The two Americas

Southern Branch
of the

University of California

Los Angeles

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This book is DUE on the last date stamped below

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THE TWO AMERICAS

GENERAL RAFAEL REYES

THE TWO AMERICAS

BY

GENERAL RAFAEL REYES

EX-PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OP COLOMBIA

TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH, WITH ADDED NOTES BY

LEOPOLD GRAHAME

WITH THIRTY-ONE ILLUSTRATIONS
FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

NEW YORK

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
MCMXIV

84116

Copyright, 1914, by
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

All rigkti retened, including that oj translation into foreign
language*, including the Scandinavian

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••• ' • • » • *••

February, 1014

PUBLISHEES' NOTICE

^
\

T\ Many of the illustrations in this book are from
originals kindly furnished by the Pan-American
Union, for which courtesy the author and publishers
extend their grateful acknowledgments.

r,

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

WITH a view to enhance the practical objects
of this book and to fulfil more adequately
the requirements of the English-reading public, it
has been thought desirable — with the acquiescence
of the author — to make some departures from the
order and form of the Spanish manuscript; but,
whilst these and other changes rendered necessary
by the widely varying modes of expression of the
two languages may obscure the high literary value
of the original work, scrupulous care has been exer-
cised in the effort to present a faithful and accurate
interpretation of the author 's views and statements.
Due largely to the wish to do full justice to the
phenomenal progress of the greater countries to the
south, the sketches and descriptions of some of the
Republics of lesser importance are necessarily brief
and fragmentary ; but they have been so designed as
to furnish a comprehensive view of their main fea-
tures and their future possibilities. Tihis, it is
hoped, will satisfy the minds of those seeking in-
formation as to the position and prospects of many
of the lands of promise in the "Continent of the
Future." LEOPOLD GBAHAME.

New York December, 1913.

Vll

CONTENTS

PAGE

PUBLISHER'S NOTE v

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE vii

INTRODUCTION xix-xxxii

CHAPTER I
MY VISIT TO EUROPE 1

The Iberian Peninsula — Similarity of characteristics and
physical conditions — National dignity and hospitality — A
true Christian democracy in Spain — The influence of the
Church — Establishment in Madrid of the Ibero-American
Union to promote closer relations with the Latin-American
republics — A trip through Portugal — The Portuguese Con-
quistadores.

CHAPTER II
IN PARIS 11

My reception by the Franco-American Committee and the
diplomatic representatives of the Latin countries — An ad-
dress of welcome by M. Francois Carnot — Co-operation of
the Franco-American Committee with the Ibero-American
Union of Madrid in the development of racial objects and
ideals — Conference at the Hotel Majestic attended by dis-
tinguished leaders of the Latin race — Notable addresses by
M. Carnot and the Spanish ambassador to France — A closer
union of all the Latin nations based on principles of jus-
tice— The force exercised by the Latins of Europe and
America as a stimulant to the progress of the world.

CHAPTER III
IN THE UNITED STATES 21

The dominant features of national character — The American
edifice built up on the elevated civic virtues of Washington,

ix

x CONTENTS

PAGE

Franklin, and other pioneers of independence — The love of
immigrants for the land of their adoption the same in the
United States as in Argentine, Chile, and Brazil, where the
private and public virtues of the founders of those nations
constitute the basic formation of character — The genuine
American sentiment is to resist the rule of Mammon, not-
withstanding the modern growth of imperialism and dollar
diplomacy — Latin-American countries need the sympathy and
help of the United States for their progressive development —
The error of many of the Latin republics in adopting the
laws and institutions of the United States before preparing
their people to properly use and understand them — Periods
of revolution and disorder gradually ending — Functions
given in my honor by the Pan-American Society of the
United States and other public bodies engaged in the effort
to extend the objects of Pan-Americanism— -Speeches by no-
table authorities — The propaganda in favor of American
union — The Pan-American Union and the Pan-American So-
ciety of the United States — The Pan-American Congresses
in Latin-America — The ardent labors of Senator Elihu
Boot, of the Hon. John Barrett, of Secretary Bryan, Col.
Eoosevelt, and others — The Clark University Conference on
Latin-America — The doctrines of President Monroe, Presi-
dent Roque Saenz Pefia, and Senator Lodge — The baneful
effects of imperialism — Interviews with American notabili-
ties— The Explorers' Club, of New York, and my early ex-
plorations.

CHAPTER IV
My EARLY EXPLORATIONS 40

The primitive conditions of nature — The savage native In-
dians— The immense territories and waters spreading from
the central mass of the Andes to the Atlantic, unknown dur-
ing the colonial period — My first visit to those regions with
my brothers, Henry and Nestor — Traversing the rivers of
Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.
Explorations continued for several years at our personal ex-
pense without government aid — My brothers perish while
engaged in the arduous enterprise, Henry as a victim of yel-
low fever, and Nestor at the hands of the Putumayo canni-
bals, who devoured him — Crossing the cordillera of the Andes
on foot to a height of 12,000 feet above sea level to the
region of perpetual snows — Opening up roads through un-
known forests, inhabited by vipers and wild beasts, cutting
down with the machete the brambles, briars, and creepers,
which obstructed our passage — Making friends and guides
of the cannibal tribes — After great hardships we ultimately
discover a river navigable for steamships, between Colombia

CONTENTS xi

PAGE

and the main waters of the Amazon — My arrival at Eio de
Janeiro, and reception by Dom Pedro II, who showed keen
interest in the discovery of the new waterway — Later ex-
plorations— Establishment of steam navigation and an over-
land route between Pasto and different points of the
Andes — The subsequent extension of these channels of com-
munication with the proposed Inter-Continental Eailway
and the Panama Canal will ultimately lead to the linking up
of the entire continent.

CHAPTER V
THE PANAMA CANAL 62

The first measures to construct a canal to join the waters
of the Atlantic with those of the Pacific — Many conces-
sions granted, but no construction work commenced until
the end of 1887 — The treaty of 1846 with New Granada —
The later negotiations with Great Britain in regard to the
Clayton-Bulwer (1850) and Hay-Pauncefote (1901) treaties
— The acquisition by the United States of the concession and
rights of the French Company obtained by the latter from
the Government of Colombia — The Hay-Herran treaty
(1903) and its rejection by the Colombian Senate — The rev-
olution in Panama, the declaration of its independence and
its subsequent recognition by the United States — My efforts
to suppress the revolution with the aid of the military forces
placed under my command impeded by American warships
whose officers prevented the embarkation of Colombian
troops for the seat of the rebellion — My later visit to Wash-
ington as the special envoy of my government to secure a
modification of the Hay-Herran treaty — Failure of the mis-
sion— The diplomatic negociations — American authorities
cited to show justice of Colombia's action — The pending
claims and what they embody — The advantages of the canal
and of a settlement with Colombia.

CHAPTER VI

FROM NEW YORK TO BRAZIL 78

By the Voltaire from New York to Eio de Janeiro — The
change from the cold, gray haziness of winter to the warmer
climes and sunny scenes to the south of the equator — The
study of the passengers — Different types of Americans —
Eussian nihilists and anarchists from Southern Europe — Our
approach to the mouth of the Amazon, the "Sea Eiver, "
which is navigable over a distance of 13,000 miles.

xii CONTENTS

CHAPTER VII

PAGE

IN BRAZIL 84

Its extension and geographical limits — Physical division and
population — Discovery and conquest — History and changes of
rule — The two empires — Dom Pedro II, personal recollections
— Brazil's modern progress — The Development of its re-
sources and stability of government — National culture and
ideals Geological formation.

CHAPTER VIII
IN BAHIA AND Rio DE JANEIRO 106

Transformation of the city — Brazilians the enemies of tree
culture — Rich soil — The cultivation of tobacco, cacao and
other tropical products — Bahia the third city of importance
in Brazil — Population and classification of industries — Nota-
ble buildings — The journey from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro —
Arrival at the Federal Capital — The magnificence of the sur-
rounding scenery — The spacious parks and avenues, the ma-
jestic palms and the palatial and artistic buildings — Area
and population — The Marquis of San Vicente — The aboli-
tion of slavery and how it was accomplished — My visits to
the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs — From
Rio to Montevideo by land — The difficulties of the trip.

CHAPTER IX
THE CITY AND STATE OF SAO PAULO 122

Travelling through several States I reach the City of Sao •
Paulo — Reception by state officials — One of the most beauti-
ful cities of the western hemisphere — The picturesque gar-
dens, public squares, well-paved streets and handsome monu-
ments— State education highly advanced — The increasing
growth of industrial life — The State contains many manu-
facturing establishments, although the cultivation of coffee
constitutes the main industry — The great ' ' red ' ' lands — The
treatment of the laborers by the coffee planters — The pro-
duction of coffee and value of the plants — Other industries
and land values — Railways in the State — Natives of Sao
Paulo, the "Yankees of Brazil" — The State possesses many
indigenous plants, which could be profitably exploited for
the production of essential oils and extracts — Great oppor-
tunities offered by natural resources — Sao Paulo the birth-
place of many of Brazil's leading statesmen, writers and
scientists — Brazilian literature, art and science.

CONTENTS xiii

CHAPTER X

PAGE

THROUGH BRAZIL BY LAND TO THE RIVER PLATE . . . 138

The pastoral and agricultural industries of Brazil — Favora-
ble climatic conditions — Flora and fauna — The wild animals
of the forests — An exciting adventure with a herd of fight-
ing boars — The State of Parana — Inter-tropical vegetation —
The Panama pines — Cultivation of cotton — The capital of
the State — The foreign colonies — A new generation of patri-
otic Brazilians — How the new population lives — Division of
the land — Pine wood and mate production — New cities in
course of formation — The assimilation of the new comers —
Extension of railways — The pioneers of the iron horse —
Wages of laborers — Cultivation of the banana industry —
Unpopulated fertile lands awaiting the hand of the agricul-
turist— The knowledge of foreign languages — ignorance of
conditions in Brazil impedes large extension of commerce
with the United States.

CHAPTER XI
THE ORIENTAL REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 166

The rich meadow lands of the Banda Oriental — The evolu-
tion of political conditions in Uruguay — The national con-
stitution exercises a progressive spirit on the country — The
codification of the laws — Favorable comments of foreign au-
thorities— Preparing for colonization — Healthy conditions re-
flected in the low rate of mortality — The origin and devel-
opment of the stock-raising industry — Wool production and
European speculators — Montevideo a beautiful city — The
character of the people — Mistaken patriotism hitherto a
drawback to progress — Baneful effects of past revolutions on
national production — Industrial and commercial advance —
Means of communication rapidly extending — Colonization in-
creasing— Uruguay's policy towards her neighbours — Port
improvements — Education and justice — A land of the future.

CHAPTER XII
THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 183

The barrier of the Andes — The transandine railway another
link in the joining up of the Atlantic with the Pacific —
Physical conditions — Volcanic outbreaks — Crossing the An-
des— The imposing scenery — The Christ of the Andes —
The rich and fertile lands in the valley of Aconcagua — The
Chilean huaso at home — Topography and climate — The ni-

xiv CONTENTS

PAGE

trate industry — Development of national resources — The
cities of the republic — Political organization and public life
— Ethnological conditions and their effects on the people —
The Araucanian Indians, the only unconquered race of In-
dians on the American continent — Their final entry into
Chilean citizenship — Hospitality a national practice — A visit
to Almahufi — The national dance, la cueca, more graceful and
attractive than any other known to the Spanish-speaking
peoples — Mineral wealth of Chile — Advantages to be derived
from the opening of the Panama Canal — Cultivation of
fruits and flowers — Chile the garden of the temperate zone in
South America — Nationalization of railways — Population —
Proportion of foreigners to inborn citizens particularly small
— Education making rapid strides.

CHAPTER XIII
THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 207

Wealth of the soil — Phenomenal progress in every branch of
national life — Geographical division — The Patagonian region
— Geological formation — Theories of scientists as to the dis-
appearance of mammals — Climatic conditions — Discovery and
conquest of Argentina — History — Foundation of the Colonies
— Ultimate independence.

CHAPTER XIV
IN CAMP AND CITY 222

Eacial characteristics — Immigrants an element of force —
The Argentine estancia — Agricultural and pastoral produc-
tion— Life on the ranches — Land values constantly rising —
The City of Buenos Aires — Its elegance and culture bear
favorable comparison with those of any European city —
Fabulous prices paid for pedigree stock — Enormous and
rapid growth of the city — Extension of electric tramways,
lighting and docks based on plans of American engineers —
Other cities of the Eepublic.

CHAPTER XV

ARGENTINE CONDITIONS, PROGRESS AND CULTURE . . 235

Religious and political liberty — Liberality of the constitu-
tion— Tolerance and freedom the watchwords of national
legislation — Population heterogeneous, Spanish and Italian
predominating — Few Americans — Germans numerically
stronger than British — British capital invested in Eepublic
reaches $2,000,000,000 — Every British subject resident in

CONTENTS xv

PAGE

country represents $66,000 — German trade rapidly increasing
— The protection of foreign interests — National honesty —
Nearly one hundred million dollars remitted annually to
Great Britain by way of dividends and interest on invest-
ments— Advanced legislation — Argentine diplomats and ju-
rists— Buenos Aires an attractive city for foreign diplomats.

CHAPTER XVI
ARGENTINE COMMERCE AND FINANCE 248

Imports and exports — Value of Argentine market to the
United States — Many articles manufactured in U. S. are im-
ported from Europe at higher prices owing to absence of
more direct contact between manufacturer and importer —
Eailway extension — Currency laws — Conversion of gold and
currency established on permanent basis with no possibility
of fluctuations — Gold reserves, maintained by law, already
exceed $264,000,000 — Proposed change of monetary unit —
National bonds and foreign markets — Reciprocal tariffs may
lead to increased commercial relations with the United
States.

CHAPTER XVII

THE REPUBLIC OF PERU 256

Productive capacity of Peru — Lima, the historic and pic-
turesque capital — Called by its founder, Pizarro, the "City
of the Kings" and, later, "a. precious shrine of colonial
gallantries and splendours" — Dignity and aristocratic quali-
ties of its inhabitants — Educational establishments — Princi-
pal products, minerals and nitrates — Railways spreading out
even in the direction of the Amazonic territories — Connec-
tions now being made between Lima, La Paz and Panama
Canal — The Peruvian Corporation — Mixture of the races —
Peru's foreign trade largely in the hands of Great Britain —
British institutions and names prominent in Peru — Litera-
ture and culture.

CHAPTER XVIII
THE REPUBLIC OP BOLIVIA 266

Wide contrasts in all national conditions — Topography, cli-
mate, products and inhabitants constitute mass of conflicting
elements — The mysterious lakes and the legendary Titicaca —
The fruitful warm lands and the eternally snow-capped

xvi CONTENTS

PAGE

mountains — Principal cities — La Paz, the capital, the highest
in the world — Kailways penetrate the mountains — The In-
dians and their domestic customs — Industrial activity ex-
tending.

CHAPTER XIX
THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR 272

Early history — Ecuador the first country in Spanish Amer-
ica to demand independence — Kepublic making steady pro-
gress, but rapid advance impeded by lack of financial re-
sources and foreign credit — Territory rich in minerals — Other
Industries restricted by absence of adequate railway com-
munication— Panama hats a principal product — Quito, the
capital of the Eepublic, distinguished by its beautiful build-
ings and patrician society — Ecuador, despite the adoption of
the metric system, still uses the old Spanish weights and
measures — Patriotism of the people — Opening of Panama
Canal will confer important material advantages on coun-
try.

CHAPTER XX
THE REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 277

Possesses a coast extending from ocean to ocean, embracing
vast areas of productive soil — Revolutionary period ended —
Eepublic now on forward march — Mineral and vegetable
products — The ports of the Republic — Tropical vegetation —
Life in the valleys and on the rivers Cities and popula-
tion— Flourishing industrial centers — Gold production — In-
terview with Mr. Thomas A. Edison — Bogota, a delightful
city where warm and unaffected hospitality is extended to
the stranger — The women of Colombia and their influence
on the national character — Cardinal Farley's views as ex-
pressed to the author — My accession to the presidency of the
Republic — My first administrative acts — Reorganization of
the army — Educational advance — Great future of the country
will be assisted by opening of Panama Canal and exten-
sion of railways — Analysis of moral conditions of the people
— Population and racial characteristics — Completion of canal
will bring an influx of immigration — Peace and prosperity
now the national motto — Last will and testament of Bolivar,
the Liberator.

CHAPTER XXI
CONCLUSION . . 302

ILLUSTRATIONS

GENERAL R. REYES Frontispiece

FACING
PAGE

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS OF THE PAN-AMERICAN UNION,

WASHINGTON, D. C 26

DR. BELISARIO PORRAS, THE PRESIDENT OF PANAMA . . 27
FIRST VIEW OF CANAL SINCE THE BLOWING UP OF GAMBOA

DIKE 64

FIRST VESSEL PASSES THROUGH GATUN LOCKS OF PANAMA

CANAL 65

MARSHAL HERMES DA FONSECA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL . . 84

SALTO DE PIRACICABA, BRAZIL 85

BlBLIOTHECA NATIONAL, RlO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL . . . 106

AVENIDA Rio BRANCO, Rio DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL . . . 107

A FULL GROWN COFFEE PLANT 116

LOADING COFFEE AT SANTOS, BRAZIL 117

MAKING COFFEE BAGS IN THE FACTORY OF SANTA ANNA,

STATE OF SAO PAULO 130

NORMAL SCHOOL IN THE CAPITAL OF SAO PAULO . . . 131

SR. DON Jos£ BATTLE Y ORDONEZ, PRESIDENT OF URUGUAY 166

"PLAZA DE LA LIBERTAD," MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY . . . 167

RAM6N BARROS Luco, PRESIDENT OF CHILE .... 184

R. REYES AND Two "HUASOS," CHILE 185

MERCURIC BUILDING, VALPARAISO, CHILE .... 204

NEW PALACE OF FINE ARTS, SANTIAGO, CHILE . . . 205
DR. ROQUE SAENZ PENA, PRESIDENT OF THE ARGENTINE

REPUBLIC 218

xvii

xviii ILLUSTRATIONS

PACING
PAGE

PLAZA HOTEL, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA .... 219

DOCKS AND ELEVATORS, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA . . 234

BATHING CATTLE, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA . . . 235

THRESHING WHEAT, ARGENTINA ...... 254

LIMA, PERU 255

CATHEDRAL, LIMA, PERU 264

GOVERNMENT PALACE, BOLIVIA 265

"PLAZA," LA PAZ, BOLIVIA 274

BOLIVAR PARK AND STATUE OP GENERAL SIMON BOLIVAR,

GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR 275

MILITARY PARADE IN THE PLAZA, QUITO, ECUADOR . . 284

BOLIVAR PARK, BOGOTA, COLOMBIA 285

INTRODUCTION

rriHE numerous additions which have lately been
*- made to Pan- American literature and the un-
questionable authority of some of the distinguished
writers in that field have rendered available to the
student of Latin-American conditions much hith-
erto inaccessible information relating to the coun-
tries in the southern portion of the American con-
tinent.

In the preparation of this book I have studiously
avoided the attempt to furnish a complete history
of the various States, or, to deal, in detail, with
matters which should more appropriately come
within the scope of technical publications. This
work represents a record of my recent travels
through the Latin countries;, an epitome of the
observations and deductions made during the many
years in which I have enjoyed special facilities for
closely following, step by step, the development of
the American Republics and the convulsions of their
ardent and vexed democracies; the fulfilment of a
long-cherished desire to survey personally those
Republics, in order to gather, at first hand, interest-
ing data concerning their progress, their prospects,

xix

xx THE TWO AMERICAS

and their possibilities ; and the opportunity to raise
a sincere voice of encouragement for an entente
cordiale among them all, from the standpoint that
these nations of common origin should strengthen
their mutual relations and, in fraternal embrace,
hasten the advent of that glorious future to which
they are so manifestly entitled by their resources
and their traditions. Yet, it is not alone by peaceful
development within their borders, or by a wider
recognition of the ties of sisterhood among them-
selves, that their legitimate aspirations will be fully
realized. It is essential to the welfare of the entire
continent that the same friendly intercourse and
cordial relations should be established with the
United States, so that all the countries of the west-
ern hemisphere may labor, side by side, to their
collective and individual advantage and for the
glorification of America as a whole.

The doubts and suspicions prevailing in the south
as to the policy and intentions of the United States
toward the other Republics must disappear to
make way for a true union of the two Americas;
and it may be permitted to me, as one who has
played a prominent part in the effort to secure
the blessings of peace in some of the southern Re-
publics, to point out what I regard as the primary
causes of these doubts and suspicions and to indi-
cate the course of action and the methods whereby
they may be removed.

INTRODUCTION xxi

When I commenced my tour through the Two
Americas, it was my intention to visit all the coun-
tries forming the great South American Continent,
including the States of Central America, from the
Rio Grande to the Straits of Magellan, as well as
those constituting the Archipelago of the Antilles.
Owing to circumstances beyond my control, added
to a breakdown in health, I was unable to fulfil the
mission I had voluntarily undertaken, although I
visited a sufficient number of those promising lands
to establish the identity of the basic conditions
which govern the whole of Latin America.

Some of these countries, particularly in Central
America, notwithstanding their comparatively cir-
cumscribed areas, possess great potential wealth,
enlightened citizens, and most of the favorable con-
ditions of the sister-Republics. During the greater
part of their history they have been victims of the
internal political dissensions and fratricidal wars
which have weakened the forces of so many Latin-
American nations ; but, to-day, there is justification
for the view that they are emerging from the troub-
lous conditions induced by these incessant revolu-
tions and that their differences are being adjusted
by more peaceful measures, creditable alike to their
honor and to their patriotism. These nations are
beginning to learn that their material prosperity
rests on the establishment of confidence abroad,
where respect for authority and orderly govern-

xxii THE TWO AMERICAS

ment is as much regarded as a consideration in
the investment of capital in foreign countries as
is the value of the security offered by the undevel-
oped national wealth.

Unhappily, there is one country of Latin America
still afflicted by the horrors of civil war; but that
country, like the others of Central and South
America, has many sons, distinguished by their ele-
vated sentiments and breadth of view, who will
eventually succeed in definitely closing the era of
internecine strife and in subordinating the interests
of party to the higher interests of State. Mean-
while the thought must weigh that, if any Republic
on this continent obstinately continues in the oppo-
site course, neither the indomitable bravery of its
people, the extent of its territory, nor the inexhaust-
ible wealth of its resources will prevail to save it
from succumbing to the influences of the unwritten
law of modern intervention. There are many fac-
tors operating as a bar to friendly relations and
mutual confidence between the Latin Republics and
the United States ; but, while the fundamental cause
of much of the unfriendly feeling now unfortunately
existing in the greater part of Latin America may
be traced back to the protracted disturbances in the
political conditions of some of the smaller Repub-
lics, the United States is very largely responsible
for the uneasiness and apprehensions which appear

INTRODUCTION xxiii

to inspire all the Latin countries in their dealings
with the great Republic of the North.

One reason for the present situation is the pop-
ular misconception in the United States of the real
significance and objects of the Monroe Doctrine,
which in many quarters is looked upon as a kind
of international police regulation to be administered
by the authorities at Washington for the better
preservation of law and order in the somewhat ex-
tensive ' ' municipal area ' ' of Latin America. It does
not appear to be sufficiently known, or understood,
that President Monroe's famous declaration, in
1823, was designed as a measure of protection for,
and not as an instrument of attack upon, the integ-
rity of the then recently established Spanish Re-
publics ; and that, from its initial adoption down to
its latter day reaffirmation, it was intended and has
been declared to be governed by the sole purpose of
linking together the sisterhood of the American
Republics and of guarding the weaker States against
the undue aggression of any of the countries of the
other hemisphere. This interpretation of the much
abused Doctrine has been distorted by a not uncer-
tain wave of misrepresentation, strengthened by a
section of the press, into a widespread belief that
the United States derives from its provisions the
right to intervene in the internal affairs of, and to
exercise a species of suzerainty over, some of the
Latin Republics, when it is considered desirable or

xxiv THE TWO AMERICAS

necessary to do so. It is by that belief, to which
color has been given on frequent occasions by mis-
taken official action, that the doubts and fears enter-
tained in Latin-America in regard to the United
States have been engendered. That pernicious
propaganda has likewise tended to obscure the fact
that every one of those Republics, which, in their
early political development, struggled so valiantly
to free themselves from the yoke of oppression and
the misgovernment to which in their colonial serf-
dom they had for so long been subjected, is a dis-
tinct unit among the American nations with an in-
contestable right to complete independence and
sovereignty.

Another element which has served to accentuate
the distrust of the Latin people of the American con-
tinent in their international relations with the
United States is the still largely existing lack of
knowledge of actual conditions. The term " South
America," as applied, with a delightful disregard
of geographical accuracy, to all the Republics of
America outside the United States, is usually asso-
ciated by a not inconsiderable number of American
citizens with a race of people possessed of terri-
tories enveloping great natural wealth, but, of a
grade of civilization on a footing, more or less, with
the Filipinos or, perhaps, the Hawaiians.

It seems to be overlooked that the people of Latin
America are the descendants of a race imbued with

INTRODUCTION xxv

that beautiful spirit which inspires all great achieve-
ments; that their intellectual qualities, their blood,
and their energies, make them ideal nation builders,
embodying all the higher elements of progress. It
seems also to be overlooked that the moral and
material advance of some of those Republics has
placed them in the forefront of great nations ; and,
that what has happened in those cases will be re-
peated in the course of time by the now less ad-
vanced nations which have already furnished abund-
ant proofs of their virility and progressive spirit.
Personal intercourse and knowledge enable me to
appreciate the sterling qualities which underlie the
occasional mistaken patriotism and ambitious ideals
of some of these people in whose soil are planted the
germs of future greatness; and with the blessings
of peace they must ultimately triumph and reap the
rich harvest of good that awaits them.

Another dangerous weapon in this campaign of
ignorance and slander is the ill-concealed attempt
to convert the ''bogey" of the "big stick" into a
reality. It is true that the existence of that instru-
ment is implied rather than expressed, but, in many
directions it is metaphorically flourished with result-
ant harm to the United States as well as to many
of the other Republics. The effects of the aggres-
sive spirit which dictates that implication of supe-
rior force may be seen in every phase of interna-
tional life. In one case it is the banker, who, with

xxvi THE TWO AMERICAS

a natural desire for the protection of his invest-
ment, unwittingly leads his Government to attach
conditions to a contemplated loan, suggestive, to
the sensitive Latin mind, of an encroachment upon
the independence of the borrowing State. In an-
other, it is the commercial traveller who approaches
the Latin- American buyer in the belief that the latter
is conscious of his inferiority and that he must yield,
not to the blandishments, but to the political equip-
ment of the would-be representative of "Uncle
Sam," disporting the end of the "big stick" beneath
the tails of his coat.

There are also other and very serious causes of
the alienation of the confidence of the south in the
good faith of the north, not least of which is the
matter of the Panama Canal, in relation to the
dismemberment of Colombian territory,, which I
have dealt with, at some length, elsewhere in these
pages. Personally, I have never failed to seize an
occasion for the expression of my admiration of
the high qualities and undoubted sense of justice
of the great majority of the people of the United
States. I believe, to the fullest extent, in the sin-
cerity of their avowed desire for the fulfilment of the
aspirations and for the welfare of all the Latin
Republics ; but it must be remembered that in South
America — not the America which cries "America
for the North Americans," but in the America that
heralds the sentiment of "America for humanity"

INTRODUCTION xxvii

— there are people who, guided by their civic spirit
and their traditions, do not and will not submit to
being treated as nations incapable of self-govern-
ment, or as unfit, without guardians, to manage
their own affairs.

In my opinion, the opening of the Panama Canal
will solve many of the difficulties which have arisen
through the present lack of intercourse between
the people of North and South America, but even
that beneficial change of conditions will not serve,
by itself, to eradicate the evils of the past. That
important event will doubtless produce a great in-
flow of immigration to the rich territories which
will thus be opened up to myriads of human beings
who will leave the congested countries of Europe
to seek a new home and a more bountiful living in
those lands of promise. But, there must be a more
general acceptance of the fact that the relations
of the United States with the Latin Kepublics are
those of a friendly, powerful neighbor, with no
other objects than the advantages to be gained from
the ties of sisterhood and an extension of commerce.
There must be saner propaganda as to the inalien-
able national independence of even the smallest of
the Latin States. There must be no " big-stick";
and no such use of the Monroe Doctrine as to make
it an instrument of terror to the smaller Republics
and a subject for ridicule in the more progressive
countries of the south. The great Republics of

xxviii THE TWO AMERICAS

South America appreciate and sympathize with the
benevolent designs and objects of that doctrine
which has been supplemented by a doctrine of
their own, to protect the weaker States against the
employment of armed force by foreign nations for
the collection of contractual debts; but they resent
the demonstration of the domination and tutelage
which imply that they need the protection of the
United States against foreign aggression.

These nations, which owe their birth to heroes of
the type of San Martin and Bolivar, have perpetu-
ated their traditions by the creation of great figures
in the domains of jurisprudence, philosophy, litera-
ture and art. They have no other territorial ambi-
tions than the preservation and cultivation of the
areas within their properly defined limits. They
have attained a position in the council of nations
which gives them the right to a voice in defense of
the interests of their weaker sisters ; and, while they
have always refrained from the exercise of that
voice, in an official or active form, it is not improba-
ble, unless conditions are improved, that alliances
may be made to give effect to popular sympathies
and sentiments.

Although widely separated by distance and by
the absence of community of interests, the ties of
blood and of common descent cause an attack upon
the independence of any one of these nations to be
viewed as an attack upon them all. In foreign trade

INTRODUCTION xxix

they desire to increase their relations with the
United States, notwithstanding the fact that they are
indebted for a large share of their great prosperity
to European capital and immigration. Under equal
conditions they are even disposed to encourage fa-
vors to American commerce ; but it is essential that
the people of the United States should understand
that such favors are dictated exclusively by motives
of friendship and by a desire for the establishment
of American union in its best sense. The future
greatness of America lies in the union of all its
component parts and that desirable object will only
secure accomplishment when the futility of imperial-
ism is realized by the north ; and when the necessity
for the settlement of boundary and other differences
in the field of justice alone is recognized by the
south. I desire, however, not to be misunderstood.
When I speak of imperialism I do so in the sense
that marked my recent addresses in the United
States. I refer, as is natural and logical, not to
the great majority of American citizens, but only to
a small number who have lately advanced such
views.

During the greater part of my life I have labored
actively in the interests of the Latin race, of unity
in the expression of the high ideals which Spain
bequeathed to her sons in America, and of Pan-
American union. In 1911 I renewed my efforts by
giving public utterance to the views here set forth,

xxx THE TWO AMERICAS

in many countries of the old and new world. I
demonstrated there, as I have in these pages, the
astounding and diverse advantages which the com-
pletion of the Panama Canal will not only confer
upon Latin America, but upon humanity at large;
and I have persistently declared that those advan-
tages to all the countries of America will increase
in a degree corresponding to the growth of inter-
national friendship. I also pointed out the solemn
duty, incumbent upon all Latins, lovers of our sacred
traditions, to unify our aims and tendencies and by
the establishment of peace to render unassailable
the supremacy of the Latin element in our continent
on the same broad and humanitarian lines as have
been followed by the Anglo-Saxon race in its con-
quest of the north. These are the main objects of
this little work, which, it is my earnest hope, may,
in some measure, enable the various Eepublics to
become better acquainted with each other, to unite
and to work in common accord as daughters of one
mother, resisting encroachment upon their natural
rights and putting forth every effort for their com-
bined progress.

In these preliminary observations it is, perhaps,
necessary to explain the insertion of chapters on
the Latin countries of Europe in a book purporting
to treat exclusively of the "Two Americas." The
relation, however, of both Spain and France to the
subject under review is to be found in the active

INTRODUCTION xxxi

movement now proceeding in those countries for
unity of thought and action among all the people
of Latin origin. There is Spain with a long roll of
illustrious men who honor the glorious records of
her history, men of great worth and of preeminent
virtues, who will follow the route set by their con-
quistador ancestors ; and France, whose name recalls
magnificent epics and revives innumerable glories,
which, with the symbol of her immortal device,
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, " will help to con-
solidate the liberty of the Latin people, to estab-
lish equality by equitable treatment of the grave
questions now to the fore, and to promote fraternal
sentiments among the children of the great family.
In the description of the different countries dealt
with, but scant attention has been paid to chrono-
logical order or completeness of detail. My aim
has been so to treat each country as to explain, as
comprehensively as possible, its physical features,
the history and characteristics of its people, the
nature of its industries and other points of interest
to the commercial and industrial world and to all
those who are interested in the development of the
great continent of the future. If I have not suc-
ceeded in adequately fulfilling that intention, my
failure must be attributed to faults of the head
rather than of the heart, it being my most fervent
desire to contribute, to the best of my ability, to

xxxii THE TWO AMERICAS

the dawn of an era of peace and contentment in
every corner of the vast American Continent.

Finally I dedicate this modest effort to my own
country, Colombia, in the hope that, by making better
known the extent of her resources, the justice of her
laws, and the enterprise of her people, immigration
and foreign capital will be attracted to her shores.
Colombia is a new land of promise, possessing all
the natural and moral forces of the sister-Republics.
She hides vast treasures in her soil and has borne
many illustrious sons whose fame has spread far
beyond her borders. My long years of service to
my country have filled me with the hope and the
confident belief that, after having passed through
the fire of so many fratricidal wars, now definitely
ended; after having valiantly suffered, in silence,
unceasing troubles and unhealed wounds, yet
marching, with firm and steady step, on the road
of progress, there will soon wave in Colombia's
serene sky, radiant with the light of pure ideals,
the banner of peace and prosperity.

RAFAEL REYES

November, 1913.

THE TWO AMERICAS

THE TWO AMERICAS

CHAPTER I

MY VISIT TO EUEOPE

The Iberian Peninsula

¥ N the preceding introduction I referred to the
movement now taking place in some of the
Latin countries of Europe, with the object of pre-
serving the ideals and interests of our race. More
than a year ago, I commenced the tour which forms
the subject of this work by a visit to Madrid and
other Spanish cities, where I found, among the
people, strikingly similar characteristics to those
presented by the nations of Latin-America. In
passing over the Spanish frontier I was able to
appreciate the warmth and generosity of the people
and to observe that Ibero-Americans visiting the
country were made to feel that they were members
of a family who had returned after a long absence.
Hearing the sonorous and beautiful Castilian lan-
guage, seeing the same types as those to which we
are accustomed in Latin-America, and receiving
courteous replies to inquiries, I have heard them

1

2 THE TWO AMERICAS

exclaim, with enthusiasm, "We are in our own
country! We are in our own house!" This affec-
tionate welcome of Latin- Americans is in evidence
throughout Spain, from the cottage of the shepherd
to the palaces of the nobles and even of the King.
Where one feels this most is in the cultured city
of Madrid. The stranger who asks his way in the
street receives a polite reply and is frequently ac-
companied to his destination with an acknowledg-
ment of his thanks by the customary Spanish bless-
ing. Nor is it alone to the descendants of the an-
cient families, whose forefathers dominated the
world, that this hospitality is extended. It is offered
to every stranger in the land, through all the grades
of class.

I was particularly struck by two incidents which
occurred during my visit to Spain and I record
them here by way of illustrating the instinctive
dignity and high-mindedness of the Spanish char-
acter, which are reflected throughout Ibero- America.
Accompanied by my son, Rafael, on a very wet and
cold day in the month of November, I arrived, by
automobile, at the small town of Cuellar, where the
house in which Don Pedro the Cruel once lived is
located. We had travelled a long distance without
taking food and observing a gentleman walking
toward us we stopped and asked him where we could
obtain some refreshment. He replied, "In this
place there is no inn for a gentleman of your quality,

IBERIAN PENINSULA 3

but, as no stranger is permitted to pass through our
village without receiving its hospitality, I take
pleasure in offering you my house." I gladly ac-
cepted the invitation and, following him, entered an
antiquated and humble hostelry, which, in all its
surroundings, recalled memories of Cervantes.
Ascending a narrow and almost perpendicular
wooden staircase, we were ushered into a large
apartment divided by a chintz curtain of many colors,
which apparently served to convert the room, ac-
cording to necessity, into parlor, dining and sleep-
ing quarters. The proprietor of the house, Don
Leocadio Suarez, who was Alcalde (Mayor) of
Cuellar, called his wife to whom he presented us,
saying, ' ' These gentlemen have not lunched. Please
prepare the best we can give them as soon as pos-
sible." We were later served with an excellent and
abundant meal, afterwards departing in the com-
pany of Don Leocadio, who recounted to us his life 's
history and explained how, by scrupulous economy,
he had been able to educate his son for the pro-
fession of engineer at the Escorial School, to whom
he begged I would pay a visit on my return to
Madrid, which I consented to do. I was at some
trouble to ask my hospitable host, without wounding
his dignity, how I could pay him for the lunch.
Finally I said, "Don Leocadio, I wish to ask you a
favor. Tell me, please, what I am indebted to you
for the excellent meal you provided for us ? " " Sir, ' '

4 THE TWO AMERICAS

he replied, "I am the debtor in this case and not
you, since you have permitted me to extend my
humble hospitality." I thanked him and left with
his promise that he would lunch with me at the
Eitz in Madrid upon his next visit to the Capital.

Continuing our ride until late in the afternoon,
through the cold rain and piercing wind, we arrived
at the extreme end of the high road, where we saw
a man violently waving his arms as a signal to us
to stop. We did so, when the man quietly ap-
proached our automobile. He was evidently of the
laboring class and his tattered garments were cov-
ered by a shabby and much-worn cloak. He saluted
us with much dignity, saying, "You will understand
that it is very disagreeable for me to detain you
in this weather and at this hour, but, unfortunately,
since yesterday morning at eight o'clock, when I
partook of only a small quantity of food, I have
been unable to obtain anything more to eat. I am
a laboring man, but I have no work as the autumn
crops are not yet ready for harvesting. You, who
must be a rich man, can you not give me a few
centimos wherewith to purchase some food?" I
was much touched by the man's obviously honest
statement and said, "You are perfectly right to
stop us and ask for help. Men must help each
other and in your case I am glad to be of service,
as to-morrow I might find myself in the same un-
happy position as that in which you are to-day."

IBERIAN PENINSULA 5

I then placed a dollar in his hand which he promptly
returned to me, adding, "I did not ask you for so
much. Please keep the dollar and give me a few
centimes which will suffice for all my needs." This
noble instinct appealed to me so forcibly that I could
not resist shaking his hand and begging him to
accept the dollar with the request that he would
divide what he did not require with his companions
in distress. He then accepted the money, and, with
tears in his eyes, saluted us and uttered the words,
"May God preserve you.'*

Notwithstanding its monarchical form of govern-
ment, there is, in Spain, a true Christian democracy
with an entire absence of the spirit of feudalism,
which, even in the middle ages, was less pronounced
there than in other countries of Europe, probably
for the reason that the nobles were at that period
frequently engaged with the plebeians in defending
the national soil against its invaders, the Pho3ni-
cians, the Eomans, the Barbs from the north, the
Moors, and, in earlier days, the French. This nation-
wide democracy is accompanied by the individual
dignity of all classes. It is to be seen in the rela-
tions of the people throughout the social scale. It
is to be found in the body politic in which, even
among the most extreme and impassioned partisans,
cordial social relations are maintained; and it is
even more in evidence at moments of grave national
crises or when foreign notabilities are paying offi-

6 THE TWO AMERICAS

cial visits to the country. This trait may also be
observed in the courtesy which surrounds all the
great debates in the Cortes, where there are rarely,
if ever, scenes or scandals such as are frequently
witnessed in other Parliaments. The vocabulary
itself illustrates how this admirable inborn senti-
ment elevates and dignifies in the maintenance of
equality while it does not belittle or lower the
humbler classes. The noble and wealthy Spaniard
treats his dependents, his tenants and his servants
with almost paternal care and affection; and it is
these patriarchal customs which produce respect
for the higher classes, not only in the Iberian Penin-
sula, but in all the Ibero- American countries. It is
not alone in these characteristics that the identity
of racial conditions among the great majority of
Latin nations is established. Travelling through
Spain one constantly meets the same physical types
as are to be found in all the Latin countries of
America, even after many generations. They bear
the same names, exhibit the same conditions and
have the same habits of thought. What wonder
then that there should be a desire to strengthen
the bonds of unity and to maintain the worthy ideals
of all the descendants of the heroes who discovered
and conquered the new world, armed only with the
sword, the Cross, and the indomitable courage of
their race?
In the new countries Spanish dominion has dis-

IBERIAN PENINSULA 7

appeared but the soul of the Iberian is ever pres-
ent, and there is an unfading memory of the influ-
ence exercised by the Catholic Church, in Spain,
over the destinies of a great part of the new world.
When the great Genoese navigator, Christopher
Columbus, appeared before the ecclesiastical author-
ities at Salamanca to expound his geographical
theory, such was the omniscience of those learned
friars that, in dissenting from the plans of Colum-
bus, they said, "We do not believe that you will
succeed in reaching the oriental coasts of India, al-
though we have faith in your idea of discovery of
the Atlantic, where there must be a vast extent of
land, interposed by Divine Providence, between
Europe and the limits you are seeking; but it does
not appear possible to us that the Atlantic and
Pacific waters form the same ocean under differ-
ent names." In short, those wise ecclesiasts had an
intuitive knowledge, even greater than that of Co-
lumbus, as to the extent of the two continents,
which, to pay honor to the memory of Amerigo
Vespucci, who solved the problem, were ultimately
called America. It was the Church, in the time of
the Catholic Kings, which really reigned, with an
intellectual and moral energy more exuberant than
the virgin forests of America, throughout the golden
century of Spain. Its great leaders regarded the
Spanish character as superior to that of the Spar-
tan— robust, virile, noble, generous and brave. They

8 THE TWO AMERICAS

gave impetus to the chivalrous sentiments of that
potent race of heroes, of scholars, of saints and
warriors whose records are almost legendary; and
they gave encouragement to the adventurous nobles
and plebeians of stout heart and of iron will, who,
in poor wooden barks, journeyed forth to double the
earth and encircle the globe, thus opening, across
the Atlantic, new skies and new territories, where
the rivers are seas and the land another world
illuminated by heavenly bodies never dreamed of by
Galileo. It was these great Catholics who inspired
the discovery of a new world and dedicated it to
God as an altar and a throne. It was a friar, Las
Casas, who inspired the paternal laws of India in
order that the Spaniards, by the transfusion of their
blood, of their life, and of their faith, might implant
a civilization entirely distinct from that followed by
other conquering nations, who, in their acts of con-
quest, enslaved and destroyed races. It is due to the
influence of the Church that the Latin-American
women of to-day are the heroic and careful guar-
dians of all those virtues which model and form the
home and reflect upon their sons, their husbands,
their brothers and their fathers.

