportunity to see something of the
Capital. We had reached La Plata in the dusk of
evening. Now we would for the first time see the
country between the two cities in the light of a
glorious spring morning. One of the professors of the
University met us at the station and kindly acted as
guide, philosopher, and friend.
Shortly after leaving La Plata our attention was
called to the fact that the road for a distance of nine
miles traverses one of the great estates belonging
to a wealthy family, the country residence of which,
surrounded by a park and beautiful gardens, we passed
shortly afterwards. Presently we were delighted to
see on the right of the train scattered groups of Amer-
ican ostriches ranging in the fields. Some of them stood
and looked at the cars, as they went by, others appeared
to be more intent upon feeding and did not raise their
heads. The Professor told us that these birds are
preserved upon the estate, and that its owner is one of
a number of gentlemen who are making an effort to
save the species from extinction. The South American
ostrich, as it is called, is more properly known as the
rhea (Rhea Americana (Linnaeus) ). It is not a true
ostrich, and is a much smaller bird than that of Africa.
Its plumes have been extensively used for making
feather-dusters, their principal use. But the supply
will soon be exhausted, unless the poor creatures receive
better protection than is now given them. On the
Pereyra estate there are about one hundred and fifty
specimens; on various other estates in the different
Buenos Aires 149
provinces there are a few; but, although there once
were millions of them in the country, there are at most
only a few thousands left. They are going the way of
all wild creatures in the New World, and will soon
become extinct, unless measures are taken to stay the
hands of their persecutors. The smaller species named
after Darwin (Rhea darwini Gould) is still not un-
common upon the Patagonian pampas, but they also
are rapidly decreasing in numbers with each succeeding
year. To the left of the train we saw a large herd of
English deer feeding in an open space between two
groves of eucalyptus-trees. In the grass a little farther
on we noticed some Belgian hares. They have been
introduced into the country and are multiplying rapidly,
and are reported to be doing considerable damage to
the crops in certain localities. As the train swept by
the hamlet of Conchitas we spied two llamas feeding
in an enclosure ; one was dark brown in color, the other
was wThite. The llama is not a creature of the pampas,
but of the Andean region, and, like the camel, is only
known in a state of domestication. The guanaco, a
much smaller animal, which is closely related to the
llama, still exists in considerable numbers in a wild
state upon the less frequented pampas of Patagonia
and among the foothills of the great mountains in the
northern part of Argentina. As we came near the city
we caught glimpses of the great river with its sky-line
like that of the ocean. In the offing there were many
sailing-ships and steamers. The number of full-
rigged ships in these waters proves that steamers have
not yet entirely monopolized the carrying-trade of the
world.
On arriving in Buenos Aires my first errand was to the
American Legation, to pay my respects to my honored
150 To the River Plate and Back
friend, Air. John W. Garrett, the Minister Plenipoten-
tiary of the United States. I shall never forget his
hearty words of welcome. ' I love this old Diplodocus, '
he said. 'It brought us together in Berlin, and then in
Rome, and now brings us together again in far-off
Argentina. ' Sitting in his pleasant office, about which
hung pictures of many of the great men of our land, I
felt as if the seven thousand miles which separated me
from home had been for the moment annihilated. I
should be recusant to the promptings of my heart if I
failed to here record my sense of indebtedness to Mr.
Garrett and his charming wife for the gracious hos-
pitality which they showed me during my stay in the
country. The American Legation faces the Plaza San
Martin. Nearby the Plaza Hotel raises its front.
There are many hotels in the capital, but the Plaza is
reputed at present to be the most modern and the most
luxurious in its appointments, a house worthy to be
compared with the best in any city of the world.
On the outward voyage I had been told that I might
count myself fortunate in view of the fact that I should
have an opportunity to see the great annual Cattle
Show in Buenos Aires. I heard a great deal from certain
of my fellow-passengers, whose homes are in Argentina,
about the marvelous progress which has been made
during the last forty years in raising blooded stock upon
the pampas, and, as but one or two days remained in
which to -visit the exposition, I went to the grounds,
which are located in the beautiful suburban district
known as Palermo. The display takes place under the
auspices of the Sociedad Rural Argentina, which many
years ago purchased the site and has erected upon it
the extensive series of buildings which now adorn it.
After passing through the main entrance leading from
Buenos Aires 151
the Avenida Sarmiento, we found ourselves in a large
enclosure, tastefully laid out with broad walks and
driveways. In the spaces between these were parterres
of flowers and blooming shrubs. A large restaurant
stands at the left of the entrance. In front of it there
is a band-stand occupied every afternoon by musicians.
The restaurant is surrounded by a broad tiled pavement
raised above the level of the grounds and enclosed by a
balustrade. Here refreshments are served in the open
air for those who prefer the sky as a canopy and at the
same time desire to listen to the music. Located in
the extensive enclosure are many pavilions for the
display of the animals which are here brought together.
Facing the main entrance is the race-track, on either
side of which are two very large buildings with two
hundred and twenty-four box-stalls for horses. On the
northern or shady side of the race-track are the stands
(tribunas) for the public, on the southern side the stands
reserved for the members of the Society and their friends.
There is in the northern part of the grounds another
large building for horses, containing one hundred and
sixteen box-stalls. Three hundred and forty horses
can be stabled upon the grounds. The largest pavilions
are those for cattle. There are four of these in all, with
accommodation for nearly a thousand head. There is
a pavilion of great size for the display of sheep, another
for swine, another for poultry. Toward the south is a
large space for the exposition of agricultural machinery ;
and at the extreme southern end of the grounds is the
Agricultural Museum. There are barns and granaries
for the storage of food-supplies, a veterinary hospital,
quarters for the officials and the retinue of attendants,
arid kiosks in which display is made of cereals, vege-
tables, fruits, hair, wool, hides, tallow, fats, oils, ex-
i52 To the River Plate and Back
tracts, preserved meats, dairy products, everything
in fact which is the product of the industries represented
by the farmer and the stockman.
We first went to the Central Pavilion, in which some
of the bulls were on exhibition. There were about two
hundred of them here, representing the Shorthorn,
Hereford, Holstein, Jersey, and Aberdeen-Angus breeds.
The animals were all of registered pedigree, and among
them were some superb specimens. In addition to the
animals in the Central Pavilion there were in the va-
rious pavilions for the cattle many hundreds more, bring-
ing the total up to over nine hundred bulls and cows.
As they lay at ease upon their beds of clean straw,
chewing the cud, or following with their lustrous eyes
the crowds of those who came and went, we were
impressed by the fact that we were indeed in the pres-
ence of bovine aristocracy. Some of the beasts were
truly enormous in size, and all were well groomed and
sleek. I doubt whether anywhere in the world at the
present time a more impressive exhibition of this sort
is to be seen. The pavilions are open on all sides,
admitting a free circulation of air, the roofs are high,
and there is good light. The names of the animals
were all displayed upon neat labels, some of which also
gave an account of the pedigree of the individual.
The vast majority of the names of the Shorthorns were
English and attested their British ancestry. 'Fire-
King," "Baron Oxford/' "Iron Duke," "Druid,"
"Waterloo Victor," "Shenley," "Cameronian," "Lucky
Jim," "Sunny Jim," "Polar Beauty," "Lincoln," and
'Roosevelt' were names which caught the eye.
"Queen Victoria," "Lady Alice," "Diana," "Red
Rose,' and 'Blossom' were queenly animals. It
was amusing to listen to the pronunciation given to
A Herd of Blooded Cattle on the Pampas.
The Meat of the Country.
Buenos Aires 153
these names by the attendants who spoke Spanish or
Italian.
We next inspected the stables. Some fine horses
were on view. Arabian, Clydesdale, Percheron, Shire,
Suffolk-Punch, Boulonnais, Anglo-Norman, and Hack-
ney stock were represented. But I hardly found the
display of horses as interesting as that of the cattle.
There were only two hundred and eighty-eight horses
and one ass on exhibition ; before the nine hundred bulls
and cows, the equine cohorts seemed small. Further-
more, the box-stalls surrounded by gratings, through
which it was necessary to peer, and the rather dim light
of the pavilions did not allow the horses to be seen
to the same advantage as the cattle, which were dis-
played in open stalls under a better light.
The sheep were interesting. The animals exhibited
belonged mainly to the various well-known English
breeds, and they all seemed to be in remarkably good
condition. To allow them to carry the fleeces they
bore in a subtropical climate almost appeared cruel,
but they apparently gave no evidence of suffering,
though the place at the noon-hour was hot. We
glanced at the exhibit of poultry, which was good, and
then went to the Agricultural Museum. It is well
arranged, the exhibits are carefully labelled, and the
display is upon the whole instructive, enabling the
student at a glance to gain a good idea of the agricul-
tural resources of Argentina as a whole and of the sepa-
rate provinces in particular. Whoever is in charge of
the institution has correct ideas as to administration
and the manner in which to convey instruction to the
people.
The early settlers of South American lands brought
with them cattle and horses of the races which at that
154 To the River Plate and Back
time were common in Spain and Portugal. Some of
them escaped, and finding upon the pampas sufficient
pasturage, rapidly multiplied, until wild cattle and
horses became numerous in Uruguay and in the prov-
inces south of the Rio de la Plata. The Indians
learned to utilize the cattle and became horsemen, as did
the aborigines of the Western plains of North America.
The cattle were long-horned, shaggy, and of medium
size, closely resembling the semi-domesticated cattle
of Texas. The horses were stocky creatures like the
bronchos of our own Western States. As the country
began to be more thickly settled and divided into estates,
the range-cattle were brought within enclosures, and
the herds came to be recognized as belonging to certain
owners. They were branded or marked. For a long
time hides, hair, tallow, hoofs, and horns were the
principal exports, though 'jerked beef salted and
dried in the open air was shipped in considerable
quantities to the lands to the north nearer the equator.
Meat thus prepared is still exported, and in Bahia and
Rio de Janeiro I saw slabs of salted beef half an inch
thick, a foot wide, and from two to three feet long,
hanging at the doors of the grocery shops alongside
of dried codfishes and bunches of smoked herrings. It
did not look appetizing to me, but it is extensively used
by the poorer classes in Brazil, and, when cut up and
boiled with vegetables, may serve to add some nutri-
ment and flavor to the mess. In the year 1889 the
exportation of live cattle to England was begun, but
the animals were so poor in quality that the experiment
was not profitable. This led to the importation of
blooded stock, and to-day throughout the older and
more thickly settled provinces the long-horned Spanish
cattle have almost entirely disappeared. The owners
Buenos Aires 155
of great estates spent fabulous sums in acquiring breed-
ing animals of the best strain. As much as $35,000
was paid for single bulls. Three-quarter bred cattle
mainly of the Hereford and Shorthorn type are found
everywhere, and on some estates the herds are pure-
bred Shorthorns. Owing to the foot-and-mouth disease
the shipment of live cattle, which rose to great propor-
tions about the middle of the first decade of this century,
has latterly fallen off. The shipment of frozen meats
has, however, steadily increased, and a large amount of
British and North American capital is being invested
in this business. One of the reasons for the prosperity
of the stock-raisers of Argentina has been the intro-
duction of alfalfa. The pampas have been plowed
over and seeded with this useful forage plant; the
rough harsh grasses have disappeared from wide areas;
and through the entire year the perennial alfalfa,
which sends its roots deep down in quest of water,
continues to supply an unfailing yield of rich, nutritious
food. The grazing lands between Buenos Aires and
La Plata covered with numerous herds of sleek cattle
are an impressive sight.
After having rested awhile and partaken of some light
refreshments, we went across the Avenida Sarmiento
co the Botanical Garden. It is not very extensive,
but is well-arranged, and the plants are set out in such
a way as to illustrate to some extent the sequence of
the natural orders and their genera. It apparently is
designed to be a living manual of botany. The flora
of Argentina, so far as represented, naturally riveted
our attention; but there were not as many Argentine
species as I should like to have found. Exotic and
naturalized plants seemed to preponderate, especially
trees representing the flora of Australia. Over thirty
156 To the River Plate and Back
species belonging to the genus Eucalyptus^ or closely
related thereto, are growing upon the grounds. The
eucalyptus has become the popular shade-tree in
subtropical South America, and is grown everywhere.
I was informed, however, by Dr. Roth, that it does not
propagate itself by seed sown naturally. In the parks
at La Plata and upon the grounds of the Observatory
I searched in vain to find young eucalyptus-trees
growing where seed had fallen. I am told that special
precautions must be taken to propagate the young
plants, and that wind-sown seeds do not appear to
germinate, or, if they do, the plants die. Whether this
is due to soil or climate, I was unable to learn.
The Zoological Garden, which is under the care of
Dr. Clemente Onelli, is large and attractively arranged.
It appears to be a favorite resort of the people, and was
thronged with visitors when we reached it about three
o'clock in the afternoon. It is true the day was a holi-
day, but on the occasion of a subsequent visit I found,
though it was not a holiday, a great gathering of young
and old people filling the grounds. The collection of an-
imals is extensive and they are evidently well fed. The
jaguars were particularly fine. There were a number of
them, some of which were very large and powerful brutes.
At one time the jaguars did a great deal of mischief
among the cattle in the northern provinces of Argen-
tina, but their numbers have steadily decreased in
recent years, and in the immediate vicinity of Buenos
Aires they have become totally extinct, and it is only
when a great freshet occurs in the river, and floating
islands of driftwood are brought down from the tropical
north, that stray specimens now and then appear.
On the occasion of a great flood in the Rio de la Plata
which took place a few years ago, I was informed that
Guanacos in the Zoological Garden at Buenos Aires.
• i'^r: ^.~: --
========
The Dairyman.
Buenos Aires 157
*
two jaguars, which had been brought down by the
stream, came ashore near Montevideo and were killed in
the outskirts of the city. At the time of these great
floods multitudes of snakes and other living things are
brought down from the tropical jungles, and species
not known to occur in the vicinity of Buenos Aires are
found at such times in considerable numbers even in
the streets of the city. At the time of the last freshet
a couple of boa-constrictors were discovered upon the
docks.
We were much interested in observing the guanacos,
a small herd of which are kept within an enclosure.
They are survivors of the camel-like animals, which
originated in the region of the Rocky Mountains in
early Tertiary times, and migrated to the south after
the Isthmus of Panama was formed, and a land con-
nection between North and South America had thus
been provided. The tribe died out in North America,
but survived in South America. The true camels also
originated in North America and passed over into Asia
by way of the land-bridge, which once united the northern
portions of North America with Asia. They survived
in the eastern after they had become extinct in the
western hemisphere. No fossil remains of camels have
been found in the Old World, except the bones of the
existing species found in the uppermost gravels, but
in North America the remains of many species of camels
and camel oid creatures are very abundant. Only a
few years ago one of my associates in the Carnegie
Museum discovered more than twenty skeletons of a
very small camel buried in close proximity to each
other, and took them up. The skeletons of three of
them, a male, a female, and a half-grown individual,
have been mounted and are displayed in the Carnegie
158
To the Ki\\T Plate and Bark
Museum. In certain respects they are not unlike
the guanaco of to-day, though very much smaller, not
larger than a small Italian greyhound, and revealing
greater specialization in certain features of anatomical
structure than occurs in existing species. The guanaco
has not been domesticated as was its larger cousin, the
llama. The latter was the only beast of burden known
I — t-~ W^^r^^-
•Wt ^» I 'Gr4~»*3?^ •* » V
Fig. 12. — Group of skeletons of Pigmy Camels (Stenomylus hitchcocki
Loomis) mounted in the Carnegie Museum. ^ natural size.
by the natives in all South America at the time of the
Conquest, and is still used as such in the Andean region.
It was interesting to find in the Zoological Garden in
Buenos Aires a guanaco which had been broken to the
saddle and upon which children were riding at the time
of our visit. Why should not an animal like the guan-
aco be domesticated? Simply because the Indians
apparently did not make the attempt, should no effort
now be made to perpetuate the species in domestication?
Robes made of guanaco-skin are very soft and warm
Buenos Aires
and beautiful ; and the flesh is palatable, quite as good
as mutton, so I am told. Why in fact should not a
multitude of other creatures, which now only exist in
a wild state, be domesticated instead of being simply
exterminated? What a dreary world this is going to be
a thousand years from now, when, at the present rate
of destruction, the only things left upon the surface of
the globe capable of motion will be machines, bugs,
chickens, cows, sheep, and asses — the latter principally
of the two-legged variety !
The aviaries in the Zoological Garden at Buenos
Aires are especially worthy of remark. I have visited
every zoological garden in Europe and North America,
and I am certain that in none of them are there any
larger enclosures for birds than those which have been
provided by Serior Onelli. This is as it should be.
The largest of all the raptorial birds is the condor, and
captive specimens in their own broad land should have
an opportunity to stretch their great wings, and al-
though unable to soar into the blue as they do in their
native Andes, they should not be cooped up and con-
fined in the narrow bounds usually allotted to such
creatures elsewhere. It seems that the learned Director
of the Garden in Buenos Aires has felt this fact, and
the vultures, eagles, and hawks in his collection have
a chance to fly, not merely to flap their wings. One of
the birds which I was especially glad to see was a
specimen of the harpy-eagle, a magnificent fowl, in
splendid plumage, with great startling eyes. Its
crested head gives it a regal appearance, and of all the
birds of prey it is the most truly imperatorial in mien.
The white-headed eagle which we have adopted as our
'national bird" is not for a moment to be compared in
grace and nobility of appearance with this fierce robber
160 To the River Plate and Back
of the South American wilds. Benjamin Franklin ex-
pressed a preference for the turkey as a "national bird, '
but, as the fowls used on national emblems according to
the bellicose spirit of the past and Roman traditions
have always been eagles, we chose an eagle to scream for
us, but I do not know why our forefathers should have
selected and placed upon our escutcheon the miserable
'bald-head, " which is at best but a cowardly thief and
robber. If they had selected the golden-eagle it
would not have been so bad. The harpy-eagle is a
still finer bird. Of all the eagles I admire him most from
the artistic standpoint.
Not very far from the grounds of the Zoological
Garden is the Hippodrome, or Race-course, which is
maintained by the Jockey Club. Horse-racing is a
popular pastime in Argentina and the Hippodrome is
one of the sights of the city. The fashionable and the
unfashionable, the wealthy and the poor patronize the
races, as they do in France, and Sunday, as in all Latin
lands, is the day chosen for the sport. Large sums of
money are won and lost at the races. The Argentines,
like the French, are given to gambling and games of
chance. The lottery flourishes among them, and on
the railway-trains, at the street-corners, and in the
shops and stores we were constantly approached by
venders of lottery-tickets, soliciting us to take a chance.
We lingered long in the Zoological Garden, finding
much to interest us, but at last the sun began to sink
toward the western horizon, and we were reminded that
it behooved us to return to La Plata. We boarded a
tram-car, warranted to take us to the Plaza Constitu-
cion. The route lay through narrow streets lined by
the low houses which prevail in the residential sections
of the metropolis. Let not the reader imagine that the
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Buenos Aires 161
whole of this great city, which nearly equals Philadel-
phia in the number of its inhabitants, is laid out with
magnificent boulevards such as the Avenida de Mayo.
By far the greater number of the streets of Buenos
Aires are narrow, conformed to its original plan, run-
ning at right angles to each other and closely built up
with houses of the Spanish type one or two stories in
height. Avenues such as the great central thoroughfare
leading from the Presidential Mansion to the Capitol,
and the splendid Avenida Alvear, on which are gathered
the homes of many of the wealthy, are the exception,
not the rule. Buenos Aires, as we saw it on our ride
from the Zoological Garden to the station of the Ferro
Carril du Sud, conveys to the mind an impression of
flatness and dull uniformity. Still there were things to
arrest attention. We caught the milkman serving his
customers rather late in the day. It was not after the
manner of New York or Pittsburgh, with an automobile
loaded with milk-cans, but after the good old Italian
fashion. Two cows accompanied by a calf, the latter
with a bag tied over its hungry mouth, so that it might
not invade the fluid stores, had been led by the milk-
man and his boy through the streets. At the door of a
customer they had stopped, and, while the children of
the house stood by to watch the operation, the milk-
man milked the cows and filled the vessels which the
children had brought out. The milk thus furnished is
certainly pure, provided the cows have been fed upon
pure food and not allowed to drink water infected by
the germs of typhoid fever.
On a number of subsequent occasions we visited
Buenos Aires either for business or for pleasure, and for
nearly a week before sailing for home I made my resi-
dence in the capital and came to feel that I knew some-
1 62 To the River I 'kite and Back
thing of it. It is full of contrasts such as arc found in
every metropolitan center. The architecture in those
portions which are not devoted to business and traffic is
somewhat monotonous, as I have already intimated,
but there are multitudes of imposing buildings pos-
sessing architectural charm. There are many parks
both large and small, and care has been taken to plant
in them such trees and shrubs as are adapted to the
soil and climate. Palms imported from the north and
from the region of the Mediterranean appear to do' well.
The suburbs of Palermo and Belgrano are very attrac-
tive and are adorned by many beautiful and costly
villas surrounded by well-kept lawns and tasteful
gardens.
The Argentines are a pleasure-loving people, as is
attested by the number of places of amusement which
are to be found. The Colon Theater is the largest
opera-house in South America and in fact in the world,
surpassing in size and in the splendor of its interior
decoration the great Opera-house in Paris. To it come
most of the great operatic artists of the day, and to suc-
ceed upon the stage in Buenos Aires is a passport to suc-
cess in Madrid, London, and New York. In contrast
with the Colon Theatre may be put a hut which was
found in the suburbs made out of old oil-cans, rescued
from a dumping-place close at hand. The cans had been
filled with earth and then piled up one upon the other
to form four low walls. The edifice was then covered
over with old roofing-tin, which likewise had been
picked up upon the dump. The structure formed the
sleeping apartment of an immigrant laborer, whose
resourcefulness exceeded his resources. His kitchen
had the sky for a roof ; his pantry consisted of a couple
of pails covered with pieces of board. Who can pre-
Buenos Aires 163
diet the future of this new citizen? Argentina is a
land of opportunity. This man had at least found what
the old Greek philosopher demanded, a ~ou CTTW, a place
on which to stand, if only for the time being. I have
no doubt he is saving his pennies. He may have an
account in bank, or in his stocking. His grandchildren
may come to live in a palace on the Avenida Alvear.
Stranger things than this have happened. The Vander-
bilt of Argentina is a young man who came to that
country a few years ago as a poor lad from Russia.
His first employment was as a boatman. He rowed
people to and fro from the water-front to the steamers,
and saved his earnings, as did his North American pro-
totype, the young Staten Island ferryman. To-day
he is the owrner of a great fleet of handsome passenger
and freight steamers. Miguel Mihanovitch is a power
to be reckoned with in Argentina, when the transporta-
tion question comes up for consideration.
The life of Buenos Aires is pervaded by restless ac-
tivity. There appears to be as much hurry and bustle
in the streets as in any of the larger cities of the world,
more in fact than in some which are not accounted dull.
Along the main thoroughfares there pours a constant
stream of vehicles all through the day and deep into the
night. The rush in busy hours is as great as on Broad-
way or Regent Street. I made my home in Buenos
Aires at one of the quieter hotels on the Avenida de
Mayo. The room assigned me on my arrival was at
the front of the house, but the noise of the automobiles
and the carriages on the street was so great and so
continuous, only dying down from about two until
five o 'clock in the morning, that I was unable to sleep
with comfort, and was glad to have my landlord assign
me a room in the rear of the building, where the racket
164 To the River Plate and Back
and clamor of the street were less obtrusive and less
disturbing. The policing of the streets is admirable,
and though the traffic is heavy, the mounted policemen,
who appear to be mainly Indians or half-breeds, seem
to understand their business thoroughly and keep the
currents of vehicles flowing as they should. Street-
blockades are infrequent. Traffic holds to the left, as
in England, and not to the right as in the United States.
Cabs and automobiles for hire are almost all supplied
with meters, recording the fare. The tariff is very
nearly the same as in European cities, and less than
in the United States ; in fact a taxicab in Buenos Aires
will render service for about half of what is charged for
the same service in New York or Chicago.
The tendency to imitate the customs of Europe is in
nothing more evident than in the uniforms of the police,
the soldiery, and the employees of the railways. In the
United States, even in our large cities, the military
are little in evidence. It is not so in Argentina.
Though the standing army is small, and in fact there is
little need for an army, in every city of considerable
size the military are to be seen. The bugle is heard,
and the regiments march from their barracks to the
parade-grounds just as they do in Paris or Berlin.
The uniforms are showy. This is especially true in
the case of one of the crack regiments of lancers, which
still wears the garb in use at the beginning of the Nine-
teenth Century, at the time of the War of Independ-
ence. The infantry are uniformed more or less after
the fashion of Germany, and so also are the mounted
police. There is a decidedly "old world' look about
these things, which does not fail to attract the attention
of a visitor from the United States.
The semi-seclusion of the fair sex, which holds good
The Colon Theater, Buenos Aires.
Humble Home.
Built of Old Oil-Cans Filled with Earth; Roofed with Discarded Tin.
Cooking is Done Outside.
Buenos Aires 165
in Spain, prevails in all South American lands, which
have inherited their customs and traditions from Spain.
Ladies appear upon the streets more or less closely
veiled, very rarely without escort, and never unescorted
after sunset. For a woman to appear alone upon the
streets, or to travel without escort, is sooner or later
to subject herself to embarrassment. The free yet
respectful intermingling of the sexes which occurs in
northern lands is unknown here. The habiliments of
mourning seem to be much affected by the women
in Latin-American countries. I said to one of my
acquaintances as we sat and watched the throngs of
passers-by on one of the crowded thoroughfares : ' ' There
must be a frightful mortality in this city, judging from
the number of people in deep mourning. ' He smiled
and replied: "The women regard black garments with
favor as setting off their charms, and rush into mourn-
ing on the slightest pretext. The town is reasonably
healthy. Do not deceive yourself. '
CHAPTER XIII
THE DELTA OF THE PARANA
"Wenn du am breiten Flusse wohnst,
LSeicht stockt er manchmal auch vorbei;
Dann, wenn du deine Wiesen schonst,
Heruber schlemmt er, es ist ein Brei. " — Goethe.
Translation
If you live on the broad river's brim,
It often runs shallow where once was a flood;
Then when you Ve planted your meadows so trim,
The river comes up and smears them with mud.
'"PHE morning of the second day of October dawned
clear and bright. Dr. Santiago Roth had in-
formed me on the previous evening that he had com-
pleted all the arrangements for an excursion to the
delta of the Parana, and had requested me to meet him
at the railway-station in La Plata at an early hour,
which he named. I was promptly on hand and we
were soon in Buenos Aires. We rattled across the city
in a cab and reached the Retire Station, where we
were joined by Dr. Bade and Professor Lucien Hau-
mann-Merck, both of the Faculty of the University
of Buenos Aires, both young, learned, and enthusiastic,
the one a chemist, the other a biologist. With Dr.
Roth, the head of the Geographical and Geological
Survey of the Province, to act as chaperon, and with
two such good fellows, full of information, to help
make up the party, I was sure that I should learn much
1 66
A Guacho.
A Country Market-Place.
The Delta of the Parana 167
of interest. We boarded our train, and passing Palermo,
the Hippodrome, and Belgrano with its pretty villas
perched upon the slightly rising river-terrace, we came
in less than an hour to San Fernando, a village tenanted
by fishermen, longshoremen, and sailors. The popula-
tion gains a livelihood from the waters, or, as boatmen,
by serving the throngs of people who frequent El Tigre,
the adjacent summer resort, which is to Buenos Aires
what Coney Island is to New York. We alighted and
were quickly driven to the dock, where a steam-yacht,
which had been put at our disposal by the authorities,
was lying at the landing. The captain was awaiting
our coming, the steward kindly took charge of our
luggage, and in less time than it takes to tell it, the
screw was in motion and we were backing out into the
stream. The vessel was provided with a cabin capable of
furnishing comfortable accommodations for the party,
and the larder was well stocked. The crew consisted
of six men, including the captain, who was a Scandina-
vian. Dr. Roth informed us that our objective point was
a gas-well which had been reported to him as having
been recently discovered, and which he wished to see.
The channel in which we found ourselves was narrow ,
the water was muddy, the banks were lined with willows
and small poplars, shading a very miscellaneous col-
lection of boat-houses and shanties, having a rather
dilapidated and tumble-down appearance. We soon
left them behind us and began to thread our passage
through the maze of waterways, which are the only
roads in the delta. The day was bright and sunny, the
breeze which was created as we swiftly went along
blew refreshingly in our faces. Seated on the deck
just before the wheel-house, we asked questions of the
captain and received his replies.
168 To the River Plate and Back
The delta of the Parana is made up of a series of
islands, large and small, separated by a multitude of
channels, the branching arms of the river, some of which
in recent years have been deepened by the Govern-
ment and made navigable for vessels of light draught.
Here and there canals have been dug to furnish short-
cuts from one point to another. Islands are strung
in a continuous series on either side of the river from
the delta as far north as Rosario and even beyond, but
there are rather more of them on the right than on the
left side of the stream. The Parana discharges by two
main channels, the larger lying to the north and receiv-
ing the Uruguay River just before entering the estuary,
the smaller lying to the south. Both are navigable for
ocean-going craft. Between these two main channels
and on either side of them are countless islands forming
the delta, which has an area nearly as great as that of the
State of Delaware. These islands are low and flat, their
surface raised at most only a few feet above the level
of the water. All are subject to more or less complete
inundation at the time of floods. The houses built
upon them are raised upon piles, the lower floors being
from eight to ten feet higher than the surface of the
ground. Were not this precaution taken, the people
would find everything afloat in their dwellings at least
once or twice a year. There was a time not very
long ago when these lands were regarded as more or
less worthless. The inhabitants were squatters, who
subsisted by hunting and fishing. Their chief source
of revenue was derived from the sale of the pelts of the
' Nutria " (Myopotamus coypus), a large rodent, the
fur of which resembles that of the beaver. After a
time some of them betook themselves to growing
peaches and other fruits, which were found to thrive,
The Delta of the Parana 169
and for which a market sprang up in Buenos Aires.
A number of years ago blight invaded the peach-groves
and their cultivation was gradually abandoned. The
peach trees were cut down and sold as firewood in the
city markets. The demand for firewood, as Buenos
Aires increased in size, became insistent, and the people
of the swamps took to planting willows and poplars,
which mature quickly. The business proved profitable.
The original forest-growth consisted mainly of the
Erythrina crista-galli, a low papilionaceous tree, which
in the springtime throws out from its gnarled and
knotted branches great masses of purplish-red bloom.
As these trees were cut down, they were replaced in
every direction with plantations of Italian poplars
and European willows. The native willow' (Salix chil-
ensis), which grows here and there, does not seem to
make wood as rapidly as the imported European species,
and it was only occasionally that we saw specimens of
this beautiful tree. The weeping willow (Salix baby-
lonica) is extensively planted and very common. As
soon as the willows and poplars acquire a diameter of
from six to ten inches, they are cut down and sawn
into short lengths for firewood and carried to the
market. We met scores of lighters towed by tugs,
piled high with wood which was being taken to the
wharves of the city. Though peaches are still grown
to a limited extent, oranges have proved more profitable,
and many of the islands are now covered with extensive
groves of lemon and orange trees. The quince also
does well, and, escaping from cultivation, it has taken
possession of many tracts, completely covering them.
The bushes, were arrayed in white bloom as we
passed through the canals. The fruit when ripe is
gathered, and quince-jelly in flat tin cans, like those in
1 70 To the River Plate and Back
which guava-jelly is put up, is one of the staple sweet-
meats which is sold in great quantities in the markets
and grocery shops of Buenos Aires. The value of these
lands has appreciated, and men of wealth have pur-
chased large holdings in the delta, and from the sale
of firewood and fruits are receiving handsome returns
upon their investments. Some of the wealthier owners
have built for themselves summer homes on the islands,
about which they have planted groves of eucalyptus
and other ornamental trees.
After leaving San Fernando our course led us for a
short time through narrow canals, and we then reached
the great southern arm of the river, which we crossed.
Looking north and looking south the water seemed to
meet the sky. On either side the low banks of this
channel are clothed with tall reeds and rushes (Scirpus)
forming prairie-like expanses of blue-green marshland,
back of which, on the slightly higher ground, were low
fringes of taller and darker green growths. A number
of large ocean-going vessels were in sight, either going
up toward Rosario, or coming down. We made our
way diagonally across the river to the entrance of
another canal, through which we passed, reaching at
length a larger stream on the banks of which was the
station of the island-police, where we took on board a
soldier in uniform. It seems that in this interminable
tangle of islands and waterways travel is not always
safe. River- thieves and desperadoes have found hiding-
places, where they watch for opportunities to rob the
unwary, and although our yacht was a government
vessel, the additional precaution was taken of having
on board a man clothed with authority to make arrests
and handle a gun should occasion arise.
I was happy in the company of Dr. Haumann-Merck,
The Delta of the Parana 171
who from the stores of his botanical knowledge brought
forth much for my information, and was able to answer
the questions which were prompted at every turn by the
vegetation upon the banks. He drew my attention to
the fact that on the sides of the canals there were vast
masses of a Japanese honeysuckle, which has escaped
from cultivation and become a veritable weed, covering
large areas and suffocating all other growths. The
commonest plants representing the primitive flora of
the region are Senecio bonariensis, Eryngium panicula-
tum, and Solanum bonariense. The Senecio grows
abundantly in the marshes and sends up a cluster of
large dock-like leaves from the center of which a stem
from six to eight feet in height shoots up, surmounted
by a great loose spike of white blossoms. The Eryn-
gium has leaves which somewhat resemble those of the
century-plant, but much thinner, not more than two
inches thick at the base, and relatively longer, as much
as four or five feet in length, with the edges protected by
prickly serrations. It grows in great tangles upon the
sides of the streams, forming almost impenetrable
thickets. I could scarcely bring myself to believe at
first that this plant, so closely resembling the agave
in the form of its foliage, belongs to the Umbelliferce.
However, at our first landing-place my botanical friend
speedily dispelled my doubts. He pulled off one of the
leaves of the plant, and bade me smell its broken end.
I at once recognized the familiar carroty odor of the
umbel-bearing plants. The Eryngium unfortunately
was not in blossom. The Solanum, which is a scandent
or climbing species, was in flower, and displayed great
masses of white bloom as it trailed over everything
within reach. Occasionally we saw palms, but they
were not numerous, and their proximity to dwellings
172 To the River Plate and Back
suggested that they might have been planted. In the
canals and bayous there were abundant growths of
aquatic plants, among them a natant Pontederia.
Birds were not as numerous as I had expected to find
them. A few herons were seen on the wing. Cor-
morants (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) abounded. They
hardly took the trouble to get out of the way of the
vessel as it came toward them. Sometimes they rose
and made a short flight, but frequently only dove to
the right or the left and came up again a few feet away.
The birds seem to be silent, and I never heard them
utter any cry, but W. H. Hudson, who has written
most charmingly about the birds of Argentina, says:
"When many individuals congregate to roost on the
branches of a dead tree overhanging the water they
keep up a concert of deep, harsh, powerful notes all
night long, which would cause any person not ac-
quainted with their language to imagine that numerous
pigs or peccaries were moving about with incessant
gruntings in his neighborhood. '
On the wider reaches of the river we saw a few gulls
(Larus maculipennis) . The gaviotas, as the natives
call them, have the habit, which I have observed to
belong also to the gulls of Scotland and Scandinavia,
of following the plowman in the furrows to pick up
grubs and worms. In Argentina they are viewed with
favor by the country-folk. Hudson says:
If the weather is dry the gulls disappear altogether; and
if grasshoppers become abundant the country people wish
for rain to bring the gulls. When it rains, then the birds
quickly appear, literally from the clouds, and often in such
numbers as to free the earth from the plague of devastating
insects. It is a fine and welcome sight to see a white cloud
of birds settle on the afflicted district; and at such times
The Delta of the Parana 173
their mode of proceeding is so regular that the flock well
deserves the appellation of an army. They sweep down
with a swift graceful flight and settle on the ground with
loud joyful cries, but do not abandon the order of attack
when the work of devouring has begun. The flock often
presents a front of over a thousand feet, with a depth of
sixty or seventy feet ; all along this line of battle the excited
cries of the birds produce a loud continuous noise ; all the
birds are incessantly on the move, some skimming along
the surface with expanded wings, others pursuing the
fugitives through the air, while all the time the hindmost
birds are flying over the flock to alight in the front ranks,
so that the whole body is steadily advancing, devouring the
grasshoppers as it proceeds. When they first arrive they
seem ravenously hungry, and after gorging themselves they
fly to the water, where after drinking they cast up their
food, and then go back to renew the battle.
I saw a number of the Yellow-shouldered Marsh-
birds (AgelcEus thilius), resembling our Red- winged
Blackbirds, from which they differ apparently in being
a little smaller, and having the shoulders of the male
bright yellow, instead of red as in the case of our
species. The female is somber in plumage and lacks
the gay epaulets of her mate. There were many of
these birds among the rushes as we entered the canal
after we had crossed the river. Here I also caught
sight of the Scarlet-headed Marsh-bird (A mblyrhamphiis
holosericeus) . They were conspicuous objects as they
clung to the tops of the tall rushes. I was happy to
see the Cardinal Finch (Paroaria cucullata) alighting
in a thicket. Its crested head recalls our own Virginian
Cardinal, but the markings are different, the lower
parts of the body being white, the back and wings gray,
while the crested head and throat are brilliant scarlet.
i/4 To the River Plate and Back
This appears to be a common cage-bird in Buenos Aires,
and many of them were exposed for sale in the markets.
The vessel steadily pushed forward hour by hour
through the canals and wider reaches of open water.
We maintained a speed of from twelve to fourteen
knots. At last we came to a region where human activ-
ities were less apparent and the plantations of poplars
and willows were less frequent. Here and there were
tracts still covered with the gray, gnarled trunks of the
Erythrina, the native forest-tree of the region, just
beginning to put out shoots of green and preparing for
the period of blossoms. Tufts of pampas-grass held up
the dried feathery plumes of the former year. This
plant, familiar to us from our lawns and gardens, is more
frequent in the marshes than on the broad dry prairies,
which most of us have imagined to be covered by it. It
is a plant of the lowlands and swamps. The sun began
to sink toward the western horizon. Clouds in long
bars stretched across the sky. As the day waned they
were lit up with the glory of the sunset. The breezes
had died down, the bayous and streams became still
and mirror-like. Not a dimple could be seen upon their
wide expanses, save here and there where a fish leaped
at an insect. The glory of the sunset grew and in-
creased, the clouds became purple and crimson and
then in the west melted into gold. The waters gave
back in brilliant reflections the splendors of the sky.
We seemed to be pushing our way forward with the
sky above us and the sky below us, the two only parted
by the low long fringe of trees on the distant bank, clad
in the tender green of the springtime, reflected in darker
greeris from the bosom of the wide lake-like waterway
through which we were going. At last the sun went
down. The night comes quickly in these regions, and
The Delta of the Parana 175
our captain turned the prow to a narrow creek into
which we ran, and where we presently came to a rude
dock and a house perched high on piles. Here we
made fast, and here we were to stay for the night, for to
navigate these waters in the darkness is dangerous.
We clambered out upon the dock and up a rickety flight
of stairs, and found that we were in a country-store
where everything imaginable was for sale and where
everything potable from Quilmes beer to Italian
vermouth and Scotch whiskey could be purchased.
Perched on the edge of a swamp, the ground beneath the
building was so wet that botanizing was quickly given
up as certain to involve the risk of being buried in the
quagmire. We wondered how any human being could
have chosen such a place as a likely spot upon which to
carry on trade. But during the evening boats came and
went and customers slipped in from the starlit water
with lanterns at the prows of their craft and gathered
at the bar to drink, or made their purchases and then
silently rowed off into the darkness as they had come.
We dined on board and had occasion to compliment
the cook upon the excellent meal which he served. We
smoked our cigars upon deck; watched the brilliant
reflections of the full-orbed planets in the mirror of the
stream ; told tales both grave and gay ; and then turned
in. How still it was! The only sound was that of the
toads in the marsh. In the United States we welcome
the sound of the "frogs" in the meadows as a harbin-
ger of the springtime. Our "frogs, ' to be exact, are
toads. The note of Bufo americanus, the common toad
of New England and the Middle States, in the mating-
season is a succession of chirps, quickly succeeding each
other — "peep-peep-peep' -or a trilling note in a high
key; the note of the Argentine toad exactly resembles
176 To the River Plate and Back
the sound of a Castanet. I recall that on one of the
first nights of my stay in La Plata I wandered out into
the park, where my attention was attracted to the
tinkling castanets of the little creatures which thronged
the borders of the artificial lakelet near the Zoological
Garden. It seemed as if a hundred fairy Spanish
dancers were celebrating the advent of spring. In
the darkness of the early evening in our own country the
croaking of the toads in the marshes sometimes conveys
a mournful impression, but in Argentina there is a
merry tone and a note of gayety about their concerts
quite consonant with the Latin surroundings. To the
sound of these tinkling castanets, which were ceaselessly
being played on the margin of the quiet river, I at last
fell into a dreamless sleep.
When I awoke the light of the dawn was already
shining through the port-holes. I heard the tramp of
feet upon the deck and realized that my companions
were already astir. Quickly dressing, I joined them.
The morning was warm and as still as the night had
been. Little wreaths of vapor were curling up here and
there from the smooth surface of the water. The sun
came up into a cloudless sky. Breakfast was soon
served, and, while we were eating it, the screw again
began to turn and we went on as we had gone the day
before. We were now near the great main arm of the
Parana where it is joined by the mighty stream of
the Uruguay coming out of the tropical woodlands of the
north. Dr. Roth pointed across the wide river to the
far-off shore and told me that I was looking upon
the borders of the Republica Oriental, as Uruguay is
called. On the horizon was the smoke of an ocean-liner
steaming away into the pale haze of the morning.
At last we reached our destination, the home of an
The Delta of the Parana 177
Italian, who had purchased a place for himself in the
lowlands, which he had improved by building a house
and outbuildings, and where he had sunk an artesian
well to get a supply of good drinking-water. To his
amazement when the well began to flow it yielded water
full of gas. We went to the well, which was discharging
a constant stream of clear water through a bent iron
pipe. The water was running through a number of tin
gutters into the river. Dr. Roth struck a match and
held it above the water. Flames instantly arose and
for twenty feet the stream was covered with coruscating,
lambent tongues of fire. To one familiar with the great
gas-wells of western Pennsylvania it appeared a very
tame little affair, but it was interesting to see how steady
was the flow of the gas. It undoubtedly was marsh-gas,
which had accumulated in the ground. The soil of
these alluvial islands is rich in decomposing vegetable
matter, and in places is almost as black as peat. The
formation of marsh-gas in great volume is what might
be anticipated from existing conditions. Dr. Bade
collected a number of samples of the gas for analysis.
Samples of the water were also taken. While the chem-
ist and the geologist were attending to these matters,
the botanist and the entomologist started out for a tour
of exploration through the clearing, which showed the
marks of having quite recently been overflowed. Deep
drainage ditches had been run in different directions.
Between them on the land which had thus been partially
dried young orange and lemon trees had been planted,
and an extensive vegetable garden had been laid out.
The small son of the owner accompanied us. Butter-
flies were not numerous, though the sun was warm
enough to entice them from their hiding-places. We
caught some specimens of Eresia anieta and Eresia
12
1/8 To the River PUlc and Kuk
(Frontispiece, Figs. i i and 12) ; we obtained a few
moths and dragonflies. Then at the suggestion of the
boy we got into a boat and crossed over to the low shore
on the opposite side of a creek which runs through the
land. Here we saw in the water a number of large
fishes known by the natives as the Dorado, golden in
color, swimming about in circles just under the surface,
and evidently in distress. Dead fishes of this and other
species were everywhere visible. The strange disease
of which I have already spoken in a previous chapter
was doing its deadly work among the finny denizens
of these streams. Just as we landed a flock of birds
came circling through the air and alighted upon a tall
dead tree not far off. My companion at once called
my attention to them and told me that they were
green parrakeets (Bolborhynchus monachus). The cor-
rectness of the determination was quickly confirmed
by my opera-glasses. It was interesting to watch them
as they climbed about among the branches using their
bills as well as their feet. They were noisy and quick
and restless in their movements. These birds once
were very numerous in Argentina, but have been very
cruelly persecuted in recent years, so that their numbers
have greatly diminished. The squabs when about
ready to fly are esteemed a delicacy, and, as the birds
nest in colonies, they are meeting the same fate which
has already befallen the beautiful Carolina parrakeet,
which once was common in the valley of the Ohio and
southward, but which is now extinct. Hudson in de-
scribing the nesting-habits of these birds says :
The nests are suspended from the extremities of the
branches, to which they are firmly woven. New nests con-
sist of only two chambers, the porch and the nest proper,
The Delta of the Parana 179
and are inhabited by a single pair of birds. Successive nests
are added, until some of them come to weigh a quarter of a
ton, and contain enough material to fill a large cart. Thorny
twigs, firmly interwoven, form the only material, and there
is no lining in the breeding-chambers, even in the breeding
season. Some old forest-trees have seven or eight of these
huge structures suspended from the branches, while the
ground underneath is covered with twigs and remains of
fallen nests. The entrance to the chamber is generally
underneath, or, if at the side, is protected by an overhanging
eave to prevent the intrusion of opossums. . . . Repairs
are carried on all the year round, but new nests are only
added at the approach of spring. Opossums are frequently
found in one of the higher chambers when the entrance has
been made too high, but, though they take up their abode
there, they cannot reach the other chambers, and the
parrakeets refuse to go away.
I attempted to get nearer to the flock and cautiously
made my way toward the tree upon which they were
climbing about, but they did not fancy my approach,
though I had no evil purpose in wishing to get nearer
to them. No doubt taught by sad experience that men
are to be feared, they suddenly with loud cries rose into
the air and wheeling in their flight betook themselves to
another dead tree, which stood far off in the clearing and
to which it would have been vain for me to attempt to
follow them across muddy ditches and through thorny
tangles. While I was engaged in stalking the parra-
keets and chasing insects, the botanist was happy to
discover upon the mossy trunks of some half-dead
trees colonies of curious epiphytes. He found several
orchids, of which he possessed himself, removing them
together with the damp bark to which they were
adherent. I hope that they lived, and have since then
bloomed.
i8o
To the River Plate and Back
The evening before Dr. Roth had entertained us with
an account of the habits of the carpincho (Ilydrochoerus
capybara) , the huge rodent of these regions, which is still
not uncommon in the delta. It is as large as a pig, the
biggest rodent now known to exist, though once there
were animals (Diprotodon) belonging to the Roden-
tia as large as oxen. The carpincho is nocturnal in
aaew-'-RMtiKV' i'-jtmt,. w ',.•• -v, 'JJt .
Fig. 13 — Carpinchos (Hydrochasrus capybara). ^ nat. size.
its habits. The good Doctor told us that when engaged
in surveying the country he had at one time in his
employment a man whose highest delight was to hunt
carpinchos at night. He was " carpincho-crazy, ' and
after having worked hard all day, would hurriedly eat
his supper, and then sneak off in a rowboat and spend
the whole night waiting in the darkness at some likely
spot to get a shot at the animals. The flesh is said not
to be very palatable, and the hides have comparatively
small value, being chiefly used in making the under sides
of the native saddles, or straps in harness. 'Keep
your eyes open for carpinchos," said the Doctor, "you
may catch sight of the animals hereabouts. ' As luck
would have it we did not see any of the beasts, but
within a hundred yards of the farmhouse we came
The Delta of the Parana 181
upon the tracks and the ordure of a herd, which had
evidently been at work in the vegetable patch of our
Italian acquaintance during the night.
But the whistle of the steam-yacht blew, a signal
that the time for leaving had come. We returned to
the landing, and in exchange for the red roses which the
pretty black-eyed children of our Italian friend brought
us, gave them a box of bon-bons, at sight of which
their eyes fairly sparkled. With many an "Adios" we
parted company, and the swift little craft swung out
into the stream and turning began to head back again
through the channels toward Buenos Aires.
The day was still young when we got under way and
we were informed that we would have a chance to loiter
on our return and that we would make several stops.
Our first place of call was a landing where the captain
had an acquaintance with whom he wished to speak.
His friend was evidently possessed of floricultural
tastes. The house stood on piles only about ten feet
from the edge of the stream. Back of the house there
appeared to be an almost impenetrable growth of jungle,
and in the narrow open strip between the water and the
house was a curiously commingled growth of all sorts
of flowering plants and shrubs. Pansies and migno-
nette, verbenas and calla-lillies, roses and heliotropes,
geraniums, fuchsias, and almond bushes were all
blossoming together. On the stumps of two or three
half-decayed trees orchids had been fastened and seemed
to be thriving. Petunias and sweet alyssum were
growing in boxes. The little garden, raised by only a
foot or two above the river, the slime of which must
often invade the spot, looked bright against the back-
ground of the dreary uncultivated waste in which the
building is located. The owner was a store-keeper like
1 82 To the River Plate and Back
the one at whose landing we had tied up during the
previous night, and the same array of merchandise
which had graced the one place graced the other.
Boxes containing Huntley and Palmer's Biscuits, Epps'
Cocoa, Lipton's Teas, and Heinz's Tomato Catsup
grinned at us like old familiar friends encountered in
a strange place. There were cans of petroleum bearing
the familiar marks of the Standard Oil Company.
Cones of sugar wrapped in blue paper were hanging
from the roof over the counter. Bolts of muslin and
calico, nails and hatchets, corrugated sheet-iron and
ditching-shovels, candy in jars, cigarettes, shoes and
sewing- thread, cheap jewelry and stationery, tinware
and pottery — all things under the sun — were jumbled
together under the shingled roof. It reminded me of
similar places which I have found in our own Western
country. It was a typical "country-store.' Men are
the same everywhere, and their wants are the same the
world over. Humanity in the swamps of the Parana is
not essentially different from humanity on the banks
of the Green River in Utah, or on the banks of the
Thames and the Hudson.
Our next stop was made at one of the plantations
belonging to Senor Gnecco, a friend of Dr. Roth, who
had told him not to fail to call as he passed by and get
a basket of oranges. The house is built upon a slight
elevation or hummock, sufficiently elevated to insure
against its being flooded, except when the waters attain
an unusual height. The orange-trees were loaded with
golden fruit, quinces, pear-trees, and apple-trees were
white with bloom, the orchards resounded with the
hum of bees, and butterflies were fluttering here and
there among the flowers. While the Doctor, assisted
by the attendants of the place, who welcomed him with
The Delta of the Parana
183
cordiality, was getting his oranges, I wandered away
among the trees. I was delighted while doing so to
come upon a domesticated pair of the Crested Screamer
(Chaunia chavaria), known by the natives under the
vernacular name of chaja. This great bird, as large as
a swan, is remarkable because of the fact that the wings
are each armed with two large spurs, and it is therefore
sometimes called the " Spur-
winged Goose.' It used to
be until quite recently very
common on the pampas south
of Buenos Aires, and, though
the flesh is excellent, it was
rarely killed by the people
of Spanish descent, who, unlike
their cousins, the Italians, are
not given to the wholesale de-
struction of birds. The rapid
increase of Italian immigra-
tion into Argentina bodes ill
for the preservationof its splen- Fig I4._
did avifauna, and the Crested (Chaunia chavaria).
Screamer is doomed to exter- size-
mination unless it is speedily
domesticated, which can easily be done. It lends
itself to domestication more readily than most water-
fowls, and it ought to be preserved in this way. The
bird is one of the most remarkable of the anserine
group on account of its singular habits. These have
been described by Hudson, and I cannot forbear giving
a brief extract from his interesting account. He says:
Screamer
& nat.
The screamer is a very heavy bird, and rises from the ground
laboriously, the wings, as in the case of the swan, making a
184 To the River Plate and Back
loud noise. Nevertheless it loves soaring, and will rise in
an immense spiral until it wholly disappears from sight in
the zenith, even in the brightest weather; and considering
its great bulk and dark color, the height it ultimately attains
must be very great. On sunny windless days, especially in
winter and spring, they often spend hours at a time in these
sublime aerial exercises, slowly floating around and around
in vast circles and singing at intervals. How so heavy and
comparatively short-winged a bird can sustain itself for
such long periods in the thin upper air to which it rises has
not yet been explained.
The voice is very powerful. When disturbed, or when
the nest is approached, both birds utter at intervals a loud
alarm-cry, resembling in sound the anger-cry of the peacock
but twice as loud. At other times its voice is exercised in a
kind of singing performance, in which male and female join
and which produces the effect of harmony. The male
begins, the female takes up her part, and then with mar-
velous strength and spirit they pour forth a torrent of
strangely-contrasted sounds — some bassoon-like in their
depth and volume, some like drumbeats, and others long,
clear, and ringing. It is the loudest animal sound of the
pampas, and its jubilant martial character strongly affects
the mind in that silent melancholy wilderness.
The Screamers, like good Christians, mate for life,
and though they at times congregate in great numbers,
it has been observed that these flocks are always
methodically arranged in pairs. Although the spurs
on their wings are formidable weapons, they are peace-
fully disposed, and it is only the naughty gauchos who
now and then teach them degenerate ways and pit
them against each other in the ring.
Leaving the orange-groves behind us, we proceeded to
a spot where the botanist of the party insisted that he
must go ashore to investigate the flora of a bit of primi-
The Delta of the Parana 185
tive woodland. A boat was lowered and we were rowed
to the bank. It was no easy task to fight our way
through the thorny growths of Eryngium and rough
thickets which edged the stream. Getting through
these, the ground became more open, and it was possible
to find our way among the trees and bushes without
much exertion. A few moths, a butterfly or two, and
a small snake of a harmless species were the only
trophies which fell to the writer during the half-hour
on shore. The snake was put into a bag improvised
out of a handkerchief, and thus safely brought alive in
his pocket to La Plata, where it was put into a jar of
alcohol to be sent home to the Carnegie Museum.
That was the only snake I saw in Argentina. It was
a real snake.
A little farther on we went ashore at another planta-
tion, also belonging to Senor Gnecco. Here the ground
in proximity to the landing was in a highly cultivated
condition. There were many flowering shrubs and
trees and much grass. Butterflies and insects appeared
to be common, and I succeeded with the help of Dr.
Roth, who also was provided with a net, in making a
large catch of diptera, hymenoptera, and small cole-
optera, principally obtained by " sweeping'1 with the
nets among the low-growing herbage. By the time
we had thoroughly gone over the ground, the sun
admonished us that it was time to be again moving.
We got under way; at last reached the landing, where
our armed escort left us with a polite salute; then we
crossed the wide river, pushed on through the canals,
and finally arrived at El Tigre in the dusk. We took
a train which brought us to the Capital in time for a late
dinner. By ten o'clock we were safely back again in
La Plata.
i86 To the River Plate and Back
The delta of the Parana represents pampas in the
process of formation. The wide level plains of Argen-
tina were no doubt originally laid down by the streams,
just as the islands at the head of the estuary are being
formed to-day. The evolution of the western cor-
dilleras in recent geologic time has been accompanied
by a lifting up of the whole continental mass, more
particularly in the west, but there seems no reason to
question that the vast pampean region stretching from
Paraguay to Patagonia represents the deposition of
eroded soil derived from the mountain masses to the
east and the west and to some extent to the south of
the prairie-lands of the northern and central provinces
of Argentina. The winds, it is true, have also played
their part, but the chief constructive agency wras water.
Here and there in the delta a beginning has already
been made in a small way to protect certain of the lesser
islands from inundation by throwing up dikes around
them. While it would be a very expensive undertaking
to construct dikes or levees about all of them, and to
install, as has been done in Holland, windmills to pump
the water from the land, I have no doubt that in the
lapse of years, with the enhancement of land values
and the increase of population, this will ultimately be
done, and the entire expanse of wonderfully fertile
soil will be made to blossom and bear fruit like a veri-
table Eden. The time for this, however, has not yet
come.
The Beach at Mar del Plata.
Lodging House of the Hotel Bristol, Mar del Plata.
CHAPTER XIV
A TRIP TO MAR DEL PLATA
"The great gray waves with an angry- moan,
Rush in on the patient sand.
The spray from their crests is backward blown
By the strong wind from the land.
As curls are blown from a maiden's face
And flutter behind her free,
The spindrift blows from the waves which race
From the stress of the outer sea." — Laurence Hope.
I DO not wish you to leave Argentina without having
had an opportunity to see the Pampean beds at
some point where you can form a good idea of their
structure, " said Dr. Roth. ' I have therefore arranged
that we shall go together to Mar del Plata, where you
will see the barrancas and have a chance with your
own hands to collect some of the characteristic pam-
pean fossils. '
Accordingly we went to Buenos Aires and took our
places on the night-express, which makes the run of
two hundred and fifty miles to Mar del Plata in twelve
hours. After placing our luggage in charge of the
porter on the sleeping-car, or dormitorio, we went
forward to the dining-car, or comedor. Here a num-
ber of the higher officials of the Government of the
Province were already seated at table. They were
going on a tour of inspection to examine some work be-
187
1 88 To the River Plate and Back
ing done for the state. Introductions took place. I
found myself in very pleasant and intelligent company
for the rest of the evening. Let me in passing observe
that I think that those in charge of the service on the
dining-cars in the United States might with advantage
to themselves and to the traveling public take a few
lessons from the officials of the Argentine railways, or
from those who control this branch of the service on
the "trains de luxe': in Europe, whose methods are
strictly imitated in Argentina. Our dining-cars are
more commodious than those in Europe, the linen and
tableware are generally somewhat better, but the
viands are not as well prepared and served. In con-
trast with the existing crudities in the service of our
most famous trains are the delightful and appetizing
little luncheons and dinners which are served on the
Cote d'Or and Orient expresses in Europe and on
the fast trains in Argentina. The dinner served on
the evening express between Buenos Aires and Mar del
Plata was at all events excellent — in fact surprisingly
good.
And now that allusion has been made to the table,
its pleasures and its pains, let it be understood that
the rank and file of the people in Argentina do not sub-
sist upon such fare as is supplied to first-class passengers
on the express trains to Mar del Plata, or the Tucuman
Limited. The herdsmen or gauchos on the cattle-
ranges, the peons on the great estancias, do not possess
the means to have, nor do they require, the services of
French chefs, any more than do the rank and file of the
citizens of the United States. In the shacks and
shanties of the cattle-herders and the plowmen the
cuisine is not always such as would call forth the
approval of a connoisseur. There is, however, plenty
A Trip to Mar del Plata 189
in the land. The Argentines are meat-eaters, like
the Britons and like the people of the United States.
Meat is abundant and cheap. According to recent
statistics there are in the country for every man, woman,
and child four beeves, eleven sheep, and one pig, not
to speak of poultry. The crops of grain are heavy.
In 1878 only enough wheat and corn was produced to
supply domestic necessities. To-day Buenos Aires is
one of the greatest wheat-markets in the world. Fruits
and vegetables can be grown in perfection, but market-
gardening, except in the immediate vicinity of the
larger municipalities, has not been hitherto pursued
so extensively as will no doubt be the case in the future.
A great deal of the fruit on sale in the fruit-shops in
Buenos Aires at the time I was there had been imported
from Italy, Portugal, and Spain. There is no good
reason for this. The fare of the laboring classes in the
country is simply prepared, and there is more boiling
than baking. One of the favorite dishes common in
all Spanish-speaking lands is the pucker o, consisting
of boiled meat and vegetables, corresponding to what
in New England I have heard called a "boiled dinner.'
It is not half-bad even from the standpoint of a culinary
critic. Beans, frijoles, as in Central America, play an
important role in Argentina, as they do also in Boston.
Bread is baked as in southern Europe, and there is
always more crust in proportion to the sponge in the loaf
than is the case in England or the United States. This
is healthy, as it ought to be. Boiled Indian meal,
good old-fashioned 'mush,' or 'hasty pudding,' is
a standard dish. In the matter of drinks the inhabitants
of the states of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina are
singular in their addiction to the yerba mate — or Para-
guay-tea. The plant is the Ilex paraguayensis, a low
190
To tlir Ki\ er Plate .m<l B.ii k
growth indigenous to the tropical forests of the southern
half of the continent. The young leaves and terminal
buds are collected, and when dried and packed in bales
are extensively exported from the regions where the
plant is common to the southern parts of the country,
where it does not occur. The
principal supply is derived from
Paraguay, northern Uruguay,
and southern Brazil. The primi-
tive method of preparing the
infusion is to put a few of the
leaves in the bottom of a small
gourd, in which the bombilla is
then placed. In its crudest form
the bombilla is a reed or thin
joint of bamboo, over the lower
end of which a few horsehairs
have been woven, or a small bit
of loose cloth has been tied. In
its more advanced and mechani-
cally perfect form it is a tube
closed at the lower end except
for a number of small perfora-
tions. Its latest development,
represented in the accompanying
cut (Fig. 15), is the product of
the art of the silversmith, and
Fig. 15. — Silver-mounted . £ , t_- i. t.
and carved ,*.*-goiird and COI1S1StS °f a tube> whlch haS at
bombilla. £ nat. size. the bottom a spoon-like expan-
sion, covered with a little lid,
which is perforated by numerous small openings. The
bombilla corresponds in its use to the straws which are
employed in the act of imbibing mint-juleps and
similar drinks. After the bombilla has been placed
A Trip to Mar ild Plata 191
in the gourd, a few more leaves of the herb are added
with a little sugar, and then water which has been
heated almost to the boiling-point is poured into the
gourd, and after a few seconds the drink is ready to be
drawn up into the mouth through the tube. From time
to time as the tea is exhausted more hot water may be
supplied, and the process of imbibition goes on. In
the rural districts the drinking of mate is universal
among the Creoles. The gourd is passed from hand to
hand, and each one who receives it takes a draught from
the bombilla, which must not be unduly disturbed, as
it is thought that the stirring of the mixture impairs
its quality. The fear of the deadly microbe has only
recently been implanted in the minds of men, and has
not as yet thoroughly invaded the remoter districts
of South America. To those who possess this whole-
some horror the custom of passing the bombilla from
mouth to mouth does not commend itself. In recent
years the preparation of Paraguay-tea for the table to
be used in the same way as oriental tea has been under-
taken. I purchased a box of the preparation, which is
branded as ' ' Mateina, ' ' and is put up in an enameled
caddy, which has upon its lid a rather gorgeously
executed picture of several gentlemen in evening-dress
and a number of ladies in decollete attire seated under
the glow of the lamplight about a table holding or-
dinary teacups in their hands or to their lips. This
preparation, which is extensively sold by all grocers in
the larger cities, is, according to the information sup-
plied upon the caddy, warranted to be Hygienico,
agradable, y confortante. The drinking of mate does not
obtrude itself upon the eye in Buenos Aires and other
large cities, where the population is largely of foreign
origin, but among the inhabitants of smaller towns
192 To the River Plate and Back
and villages, where the foreign influence is not strong,
it is almost universal, and a great deal of time is reported
to be wasted in mate-drinking, which goes on at all
hours. My friend J. B. Hatcher, who spent a number
of years in the geological exploration of Patagonia, was
accustomed to speak in terms of reprobation of the
habit of drinking mate, as he had observed it in the
course of his travels in the remoter districts. I have
tried the drink only on one or two occasions, but did
not find it seductive. The infusion is said to be rich
in theine, in fact much stronger than the tea of China
and Japan. It certainly tastes as if this were the case.
I enjoyed a good rest after having retired to my com-
partment, but awoke very early, and after dressing
went forward to the dining-car, where I obtained my
breakfast, and was soon joined by Dr. Roth. The
morning was beautifully clear. The train was passing
over the pampas. In many places there appeared small
ponds and lakelets. About these there were a great
many wild ducks of several species. Here and there
I caught sight of storks standing in the meadows. The
great maguari stork (Euxenura maguari) of South
America passes the winters in the tropics of Brazil
and then migrates southward into Argentina, just as
the stork of Europe spends its winters in the tropics
of Africa, and migrates northward across the Mediter-
ranean in the spring of the year. The South American
stork has not acquired the habit of building its nests
upon the roofs of houses, as has its cousin of the Old
World. It is a very stately bird, snow-white in color,
except for the wings and upper tail-coverts, which are
black, and the lores, the legs, and feet, which are red.
Their principal food is mice, toads, and snakes. Most
of those which I saw did not appear to pay any attention
A Trip to Mar del Plata 193
to the passing train, but two, which were quite near the
track, just as we came alongside gave a couple of quick
jumps, flapped their wings, and then rose and majesti-
cally soared away. I was much interested to see at one
place a company of a dozen or more white-faced ibises
(Plegadis guarauna) wading about among the aquatic
grasses at the edge of a lagoon. This bird is said to be
quite abundant upon the pampas. Those I saw seemed
to be intent upon feeding, and were stalking about, their
heads down, probing with their long beaks in the mud.
Hudson says of them:
Their flight is singularly graceful ; and during migration the
flocks are seen to follow each other in rapid succession,
each flock being usually composed of from fifty to a hundred
individuals, sometimes of a much larger number. It is
most interesting to watch them at such times, now soaring
high in the air, displaying the deep chestnut hue of their
breasts, then descending with a graceful curve toward the
earth as if to exhibit the dark metallic green and purple
reflexions of their upper plumage. The flock is meanwhile
continually changing its form or disposition, as if at the
signal of a leader. One moment it spreads out in a long
straight line; suddenly the birds scatter in disorder, or
throw themselves together like a cloud of starlings; as
ruddenly they again reform to continue their journey in the
figure of a phalanx, half- moon, or triangle. The fanciful
notion can scarcely fail to suggest itself to the spectator
that these birds go through these unnecessary evolutions
intelligently in order to gain a greater proficiency in them
by practice, or, perhaps, merely to make a display of their
aerial accomplishments. The glossy ibis has another
remarkable habit when on the wing. At times the flock
appears as if suddenly seized with frenzy of panic, every
bird rushing wildly away from its fellows, and descending
with a violent zigzag flight; in a few moments the mad fit
13
194 To the River Plate and Back
leaves them, they rise again, reassemble in the air, and
resume their journey.
Everywhere the Teru-Teru' or spur- winged lap-
wing (Belenopterus cayennensis) was to be seen. This
is one of the characteristic birds of the flatlands. It
is somewhat larger than the European lapwing, the
'Kibitz' of Germany (Vanellus cristatus), with which
all who have traveled in the low-countries are familiar,
and the eggs of which, marketed in London as "plovers'
eggs, " are esteemed a great delicacy. In its appearance
and carriage it closely resembles the European lap-
wing, but the presence on the shoulder of a spur at once
marks it as being a bird, which, like the screamer, has
preserved in this organ a trace of relationship to the
birds of a former age. The name ' Teru-Teru," like the
German "Kibitz," is a name bestowed by the natives in
imitation of the call. Hudson says: 'In size, beauty,
and spirit it is a king among the plovers. ' It is said
to be exceedingly tenacious of the spot upon which
it has made its breeding-place and range. It there
defends itself as well as it can against intrusion and
attack, and even when the land is plowed up by the
farmer refuses to forsake it. There is a great deal of
interesting information about this bird embodied in
literature, and many curious tales are told about it by
the people of the country who are familiar with its ways.
A little while before reaching our destination I was
pleased to observe a number of rheas with rapid strides
making away over the prairie.
Of mammalian life little was to be seen. A few
vizcachas (Lagostomus trichodactylus) scuttled away
from the side of the track, their brown backs just visible
for a moment and the line of their further flight marked
A Trip to Mar del Plata 195
by the waving of the grasses among which they swiftly
made off. The vizcacha in its habits is not unlike our
woodchuck, or the prairie-dog (Arctomys) of our Western
plains. It is, however, a much larger animal, approxi-
mating a large hare in size. The eyes are lustrous
and relatively very large. It has, like our prairie-dogs,
the habit of living in colonies, and digs deep burrows in
the ground. These
burrows when disused
are sometimes tenanted
by the burrowing-owl
(Speotyto cunicularia) ;
and I saw a couple of Fig l6._vizcacha.
these birds alighting on
the prairies as we went along.
We reached Mar del Plata early in the morning.
Scores of cabmen and long lines of omnibuses were
ranged about the entrance to the railway-station.
Dr. Roth selected a Jehu, who drove us to the hotel
of his choice, the oldest establishment of its kind in
the place, covering a whole block. It is only one
story in height. There are a great many inner courts
in the middle of which are planted palms and
flowers. Surrounding the courts are tiled pavements,
from which entrance is given to the rooms, which
have tall ceilings and latticed windows. The dining-
room is very large, airy, and rather imposingly
decorated. There are many other hotels in the
place, some of which have been built quite recently,
and all have an air of luxury and magnificence
which is consonant with the traditions of the lo-
cality. Mar del Plata is in fact the Newport of
Argentina. A number of years ago a few of the
older and wealthier families of Buenos Aires selected
196 To the River Plate and Back
the spot as a pleasant place in which to spend the hot
summer months within reach of the sea-breezes. There
is a superb beach, though the undertow is said at times
to be a little dangerous. The cliffs, or barrancas, rise
back of the beach to the height of about sixty or seventy
feet, and afford pleasant views over the ocean. Here the
first families who resorted to the spot built comfortable
homes for themselves. It was not long, however, before
their example became contagious, and all the world came
to regard it as 'the correct thing' to possess a villa
at Mar del Plata. The front of the cliffs is protected
by a low stone wall, back of which is a wide pavement
for pedestrians, and alongside of it a broad driveway,
which is well-paved and wilich is at the present time
being greatly extended toward the north. This is
known as the 'Rambla, ' and it was to inspect the
manner in which its construction was being carried out
by the contractors that my friends, the Minister of
Public Works and the Treasurer of the Province, had
come down upon the train.
Having settled in our room at the hotel, Dr. Roth
disappeared and presently returned with a stout boy
bearing a big basket. The boy had been hired to act
as our porter, and the basket was to be used as a
receptacle for the fossils we might collect. Armed
with our picks and attended by the lad we left the
hotel and went to the beach. Our walk led us past
the bathing-houses, of which there are many just
at the foot of the cliffs, raised on high piles above
the level of the flood-tide. It was the time of ebb, and
the beach was exposed for miles to the north. There
was a fine swrell on the sea, and the rollers were coming
in grandly and breaking upon the sand, their foaming
crests being cut off by the stiff breeze which was blow-
A Trip to Mar del Plata 197
ing from off shore. We walked a short distance beyond
the bath-houses, and then began a minute and careful
examination of the surface of the barrancas, which gave
evidence of having been deeply worn and cut by the
waves during the past winter. The exposures of the
strata at this point represent the Upper and Middle
Pampean beds, as they have been called by Roth. The
Upper beds are light in color, having a yellowish
gray tint of varying shades of intensity; the Middle
beds are dark chocolate-brown. The Lower Pampean
beds, which are said to be red, are not exposed to view
at Mar del Plata, and Dr. Roth told me that to see them
it would be necessary to take a journey some twenty-
five miles to the south, for which unfortunately we did
not have the time. The material of which the Pampean
beds are composed is known by geologists as loess.
Loess is fine alluvium, which gives little evidence of
horizontal stratification, and which is therefore re-
garded by most authorities as having been to a very
considerable extent deposited by aerial agencies. The
fine dust originally brought down by the streams was
distributed by the winds, and the plants growing over
the region held the mass in place, and as the deposit
grew thicker, continued to hold it. Loess is everywhere
characterized by the presence of perforations more or
less perpendicular, these holes marking the place of
grass-roots and the stems of plants which long ago died
and vanished, leaving their molds in the fine material.
Into the openings thus left after a while limy and
silicious deposits were often carried by the water as the
rains percolated through the soil. At Mar del Plata
the loess is everywhere full of limy concretions, to
which the people of Argentina have given the name of
tosca. When these concretions occur in the soil of
198 To the River Plate and Back
the pampas the estancieros are in the habit of saying
that the land is not good, and it is said in praise of a
tract offered for sale that it is sin to sea, free from con-
cretionary beds. To some extent this lime is no doubt
due in its origin to the solution and redeposition of
particles of the fine alluvium derived from the erosion
of limestone rocks; to some extent it is also no doubt
due to the gradual solution and redeposition of the lime
from shells, bones, and other organic remains, which
were left upon the surface as generation after generation
of living things laid down and died. In Switzerland
the small concretions in the loess are known by the
peasants as ' Loess-kindl ' -loess-babies — because of
their curious forms, sometimes suggesting those of
human beings. In the Mississippi Valley in places
there are considerable deposits of loess, and the concre-
tions found in them are often spoken of as ;< fossil
potatoes' because of their resemblance to the tubers.
The pampas are overlaid by loess, and, except along
some of the great rivers of China, there is no such
extensive deposit of loess anywhere else in the world.
The thickness of the loess in Argentina is very remark-
able. It varies of course, but Dr. Roth tells me borings
show that in some places it is many hundreds of feet in
depth. The time necessary for the slow deposition of
such beds by eolian agencies must have been very
great. Dr. Roth is of the opinion that all periods of the
Tertiary may be represented in these beds from the
Eocene up to the latest Pleistocene, and in fact that
they have been in process of formation in South America
from the dawn of mammalian life to the present time.
I am not prepared to either affirm or deny this view.
The observations made in a day or two do not suffice
to enable anv man to reach conclusions upon such a
A Trip to Mar del Plata 199
subject. There was nothing, however, in the Upper
and Middle Pampean as displayed in cross-sections at
Mar del Plata which would lead me to think of the
deposits as possessing the relatively great antiquity
which would be implied in the reference of these beds
to the Eocene, or even to the Miocene. I saw nothing
which would incline me to believe these beds to be of
earlier age than the Pleistocene, or possibly the late
Pliocene.
After having taken a look at the formation, as -it
first presented itself to view, we set about searching for
fossils. The Doctor presently called to me, and pointed
out one of the scutes, or thick bony plates, which had
once been a part of the armor of a Glyptodon, which was
embedded in the matrix. It only took a minute to
secure the specimen. Presently we found a place where
some ribs of a Megatherium were protruding from the
surface of the cliff. We dug these out. Then we found
some fragmentary remains of a Mylodon. The lower
jaw of a small rodent, beautifully preserved, was the
next discovery. A little farther on I found a well-pre-
served shoulder-blade of Paleolama, an animal which
was related to the guanaco. While I was finishing the
task of cutting this bone out of the matrix, my com-
panion called to me excitedly and beckoned me to come
to him. When I arrived at the spot he pointed to a
piece of what evidently was a potsherd projecting
from the dark chocolate-colored mass of the matrix
in which it was imbedded. This is worth all the cost
of this excursion!' he said. 'I have not touched the
thing. Look at it attentively. Tell me, has that thing
become recently imbedded where it is, or is it where it
has been for ages, until the waves ate their way into its
resting-place?' I knelt down and critically examined
20O
To the River Plate and Back
the object. 'I am able unqualifiedly to affirm that
this piece of pottery, for such it appears to me to be,
is imbedded in the matrix, and has not been disturbed
by the hands of man . ' " Good ! ' ' replied my companion ,
' I am glad to have had you with me, and to have had
Fig. 17 — Mylodon robustus Owen. £, nat. size. (After Owen.)
you see the thing in situ. Years ago I was digging up
the bones of a Scelidotherium, and, as I was doing so, I
came upon a flint arrowhead buried in the soil along-
side of the bones. I took the flint with the bones to
Burmeister, who was then the Director of the Museum
at Buenos Aires, and under whom I was working. I
A Trip to Mar del Plata 201
explained to him how and where I had found the things.
He was quite incredulous, and maintained that in some
way or other I had fallen into error. What became of
the flint I do not know. It has disappeared, and al-
though I have had a careful search made in the Museum
and have endeavored in every way to trace it, it can-
not now be found. Several times before, in this very
neighborhood, I have found bits of pottery imbedded
in the Middle Pampean beds. People are incredulous.
They do not absolutely contradict, but they shake their
heads. Now you are with me, a witness to the fact
that this bit of a human artefact is a part of the soil
from which we have been digging up to-day the remains
of these extinct old animals. Take it up carefully.
Take it to the Carnegie Museum. Preserve it, as a
proof that at the time when the strange Pampean
fauna existed in this land, man also existed here.'
I took my pick and beginning far back I endeavored
to cut out a block of the loess with the potsherd still
embedded in it, as we had found it. I had cut away
on the four sides until it seemed to me that I might now
venture to under-cut and bring the block away, but
just as I was at the end of my task, the friable material
yielded, and broke, and unfortunately the potsherd fell
out of its place, the main crack having run through the
spot where it was lodged. I saved the pieces and the
sherd, anathematizing my misfortune in not having
had with me a solution of shellac with which to have
first soaked the mass, so that it would not have fallen
apart. But the fact is incontestable that the piece of
baked clay, evidently a bit of a broken earthen vessel,
was found undisturbed in the lower part of the Middle
Pampean, only a short distance from places where we
had found the remains of Mylodon and Megatherium.
202 To the River Plate and Back
The reader may wonder why I go thus minutely into
these details. But if he will reflect for a moment he
will realize what great interest attaches to such a dis-
covery. The presence of this bit of pottery in this
deposit can lead to only one or the other of two con-
clusions, either that these beds are comparatively
modern from the standpoint of the geologist, or that
man must have existed at a very remote period in
South America. If the beds are modern then the great
ground-sloths, and their huge armadillo-like contempo-
raries, have only recently become extinct, and must
have been coeval with man as was the mammoth in
Europe. If the beds are not modern, but ancient, then
the antiquity of the human race is carried far back into
the past. That bit of a broken pot found embedded
in the loess thirty feet below the surface of the soil
as it is to-day, has a story to tell, and awakens a whole
world of inquiries. For my part I believe that the
Middle Pampean is a Pleistocene formation, from a
geological standpoint comparatively modern, possibly
laid down not more than fifty thousand years ago, and
that man was the contemporary of many of the strange
animals which tenanted South America at that time.
Until noon we wandered along the barrancas, here
and there finding bits of bone, each having a story to
tell of the life of the past. At last we concluded that
the time had come for us to return to the hotel and
get our luncheon. No matter how interesting fossil
bones may be, there come moments in the experience
of the most ardent paleontologist when he feels that he
would prefer bones with a little muscular tissue and
fat still adherent to them. After luncheon my com-
panion, according to the custom of the country, indulged
in a siesta. Not being accustomed to taking a nap after
A Trip to Mar del Plata
203
my midday meal, I told him that I would return to the
beach and that he would find me there later. I amused
myself by collecting insects, which I found abundant
along the beach under piles of half-dried seaweed,
among them one or two beautiful carabid beetles, over
which since my return one of my assistants has gloated,
Fig. 18. — Dcedicurus clavicaudatus Owen. 4-e nat. size.
because they represent a species hitherto unknown to
him, and said to be still very rare in collections. I
beguiled myself with making one or two water-color
sketches, and then, being rejoined by Dr. Roth, we
pushed up along the cliffs to points which we had not
examined during our rambles in the forenoon. We were
again repaid by finding a number of fossils, among them
part of an antler of an extinct deer, which I had a great
deal of trouble in cutting out of the matrix, which was
almost as hard as rock. Bits of the cuirass of Glyptodon
and of Dcedicurus were found, together with one of the
spike-like bony plates with which the end of the tail of
the latter enormous animal was armed. The Dcedi-
curus had a body as large as that of an ox. He belonged,
like the Glyptodon, to that great group of animals, now
204 To the River Plate and Back
mostly extinct, which is represented in part by the
armadillos of the present day. The great bony cara-
paces of Glyptodon, Dcedicurus, and their allies are not
altogether uncommon in the Pampean beds, and my
friend Hatcher used to tell how at the house of a
gaucho, with whom he once stayed overnight, one of
these fossils had been utilized as a bathtub, in which
Hatcher himself had the pleasure of " taking a swim. '
Talk about luxury!
Our long walk had taken us far from Mar del Plata,
and, as the tide had turned, and the sea was rolling in
upon the beach, we climbed up to the top of the cliffs
and walked home in the sunset. Below us, where a
few hours before we had strolled along upon the sand,
great breakers were casting up their foam along the
foot of the cliffs, with a roar which was majestic. As
the night was falling, we reached the hotel, very tired
and a little footsore; and were glad to bathe and dine
in comfort. At half -past nine we again boarded the
train for Buenos Aires, and on the following morning
arrived in safety at La Plata.
My inspection of the fossil-bearing strata heightened
the interest with which day after day I had been regard-
ing the noble collection of extinct animals in the
Museum. The former mammalian fauna of South
America, especially that portion of it represented in the
early Tertiary formations, is very remarkable, and dur-
ing the past three quarters of a century has become
the subject of ever deepening interest to paleontologists.
It is so entirely unlike that which occurs in other parts
of the world as to prove beyond doubt that it repre-
sents an evolution which must have taken place in
geographical isolation from all other regions, except
possibly the ancient Antarctic continent, through which
A Trip to Mar del Plata 205
there may have been a connection with Australia.
The fact that fossil marsupial animals are very numer-
ous in these early strata, and further the fact that there
are still comparatively numerous marsupial animals
living in South America, supports the view that South
America may in the distant past have been in some way
connected with the Australian regions, which are, as
everybody knows, the present metropolis of the mar-
supials. There may also have been a time, when, for
a longer or shorter period, the southern extremity of
Africa was also linked to that old Antarctic continent.
The fact that certain families of shells, insects, fishes,
birds, and mammals occur in regions now separated
from each other by wide seas, is regarded by students
as showing the probability that these regions were once
more closely connected with each other than they now
are. A multitude of facts in the geographical distribu-
tion of living things, which it would require a volume
to recite, tends to confirm the opinion, now almost
universally accepted by naturalists, that the land-
masses about the South Pole once had a much greater
northward extension than is the case to-day, and that
Australia and the southern extremities of South Amer-
ica and of Africa may have been connected at times with
Antarctica, and thus with each other. At the times
when these parts of the earth were being populated by
living things, these regions were completely isolated
from the lands in the northern hemisphere. The
great land-mass forming Europe and Asia (the Eurasian
continent) was at different times connected with North
America. There is every reason to believe that North
America and eastern Asia were once united with each
other by a land-bridge, which was located in the region
of Bering Sea, and that animals freely migrated from
206 To the River Plate and Back
North America into Asia and from Asia into North
America. While this was going on the two Americas
had no connection with each other at all. Subsequently,
however, a connection between North and South
America was established. This union of the two western
continents appears to have taken place long after a
connection between South America and the Antarctic
continent had ceased to exist. When North and South
America became united there took place an invasion
of South America by animals from North America
and a return wave of emigration from South America
into North America swept upward. From North
America there passed into South America the camel-
like animals, which had come into being on the plains
of what are now the regions of the Rocky Mountains.
The peccaries, the deer, the cats, the tapirs, emigrated
from North America, as did also the mastodon, the
latter animal representing an invasion from far-away
Asia by way of the Bering Sea land-bridge. From
South America there traveled northward the ground-
sloths, the opossums, the armadillos, the toxodonts,
and other creatures which had their origin upon South
American soil. These reciprocal movements probably
did not take place much before the close of the Pliocene,
and during the early Pleistocene. In caves in Pennsyl-
vania we have quite recently found the remains of a
number of animals, the nearest relatives of which occur
in the Pampean beds of Argentina.
Certain of the friends of the writer have rather strenu-
ously advocated the view that the continent of South
America was at one time linked to the continent of
Africa by a land-bridge which reached across the
Atlantic Ocean from eastern and northern Brazil to
the nearest point of the African continent. This view
A Trip to Mar del Plata 207
has been controverted, and while the existence of such
a land connection might account for certain facts in
the distribution of animals, and more particularly of the
fishes of the two continents, the writer is very skeptical,
and is more inclined to believe that the occurrence of
related genera and species in Africa and South America
will prove ultimately to have arisen through the land
connection effected by union with the Antarctic con-
tinent, of w^hich mention has been made.
Sir Richard Owen was one of the first to name and
describe some of the more striking fossil mammals the
remains of which have been recovered in the Pampean
beds. The material obtained by Darwin on his famous
voyage in H. M. S. Beagle was submitted to Owen
for study. Since that time a multitude of very able
men have devoted a great deal of time to a careful
examination of the fossil fauna of South America, and
thus our knowledge has been greatly enlarged. Dr.
Burmeister, who was the Director of the Museum in
Buenos Aires for many years, accomplished much. A
number of years ago Senor Florentine Ameghino, and
his brother, Carlos Ameghino, began diligently to collect
fossil remains which they encountered in various parts
of Argentina, and more particularly in Patagonia.
Florentine Ameghino began to describe them, and sub-
sequently gave to the world descriptions of an enormous
number of new genera and species, attributing to the
strata in which they were found various geological
ages, in such a manner as to provoke the astonishment
of students in other parts of the world. Princeton
University was enabled through the generosity of
certain friends to send several expeditions to South
America. Two of these were conducted by Mr. John
Bell Hatcher. Other expeditions by other institutions
208
To the River Plate and Rack
have gone out, and numerous eminent paleontologists
have personally visited the region. Meanwhile those
upon the ground have continued to explore it. The
result has been a great access of information which
tends to prove that Ameghino was not always quite
correct in his interpretations, though he deserves the
Fig. 19. — Macrauchenia patachonica Owen. ^ nat. size.
very highest praise for his diligence and for many noble
discoveries. I had the great pleasure while in La Plata
of visiting Sefior Carlos Ameghino, who survives his
brother, and of seeing the collections which have been
accumulated and which contain many of the types of
the species described by Florentino Ameghino. While
of the highest scientific interest, this assemblage of
material does not contain nearly as many finely pre-
served specimens of the fossils of the pampas as are
found in the National Museum at La Plata, or in the
Museum in Buenos Aires, where are the collections
A Trip to Mar del Plata
209
brought together during the time in which those
eminent scholars, Dr. Burmeister and Dr. Carlos Berg,
were the directors of that museum. The mounted
skeletons of the great armadillo-like mammals of the
Pampean beds, of the huge ground-sloths, of Toxodon,
Macrauchenia, and other beasts, which once inhabited
Fig. 20. — Skeleton of Toxodon burmeisteri Giebel. 3-0 nat. size.
Argentina, constitute a very imposing display as they
are exhibited in the halls at La Plata. One of the most
interesting of these creatures was the Macrauchenia, an
animal which combined in itself many curious anatomi-
cal features, not to say inconsistencies. I was particu-
larly interested in examining the collection of the
remains of various species of Toxodon. On the out-
ward voyage a young American man of science, who is
in the employment of the Brazilian government, came
on board at Bahia, being on his way to Rio de Janeiro.
We struck up an acquaintance, and he reported to me
that he had found in the interior of the Province of
Bahia a large quantity of the fossil remains of a number
of extinct animals. They had been dug up at a water-
hole, which was being cleaned out by workmen, and he
210 To the River Plate and Back
told me he had some of them with him on board. They
were produced by him, and very kindly presented by
him to me. Since then he has forwarded to the Car-
negie Museum a large assemblage of the remains ob-
tained at the same locality. Among the things put
into my hands on shipboard was a fragment of the tusk
of a mastodon, the tooth of a fossil horse, and the tooth
of a Toxodon. Availing myself of the courteous assist-
ance of Dr. Roth a comparison of the latter specimen
was made with the abundant material in the Museum
at La Plata, with the result that we came to the con-
clusion that the tooth belongs to Toxodon burmeisteri,
the giant of the family. The late Professor E. D. Cope
founded a species of Toxodon upon a single tooth com-
ing from the Province of Bahia, the only case in which
such animals have hitherto been reported from that part
of the continent, but I have no hesitation in saying that
the specimen presented to me by Mr. G. A. Waring repre-
sents the species I have mentioned. The range of this
huge animal is thus extended far to the north. Re-
mains of Toxodon have been reported from Central
America, but thus far no record of their occurrence upon
the soil of the United States has been made, and save
for the case cited by Cope there has been no prior
account of their occurrence in northern Brazil.
From the authorities of the Museum in La Plata I
received replicas of many of the fine specimens con-
tained in their Museum as a gift for the Carnegie
Institute. I also received a piece of the skin, some hair,
and some of the ordure of Grypotherium obtained at
Last Hope Inlet. "Thereby hangs a tale,' which I
will proceed to unfold in the next chapter. For these
acts of great kindness on the part of the Faculty of the
Museum in La Plata, I desire here to renew my thanks.
Hauling Wheat to the Market in Big Two-Wheeled Carts. Seven Horses
Harnessed Abreast.
The Grain-Elevators at Buenos Aires,
CHAPTER XV
A MYSTERIOUS BEAST
"Then Brown he read a paper, and he reconstructed there,
From those same bones an animal, that was extremely rare."
Bret Harte.
FOR many years it had been rumored in Argentina
that there existed in the unexplored wilds a strange
animal, to which the Indians gave the name of Yemisch.
It was said to haunt the margins of streams, to have
webbed feet, a long tail, and to be endowed with incred-
ible ferocity. It was reported to attack men and cattle
when they were crossing streams. It had, so it was
affirmed, the habit of eviscerating its prey, and the
narrators told how after the fearful act the entrails of
its victims might be seen rising from the bloody water
and floating on the surface. Certain spots were pointed
out as being dangerous, because the brute was said to
have its lair in their neighborhood, and these places
were shunned by the natives. Nobody could be found
who had ever seen it, but many averred that they had
heard of it from those who had seen it. The eye-
witnesses of its atrocities were Indians, or deceased
wives* uncles, or maternal grandparents- 'the dear
departed. ' Nobody had ever succeeded in running
the beast to cover, or in the spirit of a modern Hercules
slain it in combat; but by camp fires, at the meetings
of sportsmen in their clubs, and in the homes of the
211
212 To the River Plate and Hack
guachos, as they sat and guzzled mate, or smoked the
weed, men talked about the Yemisch.