There has been established in Madrid, under the
auspices of the Spanish Government and the vari-
ous Chambers of Commerce throughout the country,
the Ibero-American Union, in which all the Latin
nations will participate and contribute a proper-

IBERIAN PENINSULA 9

tionate share of the cost of maintenance, as is done
with the Pan-American Union at Washington. The
objects of this proposed institution are to foment
the commercial and friendly relations of the Pe-
ninsula with Ibero- America, and to promote travel
from and to the southern Republics, so that the
people of the new world may become better ac-
quainted with the vast treasures of art, history and
of natural beauty possessed by the Latin countries
of Europe ; and that the people of the old world may
see the progress of the Latin countries of America
and their splendid cities which are equal to any
of the great European Capitals. At the present
time this movement is flowing freely and sponta-
neously from the frontiers of those nations and is
reechoed in their mountains and valleys and across
the ocean until it reaches the Peninsula where the
same feelings prevail toward the people of the
Latin Republics.

The same spirit is to be found in Portugal, whose
energetic sons, worthy compatriots of Vasco da
Gama, Albuquerque, Alva Cabral, Magellanes and
others, possess the same noble characteristics as
distinguish the Brazilians, who, in the most remote
Amazonian forests, have bravely struggled, not
only with primitive nature, but also with the savage
inhabitants of those regions. From the end of the
fifteenth century and later, the Portuguese conquis-
tadores helped to establish western civilization in

10 THE TWO AMERICAS

the plains of Tolosa and Lepanto and implanted
their high qualities in Asia, in Africa and in Europe.
When I inaugurated the first steamship service on
the River Putumayo, I was accompanied by a dis-
tinguished Portuguese, Captain Francisco Antonio
Visau, who assisted me to extend the geographical
map of that river.

In Portugal I also saw men and women of fair
complexion, tall, strong, of the Germanic type, de-
scendants of the Vandals and Visigoths ; and many
of dark complexion, with spare frames and nervous
temperaments, descendants of the Arabs and the
Moors. In studying the characteristics of these
people, which are in many respects identical with
those of the Spaniards and the people of Spanish-
America, I recognized the truth and the justice of
Mr. Theodore Roosevelt's declaration that the
Iberian people "had been humane conquerors and
colonizers who had given their blood, their language,
their religion, and their energies, to the twenty
nations of Latin- America, while the Saxons had de-
stroyed the red Indians of the northern part of the
continent.*'

CHAPTER H

MY VISIT TO EUROPE (CONTINUED)

In Paris

/~\N my arrival in Paris I was accorded a cor-
^-^ dial reception by the diplomatic representa-
tives of Latin-America, the Ambassador of Spain,
the Franco-American Committee, whose President
is Mr. Gabriel Hanotaux, and various other Ibero-
American notabilities, to whom I communicated the
objects of my then proposed tour. The Franco-
American Committee conferred upon me the priv-
ilege of honorary membership and at one of its Con-
ferences to which I was specially invited, the Presi-
dent of the Latin Section, M. Francois Carnot, son of
the late President of the French Republic, welcomed
me and the purposes of my mission in most flatter-
ing terms; whilst it afforded me the deepest satis-
faction to hear from its President that the Franco-
American Committee had decided to associate itself
with the Ibero- American Union of Madrid and with
other institutions having kindred objects in Latin-
America, in order to unite the forces organized in
favor of the interests of the Latin race, of civiliza-
tion and justice, and of the well-being of humanity.

11

12 THE TWO AMERICAS

Shortly after this Conference I organized a func-
tion at the Hotel Majestic, Paris, where there assem-
bled a number of prominent men of Latin- America
and Latin-Europe, to express their approval of my
efforts to promote closer relations among all the
people of our race ; and, in order to demonstrate the
strength of that movement, in circles embracing the
leaders of thought in the Latin countries of both
continents, I feel that no excuse is necessary for the
reproduction here of a report of the proceedings at
that gathering, which I have taken from the columns
of the Revista Mundial:

-

"At the Hotel Majestic, in Paris, General B.
Reyes, ex-President of the Republic of Colombia, a
stout defender of the interests of Latin- Americans,
who has devoted a great part of his life to the fields
of exploration and diplomacy, invited a select group
of Latin-Americans to a luncheon for the purpose
of stimulating the work of sustaining the predomi-
nance of the Latin element in the southern countries
of the American Continent. The salon in which this
assemblage of the Latin- American family gathered
was decorated with taste and beauty appropriate
to the Capital of the Arts. Flowers of all colors,
roses, chrysanthemums, smilax and orchids, were
in pleasing contrast to the whiteness of the linen,
while the luxuriant fruits and the flags of all the
American Republics mixed their colors in fraternal

INPARIS 13

embrace. There were many distinguished members
of the Latin race among the guests, as may be seen
from the following list: M. Paul Doumer, former
President of the French Chamber of Deputies; M.
Francois Carnot, President of the Latin Section of
the Franco-American Committee; Senor Perez
Caballero, the Spanish Ambassador; Ruben Dario;
the ex-Presidents of Mexico and Peru, Generals
Diaz and Pardo; Gomez Carrillo, the well-known
author and chronicler ; and many other distinguished
guests, including Prince Eoland Bonaparte, Gabriel
Hanotaux, Puga Borme, Rodriguez Larreta, Manini
Rios, Alfredo and Armando Guido, Limatour Monez,
etc., etc. There were three tables, presided over,
respectively, by General Reyes, M. Doumer, and M.
Carnot. General Reyes had, on his right, General
Porfirio Diaz ; and on his left, the Minister of Chile.
On the right of M. Doumer was the Ambassador of
Spain and the Minister of Costa Rica on his left;
and on the right and left of M. Carnot sat the ex-
President of Peru and Senor Carlos Concha. At the
conclusion of the luncheon General Reyes delivered
the following address :

11 'M. Carnot, President of the Latin Section of the
Franco-American Committee, and Gentlemen:

" 'Having already been received by the Franco-
American Committee, so ably presided over by M.
Hanotaux, whose absence to-day I deeply regret,

14 THE TWO AMERICAS

I take great pleasure in welcoming many of you
who were present on that occasion and the many
other eminent men of Europe and Ibero-America
who have honored me by accepting my invitation to
this function.

" 'In treating of the Latin Eepublics I desire to
repeat what I said at my reception by the Franco-
American Committee, namely, that I consider the
future of humanity of the twentieth century to be in
Latin America. It is possible to-day to say that
we have entered with a firm step upon the posses-
sion of that future to repeat in the South what
occurred during the last century in the North; and
to prove the correctness of Humboldt's prognosti-
cations made a hundred years ago.

" 'At the time that Stanley, tracing the footsteps
of Livingstone, was exploring Equatorial Africa, I
and my brothers, who forfeited their lives during
our Amazonic explorations, were likewise exploring
the interior of South America from the Pacific to
the Atlantic. In the virgin forests and deserts
which we then traversed there have risen up, at
many points, centers of industrial activity, counting,
in some cases, tens and hundreds of thousands of
inhabitants ; and in the rivers, of the magnitude of
seas, at that time crossed by the canoes of the sav-
ages, there is an immense stream of steam naviga-
tion. To justify my suggestion of these rivers
being like seas I need only mention that many of

IN PARIS 15

the trans-Atlantic liners ascend the Amazon River
for five thousand kilometers into the interior of the
continent, where, from Para to Iquitos and in the
affluents of that great river, they can connect with
the Orinoco and the Eiver Plate, thus rendering it
possible to traverse by large and modern steamships
20,000 kilometers of waterways, and, by connection
with railways already constructed and under con-
struction, ultimately to have direct communication
with all the countries of South America. What, in
my time, were small towns are to-day populous and
flourishing cities with populations far exceeding the
million mark, such as Buenos Aires and Eio de
Janeiro. Their commerce, which then was counted
by tens of millions of francs, may be reckoned, at
the present time, by thousands of millions; and
lands, rural and urban, then of insignificant value,
have not only enormously increased in price, but
have become a source of highly profitable invest-
ment for European capital. In the intervening
period the population of Latin- America has multi-
plied fourfold, embracing vigorous specimens of our
race who will preserve and extend our elevated
ideals.

" 'We who are the descendants of this second gen-
eration of Iberians are regarded in the Peninsula as
of the people themselves and, if any favor is shown,
it takes the form of giving us the place of honor.
All the Latin Republics, forming twenty independent

16 THE TWO AMERICAS

nations, are striving to secure harmony of thought
in our portion of the continent and we are struggling
with the Saxon race, which predominates in the
northern part of the continent, in the effort to estab-
lish justice and right. To this end the Latin coun-
tries of America need the hearty cooperation of
their brothers in Europe, the prospect of which
is rendered so hopeful by the presence here to-day
of so many leading lights of Latin-Europe. To
extend still further these objects the international
and commercial legislation of the southern continent
must be so guided and changed to meet the exigen-
cies of the hour as to secure the utmost freedom
and protection for the immigrants, the capital, and
the industries of foreign countries without the
difficulties and impediments which have arisen in
earlier days. The smaller countries regard with
satisfaction and pride the marvellous growth of Ar-
gentina, Brazil and Chile; and they are exerting
every effort to enjoy similar progress under the
shadow of peace, justice and right.'

' ' Speeches embodying similar sentiments were de-
livered by several gentlemen present, the following
notable address having been made by Senor Perez
Caballero, the Spanish Ambassador :

" 'Gentlemen: After the eloquent words which
have been uttered by General Eeyes, the ex-Presi-

INPARIS 17

dent of the Republic of Colombia, it is in-
cumbent upon me — and I accept the task with
pleasure — as Spanish Ambassador, to express
my sincere appreciation of his kindly refer-
ences to my country and its people. I do
this, Gentlemen, with the deepest gratitude and
from the depths of my heart I ask you to join me
in drinking to a triple toast to the honor of France,
the Ibero-American countries, and to my own be-
loved Spain.

" 'In a recent discussion in the Spanish Parliament
on the Spanish-French treaty regarding Morocco,
many disparaging references were made to the col-
onizing qualities of the Spanish people, but the best
answer I have yet heard to those unjust suggestions
is embodied in the declarations of General Reyes
in the brilliant speech delivered by him to-day.
When a country has given to hitherto unknown dis-
tant regions the spirit of its race, its religion and
its language, and, after a hundred years of inde-
pendent existence, the new nationality retains for
the mother-country the affection revealed by Gen-
eral Reyes in his description of the Ibero-American
people, it demonstrates the purity of character that
springs from the mother-land and constitutes proof
of the colonizing qualities of her sons.

" 'Two years ago I had the honor to accompany
to Buenos Aires the illustrious Princess Isabella,
when I was privileged to participate in the centenr

18 THE TWO AMERICAS

nial celebration of Argentine independence. The
Argentine Republic was the first to separate herself
from the mother-country, but, representing Spain,
I shared the nation's delight in the triumph of her
children and experienced exceptional pleasure in
crossing the seas to commemorate the magic awak-
ening of the Ibero-American continent. On that
solemn occasion I raised my voice to salute those
new and already vigorous nations. Grow, I said,
free nations, sovereign and independent, in Spanish
America. Advance without discord or discourage-
ment in the infinite path of progress; imbibe and
arouse into action our words; make our personal-
ities greater in history and maintain with vigor the
authority and the power of the Latin race to which,
in common, we pertain. I would remind you that
if your great and deserved prosperity is due to the
tenacity of your inhabitants, to your free political
institutions and to your wise legislation, as well as
to the fertility of your soil and to the wealth of its
contents, you cannot and surely will not forget that
a great part of your progress is due to the powerful
immigration from across the Atlantic and especially
from the Latin countries. The French, Italians and
Spanish intermingled with the South Americans
have produced and will continue to produce verita-
ble miracles in those countries where nature shows
such prodigality.
" 'It is little short of marvellous that without the

INPARIS 19

spirit of exclusiveness, which would be absurd, and
still less with hatred, which would be infamous, the
Latins of our race have made us proud. It is cer-
tain that the progress already made is the result
of concord among all the races, but this does not
exclude the closer ties of the affinities such as the
sacred love for the fatherland which fortifies,
rather than excludes, the affection and the tender
love for the family. It is very natural that the
Latins have impelled our admiration of the immense
scenario of Spanish-America, and when we see it
grow in power and prosperity day by day we ex-
perience a real pleasure. It is also only natural
that the Ibero-American countries look to incom-
parable France to aid them in their progressive
growth, that great France which is the elder sister,
the first, the mother of modern Latinity.

" 'General Eeyes has pointed to the necessity for
the Latin countries to have the support of their
sisters in Europe. I am in complete accord with
that view. It is a fundamental truth and so far as
it relates to Spain and France I congratulate my-
self on being able to say that never has the union
been closer or more based on the principles of jus-
tice. The necessity for close friendship between
the older countries striving to implant civilization
of a modern type in places unaccustomed to western
thought and ideas, has been shown more than ever
by the friendship of France and Spain in Morocco j

20 THE TWO AMERICAS

and this union of the two Latin races in the exten-
sion of their civilizing forces in the north of Africa
will doubtless reverberate throughout Latin-Amer-
ica. The Latins of Europe united with those of
America exercise a powerful force and their decisive
influence will serve as a stimulant to the progress
of the entire human race.

11 'Gentlemen, I raise my glass in honor of our
illustrious host, General Reyes, and as this reunion
is largely dedicated to the objects of the Franco-
American Committee, allow me also to drink pros-
perity to Spain's neighboring sister, France, and to
her distant daughter, America.' "

CHAPTER III

IN THE UNITED STATES

T SAVING Cherbourg on the steamship Kaiser
••^ Wilhelm II I arrived in New York, where my
proposed tour of Latin- America and its objects had
already created considerable interest.

Despite the great flow and heterogeneous charac-
ter of the immigration to the United States during
the last sixty or seventy years, it is easy to observe
that the dominant features of the national charac-
ter are the qualities of the Saxons and the Teutons
— dignity, justice, labor, and the strenuous desire
for progress. It is, in fact, the elevated civic virtues
of such men as Washington, Franklin, and others,
that formed the foundation upon which the great
American edifice has been built up. In these con-
ditions there will also be found the explanation of
the great love of the land of their adoption, which
makes good citizens, not only of the children of
immigrants, but of the immigrants themselves, as
is also the case in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and other
new countries, where the private and public virtues
of the founders of those nations constitute the basic
formation of character.

21

22 THE TWO AMERICAS

I have known the United States since 1872 and
have visited it many times while in the service of
my country. I dealt officially with its Government,
in Panama in 1885, and in Washington in 1903, to
sustain the rights of Colombia in relation to Pan-
ama. I educated my sons in the United States and
after ten years which elapsed since my former visit
I found changes and progress which profoundly
impressed me. I noticed with particular satisfaction
that the genuine American sentiment of to-day is to
combat the supremacy of the powerful dollar and to
maintain the predominance of just ideals. I was
likewise able to appreciate that in the United States
public opinion is supreme, and, although it may
occasionally be diverted into a wrong direction, it
will ultimately find truth and justice. Of the forces,
of the vigor and life that move and palpitate with
so much activity, the currents which resist the rule
of Mammon form the great base of the American
structure.

Modern history has furnished no vaster, more
varied or more complex field for the study of sociol-
ogy, of industry, and of all that concerns human
progress, than the United States. Founded by
English colonists of intellectual force and high
moral character who sought its shores to obtain
religious and political liberty, by fearless Dutch
navigators, the founders of New Amsterdam, be-
longing to the first families of Holland, like that

IN THE UNITED STATES 23

of Van Cortland, who have preserved through cen-
turies their distinguishing qualities and character-
istics, and by Irish Catholics who brought to the
virgin soil of America healthy and advanced ideas,
there is little occasion for surprise in the fact that
freedom and independence are the guiding princi-
ples of the American people.

Unfortunately, as a consequence of the great ex-
pansion which has taken place in the financial and
commercial relations of the United States with the
Latin-American Eepublics, during latter years,
these excellent principles have been supplanted by
the enthronement, in certain influential quarters, of
what has become known as "dollar diplomacy";
and although this new and sordid method of regu-
lating international relations does not find favor
with the great mass of enlightened American citi-
zens, who have a due regard for the national honor,
it is necessary to arrest its growth in the interest
of the entire continent. It is by the exercise of a
patriotic spirit, by the possession of vast natural
wealth, and by the liberty-loving character of its
people that the United States has attained its great
position among the nations of the world and has
developed its huge resources, represented by its
hundred millions of inhabitants, its three million
square miles of territory, its three hundred thou-
sand miles of railroads, and its wonderful indus-
trial and commercial advance. For the fulfilment of

24 THE TWO AMERICAS

their worthy aspirations, based on solid pretensions,
and for an adequate development of their national
resources the people of Latin-America, therefore,
desire the sympathy and cooperation of those of the
United States.

Many of these Latin nations committed an error
in establishing, for their government, the institu-
tions and laws of the United States before prepar-
ing or educating their people to understand and use
them for their own benefit. The sorrowful experi-
ences of many of the Latin Republics lead to the re-
flection that the laws and constitution of every na-
tion should be in keeping with its education, its
customs, and its necessities, history having shown
that the application of advanced laws and institu-
tions to youthful nations still struggling for their
emancipation is calculated to produce negative re-
sults, to convert liberty into license, and to make
democracy a tyranny of the ignorant. Happily, this
dearly acquired knowledge has led some of these
countries to see where their true interests lie, and
many of them, as a result, are now in the enjoyment
of advanced systems of government equal to those of
the most progressive countries of the world. It may
therefore be assumed that these sad lessons, already
bearing fruit, will at no distant date finally close
the period of civil wars and fraternal struggles of
all the Latin-American people and so assure their
complete independence and future prosperity.

IN THE UNITED STATES 25

As stated in the opening lines of this chapter, I
was able during my stay in the United States to
judge the real trend of representative American
opinion in regard to the southern Eepublics, by the
increasing interest of many public bodies and indi-
vidual leaders of thought, in the enterprise I had
entered upon on my own initiative and at my own
expense. It was to me a source of great pleasure to
hear the many expressions of encouragement for
American unity in the speeches delivered by promi-
nent American citizens at the numerous functions at
which I was entertained, and, to emphasize the au-
thoritative sanction of my mission, I would make
special reference to a luncheon given to me, in New
York, by the Pan-American Society of the United
States. A number of influential citizens attended
the gathering and several interesting addresses were
delivered, but the most important of all, from the
point of view of interpreting educated American
opinion on the position of the Latin- American Ke-
publics, was the speech made by Mr. Frederic
Brown, the Treasurer and Secretary of the Society,
who said :

"The United States would appear to have so few
friends among the most prominent men of Latin-
America that our satisfaction is enhanced by this
opportunity of giving a welcome to General Reyes
on the eve of his departure on a mission of the

26 THE TWO AMERICAS

highest importance for the cause of true Pan-
Americanism.

''I heard General Reyes speak for the first time
some years ago when I was in Mexico, where he
has left behind him a grateful memory of his friend-
ship for the Americans. There are seated at this
table men who have lived and labored in Colombia,
when he was its President, and they are likewise
able to say that all the words and deeds of General
Reyes showed a sincere friendship for this country.
The Hon. John Barrett, Director-General of the
Pan-American Union, who formerly occupied the po-
sition of American Minister to Colombia, considers
General Reyes as one of the best friends of the
United States in Latin-America. It is therefore
exceptionally fortunate that in furtherance of the
objects of this Society we have the opportunity of
wishing General Reyes the fullest success for his
visit to Hispano-America, whither he proceeds on a
labor of love without ulterior motives or ambitions.

"We in the United States are true friends of
Latin- America and we desire to aid the forces and
influence of General Reyes in convincing our friends
of the South that we are animated by the most sin-
cere desire to assist in the aggrandizement of a race
which embodies the highest type of civilization. We
cannot oppose the legitimate object of the Latin-
Americans to perpetuate their inheritance and to
establish a Latin civilization. A race that has pro-

fuotograpU by Paul Xbompaon

DR. BELISAR1O POKRAS, THE PRESIDENT OF PANAMA

IN THE UNITED STATES 27

duced writers like Dario, financiers like Limantour,
philosophers like Hostos, and international lawyers
like Drago ; a race which owes its independent exist-
ence to heroes like San Martin and Bolivar — a bril-
liant combination of the qualities of Washington and
Napoleon — one may be sure will always find its
proper destination. I desire that General Eeyes
may be enabled to assure the people of Latin- Amer-
ica of the existence of the profound and durable
friendship which is entertained throughout the
United States toward them."

A few days later a banquet was given in my honor
by the Pan-American Association, of which, with
Cardinal Farley, I was made an Honorary Vice-
President. Among the speakers on that occasion
was Dr. Phanor Eder, a distinguished lawyer and
the author of a recent book on Colombia which will
doubtless become a standard work of reference.
After some personal references Dr. Eder spoke as
follows :

"We have assembled here in the name of Pan-
Americanism to wish success to General Eeyes in
the important mission he has undertaken. The
meaning of the expression, Pan- Americanism, is va-
riously interpreted according to point of view. In
certain parts of Latin-America it is thought that
Pan-Americanism from the North American view-

28 THE TWO AMERICAS

point signifies 'America for the North Americans.'
We, as members of the Pan-American Association,
know that such an interpretation is incorrect. Still,
considerable vagueness surrounds the term Pan-
Americanism. Of the Gods of the ancient Greek
and Eoman mythology I have always been able to
form definite ideas as to Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva,
Venus and others, but I must confess, and I have no
doubt that many of you are like me in that respect,
that I have never been able to define with precision
who was the great God Pan, when he existed, or
where and why. In the same manner, Pan- Ameri-
canism seems to be clouded with similar obscurity
to the personality of the God Pan. But of all the
ideas and ideals of Pan- Americanism the most real
and the most practical seems to me to be that which
General Eeyes is demonstrating in the fulfilment of
his present mission. So, as he was the first to
enable the countries of South America to be joined
by steam navigation through her natural waterways,
will he be a pioneer in the great movement to its
spiritual and moral awakening. The object of his
mission, as I understand it, is to bind the countries
of Latin-America with closer bonds of friendship,
to spread the propaganda of self-respect and to raise
the ideals of Latin- American civilization in such a
manner that, united with the great and powerful
Anglo-Saxon civilization of North America, the goal

IN THE UNITED STATES 29

of " America for humanity" may be speedily
reached. ' '

The term " Pan- Americanism, " so admirably in-
terpreted by Dr. Eder, is no new theory or doctrine.
It is merely the embodiment of the fraternal ties of
international life. Although of different origin, the
people of the two Americas have labored in their
respective fields for the development of human hap-
piness. Their interests and advancement are of
mutual advantage, and it is only necessary to respect
each other to inspire the respect of others and to
create a united America which shall dominate the
world in the arts of peace and in all those civilizing
influences which make for universal good. When
Pan- Americanism is sufficiently developed and un-
derstood to be the ultimate expression of good will
and of friendly relations among all the nations of
America, designed to destroy the selfish purpose of
imperialism, it will secure millions of new adherents
who will enforce its principles and bring to prac-
tical realization the objects and desires of true
Americans in every part of the continent. The
achievement of that object will fail of accomplish-
ment so long as the prevailing misunderstandings
and doubts exist; but that it is within measurable
distance of being reached is demonstrated by the
unselfish efforts now being made in that direction by

30 THE TWO AMERICAS

men of light and leading both in the Latin Republics
and in the United States.

The creation of the Pan-American Union and of
its offshoot, the Pan- American Society of the United
States, has been abundantly justified by the wide
appreciation and universal recognition of the value
of their achievements in the practical spread of the
good doctrine. The Pan-American Congresses,
which have from time to time assembled in the lead-
ing capitals of the Continent, have contributed to a
better understanding amongst the various nations;
but, whilst the excellent results derived from their
deliberations in regard to matters pertaining to in- *
ternational questions have been shown in many di-
rections, the character of the discussions and the
technical nature of the subjects treated, necessarily
operated to prevent their publication, in detail, in
the ordinary channels of public information. It is
therefore with profound satisfaction that I place on
record the occurrence during the past year of an
event which will be of signal importance in the dis-
semination of useful knowledge concerning the
Latin-American countries and their relations with
the United States.

I refer to the Conference on Latin- America re-
cently organized by the Clark University of Worces-
ter, Massachusetts, under the direction of Dr.
George H. Blakeslee, Professor of History at that
seat of learning; and I do not hesitate to say that

IN THE UNITED STATES 31

no gathering of a similar kind has ever excelled,
either in the quality of the speakers or in the value
of the knowledge imparted, the Clark University
Conference on Latin- America. Those who took part
in the proceedings included some of the most emi-
nent authorities in the United States, embracing
diplomats of high rank of both divisions of the Con-
tinent ; Professors of History and International Law
of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Johns Hopkins and
other universities ; noted authors of works relating
to Latin- America ; prominent journalists of North
and South America; and leading men representing
vast financial and industrial interests. Needless to
say, that the discussions of the many subjects of
importance embodied in the programme were of the
most illuminating character; and to such an extent
was this recognized that hardly a newspaper in the
United States failed to report, or to refer favorably
to the Conference. That function marks a red-letter
day in the propagation of Pan-Americanism, not
only by arousing increased public and press interest
in matters which affect the future of the whole Con-
tinent, but by creating a precedent which, as time
goes on, will be established by other leading educa-
tional institutions in every part of America. The
Clark University, which initiated these Conferences
in 1911, though possessing a smaller endowment
than most of the great American Universities, is by
no means inferior in intellectual equipment to the

32 THE TWO AMERICAS

highest amongst them ; and to its distinguished Presi-
dent, Dr. G. Stanley Hall, who was a Harvard Pro-
fessor as far back as forty years ago; and to Dr.
George H. Blakeslee, who so ably organized and con-
ducted the Conference, and whose academic suc-
cesses at the Universities of Harvard, Oxford, Ber-
lin and Leipzig abundantly testify to his great eru-
dition, a deep debt of gratitude is due for the emi-
nent services thus rendered to the cause of inter-
American union and friendship.

In dealing with the present situation of Pan-
Americanism and those who have contributed to its
steady advance, it would be manifestly unjust to
omit reference to that great man, Senator Elihu
Boot, who has done so much to strengthen the
friendly relations of the Latin countries with the
United States. As Secretary of State, he tem-
porarily separated himself from his urgent official
duties to undertake an arduous journey through the
Latin Republics of America, in order to remove the
misconceptions and doubts which at that time were
rife in the sister Republics ; and that his memorable
trip was crowned with triumph is demonstrated by
the fact that his name is venerated throughout
South America, and that the friendship of the
larger countries of that portion of the Continent
for the United States has never before been so
firmly established as at the present time. Nor is it
alone in his public capacity that Senator Root has

IN THE UNITED STATES 33

earned the respect and admiration of all who are
interested in the development of Pan-American
Union. In his private character, amidst the most
pressing calls on his time, he has counselled and as-
sisted in every direction to aid the cause he has so
much at heart ; and there are few of the many Latin-
American students in the United States who are not
indebted to him for friendly advice and help given
at a time when every moment was of great value.

Another distinguished figure in the movement to
cement the friendly relations of all the American
nations, is the Hon. John Barrett, the Director-Gen-
eral of the Pan-American Union at Washington.
That gentleman, who is known as the ' ' Latin- Ameri-
can Ambassador to the United States," occupies —
with his able and distinguished coadjutor, Senor
Francisco J. Yanes, Assistant-Director of the Pan-
American Union — the unique position of represent-
ing the whole of the twenty-one Republics of
America; and it is largely due to his enthusiasm,
ability and phenomenal activity that the institution
which he so skillfully directs, has attained its present
proportions and importance and constitutes so val-
uable an adjunct to the State Department and to the
governments of all of the American Republics. A
more recent recruit to the ranks of ardent support-
ers of the cause of Pan- Americanism is the present
Secretary of State, Mr. William Jennings Bryan,
who has not only made a personal tour of the prin-

34 THE TWO AMERICAS

cipal countries of South America, for the purpose of
acquainting himself with actual conditions, but has
availed himself of every suitable occasion to give
expression to his sympathetic and friendly feelings
toward the Latin countries and people ; and that he
will carry his views into practice when the oppor-
tunity arises, is a matter beyond doubt in the minds
of those who have followed his many activities in
private and public life.

All these eminent public men are aware of the
great services rendered to humanity by both races of
Americans. If the discovery and conquest of the
distant regions in the new world are due to the cour-
age and enterprise of their original Spanish explor-
ers, it is to the credit of the North Americans that
those portions of the continent which for ages were
ravaged by yellow fever and malaria have been ren-
dered healthy and habitable; and, if in the United
States there are altars to the golden calf, there are
also altars dedicated to justice, charity, and respect
for the rights of others. If in Latin America there
has been attained a degree of civilization which has
elicited the admiration of the world, there are also
in the United States, that asylum of the disinherited,
vast numbers of generous men possessing the ele-
vated ideals of the founders of that great Republic ;
and many of those, together with America's great
captains of industry, are using their intelligence,

IN THE UNITED STATES 35

their energy and their fortunes in promoting the
advance of education, science, industry and art.

President Monroe proclaimed the doctrine of
' 'America for the Americans," which surely implied
that that eminent statesman included the Ibero-
Americans as well as those of the north. The de-
votees of modern imperialism in the United States
appear to reject this view by their belief that the
term "Americans" signifies only those born under
the Stars and Stripes; and that they are the abso-
lute owners of the two Americas, although, as I have
already said, that spirit of mischievous exaggeration
is, happily, confined to very narrow limits. At one
of The Hague Conferences the present President of
the Argentine Eepublic, Dr. Roque Saenz Peiia, who
was one of his country's delegates, suggested the
substitution of "America for Humanity," in place
of the formula enunciated by President Monroe,
doubtless for the reason that a convenient misinter-
pretation of the term "Americans" might lead to
difficulties and ultimately to intervention in the in-
ternal affairs of some of the smaller Republics. In-
stances of this kind may be seen in the case of
Central America during the epoch of the filibusters ;
in Chile at the time of the scandal with American
sailors; in Santo Domingo; and at the present day
in Nicaragua, where United States troops are in
control in the capital, Managua, under the pretext
that they are there for the protection of American

36 THE TWO AMERICAS

citizens. Therefore as imperialism is always of the
same character, whether applied to civilized people
or to savages, whether it be exercised by a Rameses
II over Egyptians, by an Alexander over Greeks, by
a Napoleon over the French, or by jingoes of the
United States over Latin-Americans, it is a neces-
sity that the weaker nations should resist its en-
croachment upon their domestic affairs. The doc-
trine of Saenz Pena, just and humane in its concep-
tion, has been cultivated and carried into practice
in Brazil, Argentina and Chile, where all the foreign
elements have become assimilated with the national
character and the generous qualities of the people.
In those countries, as in time will occur in all the
other Latin Republics, the earlier foreign immi-
grants have produced a race which has acquired the
highest ideals and the fervent patriotism of the de-
scendants of the Spanish conquistadores ; and the
confirmation of this statement may be found in the
recent declarations of Ferri and Clemenceau as a
result of their visits to the Argentine Republic.
Seeking Italians and French in the sons of their
compatriots who had emigrated to that country, they
found ardent Argentines of great physical and intel-
lectual strength inspired by a genuine love of coun-
try, which qualities are characteristic of nearly all
Ibero- Americans of mixed blood. It is in this sense
that I understand and accept the doctrine of Saenz
Pena, in order that it may benefit the people of those

IN THE UNITED STATES 37

countries in which the great future of the world
lies.

There is also in the United States a pendant to
the Monroe Doctrine which might be described as
the Lodge Doctrine, its existence having arisen out
of a resolution submitted to and approved by the
United States Senate, by the distinguished Senator
from the State of Massachusetts. That resolution
declared, in effect, that the United States would
regard as an act of hostility any concession given
to non-American Governments in the ports of any
country whence the security of the Panama Canal
might be threatened. The people of Latin- America
see in this doctrine the possibility of its being inter-
preted by imperialists into an attack upon their
most sacred right — their sovereignty ; and it is with
this view operating in their minds that efforts are
being directed to establish union among them and
to effect the complete abandonment of revolutionary
movements in order that their strength and their
independence may be as manifest beyond, as within,
their borders.

I was privileged while in New York to have con-
versations with many eminent men, including Car-
dinal Farley, Mr. Archer Huntington, Mr. Andrew
Carnegie, Mr. Thomas A. Edison, and other nota-
bilities, all of whom expressed their earnest sympa-
thy with my labors ; but of the many tributes paid

84116

38 THE TWO AMERICAS

to me in the United States,* that which I regard
most highly was a banquet given to me by the Ex-
plorers' Club of New York, with Admiral Peary
presiding. At that function I was also invited to
lecture upon my early explorations in the Amazon
regions and the changes which have been wrought in
the heart of South America in the thirty years since
I first entered upon the perilous adventure. Seated
at the table, which was adorned by many plants and
beautiful flowers, suggesting a tropical scene, there
were notable explorers, historians, geographers
and others who figure prominently in different
branches of human study ; and by all of them I was
accorded an extremely cordial reception; but my
principal pleasure was derived from the fact that
these many distinguished American citizens should
be so deeply interested in the development of that
remote and vast territory which, in my younger
days, I had penetrated in the face of almost insur-
mountable obstacles in the cause of American civi-
lization and progress.

From early childhood, when I commenced the
study of geography, I was always attracted by the
mystery of the immense forests of the Amazon, and
I ultimately formed the idea of exploring them with
the object of opening up new and fertile lands for

* While in New York I was also entertained by the American
Bankers' Association, the Foreign Newspaper Association and other
important bodies.

IN THE UNITED STATES 39

commerce and for the territorial extension of my
country. In my first voyage of discovery I was ac-
companied only by the savages of those regions, but
I was later joined by my brothers, Enrique and
Nestor, and our explorations continued for many
years until my brother Nestor was devoured by the
cannibals of Putumayo and my brother Enrique died
a victim of yellow fever.

The relation of these matters to the later develop-
ments of South America is sufficiently established
to give general interest to the subject of the lecture
which I delivered in response to the courteous invi-
tation of the Explorers' Club. I therefore make no
apology for its insertion in a somewhat abridged
form, in these pages.

CHAPTER IV

MY EARLY EXPLORATIONS

AS is well known, it was at the Island of San
Salvador (Cat Island), not far from the
coast of South America, where Columbus first
touched with his companions. During the years
following the discovery the conquerors penetrated
from the coast of the Atlantic to the interior of
Venezuela and Ecuador. Nunez de Balboa, crossing
the Isthmus of Panama, discovered the Pacific, and,
following his footsteps, the two Pizarros, Almagro,
Valdivia and Balalcazar conquered Ecuador, Peru,
Bolivia and Chile, while Magellan discovered the
Straits which bear his name, and Solis and Cabral
discovered the Bio de la Plata and Brazil.

Those daring conquerors, men of iron as they
were, opened pathways with the machete through
the impenetrable tropical forests, peopled by the
aborigines, with whom they had to combat, forests
full of vipers and poisonous insects; but, besides
facing these elements of dangerous opposition, they
were the victims of fever, malaria, and other infec-
tious diseases. The conditions of primitive nature,
the combats with the native Indians, lack of provi-

40

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 41

sions, and an absolute ignorance of the countries
which they were penetrating furnished the reasons
why the conquest did not advance beyond those
points at which there existed centres of human
populations, occupied, in the territories which are
to-day Venezuela and Colombia, by the Carib In-
dians, Chibchas and Quichoas in Ecuador, Peru and
Bolivia; in a part of Chile by the Incas and the
Almoras ; in the greater part of Chile by the invin-
cible Araucanos; and in the Rio de la Plata by
the Guaranis and the Guayas.

During the colonial period, after South America
had become independent of the mother country and
was divided into different republics, up to a few
years ago, the immense region of the continent
which extends from the central mass of the Andes
to the Atlantic, and which in its make-up has an
extent comparable to that of the ocean between
America and Europe — that is to say, from four to
five thousand miles — was completely unknown at
many points. One of these regions, and one of the
largest in extent, is situated between Colombia and
Brazil. Through it run the great rivers known
as the Putumayo and Caqueta, both affluents of the
Amazon.

From my very childhood I felt myself attracted
by the mystery of those immense forests. I used
to cherish plans for exploring them, and of open-
ing across them a communication with the Atlantic,

42 THE TWO AMERICAS

thus giving new channels for commerce and for the
glory of my fatherland.

My first exploration was made accompanied only
by the savages of those territories. My two broth-
ers, Henry and Nestor, were with me when I made
the next explorations. My brother Henry explored
for several years the River Napo and the Eiver
Pastaya of Ecuador, also the different rivers of
Peru, known respectively as the Huallago, Ucayali,
Yurua and the Yavari, as well as the two rivers of
Brazil and Bolivia known as the Purus and the
Madera, and finally the Tocantins and the Upper
and Lower Parana of Brazil, Paraguay and the Ar-
gentine Eepublic. These explorations lasted over
a period of several years and were made at our own
personal expense, without government aid. During
our travels my two brothers lost their lives; the
younger one, Nestor, was devoured by the Putu-
mayo cannibals; Henry perished as a victim of
yellow fever.

We started from the City of Pasto, situated on
the summit of the Andes, under the equinoctial line.
The immense region which extends from that city
for more than 4,000 miles to the Atlantic was then
completely unknown. We traversed on foot the
great mass of the Cordillera of the Andes, rising
more than 12,000 feet above the sea level up to the
region of perpetual snow. Where this ceases there
are immense plains, called parames, upon which

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 43

neither trees nor flowers grow and where animal
life completely disappears. We wandered for a
whole month in these cold solitudes, guided only by
the compass. The plains are covered with a fog as
dense as that of the high latitudes of the north in
winter. There were days in which we had to remain
on the same spot in semi-darkness without being able
to advance a single step, the thermometer falling to
10 degrees, Centigrade,* below zero, a temperature
made unbearable by the lack of proper shelter and
shoes. We used a kind of shoe called ' ' alpargata, ' '
made of henequen (hemp), which only covered half
of the foot. Leather shoes cannot be used as these
plains are covered with a thick layer of mud, in
which the traveler, while walking, sinks to the knee.
After marching for a month through this frigid
desert in which, due to the intense cold, two other
members of the expedition perished, we reached the
limits of the solitary pampas, which appeared like
the product of nature in progress of formation.
We were at the eastern watershed of the Andes.
An ocean of light and verdure appeared before our
eyes, in marked contrast to the shadows and soli-
tudes which we had just traversed. We had before
us the abrupt declivity of the Cordillera, which
descended in some parts almost vertically, then by

* Centigrade may be converted into Fahrenheit by the simple
formula of multiplying the number of degrees by 9, dividing the
product by 5, and adding 32.

44 THE TWO AMERICAS

slightly inclined slopes, and beyond, in perfect
levels, for many miles down to the ocean. Over
the granite walls of the Andes the water rushed in
majestic cataracts, flowing afterwards in torrents
through valleys of the Cordillera. Upon reaching
the plain these streams are converted into broad
and beautiful rivers, and, like great ribbons of silver
on an emerald field, are lost in the distant horizon.
In the forests the luxurious tropical flora were seen
in all their beauty. The trees appeared peopled
with birds of all colors. In a word, it was life which
we had before us, and chaos we had left behind.

To penetrate these unknown forests we opened
roads with a machete through brambles, briars and
creepers which obstructed our passage. Arriving
at the vertical slopes of the Cordillera, in places
which were otherwise impassable, we had to descend
by the aid of rope.

For fifteen days we continued our march through
these virgin forests, inhabited by vipers and wild
beasts, which fortunately did not cause us any
harm. We crossed the torrents over bridges of trees
which we threw across them, or forded them on
foot; in crossing one of these mountain torrents we
lost two of our carriers, and the expedition was
thereby reduced to only six men. After great fa-
tigue, and already exposed to a temperature of 30
degrees centigrade, we arrived at a river navigable
by canoes, on the shores of which lives the tribe of

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 45

the Mocoas. These Indians, although savages, are
hospitable and not cannibals. We remained with
this tribe one month, during which we procured
from them a canoe to continue our expedition to the
Amazon Eiver, and six Indians, who were familiar
with only six hundred miles of down stream. They
informed us that they had never gone beyond that
distance because those who previously dared to
proceed further were devoured by the cannibal
tribes which inhabit the other half of the river down
to the Amazon.

We launched our canoe, following the course of
this unknown river, and gave it the name by which
it was known by the savages, "Putumayo," mean-
ing, in the Siona dialect, clear water. After two
days of navigation we arrived at a point which we
named La Sofia, after my wife. Here, the river is
six feet deep at all times, and is now the terminus
of steamboat navigation.

It took us a month from La Sofia to reach the
last point known by the savages of Mocoa, a distance
of 600 miles. Through all this territory the river
is navigable for steamers of five feet draught. Its
shores are covered with dense forests, in which the
rubber or "jeve," cocoa, sarsaparllla, vegetable
ivory or "tagua," ipecacuanha, and many other
medicinal plants and a variety of green woods
abound. We visited the nomadic tribes, the mem-
bers of which treated us with kindness and even

46 THE TWO AMERICAS

generosity, making us presents of smoked provi-
sions, the product of hunting and fishing.

These tribes are the Cocaenntis, Montepas, To-
halia, and the Inquisilla, all finely built men who
constantly migrate in search of game and fish. They
have but few straw huts. They cultivate small plan-
tations of bananas and yucco in the clearings made
in the woods, felling the trees with stone axes and
then burning the roots. They go almost naked and
each tribe preserves the most absolute autonomy
with respect to the others. The dialect they speak
is a mixture of Siona and Quipehua. They have no
other religion than the worship of evil spirits, with
which their priests, or Payes, pretend to be in com-
munication, for which purpose they intoxicate them-
selves with the juice of a narcotic plant called by
them Yoco. It is always necessary to be on good
terms with the Payes, who exercise a dominating
influence over their companions. The number of
individuals of which these tribes are composed, ac-
cording to the information we gathered, is about
20,000.

We then entered the region of cannibal Indians.
The first we encountered were the powerful and
warlike Miranas. Our companions, the Indians of
Mocoa, notified us categorically that from that place
on they would go no further and that we would have
to procure a canoe and oarsmen from that tribe,
because they were going to return. We landed, and,

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 47

with an interpreter, went to the first settlement.
Here we found the powerful Chief "Chua" or
1 ' tiger, ' ' a handsome young man of fine and athletic
frame, some thirty years of age. He received us
as friends and gave us his hand, which, as is implied
by the same token among civilized people, is an
unequivocal sign of friendship among these sav-
ages. He then invited us to enter his hut. I was
the first white man whom these savages had seen,
and for that reason I was the object of their child-
like curiosity. They were celebrating a feast of the
full moon and offered us their dishes of human flesh,
of Indians called Multotes, enemies of the Miranas,
who had been made prisoners.

Through the interpreter we asked Chua — who
from that date on was our friend and always re-
mained faithful, carrying his affection so far as to
take my name, calling himself thenceforth Rafael
Chua — to give us canoes, provisions and some In-
dians to continue our trip toward the Amazon River.
The generous Indian promised to give us all we
might need. We then took leave of our companions,
the Mocoas, and became the guests of the Miranas,
remaining among them fifteen days, during which
time we accompanied them on their hunting and
fishing expeditions. After this Chua gave us a large
canoe and ten robust young men as a crew to con-
tinue our trip to the Amazon.

On a beautiful morning we took leave of our

48 THE TWO AMERICAS

friend Chua and put out in our canoe on the waters
of the Putumayo, which here has a width of more
than 900 yards and is ten feet deep. There were
still 600 miles ahead of us before reaching the
Amazon River. For the whole of this distance the
river is navigable, at all times, to steamers of a
draft of* nine feet. The forests which cover its
shores abound in the same vegetation as those we
had just traversed. We visited and made friends
with the cannibal tribes of the Huitotes, Benecio,
Oro jones, Carijones, Garepanara and Capulla. All
these received and treated us with kindness and
generosity. Indeed, during the ten years in which
we made explorations on the Putumayo, on the
Amazon Kiver and its other tributaries we were
never threatened or attacked by the savages, which
unfortunately was not the case with my younger
brother Nestor, who was devoured by the cannibals
of Putumayo and thus paid with his life in the flower
of youth for his love of work and for the cause of
knowledge and progress in America.

We spent two months in descending the lower
part of the river, being detained by making explora-
tions ashore and remaining several days visiting
the different tribes. These tribes speak the Siona
language, and the number of individuals of which
they are composed, according to the information ob-
tained, is over 60,000. These tribes live in continual
warfare with one another so as to take prisoners

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 49

for their festivals and to sell them to merchants
who used to ascend the Putumayo some 200 miles
from the Amazon, and who, in exchange, gave them
alcohol, tobacco, strings of glass beads, mirrors, and
other trifles. During the time which I passed in
that region with my brothers we put an end to this
barbarous trade, imprisoning the traders in human
flesh and delivering them afterwards to the Bra-
zilian authorities, who dealt out to them well-mer-
ited punishment.

The most disagreeable experience of this, our
first, exploration was not the heat of 45 degrees C.
which we had to endure in an open canoe, nor
the fatigue of rowing all day, nor the poor and
scanty food, nor the dangers which we incurred
in the midst of cannibals, but it was in the nights
which we had to pass on the immense river banks,
on burning sands, parched by the sun during the
daytime, in which we had to dig a sort of grave to
bury ourselves, leaving only the nose uncovered, as
the Indians were in the habit of doing, in order to
protect ourselves against the bites of mosquitoes,
which abound in such number that the atmosphere
is literally thick with them. To such an extent do
these insects fill and obscure the air that, on clap-
ping the hands together, there remained between
them a solid mass of mosquitoes.

With the first dawn of the morning these pests

50 THE TWO AMERICAS

disappeared, and we emerged from our graves, that
had served as improvised dormitories and in which
we had lain naked, covered only with a mixture of
sand and moisture, which hardened on our skins
with the cold of the morning. We would then jump
into the river to free ourselves of this heavy and dis-
gusting covering and put on the scant and tattered
clothes which yet remained to us. We journeyed
during all the hours of daylight, and only stopped
for the purpose of hunting and fishing to supply
our needs. At night we prepared the food which
we had procured during the day.

Such was our life during the months which we
spent on the Putumayo, and which seemed to us an
eternity. We suffered the same fatiguing labors
as our savage companions, not only in the manage-
ment of our little and fragile canoe, but also in
hunting, fishing, and in the expeditions that we
made on foot; and it is our conviction that it was
this fact that gained us the affection and respect
of the savages, who recognize no other superiority
than that of strength.

At last, after great hardships, after crossing the
Cordillera and going either on foot or in a canoe
over the 1,400 miles of the Putumayo, we arrived
at the Amazon River. Our efforts had been crowned
with complete success. We had attained the object
which induced us to undertake this expedition,
which was nothing less than to discover a river

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 51

navigable for steamers which could afford means
of communication between Colombia and the
Amazon.

The point where the Putumayo, or lea, as the
Brazilians call it, united with the Amazon River is
called San Antonio, and is some 1,800 miles distant
from the ocean. We then arrived at a place which
might be called civilized in comparison with the
regions through which we had just passed. A small
steamer arrived there monthly, plying between Para
and Iquitos. We took passage in it for the former
city, where we arrived six months after our depar-
ture from Pasto in Colombia.

I published a short account of our trip, which
caused a great sensation and was reproduced in all
the daily papers of Brazil. It was the first time that
a traveler had crossed the American Continent from
the Pacific coast of Colombia in order to reach
Para. In the latter city, hospitable as are all
Brazilian cities, we were the objects of many mani-
festations of affection and esteem on the part of
the authorities and prominent citizens.

From Para we went to Bio de Janeiro, touching
on our way the cities of San Luis de Maranhao,
Ceara, Bio Grande del Norte, Pernambuco and
Bahia. The voice of the press had preceded us,
giving information of our expedition, and in all
these cities, as well as in Bio de Janeiro, we were
received with enthusiasm. On the day of our ar-

52 THE TWO AMERICAS

rival at Bio de Janeiro we received a note from the
Governor of the palace welcoming us in the name of
the Emperor, Dom Pedro II, and informing us that
the latter would receive us the following day at 4
o'clock in the afternoon in his palace of San Cris-
tobal.

We arrived at the palace at the appointed hour.
The burning sun, rain, hunger and all the fatigue
we had suffered during six months while crossing
the continent had reduced my body to a skeleton and
covered it with a kind of parchment. Thus when I
made my appearance in the reception hall before
the arrival of the Emperor and in which were all
the grandees of the Empire in their gala uniforms
I noticed that I was looked upon as an intruder.
Nobody knew who I was and I remained isolated
from all. A few moments afterward the Master of
Ceremonies called my name, and, conducting me
through the assembly which then saluted me with
deference, he showed me into the sanctum of the
Emperor, by whom I was received, not only cor-
dially, but with great affection.

Dom Pedro II was of majestic and commanding
stature, of frank and honest countenance and fair
like a German. In his great blue eyes could be
discerned the kindness and nobility of his soul; he
was possessed of a highly cultivated intellect and
was a savant in the highest sense of the word. He
spoke several languages fluently and we carried on

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 53

our conversation in French. He had a passion for
geography and for the exploration of the immense
territories of his Empire. For an hour we discussed
the map which I had made of my expedition and in
which he showed great interest. He accompanied
me to the reception hall where he presented and
recommended me to all those who were present.

I remained two months in Bio de Janeiro during
which I was the recipient of all kinds of polite
manifestations from that society whose hospitable
character is proverbial. The Government of Brazil
generously offered to supply us with ships and
money to enable us to continue our explorations
which, however, I did not accept, as I had neither
asked nor accepted them from my own country, all
our explorations having been made with funds be-
longing to my brothers and myself.

From Bio de Janeiro we returned to Para, where
we bought the steamer Tundama, named after our
native province in Colombia, and which we manned
and provisioned for the purpose of making the
voyage of the Putumayo to La Sofia. In our steamer
we ascended the Amazon Biver without difficulty to
San Antonio. There we entered the waters of the
Putumayo. I can say that it was one of the hap-
piest days of my life when I saw for the first time
the Colombian flag float from the stern of our vessel.
This vessel was to extend the conquest of civiliza-
tion and progress for our country and improve the

54 THE TWO AMERICAS

horrible condition of thousands of savages who at
the mere contact with civilized man felt as if struck
by the electric spark of that same civilization, for
they not only treated us hospitably but very gen-
erously.

We spent two months navigating the 1,200 miles
of this river to La Sofia and there we had to procure
fuel for the steamer.

While passing through the territory of the savage
tribes that months before had seen us destitute of
all resources and had assisted us to continue the
expedition, we were able to reward them generously,
permitting them to admire the objects and curiosi-
ties of civilization until then unknown to them. To
our friend Chua, the chief of the powerful tribe of
the Miranas, we made a present of arms, which,
needless to say, he never used against us ; and imple-
ments of agriculture, seeds, and clothes for his
numerous wives. We finished our voyage at La
Sofia, where the swift current of the river prevents
a further advance of steamers. From that port, a
hundred miles distant, the immense Cordillera of the
Andes rises majestically, appearing on the horizon
like a gigantic world of bronze crowned with snow,
about which, toward the South in Ecuador, the vol-
canoes of Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, and
others throw forth fire and smoke. Beyond those
elevated summits was our home calling us back with
all those allurements of affection which are irre-

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 55

sistible to the soul. In order to reach the much-de-
sired goal we had again to cross on foot the dense
woods and icy plains through which we had plowed
our first way. Later we united the Putumayo Eiver
with the City of Pasto by a bridle road, over which
an important trade is carried on to-day.

What I have said of the Putumayo Eiver is also
applicable to all the other rivers and forests ex-
plored by myself and brothers. The Indians are
now partly civilized and the conditions of life have
improved. An export business of some tens of
millions of dollars annually is now maintained in
rubber, cocoa, medicinal plants, etc., and this trade
fills with its products the holds of hundreds of river
steamers.

Explorations of the same laborious character as
that which I have just described I subsequently
undertook during the course of several years with
my brothers Henry and Nestor, on the Rivers Ca-
quoit, Napo, Ucayali, Yabari, Yurua, and others.
My brother Henry died of malignant fever while
exploring the Yabari River and the Peruvians
erected a sumptuous mausoleum to his memory in
the cemetery at Iquitos. Nestor, my younger
brother, was lost while exploring the forests of
Putumayo, where he was devoured by cannibals.
We were able to recover only his bones. These I
placed with the remains of my brother Henry and

56 THE TWO AMERICAS

carried them to Bogota, the capital of Colombia,
where they now lie at rest in the cathedral.

Thus I explored, in company with my brothers
Henry and Nestor, the Amazon River and the
greater part of its affluents. Thus we discovered
some unknown rivers. We established steam navi-
gation in others and we brought into communica-
tion, by means of an overland route, the river navi-
gation with the towns on the Andes (from the river
Putumayo to Pasto). In many of the rivers which
at that time were unexplored, to-day there are hun-
dreds of steamers carrying industry and civilization
to the virgin forests where cannibals formerly wan-
dered. The exportation which is to-day made pos-
sible by these rivers, of rubber alone, which grows
wild in the forest, is worth several million dollars
yearly. In the forests there grows, in abundance,
wild cocoa, which is exported in considerable quan-
tity, besides all kinds of fine woods and medicinal
plants. Game of all kinds is found and in the
waters Prof. Agassiz classified more than 500 spe-
cies of fish. The area of the territory that these
rivers irrigate is more than 4,000,000 square miles,
which are still virgin soil, though rich fields for
agriculture and human industry.

I wish to call attention to a most important fact
and that is that the proposed Inter-Continental Bail-
way line, which will cross South America, could
easily, by means of some branches, be connected with

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 57

the immense system of river communications formed
by the Amazon and its tributaries that run through
a territory of virgin soil, and in which all kinds of
mineral and agricultural resources are abundant.
These rivers run through the territory of all the
South American countries in such manner that they
can, or do, communicate with each other by means
of river navigation or short connecting railway
tracks.

As an example of the great facilities which these
communications would afford, let us suppose the
Inter-Continental Eailway completed and that a
traveler were to start from New York. He would
traverse the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Sal-
vador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. At Buenos
Aires he could embark on the Eio de la Plata or
Parana, ascending the same after traversing Para-
guay, in order to seek the communication with the
Tocatins Eiver, across the Sierra Esclavona. He
would embark on the Tocatins, descend by it to the
Amazon, then he would go to the Madera or Purus,
and thence to Bolivia. He would then continue to
the Yabari, Yurua, Huallaga or Morona, and by
them he would proceed to Peru. By the Tigre,
the Pastasa, or Hape, he would visit Ecuador. By
the Caqueta or Putumayo he would visit Colombia.
By the Eio Negro, which communicates with the
Orinoco, he would visit Venezuela, and traveling by

58 THE TWO AMERICAS

the Meta to Cabuyaro at a distance of 60 miles from
Bogota and returning to the Amazon by the same
route, he would arrive at the City of Iquitos and
there take the steamer to New York.

When my brothers and myself made these ex-
plorations at the time of Stanley's African discov-
eries the Amazon and some of its great affluents
were hardly navigated by even small steamers.
Other branches of the Amazon were navigated only
by canoes, and the rivers Putumayo and Caqueta
were almost unknown. The civilized population
living in those countries was very sparse and even
the principal cities contained hardly over 1,000 in-
habitants— many of them but a few hundred. No
important commerce existed, and yellow fever and
malaria claimed one out of every ten persons bold
enough to penetrate those regions. Places which
were formerly villages and small hamlets are to-day
cities of tens of thousands of inhabitants with all
modern improvements, and by means of sanitation
they will become cities such as Panama, Colon and
Havana are to-day. Among those cities are Iquitos,
with more than 20,000 inhabitants, at a distance of
3,000 miles from the ocean ; and Manaos, which has
the position of St. Louis, Missouri, as being near
the mouths of the Eivers Madera, the Purus and
the Bio Negro, it will soon have from 80,000 to
100,000 inhabitants.

These two cities can be called maritime ports, for

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 59

they are connected with the ports of Europe and
North America by regular lines of steamships. The
City of Para, which at the period first referred to
had a population of only 30,000 inhabitants, to-day
has over 100,000. The steamships which were then
counted by dozens are to-day counted by hundreds.
The railway lines are beginning to unite cities situ-
ated in the Cordilleras of the Andes with the navi-
gable rivers, as is the case with the railway of
Mamaro, just finished, and which unites the River
Madera to the Madre de Dios in Bolivia. The rail-
ways of Peru are advancing to a point where they
are joining with the navigable part of the Rivers
Tambo and TJcayalo. At a near date communica-
tion between the Rivers Tocantins and Parana is
bound to be made by means of a railway across
the Sierra Esclavona, not a matter of great length.
This will finally unite the basins of the Amazon
and the River Plate, and navigation by steamships
to an extent of 15,000 miles, which the Amazon has
helped increase thereby by more than 3,000 miles,
will be opened. When, by means of the Casiquiare
Arm which unites the basin of the Amazon with that
of the Orinoco, these two systems of navigation be-
come joined, it will be increased by 2,000 miles more,
which will give a total of 20,000 miles of river navi-
gation by steamships of trans- Atlantic capacity.

If you compare the development which the ter-
ritories explored by Stanley in Africa have had in

60 THE TWO AMERICAS

the same space of time, comparing also the natural
riches and climate of both continents and consider-
ing that Asia can hardly nourish and shelter its
growing population any more than can Europe, what
I said in my lecture at Madrid last September and
what I repeated in Paris would seem to be true,
namely, that ' ' the hope of humanity in the twentieth
century lies in South America."

Justice impels me to declare that credit for the
greatest and most fruitful conquest of these modern
times is due to the United States of America — that
is to say, the conquest of the tropical regions by
means of sanitation. Where formerly yellow fever,
malaria, and other infectious diseases reigned su-
preme, retarding colonization and impeding prog-
ress, to-day on account of this advance in sanita-
tion, Panama, Cuba and Porto Kico are as healthful
as New York, Buenos Aires or Paris. It is neces-
sary that knowledge of these modern means of
sanitation should be spread all over the world in
order that mankind may be benefited equally. Ex-
plorers have opened up tropical regions, but modern
methods of sanitation are necessary to make them
habitable and so, useful to humanity.

The Panama Canal, the most stupendous work
yet accomplished by the human race, will give so
great an impulse to civilization in the tropical re-
gions and in the countries known in South America
as the "A, B, C" — Argentina, Brazil and Chile —

EARLY EXPLORATIONS 61

that it will not be very long before they will all be,
not only rivals of the United States, but rivals also
of Europe. In the constant progress of the human
race immigration has been from east to west. From
the heart of Asia it passed to Syria, from there to
Egypt, from Egypt to Greece, from Greece to Eome
— that is to say, to Europe — whence it continues its
march toward North and South America.

In 1915 when, in San Francisco, the Panama
Exposition will be officially opened to celebrate the
opening of the Canal, the questions at issue between
my fatherland, Colombia, and the United States, I
feel sure, will have been settled in a manner credi-
table to the honor and dignity of the two countries,
likewise in harmony with the eternal principles of
justice, as is demanded to-day by the enlightened
public opinion of the people of the United States.

CHAPTER V

THE PANAMA CANAL

rilHE construction of such a work as that of the
•*• Panama Canal has been projected ever since
the discovery of America and from the time when
the heroic Balboa traversed the Isthmus and the
surrounding mountains, struggling with the warlike
savages until he advanced, fully armed, into the
waters of the Pacific and took possession of them
in the name of Spain.

In 1534 the Emperor Charles V issued a decree
ordering the local judges and other officials to have
prepared designs and charts of the lands and moun-
tains of the district, and to furnish, with all dili-
gence, an estimate of the cost of the work and the
approximate time it would take to complete, prompt
attention being requested on the ground that the
matter was "of paramount importance." Later in
the same century further efforts were made in Spain
for the construction of the Canal by that country.
On various occasions during the succeeding cen-
turies spasmodic attempts were made in different
quarters to revive the movement, but, owing to polit-

62

THE PANAMA CANAL 63

ical disturbances in Europe and to other causes,
no serious measures for carrying out the scheme
were adopted until after the establishment of the
Spanish-American Republics. Following that im-
portant event many concessions were granted, both
by Colombia and Nicaragua, for the construction of
a canal to join the waters of the Atlantic and the
Pacific, but with the exception of the concession of
1878, granted by Colombia, and that of 1887 by
Nicaragua, no construction work was executed under
any of them.

The first practical step in the direction of the
construction of the Canal took place in 1846, when
the United States entered into a treaty with Colom-
bia (then New Granada), and it is from that date
that I propose to trace the history of the negotia-
tions which led to the construction of the Canal, and
to the grave attack upon the sovereignty of Colom-
bia which has caused the world to stand aghast at
the methods of American diplomacy. The Treaty ]
with Colombia gave to the United States the right
to cross the Isthmus by means of communication
therein established, the United States, in exchange
for this privilege, guaranteeing to Colombia her
sovereignty over the territory of the Isthmus of
Panama; and it was in respect of the violation of
that Treaty by the United States that I was ap-
pointed by my Government, in 1903, as Chief of
the Mission sent to Washington to present an offi-

64 THE TWO AMERICAS

cial protest and to negotiate, if possible, for an
adjustment of the difficulty.

In 1850, Great Britain, realizing the immense
importance of such a connection between the two
oceans, both for herself and for Canada, made a
treaty with the United States known as the Clayton-
\ Bulwer Treaty, whereby the contracting parties
agreed to construct and operate the Canal jointly
and not to open it without mutual consent. In 1881
the Government of Colombia gave to Mr. Napoleon
Bonaparte Wyse a concession for the construction
of the Canal which was to be of an international
character. Mr. Wyse transferred this concession
to a company formed by De Lesseps under the title
of "The Universal Company of the International
Canal of Panama," and in a period of eight years
that company expended $350,000,000 upon the work
of construction.

With the growing necessity, increased by the war
with Spain, for the United States to have closer and
easier communication between its coasts on the
Pacific and those of the Atlantic, which then and
now involves the doubling of Cape Horn and 13,000
miles of navigation, public opinion demanded the
construction of the Canal, and President McKinley
appointed a Commission to report upon the best
route for a canal "under the control, direction and
ownership of the United States." Two years after

I S
j} >

•a

Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, £4. Y.

FIRST VESSEL PASSES THROUGH GATUN LOCKS OF PANAMA CANAL

THE PANAMA CANAL 65

its appointment the Commission presented an exag-
gerated report, favoring the route of Nicaragua,
doubtless for the reason that the French Company,
which held the concession for the construction of a
Panama Canal, made demands of an exorbitant na-
ture in the terms of the payment to be made for
the concession and the work already done. The
French Company was aware that the Commission
only valued the purchasable rights at $40,000,000;
and, being afraid that in the event of their insisting
upon a larger payment the Nicaragua route might
be chosen, the French Company agreed to sell its
rights for the sum fixed by the Commission, where-
upon that body submitted a supplementary report
in favor of the Panama route.

In 1901 the United States Government succeeded
in persuading Great Britain to substitute for the
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty another, known as the Hay-
Pauncefote Treaty, which, under certain conditions,
gave to the United States absolute and exclusive
control over the construction and operation of the
Panama Canal. The United States was thus at
that time in possession of the French Company's
rights and in the enjoyment of the privilege to con-
struct the Canal as and how it wished, subject to
terms being agreed with Colombia for the cession of
the territory of the Isthmus and the granting of the
corresponding rights. For the latter purpose a

66 THE TWO AMERICAS

convention was entered into with Colombia in 1903
and a treaty, known as the Hay-Herran Treaty,
was signed for ratification by the Congresses of both
countries. Under that treaty $10,000,000 was to be
paid to Colombia in consideration of the territory
and rights ceded to the United States, and to this
was to be added a subsequent payment of $250,000
per annum to commence nine years after confirma-
tion of the treaty. For reasons explained in this
chapter, the ratification of the treaty was refused by
the Colombian Senate with the result that the Gov-
ernment of the United States, taking advantage of
the revolution in Panama, accelerated the forma-
tion of the new Republic, with which it made a
treaty in the identical terms of that existing with
Colombia for the cession of the territorial and other
rights involved. The proofs of these latter state-
ments I furnished in the note I addressed to the
United States Government in December, 1903, in
my capacity as head of the Colombian Mission to
Washington.

If the causes of the differences between the two
Governments had been of lesser importance Colom-
bia would have readily made concessions to the
United States in order to maintain the friendly rela-
tions with that country which had for so long been
uninterrupted. Inasmuch, however, as the approval
of the Hay-Herran Treaty not only affected valua-

THE PANAMA CANAL 67

ble and precious interests but equally the sovereign-
ty and independence of Colombia, my Government
immediately directed the attention of the State De-
partment to Paragraph 5 of Article 35 of the Treaty
of 1846, then still in existence. That Paragraph
embodies the following provision :*

If, unfortunately, any of the Articles contained in this
treaty shall in any other manner be violated, it is ex-
pressly stipulated that neither of the contracting parties
shall commit or authorize acts of reprisal, nor declare
war against the other by reason of injuries or damages
sustained, until the party which considers itself offended
shall have previously presented to the other, with satis-
factory proofs, details of the alleged injuries or damages
sustained, in respect to which justice and satisfaction
shall have been demanded and denied in violation of
legal obligations and international law.

The formal exposition of the case as provided by
the Article quoted was duly submitted to the State
Department at Washington, together with a ref-
erence to the Hay-Herran Treaty of 1903, which
distinctly stipulated that:

When this Convention has been signed by the contract-
ing parties it shall be ratified in conformity with the laws
of the respective Governments.

This provision was essential to the celebration of
the contract, as in terms of the Colombian Laws

* This paragraph is a translation of the Spanish original.

68 THE TWO AMERICAS

and Constitution no treaty entered into by the Gov-
ernment can become effective until it has been ap-
proved by Congress. Thus it is clear that in ac-
cordance with the Law of Nations, which renders
void any pact made by an incompetent authority,
and according to the Colombian Constitution, not
to mention the existence of the same constitutional
principle in the United States which calls for a con-
firmation by the Senate of all treaties made by the
Government, the Hay-Herran Treaty could under
no circumstances have become effective without the
requirements here quoted. Yet in spite of this very
clear provision the United States Government re-
sented the rejection of the Treaty by the Colombian
Senate and indirectly produced the Eevolution of
Panama and the unlawful dismemberment of Co-
lombian territory.

Although at the time no reasons were assigned by
the Colombian Senate for declining to confirm the
Treaty it was well known to the American Minister
at Bogota and naturally to the State Department
at Washington that the reason for the action of the
Colombian Senate was that the Constitution of that
country expressly prohibits the cession of sovereign
rights. It was, moreover, felt that the construction
of public works on so extensive a scale and the
permanent occupation of Colombian territory would
occasion frequent collisions by the existence in Pan-

THE PANAMA CANAL 69

ama of two Public Authorities, one national and the
other foreign.

The subsequent action of the United States ren-
dered it impossible for the Colombian Government
and Senate to carry out their repeatedly expressed
desire to modify the terms of the Treaty so that it
might be made acceptable to all parties, the Amer-
ican Minister having informed my Government in
so many words that the United States would de-
cline to accept any modification whatsoever in the
terms of the treaty. This statement was accompli-"]
nied by the threat that unless the treaty was given
the force of law the United States Congress would,
at its following session, ''adopt measures which
every friend of Colombia would regret. "

Shortly afterwards, and before the revolt which
proclaimed the independence of Panama, agents of
the authors of the rebellion were holding confer-
ences, according to the statements of leading Amer-
ican newspapers, with persons clothed with an
official character by the Government of the United
States, while it had been proved beyond doubt that
a New York bank furnished a sum of $300,000 for
the carrying out of the plot. Two days before the
movement was commenced the Secretary of the
Navy Department at Washington ordered American
cruisers to the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the
Isthmus to prevent the entry of Colombian troops
into the territory of Panama.

70 THE TWO AMERICAS

A few days later, when my Government placed
me in command of a military force to reestablish
order in the Isthmus, these cruisers prevented our
landing, and being then unaware of the causes of the
attitude so taken up by the United States I directed
a note to the commanding officer, Admiral Coghlan,
requesting to be informed on the subject. The reply
to that note by Admiral Coghlan simply stated that
"his peremptory orders were to prevent the disem-
barkation of Colombian troops with hostile intent
within the limits of the State of Panama."

The Republic of Colombia, with a population of
five million inhabitants, was at that time divided
into nine departments of which Panama was the
least populous, having only about 250,000 inhab-
itants, while some of the others contained upwards
of a million. At that time the Colombian army con-
sisted of 10,000 men under arms, a force more than
sufficient to have suffocated the rebellion in Panama
if the Government of the United States had not pre-
vented the embarkation at Puerto, Colombia,* of the
roops under my command, and at Buenaventura, in
the Pacific, of others under the command of various
general officers.

To conclude this narrative of the circumstances in
which Colombia was deprived of her sovereignty
and her territory it is only necessary to add that,

* It should be understood that there is no route by land for
troops to proceed from the interior of Colombia to Panama.

THE PANAMA CANAL 71

having prevented the Colombian Government from
using the forces at its disposal for the suppression
of the revolution, the United States Government
with unusual haste, within two days of the declara-
tion of its independence, recognized the Republic
of Panama as a sovereign and independent State
and fourteen days later entered into a treaty with
that Republic guaranteeing its independence and
providing for the construction of the Canal in that
territory.

Even to those unaccustomed to the methods
adopted by the nations of the world in the recogni-
tion of newly formed States the action of the United
States in relation to the Republic of Panama can
leave no doubt in the minds of intelligent persons
that it was a wide departure from conventional cus-
tom. I will not trouble the reader with a recital
of authorities on the subject. It will be sufficient
for my purpose to quote the doctrine propounded by
Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, in 1861 :

"We (the United States Government) freely ad-
mit that a nation may and even must recognize a
new State which has absolutely and unquestionably
effected its independence and permanently estab-
lished its sovereignty, and that a recognition under
such circumstances does not afford just cause for
offense on the part of the Government of the country
from which that State has been separated. On the

72 THE TWO AMERICAS

other hand we insist that a nation which recog-
nizes a revolutionary State with the object of assist-
ing to create its sovereignty and independence gives
legitimate and grave offense to the nation whose
integrity has been thus invaded and makes itself
responsible for just and ample satisfaction. Recog-
nizing the independence of a new State and so favor-
ing its admission to the family of nations is the
highest possible exercise of sovereign power, be-
cause in every case it affects the welfare of two
countries and, frequently, the peace of the world.
In the European system this power is rarely exer-
cised without previous consultation with other na-
tions. That system has not yet been extended to our
continent, where there is even more necessity for
prudence in such cases in dealing with American
States than in treating with European countries. "

/
Nothing can be added, it seems to me, to this

noble and humanitarian doctrine propounded by the
great man who unhappily, for the sake of his own
country and of Colombia, no longer exists. If Co-
lombia had not been in possession of the forces
necessary to compel Panama to maintain national
unity, it might have been reasonable for the United
States, in a friendly manner, to have approached
the de facto Government established at Panama, for
the purpose of arriving at a satisfactory arrange-
ment, but in view of the facts that the rebellion was

THE PANAMA CANAL 73

produced by the seduction of the troops, who, no
matter how brave, had no one to fight, no entrench-
ments to assault, no fortress to reduce, their services
having been limited to conducting to prison the con-
stituted Authorities, the best friends of the United
States would hardly be likely to commend its action
in this very serious matter.

Conserving our national integrity through a
period of future peace, Colombia may have restored
to her the elements of strength which have been
sacrificed in unfortunate internal struggles and may
aspire to occupy, by the physical and moral capacity
of its people, a distinguished position in the Amer-
ican continent. But if the act of the United States
in preventing the National Government from sup-
pressing revolutionary movements within its own
territories is to constitute a precedent, similar out-
breaks may be repeated in the future and the re-
sponsibility for them will rest entirely upon the
United States. Colombia has never recognized the
principle of secession, chiefly because obligations and
contracts entered into with foreign nations and indi-
viduals are based upon the possessions of the State
at the time such treaties or contracts are made. If
the people of Panama, animated by the noble senti-
ments which inspire men of action to secure more
rapid progress, had declared their independence
after victories gained against the governing or mis-
governing authorities ; if they had organized a gov-

74 THE TWO AMERICAS

•v

eminent, dictated laws, and had proved to the world
their fitness for self-government, without doubt they
would have been entitled to recognition as an inde-
pendent State by all other nations. But in the
absence of all these conditions and in the attitude
of the Government of the United States in its nego-
tiations with Colombia it is evident that recogni-
tion would have been denied to Panama if it had
not possessed the best route for the Isthmian
Canal.

Governments follow each other with changes of
policy demanded by the circumstances of the hour,
but the national sentiment of consideration of the
rights of others and the sense of justice of the people
never change. Jealous of the national honor, the
great bulk of American citizens have never sanc-
tioned the official methods adopted in 1903 to secure
possession of the Isthmus, nor will they close their
ears to the universal demand for reparation to that
country for the violation of her sovereign rights
by an American Government. That unprecedented
act has largely alienated the confidence of the south
in the good faith of the north, but I firmly believe
that Mr. Wilson's administration, in the fulfilment
of its undoubtedly sincere profession of those high
principles which create respect for the countries
which enforce them, will remove that blot from the
national escutcheon.

The claims of Colombia in this matter do not

THE PANAMA CANAL 75

merely embody monetary compensation for the ma-
terial losses involved in the dismemberment of her
territory. They include as a paramount considera-
tion a recognition of the moral wrong inflicted upon
her and, by reflection, upon all the other Latin
countries by an attack on her territorial integrity,
solemnly guaranteed at an earlier period by binding
treaty obligations of the United States.

Colombia, of all the countries of America, will
probably derive proportionately the greatest advan-
tages from the operation of the Canal, although the
entire continent will be largely benefited by the
striking changes it will produce in market condi-
tions. It is certain, however, with the advantages
of distance in favor of New York and of all the
ports of the two Americas, with the lakes of the
interior and the immense waterways of South
America navigable for a distance of 18,000 miles,
that surprising results will occur in the progress of
the two divisions of the continent. The agricul-
tural countries will obtain their fertilizing nitrates
from Chile with greater rapidity and at less cost;
the steel industry of the United States will receive
impetus in the greater facilities which the route of
the Panama Canal will give to it, as against England
and Germany, both in South America and in the
Orient ; while there will also be a great development
of the silk industry in the United States by the

76 THE TWO AMERICAS

shortening of the distance to Japan, which produces
the raw material. On the other hand, the old world
possesses equal interest in the Canal, as, apart from
the commercial advantages that will follow in the
direction of international commerce, the changes in
health conditions in that part of the American trop-
ics which its construction has necessitated will help
to dispose of one of the greatest dangers and dif-
ficulties now confronting the congested countries of
Europe.

I remember, during the Centennial Celebrations
of 1876, accompanying the late Emperor of Brazil
on a visit to the Philadelphia Exposition, where I
read on a large map:

"1776. 3,000,000 of English colonists in
13 colonies.

"1876. 40,000,000 of free men dominat-
ing from ocean to ocean. "

Why should there not be written over the portals
of the San Francisco Exposition in 1915 :

100,000,000 of free men who have constructed and
opened the Panama Canal, who have rendered the trop-
ical regions healthy and who have done justice to Colom-
bia in her claims respecting Panama.

THE PANAMA CANAL 77

With that inscription justified by performance
the American flag would float over the two oceans to
the glory of its nationality and to the satisfaction of
Latin-America where the question of the Panama
Canal is of absorbing interest and importance.

CHAPTER VI

FROM NEW YORK TO BRAZIL

T MADE the trip from New York to Brazil in the
-* steamship Voltaire which is owned by the Eng-
lish Company, Lamport & Holt, Ltd., and is one
of the units of the splendid fleet which that Com-
pany employs in a regular passenger service be-
tween North and South America. The Voltaire,
which carries sixty first-class passengers, has a
capacity of about twelve knots and makes the jour-
ney from New York to Bio de Janeiro in eighteen
days. During the voyage I enjoyed the solitude and
the beauty of the sea which recalled to me the
thoughts of being far from restless humanity, such
as those which passed through my mind when I
was penetrating the Amazon forests, the silent
mountain peaks of the Andes, or the limitless des-
erts through which the great Nile flows. I had a
comfortable stateroom on the upper deck which en-
abled me better to observe that as the boat directed
her bow toward the south, where there are the light,
the warmth, and the beautiful vegetation of the
tropics, we were leaving behind us in the north the
cold gray haziness of winter that impresses a seal

78

NEW YORK TO BRAZIL 79

of sadness on the land, the trees and the flowers.
Our course was first between North America and
Europe and later between South America and
Africa, and as we approached the equator the color
of the water changed with the form of the clouds,
which in the tropics seemed to reflect the imposing
magnitude of the Cordillera of the Andes. There
also the brilliancy of the stars is more intense and
diaphanous and their pure light reminded me of the
starry and serene nights of Egypt, Syria and Pales-
tine, which rekindle the memory of so many vener-
able spirits and divine histories. Shining in these
heavens I recognized some beloved constellations
whose trail I so frequently followed during the long
nights passed in the forests where I slept in ham-
mocks suspended from the trees. Every night I
swept the horizon with anxiety, looking for the ap-
proach of the constellation best known to the in-
habitants of the southern hemisphere, the Southern
Cross. It emerged in all its brilliancy and serenity
at the same time as the Polar Star that had accom-
panied us on the trip from the northern hemisphere
disappeared below the dark horizon which we left
behind us. I contemplated the Southern Cross with
the same enthusiasm and affection as I viewed the
first peaks of my country's mountains, forming sil-
houettes to the pure blue sky, after a long absence
from them. On the waters there were floating
stretches of sea-weed resembling green lawns parted

80 THE TWO AMERICAS

from the land, and in some parts of the tropical seas
these are so large and abundant that the original
explorers called them fields.

I promenaded the ship to study the character of
the passengers. During the first three or four days
of an ocean voyage the majority of passengers, and
especially those who suffer from sea-sickness, do
not desire social intercourse. They are silent and
peevish while their glances are at times even ag-
gressive. The ego, "I," perverse and malevolent,
is so much in control that not even the ordinary
courtesies are exchanged ; but little by little the ego,
' ' I, " is gradually changing into a good and generous
person who gives one the time of day and his opin-
ions on the weather until those who, during the first
days of the voyage, were disagreeable, or at least
indifferent, melt into a more natural condition of
desire for friendly relations with their fellow- trav-
elers. A ship like the Voltaire may be likened to a
human museum carrying people of different nation-
alities, of diverse races, languages and classes of
society, passing many days in the journey from one
continent to the other, in a weak vessel between two
abysses, that above and that below. Among the
first-class passengers there were many American
citizens who were proceeding in search of markets
for the products of their colossal factories of steel,
textiles, wooden and iron wares, and the products of
their agriculture. Some of these were accompanied

NEW YORK TO BRAZIL 81

by their wives and presented many phases of North
American character. There were some who made
themselves obnoxious by their vulgarity and offen-
sive manners, and there were other American citi-
zens more typical of the great majority of North
Americans, well educated, considerate, and possess-
ing a sympathetic view of the rights and of the
inhabitants of the Latin countries, but the manners
and opinions of these refined people were evidently
so distasteful to the brutal class to which I have
referred, that they were completely ignored by their
inferior compatriots.

Amongst the third-class passengers there were
many Russian emigrants, mujiks of various ages,
who had abandoned the cold fields of their country,
where the prolonged reign of feudalism had con-
verted them into serfs, to seek in America a new
life and a new fatherland. In their number there
were also some fanatical nihilists proceeding to the
Argentine Republic where they would doubtless en-
deavor to sow the seeds of anarchy, such as were
carried into practice a short time ago by an eight-
een-year-old-boy of this class who assassinated Col-
onel Falcon, the Chief of Police of Buenos Aires, al-
though as a result of that tragedy the most stringent
measures are adopted, not only in Buenos Aires but
in all the South American ports, to deport known
anarchists. Many, however, of the Russians on
board the Voltaire were simple peasants desiring

82 THE TWO AMERICAS

only to find a country where their labors in tilling
the soil would give them a new home, life and lib-
erty. Others in the third-class cabins included a
number of Greek, Italian and Spanish emigrants
with their families, and on several occasions I went
below to talk with them and to study their char-
acteristics. In those from the north, I noticed the
reserve and egoism which the colder climates and
the lack of the necessities of life imposed on their
inhabitants; while in those from the south there
was obvious evidence of the qualities of expansion,
ingenuity and affection.

We approached the equinoctial line where the
Southern Cross and the other constellations shone
with the greatest intensity and we saw that we were
navigating toward the mouth of the Amazon, the
Sea River, the American Mediterranean, which has
an outlet of 240 miles from Tijoca Point to the
North Cape. Its current is so strong that during
the rainy season it throws back the waters of the
sea and its own water may be drunk in its pure
state at a distance of more than 120 miles from
land. Near the mouth of the river is the island of
Marajo, or Joanes, which is 240 miles in length and
60 miles wide. At one time there was such an abund-
ance of cattle on this island that the animals were
killed only for the exportation of the hides, while the
flesh was abandoned to the elements and ultimately
caused an epidemic which wiped out the whole of

NEW YORK TO BRAZIL 83

the remaining stock. The extension of the Amazon
to its sources is nearly 4,500 miles and it can be navi-
gated by ocean steamers for nearly 3,000 miles up to
Iquitos; whilst including also its tributaries, the
Orinoco and the River Plate with its affluents, ves-
sels of shallow draught like those that navigate the
Khine and the Hudson can travel an aggregate dis-
tance of more than 13,000 miles. It is therefore no
exaggeration to describe the Amazon as the Ocean
Eiver. On the night that we were about to enter
its deep waters I was brought back to the days of
my youth when, with my two brothers, I explored
the greater part of its tributaries. With retrospec-
tive glances and with the eyes of the soul I recalled
those pleasurable days when we lived in an intimate
union with nature and with our friends, the poor
savages who inhabited those regions; and all the
sorrows and joys of our many experiences in those
parts were reenacted in my mind through the spon-
taneous and magic impulse of an ideal. To-day the
voyage from New York to the mouth of the Amazon
can be made in 12 to 14 days.

CHAPTER VH

IN BRAZIL

rpHE immense and rich Brazilian territory which
•^ occupies the most eastern part of South Amer-
ica is situated in Lat. 5° 10' North to 33° 46' 10"
South, and between 8° 21' 24" Eastern Longitude to
32° Western Longitude of the Meridian of Bio de
Janeiro. The extension of its coasts from the
Orange Cape to the Barra Chuy is approximately
7,900 kilometres. From north to south it is nearly
4,300 kilometres, counting from the beginning of the
Cotinco River in the Roruima Mountains to the
mouth of the Chuy, and it is, more or less, 4,360
kilometres from the Stony Point in Pernambuco to
the starting of the Jaquirana River which forms the
Yavari. Its area is calculated to be 8,650,959 square
kilometres.

The boundaries of Brazil are : On the north, the
Guianas (French, Dutch and British) and the Re-
publics of Venezuela and Colombia; on the north-
east, east and southeast, the Atlantic Ocean; on
the south, the Republic of Uruguay; on the south-
west, the Argentine Republic; on the west the Re-

84

MARSHAL HERMES DA FONSECA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL

IN BRAZIL 85

publics of Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru, and on the
northeast, the Republic of Colombia.

The States with their capitals and areas are as
follows : SQUARE

STATES CAPITAL, KILOMETRES

Alagoas Maceio 28,680

Amazonas Manaos 1,850,000

Bahia Salvador 575,876

Ceara Fortaleza 157,720

Federal District Eio de Janeiro . . . 1,116

Espiritu Santo Victoria 42,439

Goyaz Goyaz 644,194

Maranhao San Luis 303,045

Matto Grosso Cuyaba 1,668,995

Minaes Garaes Bello Horizante . . 632,747

Para Belem 1,280,000

Parahyba Parahyba 56,981

Parana Curytyba 184,910

Pernambuco Recife 93,942

Piauhy Therezina 207,578

<Rio Grande del Norte. Natal 45,913

Rio Grande del Sur. . . Porto Alegre 287,828

Rio de Janeiro Nicteroy 45,685

Santa Catharina Florianopolis 99,018

Sao Paulo Sao Paulo 260,042

Sergipe Aracaju 23,250

Territory of Acre, Alto Acre, Alto Purus

and Alto Yurua 191,000

Total 8,650,959

86 THE TWO AMERICAS

The population is estimated at about 24,000,000
inhabitants, the country being divided into twenty
States, a Federal District, and the Territory of
Acre.

The discovery of Brazil may be said to have been
effected by chance. In March, 1500, a squadron
commanded by Pedro Alvarez Cabral, Governor of
Barra, and Senhor de Belmonte, left Lisbon on a
searching expedition with the object of founding
a Portuguese colony in the Indies. The sealed
orders which were to be opened in a defined lati-
tude, advised them to keep near to the coasts of
Africa in order to avoid the calms of the Gulf of
Guinea, and complying with these instructions they
were involuntarily carried by the equatorial cur-
rent, at that time unknown, directly to the new con-
tinent. On April 21st they sighted land, the Ser-
rania de los Aymores, which they called the Pas-
choal Mountain. On the following day the look-
out, Alfonso Lopez, discovered a port which they
named Security Port, close to a river (the Bel-
monte), 16° South Latitude. On April 24th the en-
tire squadron entered the port and on May 1st the
chaplain, Father Enrique de Coimbra, celebrated
the first mass in Brazil, where, with due solemnity,
Cabral took possession of the land in the name of
the King of Portugal. To this region he gave the
name of Vera Cruz, which was subsequently
changed to Santa Cruz, probably on account of the

IN BRAZIL 87

constellation of the Southern Cross. Later, the
name of " Brazil" was adopted on the suggestion
of the merchants who had begun to export large
quantities of the red wood, then known as Ibiri-
pitanga, which was the principal product of the
territory.

In 1499 a Spaniard, Vincente Yanes Pinson, a
companion of Columbus, discovered the Cape of Our
Lady of Consolation, to-day called Saint Augustin.
Meanwhile the squadron under the command of
Cabral continued its voyage toward the Indies, after
having sent to Portugal Commander Gaspar Lemus
to communicate to the King the news of the fortu-
nate discovery. At the height of the Cape of Good
Hope Cabral ran into a terrible storm which cost
him many of his boats, and among those who were
lost was an old sailor named Bartolome Diaz, dis-
coverer of the Cape which was then baptised as the
"Cape of the Storm." Cabral did not pursue his
efforts to establish a colony in the Indies but instead
he loaded up his boats with the riches of the country
and on his return, in 1501, he encountered in the
Altantic the first fleet the King of Portugal, Dom
Manuel, had sent to Vera Cruz. A Portuguese
sailor, Diego Alvarez Correa, who was thought to
have belonged to the expedition of Alvarez Cabral,
remained in what is to-day called Bahia, where he
was found on the beach by the Tupinambas, canni-
bal Indians, who wished to destroy him, but the

88 THE TWO AMERICAS

Portuguese fired his gun in the air and the fire and
noise produced so much fear among the Indians that
they thought him a demi-god and gave him the
name of Caramuroo, or Son of Fire. He then be-
came friendly with the tribe and marrying a woman
from the family of the Chief, lived for many years
amongst them and assisted Tomas de Souza in
founding the city of San Salvador, now known as
Bahia. At about the same time, in the district in
which is now situated the city of Sao Paulo, Juan
Bamalho gained the confidence of the Chief of the
Goyanases Indians and having married his daughter
lived in Piratinanga, where, by his influence, he con-
tributed largely to the conquest of that region. The
Chief of those Indians was called Tiberica, a name
which still exists and is carried with pride by a
family from whom have sprung some of the most
distinguished men of Sao Paulo, a fact which af-
fords further evidence of the assertion that the
mixture of Iberians with a high type of aboriginal
race, as occurred in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia,
etc., produces a stout and intelligent race, whilst the
Saxons who go to those countries extinguish the
higher qualities of the indigenous element.