In the month of January, 1895, a party of gentlemen
who were taking an outing near Consuelo Cove on Last
Hope Inlet discovered a cave about six kilometers
distant from Consuelo. In a little mound near the
entrance they found a remarkable piece of skin. It
was between four and five feet long and about three
feet wide. The skin of the head and legs of the animal
had apparently been trimmed off. The hide in places
was over half an inch thick. Its outer surface was
covered more or less densely with coarse yellowish
brown hairs, varying in length from an inch and a half
to three inches. On the inner side were multitudes of
little ossicles, or bonelets, firmly imbedded in the tissue.
These bonelets had the size and shape of small white
beans, some being larger, others smaller. The excur-
sionists took the skin away with them, but though a
number of pieces were cut off from it, and became scat-
tered among different members of the party, the greater
portion remained in the possession of Captain Eber-
hard, the owner of an estate in the vicinity, who had
been the leader of the company. The next year Dr.
Otto Nordenskjold, the commander of a Swedish expedi-
tion, which had gone out for the purpose of making a
scientific exploration of the regions about the Straits
of Magellan, visited the cave, and he too found a piece
of the same kind of skin, some bones, and tufts of hair,
which he took home with him to Stockholm. These
things were subsequently described and figured by
Dr. Lonnberg in the second volume of the report
which was published by the Swedish Expedition. In
November, 1897, Dr. F. P. Moreno, the Director of the
Museum in La Plata, Dr. Racowitza, the Zoologist of
A Mysterious Beast
213
the Expedition which had come out in the S.S. Bel-
gica, Senor Don Luis A. Alvarez, an engineer, and
Dr. Rodolfo Hauthal, the Curator of the Section of
Geology in the Museum in La Plata, visited the region,
and Dr. Moreno succeeded in obtaining from Captain
Eberhard the large piece of the hide, which the latter
Fig. 21 — Skin of Grypotkerium domesticum Roth, a, Under side
of skin from a fragment in the Carnegie Museum, b, Section of
skin showing ossicles and outer hairs, j nat. size. (After Arthur
Smith Woodward.)
still retained in his possession. This specimen together
with other remains, evidently belonging to the same
species, was taken by Dr. Moreno to London, and by
him presented to the British Museum. In the year
1899 these things were made the subject of an address
delivered by Dr. Moreno before the Zoological vSociety
of London, which in their Proceedings for that year
214 To the River Plate and Back
published a fully illustrated account of the various ob-
jects thus far found in the cave, the paper having been
prepared by Dr. Arthur Smith Woodward in collabora-
tion with Dr. Moreno. Dr. Woodward referred the
specimens to the genus Grypotherium, originally set up
by Reinhardt in 1879 in the twelfth volume of the
Proceedings of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences,
for the reception of some fragments, which had been
discovered in another locality. The relationship of
Grypotherium to Mylodon and the other long extinct
gravigrade edentates of South America was pointed out
and explained.
But before the appearance of Dr. Woodward's
scholarly paper, the reading public not only of Argentina
but of the entire world had been regaled with a series
of sensational accounts, affirming that in the remote
regions of Argentina or southern Chili there still existed
a surviving representative of the family of the ground-
sloths, of which the colossal Megatherium is the species
best known to the public. The animal said to be
roaming in the wilds was identified with the Yemisch, of
which everybody in Argentina had heard at some time
or other. The authority for these tales was none other
than Sefior Florentino Ameghino. He set the ball
rolling by privately printing and circulating a paper
under date of August 2, 1898, entitled "Premiere Notice
sur le Neomylodon listai, un Representant vivant des
anciens Edentes Gravigrades fossiles de r Argentina.'
In November of the same year this article appeared in
the form of an English translation, which was published
in Natural Science, volume xiii., pp. 324-326. In
this paper Ameghino recounts that a deceased friend of
his, the late Ramon Lista, had once told him that he
had come across an animal, which he had failed to get,
A Mysterious Beast 215
though he had shot at it a couple of times, which re-
sembled a pangolin, except that instead of being covered
with scales it was covered with hair. Lista had
expressed the opinion that, 'if not a pangolin, it was
certainly an edentate nearly allied to it. ' Ameghino
then went on to say:
In spite of the authority of Lista, who, besides being a
learned traveler, was also a skillful observer, I have always
considered that he was mistaken, the victim of an illusion.
Still, although I have several times tried to find out what
animal might have given him the illusion of the pangolin,
I was never able to guess.
It was not an illusion. Although extremely rare and
almost extinct-, the mysterious animal exists, with the sole
difference, that instead of being a pangolin, it is the last
representative of a group which was believed to be quite
extinct, a gravigrade edentate related to Mylodon and
Pseudolestodon.
• • . • * • • •
Lately, several little ossicles have been brought to me
from Southern Patagonia, and I have been asked to what
animal they could belong. What was my surprise on seeing
in my hand these ossicles in a fresh state, and, notwithstand-
ing that, absolutely similar to the fossil dermal ossicles of
the genus Mylodon, except only that they are of smaller
size, varying from nine to thirteen or fourteen millimeters
across. I have carefully studied these little bones from
every point of view without being able to discern any
essential difference from those found in a fossil state.
These ossicles were taken from a skin, which was unfor-
tunately incomplete, and without any trace of the extremi-
ties. The skin, which was found on the surface of the
ground, and showed signs of being exposed for several
months to the action of the air, is in part discolored. It
has a thickness of about two centimeters, and is so tough
216 To the River Plate and Back
that it is necessary to employ an axe or a saw in order to
cut it. The thickest part of the skin is filled by the little
ossicles referred to, pressed one against the other, present-
ing on the inner surface of the skin an arrangement similar
to the pavement of a street. The exterior surface shows
a continuous epidermis, not scaly, covered with coarse
hair, hard and stiff, having a length of four to five centi-
meters and a reddish tint turning toward gray.
The skin indeed belongs to the pangolin which Lista saw
living. This unfortunate traveler lost his life, like Crevaux,
in his attempt to explore the Pilcomayo, and until the
present time he is the only civilized person who has seen
the mysterious edentate of Southern Patagonia alive; and
to attach his name appropriately to the discovery, I call
this surviving representative of the family Mylodontidae
Neomylodon listai.
Now that there are certain proofs of its existence, we
hope that the hunt for it will not be delayed, and that
before long we may be able to present to the scientific
world a detailed description of this last representative of a
group which has of old played a preponderating part in the
terrestrial faunas which have succeeded each other on
South American soil.
Ameghino followed his account of Neomylodon listai,
which he had printed and widely distributed in Europe
and the United States among scientific men and periodi-
cals, by an article which appeared in La Pirdmide
of Buenos Aires, under date of June 15, 1899, under the
title Un sobriviviente actual de los Megaterios de la
antigua Pampa. Among other things he says:
Recently my brother, Carlos Ameghino, who for the past
twelve years has been making collections and carrying on
geological investigations in the Patagonian regions, suc-
ceeded in somewhat lifting the veil of darkness, which until
A Mysterious Beast 217
the present has shadowed the existence of this mysterious
being.
About the middle of last year he sent me from Santa Cruz
some remains accompanied by the following lines : ' I have
succeeded at last in obtaining from the Tehuelche Indians
some valuable data in regard to the famous Yemisch, which
is not a myth or creation of the fancy, as we have believed,
but which really exists. I have seen in the possession of an
Indian a piece of the skin of the Yemisch, in which were
imbedded the little ossicles, which I send you, just like
those which we find in a fossil state with the skeletons of
Mylodonts. Hompen, another Tehuelche Indian, has
informed me that when coming from Senguer to Santa
Cruz he encountered a Yemisch, which blocked his path,
and with which he had a fight, succeeding in killing him by
blows. According to these people the creature is amphibi-
ous, and can walk on land as well as it swims in the water.
It is confined in its range to-day to the central parts of
Patagonia, living in caves and sheltered retreats on the
banks of lakes Colhue, Fontana, and Buenos Aires, and of
the Senguer, Aysen, and Huemules rivers; but according
to tradition it ranged in former times as far as the Rio Negro
in the north, and far south, so the older Indians say, to all
of the lakes on the eastern slope of the Andes, and even to
the Straits of Magellan. It happened about the middle
of this century that a Yemisch which was coming down from
the lakes of the Andes to the Santa Cruz River came on
shore on the north bank of this stream in the neighborhood
of Pavon Island; the Indians fled in terror into the back
country, and ever since then, in memory of the unlocked for
apparition, have given the spot which they abandoned the
name of Yemisch-Aiken (the place, or haunt, of the
Yemisch). It is nocturnal in its habits, and is said to be so
strong that it will seize horses and drag them down into
deep water. According to the description given me it has
a short head, with great canine teeth, and small ears,
short, flat (plantigrade) feet, with three toes on the front
2i8 To the River Plato and Back
fed, and four on the hind feet, joined by a web fitting them
for swimming, while at the same time they are armed with
formidable claws. The body is covered with short, harsh,
and stiff hair, uniformly bay in color. In size, I am told,
the animal is larger than the puma, with shorter legs, and
a much thicker body.
The result of these publications by Ameghino was
amusing. The minds of the curious were inflamed.
The reputed existence in life of a relative of the extinct
Megatherium naturally attracted wide attention. To
find such an animal in Patagonia seemed as remarkable
as it might have been to have found a living mammoth
straying about in Alaska or the Lena Delta in Siberia.
The subject was "nuts" for the reporters of the news-
papers in Buenos Aires. These gentlemen are quite
as wide-awrake and active as their brethren in New York
and London. Hardly a day passed without reference
to the theme. The fact that "our distinguished fellow-
citizen, the eminent scientist,' etc., had declared for
the actual existence of the beast was enough in the
minds of the scribes to put the whole question beyond
controversy. With screaming headlines it was from
time to time announced that various persons had found
and followed the tracks of the " mammifero misterioso, '
but unfortunately without reaching its lair. Among
those reported in the papers as having trailed the
Yemisch was Lord Cavendish, who w^as taking an outing
in Patagonia, and his adventures w-ere retailed with
particularity, although the gentleman afterwards was
greatly amazed upon his return to civilization to dis-
cover wrhat had been wrritten and printed about occur-
rences of which he had no knowledge or recollection.
The excitement was not confined to Argentina. Hardly
a newspaper, or scientific journal in the world, failed
A Mysterious Beast 219
to devote at least a paragraph to the remarkable
discovery. In a lecture before the Zoological Society
Dr. (now Sir) Edwin Ray Lankester said, "It is quite
possible that the Mylodon still exists in some of the
mountainous regions of Patagonia. ' Thereupon Mr.
Pearson, the proprietor of the Daily Express of London,
promptly provided the necessary funds for equipping
an expedition to go and search for the beast, and Mr.
Hesketh Prichard was sent out to find it. The result
was a beautifully-illustrated work upon Patagonia by
Mr. Prichard, but no Mylodon, no Yemisch was re-
turned to the London Zoo.
Meanwhile the little group of hard-headed scientific
men at the Museum in La Plata and their correspond-
ents elsewhere took the matter in hand and addressed
in public some very embarrassing questions to Serior
Ameghino, whose enthusiasm appeared to them to
have rather gotten the better of his judgment. The
paleontological teapot began to simmer and then to
boil. It was a good deal like the "row,' which broke
up the "camp on the Stanislaw, ' though there was no
' heaving of rocks. ' Dr. Rodolfo Hauthal went back
to Consuelo Cove and made a careful reexamination
of the cave. His published report, which appeared in
the Revista of the Museum in La Plata, is most interest-
ing and illuminating. He shows that the cave had no
doubt at one time been used as a human habitation,
and that its occupants, if they had not domesticated
the great and thoroughly inoffensive ground-sloth, had
at least held it in captivity. He found that part of the
cave had been used as a stable for the brutes, and that
in one place there was a deposit of the dried dung of
the animals about four feet in depth, showing that the
spot must have been used for a long time. He found a
220
To the River Hate and Baek
Fig 22. — Dried ordure of Grypotherium
do me stic um Roth. Specimens in Carnegie
Museum, i nat. size.
stack of ha}' which had been employed as fodder. He
found more pieces of the strange skin and numerous
bones. The skulls of the specimens, which he and
others before him had found, showed that the animals
had been killed by knocking them on the head by a
weapon, possibly a stone ax. He found various arte-
facts representing a primitive race of men. Dr.
Santiago Roth described the material brought back
by Hauthal and
others, and gave
the animal the
name of Grypothe-
rium domesticum ,
holding that the
specific name lis-
tai, applied by
Ameghino, related
not to the remains
discovered at Last Hope Inlet, but to an imagi-
nary creature. It was pointed out by several
critics, among them Professor J. B. Hatcher, that in
truth the type of Ameghino's Neomylodon listai, if
type it could be called, was a lot of hearsay, a rumor, a
tale told by an Indian. Florentine Ameghino had in
fact heard in some way a report of the finding of the
skin at Last Hope Inlet. The story had passed from
mouth to mouth, though nothing had as yet been
printed about the matter. A few of the bonelets had
also probably been passed from hand to hand as
"curios.' They had fallen apparently into the pos-
session of Carlos Ameghino, who sent them to his
brother. Without any more definite knowledge than
he had thus acquired Ameghino rushed into print with
his new generic and specific names. There are men who
A Mysterious Beast 221
are affected by a fondness for claiming the first place
as the disseminators of scientific information, and there
is a weakness now and then manifested by systematists
which induces them to attach their names to new genera
and species upon slight provocation. I had a friend
in the ranks of my entomological correspondents a
number of years ago who was thus afflicted. On
one occasion it happened that I named and described
a new and very beautiful butterfly from Mexico, and
when my friend came across the description he turned
to a mutual acquaintance and said: 'Thunder! If
I had only imagined that there existed such a thing, I
should have gone to work at once and named it and pub-
lished a description of it, even without seeing it, rather
than have let Holland have the credit of doing so.'
It is an odd thing that in the calm realms of science the
play of human passions should sometimes thus reveal
itself. Dr. R. Lehmann-Nitsche from the standpoint of
an anthropologist and student of folk-lore came forward
and punctured the myth of the so-called Yemisch,
showing that the big otter of South America (Lutra
felina) and the jaguar had been brought together and
made to render joint service in the fabrication of a
monster as real as some of the beasts of ancient
mythology. The jaguar, "El jaguar del aguar as
the animal was called by the Indians, because it has
the habit of frequenting the pools where the animals
it preys upon come down to drink, was the creature
to which most of the tales told by the Indians referred,
and Carlos Ameghino had been unfortunate in linking
their legends relating to the great cat with the harmless
edentate, which was a vegetarian, and had been fed
upon hay. It was quite a "merry war, " while it lasted.
The literature provoked by the discussion is printed in
222 To the River Plate and Back
six or seven languages, and would fill a large volume, if
brought together.
Out of the affair came a better knowledge of Pata-
gonian lands and the perception of the fact that the
fauna of the Pampean beds had survived to some extent
to quite recent times ; at all events that one of the near
relatives of the Megatherium and the Mylodon had at
some remote period, perhaps within the Christian era,
been held in captivity, kept in corrals, fed with hay, and
used for food. In the case of the writer the most
interesting result was the acquisition for the Carnegie
Museum of a piece of the hide from the cave at Last
Hope Inlet, together with a lot of the hair and the dried
ordure of the "Mysterious Beast/
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CHAPTER XVI
LIFE IN LA PLATA
"I do not own an inch of land,
But all I see is mine,—
The orchard and the mowing-fields
The lawns and gardens fine.
The winds my tax-collectors are
They bring me tithes divine, —
Wild scents and subtle essences,
A tribute rare and free
And more magnificent than all,
My window keeps for me
A glimpse of blue immensity,—
A little Strip of sea. " —Lucy Larcom.
THE greater part of the time which we spent in La
Plata was necessarily devoted to our tasks in the
Museum. But there were a number of holidays and
holy days when our labors were interrupted. As in all
Latin lands the calendar of the Church is observed.
Interruptions due to this cause and the comparatively
short hours at the Museum gave opportunity now and
then to take long walks. The extreme flatness of the
region did not at first glance hold out promise of enter-
tainment, but there are other things besides hills and
mountains which lend interest to a stroll in the country.
Flat lands are not without their attractive features.
Some of the most delightful pedestrian excursions I have
ever made were along the dikes and ditches of Holland.
When I was a lad and lived for a few months in In-
223
224 To the River Plate and Back
diana, although I missed the mountains and the hills,
among which I had passed my earlier years, I neverthe-
less derived great pleasure from rambling through the
fields. So it was also here in this flattest of all flat
lands, the Province of Buenos Aires. The sky in level
countries, as boundless as that which lifts its vault
over the ocean, possesses a charm which partly compen-
sates for the lack of variety due to the absence of broken
or rugged surfaces. Though so broad, the sky over
prairie-lands always seems to possess a different quality
from the sky above the sea, whether because of reflec-
tions from the surface or the presence of minute par-
ticles of dust in the lower regions of the air. This
difference is noticeable at the coast, where in looking in
one direction the observer sees the sky above the water,
and in the other the sky above the land. This differ-
ence is most plainly discernible just above the horizon-
line. The vegetation of flat lands always differs from
that of hilly countries, and in consequence foregrounds
as well as backgrounds vary in the two cases. Not
only from the standpoint of the artist, who sees the
surface of things, and notes forms and colors, but also
from that of the naturalist there is much of interest to
be observed in level countries. Such lands generally
are fertile, and even if there be no great variety, there
is luxuriance and richness of color in their vegetable
growths. There are no lusher greens than those of the
New Jersey flats or of the pasture-lands of Zeeland in
early summer. And so it was in the environs of La
Plata. The pampas 'arrayed in living green,' over
which was bent the blue dome of the sky, proved
attractive enough to me to invite me to repeat on several
occasions the first stroll which I had taken into el
campo. At such times I found it most agreeable to
Life in La Plata 225
employ the services of a cochero to drive me out through
the city and its immediate suburbs, setting me down at a
given point, to which he received instructions to return
several hours afterwards, and from which he brought
me back to the Observatory. Once I went to Ensenada,
cutting across the fields ; once I took a long stroll north-
ward in the direction of Buenos Aires, and a number of
times I walked out to the south and the west of the city.
It was a pleasure to escape from paved streets, to feel
under foot the green sod of the country roads, to observe
the growing things, in which the pulses of springtime
were asserting themselves, to listen to the voices of
nature, overhead the sky, ' that shameless blue sky, '
which Signer Negri said he loathed, but which always
seemed beautiful to me, and which did not always
retain its blue tint, being sometimes overcast with the
clouds of an approaching storm or sometimes in the
evening just before sunset breaking into a veritable
riot of color.
In my rambles about La Plata I was struck by the
fact that many of the plants by the roadsides and in
the fields were old acquaintances. The same process
which has gone on in the United States is going on here.
As European weeds have taken possession of the whole
Atlantic seaboard in North America, so they are taking
possession of the littoral of Argentina. Seventy-five
years ago Charles Darwin called attention to the fact
that the European fennel had escaped from cultivation,
and noted that 'in great profusion' it covered "the
ditch-banks in the neighborhood of Buenos Aires,
Montevideo, and other towns.'1 It certainly has not
ceased to propagate itself since his day and is every-
where in evidence. Darwin also called attention to the
abundance of the cardoon (Cynara cardnnculus) and
15
226 To the River Plate and Back
the mottled-leaved thistle of the pampas. Both are
immigrant from Europe. The cardoon, its silvery
bluish green multifid leaves strongly contrasting with
the darker green of the grasses, covers wide tracts in
the fields and by the roadsides, and in spots has taken
complete possession of the slopes of the railway em-
bankments. It is the wild form of the artichoke, and
its buds are used as food, the fleshy base being pared,
boiled, and served as a vegetable. It grows every-
where except in the very hot lands of the tropical
north. Associated with it is the plant which Darwin
speaks of as the "giant thistle of the pampas. ' This is
also an adventitious plant, which has found its way into
the country from the southern parts of Europe. It is
known as 'Milk-Thistle' (Silybitm marianum) and
has large wavy spinous leaves, of which those growing
near the ground are dark green, mottled with white,
recalling in their color-scheme the leaves of the Asarum
caulescens, the Kamo-awoi of Japan, which was used
as the crest of the Tokugawa shoguns. The white stain
on the rosette-leaves of this thistle according to a
legend current in southern Europe was caused by the
falling of a drop of the milk of the Virgin Mary, and it
was in allusion to this legend that it received the speci-
fic name marianum. The French call the plant Char-
don Marie. In the lands of the Mediterranean it is
cultivated to some extent; its young leaves being used
as a spring salad, its roots employed as pot-herbs, and
the heads being treated like those of the artichoke.
These two species of thistle have literally taken posses-
sion of the land about the River Plate. They had done
so already a century ago, and Darwin in speaking of the
cardoon says, " I doubt whether any case is on record of
an invasion on so grand a scale of one plant over the
Life in La Plata 227
aborigines. ' In speaking of the matter to one of my
friends he informed me that the advent of these thistles
is not altogether to be regarded as having been a curse.
"If it had not been for the thistles," he said, ;<a few
years ago, when we had a terrible drought, a great deal
more of the live stock would have been lost than actually
was the case. The cattle, which ordinarily refuse to
eat the leaves, took to them, and their lives were
saved. '
I was astonished to see the hemlock (Conium macu-
latum), recalling the tragic death of Socrates, growing
everywhere in the rankest profusion. As this plant is
said to be fatal to philosophers and cattle, though it
may be eaten by asses and goats, I was surprised to see
thickets of it springing up on the grazing lands on which
is kept some of the finest blooded stock in Argentina.
Various European grasses are common. The white
clover (Trifolium repens) is found everywhere as with
us, and so are various other species of the same genus,
all adventitious from southern Europe. Chickweed,
bed-straw, purslane, shepherd's-purse, and ragweed
were found growing by the road. I was impressed by
the fact that not only these, but scores of other Euro-
pean and North American weeds, the 'tramps" of the
vegetable world, have found congenial soil in these lands
of the South Temperate Zone, and are apparently
slowly replacing the native flora. Just as the people
of Europe have exterminated the aborigines, so the weeds
of Europe are exterminating the lowly plants of the
region, and are surely taking possession of the soil.
As I have already remarked elsewhere the inhabitants
of Argentina manifest a preference for the eucalyptus
as a shade-tree, and it appears about almost all farm-
houses. The Araucaria is also frequently planted.
228 To the River Plate and Back
The genus Araucaria, which is related to the pines of the
northern hemisphere, but differs from them strikingly
in general appearance, is represented by several South
American species, one of which known as the " Monkey-
puzzle'1 or 'Chili pine" (Araucaria imbricata) forms
great forests in the southern part of the Andean regions.
It apparently thrives well in the latitude of Buenos
Aires. Its stately relative, the Norfolk pine (Araucaria
excelsa), which in its native haunts often grows to the
height of two hundred feet, is also to be occasionally
seen in plantations in the vicinity of La Plata. Two
or three species of Casuarina are also extensively
planted. The 'Pride-of -India" (Melia azedarach) is
another tree which seems to enjoy popularity, and is
of ten seen along the highways and about rail way stations.
Every one who has visited Spain or Morocco has learned
to know the ' Bellasombra-tree " (Phytolacca dioica).
This great tree, related to the pokeberry of our way-
sides and waste places, is not uncommon about the
estancias in the vicinity of Buenos Aires. Its huge
fleshy roots, which grow on the surface of the soil,
covering an area almost as great as the branches, look
like great coiled and twisted serpents upon the ground,
but, although the tree attains goodly proportions, and
the broad leaves afford a grateful shade, I have con-
ceived a prejudice against it, on account of its tendency
like a great vegetable cancer to cover the soil with its
spongy and unsightly roots. I imagine that it was
introduced from Spain, and the specimens I saw about
La Plata appear to indicate that they must have been
planted long ago. All of the trees of this species which
I saw were mature. The largest specimen I observed
stood in the courtyard of a dilapidated farmhouse,
and I should say that it must be fully fifty years old,
Life in La Plata
229
being at least four feet in diameter five feet from the
ground. Various species of acacia are grown, and seem to
propagate themselves as freely as does our locust-tree
(Robinia pseudacacia) . These plants seemed to be
particularly liable to the attack of a species of bag-
worm (GELketicus platensis) , innumerable cocoons of which
were pendent upon their branches. This same insect
appears to ravage the poplars and willows. The euca-
lyptus escapes from their at-
tacks, but I observed that a
great many species of decidu-
ous trees were infested by
these curious insects. The fe-
male is wingless, as is the case
with all of the species of the
genus; the male is able to fly.
The female remains in the co-
coon, and is little more than a
living mass of eggs. After fer-
tilization has occurred the eggs Fi£- 23.— Cocoon of (Eketi-
hatch, and, emerging from the cus platensis' Nat' size"
silken sack which has been the nuptial couch and then
the coffin of the mother, the little caterpillars crawl forth
and the cycle of life is renewed. The small water-
courses and shallow ponds which abound in the neigh-
borhood of La Plata are all beginning to be lined with
willows and osiers. In such places I also found Arundo
donax, the common reed of southern Europe. I saw a
couple of fields in the outskirts of La Plata where this
plant was being cultivated, but I observed that it had
also escaped in spots and was propagating itself.
According to Otto Kunze seventy-five per cent, of the
plants growing in the immediate vicinity of Buenos
Aires and La Plata are introduced species, the majority
230 To the River Plate and Back
of which have come from Mediterranean lands. It is
odd to think how thoroughly the region is becoming
affiliated with the region from which its early European
settlers came, and that not only its human inhabitants,
but its shrubs and grasses, its flowers and its fruits,
should be Iberian or Italian in their origin. To the
north under the hot sun of the tropics this is not the
case. There the men and the plants of the Temperate
Zone have a struggle for existence, in which the odds
appear to be against them.
On my tramps I naturally was much interested in
studying the habits of the birds. In a grove of willows
which I found about a mile and a half north of La Plata
I discovered hundreds of the Seed-finch (Sycalis luteola) ,
congregating among the branches and filling the air
with incessant twitterings and low warblings, which
reminded me of that passage in Holy Writ, which
likens the sound of the voices of the multitude before the
Throne to "the voice of many wraters. ' It was an un-
interrupted stream of tiny bird-voices, which gathered
and swelled into a great volume of sound, resembling
that of a brook or small river tinkling over the stones
and pebbles. The little creatures seemed to be so intent
upon their chorus that they allowed me to creep in
among the trees without at first being disturbed or
ceasing their music. They are about as large as a
canary bird, olive-green above, yellowish below, and
admirably adapted by their coloration to concealment
among the foliage of the willows, which were in their
vernal dress. I was able to study them closely with the
help of my opera-glasses, but after a while they seemed
suddenly to take fright, and with a great rush of wings
flew away in a cloud to an adjoining field, where there
were otner willows, and whither I did not try to follow
Life in La Plata 231
them, as to have done so would have led me through a
lot of deep mire. I am sure their fright was occasioned
by a hawk, which was prowling around, and which I
saw afterwards alighting upon a stake with one of the
songsters in his talons, which he proceeded to tear up
and devour after the manner of hawks.
While I was engaged in studying the ways of the
Seed-finches, my attention was attracted to the per-
formances of a couple of Guiras (Guira guira). These
birds, which belong to the family of the cuckoos, are
about sixteen inches in length, ten of the sixteen inches
being composed of the tail, which when the bird is on
the wing is spread out like a fan. The tail-feathers are
conspicuously colored, the two in the middle being
dark brown, while the others are yellow at the base,
glossy green in the middle, and white at the end.
Their bills are red and they have a crest of reddish
brown feathers upon their heads. The back and rump
are white, as is also the breast, save for a few blackish
streaks; the wings are blackish, marked with white.
Altogether the bird is rather conspicuously colored.
It is a very noisy fowl. It seems to have the habit of
flying about and pitching on the tops of trees and hang-
ing on the ends of branches uttering a succession of
harsh cries and curious discordant notes, which suggest
unhappiness and general discontent. There were some
of these birds which haunted the grove about the Ob-
servatory, and at sunrise they used to make a great
racket, but though I got a good view of them once or
twice, and often heard their cries, I had my best chance
to watch them in the willow-grove, where the two of
wrhich I have spoken remained after the Seed-finches
took their flight. Hudson tells us that Azara, who
wrote more than a hundred years ago, said these
232 To the River Plate and Back
birds were at that time common in Paraguay, but
scarce in the neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Times
have changed, and they are now quite common about
La Plata, but there is reason to think that they are
tropical birds, which for some cause are trying to adapt
themselves to the more temperate climate of the south,
for which nature has not quite prepared them, as they
lack plumage with which to resist the cold. Hudson
says that they often die of cold in the winter, in spite
of the fact that at that time of the year they have the
habit of congregating in flocks and roosting huddled to-
gether upon the branches in order to keep warm. They
are said to be somewhat foul in their habits, and to be
very prolific. The latter fact, and the fact that they
find with the advent of civilized man into the region a
greater supply of food than was formerly the case,
seems to account for their survival and their increase
in a part of the country which they have only recently
invaded.
About the roots of the willow-grove there ran a small
brooklet, not more than a foot or two wide. What was
my surprise to discover that this tiny stream of water
was full of mussel-shells and of great fresh-water snails
belonging to the genus Ampullaria. I obtained speci-
mens of the latter, which my colleague, Dr. Arnold E.
Ortmann, since my return has determined to be Am-
pullaria canaliculata D'Orbigny. A number of these
shells were lying about on the greensward under the
trees, evidently recently having been robbed of their
content, consisting of the animal which tenanted them
in life. Empty shells of the same species were found
here and there under telegraph poles and along the
fences. The explanation of this fact is found in the
habits of the commonest hawk of the region, the Ever-
Life in La Plata
233
glade Kite, as it is called in Florida (Rostrhamus socia-
bilis), rather a rare bird in North America, but the
commonest of all the hawks in the meadow-lands about
La Plata. This bird has a very strongly curved beak;
in fact its beak is more strongly curved than is the case
in any other bird of the group to which it belongs. The
purpose of this strong curvature of the beak is realized
when we learn that its staple food consists of the snails
which it finds in the arroyos and shallow pools of the
pampas, and which it extracts from their shells. When
Fig. 24. — Head of Everglade
Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis}. |
Fig. 25. — Shell of Ampnllaria
canaliculata. | nat. size.
nat. size.
I was a small boy I was set by my father, who was a
conchologist, at the task of collecting the land-shells of
the neighborhood where we lived. In order to remove
the animals from the shells and prepare them for the
cabinet I was taught to scald them in hot water, and
then with a crooked pin to pull out the snails. The
crooked pin which I employed served exactly the same
purpose as the very crooked beak of these Everglade
Kites. The birds in great numbers frequent the swampy
lands and the borders of the small streams. Having
found a snail-shell, an Ampullaria, they carry it to the
top of a stake or a telegraph pole, and then, holding it
234 To the River Plate and Back
in their talons, insert their long curved beaks, and with
a quick movement pull out the snail, which they devour,
wrhile letting the shell fall to the ground. No owner of
an oyster-stand in Fulton Market could be quicker
or more adroit in getting the fish out of the shell than
these small cousins of the eagle.
On all occasions when going into the country I took
with me my nets and other material for collecting in-
sects. Of these I obtained a number, but the season was
still too early for many species. Just as April is not the
best time in the Middle States to collect our most
interesting insects, so in the vicinity of Buenos Aires,
October is not the most favorable month for the ento-
mologist. The collecting grew better as the weeks
passed by, and just before I left it seemed that many of
the more showy insects were taking wing. Butterflies
and moths were scarce even on sunny days, and but
few species appeared. Insects of other orders were more
numerous, but most of my captures represented the
smaller diptera, hymenoptera, and coleoptera. Dr.
Carlos Bruch has in his possession a wonderful collec-
tion of the beetles of Argentina, most beautifully
arranged, and accurately determined. I spent a part
of an afternoon, after the Museum had closed, in look-
ing at his treasures. He has published a number of very
valuable papers upon the beetles of the country and has
illustrated them with fine drawings executed by himself.
The good Doctor is not only a scientist, but also an
artist. He has latterly taken up the work of studying
the ants of the region. Of these there are a great many
species, which have very curious habits, and are
endowed with wonderful intelligence. The hymenop-
tera— the ants, bees, and wasps — constitute the aristoc-
racy of learning in the insect world. They appear to
Life in La Plata 235
have more intelligence on the average than any other
order of insects. Ever since the days of Solomon this
fact has been recognized. It would require a large
volume to relate what has already been learned as to
the habits of these tiny creatures in South American
lands, and the field has only been partially investigated.
I was much interested in the ways of one species of ant,
which is quite common in Argentina, and which has for
ages been engaged in growing mushrooms. They are
commonly known as 'leaf -cutting ants.' On a num-
ber of occasions I found them at work. They construct
great underground galleries or cellars deep in the earth.
Into these they carry masses of bits of green foliage,
which they pile up in thick layers. In the beds of
vegetable compost, which they thus construct, are
implanted the spawn of certain fungi, which in the
heat and moisture of these pits develop and grow and
furnish an abundant supply of food, when other food
is not easily available. It was a truly wonderful sight
to watch the little creatures engaged in their labors.
There was a nest or burrow of these ants under a pile
of old rails, which was lying and rusting beside the
railway track between La Plata and Ensenada. The
entrance was at one side of the pile of rails, and could
be seen plainly by stooping down and peering between
the rails. The ants in a double stream were constantly
pouring into this and emerging. Every ant which went
in had a bit of a green leaf, which he had cut from the
border of a leaf of alfalfa, which he carried between
his mandibles in such a way that its thin edge was
forward, and its mass was over the back of the ant.
Those that came out had nothing. Along the path
which they pursued were a number of soldiers which
looked after the workers. The soldier ants are bigger
236 To the River Plate and Back
than the workers. They act as policemen along the
line, preserve the ranks, hurry up the workers, and if
any of them get into trouble come to their assistance,
aiding them in adjusting their loads. There seemed to
be the utmost order, and the workers appeared to be
in a perfect rush of haste to accomplish their tasks.
The line of march from the nest to the alfalfa field,
where the leaf -cutting was going on, was more than
four hundred feet long. In proportion to the size of
the animals the distance was greater than it is from the
Battery to Harlem. I measured off a foot along the
line of march and timed the little creatures as they
went by. It took them about ten seconds to get over a
foot of ground. At that rate they made the run from
the field to the nest in something more than an hour.
The insects returning to the field for a load went more
quickly. They seemed to scamper by in much less time.
All, whether going or coming, apparently were on a dead
run, moving as fast as their legs could carry them. A
few of them which had heavier loads seemed to have
trouble, and would stumble and run against little
obstacles, and have difficulty in keeping their loads
properly adjusted. When this happened the soldiers
would hurry up to them, set them on their feet, and
get them going again. The soldiers can always be
distinguished from the others by their larger heads and
bigger mandibles. I watched them quite a long time,
and remarked to myself, that, if errand boys in New
York could be found who would on foot carry parcels
from the Battery to Harlem in an hour, and then start
back again, and make the trip five times a day, there
would be a revolution in the parcel-post. The muscular
power of insects in proportion to their size is immense.
Their endurance is incredible.
Life in La Plata 237
The rambles I took about La Plata afforded me the
only opportunity I had during my stay in Argentina to
come into touch with the life of the "Camp.' Other-
wise my observations were confined to such glimpses as
are given from the windows of express- trains. The word
'camp' is a simple abbreviation of the word campo,
the Spanish equivalent of the English word "country."
It is applied by the denizens of the towns to every-
thing lying beyond their outskirts. The people of
Buenos Aires, the Portenos, as they call themselves,
with that self-complacency which is characteristic of
the inhabitants of all large municipalities, are in the
habit of thinking and speaking of everything beyond
their limits as being a part of the camp. The word is
also used in a more restricted sense to designate a large
holding of agricultural land. On my way home from
Mar del Plata I was introduced to a German gentleman,
who informed me that he was returning to Buenos Aires
after having paid a visit to "his camp." He said to me :
ulch habe einen Kamp nicht sehr weit von Cafiuelas. '
A recent writer has said : ' ' The Camp is the mainspring
of Argentine prosperity. The marble palace of the
millionaire, as well as the rnud hovel of the immigrant,
has to thank this rich soil of the campo for its founda-
tion. "x At the time of my arrival in Argentina spring-
plowing was being carried on. In every direction men
could be seen, generally with three or even four horses
abreast, engaged in the work of breaking up the soil.
Steam-plows are also used. The absolute flatness of the
land, and its freedom from all stones, makes the use of
modern agricultural machinery easy. The plowing
which was going on was mainly for the corn, or maize,
which is planted in September or early October. Wheat
TNevin O. Winter, Argentina and her People of To-day, p. 48.
238 To the River Plate and Back
is generally planted in the fall, that is to say in March or
April. So also is flax, which is an important crop in
the republic. It gave me pleasure to watch the plow-
men, and to see the rich black soil coming up and rolling
over before their shares, as the bow-wave rolls up and
turns over before the prow of a boat. The soil is a deep
humus. It is so rich that up to the present time little
care has been taken to return to it any of the wealth
which is annually being extracted from it. I spoke of
this to the owner of a large place, whose acquaintance I
happened to make. He told me that thus far he had
not felt the necessity of employing fertilizers to any
extent. ' I have been cultivating this land for many
years, and my father did the same before me, " he said,
'but all that seems to be necessary is to get deeper
plows, and go down a little further, and bring up a
little more of the rich subsoil. ' It is the story of our
rich western prairie-lands over again, but there will
inevitably come an end to this process of robbing the
land. The rotation of crops is followed to a consider-
able extent, and this has a conserving effect. The
favorite grazing crop is alfalfa, as I have elsewhere
observed. Such alfalfa fields I have never seen any-
where else in the world. Four crops of alfalfa hay are
annually taken from the soil, and on the cattle-ranges
the plant grows up as fast as the cattle eat it down.
The yield of wheat is enormous. The best wheat -lands
are not in the immediate vicinity of Buenos Aires, but
more to the west and southwest, nevertheless a great
deal of wheat is grown quite near the capital.
I was interested in studying the ways of the guachos,
the 'cowboys'' of the country. They are mainly
half-breeds, and adhere to the picturesque costume of
their forefathers. They are expert riders, and use the
Wheat Sacked and Piled after Threshing on an Argentinian Ranch.
An Argentinian Farm- Wagon Used for Heavy Hauling.
Life in La Plata 239
rope as do the cattlemen on our western plains. As,
now and then, a party of them came by me on a lope,
my mind involuntarily carried me back to the plains of
western Nebraska and of Wyoming, and the mesas of
our southwestern states, where just such riders, on just
such errands bent, used to be a few years ago a daily
sight. The days of the cowboy on our plains are
numbered, but the guacho of Argentina still has a
future before him, as the day of the small farmer has
not yet dawned in the land. The "small farmer" in
Argentina is to-day a man with only about five thou-
sand acres in his possession. One ranch of which I
heard is larger than the State of Rhode Island.
The transportation of crops from the land to the
railways is effected by means of peculiar wagons, the
like of which I have observed nowhere else. They have
but two wheels, about eight feet in diameter, and are
drawn by seven or eight horses harnessed abreast, or
by three or four yokes of oxen. In such vehicles, very
different in appearance from our 'prairie-schooners,'
the grain is brought to the railways, thence to be trans-
ferred to the great elevators at the ports, whence it is
carried to the markets of the world.
Just as in our western country, so here in the camp
the store at the cross-roads is a place of concourse. I
have already spoken of the store which we found in the
swamps of the Parana, and save that the buildings
were not perched upon piles, and the customers did not
come to them in boats, the stores which I found scattered
here and there on the pampa were just like it in the
medley of wares represented upon the shelves and in
the character of the goods displayed for sale.
A pleasant incident during my stay in La Plata was
to be invited to join a party of students and their
240 To the River Plate and Back
friends, who picnicked in a grove near the Museum, and
who on that occasion welcomed a number of visiting
acquaintances from Montevideo, who had come over
on the boat the night before to spend a day in La Plata.
After we had had our luncheon under the shadow of the
trees, they informed me that they would like to accom-
pany me to the Museum and take a peep at the replica
of the big skeleton. This was done, and I had the
pleasure of attempting to explain in very bad Spanish
the anatomy of the beast to a number of highly inter-
esting young people, who graciously condoned the
blunders which I am certain I must have made. To be
able to speak in unknown tongues was in apostolic
times regarded as a proof of inspiration, but in modern
times to essay to use a language other than that known
from childhood sometimes implies more courage than
inspiration. The results are at times comical. The
tendency to translate literally from one language into
another leads to embarrassment, and at moments to
hilarity. I was told a comical story by one of my
friends about one of his German acquaintances, who
was trying to make his way about Argentina with the
help of a pocket-dictionary and a phrase-book. He
went into a hotel, and by signs succeeded in getting a
good dinner set before him. When the meal was con-
cluded, he took out his pocket-dictionary and opposite
the word 'how' found the Spanish word como,
which in certain cases may mean "how,' or "I eat."
He then turned to the dictionary, and looking at the
word 'much,' found its Spanish equivalent, mucho.
He put the two together, and, turning to the waiter,
remarked, 'Como mucho?' The waiter politely
bowed his assent and said, "Si, senor," being perfectly
assured that the gentleman was correct in his statement
Life in La Plata 241
by looking at his empty plate. Thinking that the
waiter might be deaf, the German repeated the obser-
vation in a louder tone, only to receive the same reply,
' Si, senor. ' Then he fairly shouted the words at the
waiter, who rushed off, and returned with a tray covered
with a second instalment of steaming viands, duplicat-
ing the first order. By this time the German gentleman
was beside himself. Holding the pocket-dictionary
in his hand and shaking it in the face of the waiter, and
looking in disdain at the table, he roared the words,
' Como mucho ? ' The waiter ran to the manager, in-
forming him that the German gentleman at the table
which he was serving was undoubtedly insane. The
manager, who fortunately spoke the German language,
came up and asked the cause of the trouble. An explana-
tion followed. 'Ah, but,' said the manager, "you
should not have said 'Como mucho? '\ you should have
said ' Cuanto ? ' and it would have been all right. After
telling my waiter three times that you are a heavy feeder
he naturally supposed you wished to be helped to a
second portion. * One of my friends, who some years
ago visited the United States, provoked my mirth by
telling me a story at his own expense of a little blunder
which he unconsciously made upon his arrival in
New York. Presenting a letter of introduction to one
of the prominent citizens of Gotham, the latter cor-
dially invited him to dine at his home on the following
evening. After accepting the invitation he said, 'I
suppose it will be in order for me to come in my night-
clothes. ' The amused look on the face of his ac-
quaintance prompted him to ask questions, and he
discovered the idiomatic difference between 'night-
clothes' and "evening dress.' As these tales were
told me after my attempt to discourse upon paleon-
16
242 To the River Plate and Back
tology in Spanish to the small circle before me, I have
a latent and horrible suspicion that I may have inno-
cently said something dreadful, without meaning to
do so.
A pleasant afternoon was spent in the company of
Professor Rollin D. Salisbury, who accompanied by a
friend paid a visit to the Museum ; and on the afternoon
of October the I2th we had the pleasure of welcoming
at the Museum, Mr. John W. Garrett, the American
Minister, together with Mrs. Garrett, her mother, Mrs.
Warder, and Sir Reginald Tower, the British Minister.
They arrived about one o'clock, and, after spending a
couple of hours in the Museum, visited the Observatory,
where they took tea and met a number of the members
of the Faculty of the University and their wives. It
was the first visit which the American Minister had
paid to La Plata and it was a pleasure to present him
and his distinguished companion together with the
charming ladies of the party to my kind friends, who
were greatly pleased with the intelligent interest which
they took in the work of the Museum. It was through
the kindness of Mr. John W. Garrett, among others,
that Professor John B. Hatcher was enabled to make his
now classic journeys of exploration into the interior
of Patagonia on behalf of Princeton University, and
our eminent visitor showed that he was well acquainted
with the scientific importance and value of the noble
collections wrhich are housed under the roof of the
Argentine Museum.
One of the daily sights was the drilling of the
troops, who marched from their barracks and paraded
on the avenue immediately in front of the Obser-
vatory. They appeared to be stalwart and well-
trained men, comparing favorably in appearance with
Life in La Plata 243
similar bodies of soldiery in other parts of the
world.