To the same extent as the Portuguese explored
the coasts of Brazil, the Spanish explorers, headed
by Juan Diaz de Solis, explored the River Plate,
then called by the natives, Paraguay. In the year
following the discovery of America by Columbus

IN BRAZIL 89

Pope Alexander VI issued his famous edict giving
1 to the Crown of Castile and of Leon all the islands
and lands discovered in those waters on the west
and to the south of a meridian line crossing the
Arctic and Antarctic Poles, 100 leagues to the west
of Cape Verde and the Azores. In this Papal Bull
Portugal was not mentioned though it was assumed
that her rights would be reserved over the terri-
tory her sons had discovered, or would discover, to
the east of the line of limitation. The Portuguese
were not satisfied and in the following year, by a
treaty with Spain, this line was moved 370 leagues
westward, the treaty further providing that in any
further discoveries those to the east would belong to
Portugal, and the western part of the continent,
discovered by Columbus on the third voyage in
1498, to Spain. Due to this treaty Brazil became a
possession of Portugal, although during the eclipse
of that country after the death of Dom Sebas-
tian it fell under the dominion of the Crown of
Spain.

When the news of the great discoveries arrived at
Lisbon the King, Dom Manuel, sent two expeditions
to explore the shores of the new land. The first
sailed in 1501, under the orders of Gonzalo Coelho,
and the other in 1503, under the command of Cris-
tovan Jacques, both having as pilots the celebrated
navigator, Amerigo Vespucci. For many years
these lands were neglected and abandoned until Dom

90

Joao III, son and successor of Dom Manuel, in 1526
sent Cristovan Jacques with a squadron of six ships
for the purpose of protecting the recently acquired
territory. Jacques established the trading-post of
Itamaraca which later fell into the hands of the
French but was subsequently regained by the Por-
tuguese.

In 1530 Martin Alfonso da Sousa sailed from
Lisbon with a squadron of five ships with a view
to the colonization of Brazil and to prevent France
or any other nation from taking possession of the
lands. Da Sousa captured three French boats off
the coast of San Agostinho, and, proceeding south-
ward, covered the whole of the coast to the River
Plate. On his return he founded the village of San
Vicente and in the interior that of Piratininga,
which was the beginning of the city of Sao Paulo.

Of the twelve Captainries into which Dom Joao
III divided Brazil, in 1534, historical records fur-
nish only the following ten: San Vicente', Han
Amaro, Parahyba del Sur, Espiritu Santo, Porto
Seguro, Liheos, Bahia de Todos los Santos, Per-
nambuco, Ceara and Maranhao. The greater num-
ber, however, of the expeditions sent to colonize
these sections did not produce satisfactory results
owing to the violent hostility, continued over a num-
ber of years, of the savages. The parts that pros-
pered most during this period were those of San
Vicente and Pernambuco. With a view to con-

IN BRAZIL 91

solidate the strength of the colonizing forces, to
dominate the savages and to destroy the ambitions
of other European nations, Dom Joao III, in 1549,
created a Governor-General of Brazil and named
Tomas da Sousa as the first incumbent of the posi-
tion. On February 2, 1549, da Sousa sailed from
Lisbon with six ships which carried a number of
families, about 600 soldiers and the first six Jesuits
to go to South America. Assisted by the Tupinam-
ba Indians, da Sousa founded the city of San Salva-
dor which rapidly extended. He then visited the
southern sections, inspected the fortifications and
regulated the administration of justice, while the
Jesuits, under the wise guidance of Father Manuel
de Nobrega, established excellent schools to educate
and convert the Indians and to instruct the Por-
tuguese colonists in the practice of Christian
virtues.

Tomas da Sousa was succeeded as Governor-Gen-
eral in 1553 by Duarte da Costa, who had in his
retinue a party of six Jesuits, amongst whom was
Jose de Anchieta, who later on became known as the
Angelic Apostle and the Taumaturgo of Brazil;
and in 1554 this priest founded the College of Sao
Paulo in the valley of Piratininga and the influence
of that institution was soon afterwards felt through-
out the entire section in which it was situated.

Seeing that the progress of the colony was mak-
ing great strides the Government at Lisbon resolved,

92 THE TWO AMERICAS

in 1572, to divide Brazil into two distinct general
governments, with a seat in the city of San Salvador
in the north, and in the city of Bio de Janeiro in
the south.

In 1580 Brazil, with all the other Portuguese
Colonies, fell under the domination of Spain. Brazil
had already made considerable advance. The city
of San Salvador had nearly 10,000 inhabitants and
Pernambuco presented a flourishing appearance. In
the San Vicente section the capital made very little
headway, but, per contra the city of Sao Paulo and
Santos, its principal port, were forging rapidly
ahead. Eio de Janeiro, owing to its advantageous
situation and splendid bay, even at that time gave
promise of a brilliant future, while the savage tribes
established along the coast from Pernambuco to
San Vicente had been conquered or suppressed or
had gone into the interior of the forests.

During the reign of Philip II Spain entered into
a war with Holland, and Brazil was invaded by the
Dutch, who, during a period of about ten years,
occupied Bahia, Recife and Olinda, the section of
Pernambuco, Eio Grande del Norte and Parahyba.
In 1640 Portugal released herself from the Spanish
yoke and placed a member of the House of Braganza
on the throne in the person of Dom Joao IV. Brazil
was at that time governed by Dom Jorge de Mas-
carnhas, Marquis of Montalvo, its first Viceroy.
The fight against Dutch domination in Brazil con-

IN BRAZIL 93

tinued until 1654, when the Dutch were forced to
capitulate. Seven years later, on the 16th of
August, 1661, Holland signed the peace pact with
Portugal. In 1680 the Portuguese Government de-
cided to extend the meridianal boundaries of Brazil
up to the 70°, to the shores of the River Plate, and
founded at that point the colony of Sacramento.
In 1763 the capital of Brazil was shifted from San
Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, and by the treaty of
San Idelfonso, signed between Spain and Portugal
in 1777, Brazil ceded to the former the- colony of
Sacramento.

During the government of the Count of Arcos,
who was the seventh and last of the Viceroys of
Brazil, owing to the French invasion of Portugal,
the Royal Family of Braganza left Lisbon in 1807
for Rio de Janeiro. A part of the squadron, carry-
ing the Prince Regent, who for fifteen years had
ruled in place of Queen Dona Maria I, who became
mentally deranged, arrived at Bahia and after the
issue of a decree opening the ports of Brazil to all
friendly nations the Prince Regent sailed for Rio de
Janeiro where he established the seat of the Portu-
guese Monarchy.

In 1815 Brazil was elevated to the rank of a
kingdom, united with that of Portugal and the
Algarves, and on the death of the demented queen,
which occurred during the following year, the
Prince Regent ascended the throne with the name of

94 THE TWO AMERICAS

Dom Joao VI. In 1817 the Portuguese troops,
under the command of General Lecor, took posses-
sion of the entire territory of the oriental country
(Uruguay) which in 1821 was formally annexed to
Brazil as the Province of Cisplatine. Four years
later Dom Joao VI proclaimed his son, Dom Pedro,
as Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil and returned
to Portugal. Shortly afterwards the Court of Lis-
bon desired to reduce Brazil to its original colonial
condition, and, separating all the Provincial Gov-
ernments from Eio de Janeiro, caused them to be
placed under the direct control of Portugal. At
the same time the principal courts and public insti-
tutions of Rio de Janeiro were abolished and the
Prince Regent was ordered to return to Portugal
immediately. As a result, however, of representa-
tions from the Governments of the Provinces of Sao
Paulo and Minas Geraes and of a petition from the
people of Rio de Janeiro, Dom Pedro issued a mani-
festo in which he declared that : " So long as meas-
ures are adopted having for their object the welfare
of all and the happiness of the Nation tell the people
that I will not absent myself. ' ' Following this dec-
laration the Portuguese garrison at Rio de Janeiro,
consisting of about 2,000 men, seized the Fort of
Castello but owing to the attacks of a strong force of
Brazilian troops the Portuguese forces were obliged
to surrender the fort and retreating to Nicheroy
they embarked for Europe. Meanwhile Dom Pedro

IN BRAZIL 95

had formed a Cabinet of lawyers from the Prov-
inces, and on his return from a visit to the Province
of Minas Geraes he accepted for himself and for
his successors the title of "Perpetual Defender of
Brazil" and convoked a Constitutional Assembly.
With the subsequent knowledge that the Court at
Lisbon was about to despatch a strong military force
to Brazil he issued a manifesto exhorting the Bra-
zilians to unite with a view to securing their com-
plete independence. During the same month he
left for Sao Paulo, where there were grave political
disturbances, and having been advised of the in-
tention of the Lisbon Court to take strong measures
against him he raised the patriotic cry of "Inde-
pendence or Death," which was reechoed through-
out the country and led to Brazil becoming an inde-
pendent nation. On his return to Bio de Janeiro
Dom Pedro was proclaimed Constitutional Emperor
of Brazil and two months later his coronation took
place. Ultimately, in 1825, after three years of
continuous fighting for the expulsion of the Portu-
guese troops from the Provinces, Portugal solemnly
acknowledged the independence of Brazil.

In April of the same year a revolution took place
in the Province of Cisplatine which the Argentine
Government had attempted to incorporate in its
territory, and this attitude of the Argentine Govern-
ment resulted in a declaration of war. The war
continued for three years and after several naval

96 THE TWO AMERICAS

engagements, on August 27, 1828, a Treaty of Peace
was entered into whereby the eastern part of the
Province was proclaimed as an independent State
which is known to-day as the Oriental Republic of
Uruguay.

On the death of Dom Joao VI, in March, 1826,
Dom Pedro I was acclaimed King of Portugal.
The Emperor of Brazil ceded the crown of that
kingdom to his daughter, then recently born, Dona
Maria da Gloria, and named as his Regent, his
brother, Dom Miguel, who shortly afterwards, with
the support of the nobility and clergy, was declared
King of Portugal, but this caused the outbreak of a
civil war in which, in 1834, Dom Miguel was de-
throned.

Owing to serious revolutions in Rio de Janeiro
during the early part of Dom Pedro's reign as
Emperor of Brazil, that monarch abdicated in April,
1831, in favor of his son, Dom Pedro, who at that
time was only five years of age, and, having placed
his children, who remained in Brazil, under the
guardianship of Jose Bonifacio de Andrade y Silva,
left for Europe in the English frigate Volage on
the 13th of the same month. In the following June
a Regency was established but was subsequently dis-
solved owing to frequent disturbances and the in-
subordination of the troops. Other Regencies fol-
lowed until July, 1840, when the General Assembly

IN BRAZIL 97

proclaimed the majority of Dom Pedro II who was
immediately afterwards crowned as Emperor.

Notable happenings marked the pages of the his-
tory of Brazil during the reign of Dom Pedro II.
Amongst these may be mentioned the War of 1851-2
against Manuel Rosas, the Dictator of Buenos Aires,
who ultimately fled to Europe ; the English Question
of 1862; the campaign against Uruguay caused by
the repeated attacks on the Brazilian residents in
that country; and the war which Brazil carried on
against the tyrant Lopez, President of the Republic
of Paraguay. This campaign which continued over
a period of about five years constitutes one of the
most glorious pages of Brazilian history, affording
as it does abundant testimony to the bravery of her
soldiers and to the heroism and patriotism of her
sons. During more than forty years Dom Pedro's
reign was distinguished by the contentment and
prosperity of the nation until, on November 15,
1889, a part of the garrison of Rio de Janeiro re-
volted under the direction of Marshal Deodoro da
Fonseca and attacked the naval barracks at the
Camp of Santa Ana, where they found the Ministry,
presided over by the Viscount Ouro Preto. The
uprising was successful and the Republic was pro-
claimed with Marshal da Fonseca at the head of the
Provisional Government. Subsequently the Fed-
eral Republic was decreed as the form of govern-
ment and the banishment of the Imperial family

98 THE TWO AMERICAS

was ordered to be carried out within twenty-four
hours.

Before the expiration of that brief interval Dom
Pedro sailed with his family for Lisbon, giving pub-
lic expression to his sincere wishes for the future
happiness and prosperity of Brazil and refusing all
the pecuniary assistance offered him by the Provi-
sional Government. The memory of that illustrious
man, simple, patriotic and learned, is cherished by
me with the utmost veneration, and my heart is filled
with anguish and my eyes with tears when I recall
the spectacle of his departure. He was surrounded
on the deck of the ship by his saddened family, and,
gazing in the direction of the shore, offered a prayer
for the continued welfare of the country to which
he had devoted his life's energies and love. Time,
however, has assuaged the bitterness of feeling en-
gendered by the events of the hour and the virtues
and qualities of Dom Pedro have since been recog-
nised by the Brazilian Government which erected a
beautiful bronze statue at Petropolis in memory of
the departed monarch.

It is a very human and natural proof, though
often bitter and sad, that nations in search of new
courses, guided in many cases by sincerity and faith
and in others as victims of lamentable errors, are
apt to sacrifice those who initiated the very changes
so impatiently awaited — changes which in some
cases lead to prosperity and progress and in others

IN BRAZIL 99

to retrogression or stagnation in prevailing condi-
tions. Yet, in the instance of Brazil it must be
admitted that the new seed has fructified and that
the country has made greater advance since the
establishment of the Federal Republic than during
the whole period of its previous history.

During the first three or four years of the repub-
lican regime Brazil suffered from constant agita-
tion and repeated attempts at subversive move-
ments; but on the advent, in November, 1894, of
Dr. Barros as President, tranquility and order were
restored throughout the country and have since
been maintained to the great advantage of the
people. President Barros solved many diplomatic
conflicts under the guidance of that illustrious dip-
lomat, Baron Eio Branco, not least important of
which were the questions of the Island of Trinidad
and those of Amapa and Missoes which guaranteed
to the Brazilians the possession of an immense new
and rich territory. In November, 1898, Dr. Barros
was succeeded by Dr. Manuel Ferraz de Campos
Sales whose brilliant administration led to a definite
reestablishment of financial conditions, and in turn
his administration was followed by that of Dr. Rod-
riguez Alves, who directed the policy of one of the
most fruitful governments of the Republican period.
It is not necessary to comment in detail upon the
achievements of Dr. Rodriguez Alves and his cabi-
net. It is sufficient to look at the geographical map

100 THE TWO AMERICAS

of Brazil with its extended boundaries, secured
without even a threat of war. It was during the
term of that government that the Ministry of For-
eign Affairs, then in the hands of Bio Branco, en-
tered into the famous treaty of Petropolis, signed in
November, 1903, with Bolivia, whereby Brazil ac-
quired ownership of the vast territory of Acre, at
the same time establishing a modus vivendi with
Peru, which made claims to that territory and to a
large part of the State of Amazonas. Other acts of
the Alves administration included the conclusion of
treaties referring to boundary limits with Ecuador
and Dutch Guiana; the participation of Brazil in
the International Peace Conference at The Hague;
and the reunion in Rio de Janeiro of the Third
International American Conference and others
which have combined to set a seal upon the diplo-
matic supremacy of Brazil on the American Con-
tinent.

In November, 1906, Dr. Alfonso Augusto Moreira
Pena succeeded to the Presidency and was acclaimed
with enthusiasm by the people, but unfortunately
his death, in June, 1908, interrupted the full reali-
sation of the statesmanlike programme he had laid
down. Dr. Pena was succeeded by Dr. Nilo Pecanha,
and in November, 1910, the Presidency of the Re-
public fell to Marshal Hermes Eodriguez da Fon-
seca, who is now President and whose term of of-
fice will end on November 15th, 1914.

IN BRAZIL 101

Pages might be added to the record of Brazil's
progress during the last decade, not only commer-
cially and industrially but equally in every other
sphere of national activity. Modern Brazil has re-
established its position as a great maritime State,
and recent events have shown that the construction
and acquisition of some of the finest battleships
afloat were not, as at one time suggested, for the
purpose of aggression against any of its neighbors.
Brazil is one of the foremost nations in the move-
ment for universal arbitration of international dis-
putes; the Capital is adorned by the magnificent
white marble structure, transferred from the St.
Louis Exposition, which is now known as the Monroe
Palace, erected for the gathering, in 1906, of the
Pan-American Conference over which Senator Boot,
when Secretary of State of the United States, pre-
sided; and the Legation at Washington was raised
to the rank of an Embassy whose Heads have been
exceptionally distinguished even among the many
eminent diplomats at the Capital.

If those — and there are many — who still regard
contemptuously the term "South America," as ap-
plied in a generic sense to some of the Latin coun-
tries on the southern portion of this continent,
were to pay a visit to Brazil, Argentina, Chile and
some of the other Republics, they would soon be
disillusionised as regards the signification of that
description. Formerly, it was convenient for Euro-

102 THE TWO AMERICAS

pean bankers and others having commercial rela-
tions with some of these countries to use the
expression "South America" to signify political
unrest, financial disorder and other disturbing ele-
ments which depreciate the value of national issues
in the great financial centres. The phenomenal de-
velopment, however, of many of them, their stability
of government and the enormous extension, during
recent years, of their foreign trade, have combined
largely to remove such unfavorable impressions
with the result that to-day their national credit is
higher than that of some of the better-known States
of Europe, whilst their high standard of culture
and achievements in the fields of art, literature and
science have advanced them to the front rank of the
nations of the world.

Brazil is the largest of the countries of Latin
America, its area being sixteen times that of France
and practically equal to that of the United States,
excluding Alaska, and, although much of its exten-
sive territory is still uncultivated and its immense
natural resources for the most part undeveloped, its
great national industries, the growth of its foreign
trade, its large and beautiful cities, its admirable
systems of education and government, together with
its general progress in everything pertaining to
modern civilisation, give to Brazil the justifiable
claim to be regarded as a truly great nation.

A noted British international jurist wittily ob-

103

served a few years ago that "South America was
discovered at the Peace Conference at The Hague,"
by which expression he desired to convey the deep
impression made upon him by the ability and pro-
found knowledge of international law of the South
American Delegates to that Conference. He had
evidently not taken into account such great author-
ities on the Law of Nations as Bio Branco, Nabuco
and Buy Barbosa of Brazil, or Dr. Drago of the
Argentine Bepublic. He was probably also unaware
that Brazil is the only country on the American con-
tinent which has a permanent diplomatic service as
one of many worthy traditions of its former Empire.
Imperialism, however, in its abstract sense, has en-
tirely disappeared from the country in which indi-
vidual liberty to-day stands out as a striking fea-
ture of national character, and it is because of this
desire for liberty and an ardent respect for the
beauties of nature that many auriferous areas and
many valuable sources of water supply in town and
camp have not been converted to industrial objects.
Yet whilst these principles tend to create a higher
cost of living and to consequent suffering on the
part of the poorer classes through increased taxa-
tion, one cannot help admiring and approving as an
example the patriotic qualities of the people who
make these sacrifices in order to preserve their his-
toric landmarks and to avoid producing govern-
mental disorder and the undermining of the social

104 THE TWO AMERICAS

fabric. The pursuance of ideals is nation-wide
amongst the Brazilians, and if for this reason the
natural wealth of some of the remoter parts of
the country still remains unexploited compensation
is to be found in the wonderful progress of the
larger centres and in the results of the efforts of its
erudite youth who are already figuring prominently
in the universal Republic of letters, in the councils
of diplomats, and in the realms of art and science.
From the earliest times Brazil has been known as
"the land of birds, beautiful plants and flowers."
To-day it may justly be called ' ' the land of progress
and freedom" where peace and culture prevail and
where the laborer may earn more by six hours work
than by twelve in most other countries.

In its geological formation Brazil is one of the
most ancient parts of the South American Conti-
nent, its mountains having been formed prior to the
great volcanoes of the Andes. These mountains,
which are in the centre of the country, fall abruptly
in the direction of the Atlantic coast and are com-
posed of crystalline rocks. Although their elevation
has been diminished owing to the action of rain-
falls, of the sun and of the winds, through the ages,
many of them reach great heights, the highest
amongst them being the Italiaya which is situated
at a distance of about 80 kilometres from Bio de
Janeiro. The vegetation in the eastern portion of
the plateau is abundant and as beautiful as in the

INBRAZIL 105

tropical forests. From these lands a number of
small rivers flow, emptying themselves, in the north,
into the Amazon, and in the south into the Parana;
and it is at the latter point that Brazil adjoins
Paraguay and Bolivia, whose railroads now under
construction will in a short time be linked up with
the railroads which now cross the States of Sao
Paulo, Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande,
where they unite with the lines of the River Plate.

CHAPTER VIII

IN BAHIA AND RIO DE JANEIRO

]V/f"Y first stop on Brazilian territory in the trip
•*•••• from New York was at Bahia, formerly called
San Salvador, which was for many years the na-
tional Capital. I had known Bahia during my early
explorations on this continent when it was a small
colonial city full of imperfections and inconveni-
ences. Since then it has been completely trans-
formed on the lines adopted in the present Capital,
Bio de Janeiro. The hand of modern progress is
visible throughout the city. The old colonial houses
have been removed to make way for elegant modern
residences and buildings, and the many narrow Por-
tuguese streets have become broad and imposing
avenues, shaded by beautiful trees possessing the
exuberant qualities of this fertile tropical centre. It
was, however, a source of pain to me on my recent
visit to find that the many stately trees which for-
merly adorned other parts of the city of Bahia
had entirely disappeared. It is unfortunately a
characteristic of the Iberian race, both in the Penin-
sula and in America, that they are enemies of tree
culture and as a natural consequence have in many

106

I N B A H I A 107

instances rendered productive lands sterile, and
have destroyed countless beautiful landscapes, as
may be observed in Mexico and in the elevated
regions of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia,
where this destruction has taken place without any
corresponding material results.

Bahia is rapidly developing into a fine modern
city and with the improvements now proceeding
will doubtless shortly acquire a considerable in-
crease in population. Its soil is rich in tropical
products and is especially adapted to the cultivation
of tobacco and cacao, whilst the commodious and
safe harbour is equipped in every way for the com-
mercial expansion now taking place. The journey
by steamer from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro occupies
two days and is made on a route parallel to a con-
tinuous chain of mountains which separate the fer-
tile and extensive plateau of the interior from the
Atlantic coast. This delightful scenery resembles
in many respects the rich Valle del Cauca in Colom-
bia and its littorals on the Pacific which will shortly
be united by railway from Cali to Port Buena Ven-
tura. Bahia is the third city of importance in
Brazil, with a population of more than 250,000 in-
habitants. In the lower part of the city there are
numerous industrial establishments devoted to the
manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, chocolate, textile
fabrics, hats and other articles, the fashionable resi-
dential quarter and the Government Buildings being

108 THE TWO AMERICAS

located in the more elevated portions of the city.
Amongst the more notable structures of Bahia may
be mentioned the Naval Arsenal, the Chamber of
Commerce, the Government Palace, the Museum, the
State Treasury, the School of Medicine and many
churches of great architectural beauty.

Approaching the harbour of Kio de Janeiro the
joy which everyone on board experienced at the ter-
mination of the long and tedious voyage was in-
tensified by the beautiful sight which met our gaze
in the view presented to us of Brazil's much-fa-
vored Capital. Since my last visit it had become a
city of palaces encircled by extensive and broad
avenues, adorned by artistic monuments which
record and perpetuate the names of Brazil's most
illustrious sons, planted with beautiful trees and
paved with asphalt. There are spacious parks, wor-
thy of any great city of the world, with abundant
waters, surrounded by the majestic mountains of
Corcovado, Pan de Azucar, Los Dos Hermanos and
the Tijuca, whose brows are covered with primitive
woodlands conserved in all their original beauty;
and at the foot of these, there is the picturesque
bay with its multitude of islands and islets combin-
ing to form a scene of surpassing splendour. This
panorama, heightened in effect by myriads of ele-
gant and tall royal palms whose foliage appears to
mingle with the clouds ; and, illuminated at night by
masses of electric lights which reflect in the bay as

IN RIO DE JANEIRO 109

the rays of the sun reflect during the day, makes the
city of Eio de Janeiro resemble a veritable fairy-
land.

The city proper embraces an area of 158,316
square kilometres which is practically twice the size
of Paris although its inhabitants number only about
one-fourth of the population of the French Capital.
Eio de Janeiro is without doubt a great city in
every sense of that description. Amongst its many
attractions are the broad and magnificent avenues
such as the Avenida Central which was cut through
the heart of the city by the demolition of nearly 650
buildings. It is about 100 feet wide and with its
statues and beautiful palm trees is one of the most
stately avenues in the world. Another feature of
attraction is the Botanical Gardens whose area ex-
ceeds a million square metres and embraces fifty
thousand different species of vegetation. The great
Palm Avenue alone contains 134 of these palms,
averaging the enormous height of 80 feet, the mother
palm from which all these have sprung being of the
gigantic proportions of 114 feet high, with a maxi-
mum diameter of four feet three inches, and was
originally planted by the Princess Imperial in 1809.
The population of Eio is estimated at upwards of
a million inhabitants and the city is one of the great
commercial emporiums of the globe.

In the primitive forests of Tijuca and in all the
suburbs of Eio there are innumerable cascades and

110 THE TWO AMERICAS

trees of every variety and colour, beautiful plants,
valuable medicinal herbs and multi-coloured flowers
in profusion. There is also an infinitude of birds
with exquisite plumage, and in the words of the
Chilean writer Vega, "these surroundings possess
so many marvels and beauties of nature as to capti-
vate the spectator."

On entering the city my first thoughts again re-
verted to my memorable visit to Rio de Janeiro in
1875, where I arrived after a year of arduous travels
across the continent from the Pacific to the mouth
of the Amazon. I recalled the public favor with
which the results of the expedition undertaken by
my lamented brothers and myself were received,
and rejoiced at our having discovered rubber lands
that have since given many millions of dollars to
the Brazilian Government and to private individuals
who exploit them. The newspapers had already
given full accounts of our explorations and on the
day following my arrival I was warmly received by
the patriotic Brazilian Emperor, Dom Pedro II.
Emaciated and sallow through the rigors and priva-
tions of the expedition in which we had to cut our
way, with the machete, through suffocating primi-
tive forests and through thousands of leagues of
unknown rivers in canoes manned by savages, the
Emperor was surprised at my youth — I was then
22 years of age — and treating me with benevolent
familiarity, displayed deep interest in my notes and

IN RIO DE JANEIRO 111

maps of the regions I had traversed. His Majesty
presented me to his Ministers and to other digni-
taries of the Court, amongst whom were the Mar-
quis of San Vicente, Viscount Eio Branco, Senator
Nabuco, Baron Cotejipe and Admiral Van der Cook.
All of these personages subsequently showed me
great attention. The Marquis of San Vicente in-
vited me, on the same day, to dine at his house in
the Flamenco Square, where I was introduced to
his wife, to his daughters, and to his son, Com-
mander Manuel Pimenta Bueno, who at that time
was the Chief of the National Navigation Company
of Amazon Steamers. Much to my surprise the
Marquis greeted me with the words, ''this is your
house and it affords me great pleasure to welcome
you at our table and I trust you will accept the
room that we have placed at your disposal so that
you may stay with us. " I gladly accepted the invi-
tation and for several months the Marquis treated
me as a son. Every Sunday I accompanied him
to his modest country home, "Agabia," where we
talked of his works on jurisprudence and of his con-
stant and intense desire for the abolition of slavery
in Brazil, and I can affirm with pleasure and pride
that the influence of his altruistic spirit and of his
cultivated and lofty ideals inspired me to a higher
conception of the duties of life than I had pre-
viously formed.
I did not return to visit this great man and friend

112 THE TWO AMERICAS

but for many years prior to the death of my broth-
ers we continued to correspond with him until he
died. On my visit during the present year I made
efforts to find some members of the Marquis' fam-
ily. His son, the Commander, and the Marchioness
were also dead and we could find no trace of his
daughters. At length my friend, the Chilean Min-
ister, Don Francisco de Herboso, obtained for me
the address of one of the grandchildren of the Mar-
quis, Byna Pimenta Bueno, whom I had known as a
child and loved as a baby sister. I went to her
home and on receiving my card she immediately
came forward to greet me and with great emotion,
said: "Are you Don Rafael Eeyes, the great and
beloved friend of my grandfather, of whom he has
so often spoken with enthusiasm and affection, re-
garding you as a member of our family?" I replied
in the affirmative and recalled to her many touch-
ing episodes of her childhood. She then added,
"Your photograph is in our album with those of
our grandparents, our parents and our brothers and
sisters. Unfortunately there are none left but my
sister Cortinho, who has dedicated herself to a re-
ligious life among the nuns of Buen Pastor, and my
Aunt Emilia, who married Dr. Francisco de P.
Olivera, who resides in Guaratingueta. Allow me to
embrace you as a member of the family. ' ' At that
moment tears came to our eyes and there was a com-
munion of soul and of revived affection for the be-

IN RIO DE JANEIRO 113

loved dead. This lady represents a beautiful type
of the moral and intellectual Ibero-American woman.
Well informed, modest, intelligent and pious, she
passes her life in the appreciation and esteem of all
who know her. I conversed with her for a long
time on the subject of her family and of Brazil,
which she loves with intensity, and in taking leave
of her we arranged that two days of my stay in
Eio would be passed together and that we would
visit the Cemetery of San Juan Bautista, in Bota-
fogo, to see the tombs of the Marquis, of his wife,
and of the Commander. We did so and on a beau-
tiful morning amidst the impressive effects of a
brilliant sun, the fragrance of the flowers and the
songs of the birds, which one could only experience
in Eio — the City of Paradise — we made this sad
journey. We deposited flowers on the tombs and
prayed together in that sacred place, like a father
and a daughter.

On the following day, accompanied also by my
son, Pedro Ignacio, we paid a visit to the old home
in the Flamenco Square, which had since passed into
the hands of other owners. We also visited the Cor-
covado, the orange groves and the Botanical Gar-
dens, from whose summit we contemplated the mag-
nificent panorama of Rio, so beautiful, so varied
and so full of all the beauties of nature ; the moun-
tains that are fanciful and bold, the picturesque
email islands, and the modern city with its artistic

114 THE TWO AMERICAS

embellishments. After these two days I did not
see the Senhora Byna until the morning of our
departure when, at 7 a. m., she was awaiting us at
the railway station with a bouquet of saudades tied
together with ribbons of the Brazilian colours, and
as the train was about to start she embraced me and
my son while the tears flowed from my eyes in say-
ing good-bye to one who had brought back to us
such loving memories.

One of the great accomplishments of the Marquis
of San Vicente was his ultimately successful and
almost life-long effort to secure the abolition of
slavery in his country. The question of slavery was
for many years one of Brazil's most difficult prob-
lems, and it was only at the conclusion of the Civil
War of the United States that definite measures
for its abolition were adopted. The Emperor, Dom
Pedro II, always advocated a policy of caution and
prudence in dealing with that grave matter, although
at the same time he spared no effort to free his
country from the crime against humanity which the
principle of slavery involves. Repeated conferences
took place with that object in view, but it was only
in 1866 that the project outlined for the emancipa-
tion of slaves was submitted to Congress. That
measure, which subsequently acquired the force of
law, was drafted by the Marquis of San Vicente (at
that time Senator Bueno) who had frequently de-
clared that he would not die in peace until he saw

IN RIO DE JANEIRO 115

his beloved country cleared of the stigma which
slavery cast upon her reputation. The draft-law
was first sent direct to the Emperor, accompanied
by a memorial signed by Senator Bueno, and one
of my proudest possessions is a copy of that me-
morial. As a document of human interest and his-
toric value I have no doubt it will appeal to all
lovers of freedom, and I regard it as a simple act
of justice that I should place it on record when
dealing publicly with the abolition of slavery in
Brazil. The following is a translation of the
memorial :

"To a Sovereign as illustrious and humane as
Your Majesty and to a Christian people such as
those of Brazil it is unnecessary to dwell upon the
repugnant, odious and barbarous character of the
perpetual slavery of human beings. It would be a
work of supererogation to point out to what extent
human enslavement corrupts the morals of society,
retards the perfection of labor, weakens the vigor
of political liberty and destroys progress in every
branch of life. It is a dreadful picture of a sec-
tion of humanity whose lives, families, honour,
religion and destiny depend solely on the will of
their absolute masters, reducing manhood to ma-
chinery, to the symbol of blind obedience and to the
condition of victims of tyranny.

* * The present century, armed with the irresistible

power of intelligence and of scientific advance, de-
mands a vigorous campaign against such an abuse
of force. From year to year it has torn down and
continues to tear down all the obstacles imposed
in the interests of private individuals against the
voice of morality and humanity. Every branch of
human knowledge has been called before the altar
of reason and justice to declare against this viola-
tion of all the laws known to man. This universal
protest has even penetrated the spiritual region
and has awakened doubts as to the existence of that
human fraternity which emanates from the sublime
precept of charity.

"Even Governments which at other times have
sanctioned the abuse have been among the first in
recent days to advocate its extinction and these offi-
cial efforts have led to a gradual suppression in
various parts of the world of this barbarous slavery.
In proof of this assertion I would cite the follow-
ing instances:

"On the 28th of August, 1833, Great Britain ad-
ministered the first blow to slavery within her do-
minions, and, in 1838, aided by her Colonies, com-
pleted the emancipation.

' ' Sweden followed her example and in 1846 finally
decreed the abolition.

"Shortly afterwards France vigorously renewed
her efforts to remove the blot from her escutcheon
and on March 4, 1848, proclaimed the liberty of

A FULL-GROWN COFFEE PLANT

IN RIO DE JANEIRO 117

slaves even at the cost of the losses and disasters
that followed.

' ' On the 3rd of the following July, Denmark took
part in this universal movement and abolished sla-
very, as did Portugal in 1854, whilst Russia, the
Kings of Tunis, and of Holland all followed this
civilising impulse.

"In North America, where the freeing of the
slaves offered more resistance, waves of blood red-
dened her soil until the act was finally consummated.
Spain prepared measures for the abolition of sla-
very in her remaining Colonies. The others, now
independent States, from Mexico to Cape Horn,
have long since given freedom to the slaves.

' ' Slavery now only exists in Brazil. It is only in
Brazil that prayers are offered at the foot of the
throne eloquently attesting the shame of the peo-
ple at the continued existence of the institution of
slavery. Setting aside all considerations of moral
order, it is beyond doubt that this opprobrious treat-
ment of a section of the population cannot be per-
mitted to continue without serious consequences.
The politicians who offer opposition to the pressure
now being brought to bear from all sides will inevi-
tably share the widespread condemnation of the
institution itself. The question is no longer one of
liberty of action. It has been decreed that this
abuse must die without delay. The only remaining
question is when and how?

118 THE TWO AMERICAS

"In these circumstances Your Majesty's duty and
love of country demand that you take advantage of
the brief period at your disposal to formulate the
methods and the measures to be adopted for the
complete abolition of slavery. If you fail to take
advantage of this moment, which is not a long one,
you will have to submit to the popular call which
cannot be denied. In that case the methods will not
be formulated as we desire, but will be dictated by
the exigencies of the occasion. The procedure will
be summary, precipitate, and probably fatal. Treat-
ment of the matter cannot therefore be deferred
without grave danger. The sacrifices will probably
be great, however well inspired may be the measures
taken. It is sure that the abolition of slavery will
produce a certain degree of disorder and tempora-
rily dislocate our agricultural production, whilst
the wages of the labourer will rise and the values
of land will fall, but if it is not in the power of
anyone to avoid all these unfortunate conditions,
it is at least possible to diminish their evil effects.
If the transformation be well directed the regenera-
tion will soon follow. The laws of compensation
will be set in motion. I submit therefore for the
consideration of Your Majesty the necessity of gath-
ering around you all the men of light and leading
in the country for the purpose of combined and in-
telligent action in this great crisis.

"The question is so grave, so difficult and so

IN RIO DE JANEIRO 119

transcendental as to arouse nation-wide interest and
action; and any failure to give due consideration
to the immediate necessities of the case may pro-
duce consequences as lamentable as those which
ensued in North America. The Brazilian people are
in a state of palpitating and painful anxiety and
look to their Government for prompt action in this
serious matter. It is not desirable that the Govern-
ment should relegate to private individuals the
solemn responsibility and duty which rest upon it.
Such a course can only harm society and aggravate
the magnitude of the evil. It is, Sir, for these grave
reasons that I have ventured to formulate my ideas,
and in the absence of other and more acceptable
proposals I submit the accompanying project-law, as
the primary basis for suitable legislation.

"I refrain from acting in my senatorial capacity
without first appealing to the wisdom and humane
sentiments of Your Majesty which are so well
known, especially as, at such a crisis in national
affairs, it would be unbecoming for me to create new
difficulties for the Government of the country."

(JosE ANTONIO BUENO.)
Bio de Janeiro, January 23, 1866.

In reference to the project which accompanied the
above letter the Visconde de Taunay, in his "Rem-
iniscences, ' ' page 98, makes the following comment :

120 THE TWO AMERICAS

"The Emperor's interest in the question of sla-
very led to his receiving the project with great favor.
He regarded it as a scheme, based on solid consid-
erations, calculated to assure the gradual emancipa-
tion of the slaves, and he considered Senator Bueno,
who was afterwards Viscount and Marquis of San
Vicente, as a statesman possessing great breadth of
view and of great value and weight in the councils of
the Cabinet."

During my stay in Eio I visited the President,
Marshal Hermes da Fonseca, and the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Dr. Lauro Muller, both of whom
cordially approved the object of my visit and gener-
ously offered in every way to further my desire to
proceed by land from Eio de Janeiro to Montevideo,
traversing the 2,500 miles which separate those two
cities and visiting, en route, the States of Eio de
Janeiro, Minas Geraes, Sao Paulo, Pirina, Santa
Catarina and Eio Grande do Sul. The Presidents
of these States to whom I had already communicated
my intentions also expressed their pleasure at my
contemplated visit and on behalf of their respective
governments placed at my disposal special cars with
every comfort provided for the trip. Several
friends, however, advised me to abandon my inten-
tion to make the overland journey, which, they said,
would be inordinately long and surrounded by dis-
comfort and even dangers, whilst it would be pos-

IN RIO DE JANEIRO 121

sible to fully cover the whole territory I proposed
to visit, quite as easily, by taking the luxurious
steamers which trade between the places named. I
was informed that the railway from Parana to the
Uruguayan frontier was not completed, that there
was no bridge over the Uruguay Eiver, which would
have to be crossed by canoe, and that there were
no ordinary comforts to be obtained over a large
part of the trying railway journey. Nevertheless,
I rejected the friendly advice and made my trip by
the overland route.

CHAPTER IX

THE CITY AND STATE OF SAO PAULO

T TRAVELLED through some of these States
•* until I arrived at the city of Sao Paulo, where
I was received at the railway station by a repre-
sentative of the State President and by the Secre-
tary of Agriculture, who, acting on instructions
from the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr.
Lauro Muller, extended to me a cordial welcome and
offered me another special car in which to make
my visit to the interior of the State. I had previ-
ously travelled through the whole of the north of
Brazil, but this was my first visit to Sao Paulo,
whose energetic inhabitants have conserved the best
traditions of their forefathers and who have dem-
onstrated in a marked degree their enterprise and
love of labour.

Sao Paulo, which is one of the most beautiful
cities of the western hemisphere, is situated at about
2,500 feet above sea level and is 308 miles distant
from Rio. With a present population exceeding
400,000, it is so rapidly extending in every direc-
tion as to justify the well-founded belief of its
authorities that in the early future the number of its

122

SAO PAULO 123

inhabitants will increase with enormous rapidity.
The city contains many beautiful avenues, pic-
turesque gardens, public squares and monuments.
The streets are well paved and there are many pa-
latial dwellings served by a system of electric cars
installed by a Canadian company with a capital of
$13,000,000. Among the prominent buildings are the
Government Palace of the State, located in the Gar-
den Square where there are also the Ministries;
the Palace of the Elysian Fields, which is the offi-
cial residence of the President; the handsome Mu-
nicipal Theatre, the Normal School, the Commercial
School "Alvares Penteado," the Polytechnic School,
the Museum of Ypiranga and the Station of the Sao
Paulo Eailway Company, without a rival in South
America. All the streets, squares and gardens are
brilliantly illuminated by gas and electric light.

Education in Sao Paulo is highly advanced, the
authorities regarding the efficient instruction of
youth as an indispensable basis for the firm and
progressive growth of the city and of the country.
Hence it receives preferred attention and gives re-
markable results. The Polytechnic School, where
I was received by its Director, Dr. Paula Souza, a
notable Brazilian educationalist, is one of the most
famous institutions of its kind in South America.
The building, which is largely constructed of marble,
is well equipped and will shortly be added to by the
establishment of a school of medicine. The Normal

124 THE TWO AMERICAS

School, presided over by Professor Oscar Thomp-
son, has more than 2,000 pupils of both sexes and
of ages ranging from four to fourteen years.
Amongst these boys and girls there were many
handsome types of Europeans and Brazilians and a
complete absence of children of negro origin. Dur-
ing my inspection of these and other schools, it fre-
quently occurred to me that had Mr. James Bryce
visited them and observed the characteristics not
only of these pupils but of the greater part of the
inhabitants of the State of Sao Paulo, he would
never have said in his work, ' ' South America, ' ' that
the negro race predominated in Brazil, nor would he
have manifested any doubts as to the future domina-
tion of the national race in that country.

On all sides of the Eepublic of Brazil and notably
in the State of Sao Paulo one sees constant evidence
of the increasing growth of industrial life. In Sao
Paulo I visited the factory of the National Jute
Cloth Company which produces coffee bags and
woollen shawls. This concern gives employment to
more than a thousand persons of all ages and of
both sexes, the average daily wage earned by the
women being one dollar and that of the men one
dollar and fifty cents. In this factory every consid-
eration is shown to the work-people ; and at the time
of my visit the directors were concluding arrange-
ments for establishing a restaurant in the building,
in order to supply the employees with good food at

SAOPAULO 125

cost price, whilst other means were being adopted
with a view to adding to the comfort of the workers.
I also made a flying visit to another factory where
the employees worked under the same favorable con-
ditions, demonstrating from many points of view
that work-people in Brazil enjoy advantages fre-
quently denied to their co-workers in European
countries.