In the parks and about the public buildings we often
observed prisoners, dressed in striped clothing and
strongly guarded by soldiers, employed in doing work
upon the grounds. A number of new walks and
driveways were in process of construction around the
Museum. In front of the building, as I went to and
fro, I daily saw the convicts at work. A number of
them appeared to be half-breeds, with a strong infusion
of Indian blood. One of these was a singularly tall,
handsome, and even intelligent-looking young man,
I had passed him so often, that I almost felt as if he
were an acquaintance; and one day, as I went by while
he was hard at work, I ventured in a pleasant way to
say to him "Buenos dias!1 I shall never forget the
wicked, angry scowl, which met my salutation. I never
repeated the experiment. The look he gave me con-
vinced me that he probably was where he was for good
cause. It was as if I had spoken to some wild animal
held in captivity, a caged leopard, or a wolf behind the
bars. Oh ! the pitiful sadness of it ! I inquired of one
who knew, what were the offenses for which these men
were paying the penalty. I was informed that their
crimes were principally theft and homicide. Whatever
may have been their offenses, it seemed to me to be
good that they should be laboring in the sunlight, and
doing something to make the world more beautiful,
rather than that they should be languishing and pining
away behind the blank walls of a dungeon. There is
little to be said in favor of the policy, which under
the plea of protecting "honest labor,' lays the bur-
den of endless idleness upon those who have fallen
into criminal ways. The policy is cruel to the indi-
244 To the River Plate and Back
vidual and wasteful from the standpoint of the
state.
Pleasant memories are associated with a visit which
I paid to the Director of the Museum in Buenos Aires,
Dr. Angel Gallardo, the distinguished successor of the
late Florentine Ameghino. According to appointment
I met Dr. Herrero-Ducloux at lunch-time at his club,
and having passed a very pleasant hour with him, we
went together to call upon Professor Gallardo at his
residence. We were cordially received in his beautiful
home, and after chatting for a while, and enjoying a
peep at the art-treasures by which he has surrounded
himself, we repaired together to the Museum. The
Museum at the present time is not open to the public,
the building in which the collections are housed having
been pronounced unsafe. Plans have been prepared for
the erection of a new and worthy structure, and the
Congress has made an appropriation of a million of
dollars with which to begin the work. The Museum in
Buenos Aires in its origin long antedates the Museum
in La Plata, and is associated in the minds of scientific
men with the labors of a number of most distinguished
investigators, who in former years have been connected
with it. Among the famous men who took part in its
work in early years must be mentioned Aime Bonpland,
the eminent botanist, who was the friend and associate
of Humboldt during his journeys in South America
from 1798-1804. After the return of Humboldt and
Bonpland from their long and adventurous undertakings
in the New World, Bonpland settled himself down in
Paris and began the publication of the series of works
relating to the flora of Mexico and South America
which have given him an imperishable fame. He en-
joyed the patronage of Napoleon, who made him a
Life in La Plata 245
pensioner of the state in recognition of his learning and
achievements, and he was a prime favorite of the Em-
press Josephine, who in her retirement amused herself
by endeavoring to grow the plants of the tropics from
seeds which Bonpland had brought back with him.
At the Restoration he forsook France, and, having
been offered the Chair of the Natural Sciences in the
University of Buenos Aires in 1816, he took up his
home in the latter city. While conducting a scientific
expedition on the upper waters of the Rio Parana he
was seized by the Dictator Francia, who at that time
was the supreme ruler of Paraguay, and held in captiv-
ity for over ten years. When finally released in 1831
he returned to Buenos Aires, and subsequently, after
having resided in various places for brief periods both
in Uruguay and Argentina, died in Corrientes, where his
remains rest until this day. One of those who came
after Bonpland was the great German, naturalist,
Hermann Burmeister. After having filled professorships
in the Universities of Berlin and Halle, and having
represented the latter University in the first National
Assembly in 1848, and served as a member of the first
Prussian Reichstag, he went to South America to study
and explore. Having spent a couple of years in Brazil,
he returned to Germany and published a work in two
volumes upon the fauna of that empire. In 1861 he
accepted the Directorship of the Museum in Buenos
Aires, and continued to hold the office until his death
in 1891. To him we owe a great deal of our knowledge
of the natural history of Argentina, and he was one of
the first to write extensively upon the extinct fauna of
the Tertiary and Quaternary ages in South America.
His associate and successor was Dr. Carlos Berg, a man
of great attainments, who was particularly well k
246 To the River Plate and Back
as an entomologist. At his death the Directorship fell
to Florentino Ameghino, the famous, but somewhat
visionary, paleontologist. He belonged to the numer-
ous class of "self-made" scientists, possessing all their
virtues, and some of their faults. His almost incredible
industry, and the many contributions made by him to
the literature of paleontology, will serve to keep his
memory forever green, though the conclusions which he
announced, often of a very startling nature, will in
many instances not stand the test of more careful in-
vestigation ; in fact many of them even before his death
had been rejected by his contemporaries as invalid,
not a little to his annoyance. The present Director of
the Museum in Buenos Aires is a gentleman born to the
purple. Possessed of an ample fortune, moving in the
highest social circles, educated in the best schools of his
native country and of Europe, he has already filled with
distinction the Chair of Zoology in the University of
Buenos Aires, and has made important contributions
to the literature of the natural sciences. In speaking
of him one of the leading men of the country said
that he represented la fleur de noire jeunesse doree.
Under his guidance, supported adequately by the
state, there is a brilliant future before the institution
at the head of which he stands. At present the Museum
is at a transitional point in its history. With new and
well-designed buildings at its command, with the wealth
of classic material already in its possession, it is des-
tined under the guidance of its accomplished Director
to take a very important place among the great mu-
seums of the world. The library of scientific literature
under its roof is very large and rich. In fact it compares
most favorably with the best libraries of its kind any-
where. Scientific men require access to books in order
Life in La Plata 247
to the prosecution of their researches, and the Museum
in Buenos Aires has a very remarkable collection,
acquired in large part through the labors of the in-
defatigable Burmeister, whose private library he also
bequeathed to the institution.
CHAPTER XVII
THE PRESENTATION OF THE DIPLODOCUS
" Crowned heads of Europe
All make a royal fuss
Over Uncle Andy
And his old diplodocus."— College Song.
THE work of setting up the replica in the Museum
went forward from week to week quietly and
steadily. It is not altogether an easy task to assemble
such a specimen, and get everything into place without
breakage. It requires as much knowledge and expert-
ness as would be called for in setting up a large and very
complicated machine. There are tricks in all trades'
and the trade of making and installing dinosaurs eighty
and more feet in length is one which at the present time
is known and understood thoroughly by only three
persons, two of whom are the writer and his assistant,
Mr. Coggeshall, both of whom have had more experi-
ence in this novel kind of work than it has fallen to any
other mortals to acquire. The task not only has its
difficulties, but also its dangers. The replica, although
not nearly as heavy as the original, weighs several
tons. The first thing which must be undertaken is to
erect a strong scaffolding, and to provide in its upper
part a support capable of carrying a heavy weight.
Directly under this the central platform or base is
placed. The top of this base dare not be put into
248
President Pena.
The Presentation of the Diplodocus 249
position until the skeleton has been assembled, because
there must be room left to get under the cross-beams, so
that the supports which are destined to finally bear
the specimen may be adjusted from time to time and
the bolts which hold them may be tightened. Upon the
central base planking is laid, and on this the vertebrae
of the body, or barrel, are carefully assembled and put
into position upon two more or less horizontal steel
rods. When all has been carefully adjusted a steel
rope is bent underneath the mass in such a way as
to catch the temporary supports which hold the
vertebrae, and the whole thing is tied together. The
arrangement of the details is too complicated to make
it worth while to attempt to describe it here. The next
step is to slowly and carefully lift the mass into the air
to the height of about fifteen feet. This is accomplished
by means of blocks and tackles lowered from a beam,
which generally forms a part of the scaffold put up at
the outset, and is strong enough to carry a load of two
or three tons. In La Plata we were fortunate in finding
that we could make use of the iron beams which support
the ceiling of the room. After the backbone of the
monster has been lifted high into the air, the next step
is to screw into place the tall supports of steel, which
enter sockets provided at the pelvis and at the shoulders.
When this has been accomplished, the next step is slowly
to lower the mass until the steel uprights drop into the
sockets prepared in the base to receive them, where
they are at last firmly secured by nuts and washers.
The whole operation is delicate and not without its
dangers, as we learned at St. Petersburg. Our ex-
perience there is never to be forgotten, and I trust
may never be repeated. We had raised the vertebra?
of the backbone into the air. Six moujiks, or ordinary
250 To the River Plate and Back
laborers, were stationed at intervals holding in their
hands the guy-ropes, which were intended to steady
the mass as it hung in its proper position above the
base. Mounted on a tall step-ladder at the front end
of the thing stood my assistant, ready to help me in
the task of screwing the forward upright into position.
I had lifted the heavy steel rod from the floor and was
carrying it forward to put it into place, when the door
of the room opened and a company of distinguished
visitors, members of the Imperial Academy of Sciences,
entered the room. I turned at the instant to bow to
them, still holding the tall bar of metal in my hand,
when something happened, I cannot tell what. My
belief is that one or the other of the laborers, who had
been cautioned neither to relax his hold, or to give a
pull, forgot his instructions on seeing the distinguished
gentlemen enter the room, and unconsciously gave a
jerk to the guy-rope he was holding, or else let go. The
mass turned turtle in the air, the forward end wrenched
away from the tackle-hook, and the whole thing came
down to the floor with a crash, which shook the building,
and made the portraits of the Czars and Czarinas
which hung about the walls rattle, as if there had been
a small earthquake. The company of visitors dis-
appeared instantly, looking, as they fled, as they might
have looked had a bomb been exploded in the hall.
Their precipitate exit almost provoked a smile, but
the temptation to laugh was instantly overcome by the
sight of the ruin which confronted me. My assistant
came to my side, and I said to him: 'This calamity
is irreparable! Here we are six thousand miles from
our base of supplies. There are no duplicates of these
pieces at home. Even if there were, it would take six
weeks to get them. To make a new set, and send them
The Presentation of the Diplodocus 251
over here will take three months. We cannot spend
half a year waiting in this country." 'Never mind,
Doctor!' came the cheering reply. 'I cannot tell
you how I am relieved to have you standing here alive
and well. I thought you had already gone in under
the thing; being intent upon watching my part of the
job. When the thing fell, I thought you were under
it, and probably crushed to death. It nearly sickened
me, but here you are, thank God ! Drive these people
out of the room, all of them, except Petz, the prepara-
tor, who can help us. Let us take account of stock.
You and I can patch up the d — d thing, so that
nobody will know that anything has happened.' I
confess that at the moment I had little faith in the pre-
diction. Before us laid a mass of shattered fragments.
A step-ladder had been splintered into kindling-wood.
The cross-ties of the base, though made of oak, had
been broken, as if chopped through with an ax. I al-
most shuddered to think what would have happened to
me had I taken my place upon them, as I was just on
the point of doing, before the crash came. But small
as was my faith as to the outcome, it wras at all events
only right to make an attempt to repair the damage.
It was the middle of the month of June, and at that
time of year St. Petersburg is like heaven- 'there is
no night there.' We could work from early morning
until ten o'clock at night without artificial light, -
and we did. We gathered up the pieces large and small ;
we searched for contacts, and, as we found them, put
the bits together with that strong cement, which we
know how to prepare. It was a most tedious under-
taking. But all things at last have an end. When our
task was completed, after a week had been consumed
in performing it, there remained only as many tiny
252 To the River Plate and Back
fragments as would have filled the hollow of a man's
hand which had not been restored to their places, and
almost all of these were inside pieces, the omission of
which would not be noticed, and which in fact were
already replaced by cement. When the work was done
we invited Dr. Tschernychew, the Director of the
Museum, to examine it, and he expressed his entire
satisfaction. The next time we went through with the
task of swinging the big thing into place we took the
precaution to lock the doors, and to ask some of
the higher officials of the Museum to stand by the
ropes. Since then we have invented a contrivance,
which enables us to dispense with the assistance of
helpers, and makes the repetition of such an occurrence
impossible, as we believe.
Everything went well in Argentina. At last the
replica stood in place, its head pointing to the rotunda,
and we were able to tell the cabinet-makers to apply
the finishing touches to the beautiful bases. These were
made of the wood of the southern walnut (Juglans
australis) which resembles the lumber of our own black
walnut, but appears to be somewhat denser, finer
grained, and not quite as dark in color. The tree
grows on the foot-hills of the Andes.
Having completed the work of installing the speci-
men, it became my duty, as the representative of Mr.
Carnegie, to report to the President the accomplish-
ment of the errand upon which I had been sent. I
had received through Mr. Garrett, the Minister of the
United States, an intimation that it would be the
pleasure of the President to receive me on the after-
noon of October I5th, at three o'clock. In company
with Mr. Garrett, I repaired to the Executive Mansion
at the appointed hour. We were cordially welcomed
The Presentation of the Diplodocus 253
by the Secretary of the President, who bade us be
seated. The audience-room is a fine apartment, about
which hung portraits of former Presidents of the Re-
public. President Peria immediately entered the room,
and extended cordial salutations to Mr. Garrett, who
in turn presented me. The President gave me a hearty
grasp of the hand, and expressed his pleasure at seeing
a friend of his own cherished friend, Mr. Carnegie,
whom with evident pleasure he recalled as having been
one of his colleagues at the time when the first Pan-
American Congress met in Washington in the years
i889~'9O, and of whom he spoke in terms of regard and
warm admiration. The conversation turned upon the
nature of my errand; the story of the specimen had to
be briefly told; and the fact that it had been duly
installed in the National Museum at La Plata was
mentioned. The President called my attention to the
fact that under the constitution he is forbidden to
leave the capital, without going through the formality
of turning over the reins of government for the time
being to the Vice- President, even for so short a journey
as that to La Plata, and stated, that, had it not been
for this, he would have gone down to the Museum in
person to accept Mr. Carnegie's gift, as he understood
had been done by the President of France, the Emperor
of Austria, and others. He asked me a number of
questions as to my impressions of Argentina, and said
he hoped that my stay might be extended long enough
to enable me to see more of the country than I had as
yet seen. He inquired as to the prospects of the coming
November election in the United States, without expres-
sing partiality for any of the candidates for the Presi-
dency. He spoke of the Republic of the North in terms
of good-will and generous appreciation. He told me it
254 To the River Plate and Back
was his intention to immediately write to Mr. Car-
negie, thanking him for his present to the Museum,
which he was pleased to accept on behalf of the people
of Argentina. The interview, which naturally was not
protracted, was marked by the interchange of pleasant
compliments and a little merriment due to the fact
that while the President spoke in Spanish, I was with
his gracious consent allowed to use the French lan-
guage, which the President understands perfectly, but
which he does not care to employ when he knows that
his hearers understand the language of Castile.
It was pleasant after we had withdrawn to hear Mr.
Garrett remark that the President had plainly mani-
fested greater pleasure and interest in the meeting than
he had known him to show on any similar occasion.
President Pefia is a man of fine appearance, tall, and
dignified in his bearing. He had gained wide experience
in the service of his country as a diplomat before his
election to the Presidency. Throughout his administra-
tion thus far he has proved himself to be a most capable
and efficient head of the Government. His father
before him was President of Argentina from the years
1892-1895. He therefore came to his present exalted
position possessed of an inherited acquaintance with
the requirements of the office.
Before the installation of the replica had been com-
pleted we were informed one bright morning as we
entered the Museum that Dr. Samuel A. Lafone-
Quevedo, the Director, had returned from his lengthy
absence in Europe. We found him standing with a
group of his friends in the rotunda of the Museum, and
were delighted to receive from him such a cordial and
unaffectedly hearty greeting as only he knows how to
give. "Don Samuel," as he is affectionately called by
The Presentation of the Diplodocus 255
the Staff of the institution, is of English extraction,
and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. In
spite of the fact that he has seen many a winter pass
over his head, he has lost none of the spirit of the boy,
and his cheerful humor and merry laugh are contagious.
There was no stiff formality accompanying our intro-
duction, but we instantly were made to feel that we
were friends, and as such taken at once to his heart.
Nothing could have been more delightfully frank and
free than his reception of the two strangers, who, like the
Greeks of old, had invaded his domain, bearing not a
wooden horse, but the skeleton of a still more fearsome
beast; a beast, nevertheless, which concealed no danger
lurking behind .its ribs. A few days after the return of
the good Doctor, I was approached by one of the mem-
bers of the Academy of Science, who requested me to
make no engagements for the evening of the I5th
of October, because at that time the Academy had
resolved to have me as their guest at a function to which
I might expect shortly to receive a formal invitation.
This in due time came to hand. On the evening of the
same day upon which I had the pleasure of meeting
the President in Buenos Aires, I repaired according to
the invitation to the Sportsman's Hotel in La Plata,
where the large dining-room on the upper floor had been
made ready, and where were gathered the members of
the Academy of Science, including the entire Faculty
of the Museum. Greetings were exchanged with the
company of distinguished men, all of whom I had
already come to cherish in my thought as true friends.
Then we found our places at the table, the decorations
of which were at once beautiful and provocative of
mirth. There were flowers, beautiful flowers, and in
the center of the table was a model of the Diplodocus,
256 To the River Plate and Back
fully five feet in length, which 1 had already seen in the
Museum. Little did my friend, the artist, Charles R.
Knight, imagine, when he was making this model, that
it was to serve as the center-piece at a banquet to be
given to one of his acquaintances in far-away Argentina.
There were two menus beside each cover, one intended
to be taken seriously, not so the other. The latter
claimed the most attention. It is worthy of being here
reproduced, as it was the next day in all the papers of
the Capital.
MENU.
Sauterne.
Margaux.
HORS D CEUVRES.
Canape Multimillionaire.
POTAGE.
Creme loess pampeano.
POISSON.
Filet de Lepidosiren a la Papa Roth.
RELEVE.
Petites bouchees a la Don Samuel.
ENTREES.
Grande piece Diplodocus a la Holland.
LEGUMES.
Calamites Sauce Nagelschmied.1
ROTI.
Phororhacus Bruche2 au cresson.
ENTREMETS.
Champagne
Carte blanche. Pudding diplomatique See groseille.
Bavaroise Panachee.
Moka. Cigarres.
1 Nagelschmied =Herrero-Ducloux, a pun for which the author should
be compelled to do long penance.
2 A veiled reference to Professor Carlos Bruch, an equally horrible pun.
The Presentation of the Diplodocus 257
Unfortunately the illustration at the head of the menu
and which represented the features of the Founder of the
Carnegie Institute, surrounded by a wreath constructed
of the bones of the Diplodocus, I must omit, because
of the limitations of space.
We were a merry and a very cosmopolitan company.
The scholarship of Argentina, of England, Germany,
France, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy was represented
at the table by men, some of whom had been born in
these countries, and all of whom had received their
early training in the universities of one or the other of
these lands. All, except the writer, were citizens of the
Republic which floats the white and blue flag. All
were men who had done things worth the doing. The
dinner was excellent; mine host Salvadori had excelled
himself. When we came to the cigars Dr. Lafone-
Quevedo rose and in a graceful speech expressed the
gratitude which was felt by the Academy of Science
of the University of La Plata, which is charged with
the administration of the affairs of the National Mu-
seum, for the recent gift of Mr. Carnegie, and proposed
the health of that generous citizen of the United States
of North America and his representative, the guest of
the evening. When this had been done, the speaker
announced that he had still another duty to perform
before he took his seat, and that was to welcome the
guest of the evening into the ranks of the Honorary
Membership of the Academy of Science of La Plata,
and handed to the writer a diploma certifying to his
election. The writer replied by expressing his deep
sense of the distinguished and altogether unexpected
honor which had been conferred upon him, and which
he accepted as a highly prized token of good-will, but
much more as a token of esteem for his distinguished
258 To the River Plate and Back
fellow-countryman, whom he had the honor of repre-
senting. Allusion was made to the bonds of friendship,
ever increasing in number, which unite the men of the
two Americas, and the writer concluded by proposing
the health of the President of Argentina, the long
life and prosperity of the Academy of Science, and
sempiternal success to the honest efforts of thinking
men in all lands and under all skies to bring about the
reign of peace and friendship among men.
As the first steamer for New York, upon which we
were able to secure accommodations for our return,
would not sail until October 26th, leaving a period of
ten days at my disposal in which to make an attempt
to see a little more of the country, I resolved to make
an excursion westward and obtain a glimpse of the
Andes. Mr. Garrett invited me to accompany him on
an excursion, which he had already arranged to take
from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso and thence southward,
returning by way of the Strait of Magellan. Nothing
would have given me greater pleasure than to have
accepted the opportunity to make this tour in such
pleasant company, but I decided that it would be
inexpedient for me to undertake the journey, as my
return to New York would thus be delayed for a
month. Meanwhile I received an invitation to partake
of the hospitality of the University of La Plata at a
banquet to be tendered to me at the Jockey Club in
Buenos Aires on the evening of October 24th, at which
I was informed that the Faculties of the two Universi-
ties of La Plata and Buenos Aires would unite in
recognizing in this way the kindness of Mr. Carnegie
to the nation. I resolved after careful consideration to
content myself with an excursion to Tucuman. This
would give me an opportunity to see a wide extent of
The Presentation of the Diplodocus 259
the country, take me to a spot of great historic interest,
and give me a glimpse of the Cordilleras. I left to my
obliging assistant the task of packing up the specimens
intended for the Carnegie Museum, which had been
presented to us by the authorities of the University,
and betaking myself to Buenos Aires, made my arrange-
ments for the journey.
CHAPTER XVIII
A TRIP TO TUCUMAN
"Then we gather as we travel
Bits of moss and dirty gravel,
And we chip off little specimens of stone,
And we carry home as prizes
Funny bugs of handy sizes,
Just to give the day a scientific tone." — C. E. Carryl.
"Tucuman Limited' leaves the Retire Station
1 in Buenos Aires at ten o'clock in the morning.
A few minutes before the time of departure I boarded
the train and settled myself in my compartment. The
day was bright and cool. There were many people
upon the platform, some of whom had evidently come
to say farewell to their friends; newsboys were crying
their wares ; venders of sweetmeats and fruits sauntered
along under the windows of the cars, displaying the
contents of their baskets, and soliciting purchases;
officials in uniform were bustling hither and thither;
workmen in blue overalls were opening and shutting
the axle-boxes, and were followed by men with hammers
who tested the wheels with resounding taps. It was
evident that the departure of the "Limited " was a more
or less important event in the daily routine of the little
railway world, which held the stage for the moment.
At last the conductor took his whistle from his pocket
and blew shrilly, then called out, "Aboard!" The
260
El Tigre. A Favorite Pleasure Resort near Buenos Aires.
Tucuman. The Ancient Capital.
A Trip to Tucuman 261
train began to move, there were waving handkerchiefs,
parting salutations, and in the eyes of a few of those who
were left behind there were tears, the cause of which it
was left to fancy to surmise.
As the run from Buenos Aires to Tucuman of eleven
hundred and fifty-six kilometers, equivalent to seven
hundred and twelve miles, is scheduled to be made in a
little more than twenty-four hours, the motion of the
train was not laggard. We quickly passed through the
crowded yards of the terminal, made a short stop at
Belgrano, the fashionable northern suburb, and then
settled down to a steady gait of forty-five miles an
hour. The train was vestibuled, made up of four
sleeping-cars, a dining-car, a mail-car, and a baggage-
car. The cars were almost as large as those in use in
the United States, and precisely similar in their appoint-
ments to the wagon-lits in vogue on the International
Expresses in Europe.
We glided by villas and gardens sloping toward the
river ; we slipped past the Junction leading to El Tigre ;
and then found ourselves out upon the wide pampas.
To the right in the distance a low fringe of willows
and poplars along the horizon indicated the bank of the
River Parana, which the railway more or less closely
parallels from Buenos Aires to Rosario. There are
four tracks on the road-bed between the two cities, and
the time made over this stretch was quicker than on any
other portion of our journey. The track is level, for
long distances straight, and very well laid, so that fast
running was in order. On either side of the track were
fields of grain, and expanses of pasture-land. The
country gave the impression of being carefully tilled.
The fields were neat, the fencing in good order. The
corn, or maize, which was just appearing above the
262 To the River Plate and Back
soil, had been regularly planted, and looked flourishing.
There were square leagues devoted to alfalfa. Finer
fields of this useful plant are not to be seen anywhere.
Now and then we caught sight of ranch-houses, their
white walls peeping out from among the dark green of
the eucalyptus-groves, by which they were surrounded.
The whole landscape was dotted with herds of short-
horns, and great flocks of sheep. As we came nearer to
Rosario wheat-fields became more numerous. On the
right, as we went along, we occasionally saw towering
above the fringe of willows the masts of ships or the
funnels of steamers going or coming on the way to
Rosario. Now and then tall chimneys and high roofs
indicated the location on the banks of the stream of
some great packing-house, or frigorifico, where meat is
frozen for export to the European markets.
Our first stop was made at Campana, where the
locomotive-driver replenished his water-tank. The
system of taking water while the train is in flight, long
in use upon some of the North American railways, does
not appear as yet to have been introduced into Argen-
tina. At all events I did not observe that it is employed
on any of the roads upon which I traveled.
In the ditches which we crossed as the train dashed
forward I caught glimpses now and then of cormorants
fishing in the shallow pools. Here and there a heron
sailed away into the skies. I was interested in observ-
ing that the Scissor-tailed Fly-catcher (Mifaulus
tyrannus) was quite common in the region. This bird,
which is related to our common King-bird, differs from
the latter in having a long forked tail, the two outer
feathers of which trail behind like ribbons as it flies.
Just as it alights upon the top of the thistles or the
fence-posts it appears to have the habit of spreading its
A Trip to Tucuman
263
tail in the form of the letter V. Its singular appear-
ance at once attracted attention. It is said to possess
the same intrepid and pugnacious disposition which
characterizes the King-bird, and will fearlessly attack
hawks, or other predaceous birds, and harry them,
until they fly away, screaming for mercy. The Teru-
teru, or Argentine Lapwing, was everywhere to be
seen, standing in quiet
contemplation upon
one leg, or else rapidly
running about, or
standing and flapping
its black and white
wings, much as a hack-
man on a cold winter
day will wave his arms
and beat his shoulders
to restore circulation.
What the object of this
action on the part of
the bird may be I do
not know.
The train was mov-
ing too rapidly most of
the time to allow me,
though I strained my eyes, to make out the flower-
ing plants which here and there were blooming along-
side of the track. I noted thickets of fennel,
cardoon, and poison hemlock completely filling for
long distances the right-of-way between the ends of the
ties, and the wire-fences which separate the property of
the railroad from the adjoining land. A few miserable
specimens of Erythrina cristagalli, which survived on
the edge of a pool, which the railway at one point
Fig. 26 — Scissor - tailed Fly - catcher
(Milvulus tyrannus) . i nat. size.
264 To the River Plate and Back
skirted, were in blossom; and I could imagine how fine
must be the appearance of the great river-marshes,
where this plant still survives, when they are covered
by its bloom.
As the sun mounted toward the zenith, and the
noonday heat became intense, I noticed that mirages
sprang up in the distance. Ranch-houses and groves
appeared above the horizon-line with reversed outlines,
as if reflected from the borders of a lake. Great
shining sheets of water seemed to spread over the land-
scape. The illusion was perfect. My attention was
called to another optical illusion, which for an instant
puzzled me. In the middle distance, and in fact quite
near at hand ahead of the train, I observed what ap-
peared to be broad reaches of blue water, filled with
low marsh-plants. When I first saw this, I did not
think anything about the matter, believing that what
I beheld was what my eyes taught me to see, but when
the train reached the spot where I had seen the water,
and where from appearances we ought to have been
running over piles through a marsh, I discovered that
the ground was solid. A little reflection revealed the
cause of the illusion. The land for square leagues was
sown with flax, and it was in flower. The lines of
Longfellow came back to memory:
"Blue were her eyes as the fairy flax."
The great sheets of water, which I had seen, were the
pampas covered with the bloom of the lowly plant,
millions of acres of which are annually sown in Ar-
gentina, not for the sake of the fiber, but for the sake of
the seed. Linseed is a standard article of export.
Such fields of flax I had never seen before, and unless it
A Trip to Tucuman 265
be in our own northwest, or upon the steppes of Russia,
such fields of this plant do not occur elsewhere upon our
globe. One field of flax I saw was said to cover over
fifteen thousand acres.
At lunch-time I went forward to the dining-car, and
found that I had been assigned a seat at table with
three young gentlemen, who informed me that they
were students in the University of Buenos Aires, and
were on their way to their home in the city of Salta,
having been suddenly summoned thither by the death
of a relative. They proved to be intelligent and
agreeable young men, with whom it was a pleasure to
converse during and after luncheon, and who told me
much which interested me concerning that part of the
country in which they lived. The elder of the three was
evidently responsible to some extent for the care of his
two younger companions, and the sensible and fraternal
way in which he discharged his duties attracted me to
him.
We made a short stay at San Nicolas about half-
past two in the afternoon. The place is the point of
junction of a branch-line of the railway, and the site of
packing-houses and grain-elevators. There were several
large vessels alongside of the latter.
We reached Rosario at a quarter before four o'clock
in the afternoon, and remained fifteen minutes, during
which a change of engines was made. The railway-
terminal is at some remove from the more densely built-
up portions of the city. I walked out into the open
space in front of the station, where tram-cars and cab-
men were congregated. As the sunlight fell upon the
walls and towers of the central portions of the town, I
realized that it perhaps had been a mistake on my part
not to have included it in my list of stopping-places,
266 To the River Plate and Back
and subsequently, when I met on the train an en-
thusiastic resident of the town and fell into conversation
with him, I had the sin of my omission more vividly
impressed upon me. He is a banker in Rosario and
did not hesitate to inform me in a good-natured way
that for a gentleman from North America to have
come so near one of the really great commercial centers
of South America, and only to have peeped at it from
the railway-station, was a very singular procedure.
I could only retort by saying, "Eh bien! I have been in
Paris four times during the past three years, and each
time only stayed long enough to get breakfast and
change cars. '
When leaving Rosario the locomotive was attached to
what had been the rear of our train in coming up from
Buenos Aires, and the window of my compartment
henceforth faced to the east and not to the west, as it
had up to this time. As the sun gradually declined I
watched the shadow of the train creep out over the
level plain. I have crossed the prairies of Minnesota
and the Dakotas, of Kansas and Nebraska, of Manitoba
and Alberta ; I have traveled over the steppes of Russia ;
but in none of them have I seen such absolutely level
lands as those which lie between Rosario and Irigoyen.
The horizon is that of the ocean; an upturned clod
attracts attention; a hut looks like a house; a tree
looms up like a hill. After leaving Rosario stops became
more frequent. Just after one of these, as the train
was slowly beginning to get under way again, we came
up to a herd of cattle on the road alongside of the rail-
way track; a young woman on horseback was trying
to drive them toward the village we were leaving. For
some reason or other the horse she was riding took
fright. He reared and plunged and began to buck, but
A Trip to Tucuman 267
the girl sat her saddle. I leaned out of the window to
watch the exciting scene, and when I caught the last
glimpse of her she was evidently getting the mastery
of her unwilling mount. Her skill and pluck were
equal to those of any guacho.
The sunset came with a glory too rich for words or
palette to depict. Huge clouds hung in the eastern
sky above the dark emerald green of the horizon. As
the sun went down all the colors of the spectrum were
revealed in the heavens. The clouds which had been
white became yellow, then pink, then orange, then
crimson; between their soaring masses the sky ranged
from apple-green near the horizon to the deepest cobalt
in the vault above. The glory of the sky was reflected
upon the land. The green of the leagues of growing
grain was reddened and transformed into a rich olive
tint, the plowed fields became russet touched with
gold. The dull uniformity of the landscape seemed to
be lost in the weltering splendor of the dying day, and
when the sun had set, and the world below grew dark,
the glory still lingered among the pinnacles of the
clouds high overhead. When at last deep night had
fallen, from the damp herbage rose the fire-flies. In
places they fairly swarmed, and appeared to be larger
and to emit a stronger light than the species we know
in the United States. From their flight I judged them
to be true Lampyrids, belonging to the same group of
insects which we know in the United States, not the
Elater noctilucus of the tropics, the "mooney' of the
Jamaican negroes, which I subsequently saw on my
journey, and which gives forth a different glow.
Having been reminded that the dinner hour had come,
I repaired to the dining-car and found myself placed
opposite to a young lady, beside whom a stout gentle-
268 To the River Plate and Back
man, who came in a few moments later, seated himself.
I ventured to converse with the latter, and he informed
me that he was a Bolivian on his way home to La Paz
by way of Salta and Jujuy. While we sat and talked
the lady never uttered a sound, and accepted what was
placed before her, as course followed course, without
note or comment. She seemed to me to be in trouble,
but I did not venture to speak to her. At last my
Bolivian acquaintance rose to leave the table, and I
was about to follow his example, when the young lady
broke her silence by saying to me, ' Dear sir, are you
an Englishman?' I replied, "Not exactly, but I come
very near to being one. I am an American — a North
American.' "Oh!' she said, 'I have always heard
that your people are horrid. They teach us that in
Argentina, among the circles in which I move; but you
do not look as if you could be unkind. ' With that she
handed me a card, telling me that it was her father's
card. I glanced at it and recognized that it was the
card of a man who held a responsible position in a great
firm in Buenos Aires. 'I am in deep trouble,' she
went on to say. "My father, whose card I have given
you, brought me to the train this morning and saw me
off. I had a compartment, which I supposed I would
occupy alone on my journey to Tucuman, whither I am
going without escort, to meet friends who live there.
I do not speak a word of Spanish. After we were under
way a woman was brought and put into the compart-
ment with me. I did not object, but presently she
produced a bottle or two from her belongings, and since
the middle of the afternoon she has been in a state of
complete intoxication. At Rosario they put two other
women into the compartment to occupy the upper
berths. Of these women I cannot tell you what I
A Trip to Tucuman. 269
think, but they evidently are not ladies, and their
conduct since they came on board has been simply
shocking. I tried to explain to the conductor that he
must provide me a place away from this dreadful
company in which I find myself, but he does not under-
stand English or French. Will you not help me?'
I at once sent for the conductor and told him that he
must promptly make arrangements to give the young
woman a place in a compartment where she would not
be annoyed. I explained to him the circumstances, and
told him that unless something was done immediately
I would report the matter to the railway authorities.
He presently came back to the dining-car and informed
me that the wife of one of the inspectors of the railway,
who occupied a compartment by herself, a senora muy
respetable, was willing to give shelter to my acquain-
tance, and allow her to occupy the upper berth. I
went back to the car in which she was, in order to act
as interpreter in case of necessity, and being confronted
by her three companions, who were holding a levee in
the compartment with half a dozen male acquaintances,
I realized that she had only too good reason for appeal-
ing to me. I said a few stern words to the disorderly
crowd, which caused the men to slink away for the
moment. The moral of the incident is simply this:
that it is inadvisable and may be inexpressibly uncom-
fortable for a woman to travel in these lands without
escort, and particularly when unacquainted -with the
language. I did not see the young Englishwoman until
about noon the next day, when, as I was alighting from
the train, she came up to me on the platform of the
railway station at Tucuman, and thanked me for having
intervened on her behalf.
When the dawn came on the following morning a
270 To the River Plate and Back
change had taken place in the landscape. The country
was no longer as flat as it had seemed throughout the
whole of the preceding day, but was gently undulating.
The vegetation was different. There were on all sides
thorny thickets, and low forest growths. I recognized
various species of acacia and mimosa. Prosopis alba,
with its feathery leaves, and the "chanar"-tree (Gour-
liea decorticans) were common. Here and there a few
specimens of the quebracho-tree had escaped the
clutches of the 'wood-butchers,' in spite of the fact
that they were growing near the line of the railway.
The quebracho Colorado (Schinopsis Lorentzii) is one
of the notable trees of the country. Out of its almost
imperishable wood, which is nearly as hard as ebony,
are made the railroad-ties for the various lines, which
are gridironing the southern continent. Latterly it is
being used for the manufacture of tannin. About
twenty-five per cent, of the substance of the tree is
tannin, and this is being extracted in huge quantities,
and the noble trees are disappearing as fast as they can
be cut down and their wood chewed up by powerful
machinery and the tannin separated. The bulk of the
extract is exported to the United States, though Ger-
many and Great Britain are also large consumers
of the product. The name quebracho- 'break-ax" —
was given to the tree because of the hardness of its
wood. There are other trees to which the same name
has been given by the natives, and one of these the
quebracho bianco (Aspidosperma quebracho), the bark
of which contains certain alkaloids reputed to possess
medicinal properties, is also one of the common trees of
the semi-forested belt through which our train was
passing. But more striking than any of the growths I
have mentioned were the giant cacti. Many of these
A Trip to Tucuman 271
were fully forty or more feet in height. At the ground
they appeared to be from two to three feet in diameter,
and then rapidly branching, sent up huge candelabra-
like tops, which were covered with large starry flowers,
some white, some yellow, some crimson. There were
evidently a number of species. These growths were
in many places being cut down and burned up to make
way for the planting of alfalfa. I saw the Italian
laborers at work in the clearings, and here, there,
everywhere, columns of smoke could be seen ascending
from the midst of the forest just as I used to see them
when I was a child in the Middle West of our own
country. What would not the people of Ohio, Indiana,
and Kentucky now give if they could only recall to the
land the growths of trees which once covered it? The
sight of these giants of their race being hacked down and
destroyed impelled me on my return to Buenos Aires
to suggest to Sefior Ramos Mejia, the Minister of
Public Works, that there ought to be steps taken to
make a reservation of a large tract of this interesting
region, easily accessible from the railway, so that future
generations of Argentines might know what the land
was like when the fathers first invaded it. He admitted
the desirability of such a step, but said, The General
Government possesses no claim to the lands within the
limits of the organized Provinces. We have followed
the example of your country. The United States of
North America cannot set up 'forest reservations' in
Pennsylvania. If such reservations are made it must
be by the Province. ' Thus the matter rests. I hope,
however, that the Provinces, if not the General Govern-
ment of Argentina, may not fail in the near future to
take steps to preserve at least some small portions of the
primaeval forests in their native wildness.
272 To the River Plate and Back
At La Banda there was a short stay made. This is
the point where passengers bound for Santiago, the
capital of the Province of Santiago del Estero, change
cars. Here there were extensive irrigation ditches, and
the work of reclaiming the land in the neighborhood
appears to be progressing. The soil is very red, and
seemed to be somewhat impregnated with iron. It did
not appear very fertile to me, but I observed that along
the irrigation canals a rank growth of vegetation oc-
curred, so that it no doubt possesses more agricultural
value than at first sight it suggests. The ride during the
remainder of the forenoon was hot and rather dusty.
We were behind time, owing to some detention which
had taken place during the night, and we did not reach
Tucuman until noon. The approach was interesting.
We left the thorny forests behind us, and found our-
selves in a wide and evidently very fertile plain, given
over almost entirely to the cultivation of sugar-cane,
which was just springing up. The fields seemed to be very
carefully tilled and the young canes were in fine condition.
Ahead of us were the blue slopes of the Cordilleras, their
tops veiled in clouds. Just at their feet rose the towers
and white walls of Tucuman. The tall chimneys of the
sugar-factories are a striking feature of the landscape.
I had taken pains to make inquiries of several
persons on the train in regard to hotel accommodations
in Tucuman, and found that all agreed that the best
hotel in the city was one which had only recently been
built, and which I was informed represented the last
word in the architecture and furnishing of such a house.
At the station I promptly surrendered my valise to the
custody of a young man, who wore a cap upon the band
of which the name of this hotel appeared. He did not
seem averse to taking charge of my luggage, but rather
A Trip to Tucuman 273
startled me by telling me, that, while I could get a room
in the house, I would have to go elsewhere for my meals,
as the hotel was closed in part, and the chef and the
waiters had all been dismissed the week before. I
resolved, nevertheless, to inspect the house. I found
I had not been misinformed as to its character. The
building is large, the room offered me was as good as I
could have obtained in the best hotel in New York, and
there was a fine bath-room connected with it, which in
view of the heat and the dust which had settled into
every pore, led me promptly to decide that wherever
I might take my meals, this was the place for me. The
sight of a neatly tiled bath-room, and an immaculate
porcelain tub resolved all doubts on the instant. When
the dust of the journey had been washed away, I felt as
I imagine King Naaman must have felt after he had
obeyed the prophet and taken his plunge into the Jor-
dan. The owner of this fine new hotel in Tucuman is
the owner of two large and successful hotels in Mon-
tevideo. His reason for closing the house in the north
is probably the same which leads the proprietors of
hotels in Florida not to keep them open in the summer
season. The people about the hotel had no reason to
assign for the closing of the dining-room, except that
they had received orders to do so. A relative of the
proprietor who seemed to be in charge, and who is an
English lady, said to me of the owner, 'E is makin'
lots o' money in Montevideo, but I don't know 'ow it
is up 'ere, tambien; it 's not for the loikes o' us to be
givin' 'im adwice, tambien; 'e knows 'is hown biznis,
tambien.' Her use of the Spanish word "tambien" to
interlard her sentences very much as "Selah" is employed
in the Psalms, was delicious.
I discovered that I would have to take my meals at a
18
274 To the River Plate and Back
hotel located in the central part of the city, on the Plaza
Independencia, and as the sun was scorching and this
hotel was located fully half a mile from my bath-tub,
I formed an acquaintance with Antonio, the owner
of a fiacre and a sound horse, with whom I made a
bargain that he would enter into my service, accept-
ing wages for the day instead of for the trip, and he
became my fidus Achates. He seemed pleased to
enter into the arrangement, and I had no occasion
during my stay to regret the fact that I had made it.
The hotel, to which I resorted for my luncheon, was a
low structure, two stories in height, very deep, and
traversed through its entire length by a long, narrow
patio over which was a glazed roof. At the extreme
rear of this cool passageway, nearly two hundred feet
long, was the dining-room. On either side of the
passageway were offices, and bed-rooms for guests,
though most of the guests have their bed-rooms on the
second floor, with their doors opening out upon a
balcony. The place had a somewhat rusty and antique
appearance, but the viands were good and the service
was prompt. After luncheon I informed Antonio that
I wished to make a round of the city and see the princi-
pal sights. We first repaired to the "Casa Historica. '
This is the building in which on the 9th day of July,
in the year 1816 the representatives of the Spanish
colonies in the southern part of the continent of South
America assembled, and where they formulated and
adopted their declaration of independence from Spain.
The building is about twenty feet wide and sixty feet
long, roofed with tiles. The interior forms a single
room, floored with rough red tiles about a foot square,
somewhat irregularly laid. The walls are whitewashed,
and the ceiling, which is built of rough planking, is also
A Trip to Tucuman 275
whitewashed. At one end of the room is a large rudely
carved arm-chair, in front of which is a low table.
The arm-chair is the one which was used by the Presi-
dent of the first Congress, and the table is said to be the
same which was. used at that time. There are a few
other chairs which range along the sides of the room;
otherwise there is no furniture. Upon the walls hang
a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence, and
portraits of a number of those who were the signers of
the same. Let into the walls are a number of commemo-
rative tablets. This lowly structure is preserved and
protected from decay by having built over it an outer
structure surmounted by a great dome of glass, under
the middle of which it stands. In the courtyard in
front of this handsome outer edifice on either side are
two great bronzes commemorating the passage of the
act by which the people of the South American Colonies
declared their freedom from the yoke of Spain. The
one on the left, as the courtyard is entered, represents
the members of the Congress gathering about the table
in the Casa Historica to affix their signatures to the
immortal document. The one on the right represents
the reading of the Declaration to the assembled people.
These tablets are about twenty-five feet long and ten
feet high, and the figures are life-size. In the center
of the outer court are planted a number of palms, which
are growing vigorously and afford a grateful shade. I
lingered for some time at this spot, stirred by
emotions kindred to those which might be felt by a
stranger who for the first time visits Independence
Hall in Philadelphia. Great are the changes not only
in South America, but throughout the whole world,
which have taken place since the first deliberative
assembly met under the lowly roof of the humble
276 To the River Plate and Back
building which patriotic pride is preserving. The men
who gathered here came across the pampas, the
snowy mountains of the West, and through the hot
tropical jungles, enduring such hardships in travel
as none in this generation is called upon to under-
go. Life in these regions a hundred years ago had in it
no touch of luxury; the conditions were even sterner
than in the great Republic of the North. The heroism
displayed by the patriots who met at Tucuman was not
less than that displayed by the men who had gathered
for the same purpose in Philadelphia in 1776.
It is possible, however, for a traveler to surfeit him-
self with sight-seeing. Too much of anything palls.
There comes a time in European travel — unless you
have great endurance — when the sight of a cathedral
disgusts, and the thought of an art-gallery provokes
a yawn. After having spent half an hour in cudgeling
from the dark chambers of memory what little I knew
of South American history, I began to feel exhaustion.
Strained by this form of mental exercise, I resolved that
I would follow the advice of Antonio, who informed me
that he knew a brickyard in the outskirts of the city
where there were butterflies — mariposas — in abundance.
He had been examining my butterfly-net, which I had
left on the seat of the fiacre, while I was exploring the
Casa Historica. "Very well, then, good Antonio, we
will go to the outskirts, stopping on the way to see
anything which may be of interest. ' We halted at two
of the churches, which I entered, but, not having letters
of introduction to the Roman Catholic bishop of the
diocese, failed to detect anything which was profoundly
interesting in their interiors, though no doubt with a
competent guide, such as a bishop might be, the tourist
could obtain some satisfaction by a visit to these old
A Trip to Tucuman 277
edifices. I have no doubt that each one of them has a
story to tell, which, however, is not revealed by gilded
Madonnas and altar furniture, which appears to be all
t hat is visible. I am not much interested in such things,
and if I wish to see them, can see them better at home in
the factory which is run by my Italian friend who makes
the reproductions of the bones of the Diplodocus for
me, and who, as a side issue, runs a shop in which
he sells virgins and apostles used to decorate the sanc-
tuaries of the faithful. From appearances the making
of plaster of Paris images must be a good business in
South America for the enterprising Italians who have it
in hand. Two days afterwards, on Sunday, I witnessed
a solemn religious procession, in wrhich one of these
gilded images of the Virgin covered by a canopy was
paraded through the streets borne on the shoulders of
men, preceded and followed by ecclesiastics and great
numbers of people with bared heads, while the military
had turned out, and bands played, and there was a
general sensation throughout the town. This kind of
mummery is characteristic to some extent of Spain, as it-
used also formerly to be of Italy and France. Its per-
petuation in South America is interesting, as showing
the survival of curious religious customs, which have
become obsolete in other parts of the world with the
advance of knowledge.
Antonio's brickyard, although it was full of thistles,
the blossoms of which the butterflies frequent, did not
yield as many specimens as an adjoining alfalfa-field,
which was in bloom. But it did yield me a very beauti-
ful view of the Cordilleras, and it was these which I had
come to Tucuman to see. Alas ! however, during all the
days that I was there the obstinate clouds refused to
roll away from the summits, and the deep purple slopes
278 To the River Plate and Back
were the most that I generally saw. Now and then, as
the clouds twisted about higher up, an aggravating and
unsatisfying glimpse of peaks and pinnacles was ob-
tained. Early one morning, about four o'clock, upon
waking and looking toward the west, I caught a glimpse
of the more distant summits; but it quickly vanished.
For weeks at a time the great Andean uplifts are
wrapped in fog. In consequence of this there is
wonderful vegetation upon the lower slopes. Antonio
drove me over by a very rough road, full of ruts, to the
edge of the tropical forest, which comes down to meet
the clearings in which sugar-canes grow. It was only
a glimpse I had of a world in which I would like to
have spent weeks. What I saw reminded me of the
forest-clad mountains about Rio de Janeiro — the same
splendid growths of huge umbrageous trees; the same
intermingling of genera and species; the same wealth
of epiphytic plants.
It was dinner-time and already dark when Antonio
brought me back at the end of my first day's experience
in Tucuman. I was glad to retreat to my bath-tub, and
at an early hour to 'woo the drowsy god,' safely
ensconced under the cover of the mosquito-net, which I
took pains to adjust in such a manner as to prevent
attacks by Stegomya, that insidious dipteron, which
conveys the germs of yellow fever. It had not been
reassuring at dinner to have the head-waiter inform me
that there were a good many cases of vomito in town.
On the morning of the following day, at an early
hour, I was driven by Antonio into the country. We
went first to the Aguas Corrientes, the water- works,
where Antonio had informed me that I would see
something, and have a chance to make a good collection
of the small creatures which I wished to obtain. The
A Trip to Tucuman 279
result of the expedition was not wholly satisfactory so
far as the number of specimens was concerned. I had
an opportunity, however, to observe some things which
wrere not devoid of interest. A great swarm of grass-
hoppers were at work in a field through which I rambled.
The langustos, as the natives call them, were fully
mature, and were busy devouring the herbage. The
day was quite still, and it was a novel thing to hear the
sound which they produced as they fed upon the grasses
and foliage. The working of thousands upon thousands
of small jaws and the rustling of wings, and the stir
they made as they crawled over the ground, filled the
air with a low but continuous murmur, unlike anything
else I have heard. It became impressive as evidence
of the fact that so small and insignificant a thing as a
grasshopper may indeed become :'a burden,' and a
great burden, too, to the land. The species (Schisto-
cerca paranensis) is at times a veritable scourge, as
great as that of the locusts of the Orient, even more
so than the common Melanoplus spretus, the Rocky
Mountain Locust, to which it is not distantly related.
The insects were being greedily devoured by birds, and
I noted that the Guira was doing its part in destroying
them. By the roadside I had a good opportunity to
examine the nest of an Oven-bird (Furnarius rufus) . It
was built low down on the branch of a tree, so that by
standing up in the carriage I could get a very good view
of it. I had seen the birds on the grounds of the Obser-
vatory at La Plata, and had often observed their nests
at a distance, but here was a chance to carefully study
one near at hand. The structure is almost globular in
outline, built of clay, about a foot in diameter, with an
entrance at one side. It is said that this entrance is
always placed by the bird toward the rising sun.
280 To the River Plate and Back
Whether this is true in all cases it is, of course, impossible
for me to affirm, but it was certainly true in the case
of the nest which I examined. I note, however, that
Hudson, who ought to know, says that the opening is
always made on that side of the nest from which danger
might be apprehended. Inside the nest is divided into
two compartments, a small ante-chamber and a larger
inner chamber, the entrance to which is higher up than
the outer entrance, so that it cannot well be reached
from the outer entrance with the ringers. The bird is
very common in the Province of Buenos Aires and else-
where; and there are a number of other species of the
same genus in other parts of South America which have
similar habits. The bird is known by the common peo-
ple under the name of el Hornero, l the Baker, " because
of the oven-like structure which it builds. Antonio said
to me: UEI Hornero es el mas inteligente de todos los
pajaros; es arquitecto.' There is a great deal of folk-
lore and tradition in reference to the Oven-bird current
throughout Argentina. The birds are never molested,
and it is regarded as a sign of good luck to have the
Hornero build its nest in proximity to a house. The
bird in size is a little smaller than the common robin of
our North American lawns, the plumage of its back,
tail, and wings bright reddish brown, the breast paler
in color. It may frequently be seen running and
hopping about on pathways in gardens.
The reservoirs and pumping stations at the water-
works did not interest me as much as my cochero
thought they would. I have seen in my time more
impressive establishments. Butterflies of various
species were reasonably common, but I found the heat
so oppressive, that, after I had spent an hour or two
chasing and collecting insects, I was ready to seek other
A Trip to Tucuman 281
pastures. We drove at my command to the river-
el rio. i had anticipated from the map that I would
find myself on the banks of a considerable stream. In
the rainy season there was every evidence that it must
be a great body of water which flows down through its
bed; but to my horror, when I arrived, where I had
expected to see a broad shining river, I discovered
nothing but cobblestones and stretches of sand in which
dwarfed willows were growing; through the middle of
the channel there flowed a highly malodorous stream of
sewage about four feet wide, from which I fled incon-
tinently. The carcasses of dead animals had been
apparently hauled out of town and deposited along the
bed of the river, there to decay, and ultimately to be
washed away by freshets, which fill the channel in the
rainy season. El rio left upon me no memories save
that of its extreme putridity. The sanitary condition
of Tucuman would be improved by resorting to some
more modern method of disposing of the sewage and the
carcasses of dead horses and dogs, which are now left to
fester under a torrid sun.
The Province of Tucuman is the center of the sugar
industry of Argentina. Under a protective tariff the
business has increased greatly in recent years. The
area under cultivation has grown since 1872, when it
was 2453 hectares, to 72,000 hectares in 1910, of which
62,500 — equal to about 155,000 acres — were planted in
the immediate vicinity of Tucuman. The level plain
in which Tucuman is located is criss-crossed in various
directions by railways, to which the canes are brought
when ripe and transported to the factories, where the
whole process of making sugar is completed, from the
crushing of the canes by powerful machinery, thereby
extracting the sap, to the final process of refining.
282 To the River Plate and Back
German and French capital and brains have been
utilized to bring about the greatest economy in manufac-
ture. A number of the establishments are truly impres-
sive in their size and the perfection of their equipment.
To find here within sight of the Andes great estab-
lishments covering an area as large as is covered by
some of the larger steel-mills in the United States,
devoted to the production of sugar, was to me at first
sight a matter of astonishment. I had the pleasure
of meeting several German chemists, who are charged
with the conduct of one of these great concerns. I
found them to be men of scientific training, thorough
masters of the subject. While the industry has as-
sumed large proportions, the product at the present
time is only about equal to the domestic demand, and
Argentina has not yet come to the point where it can
export sugar profitably and in quantity. Not all of the
refining is done on the ground at Tucuman. A certain
proportion of the raw sugar is shipped to Rosario, where
there are extensive refineries.
The population of Tucuman reveals a considerable
infusion of Indian blood, much more than is the case in
Buenos Aires. Not a few of the people I saw were
evidently pure-blooded Indians. One old woman, wrho
daily sat at the entrance of the hotel where I took my
luncheon and dinner, told me with evident pride that
she was an Indian. She was engaged in selling cheap
embroideries of native workmanship. I saw many
others whose features indicated that they belonged to
the same race. Some of the children and girls were
decidedly pretty. As a class these people did not
impress me as being very robust, and some of them
appeared to be more or less under-sized and under-fed.
Pulmonary disease is reported to be very prevalent
A Trip to Tucuman 283
among them, and likewise syphilis. The latter disease
is very prevalent in South America, and according to
the opinion of some learned authors the disease was
originally imported into Europe from South America.
Whatever may have been the point of its origin, it is,
according to the opinion of those most competent to
express themselves upon the subject, unfortunately
very common in the southern continent.
The days I had allowed myself for my visit to Tucu-
man came all too quickly to an end. I would gladly
have stayed longer, and pushed on to Salta and Jujuy,
and thence invaded Bolivia, and paid a call in passing
to a young friend of mine, who has for many years past
been sending me the birds and insects of the latter
country. But I knew I had gone as far as I dared to go
with the time at my command, and therefore on the
night of October 2Oth boarded the train for my return
to Buenos Aires. By doing this I was enabled to see
by the light of day that part of the country through
which I had passed in the night on coming up. The
clear division between the different vegetational zones
through which we passed was most interesting. When
I awoke on the morning of the 2ist we were still in the
region of the giant cacti and the thorny undergrowths
of the semi-arid belt. We soon passed beyond this into
a tract which still retains much of the primitive vegeta-
tion of the pampas. It was characterized by growths of
tall, harsh grasses, growing in tufts, with bare open
spaces between them. Some of these spots between
the grass-tufts were filled with blooming plants of
different species, among them I was delighted to see
the scarlet verbena blossoming in a way which would
delight the heart of a florist at home. Wide patches of
the soil were all ablaze with the brilliant red of this
To the River Plate and Back
beautiful flower. A little farther alon^ between the
railway stations known as Pinta and Selva there
occurred palms and palmettos, scattered in clumps
among the rank grasses, which covered the ground.
In the neighborhood of Palacios I observed that the
land for leagues was covered with tall ant-hills, from
eighteen inches to two feet in height. There were
literally millions of them crowded together in such
proximity to each other that they seemed to occupy
almost the entire surface. I should much have liked
Fig. 27 — Carancho. i nat. size.
to have given them a near inspection. The ants of the
tropics have had an important part in the past in form-
ing the soil, having performed a service analogous to
that which has been rendered in the temperate regions
of the north by the earth-worms.
Everywhere during the long ride I took notice of the
fact that birds seemed to be numerous. The nests of
the Hornero were frequently seen upon the telegraph-
poles beside the tracks. Hawks and burrowing owls were
common. I saw a number of specimens of the Caran-
cho, (Polyborus tharus) or Caracara, as it is called in
Central America, and the northern parts of South
A Trip to Tucuman 285
America. This most interesting bird is said to be a
scavenger, and to prey upon carrion, but, while it may
do so when pressed by great hunger, it is claimed by
those who have most closely studied its habits that it
generally feeds upon the weak and the wounded,
whether birds or mammals. It is the torment of the
hunter, from whom it snatches the birds which he may
have brought down before he is able to retrieve them.
Hudson devotes many pages to accounts of the habits
of this rather fine-looking hawk and I was very glad to
see it in its native haunts.
After leaving Selva the land became more and more
cultivated, until at Valdez we reached a region, which is
one of the garden-spots of the world. Finer fields of
wheat and clover, of flax and maize, are not to be seen
anywhere upon the globe. Shortly after leaving Valdez
the night came on, and the next morning I found myself
in Buenos Aires ready for breakfast, and glad soon
afterwards to meet some of my friends, who called
upon me, and congratulated me upon my safe return
from my little excursion, in which I had in one way or
another covered nearly fifteen hundred miles of travel.
CHAPTER XIX
LAST DAYS IN ARGENTINA
'All places that the eye of heaven visits
Are to a wise man ports and happy havens.'
Shakespeare.
THE few days which remained before beginning my
voyage to the north were partly consumed by
visits to La P ata, where I renewed my acquaintance
with my friends, and looked after matters which re-
quired my personal attention. I was glad to meet Dr.
Hussey, who had returned from his expedition to
Brazil, and was able to sympathize with him, as he
told me of the unsuccessful results of the undertaking.
Had I not myself, in 1887, gone all the way to Japan
on a similar errand, and failed?
The time which was not given to business and social
duties was devoted to sight-seeing in Buenos Aires.
The capitol, the various parks, the cemeteries, the
latter remarkable because of the many noble monu-
ments and finely executed pieces of statuary found
there, were visited. A certain amount of time was
spent in endeavoring to pick up souvenirs. As at
Bahia, so in Buenos Aires, I found this difficult. While
there was displayed in the shops an abundance of
beautiful silverware, bronzes, glassware, porcelain, and
articles de luxe, which were at once useful and attractive
to the eye, all of these were things made in Europe or
286
Monument of San Martin, Buenos Aires.
A Glimpse into the Cemeterio del Norte, Buenos Aires.
Last Days in Argentina
287
North America, and could be purchased far more
cheaply in Pittsburgh, or even in New York. A friend
bent upon the same errand, who had the same thought,
informed me that all which he had succeeded in finding,
which in any sense might be regarded as characteristic
of the country, and therefore fit to be souvenirs of a
visit, were photo-
graphs, mate-
gourds, armadillo-
baskets, and jag-
uar-skins. He
had discovered a
place where these ^g- 28- — Nine-banded Armadillo. £ nat. size.
things were for sale, and he guided me to the spot. The
poor little armadillos, small successors of the huge
glyptodons and other allied beasts which formerly
tenanted the pampas, are being somewhat rapidly ex-
terminated, and are sold in the markets as food. There
is not much flesh on an armadillo. The favorite method
of cooking them is to stuff them with bread-crumbs
and roast them. The fat imparts a certain richness
to the bread-crumbs,
but to eat roasted arm-
adillo is very much
like eating the stuffing
of a bony and fleshless
turkey without getting
any of the turkey. The
most curious use to
which these poor crea-
tures are put is to con-
Fig. 29.— Armadillo Basket. Vert their carapaces
into baskets. The mouth is opened and the end of the
tail is inserted into it, thus forming the handle of the
288 To the River Plate and Back
basket, while the hollow carapace serves as a receptacle.
The carapace is lined with silk. I bought several
as souvenirs. In a shop on the Avenida de Mayo I
found a few spec'mens of Paraguayan lace, which are
rather pretty. The lace is made by the Indians. While
the designs are artistic, the fabric does not appear to
be very durable. The lace is made of thread spun in
Europe.
On the evening of October 24th I repaired according
to invitation to the Jockey Club , where I had the honor
of being the guest at a banquet given by the University
of La Plata, at which the Rector of the University of
Buenos Aires, the Deans of the Faculties, and the
leading professors of both institutions were present, as
well as the Ministry of the Province of Buenos Aires.
The banquet was given in the Empire-Room of the Club,
said to be the most beautiful room of its kind in the
city, and I very much doubt whether in any club in any
part of the world there is a more beautiful banqueting
chamber than this. It is circular in form, of large
dimensions. The dome surmounting it is supported on
tall pilasters, and is decorated with beautiful allegorical
designs executed by French artists. The banquet-
table extends around the entire room in the form of a
hollow circle, the central space being reserved for
floral displays. Dr. Joaquin V. Gonzales, the Rector
of the University of La Plata, presided. Being seated
at his right hand, I found at my right hand Dr. Euf emio
Uballes, the Rector of the University of Buenos Aires.
Sixty gentlemen were present. It certainly was a very
distinguished honor which in the kindness of their
hearts these learned and eminent men accorded to me,
and I accepted it as a tribute of good-will to the
Founder of the Institute, whom I had the honor of
Last Days in Argentina 289
representing, and to my own country. Dr. Gonzales
after dinner rose and made a very beautiful and elo-
quent address, in which he spoke gratefully of the
generosity of Mr. Carnegie, whose health he proposed,
as well as that of his representative. He alluded to the
bonds of sincere amity which exist between Argentina
and the great Republic of the North, from which the
guest of the evening had come. It was a pleasure for
the writer to acknowledge with heartfelt gratitude
the many distinguished courtesies which had been
extended to him during his brief stay in the country,
and his appreciation of the hospitality which he had
received, destined to leave an indelible impression upon
his memory, and cause him always to think of the
people of Argentina as his friends. The fact that the
constitution of Argentina is identical with that of the
United States, that its government is founded upon
the same principles which were enunciated by those
who framed the organic law of the Republic of the
North, was alluded to; and on behalf of the scientific
men and educators of my own land, I ventured to
express my appreciation of what I had observed of
the efforts which are being made by men of learning
and of science in the great Republic of the South to
advance knowledge, to train men for the highest useful-
ness, and to hasten the coming of that good time
foretold by the seer, when ' swords shall be beaten
into ploughshares and spears converted into pruning-
hooks. ' As to the relations which subsist between
the two republics, I ventured to express the confident
belief that these would forever be relations of fraternity
and of mutual helpfulness. ' We of the North and you
of the South are all of us Americans, and though the
Pole-star lights our northern sky, and the Southern
19
290 To the River Plate and Back
Cross sheds its radiance over your fair land, the heavens
in which they shine unite to form but one unbroken
sphere from which light, the gift of Him who is 'the
Father of lights,' is poured upon all the sons of men.
' If we walk in the light ... we have fellowship one
with another' and error and misconception pass away.
National misunderstandings and antagonisms are al-
ways the result of ignorance. When the nations
come to understand each other, as do the gentlemen
gathered about this table, there will be no occasion
for ill-will."
At the conclusion of the festivities I had an opportun-
ity to take those who were present by the hand and to
exchange hearty farewell greetings with them.
In passing it may be observed that the Jockey Club
is a power in Argentina. It is composed of the leading
men of the country, one of the indispensable conditions
of membership being citizenship. It gathers all the
great land-owners into its ranks, and the agricultural
interests of the nation, which are most important, are
attended to and in various ways promoted by the Club.
It is said that the Jockey Club practically rules Argen-
tina, and that no measure of state can succeed unless
approved by this influential organization, made up of
the leaders of public opinion throughout the land. The
club-house is one of the most luxuriously appointed
buildings of its kind in existence. One of its beautiful
architectural features is a staircase of Argentinian
onyx leading from the vestibule to the second floor.
It was a matter of regret to me that my brief stay
prevented me from visiting certain localities which I
have always fancied that I should like to see. The
Argentina with which the tourist ordinarily becomes
acquainted is the Argentina immediately adjacent to
cc
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Last Days in Argentina 291
the Capital, a region which the reader by this time
realizes is interminably flat. Very different from this
is the western country traversed by the Andean Alps.
The loftiest peak is that of Aconcagua, which rises
more than twenty-three thousand feet into the air.
Several of my friends in the Academy of Sciences of La
Plata have devoted a great deal of time to the system-
atic exploration of Aconcagua, and one of them
presented me with an extensive collection of photo-
graphic views of this noble mountain which he made a
couple of years ago. There are in the southern Andes
scores of other peaks, scarcely less impressive than Acon-
cagua, which remain to be conquered by the members
of some future Alpine Club, which awaits organization
in Argentina. There is a whole world of as yet unseen
wonders to be investigated in the southern portions of
the cordilleran ranges. Not only the mountain-climber
and the artist, but the geologist and the mineralogist,
have still before them a rich field in which to exert their
powers in this territory, which remains almost virgin soil
for the explorer. I should have liked very much to have
visited the region of the Strait of Magellan, which,
richly dowered with fiords, glaciers, and snow-peaks,
rivals Norway in the magnificence of its scenery. But
even more than all these would I have liked to have
seen the Falls of the Iguassu. This mighty cataract,
far exceeding in size and height our own Niagara, is
one of the wonders of the world, which has as yet been
visited by but few persons. I made diligent inquiry to
ascertain whether it would be possible for me to pene-
trate so far and return within a reasonable length of
time, but discovered that in order to make the journey
at least three weeks would be required, and therefore
abandoned the thought of the undertaking.
292 To the River Plate and Back
The Falls of the Iguassu are located in the midst of
dense tropical forests at the eastern border of the
central lowlands, where the river makes its final bold
leap from the eastern highlands, about twelve miles
from its point of junction with the Alta Parana, and
near the point where the States of Brazil, Paraguay,
and Argentina come together. The Iguassu takes its
rise in the Province of Santa Catharina in Brazil, not
more than thirty miles from the Atlantic coast. The
waters, which begin their journey there, flow westward
and southward, and only again find rest in the ocean
after they have gone two thousand miles from their
source. The river just before reaching the cataract
pursues a very devious course. The fall is divided into
two main portions by a large island. The cataract on
the Brazilian side descends by an unbroken leap of
about two hundred and thirty feet. The cataract
on the Argentinian side descends by two leaps, each
over a hundred feet in height, the total fall at this point
being about two hundred and ten feet. The fall on the
Brazilian side has the form of a horseshoe, like that at
Niagara. But between the large Brazilian and the
great Argentine falls there are a number of smaller
falls through which the water spills over the cliff be-
tween small islands. In the dry season there is a succes-
sion of cataracts presented to view from the Brazilian
side of the river; but, when the stream is in flood, these
small dividing islets are submerged, and the whole face
of the high wall of rock is one immense torrent, save
where it is broken by the great central island. The
total contour of the fall is about ten thousand feet, or
nearly two miles in length, and at the lowest point the
fall is forty feet higher than Niagara. Below the fall
the stream suddenly narrows, and the tremendous dis-
etf
ed
o
C
O
u
Last Days in Argentina 293
charge of water passes away through a gorge about
four hundred feet wide, to which the Indians have given
the name El Golfo del Diabolo, in comparison with which
it is said that the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara are
a very tame little affair. Between low water in the dry
season and high water in the rainy season there is a
difference of one hundred and forty feet in the depth
of the stream passing through the Devil's Gulf. The
thunder of the cataract is heard for miles ; the cloud of
mist which rises above it is a landmark visible for many
leagues.
Access to the spot is now obtained by going either by
boat or rail to Corrientes, thence by steamer up the
Alta Parana to the junction of the Rio Iguassu with the
former river. At this point the tourist must complete
the remainder of his journey either on foot or mule-
back. The journey in going consumes from twelve to
fifteen days, and in returning somewhat less. There is
as yet no hotel at the falls for the accommodation of
travelers, and those who visit the spot must make
arrangements to camp out during their stay. The
forests in the neighborhood of the falls are dense,
luxuriantly tropical, and the place is said to abound
not only with gorgeous butterflies, such as the splendid
Morphos, and various species of the genera Agrias and
Callithea (Frontispiece, figs, i, 6, and 9), but with
other insects not so charming to the eye, which make a
visit to the falls somewhat of a trial to the "faith and
patience of the saints. ' When discussing the possibil-
ity of going to the cataract of the Iguassu, one of my
friends, who had been there, said to me: 'Don't go.
You will be eaten up by bichos. ' The word bicho is
used in South America very much as the word bug is
used in English, to designate all sorts of insect-pests
294 To the River Plate and Back
and crawling vermin. Speaking of bichos I am reminded
of a tale told me a number of years ago by the wife of a
former American Consul in Buenos Aires, who related
with laughter her experiences at a somewhat primitive
summer-resort, since grown fine and fashionable, at
which she and her husband, in its early days, once
passed their vacation in the hot months. Flies were
exceedingly numerous, and, as she sat down at table,
the waiter placed before her a plate of soup in which
she counted no less than half a dozen of the odious
things. She was properly indignant, and ordered
him to bring her another plate of soup without such
garniture. He removed the plate and stationing
himself where he evidently thought she could not
see him, with his back turned towards her, picked the
flies out of the soup with his greasy fingers, and then
advancing with an air of triumph on his face, smilingly
set the plate down again before her, exclaiming as he
straightened himself up: 'Sopa sin bichos!' — Soup
without bugs!
The steamer Vestris was to make her maiden voyage
from Buenos Aires to New York, sailing on the morning
of October 26th. I had engaged passage upon her, and
accordingly on the evening before sailing we went to the
dock, hunted up the chief steward, and arranged to have
our effects put into our staterooms and the doors
locked, so that at the time of departure in the morning
we would not be annoyed by petty cares and anxieties.
The last evening was spent at the hotel in the society
of friends, who came one after the other to wish us a
safe and prosperous voyage.
In the morning we were off betimes, and, as we rode
down the Avenida de Mayo, a sturdy fellow, springing
out from the sidewalk, began to race alongside of the
Last Days in Argentina 295
vehicle, holding up to view a brass tag, with a number
upon it. I knew who he was and what he wished. He
was a licensed porter (all persons, even porters, have to
be licensed before doing business in Argentina) and he
desired to earn a fee for carrying our hand-luggage on
board the steamer. I ordered the coachman to let him
sit in front with him. Had I not done this, he would
have run the two miles to the dock, and claimed the right
to carry our things on board. I resolved not to ' ' give
him a run for his money, ' ' and bade him hop into the
rig. This is a common sight in Buenos Aires, and
having witnessed it both on going to the trains and to
the boat, it banished completely from my mind the
thought, that,, at least when in Buenos Aires, I was in
the sleepy "land of manana." A man, who on a hot
day will run alongside of a fast-trotting horse for two
miles for the sake of picking up a small fee at the end
of the trip, is certainly not afflicted with laziness.
When we reached the ship we found ourselves sur-
rounded by friends, some of whom had come in from
La Plata, others from different parts of Buenos Aires
to bid us farewell. There was my witty friend Senor
Don Agustin Alvarez, who confided to me aside that
he had upon due reflection made a discovery. 'We
hold it a truth in mathematics,' he said, 'that the
product of two or more factors is the same, no matter
how they may be arranged. It is not so in language.
I come to say 'Good-by' to you. I put the word by
after the word Good, which in this case is the old
Anglo-Saxon word for God. I express the hope that
God may be by or with you wherever you go. But were
I to prefix the word by to the noun- Well ! it would be
different." There was smiling Dr. Roth, who had been
my guide through the swamps of the Parana and
296 To the River Plate and Baek
about the barrancas of Mar del Plata. There was
Dr. Walter G. Davis, whom everybody loves for what
he is and for what he does. There was my amiable
host, Dr. Hussey, who had come to bid Godspeed to
his parting guest. There were scores of others, friends
who had been made on the outward voyage, or whom
we had learned to know since we had come into the
land. I confess that after such display of cordiality I
felt a little tugging at the heart-strings, even though
I knew I was " going home.'
At last the bugle sounded. The visitors on board
slo\vly departed, passing in a long stream down the gang-
plank. The hawsers which bound her were one by one
cast off. Slowly and carefully she was jockeyed in her
narrow berth, now going aside, now astern, now creep-
ing this way and that, until at last her prow pointed
straight for the open gateway of the dock, when she
began majestically to glide away into the broad river,
which is the gateway to the ocean. As I looked back
Dr. Hussey and Dr. Alvarez were still standing on the
pier waving their handkerchiefs.
The morning of the following day found us lying
at anchor at Montevideo. The swift Mihanovitch
steamer, which had left Buenos Aires eight hours after
we had sailed, came gliding into the harbor, and from
it were brought to us letters and newspapers sent by
friends from whom we had parted the morning before.
At Montevideo the passenger-list received a number
of recruits. The day was cloudy and rainy and we
resolved not to attempt to go ashore. As we looked
about us at the busy harbor and the noble city the
reflection could not fail to arise that time has wrought
wonderful changes here as elsewhere. The story of the
metropolis of Uruguay is a long one, full of elements
Last Days in Argentina 297
which are thrilling. The ground before us has had its
full baptism of blood; the smooth gray waters of the
harbor, dimpled to-day by the rain, have been spattered
more than once with shot and shell. Belgium has been
styled "the cockpit of Europe," and Uruguay for like
reasons may well be called the cockpit of South
America.
The fighting began when the Spaniards first at-
tempted to wrest the land from the Ind'ans, who in-
habited it. These were the Charruas, a tribe who
combined with great personal bravery an instinct for
organization and regular resistance, which made them
the terror of the whites. For nearly two centuries they
held out against the European colonists, who came to
regard the region as a bloody land, upon the soil of
which it was not well to try to tread. Buenos Aires
had been in existence for nearly one hundred and fifty
years on the other side of the river before white men
succeeded in obtaining a permanent foothold on the
opposite north bank. Both Portugal and Spain laid
claim to the country. The Portuguese maintained that
the territory of Brazil extended to the south as far
as the banks of the Rio de la Plata ; Spain on the other
hand asserted that the whole region as far north as
Santos belonged to her. Neither had made any attempt
of consequence to occupy the country because of the
hostility of the Charruas.
In 1680 the first decisive step was taken by the
Portuguese who sent an expedition to the River Plate
and commenced a settlement directly opposite Buenos
Aires, to which they gave the name of Co'onia. The
river is too wide at Buenos Aires to see what is going on
upon the other side, and the Portuguese therefore had
time to begin laying out their town, to erect earth-
298 To the River Plate and Back
works about it, and prepare it for defence, before the
Spaniards in Buenos Aires had gotten wind of what was
taking place. When at last the Commandant at Buenos
Aires received intelligence of what had been done
across the river, he gathered a small army and, crossing
the stream, overpowered the Portuguese, drove them
from the settlement, and razed their defences. Portu-
gal formally protested against this act, and the
authorities at Madrid disavowed it, without, however,
retracting their claim to the territory north of the river.
In 1683 the Portuguese resumed possession of Colonia.
Thereafter for many years the place became the center
of a great contraband trade with the Spanish colonies
on the River Plate. In 1705 war having broken out
between Spain and Portugal, the Spanish troops in
Buenos Aires were again sent over the river and took
possession of Colonia and held it for eleven years until
at the end of the war it was restored to the Portuguese
by the Treaty of Utrecht.
In 1723 the Portuguese decided upon a further occu-
pation of the country, and seizing the site of Monte-
video, began to entrench themselves there. When
information of the fact reached Buenos Aires, the Gov-
ernor dispatched a strong force to the place, compelled
the Portuguese to withdraw, took possession of their
uncompleted works, strengthened them, and prepared
himself to hold the place against all comers. In 1726
the town of Montevideo was laid out and five years
afterward it had a population of one thousand souls.
In 1730 Maldonado was settled by the Spanish. Soon
after this a Portuguese expedition arrived, and made
an attempt to dislodge the Spanish, but, fail ng in this,
established themselves in what is now the Brazilian
State of Rio Grande do Sul. For the next fifty years
tuD
Last Days in Argentina 299
the story of Uruguay is the history of constant struggles
between the two Powers to gain the mastery of the
territory. It was not until the signing of the Treaty of
San Ildefonso in 1777 that these conflicts came nomi-
nally to an end. By this treaty the power of Spa n,
which had occupied the land with a great army, rein-
forced by a powerful fleet, was recognized as extending
over the whole of what is now the modern State of
Uruguay, the settlement of Colonia was transferred to
the Spanish Crown, and Portugal was given the terri-
tory on the Atlantic seaboard comprised within the
States of Santa Catharina and Rio Grande do Sul,
almost as they appear upon the maps of the present
time.
From the date of the settlement effected by the
Treaty of San Ildefonso, Uruguay began to assume
importance as a Spanish province. A considerable
influx of Spanish immigrants arrived at Montevideo.
Many of these belonged to old and influential Castilian
families, and the town put on aristocratic airs, while
what our American forefathers designated as the "back-
woods,' were tenanted by the Creole element, partly
of mixed blood, a marauding, beef-eating, bellicose
swarm of rough-riders and swashbucklers, who carried
on a perpetual guerrilla with the Indians and with the
Portuguese inhabitants of Rio Grande do Sul, who in
turn retaliated in quite as savage a fashion.
In 1 806 the English took Buenos Aires and many of the
Spanish people fled to Montevideo, where an expedition
against the British was organized which resulted in their
expulsion from Buenos Aires. In January, 1807, the
English sent an expedition by way of the Cape of Good
Hope which bombarded Montevideo and took the place
by assault with frightful loss of life on both sides. The
3oo To the River Plate and Back
attempt of the English to take Buenos Aires failed a little
later, and the English then withdrew from Buenos Aires
and Montevideo, leaving behind them a lot of merchants
who found trade with the natives profitable. This
marked the beginning of English commercial relation-
ships with the country which have grown increasingly
important with the lapse of years. To tell the story of
the civil wars, the revolutions, and conflicts with Argen-
tina, Paraguay, and Brazil which took place during the
Nineteenth Century would require many chapters. The
land was not free from turmoil during nearly the whole of
the last century, and it is only within the last fifteen years
that the country has known the blessings of peace. In
spite of the turbulence, the restlessness, and the war-
like disposition of its people, the land seems to have
prospered and Montevideo, as we looked at it from the
deck of the steamer while we rode at anchor, seemed,
as it is indeed, a beautiful and pleasant city.
One of those who took passage at Montevideo was
Senor Don Carlos Blixen, the Minister Plenipotentiary
of Uruguay going by way of New York and Washing-
ton to represent his country in Venezuela. He was
assigned a seat opposite to me at the Captain's table,
and we soon discovered that because of early training
and tastes we were congenial spirits. Senor Blixen,
on his father's side of Scandinavian descent, on his
mother's side Spanish and a kinsman of the ex- Empress
Eugenie, is a fine linguist, a devoted student of the
ancient classics, a lover of nature, and a man who has
mingled much with men, and endured hardship and
danger as a soldier in the service of his country. He
was not the only choice spirit with whom I became
acquainted on the voyage. The Captain, wise man, had
seated on either side of him two charming ladies. It
Last Days in Argentina 301
fell to my lot to be placed beside the one at the Cap-
tain's right. I soon discovered that we had mutual
friends in our home-land. To my right was another
fair lady, the wife of the First Vice-President of the
Bethlehem Steel Company, whose father and mother
had belonged to the circle of my friends in youth.
Again let me remark that this is a very small world,
and, travel where we may, we are certain to find those
who know us, or know those by whom we are known.
It was a delightful company which assembled for the
long voyage which was before us, and those of us who
met will never cease to remember it with pleasure.
CHAPTER XX
SAO PAULO
"Ne care ne feare I how the wind do blow,
Or whether swift I wend or whether slow:
Both slow and swift alike do serve my tourne;
Ne swelling Neptune ne lowd-thundring Jove
Can chaunge my cheare, or make me ever mourne."
SPENSER, The Faerie Queene.
JUST before we docked at Santos I packed a small
hand-satchel with such things as I might need
during a brief stay on shore, and came on deck with my
rain-coat over my arm and the satchel in my hand.
"Where are you going?*' said the Minister Plenipoten-
tiary. "I am going to take the first train I can catch
for Sao Paulo. I shall spend the afternoon and the
evening of to-day in that city, and then to-night I am
going by the fast express to Rio de Janeiro, and will
rejoin the steamer to-morrow, or next day.' 'I am
going with you, if I may, " came the reply. The matter
was quickly arranged. His Excellency in a few minutes
gathered together the things needed for his trip, and
reappeared upon deck. We were the first to go over
the side of the ship. We found out that we would have
time to draw some money, and also to take an early
luncheon, before the train started. We not only did
this, but had time to go to the park and have a look at
the sloths crawling about in the tree-tops.
302
Sao Paulo 303
By the advice of friends we took our seats on the
left-hand side of the railway carriage. We were told
that this would enable us to get the best views as we
climbed the mountains. The railway for the first few
minutes after leaving Sao Paulo traverses a low swampy
plain overgrown with mangroves, and intersected with
tidal creeks. Here and there were clumps of various
larger tropical trees, some of them in bloom. One
species greatly awakened my admiration, but I am not
able to identify it. It was a tree from fifteen to twenty-
five feet in height, having a pyramidal growth. All of
these trees were a glorious mass of large pale lilac
blossoms, with darker purple throats. Each blossom
appeared to be from three to four inches in diameter
across the corolla. The train was moving too rapidly
to allow me more than to grasp the singular beauty of
these great pyramids of bloom, which here and there
rose up out of the surrounding swamps. Some of my
botanical friends may perhaps smile at my failure
to recognize the genus, but botanizing on a railway
train going thirty-five miles an hour is not easy. Ahead
of us were the dark verdurous flanks of the mountains,
which rise all along the seacoast a few miles from the
beach, and reach an elevation of from twenty-five
hundred to three thousand feet above the level of the
sea. Their tops were covered with dark clouds. We
rapidly approached them, and as we came to the foot
of a steep spur jutting out into the low-lying plain, we
saw that up its ridge went the shining double track of
the railway. The locomotive which had drawn us to
the foot of the incline was shunted to a side-track, and
another was made fast behind to push the train up the
slope. We went at the heavy grade slowly, but the
snorting of the engine behind us proved that it required
304 To the River Plate and Back
all the energy it could develop in order to overcome the
resistance. We rose from the flat swamp lands and
found ourselves after a few moments traveling along
the side of a deep ravine, below us the railway terminal
and the cottages of the operatives clustered about it.
On the opposite side the flanks of the mountains were
covered with plantations of bananas. Looking back-
ward, we saw the city of Santos, the harbor, the streams
which traverse the swamps, all mapped out below
us. Overhead were the lowering clouds, gloomy and
threatening rain. In every chink and cranny of the
rocky walls ferns and mosses were growing, save where
the faces of the cuts had been covered with asphalt, no
doubt to keep the vegetation from taking hold. Higher
and ever higher we rose. Now we ran through a short
tunnel and looking down, as we emerged again into the
light, we saw that the track was skirting the edge of a
steep precipice. We ran through one tunnel after the
other ; there must have been a dozen of them before we
reached the top of the ascent. We crawled around the
jutting shoulders of the mountain. We felt the air
grow cooler. Wisps of fog began to float below us in
the deep green abyss into which we gazed. We saw
that we were rising nearer and ever nearer to the great
billowing masses of cloud which hung overhead. We
came to them. We entered them. It was dark and the
air grew clammy. The fog streamed Into the windows
of the train. The landscape was blotted out of sight.
Still upward we went, the engine behind us with quick
pulsations beating the time of our skyward march.
At last it began to grow lighter. Ahead of us the mists
seemed to be becoming thinner. The speed of the
train was accelerated. We were beginning to run on
more level ground. Presently out of the fog loomed up
Sao Paulo 305
a collection of buildings, and we ran into the terminal
on the top of the mountain, half a mile higher than
Santos, where we had left our shipmates sweltering in
the heat. A cool wind from the west began to blow in
our faces. The clouds began to disappear. Another
locomotive was backed down and attached to the front
of the train. We started off at a merry gait, and were
presently winding our way across the great upland
plateau, upon which the city of Sao Paulo is seated.
It does not take long to make the run from the top of
the great mountain wall to the city. The sun came out
in splendor. The land is rolling. Most of it has been
denuded of its original forest growths. Low scrubby
thickets and clumps of second growth prevail. The
soil is red. The vegetation is very different from that
of the tidal plain which we had traversed as we came
out of Santos. Everywhere there appeared fields in
which cattle and horses were grazing. An occasional
palm served to remind us that we were in the tropics.
Had it not been for this, and the curious ant-nests,
which appeared upon the trees and the sides of the
railway cuts and embankments, I might have thought
that I was traveling in the western parts of the Caro-
linas. Could the blackjack oaks of the Carolinian
foothills have been thrown into the picture, the illusion
would have been perfect.
We soon began to realize that we were approaching
a large city. Standing on a hill to the left we saw a
stately building, which I at once recognized as the
Palace of Ypiranga. I knew it from pictures which I
recalled having seen. This was my destination, and it
was to pay my respects to my friend and correspondent
of many years, Dr. Hermann von Ihering, the most
famous naturalist in Brazil, who is the Custodian of
20
306 To the River Plate and Back
the noble edifice, that I had planned my trip to Sao
Paulo. The Ypiranga Palace, or Monument, as it is
often called, was erected to commemorate the inde-
pendence of Brazil, and it houses to-day the valuable
collections of the Museu Paulista of which Dr. von
Ihering is the Director.
We arrived at the imposing railway station on time.
The building was a mass of bunting and of flags, among
which were many religious emblems. Inquiry elicited
the fact that the Roman Catholic bishop had just
returned from a visit to Europe, and that the city was
preparing to give him a hearty welcome upon his
arrival, which would take place a little later in the day.
The bishop evidently is a popular person, or else his
followers are infected with great zeal for the cause he
represents. Our first step was to go to the booking-
office and secure sleeping accommodations on the night
train for Rio de Janeiro. We were met with the familiar
statement : ' ' Lower berths all sold ; nothing but uppers
left. ' Inasmuch as neither his Excellency nor I cared
to miss our steamer at Rio de Janeiro, and the Captain
had not given us positive assurance that he would stay
more than the day at Rio, and might sail on the evening
of the morrow, we resolved to invest in upper berths.
Then we found our way to the nearest hotel, told the
landlord to send for an automobile, and to call up Dr.
von Ihering at Ypiranga. In a minute or two the land-
lord announced that Dr. von Ihering 'was at the
telephone.' uHola! spreche ich mit dem Herrn Dr.
von Ihering?" "Ja, wer sind Sie?' "Ich bin der Dr.
Holland." "Der Dr. Holland von Pittsburgh?" "Ja,
derselbe, " and amidst protestations of astonishment at
hearing my voice, and discovering that I was in town,
my friend quickly told me what directions to give to
Sao Paulo 307
the chauffeur to bring us most expeditiously to the
Museum, where he told me he would be delighted to
await our arrival.
The ride to Ypiranga consumed half an hour. The
Palace is built upon the top of an eminence from
which there is obtained a view over a wide expanse of
country, with the city lying below in the middle dis-
tance. The surrounding grounds are laid out with
taste, and there were great parterres of beautiful
flowers blooming along the walks and driveways, which
lead to the entrance of the edifice. Leaving the car
with the chauffeur at the outer gate of the grounds we
walked toward the building. Not a soul was in sight,
and all the doors of the huge pile seemed to be closed.
My companion suggested that instead of going straight
up to the main entrance, we perhaps would have done
better to have asked a man whom we had passed, as
we came through the gates, to guide us. I ventured
to dissent, saying that from one or the other of the many
windows no doubt Dr. von Ihering had commanded
some one to look out for us, and that our approach
through the grounds had already been noted. " Front
doors for me always, Mr. Minister ! The Great Teacher,
you will recall, had some tart things to say about
people who try to get in by back doors and over walls. '
So we went up the great flight of stone steps, and as we
approached the entrance a servant in livery swung it
open, bowed, and said, ' You are the gentlemen whom
the Doctor is expecting, not so?' Our reply being in
the affirmative, he bade us enter, and in a moment the
Doctor himself came to greet us. It was a delightful
meeting. After two men have corresponded with each
other for years, and have learned to thus know each
other, it is a great pleasure to meet face to face, and to
3o8 To the River Plate and Back
clasp hands. Of course we desired to see the building
and to have a good look at the contents of the various
rooms. The first chamber into which we were con-
ducted was a sumptuous apartment one of the chief
adornments of which is a great painting representing
Dom Pedro I. on the heights of Ypiranga, surrounded
by his loyal retainers and adherents, proclaiming the
independence of Brazil from Portugal. The story of
the separation between the two countries in some
respects is like that of the separation which took place
between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies. The
old question of legislation without proper representa-
tion lay at the bottom of the conflict. It is true that
Portugal had given Brazil representation in the Cortes,
but the Cortes did not always wait for the delegates
from Brazil to arrive and take part in the sessions. In
the spring of 1822, the Cortes proceeded in the absence
of the Brazilians to legislate for them in such a manner
as to arouse deep resentment. Pedro, the Prince
Regent, who had already proclaimed himself " Perpetual
Defender and Protector of Brazil,' on September 7,
1822, hearing of still further v olent measures which
had been adopted by the Cortes, drew his sword, and
in the presence of the generals of the army and the
officers of the government uttered the memorable
words, " Independencia ou Morte!' These words are
inscribed under the great painting before which we
were standing in the Palace. Not long after this
utterance he was proclaimed Constitutional Emperor
of Brazil. It is worth remembering that Dom Pedro L,
in taking the step he took on September 7, 1822, was in
fact only carrying out the advice of his father, the
King of Portugal, who had suggested to him that in the
event of a separation between Portugal and Brazil
Sao Paulo 309
which King John foresaw might occur, rather than have
the government fall into strange hands, Pedro had bet-
ter assume the reins of control himself, and keep the
sovereignty of Brazil in the family. It remained in the
hands of the house of Braganza until the middle of
November, 1889, when the Emperor, Dom Pedro II.,
was forced to abdicate, and the republic was declared.