Throughout the whole of Brazil foreign skilled
labour is highly favored. In Sao Paulo the Italians
have amassed fortunes. In Parana the Poles are
flourishing to an extent they could never have
dreamed of. In Santa Catarina the German colon-
ists are a prosperous and contented community. In
Manaos the English have constructed the docks,
whence the rubber is shipped to the markets of the
world, and the North Americans have changed, for
the better, the sanitary conditions of the rubber
regions of the Madera, the great branch of the
Amazon, in which parts there will be shortly con-
structed a railway to carry the elastic product to
the ports. Indeed, in every part of the country
new populous centres are growing up and the signs
of modern industrial enterprise are to be seen at
many points where but a few years back there was
desert waste. In three districts at the extreme
end of Parana there have sprung up great manufac-
turing establishments. One of them, founded by
the Brazilian Railway Company, is constructed of

126 THE TWO AMERICAS

steel and is a model of mechanical enterprise. In
this factory there are wonderful machines, appear-
ing to be endowed almost with thinking powers, em-
ployed to convert the corpulent pine trees into con-
struction planks. The first installation of this es-
tablishment involved a cost of $25,000,000 and sur-
rounding its chimneys is a city of cosmopolitan
character, flourishing apace.

In company with my son, Dr. Bocha Conceicao
and a prominent Portuguese merchant, Senhor
Garcia, we made an automobile tour through differ-
ent parts of the State. For the first six hours we
crossed fertile lands in which were cultivated sugar
and cotton and where there were also a number of
factories. At the end of this first part of our trip
we arrived at the beautiful city of Piraciacaba,
built on the left bank of the torrential river of the
same name and adjoining some beautiful water-
falls which are also utilised to furnish power to
various industries. In that city I was the guest of
Dr. Conceicao, and, in order to convey some idea
of the modern comforts enjoyed and the taste dis-
played by the better class Brazilians, I would give
a short description of the palatial dwelling in which
I was entertained. It is a veritable palace con-
taining large galleries and many rooms beautifully
furnished for the entertainment of guests. It is con-
structed on the brow of a hill from which there is
a clear view of the great cascade and at the foot of

SAOPAULO 127

this the tranquil waters of the river which is navi-
gable by steamers for a considerable distance. At-
tached to the house there is a series of gardens ar-
tistically laid out and emitting the exquisite per-
fumes of the multi-coloured flowers. There are
fountains and royal palms that sway majestically
over an extension of more than twenty hectares;
palms from Cuba, the most beautiful of the tropics,
native acacias and cedars, passion-flower trees,
which at the time of my visit were in full bloom,
silk-cotton, lignum-vitae and other trees covered
with blossoms of different colours. These with or-
chids of great variety formed a picture of joy to the
eye, beautifying the walks, whilst the rays of the
sun added to the picturesqueness of the scene.
There are extensive avenues of royal palms of great
height whose straight and perfect trunks give the
appearance of columns of an oriental mosque ; ave-
nues of hundreds of metres in length formed by deli-
cate bamboos, reminding one of the arches of an
ancient gothic cathedral. The fruit trees indige-
nous to this tropical zone and to these lands of
promise are laden with the weight of their exuber-
ant burdens, bending to the reach of one 's lips which
are tempted, while the walks and the paths bend
and twist with graceful turns among the verdant
lawns around the green and refreshing arches. It
is in such surroundings that one sees in the soil of

128 THE TWO AMERICAS

Brazil its rich treasures, the brains of its sons, and
the warmth of its prodigious nature.

The city of Piraciacaba contains about 20,000 in-
habitants of white Brazilian and European descent
and presents a picturesque appearance owing to its
many solid and commodious one-story buildings
which are shaded by palms and fruit trees. Pro-
ceeding by automobile beyond the limits of the city
for many hours we covered lands of great fertility,
including the famous "red land" where the coffee
plants, at short distances apart, grow to a height of
three metres; and in the same district there were
corn and rice lands as well as pastures for the graz-
ing of cattle and horses. In this direction for an
enormous distance these flat lands with slight undu-
lations are populated by newly-settled Italian and
Spanish colonists who in some cases have already
become the owners. The trip was made on a Sunday
and there I saw these colonists in wagons, on horse-
back, and on foot, on the roads leading to the town,
proceeding either to the market or to Holy Mass. In
all their faces there were the indications of robust
health and other markedly favorable physical condi-
tions. In one property, sown with extensive coffee
plants, there were many small houses erected for the
colonists and these were allotted to each family in
accordance with its number. The conditions under
which the cultivation is effected are alike favorable
to the workers and to the owners of the planta-

SAOPAULO 129

tion, the former being permitted to sow corn, beans,
and other alimentary products for their use and
sale, provided they harvest a given quantity of the
coffee crop and purchase the product at the market
price. The charges so often made against the Bra-
zilian coffee planters of enslaving and exploiting the
foreign colonists are unjust and unfounded, as I
was enabled to see on my visit, for I saw nothing
but contentment and in many instances the colonist
had been able to purchase the land which he had
cultivated in the beginning on a cooperative basis.
The price of land in this part of the State has
risen more than in a corresponding degree to the
rise in the price of coffee, the present value of a
hectare of coffee land of good quality being about
$200, whilst a coffee-plant in full production and
well situated, including the home and machinery
for the colonists is about $1.50, whereas some three
years ago it was one-quarter of the present price.
In many parts of the coffee-producing areas of the
State, the land is insufficient in extent to permit
of its acquisition by the colonists with the result that
many of them are constantly changing their resi-
dence from one estate to another, or in the event of
an economic crisis such as occurred some years ago
when the price of coffee suffered a heavy deprecia-
tion, they emigrate to Argentina or return to their
own country. This problem, which is a serious one
for the State, is now being partially solved by con-

130 THE TWO AMERICAS

siderable activity in the extension of the cultiva-
tion of rice and sugar cane and of the cattle and
textile industries. These conditions arise to a great
extent out of the scheme for the valorisation of
coffee; and, irrespective of its advantages or dis-
advantages as an economic operation, it is yet to be
determined whether artificial means of raising and
lowering the prices of staple products can be made
to supersede the natural laws of supply and demand.

In the State of Sao Paulo there are nearly 60,000
agricultural establishments occupying an area of
about 13,000,000 hectares and employing over
400,000 labourers. In this area there are 700,000,-
000 coffee plants representing a value of upwards of
$350,000,000 and it is estimated that the production
of coffee for the current year will exceed 12,000,000
bags.

At the Station of Limeira we had a special train
the cars of which were better and more luxurious
than the Pullmans of Europe or the United States ;
and the roads extremely well ballasted and con-
structed. We touched first the rich and flourishing
city of Campinas, which is the most prominent in
the interior of the State of Sao Paulo. It has 40,000
inhabitants and possesses a magnificent Gymnasium,
a Secondary School, an Agronomic Institute and a
Lyceum of Arts and Crafts, with a cathedral which
is considered to be one of the handsomest in Brazil.
This city, which a few years ago was a centre of

SAO PAULO 131

yellow fever, is to-day perfectly healthy. In the
train I met Dr. Albuquerque Lins, President of the
State and candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the
Republic. Dr. Lins is an estate owner as well as a
public man of the highest reputation; and through
his introduction I met a number of the owners of
coffee plantations in the region of Biverao Preto,
one of whom told me of a plantation of 200,000 trees
which gave an annual yield of eight pounds per tree,
the average yield in other parts being not more than
four pounds.

On my return to Sao Paulo I paid a visit to the
Faculty of Law which was founded by my dis-
tinguished friend, the Marquis of San Vicente, and
in conversation with the Director of the institution
I suggested that the youth of Brazil representing
the different Schools and Faculties would find it of
advantage to visit the different countries of Span-
ish-America where they would be received with en-
thusiasm by the students of those Republics. I in-
formed him that the young men of Colombia had
initiated these excursions to Venezuela and Ecua-
dor and that similar interchanges of courtesies had
been effected by the students of Argentina, Chile
and Peru. After further explaining to him that
their respective Governments had encouraged these
reciprocal visits which brought into personal con-
tact the future public men of the Latin countries,
the Chief of the Sao Paulo Faculty of Law ex-

132 THE TWO AMERICAS

pressed his thanks for the suggestion and gave me
his promise that he would endeavour to confer upon
his own students similar advantages.

After visiting various industrial establishments
I proceeded to make arrangements for the contin-
uance of my journey, and as I have already said
resolved to abandon the popular and comfortable
route from Santos to Montevideo by travelling over-
land through the various States in order to study
the new commercial and industrial centres in process
of formation and the new lines of railroad Avhich
are to open them up and expand the national com-
merce.

The State of Sao Paulo is crossed by a number
of railroads some of which make connection with
those of Uruguay and Bolivia whilst there are
branches which serve the principal productive areas
and so contribute to their increased population.

The principal industry of Sao Paulo is coffee,
which is largely controlled by the faceindeiros, or
owners of extensive cultivated tracts, wherein the
coffee is planted by colonists, generally of the immi-
grant class, who are contracted for to produce the
annual crop. It is stated that in the other industrial
establishments of this State $43,000,000 are invested
and employment given to 24,186 people, the annual
value of the production amounting to approximately
$40,000,000. These establishments are chiefly de-

SAOPAULO 133

voted to the production of sugar and the manufac-
ture of textile fabrics.

Public instruction is well carried out. Schools
for primary education have been established at
every point, whilst in the higher branches of edu-
cation there are Colleges and Institutes as well as
a free University which embrace all the scientific
and professional studies. In the primary schools
alone there are nearly 150,000 pupils.

I have already referred to the fact that as a re-
sult of the dependence of the entire commerce of
the State upon the movements of the coffee market
different industries are being created and extended,
and these will not only act as an antidote to any
falling off in the coffee industry but will also bring
increased immigration and justify Mr. James
Bryce's prediction that in fifty years Brazil will
have fifty millions of inhabitants. To this forecast
I would add my own prophecy that the State of
Sao Paulo will in twenty years have a population
numbering not less than ten million souls, of whom
at least one-tenth will be inhabitants of the city of
Sao Paulo.

Land values in that city are almost equal to those
prevailing in the prosperous cities of Europe or
the United States. The value of one metre of front-
age land (from 20 to 30 metres in depth) in any of
the three central streets is from $12,000 to $16,000.
In other streets a front metre of the same depth is

134 THE TWO AMERICAS

from $500 to $800; in the aristocratic residential
section it varies from $500 to $1,500; and in the
poorer districts from $150 to $300. A working
man's house costs from $1,200 to $2,000 and usually
rents at from $16 to $30 per month, while the
dwellings of labourers usually cost from $500 to
$1,000 and rent for $10 to $15 per month. The rent
of middle class residences average about $150 per
month. Good cultivable land near to the populous
centres is worth from $1,000 to $2,000 per hectare,
and at great distances from the centres from $100
to $200.

Just as the material progress of the United States
is a source of admiration to many of the smaller
countries of Latin- America whose people delight in
calling themselves the ''Yankees of the South," so
in Sao Paulo the sons of the soil describe themselves
— perhaps with more justice than in many other
cases — as the " Yankees of Brazil." The State of
Sao Paulo is more advanced in many respects than
any other State in the Brazilian Federation. Espe-
cially is this the case in agronomical studies, for
which purpose it has several well-equipped and skill-
fully conducted experimental stations where meteor-
ological phenomena are also registered with profit-
able results. It may be safely stated that there are
many plants in this State producing extremely val-
uable essential oils and extracts that would repay a
hundredfold their cultivation by scientific methods.

SAOPAULO 135

In these as in many other sources of production val-
uable opportunities present themselves to the enter-
prising settler. But it is not alone to the wealth of
its natural resources that the State of Sao Paulo
owes its premier position. It may also claim the
honour of having given birth to a preponderating
majority of the great statesmen, writers and scien-
tists of the Republic of Brazil and their number is le-
gion. Whilst there are many whose works are known
either through their public prominence or, in the
cases of literary productions, through their transla-
tion into different European languages, a long list
might be furnished of great writers whose merits
can only be recognized by those acquainted with the
vernacular and with the history of the country. The
writings of Buy Barbosa, of Rio Branco, of that
polished classical scholar (former Ambassador at
"Washington) Nabuco, of Machado de Assis, of
Graga Aranha and other distinguished authors have
been translated into many languages, but Brazil
justly and proudly may lay claim to the possession
of many great writers, the national popularity of
whose works testify abundantly to the high standard
of culture of the people. There are Madeiros e
Albuquerque, the Didot of the Brazilian Academy,
journalist, poet and writer of fiction ; Affonso Celso,
who has translated, in verse, the masterpiece of
Thomas a Kempis; the great philologist, Joao
Ribeiro; the brilliant historian, Capistrano de

136 THE TWO AMERICAS

Abreu, and many others of recent times, excluding
reference to the long roll of litterateurs of an earlier
period who have added glory to their country. In
music, art and science Brazil is equally advanced,
although in the latter branch of study Santos Du-
mont is perhaps the most widely-known Brazilian
inventor.

In explaining my reasons for making the trip to
Uruguay overland instead of by boat I should have
mentioned an incident of the trip from New York
to Eio de Janeiro which influenced me in that course.
Amongst the passengers on board the Voltaire
there was a young Chilean, Seiior Juan E. Franz,
who had taken passage to Montevideo, but, on leav-
ing the boat at Kio, decided to proceed by land to
his destination, a distance of 3,300 kilometres, and
invited me to accompany him on that arduous jour-
ney. Arriving at Sao Paulo we met another of the
Voltaire's passengers, a Canadian gentleman named
Eoy McHarding, who had that day arrived from Eio.
I extended to him an invitation to join us, and,
having informed him of the hour of departure of
the train we were leaving by on the same day, with
Anglo-Saxon punctuality he was awaiting us at the
station, equipped only with a small travelling bag,
to undertake the expedition of several days travel-
ling across the pampas and the wild forests to the
frontier of Uruguay. As the railway was not com-
pleted and we were obliged at different points to

SAOPAULO 137

cross rivers in canoes and to submit to other dis-
comforts, the trip, which we were the first to make
in that way, was somewhat trying and fatiguing. I
record this incident because it reminded me of a
similar experience during my second expedition
from the Amazon to Colombia, via the Putumayo,
when I met a young Englishman, Mr. Alfred Simp-
son, then only twenty-two years old, who had al-
ready made the journey from Ecuador to Iquitos,
by the Napo River. I invited him to accompany me
up the Putumayo, or lea, and on his acceptance I
gave him charge of a steam launch and a commis-
sion to provide the fuel for the steamer Tundama,
which I commanded and in which, during five
months, we navigated the surrounding desert until
we reached the port of La Sofia at the foot of the
Andes. Years afterwards I was informed that Mr.
Simpson had become a great merchant in Calcutta
where he amassed a fortune and is now residing in
London. I related this occurrence to my com-
panions on the journey to the Uruguayan frontier
and consoled them by a narration of the happy
hours spent with my former companion in spite of
the sufferings we endured in our penetration of the
Amazonic regions.

CHAPTER X

THROUGH BRAZIL BY LAND TO THE RIVER PLATE

leaving Sao Paulo we passed through the
cities of Jundiahy, Itayci, Capivary and
Piraciacaba, which I had already visited and also
through the cities of Mayrink, Sorocaba, Tatuhy,
Itapetininga, Aracassu, Paxina and Itarare, which
is on the border of the State of Parana. The terri-
tory of the State of Sao Paulo is the continuation
of an extensive and undulating plateau from the
chain of mountains in the centre to the hills called
the Sierra del Mar on the coast, whose formation is
made up of red soil, clay, and rich phosphates. In
the cities mentioned there are many colonies of Ital-
ians, Spanish, Poles and other foreigners, all in
robust health and thoroughly contented. I talked
with many of them and in every case I was im-
pressed by their affection for the land of their adop-
tion. Throughout these colonies comfortable and
pretty houses of cement and tiles are being erected,
and I have little doubt that in the course of a decade
the southern portions of Brazil and especially the
State of Sao Paulo will repeat the history of the
western section of the United States through which

138

THROUGH BRAZIL 139

I travelled forty years ago. Over practically the
whole extent of these regions which embrace the
two zones, the torrid and the temperate, and an area
of 831,798 square kilometres there is extensive cul-
tivation of the products of both climates, from coffee
and sugar cane in Sao Paulo, to wheat and barley in
Parana and Santa Catarina. On the immense plains
of Parana, Santa Catarina and Bio Grande, cov-
ered with abundant and nutritive grasses and irri-
gated by numberless streams, there is a large cattle
industry which is constantly growing, owing to the
favorable climatic and meteorological conditions.

In the north, and particularly in the region of the
Amazon, the land is covered with gigantic trees in-
cluding forests of palms which are so intertwined as
to compel the traveler to cut his way through with
machetes. There are also orchids of beautiful and
varied colours, tropical flowers and a variety of
ferns. These plains extend from the heights of the
majestic Andes, wherein are active volcanoes, over
the perpetual snows for a distance of from 6,000 to
8,000 kilometres down to the sea. Here also are
to be found quantities of birds of brilliant plumage
and joyous song; here is the gualandat of a dark
purple tint; the guaycan of the colour of gold; and
flowers whose many colours form a vivid contrast
with the verdure of the forest amongst which there
is occasionally to be heard the echo of a shot. It is
from the gun of the hunter, who, while filling his bag

140 THE TWO AMERICAS

with partridges or ducks, is at frequent intervals
compelled to turn it on the tiger running through
the underbrush to find waters to quench the thirst
which the wound has caused. In these forests there
are many species of deer and of wild boar which are
ferocious and dangerous, besides quantities of mon-
keys and other species of the simian order. The
forests are watered by extensive rivers which are
navigable for large steamers, and in these waters,
according to Professor Agassiz, there are some 500
varieties of fish as well as a quantity of ducks and
other aquatic fowl that fly over their beautiful sur-
face and rest on their currents. On the beaches
hundreds of alligators sleep peacefully with their
mouths open so that the flies, which form part of
their food, may enter ; and in many places they are
covered with turtles which leave the water to spawn
in the hot sand and are so prolific that the soil, to
a depth of twenty centimetres, is laden with eggs
which the savages and the inhabitants of the small
villages make into a savory butter that will one day
become an important article of commerce. In this
great ocean of verdure which offers rest to the
traveller after the fatigue of the day spent in a
narrow canoe under a burning sun or in torrential
rain, there is hardly a spot without vegetation. In
many of the forests the animals which have so far
not been hunted by man do not run away but regard
with curiosity the approach of a human being. The

THROUGH BRAZIL 141

tiger, the alligator, the vipers and the water snakes
(which frequently attain a length of ten metres by
two in circumference) are not dangerous. The ani-
mal which is ready to make a ferocious attack upon
man is the peculiar species of wild boar to which
I have made reference. These boars destroy men
and animals with their fangs which are as strong
and as smooth as ivory, and, gathering in groups,
they are generally led by one which is slightly larger
than the rest and has a band of light color down
the back. During the many years, however, in which
I traversed those regions I only once found myself
in a position of serious danger. On that occasion I
was accompanied in my travels along the banks
of the Putumayo by four robust savages, good
hunters, armed with poisoned arrows. I had a
Winchester rule and encountering a large herd of
these wild animals we killed a great number. The
remainder ran away and in the excitement of the
hunt I followed them, continuing to thin their ranks.
I did not observe that my companions had remained
behind and I did not notice until I was a long dis-
tance off and heard a loud cry that the commanding
boar, which I did not distinguish from the rest, was
almost immediately in front of me. At that moment
they all roared in unison and, forming themselves
into a circle at a distance of about a hundred yards,
proceeded to surround me so that I could only save
myself by climbing a tree. Looking around I found

142 THE TWO AMERICAS

a tree with a thin trunk and only one branch, about
three metres from the ground, which could possibly
sustain me. I looked at it and mounted it imme-
diately. I had only twenty cartridges and thought
that the savage animals would ultimately get tired
of remaining around me and would go away. But
this did not happen. I heard another loud cry
and saw the leading beast of the herd about fifty
metres off behind a large evergreen that had fallen.
The sound of his cry caused the other animals to
gnash their tusks, producing a deafening noise which
seemed to reverberate throughout the forest, and,
having approached the foot of the tree which I had
mounted, they looked up at me with their vivid and
penetrating eyes filled with fury and with their hair
standing up like bristles. It was really a Dantesque
picture. They fought amongst themselves for a
chance to eat the trunk of the tree, but on account
of their number and want of order they were pre-
vented from doing any harm. The chief of the ani-
mals gave another war-cry and then the rest sepa-
rated a few metres further away, leaving four of
their number behind who commenced to dig their
powerful tusks into the trunk of the tree so as to
make it fall. I saw that I could not save my life
except by fighting with finesse, as when I had killed
the first four they were carried away and replaced
by four others, which was repeated with a third
four. As I had then but eight cartridges left I re-

THROUGH BRAZIL 143

solved to keep them to try and kill the leader who
hardly showed his head above the tree, but each
time I attempted to get him, he promptly hid him-
self. Suddenly I caught him and with a well-di-
rected shot which entered his brain, killed him.
Then all the other infuriated beasts started to cry
wildly and run away. I knew then that I was safe.
I descended from the tree and when my attackers
had covered a safe distance I went over to the spot
where the head animal which I had killed and who
had given me such a disagreeable time was lying.
I saw that he was larger than the others, generally
a little smaller than the domestic pig, and that he
had a band of a distinct colour which evidently
served as an emblem of his qualities of leadership.
Thus it may be seen what a wonderful thing is
nature and its teachings, proving that amongst the
most savage of animals there are well-formed ideas
of order, discipline and work.

Entering the State of Parana through the village
of Itarare I was struck by the change in the vege-
tation of the torrid zone which I recently saw in
Cuba, to that of the temperate zone which presented
itself during the trip from Cape Horn to New York.
On one day I experienced a difference of 40 degrees
centigrade. When I left Havana, the thermometer
showed 31° centigrade, whilst along the shores of
the Potomac Lake it marked 8° below zero. Here
on the rich plains of Parana which are covered with

grama grass irrigated by rivulets and streams I
observed a new and special vegetation — the inter-
tropical. In place of the royal palms and the other
tropical growths there arise the tall Parana pines
(Araucanis brasilensis) which in some cases grow
to a height of thirty metres as rectangular and as
imposing as those of Bahia and Bio de Janeiro.
The quality and formation of the land are similar to
that of Sao Paulo, and it was easy to see that its
surrounding conditions were peculiarly adapted to
the cultivation of cotton on a large scale. Seeking
information from some of the natives of the
country on this point, I was told that dur-
ing the colonial period, when slavery was
enforced, there was a considerable production
of a good quality of cotton which was con-
verted into primitive cloths used by the inhabitants
for their clothing, and that much of it is still to be
seen in the ruins of the old homes. I passed through
the village of lacuariahyva, from which there is a
railroad under survey to San Antonio de Platina
and to Curinho, and through the important city of
Castro to Ponta Grossa, whence the railway will
cross the State of Santa Catarina to Porto Alegre,
thence to Cacequi, in the State of Kio Grande do
Sul, where, passing through Pelotas, it will connect
up with the port of Eio Grande. From Ponta
Grossa I proceeded to Curityba, the Capital of Par-
ana, which is the commercial centre of the State

THROUGH BRAZIL 145

and has a population of between 25,000 and 30,000
inhabitants, largely consisting of Poles, Italians,
Spanish, Germans, Russians, Portuguese, Syrians
and foreigners. I spent one day in visiting the set-
tlements of these widely differing people and in
obtaining data in reference to the actual situation
of Parana and its possibilities. In my conversations
with many of these foreign colonists and their chil-
dren born on Brazilian soil, I observed, particularly
amongst the latter, their unfeigned love of Brazil
and their insistence upon speaking the language of
their country in preference to that of their parents.
The city, which is built on a slight elevation, pos-
sesses wide thoroughfares and is surrounded by for-
ests of corpulent pines and prairies of abundant
grass. At the top of one of the hills there is a
reservoir with a covered aqueduct extending for a
distance of 36 kilometres which provides the city
with excellent water. The person in charge of the
water-works which also have an extensive and beau-
tiful garden is a Pole who came to Parana about
thirty years ago. In the course of my talk with
him I asked if he had no desire to leave Parana and
return to his own country, and his reply, perfectly
frank and ingenuous, furnishes an apt illustration
of the characteristics and sentiments of all the for-
eign settlers in these rich Brazilian States. He said :
"We, the Polish, have no fatherland; the Russians,
the Prussians and the Austrians have snatched it

146 THE TWO AMERICAS

from us. In this beautiful Parana we have found a
paternal hospitality and land for our homes and our
cultivation which belong to us ; and whilst we always
think and live in hope of a reconstruction of Poland
we are happy and continually prospering here
where our prospects have been made still brighter
by the railroad which the Brazilian Railway Com-
pany is now constructing across the States of Santa
Catarina and Eio Grande do Sul to Matto Grosso."
I then asked him whether the sons of the Poles loved
Brazil more than the land of their fathers and
whether they chiefly intermarry with their own race
or with Brazilians and other foreign colonists. ' ' Our
sons, ' ' he replied, ' ' remember nothing of Poland and
the same thing applies to the younger immigrants
of other nations who have become more ardent and
enthusiastic Brazilians than the natives themselves.
They take pride in their new nationality and work
for the glory of the country. As a general rule
the marriages are contracted in their own colony,
but many of them make alliances with Brazilians,
Italians, Spanish and other colonists, and are pro-
ducing a race of vigorous and intelligent youth. ' '

I visited the Italian colony outside of the city and
in all my conversations with those people I received
similar replies to my questions. In the Italian col-
ony, however, I observed that the families were
larger with a closer union amongst them than in the
others. In one house, on the estate of Mr. Manuel

THROUGH BRAZIL 147

de Macedo, I talked at length with the head of a
numerous family who with his wife emigrated from
Venice to Parana thirty years ago and to-day has
ten children, all married, each of whom also has a
family. Eighteen members of this numerous family
were present at the time of my visit, whilst some
of the sons and sons-in-law were working in Sao
Paulo and Buenos Aires, remitting part of their
earnings to increase the family land-holdings which
they had been able to purchase and cultivate. Fol-
lowing their patriarchal customs, parents, grand-
parents and grandchildren all lived in the same
house, and by a system of cooperation the entire
family worked and shared in the ownership of the
land. Supreme harmony seemed to reign amongst
them and those who were absent to work under more
favorable conditions usually returned to the family
home after the harvests of coffee or wheat, accord-
ing to the country in which they were working. On
the day of my visit preparations were being made
for a feast to celebrate the marriage of a girl mem-
ber of the family. The bride, a good-looking girl of
eighteen, was born in Parana, and when I asked her
if her fiance was an Italian or a Brazilian, she said,
"I am a Brazilian and I think my fiance is one also,'*
when her father interposed with the statement that,
"Your fiance was born in Venice but came here as
a small child and to-day is proud to claim Brazilian
nationality." I then enquired of the head of the

148 THE TWO AMERICAS

family, a man of sixty years of age, of striking
vigour and robust health, whether he desired to re-
turn to Italy, and with the same love of his adopted
country as is possessed by the younger members of
these foreign colonies, he said: "The love of one's
native land is never lost ; it is like the love for one 's
mother. It would be a pleasure for me to pay a
visit to Venice with its beautiful air, sky and sea;
but to do that I would have to leave my children
and grandchildren and beautiful Parana, my second
fatherland, where I desire my bones should rest
after I am gone. ' '

During my stay in Curityba I made an automo-
bile tour of the surrounding country in the company
of Mr. Antonio de Souza Mello, one of the principal
merchants of the city, and with the representative
of Mr. Macedo, who owns the large industrial estab-
lishment in which many of the colonists have their
homes; and the latter gave me much interesting
data as to the value of land in Parana and the
exploitation of the pine-wood industry of the State.
The saw mill of the Miriguava estate, two leagues
distant from the city and four from Curityba (the
Brazilian league has six kilometres), is part of a
property of 2,123 hectares in extent, a large portion
of which is divided into lots of five, eight and ten
alqueires,* for sale to the colonists on easy terms
of payment. The renting price of these various

* Space bushels.

THROUGH BRAZIL 149

divisions or areas of land which may be respectively
used for agriculture or cattle raising varies from
200 to 400 milreis (one milrei equals one-third of a
dollar) with special conditions for the ultimate ac-
quisition of ownership by the settler. On this prop-
erty there are also mate lands. This yerba mate,
which is largely used as a stimulating tea in Parana,
Santa Catarina, Bio Grande do Sul, Uruguay, Para-
guay, Argentina and Chile, is a natural growth of
the soil where the pine flourishes and is an impor-
tant article of production. After the trees are cut
and the weeds are burned the mate covers the whole
ground. The leaves are subsequently gathered in,
dried in the sun and then taken to the plantations
where they are roasted and pulverised ready to be
packed in small bags or sacks of cow-hide for ship-
ment, and the annual value of the exports of this
product from the State of Parana alone is upwards
of $6,000,000. The richest lands in the State of
Parana are those located near the cities of Itarare,
Yaguariaybe, Castro, Ponta Grossa and Curityba.

From the city of Curityba I returned to Ponta
Grossa where I met Mr. Hugh M. Taylor, who for
many years was in charge of the Mexican Railways
but resigned his position there to become the Gen-
eral Manager of the lines of the Brazilian Railway
Company. During my stay in Mexico, as Minister
of Colombia, I had several opportunities of appre-
ciating the great capacity and high qualities of this

150 THE TWO AMERICAS

gentleman who was much respected by the Mexi-
can people, and I was glad to avail myself of the
proffered hospitality of a special car in which he
accompanied me to the frontier of Uruguay. In
Ponta Grossa I spent one day in studying the con-
ditions of the land and of the colonies which were
in the same flourishing condition as those of Curity-
ba and other parts of the State. The city itself is
in course of formation with homes being constructed
for its various foreign residents, all of whom gave
evidence of their general happiness induced by the
advantages of a healthy climate, prosperous condi-
tions and generous and protective laws, and here
again, irrespective of their diverse nationalities, the
Brazilian language had become the medium of con-
versation. By these means these immigrants and
their offspring become assimilated with the people
of the country and thus help to assure the pre-
domination of Latin ideals throughout the southern
Republics of the American continent. In Ponta
Grossa I visited the picturesque cemetery which is
situated on a hill. At the entrance gate I met an
Italian whom I asked how long he had lived in
Parana, whether he was happy and if he had any
desire to return to his native country? His reply
was typical of all the other replies I received to
similar questions. He said, "I am now sixty years
old and came to Parana with my wife forty years
ago. We have ten sons born here all of whom are

THROUGH BRAZIL 151

married and we have twelve grandchildren. I am
still strong enough to work and although I have not
forgotten my beloved native Italy, I do not think
of returning there as with my sons and my grand-
children who are enthusiastic Brazilians we are all
very happy in this country.

"As you are going to visit the cemetery," he
added, "I would like to present to you a great Ve-
netian architect who has designed most of the beau-
tiful monuments." I entered the cemetery where
the many artistic marble and cement monuments,
covered with flowers, gave me the most grateful im-
pressions and reminded me of the cemeteries of
Italy where the religion of the tombs is cultivated
with taste and feeling. At the foot of one of the
monuments there was seated the man whom the col-
onist had described to me as the "great architect."
He was partaking of his luncheon of bread, cheese
and biscuit, with the red wine which the Italian
colonists in Parana manufacture. He was an elderly
man of small stature, with broad shoulders, black
eyes and a heavy beard and moustache, having the
appearance of one of the old Doges of Venice. I
asked him to tell me his history and impressions of
Parana and of its present and future situation. "I
am a Venetian," he said. "My business is to design
and erect cemetery monuments which furnishes me
with a sufficient income to enable my family to live
well. I came to Parana forty years ago. During

152 THE TWO AMERICAS

the first thirty years my occupation brought me but
scant reward owing to the poverty of the State
which had practically no means of communication.
Since the advent of the railway which Mr. Farquhar
has caused to be extended in so many directions there
is wealth for all so that the poor as well as the
rich indulge in elaborate memorial stones to mark
the resting place of their beloved ones. So far as
returning to my country is concerned, I shall always
love Venice, but my ties, my eighteen descendants
with me, owe their gratitude to this great country
which has given us asylum and happiness. ' '

"Do you not feel a sadness amongst all these
tombs ? " I asked him.

"No, sir/' he replied, "on the contrary I love the
tranquility of my surroundings and I imagine my-
self conversing with those who are here. When the
sun goes down and the shadows of night appear I
revel in my thoughts of nature and return to my
home to rest for the preparation of the following
day's work. Here among the graves I take my
lunch every day so that I practically live among
the dead. I am present at all the funerals and I see
by the acts and the faces of those who are mourning
for some beloved one that when man is suffering he
is more generous and is more benevolent than at
other times."

In pursuance of my investigations into the ma-
terial conditions of Parana I thought it desirable to

THROUGH BRAZIL 158

elicit the opinions of all classes and therefore de-
cided to interrogate even this philosophic and sen-
timental builder of monuments as to his views on
the subject.

"What are your opinions, " I asked him, "of the
respective value as settlers and of the personal
characteristics of the Italian, Polish and Spanish
colonists existing in Parana!" "My opinion is,"
he replied, "that the Italians acquire greater force
than the rest because of their unity which is exhib-
ited in the fact that in many cases two or three
generations live under the same roof. I like the
Spaniards on account of their intuitive courtesy
and loyalty, although their southern temperaments
frequently cause them to resort to the knife or the
dagger during their quarrels amongst themselves;
the Poles are happy and broad minded but their
extreme economy leads them to deprive themselves
of the necessary comforts of life ; whilst the "tudes"
as the Italians call the Germans, are very hard-
working, though aggressive and selfish."

"Has the country made much progress during the
past ten years and are its prospects improving!" I
enquired. "Up to five years ago," he answered,
"there was great misery among the colonists in
Parana, but during the latter half of the past decade
the gradual extension of railways has given the
colonists abundant and remunerative work. Other
factors which have contributed to this result are

154 THE TWO AMERICAS

the increased production and demand for yerba
mate and the liberal facilities extended by the Gov-
ernment and the Brazilian Railway Company for
the colonists to become the owners of their land.
These circumstances have combined to place them
all in a situation of prosperity."

On the following day, with Mr. Taylor, the Man-
ager of the Railway, I continued my journey, pass-
ing through the growing cities of Entre Rios and
Yrati, the latter being on the borders of the State
of Santa Catarina, and through the villages of San
Juan, Herval and Ytarare, of this State. The coun-
try traversed on this trip contains extensive forests
of pine trees which impede the growth of other
varieties and constitute a reserve for the world's
supply of this wood which is becoming scarcer in
Europe and the United States. In these districts
colonies are being formed of Poles, Spaniards and
Italians, most of whom possess families of healthy
children who largely outnumber the adults. There
are also representatives of other races and religions,
but the great majority of the settlers are of Polish
nationality, the most important township in course
of formation being significantly called Polopolis.
In addition to a great pumber of saw-mills which
manipulate the pine and manufacture the fine woods
found in other forests into furniture there are im-
mense prairies covered with good grass and other
lands adapted to the cultivation of cotton, although

THROUGH BRAZIL 155

for hundreds of leagues there is not a single human
habitation to be seen. The natural wealth of the
soil, however, leaves no doubt that with the spread
of progress, which is advancing in this country to-
ward the west, there will at no distant date be a
wave of new immigration to penetrate and cultivate
these beautiful and rich lands.

Passing through the forests and approaching the
moderate elevations whence the Iguazu Eiver flows
and forms imposing cataracts the vegetation changes
in aspect. Here the pines disappear and are re-
placed by gigantic cedars and other fine woods of
value. In no part did I find sterile land. The loco-
motive passes through the heart of these virgin
forests, their shrill whistles appearing to announce
that they had taken possession of them for the bene-
fit of civilisation and leaving an impression on the
mind that the methods of force and of tyranny, in
earlier days employed in the acquisition of new
territory, had been substituted by the more peace-
ful and civilising influences of the railway which
was destined to open up for the service of human-
ity these fertile regions in which the foot of civilised
man had never trodden. Amongst the modern rail-
road conquerors, who by their enterprise and skill
have been able to cut into the primitive undergrowth
of the soil, to perforate the mountains, and to cross
unfordable rivers in hitherto unexplored portions
of the American continent, it is right to mention

156 THE TWO AMERICAS

such names as those of Minor Keith, Cisneros and
Farquhar, who have done so much to extend the
cultivable areas and to increase the prosperity, re-
spectively, of the countries of Central America, Co-
lombia and Brazil.

Leaving the banks of the Iguazu and descending
the mountain on whose summit there grows the Bra-
zilian pine of enormous height, we arrived at the
banks of the Eiver Pescado which, like the Iguazu,
forms a number of cascades, and at the points where
there was a great deal of stone I saw numbers of
turtles which indicated our near approach to the
copious Uruguay. In these regions there are but
few colonists and occasional primitive dwellings of
the track-walkers, who are called "turmas," a Por-
tuguese word signifying potato-dwellers. The vege-
tation is inter-tropical and the beauties of the for-
ests so natural that my son Pedro was impelled to
take numbers of photographs. The impressions
produced in the mind of the traveller while tra-
versing this wonderful country are like those which
occur to one in the Amazonic regions. I recognized
here the same kind of trees upon which I had so
often swung my hammock for sleeping; and they
appeared like old friends whom I wished to embrace
and to converse with. As one further descends the
mountain, the Pescado Eiver, which is a tributary
of the Uruguay, increases in the volume of water,
the cascades disappear, and on all sides one sees

THROUGH BRAZIL 157

the luxuriant sugar-cane, orange, paw-paw and other
tropical trees whose valuable timber will no doubt
become the source of a great industry in the near
future. We gradually came nearer to the territory
of Eio Grande do Sul, in whose pampas as in those
of the Argentine and Uruguayan Republics, cattle
and horse-breeding are conducted on a large and
profitable scale, while the natives and the German
colonists of the State of Santa Catarina, numbering
more than 250,000, devote themselves to agriculture.

The railway lines now operating in the States
of Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Catarina and Eio
Grande do Sul, belonging to the Brazilian Eailway
Company or controlled by it, are :

The Sorocahana Eailway, in the State of Sao
Paulo, which has 1,300 kilometres, of which 434 form
the main line between Sao Paulo and Itarare.

The Eailway of Parana, in the State of that
name, with 405 kilometres, of which 300 kilometres
comprise the line from Punta Grossa to the port of
Paranagua.

The Eailway of the North of Parana, 43 kilo-
metres, from Curityba to Eio Blanco.

The Eailway from Sao Paulo to Eio Grande,
in the States of Parana and Santa Catarina, 883
kilometres, extending from Itarare to the Uruguay
Eiver, where there is being constructed a bridge of
half a kilometre in length, which will be shortly fin-

158 THE TWO AMERICAS

ished when the trains of this road will pass over
the lines of the Bio Grande.

The Bailway of Sao Paulo-Bio Grande, a branch
of the San Francisco, in the State of Santa Catarina,
which has 318 kilometres in use and extends from
Tres Barras to San Francisco.

The Bailway of Dona Teresa Cristina on the
Uruguayan coast of the State of Santa Catarina,
which has 111 kilometres.

The Bailway of the Auxiliary Company of the
Brazilian Bailway Company, in the State of Bio
Grande do Sul, which has a total extension of 2,253
kilometres, of which, on the main line from the Uru-
guay Biver to Santa Ana de Libramento there are
813 kilometres. This line goes to the ports of Bio
Grande and Puerto Alegre and connects with the
railways of Argentina in Uruguay in Santa Ana de
Libramento.

For the Brazilian Bailway Company there are
also the following lines in course of construction :

From Tres Barras to Puerto de la Union, 133
kilometres. This line is an extension of that of
San Francisco, mentioned above.

That of Itayci, in the Sorocabana line, to Cam-
pinhas. This line has 31 kilometres and is nearly
finished.

From the Station of Salto Grande, on the Soro-

THROUGH BRAZIL 159

cabana Railway, to the Puerto de Tibyrica, 400 kilo-
metres, of which 100 are already constructed.

From the Station of Yaguariahyba, on the Sao
Paulo-Bio Grande Railway to Curinhos, 220 kilo-
metres.

The same company has concessions for the fol-
lowing lines not yet under construction :

From Puerto de la Union to the mouth of the
River Iguazu, 740 kilometres.

From San Francisco to Puerto Alegre, 650 kilo-
metres, and an extension of the railway of the
North of Parana from the Branco River to Faxina,
in Sorocabana, through Serro Azul.

The Southern Brazilian Lumber and Coloniza-
tion Company, a subsidiary of the Brazilian Rail-
way Company, owns an aggregation of about 3,000,-
000 hectares of land distributed through the States
of Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio
Grande do Sul, and this is sold to the colonists with
a view to their subsequent ownership at a price
which covers the cost of the roads crossing them
and of the expense incurred in the preparation of
plans, etc. Generally the colonists acquire proprie-
tary right in these lands after two or three years of
work. The wage of a day labourer averages $1.20
per day, and the average railway rates are, for

160 THE TWO AMERICAS

second-class passengers, one cent and a quarter per
kilometre for the first fifty kilometres, with frac-
tional reductions for greater distances.

The greater part of the land extending from
Santos to the port of San Francisco is peculiarly
suitable to the growth of bananas which are but
little cultivated in those regions notwithstanding the
great demand for that fruit in all parts of the
world. In the United States its consumption
reaches a money value of $200,000 per day, and the
United Fruit Company, which owns a fleet of ves-
sels for its transportation, earns an annual dividend
of more than 10 per cent, upon a capital of $40,-
000,000 invested in plantations in Costa Rica, Guate-
mala and Colombia. Another thing which attracted
my attention in Brazil is that the green plantain is
not used as a food for the people as is done on the
coasts of the Sea of the Antilles and in the valleys
of the interior, although analyses have shown that
it is a better and more nutritious food, as well as
cheaper, than potatoes or wheat. I remember hav-
ing read in the travels of Stanley, "Through the
Dark Continent," that when he arrived in the
Kingdom of Uganda he and his personnel of the
expedition were attacked by dysentery of which
they were speedily cured by taking a soup made
from green plantains, on the advice of the King.
The banana also possesses excellent qualities as a
food, as may be seen by the healthy condition of the

THROUGH BRAZIL 161

savage tribes of the Amazon who live almost exclu-
sively on that fruit in its green state, and when the
mothers are unable to nurse their children they
give them a soup made from it. Even in Europe
to-day medical men are prescribing the banana as
a healthy food for delicate children. There is now
proceeding in Brazil a strong agitation against the
high price of food-stuffs and a campaign in favor
of the popular use of the green banana which can
also be made into flour. In fact this is already being
done on a small scale and will probably be so devel-
oped as to make the banana a rival of wheat, owing
to the low price at which the flour may be produced.
A banana tree producing 300 bunches of the fruit
at a cost of twenty cents per annum, will give 25
kilos of exportable flour.

The climate of the State of Parana in summer
(from December to March) is about 24° centigrade,
and in winter 15°, and whilst the cold is somewhat
intense at the highest points snow seldom falls. In
the colder regions the colonies are chiefly made up
of Poles, Italians, Germans and Spanish, and in the
State of Bio Grande do Sul there is a Jewish colony
established by the late Baron Hirsch. In all three
of the important States of Sao Paulo, Santa Cata-
rina and Eio Grande do Sul there are immense
tracts of fertile lands, practically unpopulated,
available for the cultivation of wheat, alfalfa, and
other products of the temperate zone. The cultiva-

162 THE TWO AMERICAS

tion of rice has already begun, and I am of the
opinion that cotton will ultimately form an impor-
tant article of production in these lands.