From the large salon in which the collection of
historical paintings is preserved, we went to the various
rooms in which the mineralogical, botanical, zoological,
ethnological, and archeological collections are arranged.
I was particularly interested in the collection of nests
of ants, bees, and wasps, which Dr. von Ihering has
assembled. These "homes made without hands' are
very curious, and display a wonderful diversity in form
and interior arrangement. The intelligence manifested
by the tiny architects of these structures is most
extraordinary. The great assemblage of insects, shells,
fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals deserved for its
inspection much more time than we had at our com-
mand. We could at best only take a general view of
the treasures gathered in the halls of the institution,
pausing here and there before those things which were
especially interesting, asking questions, and receiving
answers. We were impressed with the fact brought out
in our conversation with Dr. von Ihering that many
forms of wild life are rapidly disappearing. The mon-
keys are fast becoming extinct. Species which a few
years ago were quite common have vanished from the
territories in which they abounded. The same thing
is true of a number of the other mammalia, and is also
true of the birds. Conversation turned upon the Golden
Plover, which used in comparatively recent years to be
a common bird in the eastern portions of North Amer-
3io To the River Plate and Back
ica, whence in the fall of the year it migrated to the
uplands of Sao Paulo and to the pampas of Argentina.
It has become almost totally extinct. Breeding at one
time in immen e numbers in the region of Hudson Bay,
it passed southward along the Atlantic seaboard and
by way of the West Indies to the southern portions of
South America. Both on its way south and on its way
north, and on the plains where it sought its winter
home, it was shot for the table, and to-day has dis-
appeared from the face of the earth almost as com-
pletely as the passenger pigeon. A few still survive, but
very few. The destruction of living things within the
past fifty years has been going on at such a rate, that it
is the highest time to seek concerted action on the part
of the various governments to stay the slaughter, and
conserve what is left. Many of the birds of North
America spend the winter in the lands of Central and
South America, and it is to the interest of the two
Americas that steps should be taken to protect the
bird-life of the two continents. The most reprehensible
use to which birds are put is as articles of millinery.
Brazilian humming-birds are sold as hat-trimmings in
the London markets by the hundreds of thousands, and
millions of other bright-plumaged birds are annually
disposed of in this way, so that whole tribes and races
of feathered songsters are almost gone from the face
of the globe. The wickedness of this slaughter of the
innocents will bring to this world a sad recompense of
evil, for the result is a destruction of the balance of
nature, and an enormous increase of insect-life. Kill
the birds, and the result is a multiplication of insect-
pests, which ravage the fields and the orchards. The
present high cost of living, of which complaint is be-
ing made in all lands, is partly attributable to the
Sao Paulo 311
wanton slaughter of the birds, the best friends of the
agriculturist.
The sun was sinking toward the west, when we took
leave of the genial Director of the Museu Paulista.
He walked down with us to the entrance of the grounds,
and there bade us farewell. We instructed the chauffeur
to drive us into the city and to give us a chance at
least to see the exterior of its more notable buildings be-
fore the darkness should come on. We had a glimpse
of the Municipal Theater, which has recently been
erected, and which is not surpassed by any building
of its kind in the cities of North America. We saw the
various public buildings used by the Government of
the State and by the Municipal Authorities; we hur-
riedly looked at the Law School, the Public Library,
the Polytechnic School, and had the location of Mc-
Kenzie College pointed out to us. The latter institu-
tion, which owes its origin and development to the
self-denying efforts of philanthropic citizens of the
United States of North America, is doing a noble work
in providing the means of thorough education for the
youth of both sexes in the land. We were driven
through long avenues, on either side of which were
ranged homes of beauty and comfort. The impression
left upon our minds was altogether pleasing. It is "no
mean city' -this city of Sao Paulo — with its thou-
sands of delightful residences, its more than six hundred
streets and avenues, its fine public edifices, its hand-
some parks, and its multitude of shops, warehouses,
and manufacturing establishments. At last it began
to grow dark. The air was chilly, almost cold. We
betook ourselves to the hotel, and had our evening
meal.
About nine o'clock we boarded the train which was
3\2 To the River Plate and Back
to take us to Rio de Janeiro. We were presently under
way. The inspection of the upper berths, to the occu-
pancy of which we were apparently doomed, was dis-
heartening. I tried to effect a change, but met with no
encouragement from the official to whom I addressed
myself. He told me he could do nothing. I made up
my mind not to go to bed at all, but pass the night in
solitary vigil at an open car windowr in the corridor.
His Excellency disappeared in the direction of the
compartment to which he had been assigned. I thought
he had retired for the n'ght, but he presently came to
me remarking: 'Great is diplomacy! I have made a
diplomatic stroke, and you can do the same thing.
There is an empty sleeping-car just behind the one in
which we now are. I discovered that the porter is
willing to give me a compartment to myself upon pay-
ment to him of five thousand reis. As we have already
each of us paid twenty thousand reis for an upper
berth, it seems a small matter to spend another five
thousand, or an increase of twenty per cent., to get a
lower in an unoccupied compartment. Get your things
and follow me. ' ' I thank thee, most excellent Minis-
ter, for this information. I gladly and at once enroll
myself in the corps diplomatique. ' And so it came
to pass that we both obtained what we had despaired
of getting — a place in which to sleep, without having
underneath us in the lower berth a fellow-mortal, who
might drive us to the verge of insanity by snoring
through all the long hours of the night.
But I could not sleep. I turned the pillows to the
other end of the bed next the window, and placed my-
self so that I could look out upon the moonlit 1andscape.
I watched the outlines of the hills. I saw the fireflies
as they flashed forth in the shadows. I observed the
Sao Paulo 313
people who were gathered about the stations, where
now and then we stopped; many of them were negroes,
or half-breed Indians. All at once I was startled by a
terrific noise under my compartment. There was a
rapid succession of thundering blows, and crashing,
tearing sounds. I quickly turned on the electric light,
and pulled the cord which conveys the danger-signal
forward to the engine. The train stopped. Men came
running back. I told them that underneath the car
something had gone wrong. They lowered their lan-
terns and made an inspection. After a hurried con-
sultation, one of them ran forward to the engine, and
came back with a lot of tools. Then they crawled
under the car and there was hammering and pound-
ing, resulting finally in their dragging forth a large
iron tank, which it appeared had broken loose from
its fastenings behind, and had been dragging along,
hitting and hammering the ties as we flew over the
track. The offending tank was rolled to one side, the
men disappeared, and the train went on. I was now
wide awake.
I lay and watched the dusky landscape, as it seemed
to rush by in the night, — the dark groves, the palm-
trees, the open fields in which cattle were grazing, the
cottages and farmhouses gleaming white in the moon-
light, the distant hills which presently grew nearer, and
bolder, and blacker. The train began to wind down
into deep dark ravines, where I caught glimpses of the
moonlight glittering upon the mirror of quiet pools, or
scintillating from the confused waves of swiftly flowing
rapids. Toward morning when the flush of dawn
already began to creep over the sky, I fell into an
uneasy sleep. I was roused by the porter coming to
tender me a cup of coffee. The bright sunlight was
314 To the River Plate and Back
streaming in through the windows of the car. I dressed
and resumed my contemplation of the fleeting pano-
rama. We were now among the mountains of the
eastern coast. The scenery was beautiful, the vegeta-
tion in the ravines and on the hills was fascinating.
Everywhere there was a wealth of blooming things.
Soon to our right we descried the peaks of Tijuca and
Corcovado. There was now no doubt that our journey
was nearing its end. We presently rolled through the
suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, and a little after eight o'clock
seated ourselves at breakfast in one of the hotels on the
Avenida. We learned that the Vestris had just dropped
anchor. In less than an hour we began to welcome our
fellow-passengers, who had come ashore for the day,
and strolled into the hotel.
The morning was spent in making calls, and in
attending to the selection of a few photographs, which
I found I needed. At the noon-hour I repaired to the
hotel on the mountain-slope, and had a most enjoyable
luncheon. Then I again ascended Corcovado, and,
as the day was almost cloudless, had a better view than
it often falls to the lot of the tourist to obtain. I
walked down the mountain, collecting butterflies as I
descended. They were far more numerous than they
had been in the same place five weeks before. When
I reached the bottom of the long downward path, I
began to feel that I would be more comfortable in my
stateroom on the ship, riding far out on the cool
waters of the bay. So I hired a boatman, and just as
the sun was setting he brought me alongs'de of the
steamer, which I already had come to think of as my
home. It was pleasant to be welcomed by the cheery
Captain, who was leaning over the rail as I came up the
ladder. It was good to get into a bathtub, and efface
Sao Paulo 315
the memories of the hot dusty night which had been
spent upon the train. It was good to go early to
bed, with Sancho Panza saying: 'Bien haya el que
invento el sueno!' — God bless the man who first invented
sleep!
CHAPTER XXI
TRINIDAD
' The sullen passage of thy weary steps
Esteem a foil, wherein thou art to set
The precious jewel of thy home-return." —Shakespeare.
EARLY on the morning of the first day of November
the anchors came up, and we were taken to the
sea-wall at the foot of the Avenida and there made fast.
We were told that the ship would not sail until noon.
An automobile was therefore brought into requisition,
and a jolly party, made up of little people and their
elders, the latter forming part of the company at the
Captain's table, went under the guidance of the writer
for a short excursion through the city. We drove out
to the end of the Avenida Beira. We were interested
in seeing people being conveyed to the top of Sugar Loaf
Mountain in a basket-car hanging from a steel cable,
stretched from sea-level to the summit, just as people are
conveyed to the top of The Rock at Gibraltar. We
took a peep at the Botanical Gardens. We traversed
various streets of the city, looking at the sights, and
finally came back to the Avenida, at the lower end of
which we saw the blue and white funnels of our floating
hotel. The youngsters having declared themselves to
be thirsty, it was proposed that we all should indulge in
the mild luxury of caldo da cana. This is simply the
freshly expressed juice of sugar-cane. In the fruit-shop
which we entered, there was a small mountain of canes
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Trinidad 317
piled up beside a crushing-mill driven by an electric
motor. A bunch of canes was quickly sent through the
rollers, the juice was collected in a receptacle beneath,
strained, emptied into a large glass pitcher, and then
served to us in tall tumblers, into which small lumps of
ice had first been put. The juice has a very pale
greenish tint. The juvenile members of the party
unqualifiedly pronounced the beverage 'good," and
called for more, as also did their elders, who at first
seemed to be dubious, and inclined to question the
statement of the writer that the fluid is palatable, and
far less likely to be injurious to the stomach than in the
condensed form of candy. We purchased a basket of
tropical fruits, - custard-apples, sapodillas, papaws,
avocado-pears, and oranges. The best oranges pro-
duced in South America are said to be grown at Bahia.
The seedless orange, now so extensively cultivated in
the United States, originated in the neighborhood of
that place, and the first plants were imported thence
into North America. Leaving the fruit-store the
ladies of the party did a little shopping, after which we
found our way back to the steamer, which soon began
to plow her way out into the ocean.
We called at Bahia two days later, arriving about ten
o'clock at night. We sailed early on the morning of the
following day. None of the passengers went on shore.
The voyage from Bahia to Trinidad was said to be
likely to consume from eight to nine days. We there-
fore settled down to the routine of an easy life on board,
the program of which was made up of eating, sleeping,
bathing in the big canvas tank, conversation, reading,
games on the deck during the daytime, whist, music,
and dancing at night. We kept nearer the coast, as we
came up, than we had as we went down on the outward
318 To the River Plate and Back
voyage. From the time we left Rio de Janeiro until
we had passed Pernambuco the land was always in
sight. Sometimes we were quite close to it, and with
the aid of our glasses could observe what was taking
place on shore. The mountain scenery for some dis-
tance north of Rio de Janeiro was very attractive.
Farther north the mountains were replaced by low
hills. The whole coast is skirted by coral-reefs, over
which the white surf tumbled. Back of the still water
behind the reefs wrere broad, sandy beaches. Along the
shore are endless groves of coco-palms. Under the sha-
dow of these we could see the thatched huts of the fish-
ermen, sometimes closely clustered together and forming
extensive villages. Now and then a lighthouse appeared,
but the lighthouses on this coast are not numerous,
and but very few of them are powerfully equipped.
Fishermen were constantly seen in the daytime ply-
ing their calling upon the water. We passed a number
of them below Pernambuco far out from the shore, and
near enough to hail them from the deck. The craft
they use are exceedingly primitive. They are known
by the native name of " xangadas." In reality they are
simply rafts, not more than from twelve to fourteen feet
long and from five to six feet wide, made of bamboos
and other light woods, the pieces lashed and clamped
together. They carry a shoulder-of-mutton sail raised
on a jury-mast, which is usually a stout bamboo pole,
sunk in a socket, out of which it can be jerked in an
instant, if necessary. Both fore and aft there is a rude
seat, or bench, made of bamboo, with rowlocks at the
ends. The vessels carry a couple of sweeps, which may
be used as oars or rudders. Just aft of the mast,
lashed in place, is always a barrel, which serves as hold
for cargo, and into which the fish are put as they are
Trinidad 319
taken. The rafts have no rail and seemed always to be
awash, and the waves, as they were crossed, sent their
spray over the sail and over the men, of whom each
craft carried two. The xangadas are practically un-
sinkable, and their occupants, who seemed to be jolly,
round-faced negroes, appeared not to fear the dangers
of the deep, but to be having a nice cool time out on the
water. The sea, however, was only moderately stirred
by the winds as we came up the coast. There must be
times when no one would dare to venture forth upon it
in such flimsy constructions as these rafts. That the
ocean is able to take, and does take, toll of the shipping
in these waters, was testified by the sight here and there
upon the reefs -of the wrecks of sailing vessels and of
steamers, from the rotting and rusting remains of which
the green sea-weeds flaunted their growths.
We did not call at Pernambuco, but our steamer
passed close enough to the shore to enable us to get a
very good view of the water-front of the city. The
roadstead is quite open to the sea, and only recently has
the construction of breakwaters and docks been begun.
There appear to be many large warehouses in the
place, and some manufacturing plants, from the tall
chimneys of which clouds of black smoke were streaming
away before the south-wind. A large steamer put out
of the harbor just ahead of us and stood away to the
northeast, evidently bound toward Europe. There is
a very extensive trade carried on at Pernambuco, the
principal exports being sugar, molasses, and cotton, in
the order named.
After rounding Cape St. Roque we stood away to the
northwest, heading directly for Trinidad. From this
time forth we were out of sight of land until shortly
before we dropped anchor in the harbor of Port of Spain.
To the River Plate and Back
Our course lay so far out at sea that we did not detect
the fact that we were crossing the mouth of the Amazon,
which like the Rio de la Plata discharges a vast mass of
muddy fresh water into the ocean. For the same rea-
son we detected little of the influence of the Orinoco
upon the sea, into which it pours its waves, except a
certain dulling of the tone of the blues. Each day was
like the other, but the temperature on board was never
distressingly hot. The mercury during the entire
voyage never rose much above 80° Fahrenheit in the
hottest part of the day, and at night generally fell to
about 75°, or even lower. The rapid movement of the
steamer created a breeze on deck, so that it was always
possible to find places in which to sit and read and chat
in comfort. The cabins were unusually well ventilated.
The one I occupied had two large windows, which I kept
open all night. Sleep under these conditions was
possible.
We were off the coast of French Guiana on November
5th, the day upon which, had we been at home, we
would have taken part in electing a President of the
United States. A ballot-box was improvised from a
cracker-box, inspectors and judges of election were
appointed, and all citizens of the United States, including
the ladies, were requested to repair to the palm-garden
on the after-deck at the time of the afternoon tea, and
there cast their ballots. The result of the balloting
showed that the respective candidates had received
the following votes:
Woodrow Wilson . . .24
Theodore Roosevelt . . .18
William H. Taft . . . 12
Total . 54
Trinidad 321
On the morning of the following day the Captain kindly
undertook to get into wireless communication with
Georgetown, the capital of British Guiana, and we
learned that the people of the United States of North
America had settled matters very much in the same
way we had, revealing the fact that the company on
board who claimed American citizenship quite fairly
represented the general sentiment of the nation.
On November loth it was announced that, if all
went well, we would early on the morrow reach Port of
Spain. About ten o'clock at night I noticed great
banks of clouds to the south and west in which lightning
was playing. While I was watching these one of the
officers came to. the rail and stood and chatted with me
for a while. He told me that about midnight we ought
to "pick up' the light at the eastern end of the island
of Trinidad. I resolved not to turn in until I had seen
it. After a while the thunderstorm in the west died
down and the lightning ceased to flash. The sky was
very dark and overhung with low clouds. A little
before twelve on the under surface of the clouds I saw a
faint glow, which instantly vanished. I felt that it
could not have been caused by a flash of lightning,
because it was too faint and not widely enough diffused.
I fixed my eyes upon the spot and saw that the faint
glow was repeated. "That is no doubt the reflection of
the flash-light of the beacon on the lower surface of the
clouds," I said to myself. I was so sleepy by this time
that I resolved to accept the reflection for the substance,
and gave up my vigil and went below. Next morning
the Captain told me at breakfast that for a long time
before the light itself became visible, they had seen its
reflection in the sky above the spot where it finally
came into view.
21
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22 To the River Plate and Back
At sunrise on the morning of the nth of November
we were steaming into the harbor of Port of Spain.
The scenery, the cloud-effects, the wealth of color in
sky, on land, on water, produced a charming impression.
The luxuriance and density of the vegetation attracted
attention even from the deck of the steamer. Sir
Frederick Treves, in his charming book, The Cradle of
the Deep, says of the island :
Seen across the gulf, Trinidad is an island of a thousand
hills, of incessant peaks and ridges, and of a maze of winding
valleys. From the sea-margin to the sky-line it is one blaze
of green, the green not of grass, but of trees. . . . Here is a
very revel of green, clamoring and unrestrained, a "bravery"
of green, as the ancients would call it, a green that deepens
into blue and purple, or that brightens into tints of old gold
and primrose yellow. Here are the dull green of wet moss,
the clear green of the parrot's wing, the green tints of old
copper, of malachite, of the wild apple, the bronze green of
the beetle's back, the dead green of the autumn Nile.
Trinidad was discovered by Christopher Columbus on
his third voyage on July 31, 1498. He and his com-
panions had endured great discouragements and hard-
ships. The winds had either been contrary, or had
failed them. For a long time they had been becalmed,
drifting, always drifting, in that mighty equatorial
current which, sweeping up along the northern coast of
South America, whirls around in the Gulf of Mexico,
and then pours out around the southern tip of Florida,
and spreads itself over the North Atlantic to give
warmth to the people of Europe, and make their lands
habitable. Christopher Columbus knew nothing of all
this, however. He really did not know where he was.
Drifting, hoping, despairing, at last the cry came from
Trinidad 323
the lookout aloft that land was in sight. Straining
their eyes westward they saw three peaks rising from
the sea. They deemed the vision an answer to prayer,
for the expedition had been undertaken in the name of
The Holy Trinity, and here were three mountains
joined in one at their roots rising out of the ocean before
them. They called the land "The Island of the Holy
Trinity,' which is perpetuated in the name it bears
to-day. The mountains upon which the eyes of
Columbus and his comrades rested are known to-day
as "The Three Sisters." They are landmarks for the
seaman who enters the Gulf of Paria from the south, by
way of the Serpent's Mouth, the narrow strait which
separates Trinidad from the Venezuelan mainland.
Columbus had become so accustomed to finding islands,
that it did not enter into his head that the land he saw
to the south was continental in its vastness. He called
it Isla Sancta, the Holy Island. That was the first
name given to America. Columbus and his shipmates
had the misfortune to be caught in the bore, or tidal
wave, which to this day rushes through the Serpent's
Mouth, and one of the ships lost an anchor in con-
sequence. About fifty years ago an old Spanish anchor
was fished up by a dredger near the spot where this
mishap is said to have occurred, and to-day it is treas-
ured at the Victoria Institute in Port of Spain, and is
shown to visitors as the anchor of the immortal explorer.
Perhaps it is, — Quien sabe ? Columbus did not find gold.
The natives were not friendly. The explorer was sick
in body and sick at heart. The beauty of the region
fascinated him, nevertheless. He likened it in his
thoughts to the Garden of Eden, and reported to Queen
Isabella that at last he had found Paradise. Like
Paradise the island looked on the morning of the nth
324 To the River Plate and Back
of November, as the sun came up, and I stood and
watched the glory of his rising beams flooding the
mountains, the hillsides, and the valley.
Columbus never knew that his eyes had rested upon
"a new world." The names he gave to many of the
places he found did not stick. The Holy Island a few
years later was discovered to be a continent, and to it
was given the name of an Italian, Amerigo Vespucci,
who sailed with Alonso de Ojeda, an old comrade of
Columbus, to try to get some of the pearls which the
great discoverer in his dispatches had said were to be
obtained at Paria. The story of Columbus is in many
respects a tragedy. He sowed and other men reaped.
But that after all is true of most successful men. The
path-finders and leaders rarely profit from their dis-
coveries and exploits. It is generally left to second-rate
men who come after them to make the profits.
While I was hurriedly eating my breakfast prepara-
tory to going ashore, my table-steward handed me a
cablegram announcing that the home of my younger
son had been gladdened by the advent of a little
daughter. My companions at table tendered me their
congratulations. Like nerves the wires bind the lands
together. The whole globe is fast becoming a great
sensitive organism. Our loved ones speak to us out of
the deeps and across oceans. Nothing is hidden.
Individuals and nations commune with each other
daily, regardless of the barriers erected by seas and
mountains. I have in my custody a letter written in
October, 1799, by Alexander von Humboldt from a spot
not far from Port of Spain to a friend of his, who lived
and died in Pittsburgh. The postage on that letter
cost nearly thirty shillings sterling ($7.50), far more
than the cablegram which was handed to me at break-
Trinidad 325
fast, and the friend of Humboldt did not receive it until
more than eight months had elapsed after it had been
written. It first was carried by a sailing ship to Europe,
thence taken to Boston in another sailing ship, then by
mail-coach to Newr York, and then by mail-coach across
the Alleghenies until it finally reached the person for
whom it was intended. What miracles have been
achieved by human ingenuity since Columbus first
anchored where we are lying, and more particularly
since Alexander von Humboldt came to visit the
regions about the Gulf of Paria ! By the way, Humboldt
on his mother's side was descended from a family
bearing the name of Colomb. Some of his biographers
claim that he was of the same race as the great Cristo
fero. However that may be, in a certain sense he was
the re-discoverer of South America. He was the first
really scientific observer to resort to these lands. His
writings quickened interest in them, not from a political
and mercenary point of view, but from the standpoint
of the student of natural phenomena. All works deal-
ing with the natural sciences relating to South America
and published before the day of Humboldt are full of
errors and crudities. He was followed by a host of
successors, whose training was largely received by
communion with nature on the virgin soil of this noble
continent. The list is portentous, and includes the
names of some of the greatest scientific men of the past
eleven decades, such as Bonpland, D'Orbigny, Darwin,
Spix, Louis Agassiz, Bates, and Burmeister. One of
the greatest of them all, Alfred Russel Wallace, still
survives at a green old age, the representative of a
generation which has almost entirely passed from the
stage.
We went ashore in the Company's launch. As we
326 To the River Plate and Back
approached the landing-stage our attention was called
to the fact that several vessels had sunk near the shore,
only their masts being visible above the water. Men
in small boats were working about them. Inquiry
elicited the fact that the day before the place had been
visited by a hurricane, and that half a dozen small craft
had been swamped along the landing, and some houses
unroofed. Those who spoke of the matter did so in
a way which seemed to imply that it was quite an
ordinary occurrence.
The architecture of Port of Spain is conformed to the
requirements of life in a perpetual summer. Every-
thing is open to the air, and devices to shelter from the
heat of the sun in the form of broad verandas and
awnings built over doors and windows are common
features in residences of the better class. The streets
and roads are well-paved and clean. The open spaces
in the parks look smooth and green like English lawns.
The sides of the roads are adorned by trees, many of
them of huge size, upon the branches of which grow
great colonies of epiphytic plants, bromelias and
orchids of various genera. We first drove out to the
waterworks. The water from a number of clear
mountain-streams is collected in large reservoirs and is
then conveyed by pipes into the city. On reaching our
destination we alighted from our conveyance and went
in and examined the place. An attendant came for-
ward and dipped up some of the sparkling water for us
to drink. It seemed to be very pure, but it would have
been somewhat more palatable had it been cooler.
The reservoir is located in a deep valley, about which
under the shade of great trees cacao-bushes were grow-
ing. While we were inspecting the reservoirs the
chauffeur had pulled one of the ripe cacao-pods, and
Trinidad
327
handed it to me as we came out. It was about ten
inches long. The cacao (Theobroma cacao) is the plant
from the seeds of which chocolate is produced. The
pod is long, cylindrical, tapering at either end, and fluted.
When ripe it is greenish yellow in color striped with dull
pink. The bush or small tree, from the branches of
w^hich the pods hang singly here and there, loves the
shade of deep forests, growing in rich moist soil. In its
form it somewhat recalls the papaw (Asimina triloba)
of the Indiana and Kentucky woodlands, which also
loves the shade. Cocoa is one of
the staple exports of Trinidad. On
our rides both to and from the reser-
voirs we noticed that ferns, and
especially tree-ferns, were not un-
common. Various aroids, belonging
to the genera Philodendron, Anthu-
rium, and their allies, were conspicu-
ous. Liverworts of several genera
and species were seen by me as I
wandered about in the shady woods
in quest of moths, of which I caught
a few. In the open spaces by the wayside butterflies
were quite numerous. I succeeded in capturing a num-
ber of Hesperids and Lycsenids. Didonis biblis with
its black wings margined with vermilion was very
common among the bushes and in half -shaded places,
while Anartia jatrophce and Anartia amalthea literally
swarmed in the low grasses and weeds by the wayside.
Two species of Catopsilia were congregated in damp
spots on the road, just as the common Clover-butterfly
(Colias) gathers in similar places in the summer-time at
home.
The view of the rich tropical vegetation of the island
Fig. 30. — Pod of
Cacao, ii) nat. size.
328 To the River Plate and Back
which we had obtained in the course of our short ride
led us to desire to visit the Botanical Garden, said to be
the finest in the West Indies. It has been long in exist-
ence, and some parts of it are in reality the native
forest, in which no attempt has been made to put a
curbing hand upon the forces of nature. An attendant
in uniform, with ebony face, seeing me engaged in
collecting butterflies soon after I had entered the gate,
approached me and with a smile upon his face said:
'I shall have to fine you for collecting insects on these
grounds." I looked him in the face and said: "Fine a
Fellow of the Entomological Society of London for
collecting butterflies on English territory? Indeed!'
I then handed him a shilling, and said : " Now come and
show me where I am likely to find the best specimens."
He accepted the shilling with a grin, and thereafter
accompanied us and was our willing guide. The first
place to which he conducted us was to the top of a small
eminence from which we had an extensive view over
parts of the town and the wide gulf beyond. That
little climb became memorable, not because of the
exertion it involved, but because of the oppressive heat.
The distance was not great, but the hot, humid at-
mosphere made it exhausting. After staying a while
upon the hill-top seated under a rude arbor and en-
deavoring to recover a normal temperature, incidentally
to collect some interesting specimens of various orders
of insects, we slowly descended by a circuitous path
under the shadow of the overhanging foliage. There
are many noble tropical trees, both native and exotic,
in the garden. We were particularly interested in
observing the numerous varieties of palms, and the
profusion of orchids and bromeliads clustered as para-
sites upon the branches. Several species of bamboos
Trinidad 329
formed great clumps, the feathery masses of which
contrasted beautifully with the darker and more solid
foliage of the great rounded tree-tops which formed the
background. One of these growths of bamboo was
being cut down and a man was sawing up the joints
'to make flower-pots," as he informed us. The joints
were five or six inches in diameter, and no doubt may
well serve as receptacles for growing plants. Our
faithful guide obtained a couple of the things for the
use of the ladies, who fancied them, and I took one as a
receptacle for paint-brushes, for which it is admirably
adapted.
We could have lingered much longer in the Botanical
Garden, but there were other places to be seen, and we
therefore beat a retreat to our automobile, and went into
the town itself. The city has witnessed many vicissi-
tudes since its first settlement by the Spaniards in 1532.
For nearly two hundred and fifty years the banner of
Spain floated over the island ; then there was an attempt
by the French to possess it, and finally the English took
it, and English it has remained since 1797. The older
parts have been remodeled and rebuilt since the days
of the early settlement. The streets are laid out at
right angles, which was not originally the case. The
business portion has a rather seedy and forlorn look.
The residential parts occupied by the wealthier classes
are attractive, even beautiful. Some of the houses are
well built, and the gardens with their wealth of flower-
ing shrubbery and fine trees are charming. After
having seen the main thoroughfares, and visited the
principal points of interest, we decided that it was time
for luncheon, We went to the Queen's Hotel, and fared
very well. The fish which was served, and which we
were told had come fresh from the sea that morning,
33° To the River Plate and Back
was excellent. Trinidad has in recent years come to
be a resort for English gentlemen who are lovers of
piscatorial sport. A very readable book has been
written by a member of the fraternity, who describes
the adventures he had in successive seasons while
fishing in the Bocas for tarpon and other denizens of
these seas. The devil-fish, that colossal batlike mon-
ster, which haunts the reefs, and sometimes towards
dusk rises with a great flying leap from the surface of the
water, is graphically described by the writer of the
volume.
After luncheon we visited the market-place and a
number of the shops. Port of Spain is a very cosmo-
politan town, as much so as any in the West Indies. We
found that many languages are spoken by the people,
though English is universally understood. There are
many there who still employ Spanish, the lingua franca
of South America; others speak French. The negroes
speak the English of the West Indies with its peculiar
drawling accent. There is a lingering suggestion of the
old days of slavery in the constant use of the terms
'Master" and "My Lady," employed by the blacks in
addressing the whites. Multitudes of East Indians,
young and old, were encountered. These people retain
the garb and the customs of the Orient, from which they
have come. One section of Port of Spain is known as
'Coolie-town." We encountered ' Bombay-wallas"
and 'Calcutta-wallas" everywhere.
But it was time to be making our way to the landing-
stage. We had barely arrived there, when it began to
rain as it only rains in the tropics. We huddled
together under the narrow roof of the shelter which is
provided at the landing-stage. Fortunately the Cap-
tain was one of the waiting company, and we felt at ease.
Trinidad 331
Ships do not sail without their captains. The wind
came up and our departure was delayed until the squall
had died dowrn. We reached our floating home about
three o'clock. As we came out over the bay it was
interesting to see perched on the tops of the buoys in the
harbor a number of browrn pelicans. Man-o-war birds
were also numerous, hawking about the stern of the
ship.
The glimpse we had of this southernmost of the West
Indian islands provoked in our minds a desire to visit
it again and make a longer stay. It is well worthy of a
protracted sojourn. The roads through the island are
said to be good, and there are many places which are
full of interest to the student of nature as well as to the
lover of the beautiful and curious. We would have
liked to have visited the famous Asphalt Lake , we would
have enjoyed exploring the Cave, which is haunted by
the Guacharo, the Steatornis steatornis of ornithologists.
This very remarkable bird was first described by
Humboldt. It was first found by him near Cumana
and referred by him to the Goatsucker Family, sub-
sequently the bird was found to frequent caverns in
other parts of the country, especially Trinidad, where
the people called it the ' ' Diablo tin. ' ' Students since then
have very carefully studied its anatomy, and it has
been separated from the Goatsucker Family, or Capri -
mulgidce, and placed in a separate family, the Steator-
nithidce. The bird, while it possesses many of the
characteristics of the Nightjar and Whippoorwill,
shows also certain strong affinities to the Owls, and is
regarded as perhaps giving evidence pointing to the
fact that the Goatsuckers and the Owls may have
sprung from a common ancestry, the characteristics of
which in part survive in this curious bird. It is about
332 To the River Plate and Back
as large as a crow. It is noctural, slumbering all day
in dark caves, whence it issues at dusk, going forth in
search of its food which consists of the oily fruits of
various tropical trees. In quest of this food it travels
enormous distances, being very swift of wing; and one
writer, who studied its habits, states that he found in
the stomach of a specimen which he obtained at Caripe a
Fig. 31 Guacharo (Steatornis steatornis] \ nat. size.
nut of a tree which he was quite sure does not grow
nearer the cavern than eighty leagues, or two hundred
and forty miles away. The indigestible seeds are
voided upon the floor of the caves in which these birds
congregate, and here they sprout up, and being de-
prived of light, cover the floor of the cave with a curious
mass of bleached vegetation like the shoots of potatoes
which have sprouted in a cellar. The young birds soon
after they are hatched become a mass of animate fat;
at this time the Indians resort to the caves and slaughter
the young by the thousands, melt the fat in pots at the
mouth of the cavern, and preserve it for use both in
cooking and in lighting lamps. This fat is said not to
Trinidad 333
turn rancid, and is capable of being kept for a year or
more in limpid purity. Some people say that the
squabs are delicate eating. It is, however, reported
by others that they have the taste of cockroaches. It
is singular that the odor of cockroaches is found in many
birds. I have noted it especially in the case of Petrels.
A Petrel flew on board the S.S. Carpathia, on which I
was crossing from the Mediterranean, not very long
before her memorable rescue of the shipwrecked passen-
gers of the Titanic. The bird was brought to me. I
afterwards released it, and it flew away ; but for a couple
of hours afterwards, though I washed my hands a
number of times, I could not get rid of a mild odor of
cockroaches which seemed to cling to my fingers after
handling the bird.
CHAPTER XXII
THE LESSER ANTILLES
"Where first his drooping sails Columbus furl'd
And sweetly rested in another world,
Amidst the heaven-reflecting ocean, smiles
A constellation of elysian isles,
Fair as Orion when he mounts on high,
Sparkling with midnight splendor from the sky;
They bask beneath the sun's meridian rays,
Where not a shadow breaks the boundless blaze;
The breath of ocean wanders through their vales,
In morning breezes and in evening gales;
Earth from her lap perennial verdure pours,
Ambrosial fruits and amaranthine flowers;
O'er the wild mountains and luxuriant plains,
Nature in all the pomp of beauty reigns." — Montgomery.
WE left Port of Spain about four o'clock in the
afternoon. The thunderstorm which had passed
over the town still clung in the distance about
the tops of the mountains. We passed out to sea
through the Dragon's Mouths (Las Bocas de Dragos),
the triple strait, seeded with jutting islands and tower-
ing rocks, which connects the Gulf of Paria on the north
with the waters of the Caribbean. The scenery com-
pelled the admiration of the most indifferent. In the
blue distance rose the high peaks of Paria, one of them
thirty -five hundred feet in height, lofty sentinels on the
Venezuelan mainland, which here juts out eastward as a
narrow peninsula, forming the northern boundary of
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The Lesser Antilles 335
the gulf. At the prow of the ship we could see how the
water is racked as it pours between the islands. Its
surface was free from waves, but broken by tide-rips.
Many porpoises raced with the ship as she stood* out to
sea. I strained my eyes to see whether by some lucky
chance I might not catch a glimpse of one of the huge
devil-fishes which are said now and then toward evening
to leap up from the water, but none of these darlings of
the deep obliged me by letting me have a peep at him.
A number of additions had been made to our ship's
company at Port of Spain. Some of these were to
remain with us to the end of the voyage, others were
only to bear us company as far as Barbados, where
they would reembark on vessels going to Europe, or to
other parts of the West Indies and South America.
Among the latter was an English gentleman, who
informed me that he had come out to the West Indies
uto escape the beastly winter-climate of London,"
and that, after having visited in succession all of the
Lesser Antilles, it was his purpose to go to Para and
ascend the Amazon as far as possible. He was arrayed
in an immaculate suit of white duck, a solar topee, and a
formidable monocle, so that it was evident he was fully
equipped for life in the tropics.
With a good motor-boat it would be possible to go
from Trinidad to Florida by way of the Antilles, sleep
on shore every night, and never be out of sight of land
for more than an hour or two at any time. The Lesser
Antilles, or Caribbees, form a semicircle which extends
from near the coast of Trinidad eastward and northward
nearly as far as Puerto Rico. The Greater Antilles
continue the chain of islands, stretching westward in the
direction of Honduras. The Caribbean Sea is thus
partially enclosed on the east and the north by a long
336 To the River Plate and Back
succession of islands, large and small, lying like a great
wreath upon the blue expanse of ocean. The Caribbees
are disposed in two more or less parallel lines, the outer
islands on the Atlantic side being generally low, or with
but slight elevations upon them; the inner series is
composed of islands which are mostly volcanic in their
origin and adorned with peaks and high rugged cliffs.
With but one or two exceptions, all are covered with
luxuriant vegetation from sea-level to the tops of the
mountains. Alongside of them are some mighty deeps in
the floor of the ocean. If the water were to be drained
away from about them they would stand up from the
sea-floor as the Himalayas stand up above the plains of
India. What the traveler really sees as he journeys
among these islands are only the summits of a colossal
mountain range jutting up out of the waters. These
islands lie along what geologists call a fault in the sur-
face of the earth, which, as it has been cooling and
contracting, has been cracked and wrinkled and folded.
On such lines the water of the ocean, creeping down into
the heated interior, has been converted into steam and
volcanoes have been formed. Many of these islands,
the summits of which are evidently old volcanic peaks,
are quiet enough to-day, save that now and then they
are jarred by earthquakes, but nowhere in the world has
more awful destruction been wrought since the days of
Herculaneum and Pompeii than was brought about by
the explosion of Mt. Pelee on Martinique in 1902.
Leaving Trinidad behind us we headed away to the
northeast. Tobago was passed during the night.
Morning found us at Bridgetown, the port and capital
of Barbados, the easternmost of the Caribbees. The
only other large vessel in the harbor was a Russian man-
of-war. As soon as we had cast anchor, the ship was
The Lesser Antilles 337
surrounded by small boats, each of which carried two
boys. As they came alongside they began to clamor for
the privilege of showing their skill as divers: 'Throw
me a penny, master! Watch me dive and get it!'
' Throw me a shilling, master ! and I will bring it up on
the other side of the steamer ! ' The passengers stand-
ing at the rail began to toss small coins into the water.
The coin had scarcely left the hand of the thrower,
before sixteen or seventeen lithe black bodies disap-
peared under the water and then came up, the one who
had captured the coin displaying it for an instant in his
fingers, and then transferring it to his mouth, which
served the purpose of a purse. One of their number
who was designated as the ';<deaf fellow" seemed to be
particularly expert. All of the boys were negroes,
except one, who was a fair-haired English lad. While
one of the occupants of a boat was engaged in making
his natatorial displays, his comrade managed the craft.
Then, when the swimmer became tired he crawled into
his boat and took charge of the oars, while the other
fellow took his turn in the water. All of them swam
with great ease and strength and showed fine muscular
development.
Our anchorage was far out. We were to take on
seven hundred tons of coal, and accordingly were told
that the entire day and evening might be passed upon
shore. After breakfast we called a small boat alongside,
and soon found ourselves walking up one of the streets of
the town, which is said to derive its name from the fact
that the first settlers of the spot found there a bridge,
which the Indians had built over a small creek dis-
charging its waters into the bay. The first settlement
was made at Holetown, a point about seven miles north
of Bridgetown on the western side of the island. Here
338 To the River Plate and Back
in 1605 a party of Englishmen on their way to the
Spanish Main effected a landing and took possession in
the name of their king, the ceremony consisting of
setting up a rude wooden cross and carving upon the
bark of a tree a declaration that the island was the
property of King James. They then sailed away. At
that time the only foothold which England had in
the New World was this little island and the rocky
coast of Newfoundland. Spain, Portugal, France, and
Holland claimed everything on this side of the Atlantic.
Twenty years passed before a few of these Englishmen
accompanied by some of their friends returned, and
began a formal settlement at Holetown. They were
quickly followed by a party sent out by the Earl of
Carlisle, who established themselves in 1628 at Bridge-
town, which, because of the better anchorage, soon
became the principal port of the island, in fact the only
one now resorted to by ocean-going vessels.
Barbados has been continuously in the hands of the
English since the days of its first occupation, and is one
of the very oldest of the colonial possessions of Great
Britain. It has an extreme length of twenty-one miles
and an extreme breadth of fourteen miles. It contains
an area of one hundred and sixty- three square miles.
It has a population of more than two hundred thousand,
and therefore, with the exception of Manhattan Island,
is the most densely inhabited island on the face of the
globe. The population is composed principally of
negroes.
The style of architecture of the older mansions is
Colonial, recalling the old manor-houses of Virginia
and the Carolinas. In this connection it is worth
remembering that the only time George Washington
left the soil of North America was on the occasion of a
The Lesser Antilles 339
visit to some of these hospitable mansions, when he
accompanied his invalid brother to the South. The
streets of the business portion of Bridgetown are filled
with buildings of a substantial character built from
coral-rock. There is an air of English solidity about
the banks and warehouses. The residential portions
of the city contain many pleasant homes surrounded by
beautiful gardens full of blooming shrubs and flowers.
Fine trees shade most of the thoroughfares. Among
the shade-trees I noticed some magnificent specimens of
the mahogany-tree (Swietenia) and the silk-cottonwood
(Bombax ceiba), the latter with their trunks sur-
rounded by wide and thin buttresses of wood which
nature provides to serve the purpose of flying-arches
with which to support their mighty columns.
Taking a vehicle we started out on a tour of explora-
tion. We visited the markets. Naturalists generally
find the vegetable and fish-markets in strange lands
instructive. My friends, Dr. D. Starr Jordan and Dr.
C. H. Eigenmann, who are two of the leading ichthy-
ologists of the world, have told me that they make it a
point to visit the fish-markets on their travels, and many
species new to science have been found by them in
fish-stalls, by the former in the Orient, by the latter in
South America. The venders of fish in the West
Indian Islands have a large number of fine species of
food-fishes at their command. Spanish mackerel,
snappers of various species, pompanos, and flying-fish
were on sale at Bridgetown. In the fruit-stalls were
various kinds of tropical vegetables and fruits which
interested. There were three species of anonaceous
fruits, the Sour-sop (Anona muricata), the Sweet-sop
(Anona squamosa), and the Custard-apple (Anona
reticulata). With the latter we had already formed
34° To the River Plate and Back
acquaintance in Brazil. Breadfruits were abundant.
So were Golden-apples, as they are called, pleasant to
the eye, and delightful to the palate, but the inner
seed armed with wiry, projecting, wooden spines, which
compel the eater, when devouring the juicy pulp, to
proceed as circumspectly as one who is eating shad.
There were yams, and cassava-meal, fresh ginger — in
short a multitude of things which we all have read
about, but which it was pleasant to see as they came
from the fields and gardens.
In the northeastern part of Barbados there exists a
small colony of a little green African monkey, the mem-
bers of which are protected. The species (Lasiopyga
callitrichus) is one of the commonest in captivity, and
the usual attendant of the Italian organ-grinder. It
has become naturalized not only in Barbados, but also
in St. Kitts and Nevis. It is a remarkable fact that
no monkeys allied to those of the South American main-
land exist to-day in any of the West Indian Islands,
except Trinidad, where a species of Howling Monkey
(Alouatta insulanus) occurs. Whether the monkeys,
which may have existed in the West Indies, were long
ago exterminated, as have been the Indians, is a ques-
tion which it is difficult at this late date to determine.
Both the geological and the written records relating to
the mammalian fauna of the Antilles are very defective.
Many facts tend to show quite conclusively that the
Greater Antilles must have had at one time a connec-
tion with the American mainland. The recent dis-
covery in Cuba by Mr. Barnum Brown of the American
Museum of Natural History of the remains of at least
two species of sloths in the bottom of a pool from which
he pumped away the water, and the discovery in the
Isle of Pines by Mr. G. A. Link of the Carnegie Museum
The Lesser Antilles 341
of the remains of a peccary, which he found in 1912,
show conclusively that in quite recent times the fauna
of Cuba, at least, was allied to that of the not distant
mainland. A hundred other facts might be cited which
point to the same conclusion. Very probably long-
tailed monkeys, related to those of South and Central
America, once existed in the Antilles, but have gone
the way of all the living. Many species of West Indian
birds are now totally extinct. The introduction of the
mongoose into Jamaica led to the total destruction in
that island of many species of birds, which nested on
the ground. The parrots of Cuba are going rapidly.
The destroyer in this case is a human mongoose. He
is a dealer in "parrots, and during the past year he has
shipped to New York City many thousands of living
parrots. The poor birds live a year or two in the court-
yards of New York homes, being taught to plead the
needs of 'Pretty Poll." In vain they squawk forth
their woes, as they shiver in the frosty air, and then find
their last resting places in garbage-cans. ' Parrots are
getting to be scarce in Cuba," says my assistant, "in the
next ten years they will all be gone/' A fine business,
this! Why should any man be allowed to strip an
island of its bird-life, just to put a few dollars, all of
which is "blood-money," into his filthy pockets?
We left the market-place and drove through the out-
skirts of the town into the country. We were struck
by the diminutive size of the gray weather-boarded
houses of the people. They are toy-houses. In fact
they are only sleeping apartments. They could be
picked up and hauled away on a cart. There were
hundreds of them lining the roads in the suburbs.
None of them had chimneys. The cooking is all done
in the open air in their rear. Cane-fields cover
342 To the River Plate and Back
the land back of Bridgetown. The island produces
annually about ninety thousand hogsheads of sugar.
Along the roads barefooted women and girls were
trooping into the town, carrying small quantities of
fruits and vegetables to market in trays and baskets
balanced upon their heads. At most their burdens were
of little value measured in coin. We stopped and
priced the articles they had for sale. A few pennies,
a shilling, would have bought what the most heavily
laden of their number was carrying over the hot roads.
The poverty of the swarming multitude impressed itself
upon us. The island is indeed over-populated, and the
struggle for existence is acute, leading to a great emi-
gration of laborers to other parts. Many of the men
have in recent years found employment at Panama,
where they have been helping to dig the big ditch which
is to link the waters of the Caribbean with the Pacific.
On the way we passed a clergyman. The driver
told us it was 'the Moravian minister." A flood of
memories was awakened. My father was a Moravian
missionary in the West Indies when I first saw the
light of day. My mother's grandfather was a Moravian
missionary in the West Indies, the colleague and friend
of another Moravian missionary, John Montgomery,
the father of James Montgomery, the poet. John
Montgomery served in Barbados, and he and his wife
are buried on Tobago. My mother's father was born
at a Moravian mission-station in the West Indies, and
with his brothers was sent more than a hundred years
ago, while they were still little children, to Bethlehem
in Pennsylvania to be educated. There they lived and
died, and there their descendants after them lived, some
of them helping to make history. One of them was
the founder of the great Bethlehem Steel Company, the
The Lesser Antilles 343
present controlling spirit in which is my friend of many
years, Charles M. Schwab, and the First Vice-president
of which wras one of my table-mates on the voyage from
Buenos Aires to New York. I told the coachman to
stop, and, alighting, I set out to seek the missionary, and
wish him Godspeed; but he had gone into one of the
houses to minister at the bedside of a sick and dying
man, and I felt I ought not to intrude, and came away.
No body of men have ever shown more real heroism
than the missionaries of the Moravian Church, who
were the pioneers of Protestant Christendom in the
effort to evangelize the neglected and helpless, not as
was done by the emissaries of Spain in these islands,
where the people were baptized and then barbarously
exterminated, but as it is being done to-day by good
men the world over, by teaching the ignorant to culti-
vate habits of industry, self-help, and self-respect, and
reverence for things which are excellent, and pure, and
of good report. The story of the Moravian missions
in the West Indies is the story of a self-sacrificing
devotion, which, beginning with the act of Leonard
Dober, who offered to sell himself into slavery that he
might reach and teach the slaves, has been one long and
consistent effort of kind-hearted and wise men to carry
light and truth into the dark places of the earth.
We left Barbados on the morning of November I3th,
and passed northward along the western coast of the
island, taking what the seamen call the "inner passage."
We caught sight of St. Vincent and St. Lucia, their blue
peaks rising above the western horizon. Early in the
afternoon we were just off the southern shore of Mar-
tinique. The Captain pointed out with the pride of a
true British sailor the " Stone Ship," as it has been called.
Towering nearly six hundred feet above the water is a
344 T° the River Plate and Back
great pinnacle of reddish rock, with sides so steep that
it looks as if nothing but a sea-gull could reach its top.
In the troublous times of the Napoleonic Wars when
England and France were fighting with each other on
land and sea, Admiral Hood of the British Navy re-
solved to take possession of this rock, which commands
a narrow passage through which from time to time he
discovered that French ships were escaping him.
Somehow or other the brave sailors under his command
found a wray up the steep sides of the rock and anchoring
one of his ships at the very foot of the clifT, he caused
five cannon to be hoisted from her deck by ropes let
down from the summit. He landed one hundred and
twenty men as a garrison, and the fort was entered on
the Admiralty lists as 'H. M. Ship, Diamond Rock."
For a long while the British sailor-soldiers held the place
and gave the French no end of trouble. At last when
they had shot away their last cannon-ball, and the
drinking water had given out, they surrendered to a
French fleet of sixteen sail, which had been for some
time hammering away at them. These islands are full
of memories which stir the blood. The story of the
rise of the naval power of England is largely laid in West
Indian waters. Here were the haunts of the buccaneers.
Here Sir Walter Raleigh, Drake and Hawidns, Rodney
and Nelson, won many of their laurels. There is not an
island, not a strait, to which does not attach some
legend, or story of historic interest. The blood of the
sea-rovers and sea-fighters of the past has dyed these
waters and crimsoned the soil of these islands.
The panorama of the western coast of Martinique
was slowly unfolded before us in the light of a beautiful
summery afternoon. We stood in close to the shore.
We could see the hills rising above Trois Islets, and
The Lesser Antilles 345
recalled the fact that here was the birthplace of Marie
Joseph Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie, and of her first
husband, Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais, whose
father was the Governor of the island. Of that union
were born a son and a daughter, Eugene and Hortense.
Alexandre de Beauharnais was a brave soldier and a
statesman, twice the President of the National Assembly
of France. After his tragic death his widow married
Napoleon, and this daughter of the West Indies be-
came the first Empress of the French, her daughter
the mother of Napoleon III, her son Viceroy of
Italy, son-in-law of the King of Bavaria, and his
son the Consort of Dona Maria, Queen of Portugal.
They have all passed into the realm of shadows; but,
as we looked in at the entrance of Fort of France,
with its towers and houses gleaming white in the
sunshine above the deep purple of the sea, we could
not but think of the wonderful mutations which take
place in human lives. Little did the smiling girl wrho
set sail from this beautiful harbor among the hills to be
wedded in France to the young man to whom she had
been betrothed in her childhood dream that the crown
of an Empress was to rest upon her head, and that she
was going forth to play a role in one of the mightiest
dramas of history.
And now we crept a little closer to the shore. The
land began to rise in great folds of dazzling green.
Behind the hills loomed up a mountain capped with
clouds. We came still nearer. The top of the moun-
tain was desolate. Down its steep slope ran a great
wide gash of dull gray, spreading out like an inverted
fan as it approached the border of the violet sea. In
the lower reaches of that gray expanse stood, silent and
deserted, a few crumbling arches and walls, all that
346 To the River Plate and Back
remains of what ten years ago was said to be the most
enchanting of the cities of the West Indies, a diminutive
Paris, set in the midst of tropical verdure and beauty.
The gray mountain with the steam pouring out of the
rents in its top and forming clouds about its summit is
Pelee, the Destroyer ; the ruins in the foreground are all
that is left of the gay little city of St. Pierre. The
Captain, who was standing beside me, told me of the
awful scene, as he had looked upon it a few days after
the holocaust in which forty thousand human lives
were snuffed out in an instant. The details of the
eruption have been fully told by the late Dr. Angelo
Heilprin in his book entitled Mont Pelee, and the Tragedy
of Martinique. The only consoling thought which
arises in the mind is the reflection that the poor victims
were not left to suffer long. Death in a most appalling
form overwhelmed them, but it W7as " in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye." With one fierce burst the hot,
burning sulphur-fumes, pouring from the bowels of the
earth, swept down the flanks of the mountain with the
speed of a hurricane, and all was over. But one man, a
prisoner immured in a deep dungeon, survived out of the
multitude. Of the heat and corroding power of that
sulphur blast I saw a singular proof a few years ago in
the city of Paris. Mons. Alfred Lacroix, the Curator
of the collection of minerals at the National Museum in
the Jardin des Plantes, showed me a keg of nails which he
had found among the ruins at St. Pierre on the site of a
hardware-store. The keg had been standing open when
the death-dealing storm descended. The learned
doctor has removed a stave in the side of the keg to
permit the examination of the contents from the top
to the bottom. At the bottom of the keg the nails are
bright, new, and clean ; but the nails in the upper half of
View of Mount Pelee from the Steamer.
A Negro Boy Diving for a Penny. Barbados.
The Lesser Antilles 347
the keg have been turned by the hot sulphur blast of
that day of terror into iron pyrites, iron sulphide, many
of them having assumed crystalline forms. The
chemical action which turned nails into crystals of iron
sulphide was too great to be resisted by poor human
flesh and blood, which shriveled into ashes before it.
I can faintly imagine what must have been the agony of
the moment. On the first day of August in the year
1887 I made the ascent of Asama-yama, one of the
huge volcanoes of Japan, rising over eight thousand feet
above the plains of the Kwanto. I was accompanied
by a small troop of faithful Japanese attendants. The
column of steam and sulphur-smoke rising from the
crater was ascending in a perpendicular column a mile
in height above the mountain-top, and then spreading
out like a huge umbrella in the upper air. The day
was still ; not a breath of air was stirring. I undertook
to measure the circumference of the crater, and had
almost completed the task, when the servant who was
standing nearest to me rushed toward me, seized me by
the arm, and pointing upward exclaimed: 'The cloud!
Quick! run! ' Before I had time to even reflect, I in-
haled a breath of the excoriating sulphur-fumes. It was
as if I had been stabbed in the vitals. I held my nose.
I shut my mouth. I tried to run. I was forced again
to open my mouth; again I was stabbed in the lungs.
I stumbled, I fell, I rolled down a slope of lava-ashes.
I gathered myself up, and again I ran, and at last
beyond the reach of the white cloud which now was
pouring in dense folds over the very spot where I had
been standing a few moments before, I sank down
exhausted. A wind suddenly rising was driving the
fumes away to the west. For days afterwards it was
painful to take a long breath and my mouth and throat
348 To the River Plate and Back
were sore. The cloud which overwhelmed St. Pierre
was denser, hotter, more heavily charged with acid
fumes than the one a taste or two of which I had on
Asama-yama, but I can imagine the awful agony of the
death which overtook the people of the ill-fated city on
the 8th of May, 1902; I have tasted it just for an
instant, and the memory of that little taste is enough.
As the afternoon wore by we came under the tower-
ing cliffs which guard the southern coast of Dominica.
A silvery waterfall of great height was pouring directly
into the sea from a dark precipice at the very end of the
island. There is an air of rugged grandeur about the
mountains of Dominica which is most impressive. The
story is told that a British naval officer was once asked
at his Club to describe the surface of this island. He
took a piece of writing paper, crumpled it up, tossed it
upon the table, and said: There you see just how the
surface of the island looks." It is the most mountain-
ous and roughest of all the Lesser Antilles. Guadeloupe,
the next island in the long chain, has one peak, the
Soufriere, which is a little higher than the Morne
Diablotin on Dominica, just falling short of being five
thousand feet in height; but Dominica has two such
peaks, each of which exceed four thousand feet in
height above the level of the sea, one of them being
only a little lower than the high peak on Guadeloupe.
Unfortunately the darkness of night prevented us from
seeing much of the latter island though we passed
immediately under the cliffs.
On the following morning the Captain kindly sent a
messenger to call me early. When I flung back the
curtains at the windows of my cabin the dawn was just
breaking over the sea. I hurriedly dressed, and went on
deck. The sight was calculated to awaken wonder.
The Lesser Antilles 349
To the south the peaks on Guadeloupe were just dimly
visible as points above the horizon. Nearer at hand,
silhouetted against the glory of the coming day, were
the outlines of Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, and St.
Eustatius. The first three islands belong to Great
Britain, the latter to the Dutch. On Nevis Alexander
Hamilton was born on January u, 1757, and a little
more than thirty years afterwards a young English
captain by the name of Horatio Nelson yielded to the
charms of a bright young widow, Mistress Fanny Nisbet,
whose husband, a physician, had not long before gone
to the better world. They were married on March
n, 1787, very quietly. As little as Josephine de La
Pagerie thought- of playing a part in the history of the
wrorld when she married Alexandre Beauharnais, so
little thought the widow of Dr. Nisbet, when she married
the slight and boyish English captain, that she was
wedding one of the heroes of all time. And neither she
nor Josephine on their wedding day suspected the
domestic infelicity and the terrible heartaches which
awaited them. Napoleon had, as he thought, reasons
of state for deserting the noble woman who had been his
guiding star in the early years of his success. Nelson
had no reason for conjugal infidelity. It is a foul blot
upon his career. Great as were his achievements, his
personal character was not such as to make him worthy
to be held up as an example to his fellow-men.
Dead ahead of us was Saba, and we soon came along-
side of it. This island, which is almost circular in out-
line and scarcely three miles in diameter, rises more than
half a mile in height above the ocean. There is no
anchorage, except at the very foot of the tall rocky
steeps which guard it on all sides. The Admiralty
chart shows three hundred and seventv-five fathoms of
35° To the River Plate and Back
water within half a mile of the shore. Access to the
island is up a narrow cleft in the rocks on the southern
side. The island belongs to the Dutch. The inhabi-
tants are few, and are fair-haired descendants of the
original settlers from Holland. There is a small village
in the interior high up on the mountain. The people
enjoy the reputation of being skilled as builders of boats.
The sole spot on the island fitted for such work is a low
narrow platform of rock at the foot of the defile down
which they travel to reach the edge of the water. Here
they build and launch the craft, which they sell to the
people of the adjacent islands. As we passed Saba,
the Captain handed me a fine glass and bade me look.
There in the morning sunlight high up on the edge of a
cliff was a tiny house. A man in his shirt-sleeves was
leaning against the doorpost; a woman in the little
enclosure near by was milking a cow. Children came
and stood and watched the steamer as she went by and
waved their hands. We responded by waving our
handkerchiefs. To the southwest is the great Saba
Bank, a broad meadow of coral under the sea, which, in
spite of the great depth of the water close to the island,
shoals in places to six or seven fathoms, so that the
chart says, " rocks can be distinctly seen when over it."
We left it on our port side.
Until noon of the I4th of November we were still in
sight of land. The last of the Antilles to sink below the
horizon was Sombrero, the Spanish Hat, a low, flat,
sun-baked expanse of coral-rock, topped by a small
lighthouse. We had caught our last glimpse for the
time of "lands of sun." We were now steaming quickly
north toward the cold and darkness of winter. Never-
theless the air was mild and balmy and remained so
until the end of the voyage had almost been reached.
The Lesser Antilles 351
On the afternoon of the i8th of November about
three o'clock, as I happened to hold the "dummy-hand,"
I rose from the table, walked to the window of the
reading-room, where we were playing, and looked out.
There before me was Atlantic City, the boardwalk, and
the long unsightly row of huge caravansaries which are
ranged along the beach. Later when it grew dusk I
chanced to look up and on our port side saw a light
suddenly flash forth — not like the lights which we
had generally seen along the coast of South America,
and among the islands of the West Indies, shedding a
feeble radiance into the darkness, but a light, great,
strong, furious. Handfuls, armfuls, great heaped-up
piles of light, that beacon tossed out toward the sea,
and then for a moment all was dark. Again in surges of
glory the great flashing lantern scattered its rays over
the waters. It can be seen for miles and miles. I
know that light well. It stands upon the Atlantic
Highlands and tells the traveler coming from off the seas
that he is approaching the harbor of one of the greatest
cities of the world, the doorway of North America.
When dinner was over we went on deck and found that
we were quietly riding at anchor off Quarantine. The
air was cool and frosty. The journey begun in August
heats was over. Nearly twenty thousand miles by
sea and by land had been covered. We were home
again.
CHAPTER XXIII
OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS
"Zar de tres tintas, indio, bianco, y negro,
Que rige el continente americano
Y que se llama Pueblo Soberano." — Felipe Pardo.
r"PHE discovery of the New World added to the
resources of mankind a number of things, which
before that event were unknown to the inhabitants of
the Eurasian Continent and Africa. It is interesting
to observe how many of the food-plants and vegetables,
now in common use all over the world, had their origin
in Central and South America. Perhaps the most
important of these is maize, or Indian corn (Zea mais).
The word maize is Haytian in its origin. It was the
name which the Spanish conquerors of Hispaniola
received from the Indians and which they carried with
the grain to Europe, where it became incorporated into
all the modern languages. The cultivation of the
plant has extended throughout southern Europe,
Africa, Asia, and Oceanica. It is one of the principal
grain crops of the world to-day, and millions of human
beings and tens of millions of domesticated animals
depend upon it in whole or in part for their sustenance.
The potato is another American plant, which plays an
important part in the domestic economy of mankind.
It grows wild on the western side of South America.
Improved by cultivation and developed in countless
352
Observations and Reflections 353
varieties, it is an important factor in the food supply of
the nations of the earth. The tomato, the egg-plant,
and the various varieties of green and red peppers are
the gift of the American tropics to the tables of civil-
ized men. The cacao is a strictly South American plant,
the cultivation of which has been carried into the hot
lands of the Orient. Chocolate is a Mexican word. In
its original form it was choco-latl, the first word in the
compound being the Aztec name for cacao, the second
syllable being the Aztec word for water. Long before the
conquistadores made their invasion, the people of the
hot lands of South America had practised the art of
grinding up the seeds of the cacao, and mixing sugar
and the fragrant extract derived from the pod of the
vanilla, which grows in the hot American woods, with
the paste, thus forming the material for a refreshing
drink. The work done on Indian metates is now prin-
cipally carried on in European and North American
factories, the Indian matrons and maids, who wielded
the mealing-stones, being replaced by machines driven
by steam or electricity. A recent study of the literature
of the subject made by the writer shows that over one
hundred well-known plants of the forest, field, and
garden, yielding food or medicine to man, have been
derived from the flora of the Americas, and principally
the floras of Middle and South America.
The fauna of America has added but few species to
those in domestication. The most notable addition
is the noble fowl which graces the tables of Christendom
on festal occasions. The bird was imported into Spain
from Mexico by the early Spanish explorers. It had
been domesticated by the Indians, and also ranged in
its wild state from the highlands of Mexico as far
north as New England. Its English name, turkey,
354 To the River Plate and Back
points to its introduction into Great Britain from
Mediterranean lands.
The gifts of the fauna and flora of these lands to the
world in the last analysis have been more valuable
than the gifts of the mines, for which these countries
are famous. The value of the annual crop of maize
alone exceeds by far in its aggregate amount all the
treasure which is being annually extracted from the
mines of silver and gold which are found in Central
and South America. The amount which the poultry-
men of Christendom will receive next Thanksgiving
Day and Christmas for the turkeys sold from their
stalls will exceed in the total all that will be paid out
during this year of grace by those who purchase dia-
monds and pearls. As permanent sources of wealth
corn-fields and poultry-yards are to be preferred to
mines of the precious metals and of gems. They pay
better in the long run.
The undeveloped agricultural resources of South
America are enormous. Not only has the continent
given much to the stock of those things which make
life possible and enjoyable, but, as a territory capable
of being subdued and made productive, it offers a wide
field for coming generations of men who shall be willing
to obey the primal command to till the soil and cause
it to yield its increase. Of the great fertility of the
plains of Argentina I have already said enough; but
there are other vast regions in South America which
are capable of being cultivated and made to minister
to the wants of humanity.
The mineral resources are very great. There is an
abundance of iron and copper in various places. The
ores of the precious and certain of the rarer metals are
abundant in the cordilleran region. There is evidence
Observations and Reflections 355
that petroleum and natural gas exist, but the localities
where these occur are as yet difficult of access, and no
development of consequence has taken place. Coal is
conspicuous by its absence from most of the geological
formations of South America, and, where it does occur,
it is of inferior quality. It must, however, be remarked
that there are great areas in which no thorough^exami-
nation has as yet been made to ascertain whether coal
is present or not. The tropical sun atones for the lack
of coal over the greater part of the region, so far as
the need of securing warmth for human habitations is
concerned, and the abundance of available water-
power compensates in part for the lack of mineral fuel
as a source of motive power. Along the Andes, in
eastern Brazil, and in southern Argentina there are
rapids and falls enough to drive all the engines now at
work in the world.
The greater part of the continent lies within the
tropics, and therefore the climatic conditions are not
generally regarded as favorable to the Caucasian.
There are, however, parts of the continent wThich are
extremely favorable to this race. Uruguay, Argentina,
Chili, and the highlands, both of the east and the west,
reveal conditions which are quite equal to those which
are found in Europe and North America where the
Caucasian has been evolved at his best. The hot
lands of Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela, and Colombia
are enervating. The diseases, which have hitherto
made life in tropical countries dangerous, bid fair with
the advance of knowledge to be brought under control.
Even in the low-lying river-valleys, with the draining
of the swamps and the extermination of insect plagues,
the conditions of life will become more favorable.
Many of the valleys of our own western States at the
356 To the River Plate and Back
time of their first settlement were highly malarious.
I can remember as a child hearing the remark made
that in the valley of the Tuscarawas in Ohio the cost
of the quinine needed to keep the family in health
exceeded the cost of the flour which was consumed.
The remark was intended to be a somewhat playful
exaggeration, but sixty years ago it had foundation
in truth. It would not be made to-day. Just as the
reclamation of the swampy lands in the Middle West
of our own country has led to the disappearance of
malarial fevers in places which half a century ago were
haunted by them, so also will it be in South America.
The city of Santos is a notable example of this (see
p. 80).
But something more is needed to constitute a state
than the existence of large material resources and
favorable climatic conditions. The human element is
the most important. If Greece in the days of Socrates
had been inhabited by Maoris, and Rome at the time
of the Caesars had been populated by Berbers, the story
of those days would have been very different. Man is
the highest of the animals, but, being an animal, a
good deal depends upon the breed. From the stand-
point of ethics we justly claim that all men, so far as
their rights are concerned, are born free and equal; but
they are not born equal in the matter of their talents
and capacities. In physical, mental, and moral respects
there are great and obvious differences between indi-
viduals of the same race, and between races themselves.
In studying the present condition of the states of the
south the student is naturally impressed by the fact
that there has occurred in these lands a great inter-
mingling of racial elements. In fact the commence-
ment of the amalgamation of races began upon the
Observations and Reflections 357
soil of the Iberian Peninsula prior to the occupation
of the South American continent.
The lands of Central and South America, colonized
originally by the Spanish and Portuguese, are often
denominated 'Latin America/' The appellation is
not strictly scientific, and in many respects is mis-
leading. The people of Spain and Portugal, although
the languages they speak are strict derivatives from
the tongue of old Latium, have in their veins very
nearly as little Latin blood as the people of Great
Britain and Ireland. The student of ethnology
knows well that the Basques, who were the leaders in
the colonization of Chili and Argentina, are as little
Latin as the men of Cork or Tipperary. They are a
remnant of the old Iberian race, which tenanted the
peninsula before the days of Hannibal, before the days
of Caesar. They have perdured through the centuries
in their home about the head of the Bay of Biscay,
while the surges of conquest and colonization have
rolled hither and thither through Europe, just as the
Welsh have survived in their mountains, and the High-
landers of Scotland have survived in their fastnesses.
They came in contact with the various peoples who
from time to time overran the Peninsula, but they
were neither Africanized nor Romanized. They re-
main to this day a peculiar people. It is an ethno-
logical error to speak of them as representing the Latin
race. Neither is the Spaniard nor the Portuguese,
strictly speaking, Latin. For that matter it is doubtful
whether there are any true survivals of the old Latins,
in all of southern Europe, who have preserved in its
purity the blood of ancient Rome. The Latin races
of Europe are such in sentiment, but not in physio-
logical fact. Even in Italy the modern Italian repre-
To the River Plate and Back
sents in his veins Gallic and Teuton rather than Roman
descent. Omniscience alone could disentangle from
the skein of life in southern Europe the thread of Latin
humanity which is woven into the blood of these
peoples. This is preeminently true in Spain and
Portugal. No population in Europe represents a more
complex synthesis of racial elements than the popula-
tion of the Peninsula. One of the latest writers upon
this subject, himself of Spanish lineage, says:
Spain is African, even from prehistoric ages. The
Iberian is like the men of the Atlas ; like them he is brown
and dolichocephalous. The Kabyle douar and the Spanish
village represent remarkable analogies. An early geological
change separates by a narrow strait two similar countries;
two successive invasions spread an infusion of African blood
throughout the Peninsula. Phoenicians and Carthaginians
found colonies in maritime Spain; in 711 seven thousand
Berbers establish themselves in the south; and the invasion
of the Almohades in 1145 still further unites Iberians and
Africans. During the long centuries of conflict between
Christians and Arabs the two races intermingle under the
cultivated tolerance of the Khalifs. The Gothic kings seek
the aid of Arab chieftains in their quarrels; the Cid is a
condottiere who fights alternately in the Mussulman and
Christian armies, serving with his troop of heroes under the
highest bidder. The Spanish monarchs in turn intervene
in the quarrels of the Khalifs, and Alfonso VI. in 1 185 allies
himself with the Moorish king of Seville in order to conquer
Toledo. The Arabs study under the masters of the Spanish
capitals, while the Spaniards study Arabic, and are initiated
into Oriental science. I
The Peninsula formed not only a bridge from which
Africa sought entrance into Europe, and indeed found
£F. Garcia Calderon, Latin America (New York, 1913), p. 41.
Observations and Reflections 359
it, but a cul-de-sac in which the spent invasions of
Europe from the north and the east found a final rest-
ing place. Across the narrow strait swarmed Phoeni-
cians, Carthaginians, Berbers, Arabs, Copts, Touaregs,
Syrians; from the north and the east came Romans,
Franks, Goths, Visigoths, and Vandals. All mingled
in time with the old Iberian stock; except where, in
the mountain fastnesses of the Pyrenees, the ancient
people, to-day known as the Basques, kept themselves
more or less aloof from the invaders.
The discovery of the New World evoked in this
exceedingly complex people the spirit of adventure and
daring. They found their way across the Atlantic and
took possession of the newly found lands. They in-
termarried with the conquered races. Their leaders
in Mexico and Peru took to themselves as wives the
daughters of Indian princes. The soldiery were con-
tent with less exalted unions. In time there took
place an importation of Africans to till the soil. The
process of racial amalgamation went further. The
result is something unlike what has occurred in any
other region of the globe. To quote again from the
same author who has just been cited :
From the negro bozal recently imported from Africa to
the quinteron, the offspring of slaves purified by successive
unions with the whites; from the Indian who mourned his
monotonous servitude in the solitude of the mountains, to
the colored student of the universities, we find in the
Seventeenth Century as in the Twentieth, in the colonies as
in the republics, every variety of this mixture of Iberians,
Indians, and Africans.1
The result of this great fusion of bloods represents
'Calderon, /. c., p. 50.
360 To the River Plate and Back
only in small degree the perpetuation of the Latin
race. It would be far more correct from the stand-
point of the ethnologist to speak of these peoples
as Iberian Americans, if some comprehensive term,
pointing back to their origin, is required.
But while the process of racial amalgamation has
been going on, there has also been going on a process of
differentiation. The population of South America is
not homogeneous. There are distinctions observable,
which have their root in the past. There are racial
distinctions which make themselves manifest. There
are historical traditions and points of view which are
radically different. These republics are, as they claim
to be, nations, and not states, such as those of the
American Union in North America. The provinces of
the South American republics correspond to our states.
In each of these Iberian American republics a distinct
national consciousness has been evolved. The Argen-
tine is proud that he is an Argentine, the Chileno that
he is a Chileno, the Brazilian that he is a Brazilian.
With the lapse of time this national consciousness will
be deepened and intensified, and in the lapse of time
the commingling of blood will go further than it has
yet gone. To-day in Argentina the population is
becoming most complex, every race and people under
the sun is being melted into the human mass. But is
not this precisely what is taking place in the United
States of North America?
The reader must be cautioned not to conclude from
what has been said that the process of racial amalgama-
tion has been absolutely universal, and that there is
no remnant left among the descendants of the early
settlers who are of pure Spanish or Portuguese extrac-
tion. Just as in the United States there survives an
Observations and Reflections 361
element in the population who recall the fact that they
are the descendants of those who were the first to lay
the foundation of the States along the Atlantic sea-
board, and who pride themselves upon the mainten-
ance of pure Caucasian pedigree, even if they do marry
outside of the charmed circle of the Sons and Daughters
of the American Revolution, so in every one of the
South American republics there is to be found a cer-
tain relatively small percentage of the population which
has carefully avoided intermarriage with others than
Caucasians. These old South American families,
strengthened by unions with those of Caucasian stock
who have more recently come into the countries where
they live, constitute an aristocracy of talent and of
wealth, wrhich has been potent both in the political
and social life of the South American nations. This is
especially true in Argentina, Uruguay, Chili, and Brazil,
to a somewhat lesser extent in the northwest, in Cen-
tral America, and in Mexico. This old landed aris-
tocracy has exercised oligarchical prerogatives, and up
to the present time has largely ruled these lands.
From this comparatively limited body of the citizen-
ship have been drawn the leaders in the church and
the state.
The writer as a student of ethnic conditions must
also utter a warning against the conclusion, which
might erroneously be drawn from what has been said,
that the invariable result of a mingling of the old
Iberian stock with the native races tended to a lowering
of vitality and mentality. This is perhaps true in
general, but there have been notable exceptions. It
is not by any means to be accepted as a law that the
offspring of unions between Caucasians and Indians .
and negroes is devoid of intellectual and moral vigor.
362 To the River Plate and Back
Rivadavia, the first President of the Argentine Repub-
lic, was a mulatto; but he was a man of great mental
capacity and high moral power, a far-seeing statesman,
and a true patriot. Measured in every way he was
truly a great man, of whom his nation may well be
proud. Santa-Cruz, the great caudillo, who for twenty
years shaped the destinies of the infant republic of
Bolivia, was the son of an Indian princess, the Cacica
of Guarina. No student of his career can call in
question the fact that he was a man of signal ability.
Many other cases might be cited which tend to show
that the union of the bloods of the different races is
not necessarily followed by retrogression in physical
and mental power. Nevertheless these cases are
unusual and sporadic. The general result of such
unions has been to level downward rather than upward.
To-day in South America social standing is determined,
as it was in the time of Humboldt, by the degree of
the whiteness of the skin.
From a broad survey of the human conditions which
exist in South America there is a great deal to create
hopefulness as to the future of these nascent nations.
There is in them enough genuine virility to create
peoples capable of performing their part with distinc-
tion upon the arena of the world. There is intellec-
tual capacity, there is no lack of high ideals and pure
purposes, there is physical energy. These lands of the
Southern Cross, the story of which in the past has had
in it so much of the painful and the tragic, are certainly
destined in the process of the years to be the scene of
much which shall glorify humanity.
Since my return I have been frequently asked what
is the attitude of these peoples toward the people of
the United States of North America. To answer such
Observations and Reflections 363
a question a broader induction of facts is necessary
than it is possible for a man to make who has only
paid a fleeting visit to the south, and has only touched
it at a few points. I can only record my impressions.
I may however say truthfully that so far as my individ-
ual experience is concerned I discovered nothing which
would not imply genuine friendship for the United
States in the circles with which I was brought into
contact. It is true that it was my happy lot to be
thrown during my brief stay into the society of educated
and broad-minded men, who in all lands are very much
the same. There is an international brotherhood of
scientific and literary men, which lives above the at-
mosphere of common strife, and which, bound together
by mutual sympathies and purposes, sees in all men
friends. It was with such men that I was associated.
There is reason, however, to think that not all of the
people of these lands are as intelligent and far-seeing
as the cultivated gentlemen with whom I was brought
into contact. I noted not without surprise as I read
the daily papers that a feeling of suspicion and distrust
as to the integrity of the purposes of the citizens of the
United States in their dealings with the peoples of
South America was occasionally expressed. It was
particularly surprising to note the evident hostility
of the only English newspaper printed in Buenos
Aires to all things "American," using this term in the
sense in which we are in the habit of employing it
among ourselves. It was at once amusing and a
trifling disconcerting to find one morning on the front
page of Car as y Caretas, the weekly magazine published
in Buenos Aires, which corresponds to our Puck and
Judge, a caricature representing " Uncle Sam' as a
big black spider in the middle of his web, about
364
To the River Plate and Back
him a number of victims labeled Texas, Puerto Rico,
Panama, Ilabana, and Nicaragua, while in the fore-
ground are three 'dreadnoughts' flying the flags of
Argentina, Brazil, and Chili, the Presidents of the first
and last of which are looking up with evident apprehen-
sion towards the spider-web, which fills the sky. The
title of the caricature is, "El A. B. C. de la cuestion";
the legend below is, "Hay que completar el alfabeto, si
no queremos ser cazados como moscas" — The alphabet
must be filled out, if we do not wish to be trapped like
Observations and Reflections 365
flics. In speaking about the matter to one of my
Argentine acquaintances I ventured to plumply ask
him the question why Argentina should be apparently
venturing upon the very costly and burdensome under-
taking of purchasing and maintaining a fleet of war-
vessels. He answered, "We are doing it because we
are afraid of you." I replied, "But what reason have
you to fear the United States? Do you not realize
that there is not a rifle in our navy which would ever
be used except to protect and shield you in the event
that some grave national peril should threaten you?
We are your friends and not by any possibility capable
of becoming your enemies." To this remark he made
no reply.
It was disconcerting to now and then overhear men
speaking of the "Yankee peril." The latter I suspect
is more keenly apprehended, not by the people of the
country themselves and their intelligent rulers, but
by the mercantile classes of foreign lands, temporarily
resident in South America, and doing business in the
markets. The gradual increase of the commerce of the
United States with these countries has to a certain ex-
tent aroused the jealousyand provoked the apprehension
of a certain element, which has long been entrenched
in these republics and has come to believe that it
possesses a rightful monopoly of their trade. But the
South American of Portuguese or Spanish extraction,
who has been for many years compelled to pay heavily
for the satisfaction of his wrants, is not disposed upon
the discovery of the fact that he can obtain his wares
of equal quality at lower prices to denounce the man
who is thus purveying to his wants as a public enemy.
There are other "perils," which the gentlemen of
the newspaper fraternity and essayists detect upon the
366 To the River Plate and Back
world-horizons, as they scan them from the quiet of
their sanctums, and which, as they portray them, help
them to work off editions of their writings. One of
these, scarcely less terrific in its proportions than the
so-called "Yankee peril," is the "German peril." This
is regarded as being particularly insidious in its nature.
Its ravages are noticeable especially in southern Brazil,
where it has been accompanied by the reclamation of
large tracts of hitherto uncultivated lands, the establish-
ment of schools, churches, and the institutions of
civilized life. It is remarkable for the importation
into the regions where it has fastened itself of habits
of order, thrift, and industry. It is also characterized
by a certain persistence in the use of the language of
the Fatherland, an addiction to beer and to sauer-
kraut. In North America we have so long been ac-
quainted with this 'peril," that in a measure it has
lost its terrors. It gave us the Astors in New York,
and the Wistars in Philadelphia. It invaded Penn-
sylvania early in the eighteenth century. It gave
us the Muhlenbergs, the Shunks, the Snyders, the
DeSchweinitzes, the Wolles, the Haldemans, and the
Rothermels. At the time of the Revolution it was re-
presented by a Steuben and a DeKalb ; at the time of
the Civil War by such men as Carl Schurz, Siegel, Rose-
crans, and Schimmelpfennig. It transformed the central
part of Pennsylvania into a veritable 'Garden of the
Lord," and to-day is relied upon to do good work
wherever good work is required. It is useful in schools,
colleges, libraries, museums, and studios. It works won-
ders in mills, stores, and shops. It is especially useful
in fields and forests. The experience which the people
of the United States of North America have had with
the "German peril'1 inclines them to take it to their
Observations and Reflections 367
bosoms. As a student of history and human develop-
ment the writer is inclined to think that this dark cloud
should not be felt by South American statesmen to be
as thoroughly charged with mischief as some of the
newspaper writers in the southern cities apparently
think it to be. The lines of Cowper are appropriate
in this connection, and the writer, as a ''Pennsylvania
Dutchman,' commends them to those of his South
American friends who are at present afflicted with
Teutonophobia :
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,-
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
There is still another 'peril," which the wise men
have discovered in South America as in North America,
and that is the ;< Japanese peril." This is like the
'German peril' characterized by industry and adapt-
ability to circumstances. It is frugal, turns deserts
into gardens, and with plodding zeal accomplishes the
world's work, wherever it gets a chance to address
itself to it. Withal it is artistic in the effects it pro-
duces. But of all these bug-a-boos none at the present
time in certain circles is taken quite as seriously as the
'Yankee peril." While expressing grave concern for
the darkness of the cloud in the northern sky these
sapient gentlemen do not fail to recognize the fact that
the Monroe Doctrine has been the Palladium of their
liberties in the past. As they contemplate with excite-
ment the 'German peril' and the "Japanese terror,"
they lay to their hearts the consolation that things
might be much worse than they seem, since the great
Republic of the North has said that it "could not view
368 To the River Plate and Back
any interposition for the purpose of oppressing the
states of South America or controlling in any other
manner their destiny by any European power in any
other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly
disposition toward the United States." This whole
matter of 'perils," which is consuming so much space
in the columns of the sensational journalism of the
day, is beginning to be monotonous to intelligent
readers, who know their world. It might be dismissed
with laughter, were it not for the fact that its endless
reiteration has a tendency to provoke genuine irritation,
which is not pleasant.
Our French friends, since the eclipse of Spain as a
world-power, have in recent years come to feel that
they in a certain sense hold the hegemony among the
so-called Latin nations, and there has been a great deal
of friendly camaraderie and pleasant interchange of
compliments between them and the politicians of the
South American republics. It is all very delightful
and in certain aspects it is amusing. The prediction
made by a recent writer that the day may come when
the center of Latin culture will be removed from the
banks of the Seine to the banks of the Rio de la Plata,
and that Buenos Aires will become the home of the
arts, as Paris and Rome have been in the past, involves
a rather bold flight of the imagination. Among culti-
vated circles in South American lands the representative
arts are indeed appreciated; but, so far as the writer
could ascertain, on the practical side there is as yet
very little effort being made to cultivate these arts.
The statuary and pictures to be found in galleries and
the homes of the wealthy are principally importations,
as they are to a very large degree also in the United
States of America. The number of sculptors and
Observations and Reflections 369
painters born on the soil of the South American states
is very small, and the works of art produced by them
up to the present time are a negligible quantity. Still,
as I have remarked, art is appreciated, and I had
evidence of that fact as I went to and fro between La
Plata and Buenos Aires and saw beside the railway
track, in the middle of a muddy and neglected pond,
a plaster cast of the Venus de Milo, at sight of which
the gentlemen on the train looked forth with pleasure
and the senoras and senoritas held their fans before
their faces. What can have induced the implantation
of this effigy, recalling the Louvre, in the midst of a
frog-pond, except the rising and budding impulses of
aesthetic sentiment? There must be a future for art
in this New World.
Since his return from South America the writer has
frequently been asked what is likely to be the result of
the opening of the Panama Canal, and particularly
whether it is going to result in the cheapening of food-
supplies in the United States. The canal will not bring
the meat and grain of Argentina and Uruguay, the
coffee and sugar of Brazil nearer to us than they now
are. The agriculturally productive regions of South
America lie on the eastern side of the Andes. There
is only a narrow strip of productive land on the
western coast of the South American continent, and
the crops of the region are not much more than
adequate at the present time to supply local wants.
The only railway which at present connects the rich
plains of the Atlantic side of the continent with the
ports on the western coast is not likely to be used
to any great extent for the transportation of grain and
cattle. The Trans-Andine Railway, which links
Buenos Aires with Valparaiso, has some very steep
370 To the River Plate and Back
grades, and is partly narrow gauge at present; traffic
upon it in the winter months, June, July, and August,
has been much interrupted by landslides and snow-falls,
and up to the present has been more or less irregular.
It is extremely improbable that this road under ex-
isting conditions could be made the vehicle of a large
traffic in cereals and meats, destined to be sent north-
ward up the coast by the canal to North American
ports. The ocean-mileage from Valparaiso to the
Atlantic ports of the United States is two thousand
miles less than from Buenos Aires to the same ports,
but the land-carriage from sea to sea would more than
consume any slight reduction in cost on account of the
shorter distance by water.
The new canal will give easy access from Atlantic
ports to the ports of Ecuador, Peru, and Chili, but the
exports of food-stuffs from these states are certain to
be relatively small. Ores, nitrates, and hides may be
shipped in increased quantities from these regions, but
the Panama Canal does not reach out to the great food-
making centers of the southern continent, and the
result of its opening to commerce will not in all
probability reduce the cost of bread and meat in the
United States. If half of what the canal has cost the
nation had been devoted to a systematic upbuilding of
the shipping industries of the United States, the result,
so far as the development of commerce and the low-
ering of prices for staple commodities is concerned,
would have been much greater. But the building
of the canal was not undertaken for the purpose of
reaching South America, rather or the purpose of
reaching quickly and cheaply our own empire on the
Pacific coast.
I would like to revisit South America in the year
Observations and Reflections 371
A.D. 20 12. What a garden of delight the land will then
present to view! What a noble group of happy and
prosperous nations will then exist, covering the con-
tinent, the wastes redeemed, the spirit of unhallowed
rivalry and jealousy abolished, and the blessings of
world-peace prevailing! If men are wise and good-
natured, as they may be; if they come to know each
other, as they can; the Millennium need not long be
deferred.
INDEX
Abyssinia, home of coffee-plant,
84
Acacia, 229, 270
Academy of Fine Arts, Rio de
Janeiro, 68
Academy of Science, La Plata, 255,
257: St. Petersburg, 14
Accident to Diplodocus, St. Pe-
tersburg, 250; on railway, 313
Aconcagua, 130, 291
Africans in Brazil, 46; in Uruguay,
94
Agassiz, Louis, 325
"Age of reptiles," 5
AgelfBus thilius, 173
Ageronia, the clicking noise made
by, 73
A grids, 293
Agricultural resources of South
America, 354
Alcaeus paraphrased by Sir William
Jones, 146
Alcorta, Dr. Jos6 Figueroa, 123
Alfalfa, 145, 155, 238
Alfonso VI., 358
Alkaline soil, 132
Alligator, 48
Almohades, the, 358
Alpha Centauri, 33, 34
Alvarez, Diego, first settler of
Brazil, 54, 81
Alvarez, Senor Don Agustin, 123,
124, 295
Alvarez, Senor Don Luis A., 213
Amazon, mouth of, 320
Amblyrhamphus holoseriteus, 173
Ameghino, Carlos, 207, 208, 220
Ameghino, Senor Florentine, 207,
208, 214, 215, 218, 244, 246
americana, Rhea, 148
Ampullaria canaliculata
D'Orbigny, 232
A nartia jatropha, amalthea, 327
Anchor of Columbus, 323
Andes, 130-132, 278, 290
Animals, migration of, from dif-
ferent continents, 206
Anona muricata, reticulate, squa-
mosa, 339
Antarctica connected with Aus-
tralia, South America, and
Africa, 205
Anthurium, 327
Antilles, the Lesser, 334-351
Ant-nests, 284, 304
Antonio, 274, 277
Ants, 74,235,284,308
Apostrophe to Rio de Janeiro, 57
Apple-trees, 182
Aqueduct, built by Jesuits, Rio
de Janeiro, 61, 71
Arabs, 358, 359
Arauearia, 227; excelsa, 228; im-
bricata, 228
Arch of Titus, 25
Archean rocks, 3, 4
Arctomys, 195
Argentina, I, 15, 16, 100-107,128-
146. 355: arid lands, 132-133;
blue sky of, 147; colonization,
136, 138; composite population,
121, 142, 359: compulsory edu-
cation, 140: cost of living in.