On arriving at the pampas of Kio Grande do Sul,
where the lands are grassy with occasional undula-
tions, I knew we were advancing in the direction of
the immense plains of the River Plate which con-
tinue to the foot of the Andes. In those almost illim-
itable areas there are hundreds of thousands of
cattle and horses grazing. The cattle are fattened
to produce jerked beef which is the principal article
of export of this State for the northern parts of
Brazil, and the horses retained in the country are
employed to carry the products of the soil from one
part of the State to the other. There are also large
numbers of beautiful ostriches which do not run
away at the sight of man, seeming to know that it
is prohibited to kill them or to catch them and take
their feathers. These birds form a kind of police
for the district and destroy insects calculated to do
harm, and for this reason the inhabitants protect
them in every way. At the station of Cruz Alta,
where I separated from Mr. Taylor, who went on to
Puerto Alegre, I saw a train-load of Polish and
Italian colonists, who were about to establish them-
selves in their respective colonies. Amongst them
were persons of all ages, children being in the
majority. In their faces one saw the signs of the
proletariat, of necessity and even of misery, and

THROUGH BRAZIL 163

their glances seemed to convey a hatred of the
better classes. But little by little, when the benefi-
cent climate of this America and its abundant prod-
ucts and advantages have satisfied their material
and moral hunger, these colonists, many of them
anarchists, will be completely changed in character.
These territories, almost uninhabited, are only part
of many others in Ibero-America to which immigra-
tion will flow from Europe to an extent hitherto
unknown, and it is with this in mind that I
have repeated on so many occasions that the
future of humanity, in the present century, is in
America.

I ended my lengthy excursion through Brazil at
Santa Ana de Libramento, on the frontier of Uru-
guay, and I left the country with the firm conviction
that it has entered solemnly and resolutely upon
the path of order, civilisation and justice, and that
the physical, moral and intellectual Brazilian type
is becoming stronger by the assimilation of its for-
eign colonists with the natives of the country, pre-
cisely as has been the case in the United States,
Argentina, Chile and other countries of this hemi-
sphere. But, if the material advance of the country
is undergoing daily improvement there is an equal
extension of general knowledge and culture pro-
ceeding amongst the better classes. One of the fea-
tures of Brazil is the cultivation of the knowledge
of foreign languages of which most educated Bra-

164 THE TWO AMERICAS

zilians generally speak three or four. This is to
some extent due to the fact that the Portuguese
tongue is less universally known than that of other
countries, thus rendering it necessary for those who
travel or come into contact with foreigners to know
other languages as well as their own. In Brazil,
however, the study of languages is not merely ele-
mentary, to be used alone for purposes of conver-
sation, as frequently occurs in Holland, Switzer-
land and some other countries, the English, French,
German, Spanish and Italian classics being better
known to the Brazilians than to the people of any
other single nation.

These facts will not be new to those who know
Brazil and its educated classes, but in view of the
misconception prevailing as to the character, gen-
eral standard of culture and qualities of the Bra-
zilian and other Latin-American nations amongst
those personally unacquainted with them it is per-
haps desirable that they should be placed on record,
particularly in the United States, where the condi-
tions of many of the great Eepublics of the South
are, to put it mildly, but little known. The great
importance of Brazil to the commercial markets of
the world and the recent enormous extension of the
commercial relations of the United States with that
Eepublic imperatively demand a closer intercourse
and a better mutual understanding between them.
It is, unfortunately, to the hitherto prevailing ignor-

THROUGH BRAZIL 165

ance in the United States of the conditions of the
great southern Eepublics and to the prejudices born
of that ignorance that the friendly and commercial
relations of the two countries have not attained
those proportions which circumstances justify.

CHAPTER XI

THE ORIENTAL REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY

"La Banda Oriental.''

Tj^BOM the Brazilian frontier I entered Uru-
guayan territory and passing through vast
tracts of rich meadow land arrived at Bivera, a city
noted for its beautiful parks, modern houses and
abundance of trees, where on all sides I heard the
delightful Castilian language and saw in the fea-
tures of its inhabitants distinct signs of Spanish
origin. From Eivera to Montevideo it is a railway
journey of 500 kilometres across a flat country di-
vided into lots by wire fencing, enclosing thousands
of head of cattle and sheep and horses feeding on
its nutritious pastures. The natural grass grows to
a metre in height, and on this grass a young steer
is fattened in four months. The whole of this region
is exceptionally rich and is watered by the Bio
Negro.

It has been said by a famous writer that "the
blood that has flown through Latin- American revo-
lutions would form but a small rivulet by compari-
son with the oceans of blood that have been shed in

166

SR. DON JOSE BATTLE Y ORDONEZ, PRESIDENT OF URUGUAY

REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 167

Europe to indulge the ambitions of despots or to
satisfy the righteous claims of freedom." That
truthful observation may be applied with peculiar
force to the Republic of Uruguay, which, during its
brief existence as an independent State, has passed
through many periods of stress and storm ; but it is
invariably these occasions of national grief which
evolve the principles of liberty, order and justice,
so indispensable to the survival and welfare of a
nation. The civil wars, in most cases waged in the
cause of human liberty, which mark the history of
the Latin-American countries, are apt to be magni-
fied as indications of the unformed character of
Ibero-Americans, by reason of their comparatively
recent occurrences, just as the proportions and san-
guinary nature of European wars and revolutions
are unconsciously diminished through the remote-
ness of the period in which they took place.
Whether or not it be true that the evolution of the
Uruguayan Republic has been hastened, or even
impelled, by the many internecine struggles which
have torn and distressed the people, it is beyond
question to-day that the Republic has entered upon
an era of permanent peace based on the highest
principles of justice and of the respect of all legiti-
mate rights. Uruguay is in South America what
Switzerland, Belgium and Holland are in Europe.
Of small territorial extension and population, its
people may justly claim to have attained a degree

168 THE TWO AMERICAS

of civilisation and progress equal to their most
powerful neighbours.

In commenting upon the Laws and Constitution of
Uruguay Anatole France expressed the opinion that
the Uruguayan nation was capable of creating "a
superior type of civilisation." The Constitution
which is the only one of the South American Re-
publics that has remained unaltered since its formu-
lation, eighty years ago, embodies the fullest liberty
and protection for all, irrespective of race or re-
ligion. Treating the same point M. E. Stocquart,
the distinguished Belgian jurist, in his work, "Bel-
gian Law, ' ' says : * ' Uruguay, from the point of view
of Civil Bights, is the most advanced of all the
countries of South America"; and when we look
at the' wise provisions and high civic ideals con-
tained in the Constitution and in subsequent legis-
lation there would appear to be abundant justifica-
tion for M. Stocquart 's opinion. The Laws of
Uruguay, as in many American States, are codi-
fied; and some of these Codes might well be used
as models for the legislators of other countries oc-
cupying a more prominent position in the world than
the Eepublic of Uruguay. Of its Commercial Code
a great Italian master has said that it is "one of
the most notable legislative works of our time, wor-
thy of being used as a model by all who have to
legislate on Mercantile Law. ' ' The Penal and Rural
Codes are equally replete with sound and far-see-

REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 169

ing provisions. The former is largely based upon
the doctrines of Zamerdelli, Mancini and Savelli and
the Spanish and Chilean Codes ; whilst, in regard to
the Rural Code, M. Lepelletier, in his criticisms of
the French Rural Code, stated that "it is possible
to envy nations who, like Uruguay, have known how
to produce a work of such utility in a country where
agriculture constitutes the main source of natural
production. Commenced in 1873, the Rural Code of
Uruguay was promulgated in July, 1875, and re-
vised three years later; and it has never since then
ceased to be changed and improved by Laws and
Decrees which, together with the text of the orig-
inal, make it to-day a legislative achievement of
the highest value." Equally wise and just are the
Codes relating to Civil and Criminal Procedure as
well as the Military and Administrative Codes which
regulate and provide equitable laws on the different
subjects with which they respectively deal.

Without doubt Uruguay is one of the healthiest
and most beautiful countries of South America, dif-
fering from many in appearance through the ab-
sence of the snow-covered mountains which appear
so frequently in the southern portion of the Con-
tinent. The country is flat, with slight undulations,
serpented, so to speak, by something like five hun-
dred rivers and streams which make it extremely
fertile. In Uruguayan territory, which covers an
area of about 72,000 square miles, there are no large

170 THE TWO AMERICAS

desert tracts of undeveloped country such as may
be found in the greater number of the South Amer-
ican Republics, although there are virgin lands
merely awaiting the hand of the labourer to till
the soil in order to extend the cultivation of the
nutritious and natural grasses abounding in all di-
rections for stock-raising purposes. The climate
is truly admirable, the average temperature in win-
ter being only 12°; in spring 19°; in summer
22° ; and in autumn 13°, all centigrade ; and statis-
tics show that it has a lower rate of mortality in
relation to population than Germany, Austria,
France, the British Isles, Italy and many other
countries on the other side of the Atlantic; and less
than in Argentina, Chile and others on the Ameri-
can Continent. Uruguay, from the American point
of view, is a small country, although it embraces a
larger area than many important countries of
Europe. The ownership of the land is not as much
divided as it should be, but as Mr. Farquhar has
already implanted a system of colonization in Par-
ana, the Government and the railroad companies of
Uruguay have already purchased large tracts for
the purpose of introducing a form of colonization
which will ultimately give to the rapidly increasing
number of settlers full ownership.

The principal industry of the country is stock-
raising, which is constantly increasing in extent and
quality through the growing importation of animals

REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 171

of a better strain from Europe. The real improve-
ment in this industry in the Uruguayan Eepublio
commenced in 1870 when Senor Jose Buschenthal
brought into the country eleven Durham bulls, two
cows, two steers, one pure Swiss male calf, and one
Ayrshire bull, which he presented to Mr. Bicardo
B. Hughes. These pedigree animals, with others,
were devoted to the refinement of the locally bred
stock, and this process was continued for many
years until the death of Mr. Hughes, when his son
largely extended this field of operation, and to-day
he is but one of many who produce stock reputed
to be equal to the best in Europe or the United
States. The same results have followed in the pro-
duction of sheep which is almost an equally impor-
tant Uruguayan pastoral industry. Another bene-
factor of the country in the direction of stock-rais-
ing was the late Mr. Thomas Howard, a native of
Boston, who was at one time an officer in the United
States Navy. This gentleman devoted himself, at
great expense and entirely for the benefit of the
country, to the introduction of valuable pedigree
stock from Europe; and that work is still being
continued by his widow and sons who are greatly
respected throughout the Republic. All these pio-
neers married native daughters of the country and
their descendants are ardent and patriotic Uru-
guayans, though not unmindful of the fact that

172 THE TWO AMERICAS

they, themselves, are of at least partially foreign
origin.

The present estimate of the national live-stock
industry shows that the country has about 8,000,000
head of cattle, 25,000,000 sheep and about 600,000
hogs, the numbers of other animals being compara-
tively insignificant. These figures bear a numerical
relation of about one-fourth, in cattle and sheep,
to the figures of the Argentine Eepublic, where
horse-breeding is likewise conducted very exten-
sively, although the proportion and number of ani-
mals bred from pedigree stock is naturally in a
much larger ratio in the Argentine Republic. There-
fore, whilst Uruguay is not a serious competitor of
Argentine in supplying the foreign meat markets,
it is the largest producer of beef extract and jerked
beef, no less than 1,000,000 head of cattle having
been slaughtered during the past year, largely for
the supply of material to the Liebig and other
factories of a similar kind operating in the Republic.
Sheep raising is also an important factor in Uru-
guayan production and a large portion of its wool
exports finds its way into the Boston market. In
touching on the question of wool it may be of in-
terest to importers of that commodity in the United
States, where there are very large consumers, to
know that the lack of intercourse existing between
the latter country and the River Plate Republics is
one of the principal causes of the high price of wool,

REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 173

which is seldom purchased by consumers in the
United States direct from the producer, owing
chiefly to the absence of personal representation on
the spot. Wool not purchased direct by European
buyers, who are largely represented in the markets
of the River Plate, is generally shipped to Europe
"to await orders." The consequence is that Euro-
pean speculators invariably hold the wool for higher
prices. But even if market quotations remain un-
changed the American importer who usually pur-
chases the Eiver Plate wool shipped "to await or-
ders, ' ' has to pay the additional freight involved in
the re-shipment and necessarily an increased brok-
erage. From this statement of fact it may be seen
that in this, as in many other directions, closer
commercial contact between the United States and
the Latin Republics of the South would largely aug-
ment international trade.

Approaching the Uruguayan coast by steamer a
delightful impression is made upon the traveller.
The splendid capital, Montevideo, is built in the
form of an amphitheatre, enclosing handsome mod-
ern edifices and gardens, which present a still more
picturesque effect when one enters within the gates
of the city itself. There may be seen broad avenues,
wide squares, and artistically designed parks, fra-
grant with the perfume of the flowers that belong
to this rich land, and handsome monuments that give
their note of art and beautify the walks of this

174 THE TWO AMERICAS

delightful city. There also is the never-ending and
triumphant procession of Uruguay's lovely women
who carry in their lips and in their eyes the dis-
tinguished qualities of their Spanish ancestresses.
One of the most striking characteristics of the peo-
ple of Montevideo is their hospitable and sympa-
thetic treatment of foreigners who, regardless of
origin or language, are made to feel as much at
home as though they were in the land of their
birth.

Montevideo is particularly European in appear-
ance owing to the fact that its buildings and streets
have been modelled upon the lines of the great cities
of Europe, whence have been chosen the most beau-
tiful specimens of modern architecture and build-
ings. The more important avenues with their native
foliage may be likened, in summer, to such elegant
promenades as the Bois de Boulogne, the Paseo del
Prado, the Eambla de las Flores and the Avenida
de los Emperadores, so well known to European
travellers, whilst in autumn and in winter, in the
afternoon, the Calle Sarandi becomes a veritable
exposition of female beauty. Here it is where the
better class women of Montevideo, whose beauty is
world-famed, pass to and fro, the objects of ad-
miration of the enthusiastic youth of the city who
gather at the street corners to gaze on the enchant-
ing procession. Amongst these fair Uruguayans
there are varieties of blondes as well as of the

REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 175

national classic type, women with black hair and
eyes who, endowed with the gracefulness of the
Andalusian, enchant with their beautiful faces and
figures. Yet with all these claims in abundance the
Uruguayan woman excels in her possession of the
domestic virtues. It is one of the sights of Monte-
video to visit the Cemetery where, apart from the
elegance and artistic character of the monuments,
one may admire the pious ladies in mourning, pray-
ing before their dead, not at long intervals, but, in
many cases, almost daily, devoting the utmost care
upon the preservation of the tombs which are gen-
erally covered with beautiful flowers. This is almost
a religion with the better class people of Uruguay
who thus demonstrate the sincerity with which their
hearts hold their affections.

In the outskirts of the city there are the Bosque
de Colon and the delightful bathing-beach, Los
Pocitos, which is not only a place of residence for
the well-to-do families of the city during the sum-
mer months, but also a favorite and convenient
marine resort for a great number of the inhabitants
of Buenos Aires and the south of Brazil. The
Capital of Uruguay is built on the left bank of the
mouth of the Eiver Plate, practically opposite
Buenos Aires, to and from which city there is a
service of splendid steamboats which perform the
journey, generally at night, through the silvery wa-
ters of the Eiver Plate, in seven or eight hours.

176 THE TWO AMERICAS

From Bio de Janeiro and other parts of Brazil the
journey is much longer and can only be made com-
fortably in the trans- Atlantic liners, which, on their
way from Europe to Buenos Aires, put in at Bra-
zilian and Uruguayan ports. The long-projected
railway, however, from Sao Paulo to Montevideo, a
distance of about 3,500 kilometres, will shortly be
completed and with the regular schedule proposed,
the splendid equipment of the service to be provided,
and the route of the line, which crosses the rich
Brazilian States of Parana, Santa Catarina and Eio
Grande do Sul, the road should largely help toward
the further progress of Montevideo.

As I have pointed out in my references to the
other Latin countries of America politics allied to
a mistaken sense of patriotism have hitherto exer-
cised a baneful influence upon the progress of the
Eepublic. In Uruguay there are two political par-
ties, the "Whites" and the "Beds" and the ambi-
tions of these rival factions have often stood in the
way of national advance ; and to such an extent has
this been the case that M. Clemenceau has stated
that * ' when a boy is born in Uruguay he is given a
white or a red ribbon which he is enjoined to defend
and hand down to his progeny. ' '

As illustrating, in some measure, the harmful ef-
fects of revolutionary movements upon the indus-
tries and commerce of the country it may be inter-
esting to point out that even the process of refine-

REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 177

ment of native stock has been retarded in past
years by revolutionary outbreaks. An explanation
of this is to be found in the Military Code of the
Republic which provides for compensation to own-
ers of stock which has been seized or commandeered
during a period of revolution. That Code, which
has since been changed, fixed an arbitrary value
upon each animal, not taking into account the higher
value of improved stock, with the result that cases
frequently occurred in which the loss of valuable
pedigree animals was compensated for on an utterly
inadequate scale. Hence during the years over
which revolutionary outbreaks were of frequent oc-
currence prominent stock-raisers naturally limited
their operations. These conditions happily no
longer exist, the former reign of anarchy having
been succeeded by an era of peace and progress.
Uruguayan patriotism is as ardent and as intense
as that of the Spanish founders of the nationality.
At a festival given at the Catholic Club in Monte-
video in honor of the great patriot, Artigas, who is
regarded as the real founder of the country, I was
struck by the warmth and sincerity of the eloquent
discourses delivered on that occasion by the poet,
Zorilla de San Martin, and many other national
celebrities. All these addresses were marked by ar-
dent appeals to the youth of the country not only
to conserve and defend the principles enunciated
by the many South American liberators, but also, in

178 THE TWO AMERICAS

their own moral, material and intellectual progress,
to extend all protection and a full share of the rights
which they themselves enjoy to all the foreigners
who come to inhabit their country.

National leaders of thought fully realize the value
to the country of foreign enterprise, foreign capital,
and of a foreign industrial population. The teach-
ing of foreign languages during the past few years
has made such advance that, whilst Italian and
French are known by the majority of the residents
of the Capital, English and German are becoming
familiar tongues throughout the country, and with
this progressive educational movement the fraternal
wars and revolutions, which but a short time since
seemed to be a chronic condition of Uruguay, have
disappeared. To-day industrial and commercial ad-
vance is a national policy, and under the present
administration, headed by President Battle y Ordon-
nez, a distinguished journalist and writer, who has
served a former presidential term, there has been
established a system of government which has
aroused the energies and progressive spirit of the
people.

In the material progress of the Republic the ex-
tension of the railways, which unite it with some of
the adjacent Republics and widen the sphere of
labour, has been the principal element and is being
continued with great vigour in all parts of the
country. Amongst the many railroads now under

REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 179

survey or construction one of the most important
will be that stipulated for in a contract with the
Pan-American Trans-Continental Railway Company
from the northern frontier of the Republic to its
southern border at Colonia. This enterprise, which
is equally of interest to the United States and the
Uruguayan Republic, will form part of the Pan-
American scheme to secure rapid transit between
New York City and Pernambuco by steamer, thence
by rail to Valparaiso (Chile) via Rio de Janeiro,
Colonia and Buenos Aires. One of the fixed condi-
tions of this contract is that the Company binds
itself to colonize something like 40,000 hectares of
land extending along its lines, whilst arrangements
have been entered into between the Government
and the other large land-owning railroad companies,
providing that to thousands of families a farm will
be allotted to each on terms of a very favorable
character. In addition to the grant of land on lines
that will easily leave an annual surplus to the colon-
ist provision is also made for the supply of stock,
agricultural implements, seeds, or other necessary
material, according to the use to which the land is
put, with equal facilities to the colonist.

In her foreign relations Uruguay is also making
rapid advance, having established Legations in many
of the South American countries where she was
hitherto not represented by fully constituted diplo-
matic missions. All her differences on questions of

180 THE TWO AMERICAS

frontier limits have been settled by their reference
to arbitration or to Joint Commissions, and the gen-
erous and friendly spirit which governs her deal-
ings with the neighboring Republics is fully shown
in the voluntary cancellation of the war-debt due
to her by Paraguay, the balance of which still re-
mains unpaid and due to the Argentine Republic
and Brazil, although there is no likelihood of pay-
ment being enforced by either of those countries.
In foreign commerce each year shows a substantial
increase over the previous corresponding period,
and foreign capital is rapidly flowing in to further
develop the natural resources. The port of Monte-
video, like that of Buenos Aires, is continually ac-
quiring greater importance, not even shown by the
Government statistics relating to the movement of
ships or to the imports and exports, as practically
all the shipments of merchandise between Europe
and Paraguay pass through Montevideo and fur-
nish no means of determining their extent. For
some time past port improvements have been pro-
ceeding and these, which will enable the largest
ocean steamers to dock alongside the quay, are now
approaching completion. Uruguayan currency is
on a gold basis, the gold dollar being of higher value
than that of the United States. Climate, geograph-
ical situation, the fertility of the soil and the char-
acter of the people combine to give this favored
land all the elements of a great and prosperous na-

REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY 181

tion and with the permanent establishment of in-
ternal peace the full attainment of that position can-
not be long postponed.

Education, which is obligatory in its elementary
form, is highly advanced. High schools are dis-
tributed through all the large centres of the Repub-
lic; and the University of Montevideo has a large
number of Faculties which include agriculture, com-
merce and the social sciences. The Government like-
wise maintains Schools of Arts and Trades and a
National Military College. Through the increased
immigration the number of schools has been largely
added to but the Government is now further extend-
ing its educational efforts by establishing primary
schools throughout the Eepublic so that there will
be at least one school for every thousand of the
inhabitants. The Uruguayan Army, with the auxil-
iary forces, may be estimated at 100,000 men, but
the unfortunate necessity to other countries of naval
forces does not apply to the Uruguayan Eepublic.

The administration of justice in Uruguay was
for many years notoriously bad, but it has now been
reformed and the Supreme Court is so admirably
equipped as to place it on a footing of equality
with the Courts of any other South American
country. The High Court now consists of five
judges selected from members of the bar of the
highest attainments and unimpeachable integrity.
I have mentioned this in order to show how the

182 THE TWO AMERICAS

people of even the smallest of the Latin Kepublics
are capable of occupying a proud position amongst
the most forward nations of the world; and Uru-
guay is far from being an exception to that rule.
The generous ideals, the progressive spirit and the
patriotism of her sons, for whom the word God
only exists before the word Country, render it
possible for Uruguay to be regarded by the coun-
tries of Europe and of the rest of the world as an
example of the energies and the aptitudes of South
America, and as a land of the future for the myri-
ads of immigrants who leave the congested spots
of the old world in search of a new horizon, a new
country, and a new home.

CHAPTER XII

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE

important Republic is separated from Ar-
'*• gentina by the cordillera of the Andes whose
enormous height and formation until a few years
ago constituted such a barrier to direct communica-
tion as to make these bordering nations, notwith-
standing their proximity, to live as apart from each
other as though they were respectively situated at
the extreme ends of the continent. To-day, through
the construction of the Transandine Railroad, the
journey from one side to the other is merely a mat-
ter of a few hours, and with the advantages which
both countries have derived, commercially, from the
closer intercourse thus established the completion
of the mountain railway has led to a better mutual
understanding both as regards the people and the
Governments who have taken advantage of their
more neighbourly situation to definitely erase the
bitterness of the past and to unite their forces for
the common good of Latin- America.

The physical conditions of Chile are in marked
contrast with those of Argentina. For more than
1,200 kilometres to the south of Ecuador, in the

183

184 THE TWO AMERICAS

eastern region of the Andes, there is an abundance
of rainfall, while the plateau in the centre is dry
and the western portion rainless and destitute of
vegetation. In the southern regions of Chile these
conditions are reversed, there being but little rain
on the eastern side of the Andes and a heavy rain-
fall on the western side which gives rise to a large
number of rivers and lakes. The country is largely
volcanic and may be said to possess four great
earthquake zones, two of which are in the desert
regions, one in the area embracing the city of Val-
paraiso, and the fourth in the district extending
from Concepcion to Chiloe. When an earthquake
occurs on the coast, as was the case in 1906, on the
destruction of Valparaiso, tidal waves are occasion-
ally formed, and in some instances cause greater
damage than the earthquake itself.

In the middle of the sixteenth century Governor
Mendoza of Peru founded the present Argentine
city of Mendoza at the foot of the cordillera on the
banks of the river which descends from the snows of
Aconcagua. The latter-day prosperity of the Ar-
gentine Republic and the productiveness of the soil
in the western areas of that country led to the
extension of the railway to Mendoza and to an ex-
pansion of the interchange of commerce between
the two countries. At a later period a railway was
constructed to the foot of the cordillera on the
Chilean side, which, with a further extension of the

Photograph by George Grantham Bain

RAMON BARROS LUGO, PRESIDENT OF CHILE

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE185

line from Mendoza in a westerly direction, brought
the two Republics within a distance of 120 kilo-
metres of each other. A tunnel was then pierced
through the mountains for the purpose of joining
these two lines, and in 1909 the international rail-
road was opened to public traffic. Prior to the com-
pletion of the road, land communication was only
possible during the summer months and even then,
notwithstanding the sure-footedness of the trained
mules which carried the travellers, the steep and
rugged character of the central portion of the cor-
dillera rendered the crossing of the Andes a peril-
ous and exciting adventure, causing the majority of
people to prefer the route of the Pacific Mail Steam-
ers plying between Montevideo and Valparaiso,
which took eleven or twelve days to make the
passage. The scenery one passes in the railway
journey through these elevated regions is much more
beautiful and imposing than that of Switzerland.
The railway mounts the rocky slopes of the great
range, crossing precipices as though it were pene-
trating an unknown world. As the train gradually
ascends, the whiteness of the perpetual snows, which
with the rays of the sun appear like a silver breast-
plate, causes the black shadows of the rails to
vanish from sight, whilst above this vast white
horizon there arises, in all its majesty and beauty,
the imposing Aconcagua. The contrast presented
by the view at this point of the colossal mountains

186 THE TWO AMERICAS

and the despairing flatness and monotony of the
desolate pampas of Argentina, where there is no
tree to give its pleasing shade and no green spots
to attract the eye, is truly remarkable. In the Ar-
gentine Pampa are the deserted prairies which ex-
tend for an immense distance without variation of
any kind, and on these mountain heights, toward the
west, there is a view of the palpitating life of nature
in its most beautiful and diverse forms. At the bor-
der between Argentina and Chile, a few metres from
the railway, there is the famous bronze monument
of ''The Christ of the Andes," which was erected
to celebrate the opening of the international rail-
road and to perpetuate the friendship of the two
nations which had but a short time before been
on the verge of war. Symbolising the act of bless-
ing the two countries, the beautiful statue seems to
be whispering those divine words, "Love one an-
other, ' ' and to be a treaty of peace carved in stone.
On the Chilean side the railroad runs along preci-
pices and naked rocks until it reaches the valley of
Aconcagua, where there are rich and fertile lands
as well tilled and cultivated as the best in France.
In this rich soil, which yields fruits and products of
the highest quality, there are also extensive vine-
yards and pastures feeding sheep, cattle and horses.
Running parallel with the rails is a road for vehic-
ular and pedestrian traffic and there for the first
time I saw the huaso or Chilean native, in his

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 187

national costume, carrying his picturesque poncho.
His bronzed complexion and energetic expression
emphasise his strength of character, while his
physique and fighting qualities which make him one
of the best soldiers of America also make him a ca-
pable workman in any branch of industry in which
he is always laborious and skilful. He invariably
travels on horseback and carries enough provisions
in his saddle-bags to enable him to make excursions,
occasionally lasting several days, through the abrupt
mountain slopes. In character the Chilean huaso is
a fine type of humanity; strong, like his mountains,
frank, loyal and brave, he is willing to make any
sacrifice for a considerate employer, but is a relent-
less enemy of those who ill treat him. Like all
Chileans he is extremely hospitable and patriotic.
During my journey to Chile I made a short stay
amongst these people and one of them, having heard
that I was a friend of his country, invited me to his
home to partake of a meal. I accepted the invitation
and was bountifully regaled by a variety of sea-
sonable and delicious native dishes. After the lunch
his wife, accompanying herself on the guitar, feel-
ingly rendered some national patriotic and love
songs, and the husband subsequently related to me
many of the triumphs and other interesting episodes
of the various wars in which Chilean troops had
been engaged.

The topography of Chile is almost unique, being

188 THE TWO AMERICAS

comparable only with that of Egypt and Norway.
In the northern section of the country there are
the nitrate beds which contain vast deposits of
that fertilising product. The central portions em-
brace the rich valleys and populous centres, and in
the south, down to the Straits of Magellan, there
are the wide, grassy plains, devoted to the success-
ful raising of cattle, sheep and horses. The nitrate
lands are situated between the coast and the terri-
tory of the plateau of Bolivia. These lands have no
vegetation and are perpetually without rain, to
which they owe the existence of the nitrate deposits,
which rain would dissolve and wash away. At many
points of this district there are railroads to carry
the product to the factories where it undergoes a
process of dissolution and crystallisation and is pre-
pared for exportation. The deposits are usually
found at a few inches below the surface, in layers
of about one metre thick, the mineral being of an
ashy color and so hard as to render blasting by
dynamite necessary for its removal. The nitrate
grounds cover a very extensive area, and it is esti-
mated that there are enough deposits still unex-
ploited to supply the necessities of the world for a
century or more to come. Nitrate is one of the
most important sources of revenue for the country,
which collects an export duty upon it, and in the
thirty years from 1880 to 1909 the amount collected
from this tax considerably exceeded $400,000,000.

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 189

It has frequently been said that the concentration
of national effort upon the development of this
industry would ultimately produce bad, rather than
good, results, as was the case with the guano indus-
try in Peru, but from what has happened down to
the present time these forebodings of evil do not
appear to have been justified, as the Government
and nation have worked harmoniously to utilise the
immense revenues created by this industry in the
construction of railways and other reproductive
public works. On the other hand sight is not being
lost of other sources of national wealth which are
in course of development upon an energetic and ex-
tensive scale. In this northern section of the coun-
try the two principal cities are Serena and Co-
quimbo. Serena is an exact counterpart of many
of the old cities of Spain and was built at some
distance from the coast, in all probability to make
it easier of defence against the English and German
pirates who made frequent raids upon those shores
which Sir Francis Drake plundered and desolated
in 1578. The city of Coquimbo is more modern in
character, has a good port and is centrally located,
although except where irrigation has been effected
its surrounding lands are arid and have no vege-
tation.

Santiago, the beautiful Capital of Chile, is in the
centre of a fertile valley on the banks of the Ma-
pocho Eiver and is overlooked by the Cerro de

190 THE TWO AMERICAS

Santa Lucia, whose shadows give it the appearance
of a great watch tower. There is also another
height called San Cristobal on the top of which
there is a gigantic statue of the Virgin. From the
spacious and handsome thoroughfares in which
there are many artistically designed one-story
dwellings, rendered still more ornamental by the
varied colours of their stucco enrichments, one sees
the imposing chain of the Andes with their beauti-
ful covering of snow, and, above them all, the Acon-
cagua and the Tucumgato, which present a magnifi-
cent spectacle. Practically equidistant from the
sea and the mountains, Santiago has a beautiful
climate as is evidenced by the health, the vigour,
and the longevity of its inhabitants, many of whom
are centenarians. In that favored city there is an
absence of the rigours of the seasons. There the
winter is like the autumn, and the summer like
spring, the city being sheltered from the cold of
winter by the two ranges protecting the valley in
which it is built; and refreshed in summer by the
cool currents from the South Pole, while the serenity
of the lovely blue sky is scarcely ever disturbed by
the appearance of a cloud.

The people of Santiago are extremely simple and
modest in bearing, and even among the wealthiest
classes there is a strong desire to preserve ancient
customs and to resist the invasion of modern ras-
taquairism. When attending Church or taking their

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 191

walks abroad the ladies wear as an outer covering
a black shawl or manto which lends to them a cer-
tain grace and dignity and forms a dark frame
that reveals the beauty of their faces and the bril-
liancy of their eyes. One of the most marked char-
acteristics of Santiago's society, and indeed of all
the Chilean people, is the cordial hospitality they
offer to the stranger who is almost tempted to pitch
his tents under the blue sky beneath the chain of the
famous mountains.

After Santiago the most important city in the
Republic is Valparaiso, which is the terminus of the
transcontinental railway and the most important
western port of South America. In this city where
everything is subordinated to the commercial de-
mands of the port the buildings are higher, in most
cases, than in Santiago, although it is situated in the
very heart of the earthquake zone. The port and
harbour are now being considerably extended in
order to prepare for the immense growth of com-
merce which is expected to result from the opening
of the Panama Canal ; and when that great work is
completed Valparaiso will be the terminal port
for the vessels passing through the Canal to South
America, as well as for those which navigate the
Straits of Magellan or double Cape Horn. Even
today its importance may be seen by the numerous
entries and departures of ships trading along the
coast of Chile, through Peru, Ecuador and Colombia

192 THE TWO AMERICAS

to Panama, besides those which trade with San
Francisco and the great ocean steamers plying be-
tween Chile, Australia and Asia.

In the centre of the mountains at the point whence
the bay of Valparaiso was first observed there is to
be a monument erected to the memory of 0 'Higgins,
who, when he went from Santiago to despatch the
ships which were going to fight for the independence
of Chile and Peru, said: "On these few mountain
paths depends the welfare of the country." Hap-
pily that is no longer the case, Valparaiso now being
the commercial capital of the Republic, with all the
possibilities of attaining greater importance as a
port than either San Francisco or Vancouver, when
the greater development of the mineral and other
resources of Chile begins to follow the opening of
the Canal. The rapidity with which the city has
been rebuilt since its destruction in 1906 affords
abundant proof of the energy and enterprise of its
inhabitants.

The political organization of the country is wor-
thy of special mention. The President of the Re-
public is chosen from the ranks of the public men
noted for their integrity and for the services they
have rendered to the country, and there are in-
stances, such as that of the actual President, Don
Ramon Barros Luco, who has served his fellow citi-
zens faithfully and continuously for more than forty
years, in which all the political parties combined in

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 193

order to make his election as Chief Magistrate unan-
imous. Political passion and hatred are less intense
in Chile than in many other countries of South
America. In Congress, where public questions are
frequently debated with considerable heat, there is
mutual respect amongst its members and often the
most cordial social relations amongst those of ex-
treme party views, and these conditions obtain
throughout the country where personal friendship
and patriotism are placed above political considera-
tions. The Chilean people are imbued with the true
spirit of civic life. Members of Congress are not
only not paid for their services but they are sub-
jected to so many calls for public and private charity
as to make the honor of representation a very costly
privilege.

Unlike the people of other Latin-American coun-
tries the Chileans excel both as soldiers and sailors,
their love of the sea having led to their being called
the English of South America, whilst the Chilean
army, though numbering no more than about 13,000
men, has been stated by an eminent German military
expert to be one of the finest in the world from
the point of view of training, discipline and fighting
qualities. The greater proportion of the popula-
tion of Chile are of pure European descent without
a trace of African blood and it is doubtless to this
circumstance and their mixture with the highest
types of aboriginals that they owe their possession

194 THE TWO AMERICAS

of the qualities which distinguish them from the
people of the sister republics. One hears and reads
much of the famous Incas, but beyond all question
the finest tribe of Indians which at any time inhab-
ited the southern portion of the American continent
are the Araucanians of Chile. These people were a
nomad pastoral race who understood the value of
military organization and were imbued with such
courage and intelligence as to leave them the only
unconquered Indians in all America. Of these in-
domitable warriors, who in early times inflicted
defeat after defeat upon the invaders of their terri-
tory, there are still about 100,000 living in the peace-
ful pursuit of their pastoral and agricultural avo-
cations as law-abiding citizens of the Republic,
justly proud of their ancestry and of their achieve-
ments. They dwell in their camps under the domes-
tic government of a Chief belonging to a family
which has ruled the tribe from time immemorial,
and the hereditary principle was only departed from
in former times when the eldest son was incapable of
assuming command of his fellow-warriors from
amongst whom, when fighting was necessary, the
strongest and bravest was specially selected. Their
arms consisted of a wooden sabre with an edge of
flint, or a tomahawk of stone, occasionally varied by
a loaded wooden hammer. When Valdivia crossed
the River Biobio and penetrated Araucanian terri-
tory the Chiefs of these Indians assembled in con-

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 195

gress and after lengthy deliberation decided to con-
test the progress of the invader. At the beginning
they were defeated by the fire-arms of the mounted
Spanish troops, until Valdivia advanced to the point
where the city bearing his name was built. Later,
however, the Araucanos attacked the Spanish forces
at about a hundred miles south of the River Biobio
and by their numbers and bravery secured a com-
plete victory over the Spaniards whom they anni-
hilated. During the colonial period the wars be-
tween the Araucanos and the Spaniards were re-
sumed at frequent intervals, but the Indians, hav-
ing learned how to defend themselves with the arms
they had captured, secured repeated victories. They
also, like the Bed Indians of North America, bred
horses for use in war ; and they were able to count
in their ranks many born tacticians such as Latauro
and the great Caupolican, who were as brave as they
were skilful in war. When they were worsted in
an engagement they retreated to their forests to
rehabilitate and to prepare themselves for fresh
attacks upon the enemy. In the end, a treaty was
established with the Araucanos whereby the River
Biobio was fixed as the boundary limit dividing the
colony from their territory, but these brave Indians
never submitted and were able to preserve their in-
dependence even after that of Chile was declared.
The effects of this treaty, through their contact with
white people and the establishment of commercial

196 THE TWO AMERICAS

intercourse, led to an abatement of their warlike ten-
dencies and ultimately to their final pacification,
and in 1881 when Chile established her authority
over the city of Temuco, founded in the centre of
Araucanian territory, a gathering of the tribal
Chiefs took place, at which it was decided that the
Araucanos should incorporate themselves as citi-
zens of Chile. Thus these unconquered aboriginals
are today contributing to the industrial develop-
ment of the country with the same advantageous
results as they conferred upon its people in trans-
planting their exceptional qualities of character.
No actual knowledge exists as to the number of
individuals who constituted the Araucanian nation
at the time of the Conquerors. It has been esti-
mated at 400,000 but this figure would seem to be
excessive when it is taken into account that the
means of subsistence were very meagre, that they
were possessed of very little cattle, and that the
forests and surrounding country furnished but little
animal food to the hunter. Since their intercourse
with the white man their numbers have been dimin-
ished by tuberculous affections, notwithstanding the
efforts made to protect them from that scourge.
Until 1881, when they came under the dominion of
the Chilean Government, no success attended the
many attempts to convert them to Christianity.
Their religion was like that of many of the aborig-
inal tribes of America. They adored a Superior

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 197

Spirit and in their rites they prayed for good
weather and that the evil spirit should not enter
their bodies. Their priests were their women-folk
who were educated from childhood to understand
their functions. For the religious ceremonies they
selected a sacred tree, in which they carved out a
series of steps which were mounted by the priests
to perform the rites. When the tree died the trunk
was still regarded as sacred and on feast-days they
displayed their reverence by adorning it with such
flowers as they were able to collect. The adoration
of the sun, as practised by the Incas, was not per-
mitted amongst the Araucanos, the majority of
whom are to-day adherents of the Christian faith.
Missionaries engaged amongst them declare them
to be highly intelligent and easy to manage and
educate, when they are treated with consideration,
but they are the very reverse of docile or submissive
if they are treated harshly or unjustly. After the
European revolution of 1848 a German colony es-
tablished itself in Araucanian territory and formed
the city of Osorno. Many of these Germans have
intermarried with the Araucanos and the colony is
at the present time one of the most flourishing and
progressive in the Republic of Chile.

Throughout my travels in South America I was
overwhelmed by the kindness and hospitality ex-
tended to me, but I should be wanting in gratitude
and in my desire to do justice to the generous in-

198 THE TWO AMERICAS

stincts of the Chilean people and to an adequate
description of their life and customs if I failed to
record, at least briefly, in these pages my grateful
recollections of a trip to Almahue, the estate of my
old friends, Messrs. Eobert and William Lyon, who
invited me with my son to make the visit. Other
guests invited with me were General Eduardo Gor-
maz, Julio Pereira, Ismael Pereira, Vicente Eeyes
Solar, Eduardo Correa E., Fernando Suber-
casseaux, Horacio Edwards, Luis Varas (Governor
of Cachapoal), Adolf o Luco Blanco, Eaul Besa
Eodriguez, Gabriel Vidal and Manuel Merchan
Lecaros.

We left Santiago in a Pullman coach and after
being served with luncheon arrived at the village
of Eengo, where the railway station was decorated
with flowers and flags of Colombia and Chile inter-
twined. A band of music played the hymns of the
two nations, which were also sung by a large num-
ber of school children assembled there for that pur-
pose. The boy scouts in their khaki uniform formed
in line and presented arms as we passed. Vivas
were raised for Colombia which I reciprocated by
similar salutations to Chile. In Peumo there was
another reception of the same kind, whilst a boy and
a girl recited eloquent addresses accentuating the
traditional friendship between Chile and Colombia.
They proclaimed the great Bolivar as the genius of
liberty and independence in America, and made flat-

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 199

tering acknowledgment of the friendship I had al-
ways shown to their country. The Governor, the
Parish Priest and the Chief of Police also made
speeches of welcome, to which, profoundly moved
by the references to Bolivar and to Colombia, I re-
plied, expressing my gratitude for these kindly man-
ifestations which were an eloquent proof of the tra-
ditional and patriarchal hospitality of the noble
Chilean people. I added that the acknowledgment
of the genius of Bolivar was an act of justice as
well as of glory and of honour for the entire con-
tinent, and with sentiments of the deepest respect
for the tribute to that great man I desired to link
with his name the names of two other South Ameri-
can heroes, 0 'Higgins and Portales. I further said
that the military instruction imparted in the Chilean
schools tended to preserve the high qualities of those
great men; that the presence of the Parish Priest
showed the harmony existing between the State and
the Church; and that the military exercises of the
children, so admirably performed, was a proof of
the national respect for the army and the navy and
furnished an explanation of the strength and pa-
triotism of the Chilean nation.

Arriving at the beautiful home of the estate of
Almahue, which had the aspect of an English coun-
try mansion, surrounded by a large park, extensive
vineyards, pastures and woods, covering an area of
14,000 hectares, irrigated by the adjacent lakes and

200 THE TWO AMERICAS

waters, we were welcomed at the door by Dona
Lucia Besa Rodriguez, the wife of our host, Don
Guillermo Lyon. I had recently become acquainted
in Paris with this lady, who was greatly admired
in that city for her beauty, her modesty, and her
grace of manner, which are the attributes of most
Chilean ladies. On entering the great salon the vis-
itors received an agreeable surprise. They found
themselves in the middle of a forest of palms, wil-
lows and cypresses adorned with chrysanthemums
and other flowers which gave the room the appear-
ance of a scene from fairyland. Champagne was
served and after a sumptuous dinner there was an
improvised programme of excellent music.

On the following day we visited the mixed school
of the estate where there were more than sixty
children of both sexes, there being two others of a
similar kind for the education of the children of the
labourers on the estate. On horses and in coaches
the visitors were then . escorted to the beautiful
church and to the dwellings of the overseers and
work-people for whom kitchen gardens and recrea-
tion grounds were also provided. There were seen
here a troop of magnificent horses, mares and colts
of the hackney type, percherons and race-horses
equal to those one might see in the famous studs of
Europe, whence many of them of distinguished pedi-
gree had been imported.