144: country of beef and wheat,
107; dimensions, 128; dry-
farming in, 133; English in, 142,
299; flora, 155; food-supplies,
189, ^54; French in, 142; fuel,
107; importation of cattle into,
145; Irish in, 142; lake region,
115, 131; new railroads, 135;
President, 254; price of labor,
145; price of land, 144; protec-
tive tariff, 144; republicanism
140; Russians in, 142; Scotch
in, 142; soil, 238; sugar industry,
373
374
Index
Argentina — Continued
281; topography, 129; towns
with English names, 143; war
vessels, 100; waterfalls, 135, 291
Argentines, meat-eaters, 189; poli-
ticians, 136; proud of nation-
ality, 360
Arid lands. 132-133
Armadillos, 206, 287
Armadillo-baskets, 287
Arms, merchant of, 126
Artisans in Bahia, 52
Artistic sense, lack of, 52
Artocarpus incisa, 48; integrifolia,
48
Arundo donax, 229
Asama-yama, ascent of, by author,
347
Asarum caulescens, 226
Asimina triloba, 327
Asphalt Lake, Trinidad, 331
Aspidosperma quebracho, 270
Astronomers, 35, 42, in, 112
Astronomy, the study of, 42
Asuncion, Paraguay, 137
Atlantic City, 351
Attitude of South Americans to
North Americans, 362
Australia, flora of, 155
Australian shipmate, 98
Automobiles, 106
Avebury, Lord, n
Avenida Beira-Mar, Rio de Jan-
eiro, 69, 316; de Mayo, Buenos
Aires, 103, 104, 287, 294
Avocado-pears, 317
Azoic rocks, 4
B
"Back to the soil," 143
Bade, Dr., 166
Baedeker, 125
Baggage lost, 16
Bag- worm (CEketicus platensis),
229
Bahia, 17, 29, 31, 37, 43~56, 60, 81,
317; churches, 50-51; forts at,
43? parks, 48
Bamboo, 62, 318, 329
Bananas, 45, 87, 304
Banquet at Jockey Club, Buenos
Aires, 287: at La Plata, 255
Barbados, 336-343
Barrancas at Mar del Plata, 196
Basques, 137, 357
Bates, H. W., 73, 325
Bathing on deck, 18
Bath-room, 273
Beach at Mar del Plata, 196
Beagle, the Voyage of H. M. S.,
116, 207
Beans, frijoles, 189
''Beast, mysterious," 222
Beauharnais, Alexandre, Vicomte
de, 345, 349
Bed-straw, 227
Bees, 182, 308
Beetles, 63, 74, 234
Belenopterus cayennensis, 194
Belgian hares, 149
Belgrano, 167, 261
" Bellasombra-tree, " 228
Bell-bird, 75
Berbers, 357, 358, 359
Berg, Dr. Carlos, 209, 245
Beta Centauri, 33
Bethlehem Steel Company, foun-
der of, 342; vice-president of,
301
Bichos, 293
Biddies, the, 2
Bienteveo, 63, 64
Billiards, 98
Birds, 62, 64, 75; at sea, 29; in
Museum, La Plata, 117; whole-
sale destruction of, 309, 341
Bird-voices, 230
:< Black Belt" of Brazil, 46
Bleaching bones in Museum at La
Plata, 116
Blixen, Senor Don Carlos, 300
Blue sky of Argentina, 147
Boa-constrictors, 157
Bocas de Dragos, Las, 334
Bolborhynchus monachus, 178
Bolivar, "the Liberator," 141
Bolivia, 283, 362
Bombay, ceiba, 339
Bombay-wallas, 330
Bombilla, use of, 190
Bonpland, Aime, 244, 325
Botanical Garden, Buenos Aires,
155; Rio de Janeiro, 67; Trini-
dad, 328
Boundary dispute between Argen-
tina and Chili, 114
Braganza, the House of, 309
Brain, the, vs. the stomach, v
Brazil, National holiday of, 59;
"Greater Portugal," 78
Index
375
Brazil-wood, 54
Breadfruit, 47, 340
Bridgetown, Barbados, 336
Bridge-whist, 88, 351
British Guiana, 321
British Museum, Trustees of, 9,11
Bromelias, 326
Bronchos, 154
Brown, Barnum, 340
Bruch, Dr. Carlos, 117, 234, 256
Bryant, W. C., quoted, 27, 68
Buccaneers, the, 344
Buenos Aires: Agricultural Mu-
seum, 150, 153; arrival in, 101;
automobiles, 164; Avenida Al-
vear, 163; Avenida de Mayo,
161, 163; Botanical Garden, 147,
155; Capitol, 101, 286; cattle-
show, 150-155; cemeteries, 286;
climate, 91 ; Colon Theatre, 162;
docks, 100; hut in suburbs, 162;
Jockey Club, 290; milkman, 161 ;
millionaires, 143; mounted po-
lice, 164; Museum, 208, 244;
origin of name, 91; Presidential
Mansion, 101; parks, 162; Plaza
Hotel, 150; Plaza San Martin,
IOT, 150; slums, 144; Sociedad
Rural Argentina, 150; streets,
105, 161; taken by British, 299;
taxicabs, 164; uniforms, 164;
University, 265; Zoological Gar-
den, 156
Bufalini, Francesca Turina,
quoted. 108
Bufo americanus, 175
Bumble-bees, 73
Burmeister, Dr. Karl Hermann
Conrad, 200, 207, 209, 245, 325
Burrowing-owl (Speotyto cunicu-
laria), 195, 284
Butterflies, 32, 50, 62, 67, 73, 88,
177, 182, 185, 234, 276, 280,
293, 314, 327, 328
C
Cabbage-palm, 65
Cabot, Sebastian, 90, 136
Cabral, Pedro Alvarez, 53, 54
Cacao (Theobroma cacao], 327, 353
Cacao-pod, 327
Cacica of Guarina, the, 362
Cacti, giant, 283
Cadiz, merchants of, 139
Caesar, 257
Calderon, F. Garcia, quoted, 358,
359
Caldo da cana, 316
Callithea, 293
Camels, true, originated in North
America, 157
"Camp," the, in Argentina, 237
Campo, 237
Cannas, 72
Canopus, 36
Cape-Pigeons, 29
Cape St. Roque, 17, 54, 56, 319
Capetown, South Africa, 128
Cape Verde Islands, negro from,
79
Capricorn, Tropic of, 39
CaprimulgidfE, 331
Captain of S. S. Vasari, 33, 58, 79
Captain of S. S. Vestris, 300, 314,
321,330,346,348,350
Carabid beetles, 203
Caracara, 284
Carancho (Polyborus tharus), 284
Carapace of Glyptodon utilized as
a bathtub, 204
Cardinal Finch, 173
Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus] ,
225
Caribbean Sea, 334
Caribbees, 335-6
Caricature from Caras y Caretas,
364
Carnegie, Andrew, i, 7-9, 11-13,
15, 252, 253, 254, 259, 289
Carpathia, S. S., 333
Carpincho (Hydroch&rus capy-
bara], 180
Carryl, C. E., quoted, 260
Carthaginians, 358, 359
"Casa Historica," 274, 275
Cassava-meal, 340
Casuarina, 228
Cathedral, Bahia, 44; European,
51; La Plata, 109
Catopsilia, species, 327; eubule, 47
Cattle driven by woman, 266; ex-
portation of, 154; native race
of, 116
Cattle-herders, cuisine of, 188
Caucasians, 355
Cave at Consuelo, 212
Cavendish, Lord, 218
Cemeteries in Buenos Aires, 286
Cenozoic rocks, 3-4, 6
376
Index
Cerambycidce, or "long-horn bee-
tles, "'74
Cetacea in National Museum at
La Plata, 115
Chaco, Territory of, 128
Chaja, 183
"Chanar"-tree, 270
Chardon Marie, 226
Charpentier's, 134
Charruas, a tribe of Indians, 297
Chaunia chavaria, 183
Chaves, Senor, 124
Chemists, German, at Tucuman,
282
Chickweed, 227
Chilenos, 360
Chili, 355, 370
"Chili pine" (Araucaria imbri-
cate), 228
Chocolate, origin of word, 353
Chubut, Welsh and Scotch col-
onies in, 133
Churches: Bahia, 51; of Europe,
51; Santos, 82
Cid, the, 358
Clark, Alvan, 40
Clemenceau, Georges, 70
Clouds at sea, 23
Clouds of Magellan, the, 34-35
Clover, 285
Coal, 66, 355
"Cockpit of South America," 296
Cockroaches, 88, 333
Cocoa, 327
Coco-palms, 318
Coffea arabica, 84; liberica, 84
Coffee, 65; cultivation, 86; intro-
duction into Brazil, 85; loading,
at Santos, 83; origin of its use,
84
Coggeshall, Arthur S., vi, 5, 8, 10,
13, 248, 250, 259
Coleoptera, 185, 234
Colias, 327
Collecting land-shells, 233
Colliau, Mrs., 124
Colomb, family name of mother of
Humboldt, 324
Colonia, Portuguese in, 139, 297
Colonization of Sao Paulo, 81; of
Argentina, 137; of Uruguay, 297
Colors, changeable, of the ocean,
22
Columbus, Christopher, 322, 323,
325
Commencement exercises of the
University of La Plata, 122
Congress, first Pan-American, 253
Conium maculalum, 227
Constant, Baron d 'Estournelles
de, 12
Constellations, southern, 40
Convent of St. Catharine, near
Sinai, 84
Convict labor in La Plata, 243
Coolies, 83, 330
Coolie- town, Port of Spain, 330
Cope, Professor E. D., 210
Copper, 354
Coral-reefs, 318, 350
Corals, 4
Corcovado, 58, 60, 75-76, 314
Cordilleras, 259, 277
C6rdoba, 130, 138
Cordoba Durchmustening, 112
Cormorants, 30, 172, 262
Corn, traded for culture, v; plant-
^ ing, 237
Cornell University, graduate of,
83
Cosmos Club, Washington, 104
Cost of living increased by de-
struction of balance of nature,
310
C6te d'Or Express, 188
Country store, in swamp, 175;
typical, 182
Cowboys, 238
Cowper quoted, 367
Creoles, 299
Crested screamer (Chaunia cha-
varia}, 183, 184
Crops, rotation of, 238; transporta-
tion, 239
" Crossing of the line, " 20
Crux auslralis, 34
Cuba, 340
Cuckoos, 231
Custard-apple (Anona reticulata],
317, 339
Customs officer at Buenos Aires,
1 02
Cynara cardunculus, 225
D
Daily Express, of London, 219
Daption capense, 29
" Darkest Africa, " 46
Darwin, Charles, 116, 207, 325
Index
377
darwini, Rhea, 149
Davis, Dr Walter G., 131, 132,
134, 296
Davis Island Dam, 99
Debenedetti, Senor, 102
Declaration of Independence, 275
Deeps, great, in Caribbean Sea,
336
De Garay, Juan, 137
Delta of the Parana, 166, 168, 186
Democracy, ideals of a true, 122
Derby, Dr. Orville A., 65, 68
Derzhavin, quoted, 33
De Solis, Juan Diaz, 136
D 'Estournelles de Constant,
Baron, 12
Devil-fish, 330, 335
Devotion to the "mother coun-
try," 97
'' Diablotin," name of Steatornis,
331
Diamond Rock, 344
Dictator Francia, 245
Didonis biblis, 327
Difficulty, linguistic, 240
Dikes being built in delta of the
Parana, 186
Dining-car, 187
Dining in commons at University
of La Plata, 121
Dinner served on express, 188
Dinosaurs, 5
Diplodocus, 1-15, 118, 148-159,
249. 250, 256
Diplomatic stroke, 312
Diprotodon, 180
Diptera, 185, 234
Disease, of fishes, 99, 178; tropi-
cal, 355
Diving for coins, 339
Dober, Leonard, 343
D&dicurus clavicaudatus Owen,
203
Dog discovers meteorite, 38
Dog-star, 38
"Doing" a city, 93
Dominica, 348
Dominico, small variety of ba-
nana, 87
Dom Pedro I, 307
Dom Pedro II, 65, 308
"Don Samuel," 255
Dorado, a species of fish, 178
D'Orbigny, 325
Dorth, Jan van, 55
Doumer, Mons. Paul, 12
Dragonflies, 73
Dragon's Mouths, 334
Drilling of troops, 242
Dry-farming in Argentina, 133
Dutch, the, 43, 55, 56, 78
Dynastes hercules, 78
DynastidcB, 75
E
Eagles, 159
Earthquakes, 336
East Indians in Trinidad, 330
Eberhard, Captain, 212
Eclipse Expedition to Brazil, 286
Ecuador, 370
Education, compulsory in Argen-
tina, 140
Edward VII., King of England, 8,
114
Eggs, tolerably fresh, v
Eigenmann, Dr. C. H., 339
Elater noctilucus, 267
El Tigre, 185, 261
El Tronador, Argentina, 115
Emperor Charles V, 136
Emperor of Austria, 253
Empress Josephine, 245, 345, 349
English, deer, 149; newspaper,
263; occupation of Trinidad,
329
Ensenada, 28, 100, 225
Entomology, 62
Entre Rios, Argentina, 130
Eozoic rocks, 4
Epiphytes, 179, 278, 326
Epps Cocoa, 182
Equality, human, 356
Eresia aniela, 177; simois, 178
Eryngium, 185
Erythrina crista-galli, 169, 174,
263
Eucalyptus, no, 120, 156, 227
Eudcemonia semiramis, 73
Eugenie, ex-Empress, 300
European fennel, 225; grasses, 227;
weeds, 225
Euxenura magauri, 192
Everglade Kite, 233
Evolution, 2; of institutions in
Argentina, 141
Express trains, 188, 261
Extinction of wild life, 309
378
Index
Faculty of University of Buenos
Aires, 287; of University of La
Plata, 242, 287; of National
Museum, La Plata, 255
Fallieres, President, 13
Farmers, 144
Farmer, small, in Argentina, 239
Farrington, O. C., 38
Fauna (mammalian) of Antilles,
340; of South America, 204, 353
Fennel, European, 225
Fernandez, Serior Miguel, 102
Ferns, 71, 303 (see Tree-ferns)
Ferrocarril del Sud, 103
"Fiddles," 18
Fields, 261
Finback whales, 28
Fire-arms, merchant of, 25
Fire-flies, 267, 312
First-class passengers, 19
First Pan- American Congress, 253
Fishermen, 318
Fishes, 30, 49; disease of, 99, 178
Fish-markets, 339
Flat lands, attractive features,
223; vegetation of, 224
Flax, 264, 285
Flocks of sheep, 262
Flora, of Argentina, 155; of Aus-
tralia, 155; of South America,
352
Flower, Sir William H., 115
Flying-fishes, 30, 3 1, 339
Fog, adored, 147; on mountains,
277, 304
Food-supplies in Argentina, 189
Foot-and-mouth disease, 155
Forest reservations, 271
Forests, thorny, 272; tropical, 71
Fossil mammals, 119; horse, 210;
"potatoes," 198
Fossils from Brazil, 209
Francia, Dictator, 245
Francis Joseph, Emperor of Aus-
tria, 13
Freesias, no
Fremiet, Emmanuel, n
French Guiana, 320
French influence in South America,
368
French Revolution, 140
French in Trinidad, 329
Fresh- water snails, 232
Kricdrich Leopold, Graf Stolberg,
quoted, 16
Fruit imported from Europe, 189
Fuel, 53, 66, 169
Furnarius rufus, 279
Gallardo, Dr. Angel, 244
Garden-truck, poems in exchange
for, v
Garden, in swamp, 181
Garrett, Hon. John W., 134, 150,
242, 252, 258
Gas-well in delta of Parana, 167,
177
Gaviotas, 172
Geologic ages, 3, 4
Geological Society of America, i,
2
Georgetown, British Guiana, 321
German Emperor, 12, 13
''German peril," 366, 367
Giant cacti, 270
Gibraltar, 316
Ginger, 340
Glyptodon, 199, 203; carapace of,
utilized as a bathtub, 204
Gnecco, Sefior, 182, 185
Goats, 84
Goatsuckers, 331
Goethe, quoted, 166
Golden apples, 340
Golfo del Diabolo, 293
Gonzalez, Dr. Joaquin V., Presi-
dent of University of La Plata,
123, 288
Gould, Dr. Benjamin A., in
Gourliea decor ticans, 270
Grain elevators at Buenos Aires,
101 ; San Nicolas, 265
Granada, 52
Grasses, European, 227
Grasshoppers, swarm of, 279
Greece, 356
Green, brilliant display of, at
Trinidad, 322
Ground-sloths, 206
Grypotherium, 213-220
Guacharo (Stealornis steatornis),
331
Guachos, 238
Guadeloupe, 348
Guanaco, 149
Guaruja, 80
Index
379
Guiana (British), 321; (Dutch),
coffee introduced, 85; (French),
320
Guira (Guira guira) 231; destroy-
ing locusts, 279
Gulf of Paria, 334
Gulf Stream, 17, 29, 322
Gulls (Larus maculipennis) , 172
H
Hadjis, 85
Hamilton, Alexander, 123, 349
Hannibal, 357
Harbor of Rio Janeiro, 58
Harte, Bret, quoted, 211
Haseman, John D., 65
Hatcher, John Bell, 8, 10, 192, 207,
220, 242
Haumann-Merck, Professor Lu-
cien, 1 66, 170
Hauthal, Dr. Rodolfo, 213, 219,
220
Hawks, 49, 231, 284
Hawk-moth, 32
Heilprin, Angelo, 346
Heinz's Tomato Catsup, 182
Hemlock (Conium maculatum) ,
227
Herculaneum, 336
Hercules Beetle, 75
Herons, 172
Herrero-Ducloux, Dr. Ernesto,
102, 118, 119, 224
Herrings, 49
Heyn, Piet, "the Dutch Sir
Francis Drake," 55
Hippodrome, 167
H. M. S. Beagle, 207
Holetown, Barbados, 337, 338
Holland, States General of, 56
Honduras, 335
Honeysuckle, Japanese, 171
Hope, Laurence, quoted, 187
Hornero, 280; nest of, 284
Horsemanship of young woman
driving cattle, 266
Horses, 145
Hospital, Italian, in Montevideo,
96
Hotel, Bahia, 50; Buenos Aires,
101, 150, 163; La Plata, 125,
255; Mar del Plata, 195; Riode
Janeiro, 60, 62, 65; Tucuman,
273, 274
Houses, in Bahia, 44; Barbados,
338, 341; Montevideo, 95; on
piles, 168; Saba, 350; Trinidad,
326
Howling Monkey (Alouatta insu-
lanus), 340
Hudson, Hendrik, 78
Hudson, W. H., quoted, 172, 178,
183, 193, 232
Hugo, Victor, 79
Huguenots, 77
Humboldt, Alexander von, 244,
324.33I, 362
Humming-birds, wantonly de-
stroyed, 310
Hunter, Sir John, 25
Huntley and Palmer's Biscuits,
182
Hurricane at Trinidad, 326
Hussey, Dr. W. J., 102, no, 286,
296
Hydrochcerus capybara, 180
Hymenoptera, 73, 185, 234
Iberian Americans, 360
Iberians, 357, 358, 360
Ibis, White-faced, 193
Icebergs, 89
Ichthyosaurus, I
Igneous rocks, 4
Iguassu, Falls of, 292
Ilex Paraguay ensis, 189
Imperial Academy of Sciences, St.
Petersburg, 14
Independence Day in Brazil, 59
Independence, Declaration of, 275
Indians, of the pampas, 114;
Querendi, 137; become horse-
men, 154; of Tucuma'n, 282;
Charrua, 296
Insect architecture, 309; plagues,
355
Insects, scarce in October, 234
Institutions, evolution of, in Argen-
tina, 141
Intermarriage of races, 359, 361
Iron, 354
Irrigation, 133, 272
Isla Sancta, the first name of
America, 323
Island of the True Cross, 54
Isle of Pines, 340
Italian Hospital, Montevideo, 96
38o
Index
Italians, 97
Ithomia, 73
Jackf ruit, 47
Jacksonville, Florida, 129
Jack-tree, 48
jaguars, 156, 221; jaguar-skins,
287
Jamaica, 341
Japanese, 83
'Japanese peril," 367
Java, coffee introduced into, 85
Jebel Mousa, 84
Jelly-fishes, 32
Jerked beef, 154
'Jersey lightning," 23
Jesuits, 61, 8 1
Jockey Club, Buenos Aires, 258,
288, 290
John VI., King of Portugal, 78
Jones, Sir William, paraphrase of
Alcaeus, 146
Jordan, Dr. D. Starr, 339
Josephine, Empress, 245, 345, 349
Jujuy, 283
Junpt, Marshal, 78
Jupiter, the planet, 36
Jurassic rocks, 6
K
Kaiser Wilhelm II., 13
Keats, quoted, 41
Kew, palm-house at, 77
Kibitz, 194
King -bird, 262, 263
King Edward VI L, 114
King Xaaman, 273
Kite, Everglade, 233
Knight, Charles R., 256
La Banda, 272
Labor, price of, 144 .
Laborers, Italian, 271
Laborers, on wharves at Santos,
83
Lace, Paraguayan, 287
Lacroix, Mons. Alfred, 346
Lady, young, extricated from
trouble, 268
Lafone-Quevedo, Dr. Samuel A.,
118, 254
Lagos tomus trichodactylus, 194
Lake-region of Argentina, 115, 131
Lampyrids, 267
Land-bridge, connecting North
America with Asia, 205; con-
necting South America with
Africa, 206
"Land of mariana, " 83, 295
Land, price of, 145
Land-shells, collecting, 233
Langustos, 279
Lankester, Sir Edwin Ray, 10,
219
La Plata, 102, 103, 106, 108-127,
223-247, 285; art-gallery, 119;
canal, 108; grass in streets of,
109,120; National Museum, 1 13,
114, 208; National University,
103, 258; Observatory, no, 113;
Railway Terminal, 106; real
estate, 120; Zoological Garden,
H3
Larcom, Lucy, quoted, 223
Larus maculipennis, 172
Lasiopyga callitrichus, 340
Latin America, 357
Latin culture, 368
Latin races, 357
" Leaf -cutting ants," 235
Lehmann-Nitsche, Dr. Robert,
118, 221
Lemons, 169
Level lands, 130, 233, 266
Licensed porter, 295
Life on shipboard, 18, 317
Lighthouse, 318, 321, 351
Link, G. A., 340
Lipton's teas, 182
Lisbon, 44
Lista, Ramon, 214
Literary wares, v
Liverworts, 327
Living, cost of, in South America,
144
Living things in the waters, 27-32
Llamas, 149
Lobos Island, 91
Locust, Rocky Mountain, 279
Locust-tree (Robinia pseudacacia),
229
Lonnberg, Dr., 212
Loess, material of Pampean beds,
197; thickness, 198
Index
Loess-kindl, 198
Loewenfeld, General von, 12, 13
London, 78
Longfellow, Henry W., quoted,
264
lorentzii, Schinopsis, 270
Lutra felina, 221
M
McKenzie College, Sao Paulo, 311
Mackerel, Spanish, 31, 339
Macrauchenia patachonica, Owen,
208, 209
Macropus longimanus, 75
Madonnas in churches at Tucu-
man, 277
Magellan, 136; Clouds of, 34, 35;
Strait of, 212, 291
Maguari stork ( Eux e n u r a
maguari), 192
Mahogany-tree (Swietenia) , 339
Maize, 285, 352
Malaria, 356
Maldonado, 90, 298
Mammalian fauna, South Amer-
ican, 204; of Antilles, 340
Mammals, 4; Age of, 4; in Nation-
al Museum at La Plata, 117,
204, 340
"Mammifero misterioso, " 218
Man, Age of, 4
Mariana, the land of, 83, 295
Mangrove-swamps, 302
Man in the moon, 39
Manners and customs of South
American peoples, 68
Man-o'-war birds, 331
Mar del Plata, 187-210
Market-places, 51, 339
Marsh, Othniel C., 6-8.
Marsh-gas, 177
Martinique, 344-347
Mastodon, 210
Mate", 189
Mat£-gourds, 190, 287
Mateina, 191
Meals on express-trains, 188
Medusas, 32
Megatherium, 199, 201, 214, 218,
222
Mejia, Senor Ramos, 134, 135, 271
Melanoplus spretus, 279
Melastomacea, 71
Melia azedarach, 228
Mem da Sa, 77
Mendoza, Pedro de, 91, 136, 138
Mendoza, vineyards and orchards
of, 133
Menu of banquet at La Plata, 256
Merchant of firearms, 126
Mesozoic rocks, 3-4, 6
Metals, 354
Metates, Indian mealing stones,
353
Meteorites, 36-39; Saline Town-
ship, 38; man killed at Mhow
by, 39
Meteors, 36-38
Mexico, 359
Migration of animals from differ-
ent continents, 206
Mihanovitch, Miguel, 163
Milk peddling in Buenos Aires,
161
"Milk Thistle" (SUybum mari-
anum), 226
Milky Way, 34
Millennium, the, 371
Milton, John, quoted, 89
Milvulus tyrannus, 262
Mimosa, 47
Mineral resources of South Amer-
ica, 354
Mirages, 264
Moeller, Theodor von, 12
Money, Brazilian, 45; Uruguay-
an, 94,
Mongoose, 341
"Monkey-puzzle," 228
Monkeys, African, introduced in-
to the West Indies, 340; becom-
ing extinct in South America,
309
Monroe Doctrine, 367
Monroe Palace, Rio de Janeiro, 69
Montevideo: Avenida 18 de Julio,
95; breakwaters, 92; captured
by English, 299; Capurro, 92;
Cathedral, 95; Cerro, 91; City
Hall, 95; domestic architecture,
95; first settlement, 298; French
immigrants,96; Italian residents,
96; National Library, 95; ne-
groes, absence of, 94; Palacio
de Gobierno,95 ; Parque Urbano,
92; Playa Ramirez, 92; Plazas,
95; Pocitos, 92; population,
93; theaters, 98; University,
95
382
Index
Montgomery, James, quoted, 334;
father of, 342
Montgomery, John, 342
Montserrat, 349
Monuments, 70
Moon, the, devoid of water and
air, 26; volcanoes of, 26
Moravian Missions in the West
Indies, 343
Moreno, Dr. Francisco P., 113,
134, 212, 214
Morphos, 62, 72, 293
Mosquito, cause of yellow fever,
80
Mosses, 303
Moths, 63, 64, 73, 234; mimicking
bees and wasps, 73
Motor-boat trip from Trinidad
to Florida, 335
Mourning, black garments of
women in South America, 165
Municipal Theatre, Sao Paulo, 310
Musa sapientium, paradisiaca, 87
Museums: Agricultural, Buenos
Aires, 150, 153; American, of
Natural History, New York,
340; Buenos Aires (National)
208, 224; British (Natural His-
tory), 11-12; Carnegie, Pitts-
burgh, 7, 12; d'Histoire Natur-
elle, Paris, II, 13; Field (Na-
tural History), Chicago, 38;
Geological, Rio de Janeiro, 65;
Imperial, St. Petersburg, 249;
Imperial, Vienna, 13; Italian, of
Paleontology, Bologna, 13; Na-
tional, La Plata, 14, 113, 114,
208; Paulista, Sao Paulo, 305-
311; Royal, of Berlin, 13
"Mush" or "hasty pudding,"
standard dish in Argentina, 189
Mussel-shells, 232
Mylodon, 199, 201, 214, 215, 222
Mylodon robustus Owen, 200
"Mysterious Beast," 222
N
Naaman, King, 273
Nahuel-Huapi, Lake, 131, 134
Nails turned into iron pyrites, 346
Napoleon, 244, 345
Napoleon III., 345
National Museum at La Plata, 208
Negri, Signer, 147, 225
Negro attendant in Botanical
Garden, Trinidad, 328
Negroes, 46, 53, 83, 94, 313, 330,
337, 338
Nelson, Dr. Ernesto, 120; Madam
Nelson, 121
Nelson, Horatio, 344, 349
Neomylodon listai, 214, 216, 220
Neptune, 21
Nest of Oven-bird, 279
Nevis, 340, 349
Newport, the, of Argentina, 195
Newspapers, reporters of, in Buenos
Aires, 218
' New York Yankee," 20
Niata race of cattle, 116
Night-clothes vs. evening dress,
241
Nisbet, Fanny, wife of Lord Nel-
son, 349
Nombre-de-Dios, 138
Nordenskjold, Dr. Otto, 212
Norfolk pine (Araucaria excelsa),
228
North America, true camels orig-
inated in, 157
Nudity, juvenile, 53
Nutria (Myopotamus coy pus), 168
O
Observatory, C6rdoba, in; La
Plata, no, 113, 225
Ocean, changeable colors of, 22;
mother of life, 25; origin, 24
Ojeda, Alonso de, 324
Onelli, Dr. Clemente, 156
Opera House, Rio de Janeiro, 69
Opossums, 206
Oranges, 317; orange-trees, 169,
182
Orchids, 61, 71, 179, 326, 328
Oreodoxa regia, 47
Organ mountains, 76
Orient expresses, 188
Orinoco, 320
Orion, 39
Ortmann, Dr. Arnold E., 232
Osborn, Henry F., 7
Ostrich, South American, 148
Otter, South American, 221
Oven-bird, nest of, 279
Owen, Sir Richard, 5, 207
Owls, 107, 195, 331
Index
383
Packing-houses at San Nicolas,
265
Paleolama, 199
Paleozoic rocks, 3-4
Palms, 47, 57, 58, 61 , 284, 304, 3 13 ,
318,328
'Pampa," origin of word, 130
Pampa, Territory of, 130
Pampas, the, 224, 267
Pampean beds, 197, 199, 202
Pamperos, 91
Panama Canal, 342, 369, 370
Pan-American Congress, 253
Papaw (Asimina triloba}, 327
Paraguay, 137, 299
Parana, delta of the, 166-186
Pardo, Felipe, quoted, 352
Paria, 334; Gulf of, 323
Park-like lands, Argentina, 130
Paroaria cucullata, 173
Parrakeets, green, 178
Parrots being exterminated in
Cuba, 341
Paulistas, the, 81
Peaches, 168
Pear-trees, 182
Peccary, fossil, 341
Pedro I., Dom, 308; II., Dom, 65,
309
Pel6e, Mt., 346
Pelicans, brown, 331
Pena, President, I, 254
Peninsula, the Spanish, 358
Pennatula, 31
Peoples differentiated in South
America, 360
Pepsis, a great wasp, 73
"Perils": Yankee, 365, 367; Ger-
man, 366, 367; Japanese, 367
Pernambuco, 318, 319
Perrine, Charles D., in
Peru, 359, 370; conquest of, 137
Petrel, 29, 333
Petroleum, cans of, 182
Philodendron, 327
Phoenicians, 358
Phosphorescence at sea, 32
Photography, its astronomical
uses, 41
Physalia, 31
Phytolacca dioica, 228
Pilot at Santos, 79
Pinta, 284
Pinzon, 54
Pitangus bolivianus, 63
Pizarro, 137
Plague-ships, 80
Plantains, 65, 87, 88
Plants, introduced species of, 229
Playa Ramirez, 92
Plaza Constitucion, Montevideo,
95; Buenos Aires, 103; Inde-
pendencia, Montevideo, 95; Tu-
cuman, 274; Libertad, Monte-
video, 95; San Martin, Buenos
Aires, 150
Plegadis guarauna, 193
Pleistocene formation, 202
Plover, Argentine, 194, 265; Gol-
den, 309
Plowmen, cuisine of, 188
Pocitos, 97
Poems in exchange for garden-
truck, v
Poinsettia, 61
Pole-star, 33
Police, Buenos Aires, 164
Politician, Argentine, 136
Polyborus thariis, 284
Pompanos, 339
Population, of Argentina, 121;
of Barbados, 338; of Tucuman,
282
Porpoises, 27, 335
Portefios, 237
Port of Spain, 319, 321, 322, 334
Portugal, 78
Portuguese, 53, 139, 297, 357
Portuguese man-o'-war, 31
Potato, 352
Potato-races, 19
Pottery, piece of, in Middle
Pampean beds, 200, 201
Prairie-dog (A rctomys} , 195
" Prairie-schooners, " 239
Presentation of Diplodocus to the
British Museum, n; to Impe-
rial Academy of Sciences, St.
Petersburg, 14; to Imperial Mu-
seum in Vienna, 13; to Musee
d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 13;
to Museum in Bologna, Italy,
13; to National Museum, La
Plata, 14, 248-259
President of France, 253
President Pefia, I, 253
Presidential election, Nov. 5,
1912, 320
Index
Prichard, Hesketh, 219
" Pride-of -India, " the, 228
Princeton University, 207
Prosopis alba, 270
Province of Tucuman, 281
Pseudolestodon, 215
Puchero, favorite dish in Spanish-
speaking lands, 189
Puerto Rico, 335
Pulmonary disease, 282
Punta Arenas, 133
Purser, the jolly, 17
Purslane, 227
Pyrameis, 28
Q
Quaternary Age, 4
Quebracho bianco (Aspidosperma
quebracho), 270; Colorado (Schin-
opsis Lorentzii}, 270
Queen's Hotel, Port of Spain, 329
Querendi Indians, 137
Quilmes, 106, 175
Quince- jelly, 169
R
Race purity maintained, 361
Races, fused, in Spain, 358; in
South America, 359
Racing instinct in animals, 28
Racowitza, Dr., 212
Ragweed, 227
Railways, 49, 61, 66, 70, 76, 80, 95,
96, 104, 106, 126, 135, 148, 166,
187,261,283,303,311,369
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 344
Ramalho, Joao, 81
Rambla, the, at Mar del Plata, 196
Ranch-houses, 264
Read, T. Buchanan, quoted, 43
Red- winged Blackbird, 173
Relief -map of Brazil, 66
Reporters of newspapers in Buenos
Aires, 218
Reptiles, fossil, 4; Age of, 4
Republica Oriental, 176
Republicanism in Argentina, 140
Rhea americana, 148; darwini, 149;
on prairies, 194
Riachuelo, 137
Rio de Janeiro, 57-78, 3H-3I6
Rio de la Plata, 90, 99, 105, 136,
138, 142, 149, 296, 320
Rio Grande do Sul, 89, 298
Rivadavia, the first President of
Argentina, 362
River, the, at Tucuman, 281
Riverside Drive, 69
River-thieves, 170
Roads in Argentina, width of, 105
Rocky Mountain locust, 279
Rome, 356
Roosevelt, Theodore, 123, 320
Rosario, 261, 266, 269
Rostrhamus sociabilis, 233
Roth, Dr. Santiago, 102, 113, 166,
176, 180, 182, 192, 195, 196, 198,
203, 210, 220, 295
Royal Palm, 47, 61, 67
Saba, 349
Sabre-toothed Tiger, 1 14
Sailing-ships, 149
St. Eustatius, 349
St. Kitts, 340, 349
St. Lucia, 343
St. Petersburg, 251
St. Pierre, Martinique, 346
St. Vincent, 343
Salisbury, Dr. Rollin D., 134, 242
Salix babylonica, 169; chilensis,
169
Salta, 283
Salvelinus fontinalis, 131
Sancho Panza, 315
San Fernando, 167, 170
San Gabriel, Island of, 137
San Martin, 140
San Nicolas, 265
Santa Catharina, Province of, 89,
298
Santa-Cruz, the great caudillo, 362
Santa Cruz, colonies of Boers,
Welsh, and Scotch in, 133
Santa F6, Argentina, 130
Santiago del Estero, 137, 272
Santos, 59, 79-88
Sao Paulo, 54, 80, 93, 301-311
Sao Vicente, 80
Sapodillas, 317
Sarmiento, "the Schoolmaster
President," 141
Saxe, John G., quoted, 128
Scarlet-headed Marsh-bird, 173
Scarlet verbena, 283
Scelidotherium, 200
Index
385
Schiller, Dr. Walther, 117
Schistocerca paranensis, 279
Scholarship of Argentina, 257
Schwab, Charles M., 343
Scirpus, 170
Scissor-tailed Fly-catcher (Mil-
vulus tyrannus), 262
Scorpio, the Constellation, 39
Scotch whiskey, 175
Scotchmen, in Chubut and Santa
Cruz, 133; in Tierra del Fuego,
129
Screamer, Crested, 184
Seals, 29
Sea-pens, 31
Seed-finch (Sycalis luteola], 230,
231
Selva, 284
Semi-arid belt, 283
Semi-forested belt near Tucuman,
270
Serpent's Mouth, 323
Setting sail, 17
Setting up Diplodocus in La Plata,
249
"Seventh of September" in Bra-
zil, 5?
Sexes, intermingling of, in South
America, 165
Shakespeare, quoted, 286, 316
Shaw, Bernard, 123
Sheep, 133
Sheep-rancher from Australia, 98
Shepard, Charles Upham, 37-38
Shepherd's purse, 227
Shipmasters, early, 139
Shops in Bahia, 52
Short-horns, 152, 262
Siesta, 202
Sightseeing surfeiting, 276
Silk-cottonwood tree (Bombax cei-
ba), 339
" Silver River, " vi
Silybum marianum, 226
Sirius, 34, 36
Sisters, the Three, 323
Sky, the, in level countries, 224
"Sky scraper" in Buenos Aires,
101
Sleep, its inventor blessed, 351
Sleeping-car, 187, 312
Sleepless night on train, 312
Sloths. 82, 302, 341
Slums of Buenos Aires, 144
" Small farmer " in Argentina, 239
25
Smugglers on River Plate, 139
Snake, 185
Snappers, 339
Snow-fall in Tierra del Fuego, 129
Socrates, death of, 227
Soil of Argentina, 238
Solanum, 171
Soldiery, 164
Sombrero, the Spanish Hat, 350
Song Book, Geological Society of
America, quoted, i
"Sopa sin bichos, " 294
Sour-sop (Anona muricata), 339
South American ostrich, 148
Southern Cross, the, 33-34
Southern heavens, appearance of,
33-42, 112
South Kensington, Whaleroom at,
H5
Souvenirs, scarcity of, 286
Souza, Martim Affonso da, 80
Spain is African, 358
Spaniards, 357; in Trinidad, 229
Spanish mackerel, 339
Spanish repression of trade, 138
Sparrows, 64
Speckled Brook- trout, 131
Spenser's Faerie Queene, quoted,
302
Speotyto cunicularia, 195
Spider-webs at sea, 32
Spix, 325
Sports on deck, 19
Sportsman's Hotel, La Plata, 125,
255
Spring-plowing in Argentina, 237
Spur-winged Goose, 183
Spur-winged Lapwing (Belenop-
terus cayennensis) , 194
Star Catalogue, in
Stars, 33, 39, 42, in
Steatornithid<z, 331
Stegomyia guarding against attacks
of, 278
"Stone Ship," the, 343
Store at the cross-roads, 239
Strait of Magellan, 212, 291
Street-merchants, 68
Street traffic, 164
Streets, 51, 95, 103, 120, 161, 164,
329
Students picnicking, 240
Sugar-cane, 50, 316
Sugar industry of Argentina, 281;
of Barbados, 342
386
Index
Sugar-loaf Mountain, Rio de
Janeiro, 58, 316
Sun, total eclipse of, October loth,
124
Sunset on Parana, 174; on pampas,
267
Sutton, S. A., 38
Swallows, 64
Sweet-sop (Anona squamosa), 339
Swietenia, 339
Sycalis luteola, 230
Syphilis, 283
Taft, William H., 320
Taking water on train, 262
Tangier, 52
Tannin manufacture, 270
Tarpon, 330
Temperature, daily, on shipboard,
320
Territory of Chaco, 128; Chubut,
133; Pampa, 130; Santa Cruz,
133
Tertiary, 3, 4
Teru-Teru, 194-263
Thistle Butterfly, 28
Thistles, 227
Thome, Juan M., in
Tide-rips, 335
Tierra del Fuego, 129
Tigre, El, 167, 185, 261
Tijuca, 58, 314
Titanic, S. S., 333
Toads, 175
Tobago, 336, 342
Toluca, Mexico, 37
Tomato, 352
Topography of Argentina, 129
Tosca, limy concretion in loess,
197
Total eclipse of the sun, October
loth, 124
Tourist, English, in Tropics, 335
Tower, Sir Reginald, 242
Toxodon burmeisteri Giebel, 209,
2IO
Toxodonts, 206
Trade, Spanish repression of, 138
Trains de luxe, 188
'Tramps" of the vegetable world,
227
Trans-Andine Railway, 369
Treaty of Utrecht, 298; of San
Ildefonso, 299
Tree-ferns, 62, 71, 327
Trees, 47, 49, 57, 58, 76, 303, 326,
339; blossoming, 72; in Middle
West of United States, 271;
variety of, in Tropics, 71
Treves, Sir Frederick, quoted, 322
Trifolium repens, 227
Tnlobites, 4
Trinidad, 316-333
Troops, drilling of, 242
True Cross, Island of the, 54
Tschernychew, Director of Mu-
seum in St. Petersburg, 252
Tucuman, 137, 260, 269, 273; Pro-
vince of, 281
Turkeys, 160, 353, 354
U
Uballes, Dr. Eufemio, 288
Umbelliferae, 171
"Uncle Sam, "364
Union of North and South Amer-
ica, 206
University of La Plata, 258;
Faculty of, 242
Uranometria Argentina, 1 1 1
Uruguay, 90, 91, 94, 296-300, 355
V
Valdez, 285
Values, increase of, at Santos, 80
Vanderbilt, the, of Argentina, 163
Vanellus cristatus, 194
Vanilla, 353
Vasari, S. S., 16, 18
Vegetable-markets, 340
Vegetational zones, 283
Vellellidce, 31
Venezuela, 334
Venus de Milo in frog-pond, 369
Verbena, scarlet, 283
Verbenas, 72
Vermilion River, 49-50
Vermouth, Italian, 175
Vespucci, Amerigo, 324; quoted,
64
Vestris, S. S., 294, 313
Victor Hugo, quoted, 79
Victoria Institute, Port of Spain,
323
Index
387
Villaso introduces coffee into
Brazil, 85
Villegagnon, Island of, 77
Virginia cardinal, 173
Virility of southern nations, 362
Vizcachas (Lagostomus trichodac-
tylus), 194
Volcanoes, 26, 336, 346
Vomito, 278
Von Ihering, Dr. Hermann, 305,
3ii
Von Loewenfeld, General, 12
Von Moeller, Staatsminister Herr
Theodor, 12
Vultures, 49
W
Wallace, Alfred Russel, 325
Walton, Isaak, 132
Ward, Henry, 36
Warder, Mrs., 242
Waring, G. A., 210 '
War- vessels, Argentinian, 100
Washington, George, visited Bar-
bados, 338
Wasps, 73, 308
Waterfalls, 66, 135, 291
Water-power, 355
Water-works, Trinidad, 326
Wax models of diseases displayed
in church, 82
Weeds, European, 225, 227
Whaleroom at South Kensington,
H5
Whales, 28, 29
Whale skull, Museum of La Plata,
H5
Wheat, 285
Wheat-fields, 238, 262
Whippoorwill, 331
White clover (Trifolium repens\
227
White-faced ibises (Plegadis gua-
rauna), 193
Willis, Dr. Bailey, 104, 134
Williston, S. W., 7
Willows, 169
Wilson, Woodrow, 320
Wireless messages, 17, 60, 321
Wires bind lands together, 324
Wladimir, Grand Duke, 14
Woman driving cattle, 266
Women, black garments of, in
South America, 165
Woodward, Dr. Arthur Smith, 214
Wordsworth quoted, 147
World, the, is small, 82, 301
Wortman, Jacob L., 8
Wrecks, 319
Xangadas, 318
Xanthoxylon, 72, 73
Yams, 340
'Yankee peril," 365, 367
Yellow -fever, 80
Yellow-shouldered marsh-birds
(Agelaus thilius}, 173
Yemisch, 211, 217, 221
Yerba mate or Paraguay-tea, 189
Ypiranga, Palace of, 305, 307-311
Zodiacal light, 34
Zoological Garden, Buenos Aires,
156; La Plata, 113; London, 75
'Notable ajnong works of exploration and
discovery." -The Outlook.
In the Amazon Jungle
Adventures in a Remote Part of the Upper
Amazon River, Including a Sojourn
among the Cannibal Indians
$y Algot Lange
With an Introduction by
Frederick S. Dellenbaugh
" A more remarkable narrative of strange experiences
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scientific basis of its observation of wild life and plants.
This feature is a fortunate aid to its entire credibility, for
here are stories which might be regarded as were those
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"A description more wonderful than the work of
Paul du Chaillu, and holds the reader as intensely as the
stirring narrative of Stanley's adventures in Africa."
San Francisco Chronicle,
£°. With 86 Illustrations from Original Photo*
graphs by the Author. $2. SO net.
(By mail, $2.75)
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York London
The Southland of
North America
Rambles and Observations in Central America
during the Year 1912
By George Palmer Putnam
6°, With nearly 100 Illustrations and a Map
$2.50 net. By mail, $2.75
" Mr. Putnam has an eye not only for quaint humanity,
but also for the beautiful seen ry, and without letting his
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ing that his comments, slight as they are, carry more
rather than less weight, for they are obviously sincere, are
supported by such observation as he has been able to
make himself, and seem free from prejudice." — Springfield
Republican.
" Shows a keen sense of actuality, a lively pen, and a
well-directed camera. ... It is really an amusing and in-
structive and tempting account of travel in the byways
just of! the new highway." — N. Y. Sun.
41 There has, perhaps, been no more satisfactory work on
Central America, not excepting the letters of James Bryce,
than this. A valuable impression of this vast country."
Gazette Times, Pittsburg.
" We know of no book on Central America which puts
the reader into more actual touch with that country than
does Mr. Putnam's." — The Outlook.
" A much needed book of travel and of reference."
Herald, Wash., D. C.
New York G. P. Putnam's Sons London
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