We returned to the house for luncheon which was

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE201

given in the forest-rooin. The table adornments
composed of flowers and fruits were formed into
figures of the Cross which I understood to mean
that the home was protected by that holy symbol.
The floor was covered with fresh branches to give
completeness to the general effect, and the Chilean
and Colombian flags were intertwined in fraternal
embrace. Don Roberto Lyon spoke a few eloquent
words of welcome and I responded by proposing the
health of the lady of the house, her distinguished
husband, and my fellow-guests. When the meal was
over there was music and the cueca was danced by
the younger people. The dance was artistically exe-
cuted and reminded me of the bolero, the habanera,
the bambuco, the jota, the torbellino, and the fan-
dango, in which the dancers performed individually,
expressing in their movements the sentimental char-
acter of the people. The cueca is danced with more
grace, with greater animation, and with deeper in-
tensity than the tango; and there is no doubt that it
will become a popular terpsichorean exercise in
other countries when it becomes better known.

There was later a parade of more than a hundred
school children, well dressed, happy and healthy in
appearance. A representative of each school car-
ried the Chilean flag and sang the national hymn
with genuine enthusiasm. These were followed by
the tenants and labourers, numbering about four
hundred, mounted on splendid horses with luxurious

202 THE TWO AMERICAS

saddles, some with spurs of silver, who displayed
their affection for their employers by deafening
cheers. The parade lasted a considerable time and
the procession gave one the impression of a regi-
ment of robust warriors, only lacking the lance and
the sword, which, in case of need, those who took
part would willingly take up in defense of the na-
tional honour. Among these sturdy workers there
were many men of extreme old age, like the overseer,
Luciano Pino, who rode a spirited horse and carried
his ninety years with all the agility and strength
of an active youth, and in the procession there were
others as old and as strong.

After the parade we were taken in coaches and on
horseback, under the escort of the four hundred
horsemen, to a nearby camp where two platforms
had been erected for dancing. Here also there were
foot and horse races in which the men took part;
and there was played the exciting and popular game
of the vara or tapiadura, wherein tens of horsemen
participate. Wine was distributed in abundance
and camp-fires were lighted to cook the food pro-
vided by our hosts. The sports being concluded we
returned to the family home and after having bidden
farewell to the lady of the house proceeded on our
way.

This imposing country festival was a revelation to
me, and, as I subsequently discovered, a true exam-
ple of the life of large Chilean estates where, as in

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 203

Almahue, there are many tenants and labourers be-
tween whom and the owners there exist mutual re-
spect and affection.

The mineral wealth of Chile is of such proportions
as to have justified the investment of the many
millions already employed in its development, most
of which have yielded satisfactory returns, in spite
of the absence of direct means of communication and
of the fact that the ores have to be exported by the
circuitous and expensive route of the Magellan
Straits. With the opening of the Panama Canal
mineral exports will increase considerably, and
amongst those taking part in the development of
this branch of native industry the Bethlehem Steel
Company of the United States are actively develop-
ing the iron deposits of Tofo, near Coquimbo, the
products of which will all be exported through the
Canal. These favorable prospects are also shared
by those engaged in the cultivation and export of
fruits and other natural products. The excellence
of the climate, the superior qualities of the soil, and
the fact that Chile produces fruits of the temperate
zone in a season during which they are not pro-
duced in Europe or the United States, should largely
extend the market which is at present limited to
home consumption and to the neighbouring Eepub-
lics. Chile possesses all the elements for a vast ex-
pansion of this industry and there is no reason why
in the course of a few years her fruit-producing cen-

204 THE TWO AMERICAS

tres should not become formidable rivals of Valen-
cia, Florida and Los Angeles. I remember when,
thirty years ago, the banana industry was estab-
lished on a small scale on the coasts of the Sea of
the Antilles, in Central America, Colombia and Ja-
maica. Today the United Fruit Company, founded
by Mr. Minor Keith, to whom most of the countries
named owe their economic redemption, owns a large
fleet of steamers which carry bananas to almost
every quarter of the globe and derive profits
amounting to millions of dollars annually. There
are precisely as great chances for a corporation
well organized and skillfully conducted to create
as great an industry in the fruits of Chile as has
been done in Central America by the United Fruit
Company. Fourteen years ago Mr. Izquierdo
founded a nursery of fruit plants, flowers and other
growths for decorative purposes. It was thought
at the time that the enterprise would fail and that
it had no future. Mr. Izquierdo, however, un-
daunted by the warnings of his friends, persisted in
his ideas, with the result that his establishment sup-
plies hundreds of thousands of plants for use in
Chile and Argentina, and is now extending his op-
erations to other countries of South America.

There is little doubt that within a few years Chile
will become the garden of the temperate zone in
South America, and the population necessary for a
proper exploitation of its mineral and fruit indus-

MERCURIC BUILDING, VALPARAISO, CHILE

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 205

tries will flock to its shores together with foreign
capital and transform the country as rapidly as
California was transformed after the termination of
the transcontinental railroad. A satisfactory fea-
ture in this direction is that Chile, alone amongst
South American countries, owns its railroads, which
permits not only of reduced tariffs but also of the
construction of new lines from the proceeds of sur-
plus revenues, and at the present time a line, to
be called the Longitudinal Railroad, extending from
one extreme end of the Republic to the other, is in
course of construction.

Equally with the central valley in which is built
the beautiful Santiago the southern part of the Re-
public down to the Straits of Magellan is noted for
its fertility and wealth of resource. In this region
there are copious rainfalls and great rivers like
the Maule and the Biobio, the latter being near to
the city of Concepcion, which is the most important
of the southern part of Chile, where also there are
several ports. Great impetus has lately been given
to sheep breeding in the lands adjacent to the pros-
perous city of Punta Arenas, while agriculture is
also flourishing owing to the low price and large
extensions of the land which belongs, in great part,
to the State, which is thus enabled to establish a
system of colonization whereby the settlers ulti-
mately become the land-owners, as occurs in Argen-
tina and Brazil.

206 THE TWO AMERICAS

A short distance from Valparaiso, on the road to
Santiago, is situated the beautiful bathing place of
Vina del Mar which contains many handsome resi-
dences and villas erected there by the wealthier
classes of Santiago who pass the summer season,
the months of January and February, in that de-
lightful watering-place, whose spacious avenues and
well constructed roads are shaded by a variety of
old trees. The town is made additionally attrac-
tive by the agreeable nature of the climate, which
is mild in winter and never too hot in summer.

The population of Chile is estimated at about
4,000,000 inhabitants, the annual increase being
small, due to its geographical situation and to a
consequent lack of immigration, which have made
it dependent upon natural augmentation. As in the
case of the other Eepublics to the north, the propor-
tion of foreigners to inborn citizens is particularly
small and in Chile is only about 41 per 1,000. Edu-
cation is rapidly reducing the number of illiterates,
but unfortunately the rate of infant mortality is
somewhat high and is now occupying the serious
attention of the Government. On the whole Chile
is a land of order and progress, where liberty and
enlightenment go hand in hand, and in the new field
of thought and action held out by the linking of her
coasts of the Pacific with those of the Atlantic, her
sons will find a stimulus to renewed energy in every
branch of national life.

CHAPTER XIII

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

Topography and History

nnHE great wealth of the natural resources of the
* Argentine Eepublic and the vast territorial
extension in which there are climates of all the tem-
perate and torrid zones, have attracted to its shores
an ever-growing tide of immigration and a fabulous
amount of foreign investment, British capital alone
aggregating considerably over $2,000,000,000. In
the course of comparatively few years Argentina's
formerly wasted areas have given birth to many
cities ; railways have been extended in all directions,
fomenting agriculture and commerce and carrying
to the numerous ports the prolific production of
that wonderful land which provides a great part of
humanity with its meat and its wool and where
cattle, refined by the best strains of European blood,
horses and sheep are counted by millions. The agri-
cultural industries have so increased that to-day
they rival, and in some cases surpass, those of the
United States, justifying the description of the Ar-
gentine Republic as "the world's granary"; and all

207

208 THE TWO AMERICAS

this progress has been made with a population that
has not yet reached the number of eight million in-
habitants and with but fifteen per cent, of the culti-
vable area of the country placed under cultivation.

Geographically the Argentine Republic may be
divided into four regions: (1) the Pampa, embrac-
ing the Province of Buenos Aires and the centre of
the country in which the wealthiest estancias are lo-
cated; (2) the Great Chaco, which includes all the
northern part with tropical climates ; (3) the Andine
region which extends from the frontier on the south-
ern borders of Bolivia to the frontier of Chile ; and
(4) the Patagonian region, extending from the Eiver
Colorado to Cape Horn. The latter region derives
its name from the extensive foot-prints of human
feet which the conquerors found in those vast tracts ;
and it is but a short time back that this then un-
known territory was described by distinguished
travellers, including Darwin, as unsuitable for cul-
tivation and unfit for human habitation. To-day
it is a fertile country abounding in rich grass-land,
in woods and in water, where the cultivation of
sheep is conducted upon an immense scale, the scar-
city of rainfall having destroyed its value for agri-
cultural purposes, although it is irrigated by six
large rivers: the Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz,
Deseado, Coyly and Gallegos. In former times fab-
ulous stories were related of the gigantic propor-
tions of the Patagonian people, but it is now known

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 209

that although they were of larger stature than that
of the average man — some of them of a height of
six feet four inches — the average is only a little
higher than that of other parts, the belief as to their
immense height having been caused by the fact that
they were extremely tall in body and short in legs,
thus giving an impression, when on horseback, that
they were of abnormal size.

The real Argentina, however, is the Pampa. It is
this vast and fertile land that produces the wealth
and prosperity of the country. It is in this section
that the traveller finds his % mistake in supposing
that the Argentine Republic contains only plains for
grazing and land for the production of grain. In
this section are the rich lands and prosperous
cities, and it is here where agriculture flourishes
apace. The Pampa is covered with a rich variety of
grasses, reaching to a depth of a metre below the
surface; and in tracts, enclosed by wire fencing,
there are kept millions of head of cattle, sheep and
horses of a quality as good as the best in England
or the United States. In the same region there is
extensive cultivation, with the most modern scien-
tific methods, of wheat, corn, barley, alfalfa, linseed
and other products, whilst in Mendoza, wine grow-
ing is an important industry.

The geological formation of the Pampa is a com-
bination of sand, mud of reddish colour and the red
earth of Brazil, intercepted by veins of rock known

210 THE TWO AMERICAS

as "tosca." This extends to the 38th degree, or a
little beyond, and it elicited from Darwin the de-
scription of the "Pampa of Mud." The thickness
of this covering varies considerably, averaging
about 14 metres and corresponding geologically to
the fourth formation, known as the Deluvian. In
this combination there have been found a great
quantity of remains of mammals of enormous size,
and in the excavation of a canal, in any direction,
the natives still search for the discovery of whole
skeletons. Much speculation is rife as to how these
great animals were kept alive, although it is gen-
erally believed that they were not of a voracious
character but of the order of the elephant which
maintains itself. It has been suggested that these
animals disappeared during the glacial period,
which killed the mastodon and left life to the small
birds only. The theory of Bravard is that there was
a vast simoom or sand-storm which killed and cov-
ered these animals but this theory is opposed by
the fact that the greater part of the skeletons are
fragmentary, whereas, if they had been destroyed
by the simoom or sand-storm they would be pre-
served intact. The opinion of Darwin is that this
species which existed in all tropical America down
to the icy mountains, as in the surroundings of
Bogota, were not destroyed in the manner described
by Bravard, but that their destruction came with the
flood. This is also the opinion of D'Orbigny who

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 211

said that the deposit of the great Argentine Pampa
was formed by the invasion of the waters. Darwin
likewise found a great quantity of the remains of
mastodons in Bahia Blanca, in Bajada, and on the
coast and in the tributaries of the Eio Negro, which
proves that these animals, or their remains, were
driven to the coasts. It is thought that the Pata-
gonian region was an immense lake or sea and that
the system of the rivers of South America at that
time was different from that of to-day, with the re-
sult that the immense volume of the waters of the
Parana and the Paraguay bathed the north of the
continent and accumulated masses of mud to the
extent of converting that great sea into dry land
and forming the Pampa.

The climate in Argentina varies in relation to its
great extension of 4,000 kilometres from the north
to the south. In the Provinces of Buenos Aires,
Santa Fe, San Luis, Mendoza, a part of Cordoba,
and a part of one or two of the neighboring Prov-
inces the climate is that of the temperate zone, with
mild winters and moderate summers, but in the
north the climate is hot and humid. Towards the
south the cold is more intense, and during the win-
ter, which lasts from May until early in October,
there are frequent heavy snow-falls. In Buenos
Aires spring-time begins in September and ends in
the middle of December ; the summer ends in March ;
the autumn continues until the end of May and the

212 THE TWO AMERICAS

winter during the rest of the year. Generally speak-
ing, the climate of Buenos Aires is pleasant and
favorable for the growth of a strong and vigorous
race. The most disagreeable feature is the wind
from the north, which comes down frequently in
winter and produces great changes in the tempera-
ture. The north winds are considered to be un-
healthy and invariably excite the nervous tempera-
ments of the portenos. In the summer the heat is
largely increased by the Pamperos; but on the
whole, notwithstanding occasional dry seasons, the
meteorological conditions of the Argentine Republic
may be favorably compared with those of any other
agricultural country.

The discovery and conquest of Argentina was of
less interest, at the time, than the founding of the
countries of the northern part of the continent
where there were abundant precious metals. It was
effected in 1515 by an expedition formed in Spain
by Don Juan Diaz de Solis. Starting out with three
ships the party left the port of Lepe on October 8th,
sailing as far South as latitude 35, where they fol-
lowed the coast in a westerly direction. Observing
that the waters in which they were floating were no
longer salty, de Solis assumed that he had struck
a large river, which in consequence of his being
unable to see the other coast he described as Mar
Dulce or Sweet Sea. Two of his vessels anchored
whilst with the third he proceeded along what is

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 213

now known as the Eiver Plate until he reached the
island to which he gave the name of Martin Garcia.
Here he disembarked but very soon afterwards met
his death at the hands of the Indians. After Solis a
Portuguese pilot, Don Hernando de Magallanes,
continued the voyage of discovery in the Eiver Plate
and in 1520 found the Mount Cerro opposite what
has since become the city of Montevideo. On April
10, 1526, another Spanish expedition left Seville
and its commander, Don Sebastian Gabotto, having
been successful in ascending the rivers Parana and
Uruguay, established the fort of Espiritu Santo in
the Delta of the former river. These early discov-
eries in the River Plate led to a great deal of jeal-
ousy and desire for territorial extension amongst
the monarchs of Europe, and toward the year 1535
the Emperor Charles V decided to send out explor-
ing parties, with Don Pedro de Mendoza in com-
mand, to whom as an inducement the offer was made
of a governorship for life over any territories he
might conquer or otherwise acquire. The Mendoza
expedition consisted of a fleet of 14 vessels and
about two thousand men, many of whom were Ger-
mans. This force entered the River Plate in Feb-
ruary, 1536, and landed on the spot which now con-
stitutes the capital of the Argentine Republic. Here
a township was formed, Mendoza giving it the name
of Santa Maria de Buenos Aires. Subsequently the
little township was destroyed by the Querandi In-

214 THE TWO AMERICAS

dians who inhabited the region. Meanwhile his prin-
cipal lieutenant, Don Juan de Ayolas, continued the
ascent of the River Parana and after numerous
fights with the various Indian tribes occupying the
land founded the town of Asuncion, now the capital
of the Paraguayan Eepublic. Like several of his
predecessors and successors Ayolas was murdered
by the Indians and until 1576, when Don Juan de
Gavay was made Governor, little extension took
place. The latter, however, resolved to attempt the
reconquest of Buenos Aires and leaving Asuncion
for that purpose arrived at the site of the township
founded by Mendoza in 1536. Plans were drawn for
the demarcation of the limits of the town which the
Indians again essayed to destroy but were unsuc-
cessful in their attempt. The first inhabitants of
Buenos Aires were 50 Creoles and 19 Spaniards, and
with this second founding of the town the period of
conquest in the regions now comprising the Argen-
tine Eepublic may be said to have finally closed,
to be followed by a Colonial regime, which lasted
until 1810, when the existing form of Government
was proclaimed and established.

During the Viceroyalty of Rafael de Sobremonte,
from 1804 to 1806, the British Government de-
spatched a squadron of five vessels and a force of
1,500 soldiers, the former under the command of
Sir Home Popham, the latter under Sir William
Beresford, with a view to securing some of the then

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 215

much coveted territory in this part of South Amer-
ica. On June 25, 1806, Sir William Beresford and
his troops landed at a point some twenty miles south
of Buenos Aires and immediately marched on to
the town, which he occupied on the following day.
The inhabitants at once organised to repel the inva-
sion and appointed a number of officers to bring
reinforcements from Montevideo. On August 10th,
following, the whole of the suburbs of the town
were in the possession of the Spanish who demanded
the surrender of Beresford and his force. This
being refused the town was attacked from all sides,
and two days later Sir William Beresford and his
troops surrendered unconditionally. The British
Government, still believing in the possibility of a
reconquest of Buenos Aires, in the following year
sent out a body of 14,000 men under General White-
locke. These forces captured the town of Monte-
video and shortly afterwards made an attempt to
retake Buenos Aires. In this enterprise they were
wholly unsuccessful, being repulsed at every point
by the Spanish troops whose commander not only
compelled them to surrender in person, but also
demanded and obtained written undertakings that
the British forces would immediately evacuate the
city of Montevideo and the whole of the River
Plate.

In 1809 the last Viceroy was nominated by Spain
and he remained in office until the 25th of May, 1810,

216 THE TWO AMERICAS

the date on which an Administrative Assembly ap-
pointed by the people of Buenos Aires assumed
charge of the Government. The revolution of 1810,
which ended forever Spanish rule in the River
Plate, was the result of a political movement initi-
ated in the Colonies at a much earlier period. This
movement was mainly dictated by the feelings in-
spired through the inept and wretched form of gov-
ernment established over the Colonies, whilst the
repulse of the English invaders, the conquest of
Spain by Napoleon, and the Declaration of Inde-
pendence of the United States of America naturally
exercised their influence upon the inhabitants of the
River Plate territories and led them to the belief
that they could organise and conduct their own af-
fairs independently of the mother country with
much greater advantage and freedom than they had
enjoyed under Spanish rule. On the 13th of the
previous month news arrived in Montevideo of the
invasion of Andalusia by the French, of the fall of
the Bourbons, and of the anarchy reigning in Spain.
The hour for the Americans had arrived, and, dis-
carding the supreme authority, the Argentine pa-
triots and miliary chiefs agreed, and carried the
people with them, that a complete change of Gov-
ernment was necessary. A popular assembly was
convened, the voting resulting in the deposition of
the Viceroy and the creation of an Administrative
Congress. The members of this body were duly

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 217

nominated by the Cabildos or Mayoral Councils un-
der the presidency of the former Spanish Viceroy,
but by reason of a strong popular protest this nom-
ination was cancelled on the same night. On May
25th the populace assembled in the Plaza de la
Victoria, proclaiming its political liberty and nam-
ing the first National Government. In order that
the same political change might be effected in the
other provinces of the ex-viceroyalty, Congress
equipped two military expeditions, one to Peru, the
other to Paraguay. Both these expeditions ulti-
mately succeeded in bringing the two provinces
under the new form of government. A very short
time elapsed, however, before the newly acquired
independence was seriously menaced by the Royal-
ists ; but, fortune favoring the Argentine forces, the
Royalists were defeated in all directions, and on
July 9, 1816, the Congress held in Tucuman declared
the Independence of the United Provinces of the
River Plate and proclaimed a national flag of blue
and white. The population of the Argentine was
divided into two classes, the urban and the rural;
the former more or less educated, the other largely
ignorant. These two classes, although unite'd in the
matter of independence, differed considerably in
their views regarding the constitution of the vari-
ous branches of the Executive. The provincial rep-
resentatives were in favor of a Federal form of
Government, whilst the educated classes desired the

218 THE TWO AMERICAS

Unitarian principle. Civil war arose out of this
dissension and so much anarchy prevailed that in
the one year, 1820, there were twelve changes of
Government in Buenos Aires. A more settled con-
dition was later created under the government of
General Rodriguez, but this only lasted until 1825,
when war was declared against Brazil with the ob-
ject of freeing the State of Uruguay. Meanwhile
Rivadavia was appointed President and under his
rule great progress was made.

In Buenos Aires during this period a National
Bank and a University were founded and other con-
siderable improvements in the city effected, but in
1827, after the defeat of the Brazilians by General
Alvear, the deposition of General Rivadavia took
place and with it the end of the Unitarian system of
Government. Various changes occurred in the Pres-
idency between 1827 and 1831, when Rozas secured
the establishment of the Federal system.

The tyrannical methods of the administration of
Rozas, who became Dictator, caused a setback in
the immigration and general advance of the country.
In 1852, after a revolution in which the Dictator
was defeated and fled to England, a new era of
political and social reorganisation set in, and in
1853 a Congress held in Santa Fe sanctioned the
National Constitution on the Federal system. The
Province of Buenos Aires not having taken part in
this Congress, a civil war resulted. Peace was again

Photograph by Paul Thompson
DR. ROQUE SAENZ PESA, PRESIDENT OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

PLAZA HOTEL, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 219

signed in 1865, but the Province of Buenos Aires
remained independent of the remaining States of the
Confederation. Four years later the Argentine
Confederation was again merged in war which
lasted for two years, after which the Constitution
was revised and definitely established in 1862 in the
form in which it now governs the Republic. Gen-
eral Bartolome Mitre, who had done much to pro-
duce the necessary reform of the Constitution, was
elected President of the Republic and it was during
his term of office that Don Francisco Solano Lopez,
the Dictator of Paraguay, who was at war with
Brazil, invaded the Province of Corrientes without
the sanction of the Argentine Government. As a re-
sult of this action Argentina became an ally of Bra-
zil and Uruguay, and after a war, which continued
for five years, defeated the Paraguayans and killed
Lopez.

General Mitre's successor in the Presidency was
General Sarmiento, who ruled from 1868 to 1874,
and to him is largely due the great advance which
has been made in Public Education. He was suc-
ceeded by Don Nicholas Avellaneda, who retained
the Presidency until 1880. During the intervening
period, with the military assistance of General Julio
A. Eoca, what is known as the conquest of the desert
took place, the whole of the plains of the Province
of Buenos Aires having been cleared of Indians,
who had hitherto impeded the development of the

220 THE TWO AMERICAS

agricultural industries in that part of the country.
In 1880 General Boca was elected President, and
on September 21st of the same year the City of
Buenos Aires was declared the Federal Capital of
the Eepublic. General Koca, having completed his
six years' tenure of the chief magistracy, was fol-
lowed by Don Miguel Juarez Celman, who resigned
on the 7th of August, 1890, after a political revolu-
tion of some importance. The then Vice-President,
Dr. Carlos Pellegrini, became President and held
the position until it became vacant by effluxion of
time. On the 12th of October, 1892, Dr. Luis Saenz
Pena was elected President, resigning his office in
January, 1895, and was succeeded in turn, until 1898,
by the Vice-President, Dr. Jose E. Uriburu. In
October of that year General Julio A. Boca again
became President. With the return of General Boca
it was generally felt throughout the country that its
destinies were to be controlled by a man who com-
bined the qualities of true statesmanship with those
of an experienced military commander. He had al-
ready rendered great service to the Bepublic in the
defense of law and order, and under his administra-
tion Argentina entered firmly upon its present stage
of progress. He likewise was mainly instrumental
in securing the arbitration of the boundary dispute
with Chile, which had brought the two countries to
the verge of war. Dr. Manuel Quintana, an enlight-
ened patriot and accomplished lawyer, succeeded

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 221

General Boca in the Presidency, but his unfortunate
death took place before he had completed the first
half of his term, when the Vice-President, Dr.
Figueroa Alcorta, assumed the Chief Magistracy.
The President now is Dr. Boque Saenz Pena, whose
father, as set forth above, had already filled that
high office. Dr. Boque Saenz Pena, who is the
author of several notable works on international
jurisprudence, is free from party political affilia-
tions, and his wise administration is popular both
at home and abroad.

CHAPTER XIV

IN CAMP AND CITY

npHE ethnical conditions of the Argentine Repub-
•*• lie are similar in some respects to those of
Chile and Uruguay. The native race is gradually
disappearing and the negro is practically non-exist-
ent. The unsolved problem of the origin of the
natives of South America is still discussed with
much interest and doubt. Aristotle suggested the
view that at one time there existed a western con-
tinent corresponding to Africa. He was of the opin-
ion that it was possible to make a journey from
Europe to India by a westerly route if the diffi-
culty of the great extension of the Atlantic could
have been overcome. It is believed that the Cartha-
ginians visited Madeira and the Canary Islands,
while the Roman poets and writers, including Sen-
eca, speak of lands on the other side of the Atlantic ;
and it has been proved that the Norsemen entered
North America by way of Greenland more than a
thousand years ago. On the other hand the origin
of the present population of the Argentine Republic
admits of no doubts of any kind. The people are
pure white with a predominance of the Spanish type.
Here have been mixed together the Basques, Cas-

222

tilians, Catalans, Andalusians, Galicians and Astu-
rians; and this mixture has produced a race of
physical and facial beauty unexcelled in any other
country of the American continent. To this con-
siderable Spanish element there must also be added
the flow of immigrants from other parts of Europe,
imbued with the spirit of enterprise, labour and
sincere love of the country of their adoption, who
have combined to stamp the Argentine Eepublic as
one of the most progressive countries of modern
times. Successive governments have realised, to the
fullest extent, the value of this immigration, which
is encouraged in every possible way; and it has
been estimated that each immigrant represents to
the State a capital of not less than $1,000.

The newcomers, who hail chiefly from Italy, Spain
and northern Europe, are placed, on arrival, in the
Immigrant Hotel, a handsome and spacious edifice
surrounded by parks and gardens and containing
comfortable sleeping quarters, dining rooms, drug
stores, banking agencies, medical service and other
accommodation with a capacity for housing five
thousand individuals. The traveller visiting this
notable institution would imagine himself in a com-
fortable modern hotel. The immigrants received
here are treated with solicitous and intelligent care
and are allocated to the various branches of indus-
try most suited to their condition, making them feel
from the day of their arrival on Argentine soil that

224 THE TWO AMERICAS

they are in a land of promise, a second fatherland,
which not only will give them shelter and food but
will place in their hands the means to acquire in-
dependence and even wealth according to their ca-
pacity and energy. It is by these methods, so highly
civilising and practical, that the Argentine Republic
is receiving every year an increasing inflow of immi-
grants as was the case in the United States in the
middle of the last century. These immigrants of
other races who adopt as their new homes the Ar-
gentine Republic and other Hispano- American coun-
tries are easily moulded into the customs and modes
of thought of the sons of the soil, and in the course
of a few generations the beautiful language of Cas-
tile will be the mother-tongue of a new race of Latin-
Americans in the * * continent of the future. ' ' There
they will also acquire the domestic virtues of the
people, where the woman is the sovereign of the
home and preserves the welfare and happiness of
the family by her modesty, her piety, her self-abne-
gation and her energy and fortitude. The old and
honourable Argentine families are zealous in de-
fence of the healthy and good customs inherited
from their ancestors and exercise the greatest care
to see that the old order is not merged into the
ideas and habits of the newcomers. The effect of
this is that the children of immigrants, precisely
as in the United States, become the most enthusi-
astic and loyal Argentine citizens, thus constituting

IN CAMP AND CITY 225

an element of the greatest force in the expansion
and extended influence of the country.

Notwithstanding the incessant activity and ever-
growing importance of the commercial movement
of the Argentine Eepublic the real source of its vast
production and the true life of the country are to
be found in its vast extension of camp, or on the
great estancias (ranches) whose products enrich
their owners as well as the food repositories of the
world. The Argentine land-owner of any impor-
tance whatever counts the extent of his land by the
league, numbers his holdings of live-stock by the
thousands, and employs hundreds of stock-riders,
shepherds and labourers to tend the animals and
pastures and to sow and reap his abundant har-
vests of cereals. On these estancias there is always
great anxiety for the care of the valuable pedigree
stock, which in many cases has been bred from
the most famous English strains, upon which mil-
lions are being spent. Indeed there is hardly an
agricultural show held in England where search is
not made for pedigree animals of the highest quality
for the supply of the Argentine campo. All the
animals bred in the Argentine Republic are born
and raised in the open, and although the best Amer-
ican stall-fed beef realises a higher price in the
European markets, experts declare it difficult to
distinguish the best American beef from the best
Argentine beef. Though there are many English

226 THE TWO AMERICAS

and German estancieros with extensive holdings
in the central part of the Republic the leading land-
owners and producers are natives of the country,
amongst whom may be mentioned such well-known
names as Cobo, Unzue, Martinez de Hoz, Casares,
Peyreira, Anchorena and others, who own pedigree
stock worth millions of dollars. Estancia life in Ar-
gentina, though apparently one of repose, is really
one of perpetual activity and incessant industry.
At every point of their extensive areas, there may
be seen, from early morn to sunset, troops of stock-
riders, of gauchos, labourers, harvesters, cultiva-
tors of the vine and a multiplicity of others, moving
hither and thither, on horseback or on foot, as cir-
cumstances require, as though every moment of time
was a thing of precious value. Yet when the sun
goes down and the workers return to their homes the
palatial dwellings of the estancieros and their fam-
ilies might be envied by the owners of the most beau-
tiful country homes of England and America. Gen-
erally surrounded by handsome lawns and flower-
gardens, with delightful terraces, the houses are
large, in order to accommodate the ever-present
guests, and are designed and furnished in the most
luxurious style. Everyone dresses for dinner and
the same etiquette is preserved as might be found
in the baronial halls of England Or in the castles of
France and Spain. All kinds of sport are provided
and in many instances there are beautiful golf links

IN CAMP AND CITY 227

and handsome tennis courts, whilst fishing, shooting
and riding are to be had in abundance.

In the case of those estancias largely devoted to
cattle-raising the animals are either purchased by
buyers coming to the estate or are sent once or
twice a year into Buenos Aires for sale by auction,
and as a rule the proceeds of these sales are used
for the acquisition of more land for which purpose
the property already owned is also often mortgaged.
Nor is this surprising when we see that for the past
fifty years, despite occasional periods of depression,
land values have continued to rise, as will undoubt-
edly be the case for the next fifty years to come.
These values are based chiefly on the yield, pro-
ductiveness of the soil, and situation of the property,
although the market price for cultivated land is to
some extent fixed by the prices realised at previous
sales. It is, perhaps, no exaggeration to say that
a purchaser, at the present time, of land in the
Argentine Republic, railroads or no railroads, at
anything like current prices, could count for a cer-
tainty upon multiplying his capital several times in
the course of a few years; and the reason for this
is not far to seek. Compared with land in Aus-
tralia, New Zealand, or other new countries and tak-
ing into account the yield, acre for acre, the market
possibilities and the other physical conditions per-
taining to the land, the Argentine Republic would
show a balance of nearly fifty per cent, in its favour ;

228 THE TWO AM ERICAS

and it is with this knowledge that the Argentine
estcmciero will not only utilise his current income
but will borrow in every direction in order to in-
crease his land holdings.

To exclude a reference to the City of Buenos Aires
from any description of the Argentine Kepublic
would be equivalent to excising the character of the
Prince of Denmark from Shakespeare's "Hamlet."
That beautiful capital is not only a source of pride
to the Argentine people but to all South Americans,
and equally a centre of attraction to everyone who
has seen it. It has long been the second Latin city
in the world, and with the rapid growth of its popu-
lation, which amounts already to nearly a million
and a half of inhabitants, it is within the bounds of
probability that in the not very remote future it
may rank on an equal footing with the great cap-
ital of France. Nor is it merely in the splendid
architecture of its buildings and residences or in the
magnificence of its spacious avenues and parks that
the city merits the description of great. Its phe-
nomenal progress is to be seen in every branch of
life from the buzz and movement of its commercial
and industrial activity to the social and artistic
spheres. To those who only know that Buenos Aires
is in South America it will appear fabulous to say,
yet it is a fact, that the city of Buenos Aires pos-
sesses the finest opera house, the handsomest club-
house, two of the greatest newspapers (La Prensa

IN CAMP AND CITY 229

and La Nation) and some of the most palatial pri-
vate residences in the world. The Colon Opera
House surpasses the best in Europe. Its auditorium
is larger than that of London, Paris or Berlin, and
its equipment and appointments are of the most
luxurious and artistic character, whilst the arrange-
ment of the building is such that an automobile or
carriage may be driven into the beautifully paved
square upon which the house is built, almost to the
door of any box on the lower tier. But this great
opera house is by no means the only channel of
supply of the lyric drama to the people of the
Argentine Capital. In the winter season there are
always at least three grand opera houses, with ar-
tists of world-wide reputation at each of them, in
full swing, not to mention the additional attractions
of minor French and Italian operatic performances
proceeding at the same time. Buenos Aires, in fact,
is a leading operatic centre and most of the famous
artists of the world, especially of the Italian school,
have graduated and won their laurels in that city.
In the quality and number of its theatres it is
equally distinguished, and during the season, in ad-
dition to native companies, there are frequently rep-
resentations by the greatest artists of the countries
of Europe. The musical standard of the Argentine
capital may be gauged by the fact that the city con-
tains upwards of sixty conservatories, conducted in
most cases by teachers of great eminence, and by

230 THE TWO AMERICAS

the further fact that there is a popular familiarity
with the most beautiful works of ancient and modern
composers. In literature and other forms of art
there is equal interest, which may be explained by
stating that in the city of Buenos Aires there are
more University graduates, in proportion to the
population, than in any other city of the world, not-
withstanding that the course for a degree involves
a period of advanced study extending over twelve
years divided between the National College and the
University.

The great avenues of nearly one hundred yards
in width, the splendid parks and gardens, the pav-
ing of the streets, the modern and artistic build-
ings, together with the smart appearance of the
people, combine to make everything appear beauti-
ful and large. Its immense port, with its miles of
wharfage, attracts thousands of steamers from all
parts of the world to receive the foodstuffs which
are necessary for consumption in foreign countries,
giving it an aspect of New York, Liverpool, or Ham-
burg, while in the aristocratic residential quarter
one is reminded of the Champs-Elysees of Paris, the
beautiful avenues of Berlin, and the Fifth Avenue
of New York. Buenos Aires is at the same time a
centre of intense work and of a variety of pleasures.
In the former case it reflects New York and in the
latter Paris. Horse-racing is one of the principal
amusements of the natives of Buenos Aires and in

many instances Argentine owners have paid up-
wards of $150,000 for a single stud-horse from
England. Everywhere indeed manifestations are
to be found of excessive wealth and luxurious expen-
diture.

The rapid increase in population and the nar-
rowness of the streets in the older section of the
city have produced a great congestion of traffic,
which, as in other large cities, has become a serious
problem. Its partial solution, however, has been
found in the construction of a subway running
through the most thickly populated parts of the
city, and this will be shortly opened for public
service. Accompanied by Sr. Anchorena, the Inten-
dente (Mayor) of the city, I was permitted to in-
spect the works and was much struck by the rapid-
ity and skill with which they were being conducted.
Buenos Aires also possesses a most efficient and
up-to-date electric tramway service which has lat-
terly been extended for several miles in all direc-
tions out of the city, and this system has been great-
ly improved by the consolidation of some seven or
eight systems formerly under individual control. By
way of illustration of the abnormal growth of the
city it may be of interest to refer to the fact that it
was only as recently as 1901, when Mr. C. G. Young,
an American engineer representing a powerful syn-
dicate of American and European bankers, visited
Buenos Aires to make detailed examinations and re-

232 THE TWO AMERICAS

ports on the tramways and electric lighting systems,
with a view to their being extended and amalga-
mated by the financial groups in question. Mr.
Young succeeded in working out elaborate plans for
the electrification of the tramways and for their
amalgamation with the lighting and power systems,
but the bankers not having been then familiar with
the conditions and possibilities of Buenos Aires,
thought the amount of capital required was alto-
gether too large to constitute a safe or lucrative
investment. Shortly afterwards, however, other
capitalists came forward, the tramways were grad-
ually converted from horse-traction to electricity,
the amalgamation of the various companies was
begun, and centralisation of the electric lighting and
power corporations was effected, almost precisely
as had been originally worked out in Mr. Young's
plans, with results of a favourable character, aston-
ishing, even to those who were most optimistic in
their view of the project. More or less similar con-
ditions existed in Rio de Janeiro, where the present
magnificent systems of electric tramways and light-
ing, also originally conceived and planned by Mr.
Young, for the same financial group, were ultimately
carried out almost in their entirety, though not by
those for whom they were originally prepared. The
delay in the latter case was occasioned by the ne-
cessity for a more complete sanitation of the har-
bour, but a want of confidence in the future growth

IN CAMP AND CITY 233

of Eio also operated, to a great extent, in prevent-
ing Mr. Young's plans from being carried out by the
groups he represented. To-day there is hardly a
limit to the amount of capital available for the exten-
sion of public service works in either of the two
great cities of South America.

The Park of Palermo, with its imposing trees, its
extensive walks, and its Botanical Gardens, is unsur-
passed anywhere; yet if at these centres, at the
Opera, or at the races, one sees great luxury and
feverish enjoyment, the reverse of the movement
may be seen in the activity prevailing in and around
the port and the docks. These too owe their exten-
sion to the studies and plans of an American engi-
neer, Mr. E. L. Corthell, from whose original sug-
gestions the new deep and long canal, which admits
steamers of the deepest draught, has been con-
structed. When the plans of the present port were
carried into execution it was thought that it would
be too large, or, at least, would meet the require-
ments of the country's foreign trade and of the
growth of the city for the next half -century, but the
progress has been so extraordinary and unexpected
that to-day the many miles of docks in the Port of
Buenos Aires are inadequate to the needs of the
country's shipping business. Extensions are still
proceeding on a vigorous scale, and when the works
now in hand are completed the docks of Buenos
Aires will be the largest in the world.

234 THE TWO AMERICAS

The rapidity of the growth of the population of
Buenos Aires is greater than that of any modern
city except, perhaps, some of the cities of the West-
ern States of America, Sydney (New South Wales),
and Melbourne (Victoria). Buenos Aires has to-
day one-fifth of the entire population of the Republic
which could easily accommodate and give flourishing
existence to ten times the number of its present in-
habitants. There are other large cities in the Ar-
gentine Republic, such as Cordoba, where there is
a highly cultured society and an ancient university,
which has been the cradle of many illustrious men,
but the commercial and intellectual life of the coun-
try is largely concentrated in Buenos Aires, which
is its brain and its heart, as is Paris to France;
and to such an extent is this the case that the Argen-
tine Republic is frequently described by its native
sons as "a child with a large head,'* the country
signifying the child, and the capital its head. The
Argentines may be divided into two classes, the resi-
dent portenos or natives of the Capital and those
who live in the cities of the provinces and the coun-
try districts, but, although the progressive habits
and the ideas of the people of the Capital are per-
meating many of the provincial cities, Buenos Aires
necessarily maintains her splendid supremacy.

CHAPTER XV

ABGENTINE CONDITIONS, PEOGEESS AND CUL.TUBE

rilHE Argentine Eepublic has not yet arrived at
•*• the fullness of her forces. She is still in her
early youth with the future smiling upon her from
all sides. Her march on the path of civilisation and
prosperity has constituted a long chain of success-
ful conquests and gives admirable promise for the
future ; and here I would express the hope that the
sister nations will follow on the road so wisely
mapped out by this great country of South America,
so that all, united in their forces, may realise that
their part of the continent will become the home,
during the present century, of a large portion of
the human race. It should be a source of pride to
American readers to know that the Constitution of
the Argentine Republic is modelled upon that of
the United States, with possibly a higher degree of
liberty for its inhabitants. In the great southern
Republic religious or racial prejudices are unknown.
The liberty of the subject is complete and everyone
is free to practise his religion or his lawful avoca-
tion with the utmost freedom. There is a State
Religion which in no way imposes burdens upon,

235

236 THE TWO AMERICAS

or creates restrictions for, persons of other forms of
religious belief. Tolerance and freedom are the
watchwords of the national legislation, whilst the
liberality of the treatment of the foreigner is un-
equalled in any other country. Although it is neces-
sary that the incumbents of most of the official posi-
tions in the Eepublic should be citizens, the naturali-
sation laws are such as to permit of the appoint-
ment of foreigners to many important posts by
means of special exceptions provided for by the
laws. The life of the country is delightful for the
educated foreigner who is hospitably welcomed by
his own classes amongst the natives, most of whom
are able to converse in several European languages.
It is, however, a curious and unfortunate fact that
of the foreign communities resident in that Republic
the English and the Americans are most deficient in
this respect.

There are few countries in the world where na-
tional and municipal statistics are more carefully
compiled and more elaborately presented than in the
Argentine Republic. Yet it is a curious fact that,
although the era of modern Argentina began when
Sarmiento assumed the Presidency of the Republic
in 1868, only two national censuses have been taken
since that time, one in 1869, and the next in 1895.
Legislation, I believe, has been introduced during
the past few years for the purpose of securing an-
other official count of the population (with provi-

PROGRESS AND CULTURE237

sion for the operation to be repeated at the end of
each succeeding decade), but at the present mo-
ment estimates of the number of inhabitants are
largely based on assumption.

According to the National Census of 1895, which
showed a total population of 3,954,911, there were
2,950,384 Argentines and 1,004,527 foreigners. Of
the latter there were 492,676 Italians, 198,685 Span-
iards, 21,758 British, 17,143 Germans, and 1,381
North Americans. The greatest increase in the
number of foreign inhabitants since 1895 has been
amongst the Italians and Spaniards, the total num-
ber of whom may be said to-day to be at least double
that given in the 1895 census. The English and
German colonies have likewise largely increased,
but; taking into account the limited character of the
commercial relations of the Argentine Eepublic with
the United States in former years, together with
other circumstances, I doubt whether the present
number of American citizens in Argentina is much
in excess of the figures given in 1895. The struggle
for commercial supremacy in the Argentine market
has for many years past been between British and
German manufacturers, and, although the precise
number of the respective nationals of those coun-
tries actually resident in Argentina is a matter of
official doubt, the proportionate growth of the two
communities between 1869 and 1895 would afford

238 THE TWO AMERICAS

solid grounds for assuming that the German popu-
lation of Argentina is infinitely larger than the
British and has been growing proportionately to
the increased German commerce in that Republic.
In 1869 the German population was given as 4,991
in a proportion of three per thousand of the total
population of the country, and the British as 10,637,
in a proportion of six per thousand of the whole.
In 1895 the number of German inhabitants had
reached 17,143, equalling five per thousand of the
total, whilst the British subjects had grown to the
extent of 21,768, but still only in the proportion of
six per thousand of the total. Hence, if the pro-
portionate growth of the British and German popu-
lation in Argentina has proceeded on the same lines
since the date of the last census, it is obvious that
to-day the German residents in the Argentine Re-
public are, numerically speaking, infinitely stronger
than the British. Looking also to the enormous in-
crease in the population of the city of Buenos Aires
and to the official estimate of the total number of
inhabitants of the Republic, at the present time of
nearly eight millions, it is reasonable to suppose that
a very large proportion is of foreign birth.

These and other foreign elements in the country
have contributed very considerably to its develop-
ment. The British community probably now num-
bers upwards of 30,000 subjects, representing rail-

PROGRESS AND CULTURE239

way, banking, commercial, landed and industrial in-
terests ; and, estimating the total British capital em-
ployed in these enterprises at $2,000,000,000, it
would mean that every British subject in that coun-
try, man, woman and child, is an individual asset of
about $66,000. German capital invested in Argen-
tina, though constantly increasing, does not reach
the proportions of the capital from the British Isles,
which also embraces practically all the National
Loan Issues of the Argentine Government and the
leading railroads. German investments are chiefly
in industrial and commercial undertakings, the for-
mer including tramways and a monopoly of the elec-
tric lighting and principal power stations in the
Eepublic. The increase in German trade is largely
due to the more enterprising methods and thorough-
ness of the Germans. Unlike the British and Amer-
icans, they rapidly assimilate with the people of
the country and acquire their customs and language
with facility. They also make a point of having
established in their principal Consulates throughout
South America competent commercial attaches who
assist the home manufacturers in extending their
trade. Of the one million or more Italians in the
Argentine Republic the great majority are of the in-
dustrial classes and constitute the labouring popula-
tion of the Eepublic. The Spaniards, distinguished
for their honesty, largely make up the small trading
class, with a sprinkling of commercial houses of

240 THE TWO AMERICAS

some magnitude, and the North Americans com-
prise, principally, the representatives of American
manufacturing interests. There are many other for-
eign communities in the Eepublic, as may be seen by
the number of newspapers printed in different lan-
guages, but, with the exception of the subjects of
France, Holland and Belgium, especially the latter,
their financial and commercial status is insignifi-
cant.

The investment of foreign capital in the Argentine
Kepublic is of fabulous proportions, but the fact
that it has reached those dimensions is not entirely
due to the existence of the country's vast resources
and to the opportunities presented for a handsome
return, but largely to the honesty of the Argentine
Nation and to the liberality and care bestowed upon
the protection of foreign interests; and as some
confirmation of this statement I need only refer to
the fact that nearly twenty years ago, when the
Argentine Republic had not attained its present
great prosperity, the National Government assumed
responsibility for the loans issued abroad of many
of the Argentine Provinces (then in default),
amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. The
appreciation of the foreign bankers and bond-hold-
ers of this generous and honourable act was exhib-
ited by their presentation to the Argentine Govern-
ment of an immense and magnificent silver statue,
bearing an appropriate and eulogistic inscription;

PROGRESS AND CULTURE241

and that statue stands out prominently in the centre
of the inner chamber of the Ministry of Finance as
an unqualified recognition of the high standard of
national credit. Even during the periods of de-
pression inflicted upon the country by disturbed po-
litical conditions, the service of the Argentine Public
Foreign Debt was always scrupulously maintained
and only interrupted on one occasion by a mora-
torium, continued over a short period, owing to a
then pending reorganization of national finances.
But apart from these high recommendations to pub-
lic confidence the investor abroad in Argentine un-
dertakings has been liberally rewarded by the return
of lucrative dividends. At the present time there
is being remitted to Great Britain alone, by way
of dividends and interest, a sum equal to nearly
$100,000,000 per annum, so that when the amount of
British capital employed in the Argentine Republic,
in respect of which the profits remain in the coun-
try, is taken into consideration the yield upon the
other British investments will be seen to be of a
particularly generous character. Yet the Eepublic
is still in its infancy and the opportunities for the
foreign investor and trader are equally as great
to-day as they were twenty years ago.

The revolutionary period in the Argentine Ee-
public is but a memory of the past, no serious sub-
versive movement having taken place since 1890, and
in the few instances of minor outbreaks, which have

subsequently occurred in the more distant autono-
mous Provinces, the National Government has inter-
vened and has occasionally sent Federal Troops for
the re-establishment of law and order. The Govern-
ment of the Argentine Kepublic is as stable as that
of any European country; and it is safe to assert
that to-day there is an utter absence of anything in
the nature of graft or corruption in the higher
branches of the public service. The military
strength of the Republic has been latterly aug-
mented by the new ''Law of Enrolment," which
enforces military service, in case of need, upon all
male citizens between 21 and 40 years of age, whilst
the naval efficiency of the country will be added to
materially by the completion of the second new
battleship now being constructed in the United
States. But the people of Argentina, whilst warmly
patriotic, are by no means warlike in their tenden-
cies, and there is now, happily, no prospect of war
with any of their neighbours. The boundary dis-
pute with Chile, which in 1900 brought the two coun-
tries almost to the point of war, was averted by a
reference of the whole matter to arbitration by the
late King Edward, who fulfilled the delicate duty to
the complete satisfaction of both Republics, between
which there now prevails complete harmony and
growing friendship. At even a much later period a
war-cloud overhung the rivalries of Argentina and
Brazil, but the wisdom and sense of justice of the

statesmen of both countries, realising the possibil-
ities of such a disaster to the entire continent,
brought about an adjustment of the differences, with
the result that the two countries are marching to-
gether, hand in hand, as examples to be followed by
all the sister Republics.

As in all the countries of Latin- America — and in-
deed in others to-day — politics for many years over-
shadowed national administration, the political
power having been largely in the hands of the few
who dominated public affairs and controlled party
issues. Successive governments, however, and no-
tably the present Administration, have sought to
secure freedom of election and obedience to the
popular will. The latest effort in this direction is
the new Election Law which came into operation
last year. Under this enactment every male citi-
zen of full age is compelled to vote at all national
elections and can only be given immunity for a viola-
tion of that civic duty in case of proofs of incapacity
through sickness, absence or other good cause. I
have already referred to the large number of uni-
versity graduates in the City of Buenos Aires in
proportion to the population and I would mention
them again, especially the younger men amongst
them, as well as those preparing to take their de-
grees, as it is largely in their hands that the future
destinies of the Republic lie. It is among those
educated young men that intelligent public opinion

244 THE TWO AMERICAS

upon matters of national interest is moulded, and
as a result they exercise considerable influence in
domestic legislation. Nor is this advance in legis-
lative matters confined to home affairs. Acts of
Congress are frequently introduced with a view to
improving the Diplomatic and Consular Services,
which have already attained a high degree of effi-
ciency. Amongst the foreign diplomats at Wash-
ington but few have been more distinguished than
the Ministers of the Argentine Eepublic at that
Capital. As examples one might mention Dr. Estan-
islao S. Zeballos, one of the most erudite Professors
of International Jurisprudence in Latin- America ;
Dr. Vicente Quesada, the eminent jurist and author
of that delightful work, "Recollections of My Dip-
lomatic Life ' ' ; Dr. Martin Garcia Merou, the author
of the "History of American Diplomacy"; Dr. Epi-
fanio Portela, who was at the head of every move-
ment for extending the commercial and friendly re-
lations of the United States with the Latin Repub-
lics; and Dr. Romulo S. Naon, the present distin-
guished head of the Argentine Legation, whose ex-
ceptional merits and services have brought him
many honours in the United States, including the
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from one of
its leading universities. Nor is it alone in her rep-
resentatives at Washington that Argentina may
claim just pride in her Diplomatic Corps. There are
also the Dominguez Family, who have charge of the

PROGRESS AND CULTURE245

Legation in London, together with the very impor-
tant financial representation of the Republic for the
last twenty years or more ; Dr. Rodriguez Larreta,
the present Minister to Paris, who excels both in
literature and diplomacy; and many others of the
past and the present whose names are household
words in diplomatic circles. The Argentine Repub-
lic has not, like Brazil, raised its Legation at Wash-
ington to the rank of an Embassy for the reason that
the National Constitution of the Republic makes no
provision for an ambassador and limits its diplo-
mats to the positions of Ministers Plenipotentiary,
Ministers Resident and Charges d' Affaires, but,
whilst no direct step has yet been taken to amend
the Constitution in this respect or otherwise, for the
elevation of the grade of its representatives abroad,
it is contended by many leading authorities in the
Republic that the change may be introduced with-
out an amendment of the Constitution. With this
in view all Missions to foreign countries for the per-
formance of special duties have been designated as
" Special Embassies," and the distinguished Argen-
tine statesman, Dr. Benito Villanueva, who has been
named as envoy to the United States, to officially
thank the Government of that country for its par-
ticipation in the recent Centennial Celebrations, will
enjoy the rank of "Special Ambassador." Diplo-
macy, international law and constitutional practice
would appear to be the particular bent of Argentine

246 THE TWO AMERICAS

public men, amongst whom there are many of world-
wide fame for their achievements in those branches
of study. They are all disciples and admirers of
Alexander Hamilton and many of them are worthy
followers of that great man. Amongst those of the
present generation the name of Drago stands out
preeminently. It was the famous Note of Dr. Luis
M. Drago addressed to the United States Govern-
ment in 1902, when he was Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Argentine Eepublic, that formulated
what is now known throughout the world as the
" Drago" or "South American" Doctrine, which
opposes the collection of contractual debts of States
to private foreign citizens or subjects, by means of
armed force, a Doctrine that was subscribed to by
most of the nations of the world, including the
United States, through their Delegates at the last
Peace Conference at The Hague. Of a former gen-
eration there was that great lawyer, Dr. Nicolas A.
Calvo, whose translation (published in 1860) with
notes, of Story's "Commentaries upon the Federal
Constitution of the United States," is a classic
throughout Latin-America, whilst there are many
others, of the past and the present, whose names are
equally famous. I do not pretend to fathom the
reason for this remarkable leaning on the part of
the Argentines to the special study of international
and constitutional law, but it is a curious fact that
in the same degree as the city of Buenos Aires has

PROGRESS AND CULTURE247

been for years an operatic centre, it has also been
the cradle of many, if not of most, of the present
great diplomats of the world, for, notwithstanding
that all the Diplomatic Missions to the Argentine
Republic are below the rank of Embassies for the
reasons stated above, since it is an international cus-
tom for one country to return a diplomat of the same
rank as is sent by the other, the great countries of
the world have sent their most brilliant men to rep-
resent them in that Republic. Despite the compara-
tively high cost of living and of maintaining a suit-
able appearance by a foreign diplomat in Buenos
Aires, the life for members of that charmed circle
in the Argentine metropolis is ideal and during some
recent administrations their many privileges in-
cluded a special large box at the Opera House placed
at their disposal free of charge.

CHAPTER XVI

ARGENTINE COMMERCE AND FINANCE

rilHE total value of Argentine imports and exports
•*• during the year 1912, amounting to $865,244,-
725 (exclusive of the value of the imports and ex-
ports of gold), though largely in excess of the value
of the commerce of any other country on the Amer-
ican continent, excepting the United States, is ren-
dered more significant by the facts that, firstly, only
a very limited area of the country is under cultiva-
tion or prepared for the raising of stock; and sec-
ondly, the entire population of the country, esti-
mated at 8,000,000, would show a proportion of about
$120 per inhabitant, a figure not reached by any
other country in America. The exports of meat and
cereals, to Great Britain alone, in 1912 were of a
value of $160,000,000, or in the proportion of 36y2
per cent, of the entire British imports of those staple
articles of consumption, whilst the imports of the
same products of the United Kingdom from the
United States did not reach one-third of that sum.
It should, however, be stated that in the meat ex-
ports from the Argentine Eepublic the American-
owned packing houses contributed a large share.

248

COMMERCE — FINANCE 249

The value of the Argentine market to the United
States may be gauged by the statement that during
the last year American exports to that Republic
amounted to $53,158,179, or a sum equal to the total
value of American exports to Brazil, Colombia, Peru
and Venezuela combined, and more than double the
amount of the value of United States exports to
Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay and
French Guiana, together. On the other hand the
United States imported from the Argentine Repub-
lic products and merchandise valued at $32,391,348,
the latter consisting chiefly of hides, wool, quebracho
and other raw materials, whilst the exports from the
United States were principally agricultural imple-
ments, freight and passenger cars, machinery, steel
rails, twine, wire, oils and furniture. When it is
remembered that the increase in the amount of
American exports to the Argentine Republic has
been brought about more by a better knowledge of
the conditions of the United States amongst Argen-
tine importers than by any special efforts on the
part of American manufacturers it will be seen that
great openings are offered for a vast extension of
American trade in Argentina. Many articles of
manufacture, produced on an extensive scale in the
United States and used largely in the southern Re-
public, are imported from Europe at higher prices
than those at which they could be brought from the
United States, and I am merely reflecting the opin-

250 THE TWO AMERICAS

ion of competent authorities when I say that it is
only necessary for the American manufacturer and
the Argentine importer to be brought into closer
contact to largely extend their commercial relations.
Care, however, must be taken to secure suitable
representation in the Argentine Republic, as many
highly reputable American industrial and commer-
cial concerns have suffered in loss of business as
well as in reputation, in Argentina, through unnec-
essary misrepresentations made in the past by un-
scrupulous travelling representatives.

The development of Argentine railways is like-
wise proceeding at a rapid pace, there being a
total mileage of over 20,000 miles against less than
half that mileage in 1900, whilst extensions and
branch lines running into thousands of miles are at
the present time under construction or survey.
These railways are mostly British and are incor-
porated under the English Company Laws, British
capital to the extent of upwards of $1,000,000,000
being invested in them. Most of the companies pay
steady dividends of from six to eight per cent, per
annum and construct many of their extensions out
of revenue, whilst their property holdings are con-
stantly increasing in value.

The Argentine Republic is the only Latin- Ameri-
can country where, without the establishment of a
definite gold standard, there is a fixed barrier to
currency fluctuations. Prior to 1891 so much dis-

COMMERCE — FINANCE 251

turbance was caused to commerce by the violent
changes in the premium on gold that it became nec-
essary to legislate to place the currency on a more
substantial basis. A law was then passed, under
the title of the Conversion Law, fixing the value of
the national currency at 44 per cent, of the value of
gold, or in other words, of making $227.27, national
currency, equal to $100 gold. For that purpose a
Conversion Fund was established in order that pub-
lic exchange of gold and paper might be made at
these rates. This fund was provided by the appro-
priation of certain sources of national revenue and
was to be added to by annual increments until it
reached a total of $30,000,000, gold, which, with the
gold reserves then in hand and to be accumulated,
were to be employed exclusively for the conversion
of currency. In June, 1913, the value of these gold
reserves in the National Conversion Office amounted
to $264,189,639, a sum equal to upwards of 80 per
cent, of the total paper and silver currency of the
Republic, and under the Law they cannot be applied
to any other purpose than for the conversion of
currency at the established rate, thus rendering it
impossible that any fluctuations can occur in the
gold premium. "With this vast wealth ever increas-
ing in volume it has frequently been asked why
the Argentine Republic does not finally establish a
gold standard. The answer to this question is that
the currency is on so permanent a basis and is so

252 THE TWO AMERICAS

well understood in foreign countries as to prac-
tically render it unnecessary to even temporarily
dislocate the commerce of the Republic by sudden
changes in its monetary system. It is also urged
that changes in the monetary unit or systems of a
country are of rare occurrence, very few instances
having occurred in Europe during the last fifty
years. Nevertheless several projects have been sub-
mitted during latter years in Argentina with that
object in view, most important of these having been
the measure introduced into Congress in 1908 by
the late Mr. Ernesto Tornquist, the well-known Ar-
gentine banker. That gentleman proposed a change
of the present monetary unit of the peso to the type
of the franc, the equivalent of which was used in
some eleven or twelve countries with which the
Argentine Eepublic had commercial relations. The
draft-law also contained a provision for the issue
of gold-notes which would at the same time have
brought about an obligatory gold standard. It was
pointed out, when submitted, that the measure would
not only simplify and solidify the national monetary
system but that it would also cheapen the cost of
living and of production. It was likewise suggested
that the agricultural labourers from Southern
Europe, who were accustomed to the franc, the lira,
or the peseta, would prefer a larger number of the
latter units to a smaller number of pesos, even
though the latter might be of greater intrinsic value.

COMMERCE — FINANCE 253

Mr. Tornquist's project has been allowed to lapse
and although the last Administration submitted a
Law to Congress embodying other changes in the
monetary system no definite steps have so far been
taken for the reorganization of existing conditions.
Nor, really, is this necessary for any other purpose
than that of getting rid of the present cumbersome
methods of calculation incidental to the conversion
of gold into paper or vice versa. The guaranties
behind the paper and silver currency of the Argen-
tine Eepublic are greater than many, and as great
as any, of the guaranties provided by other coun-
tries for the protection and security of their na-
tional issues. The credit of the Republic stands high
above that of many countries of the world, and for
this reason it is an inexplicable fact that the bonds
of part of an Internal Argentine Loan, issued in
1909 on a 5 per cent, basis, taken by American bank-
ers, have had to be sold in London, owing to the
limited market for them in the United States, where
they are still nominally quoted around 96. Although
no special guaranties are attached to these particu-
lar bonds they are in every sense as safe and sound
as United States Treasury Bonds or British Govern-
ment Securities. Here I take leave to suggest that
the reasons usually given in the United States for
the limited extent of such investments are not alto-
gether correct. The principal reason, in my judg-
ment, is the want of knowledge of the true condi-

254 THE TWO AMERICAS

tions of the great countries of Latin- America. It
is admittedly true that the United States provides
abundant channels for the investment of American
money but it is also true that there are few foreign
Government Securities which offer so much security
and so lucrative a yield as those of the Argentine
Eepublic.

The relations of the Argentine Eepublic with all
her neighbours and the other countries of the world
are entirely free from political or diplomatic entan-
glements. Such boundary disputes as she may have
had with some of the adjoining countries have been,
or are in course of being, amicably adjusted. There
is no foreign policy other than that of cultivating
friendly and closer commercial relations with the
rest of the world, her position amongst the nations
being one of complete independence in every respect.
The Argentine people are not unmindful of the fact
that to Great Britain and other European countries
the Republic owes, to a great extent, its present
great development. At the same time Argentina's
situation is such as to entitle her to open her markets
to the countries which off er the greatest advantages,
and to give special facilities to the nations which
purchase the greater part of her products. The
Tariff Laws are so framed as to make them of a
reciprocal or retaliatory character, as may be neces-
sary to meet the Tariff Laws of other nations. This
policy has been consistently adopted for many years

COMMERCE — FINANCE 255

past, and it has been the constant desire of succes-
sive Argentine governments to deal in a spirit of
genuine reciprocity with those countries which
favour her products. Between the United States and
the Argentine Republic there is still much to be done
upon those lines, and with the rapidly extending
commerce between the two countries there is no
doubt that new reciprocal measures of mutual ad-
vantage will be initiated at no very distant date.

CHAPTER XVII

THE BBPUBLIC OF PERU

Molendo to Paita, almost up to the
boundary line of Ecuador, the Peruvian coast
is as bare of vegetation as the Desert of Sahara,
whilst for an extension of more than 3,500 kilome-
tres, from Tumbez to Valparaiso, the temperature is
lowered by the Humboldt currents. Travelling
along these arid and barren coasts one is able to
better appreciate the courage and the indomitable
energy of Pizarro, Almagro, Valdivia, and the other
early explorers, who, after leaving the Isthmus of
Panama where tropical vegetation abounded, ex-
plored, in their primitive vessels, this vast region,
without finding drinkable water, without seeing a
single plant, and far from all contact with civilisa-
tion, without obtaining food. Their arduous efforts,
however, were rewarded when they approached the
valleys which form a remarkable contrast to the
surrounding desert. In many of these valleys there
are numberless palms and willows with magnificent
foliage, fruit gardens and fields of sugar cane, corn
and alfalfa, whilst in others there are productive
vineyards and olive yards as well as pasture for

256

THE REPUBLIC OF PERU 257

cattle and horses which thrive on the nourishing
yellow pods one sees in all directions.

Callao is the principal port of Peru and is situ-
ated at a distance of only nine kilometres from
the Capital. It is deep and well sheltered by a
chain of low mountains which surround the bay,
and although of considerable importance through
the extensive movement of foreign shipping and the
fact that it is the converging point of practically the
whole of the commerce of the interior of the Repub-
lic, it is merely a forwarding port, the city itself
being limited to the Government Offices, the de-
spatching agencies, and the ruins of the old port of
San Felipe, the last of those which flew the Spanish
flag. Its close proximity to Lima, with which it is
connected by an electric tramway, has hitherto im-
peded building operations, but with the approaching
completion of the Panama Canal, which will greatly
extend the country's commerce, sanitary and other
reforms are now being undertaken, and there is lit-
tle doubt that in the course of a few years the city,
as well as the port, of Callao will assume greatly
extended proportions.

Lima, the historic and picturesque Capital of
Peru, is built at the foot of a chain of hills and
close to the Height of San Cristobal whose shadows
tower over the City. Pizarro, its founder, called it
the "City of the Kings," probably in remembrance
of the "three wise men from the East"; but that

258 THE TWO AMERICAS

description was subsequently replaced by the name
of Lima. The city extends over a wide and flat
valley bounded on the north by a range of moun-
tains, and on the east by the Andes, which are al-
most hidden from view by the generally cloudy sky.
The waters of the river irrigate part of the sur-
rounding lands, which produce a beautiful and abun-
dant vegetation, the remaining areas being sandy
and barren like the coast already described. During
the colonial period Lima was the most important
city in America. Its Viceroy, who had no superiors
except the King of Spain and the Judges of the
Inquisition, was the most powerful and influential
personage on the continent and the pomp and cere-
mony of his Court outrivalled those of Eastern po-
tentates. Lima counts amongst its inhabitants many
families of noble Spanish origin, and for that reason
it has been described as "a precious shrine of co-
lonial gallantries and splendour s." In this respect
it shares with Bogota, Santiago and Quito the pos-
session of a society made up largely of families of
pure Spanish race who have inherited the dignity
and aristocratic qualities of the highest classes of
the mother-country. The city is noted for its beau-
tiful buildings and squares of the old Spanish type,
which is still preserved, notwithstanding the temp-
tations to adopt the modern embellishments of other
South American capitals. The Cathedral is con-
sidered to be the most beautiful in South America,

THE REPUBLIC OF PERU 259

though less ancient than other landmarks, owing to
the destruction by earthquake of the original edi-
fice which was founded by Pizarro in 1540. The
city also contains many notable educational estab-
lishments, including the universities, the special
Schools of Mining Engineering, Railways, Electric-
ity, Agronomy, Medicine, Law and Commerce, and
among other institutions the famous Atheneum, all
of which have combined to add to the culture and
advanced knowledge of the Peruvian people, who
excel in literary and poetic qualities.

The chief products of Peru are those of mining
and agriculture and since the loss of the nitrate
Provinces these industries have been brought to a
high state of development, many foreign companies
being now engaged in further exploiting the vast
mineral wealth of the country. Railways are being
constructed with great activity, not only for the
interchange of commerce with the neighbouring Re-
publics but also for the purpose of placing the cen-
tral government in closer touch with the distant
Amazonic regions, where the atrocities committed
in the rubber regions recently created a feeling of
horror throughout the civilised world. These shock-
ing occurrences, largely due to the absence of direct
administrative control and to boundary disputes
with the adjacent Republics, have happily termi-
nated, and with wireless telegraphic communication
with Iquitos, in which direction railroads are like-

260 THE TWO AMERICAS

wise being extended, the Peruvian Government will
henceforth be able to maintain the conditions of
law and order which it has already commenced to
implant. Amongst the various railways now under
survey or construction one of the most important
will be that to unite Lima with La Paz, which will
greatly facilitate the completion of the inter-con-
tinental railroad from Alaska to the Straits of Ma-
gellan. Already steps have been taken by Mr. Minor
Keith, who has done so much for railway extension
in Central America, to connect these roads with the
Panama Canal, and as these in turn, at no very
distant date, will be joined up with the railroads of
Mexico there will only be lacking the link from the
Isthmus of Panama (across Colombia to Ecuador)
to connect the intercontinental road with the rail-
roads of Peru. Thus with the lines from Lima to
La Paz extending to those of Chile and the latter
joined with those of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil,
the completion of the intercontinental route, through
the two Americas, is only a matter of a compara-
tively short time.

For some time before and after the war with
Chile the Republic was burdened with excessive
debt incurred through the extravagance of succes-
sive administrations, and in the later eighties, subse-
quent to the loss of the Provinces containing the
nitrate deposits, this burden became so intolerable
that Peru was compelled, in 1889, to surrender to a

THE REPUBLIC OF PERU 261

British enterprise known as the Peruvian Corpora-
tion, the whole of the State Railways, the free use
of certain ports and the rights to the remaining
guano deposits for a term of 66 years, in order to
pay off the then large national indebtedness. The
operation, however, was equally favorable to Peru
and to the foreign holders of her national bonds (the
service of which had for some time been unfulfilled)
as Peru was thus enabled to use her revenues for the
development of other industries, while the foreign
bondholders were placed in a favourable position by
the opportunity presented for the conversion of
their unremunerative national securities into divi-
dend-paying stock of a powerful British corpora-
tion. The foreign debt of Peru is to-day of insig-
nificant proportions in relation to the extent of the
country's resources, which have now entered upon
a stage of development that gives assurance of a
great and prosperous future, and the latest national
statistics afford further evidence of the advance of
national industry and commerce since economy has
been the guiding principle of recent governments.
Peru, like most of her sister Republics, has suffered
from the effects of international disputes regarding
the vexed question of boundary limits, but just as a
peaceful adjustment of the differences with Chile,
touching the Provinces of Tacna and Arica was
ultimately reached by the wisdom of prevailing
counsels, so will her frontier difficulties with Colom-

262 THE TWO AMERICAS

bia and Ecuador be finally settled, when all these
nations, in the peaceful possession of their properly
defined rich territories, will be able to devise means
for a profitable interchange of their respective prod-
ucts and commerce.

No census has been taken in Peru since 1876 when
even the computation of the number of inhabitants
then made was considered imperfect. Looking, how-
ever, at the various later estimates of population
and taking into consideration the better means now
available for ascertaining the numerical strength of
the Indian tribes, it would be fair to assume that
Peru's total population numbers about 4,000,000,
largely made up of mixtures and submixtures of
the white and colored races. As I have already
pointed out, Spanish blood has always been domi-
nant amongst the white inhabitants, but the inter-
marriage of the old Spanish settlers with the high-
est type of Indians has produced a race embodying
very exceptional characteristics. The Indians are
mostly descendants of the Incas, or of the tribes un-
der their rule at the time of the Conquerors, and
constitute, to a large extent, the industrial element
amongst the people. There still exist several tribes
of wild Indians, some of whom inhabit the forests,
and in many places have no contact of any kind with
white people. There are also many Africans and
Asiatics, the former of whom live in the towns and
the latter on the coast, whilst the foreign popula-

THE REPUBLIC OF PERU 263

tion is almost entirely to be found in the Capital.
As in the case of other countries on the west coast
of South America, the population of Peru has been
necessarily restricted by the absence of immigration,
due to its geographical situation, but with an area
of about 500,000 square miles, a large portion of
which is available for agricultural and mineral de-
velopment, it can hardly be doubted that the open-
ing of the Panama Canal will bring a considerable
influx of foreign population.

Although the interchange of commerce between
Peru and the United States is rapidly growing, the
largest share of Peru's foreign trade has always
gone to Great Britain, which probably explains the
very wide adoption, throughout the Eepublic, of
British ideas and customs. In the national currency
the libra, or the pound sterling, is the monetary
unit and is uniform in weight and fineness with the
English sovereign, from which it was modelled, the
first machinery for its production having been bor-
rowed from the English Mint, and in this connection
it may be of interest to point out that even to a
greater extent than in Argentina or in Chile, British
names are common in Peru. The actual President,
Senor Billinghurst, is of English origin, while the
same may be said of many other notabilities of the
Eepublic. In other cases the Peruvian descendants
of foreign colonists are connected by marriage with
English families, and one of the sons of Peru's dip-

264 THE TWO AMERICAS

lomatic representative in London is an officer in the
British Army. In noting these surroundings of a
British atmosphere it should be made clear that no
political significance attaches to the suggestion, al-
though it is always remembered that Peru largely
owes her independence (with the aid of San Martin)
to the fleet of armed ships fitted out at Valparaiso,
under the command of Lord Cochrane (afterwards
Earl of Dundonald) and manned by British officers
and sailors. Since that time Peru has undergone
many territorial and political changes, but, animated
by an ardent patriotic spirit and a desire for ma-
terial and moral progress, the people of Peru have
been strengthened in their national ambitions by
the foreign influences to which I have referred.

In a brief sketch of the country and its people
it is unnecessary to deal with the scientific or his-
toric value of its ancient treasures. They have
formed and continue to form a subject of universal
interest, notably in the United States, some of whose
eminent authorities are at present engaged in the
effort to enlighten the world upon these matters,
but I would again make passing reference to the
national literature, which is of an exceedingly high
standard. Amongst Peru's modern authors may be
mentioned Segura ; Salaverri, who as a poet has no
equal in Spanish America; Arestegui, a distin-
guished novelist; Bicardo Palma, the historian;
Felipe Pardo, whose works are known wherever the

CATHEDRAL, LIMA, PERU

GOVERNMENT PALACE, BOLIVIA

Spanish language is spoken, and many others of
fame in the world of letters; and to come down to
the present time one may point to Senor Pezet, the
son of the Peruvian Minister to the United States
(himself educated in England and a litterateur of a
high order) and Secretary of the Legation, who
quite recently delighted Washington society by pro-
ducing in that Capital a play which disclosed more
than ordinary skill both in its literary and dramatic
construction.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE REPUBLIC OP BOLIVIA

T N my travels on the coasts of Chile and Peru, on
•*• whose borders, in the interior, lie the rich lands
of Bolivia, I had many opportunities of seeing the
progress, in recent years, of that rising Republic,
which has been described by a native writer of dis-
tinction as "a country of contrasts." Its topogra-
phy, climate, products and inhabitants constitute an
aggregation of heterogeneous elements so widely
different in character as to make it difficult to be-
lieve that they belong to a single country. Travel-
ling through the Republic one is impressed by the
multiplicity of views, incongruous and curious, pre-
sented at different points. In one part there are the
immense table-lands that tire the eye with their per-
petual monotony and which appear to exercise a
corresponding effect upon the inhabitants. At an-
other point there are wide ranges of mountains,
whose colossal heights, mantled in eternal snows like
giants enwrapped in tunics of royal ermine, seem
to contemplate in a monolithic attitude the passing
of the centuries, and at the foot of these mountains
there are immeasurable plains and prairies bris-

266

REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA 267

tling with life and activity and bathed by large
rivers and mysterious lakes like the strange Poopo
and the legendary Titicaca, which retains the poetic
tradition of the children of the sun. The first time
I crossed Bolivia from one end to the other I felt
as though I were passing through a land of dreams.
In the arid region that overlooks the Pacific I was
sickened by the dreariness of the panorama which
unrolled itself in ascending the high plains of the
Andes, and, like the sailor on the high seas who sees
nothing but water and sky, I could see nothing in
that ocean of land but the immense dome overlap-
ping the colourless prairie which made me yearn for
the sight of a tree. The barrenness of the pampa,
its serenity and its impressive silence gave me a
feeling of sadness. A few days later, however, my
love of nature 's life was fully satisfied by the scenes
presented at the other extreme of Bolivia in the
region of the trees. Of enormous height and count-
less in number, they formed over my head a green
dome under which I passed months of pleasure
amidst their beautiful verdure and perfume. In
those parts there was none of the depression pro-
duced by the ambient air of the exasperating and'1
silent pampa. The trees, the soil, the water and the
air were bubbling with human life and laboratories
of energy, and this scene of life and verdure ex-
tended over a huge distance. At a later period I
visited other parts of Bolivia, traversing its numer-

268 THE TWO AMERICAS

ous rivers, descending its deep valleys and climbing
its high mountains, but in all parts there was evi-
dence of the capriciousness of this extraordinary
land. Everything is opposed to something else in
Bolivia; the fruitful warm lands to the desolated
areas, the cold to the heat, the beautiful to the ugly,
and the height of the colossal mountains to the pro-
found depth of the valleys, and the same difference
of character is to be found amongst the native in-
habitants, as in the formation of the cities. Santa
Cruz, a tropical city situated barely a few hundred
metres above sea level, with the heat of the torrid
zone, surrounded by luxuriant vegetation and peo-
pled by persons of a marked Spanish type, forms an
extreme contrast with Oruro, a city of Siberian cli-
mate, built in the middle of a desert, thousands of
metres in height and with inhabitants almost en-
tirely of indigenous type.

Between these two extremes are the other Bo-
livian cities possessing elements of similar variety.
Potosi is on the top of a great hill in the direction
of the famous silver and tin zone which at one time
was the surprise of the world. La Paz on the con-
trary, is in a valley, and, viewed from the edge of
the highlands, gives the impression of a city car-
ried by a flood to the bottom of a precipice, causing
one to wonder why its early founders thought of
building the most populous city of Bolivia in that
stupendous cavity. At times, and occasionally in

REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA 269

the same place, there are conglomerations of incon-
gruous elements and extravagant superpositions.
The prehistoric age joins with the present, just as
the gigantic and the imposing elbow the small and
ordinary. The Tihaguanaco, the humble hut of the
Indian, is pitched amongst enormous monuments,
the work of a civilisation that has disappeared.
Even in its history one sees disproportion and in-
coherency, whilst the methods by which the country
attained national existence are equally extraordi-
nary. The war of Independence preceding this
achievement was marked by the intense discord rife
amongst its leaders. Nothing was subordinated to
a regular or fixed plan of campaign and everyone
directed his efforts according to his own views. Yet
the nation was formed and the process of uniting
into one harmonious whole its many conflicting ele-
ments is being rapidly and healthily proceeded with.
The consequences of the disparities in its ethnical
aspect and the complexity of other conditions have
naturally stood in the way of the definite formation
of the nation, but the day is approaching when there
will be a bond of iron to join the tree with the wilder-
ness, the mountain ranges with the pampas, and the
aymara with the guayaro.

The principal cities of Bolivia are La Paz, Sucre,
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Cochabamba and Potosi,
others being Oruro and Uyuni, which are mining
centres with small populations, in the desert; La

270 THE TWO AMERICAS

Paz, the Capital, is the highest city in the world
(4,200 metres above sea level), and is built along the
banks of a torrent on the edge of the western des-
ert. Its great height generally induces amongst
travellers a disease known as soroche or puna, which
causes difficulty in breathing, violent headaches, and
a derangement of the digestive organs. The In-
dians withstand the effects of these altitudes with
the same ease as they resist the cold, and they make
long marches, bare-footed, to work in the mines.
There are two lines of railway, from La Paz to the
Pacific, which pass through sandy mountains and
deserts, where there are only the poor huts of the
Indians and flocks of llamas which are used as beasts
of burden. These animals also give to the Indians
milk, meat, and wool for their clothing. When they
become fatigued they lie down on the ground and
the only way in which the Indians can force them
to resume their march is by showering them with a
rapid succession of pebbles until they rise and go
forward.

The Indians in this region are governed by a Chief
whose administrative powers consist of a distribu-
tion of labour in the lands, the cultivation of the
crops, and the settlement of native disputes. There
is also a Justice of the Peace, named by the Govern-
ment, to deal with matters of larger importance.
It is thought that these Indians belong to a race
formed out of a mixture of tribes. By the ruins

REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA 271

which have been found on the banks of Lake Titi-
caca, it has been discovered that there existed in
those regions, at a period preceding the Egyptian
civilisation, an advanced people not among those
whom the Spaniards found on the conquest of the
country. The present aymares are more active and
intelligent than the quibchuas and may be compared
with the Aztecs of Mexico, who take pride in having
produced the great Juarez. The Indians of Bolivia
are quite civilised and preserve their religious rites,
which are those of semi-Christians, worshipping the
spirits of nature as represented by the rivers, rocks,
etc.

Bolivia has no ports, but the railroad extension
now proceeding for the purpose of joining up with
the railroads of Chile, Argentina and Peru will fur-
nish an outlet for the mineral and other products
of the Republic, which has entered upon a period of
industrial activity.

CHAPTER XIX

THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOK

A S is well known the Republic of Ecuador in the
•**• epoch of its primitive independence formed a
part of the extensive Empire bequeathed by the
Conqueror, Huay-Napac, to his sons Huascar and
Atahualpa, but the rivalry between these princes led
to a violent revolution which continued until the
conquest of the territory by Pizarro, Almagro and
de Benalcazar. Until 1717 the country was ruled by
a Viceroy, whose seat of government was in Lima
and whose jurisdiction extended to the Courts of
Panama, Caracas, Santa Fe, Quito, Lima, Cuzco,
Charcas, Santiago and Buenos Aires.

The initial demand for independence in Spanish
America was proclaimed by Ecuador, and in 1809
the revolutionary party named the Marquis of Selva
Alegre its first President. Ecuador, however, did
not then enjoy complete independence as it was
practically a State of the larger Republic of Great
Colombia in which was also included New Granada
(now Colombia) and Venezuela, governed by Boli-
var until 1830. On the death of the Liberator,
Venezuela and Ecuador seceded from the united

272

Eepublic, the latter becoming a self-governing Re-
public under the constitutional presidency of Gen-
eral Juan Jose Flores. From that date to the pres-
ent time the Republic of Ecuador has had no less
than eleven different Constitutions. Yet despite the
troublous times through which the country has
passed during its relatively brief existence, Ecuador
is steadily advancing, and in this forward march
she will be greatly aided by her intellectual and
robust youth, who, profiting by the sad experiences
of the past and placing on one side personal and
political differences, are grouping themselves
around their parent country to labour in unison for
its moral and material progress.

The territory of Ecuador, embracing a population
of less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, is rich in mineral
resources and produces large quantities of gold, sil-
ver, lignite, marble, coal and petroleum, while the
manufacture of hats from the toquilla palm or jipi-
japa fibre (incorrectly described as Panama hats)
constitutes an important industry. Ecuador also
contains a number of sugar estates capable of great
extension, and other industrial establishments de-
voted to the production of shoes, cigars, cigarettes
and textile fabrics, but the lack of railroad commu-
nication has hitherto been the chief factor in limiting
the output of these industries.

Guayaquil, the principal port, is also a city of
some importance owing to its population, its com-

274 THE TWO AMERICAS

mercial movement, and its general up-to-date ap-
pearance, whilst Quito, the Capital, which is con-
nected with Guayaquil by a railroad belonging to an
American company, is distinguished by the artistic
character of its buildings, its monuments and, above
all, by the quality of its society, which ranks high
in Latin America. One of the great difficulties of
the country is the absence of roads and highways
for vehicular traffic, there being little else than
mule-tracks for the transport between one town and
another; and in some parts of the Republic there
are merely fords in the smaller streams during the
dry season, and at others, primitive suspension
bridges across deep gorges and swift mountain tor-
rents. These bridges are constructed from a species
of hard fibre and are exceedingly dangerous to
cross, rendering it necessary to frequently bring
into use short river channels along the coast. Rail-
road construction is, however, proceeding at vari-
ous points and with its gradual extension and the
increase of revenue from commercial expansion, re-
sources will be available for the making of new
roads and highways for local transport.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Indians and the
mestizos form the bulk of the population of Ecua-
dor, caste sentiment is very pronounced among those
who claim pure white descent; and, as in Chile, the
latter are the governing classes. The mestizos, who
are generally traders and artisans, are uneducated

REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR 275

and indolent, possessing similar characteristics to
those of the civilised Indians, to which type they
really belong. As in Peru there are still many
tribes of wild Indians who inhabit the forests and
stoutly resist all missionary efforts to civilise them
and oppose administrative measures to subject them
to obedience to the Law.

Education is very backward and confined chiefly
to the better classes, as although primary instruc-
tion for children of from six to twelve years of age
is obligatory, there is an insufficient number of pub-
lic schools, and even at those established the attend-
ance is irregular and not enforced. A programme
has been recently laid down for an entire reorgani-
sation of the educational system and with the assist-
ance of the authorities of the Universities of Quito,
Guayaquil and Cuenca, it is hoped that considerable
improvement will be shown in the future.

Much of the backwardness of Ecuador in all that
pertains to modern progress owes its existence to
the lack of financial resources as much as to the
want of means of communication, and it is to the
fact that Ecuador has no credit in the great finan-
cial centres and is thus unable to effect necessary
reforms that progressive measures have been re-
garded with indifference, which may be illustrated
by the statement that Ecuador, despite the adop-
tion fifty years ago of the metric system, still ex-
clusively uses the old Spanish system of weights

276 THE TWO AMERICAS

and measures. The extreme poverty of the people
and the other circumstances here described have
combined to lessen the encouragement of public
spirit and of civic ideals, which frequently occurs in
States whose inhabitants labour under continued de-
pression, and in others, where the rapid accumula-
tion of wealth as often results in a forgetfulness on
the part of the people of their duties and obligations
as citizens. In the case of Ecuador, however, there
is a sentiment of ardent patriotism beneath this ap-
parent apathy, and I have little doubt that more
than in any other of the Latin Republics on the
Pacific Coast, when the Panama Canal is opened,
a new era will dawn upon the isolated little Republic
and bring with its material advance corresponding
improvement in other spheres of national life. The
country's resources are sufficiently abundant and
the possibilities presented are great enough to jus-
tify this belief. It is merely a question of time for
Ecuador to emerge from her present comparative
obscurity and to rise to a level of equality, from
the standpoints of progress and order, with her
sister Republics.

CHAPTER XX

THE KEPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA

OSSESSING a coast extending from one ocean
to the other and embracing vast areas of pro-
ductive soil, the Republic of Colombia presents a
wide and advantageous field of study for the indus-
trial and commercial classes of Europe and the
United States who desire to extend their operations
to one of the most favored lands of the South Amer-
ican continent. Despite the fact that during the
greater part of its existence Colombia has been torn
by a succession of fratricidal wars and by violent
political dissensions, the few recent years of peace
it has enjoyed have demonstrated, beyond all ques-
tion, the great potential wealth of the national re-
sources and an assured future of progress and pros-
perity when the conditions of internal peace, already
established, become more firmly implanted, as un-
doubtedly will happen.

The exceptional situation in which Colombia is
placed by having important centres of industry and
commerce, as well as ports, both on her Atlantic and
Pacific coasts is in itself a sufficient encouragement
for an optimistic view of her future, without regard

277

278 THE TWO AMERICAS

to the many other favourable conditions of the coun-
try. On the Atlantic side there are several flourish-
ing cities such as Baranquilla, Cartagena and Santa
Marta, where there are already many large fac-
tories, while in the extensive areas surrounding
these cities, there is considerable activity in the cul-
tivation of "rubber, cocoa, coffee, sugar cane, ba-
nanas, and other tropical products. The banana in-
dustry is rapidly expanding as I believed it would
when, during my administration, I initiated confer-
ences for the encouragement of that branch of cul-
tivation. Further in the interior of the same coast,
in the direction of the mountain peaks, where the
changes of climate and soil lend themselves to the
satisfactory growth of the fruits of the temperate
zone, production is steadily increasing. The forma-
tion throughout this part of the country is the most
uneven and least uniform on the continent, and this
probably accounts for the climatic differences in the
diverse valleys and elevations which produce an
abundance in one section of those products which
are scarce in the other. The greater part of this
region is bathed by innumerable rivers and streams
in whose waters there is a large variety of fish, and
in whose sands there are rich mineral deposits
merely awaiting the capital and labour necessary
for their profitable exploitation.

On the Pacific side Colombia has several ports, the
most important being those of Buenaventura "and

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 279

Tumaco, in which for many years past the commerce
of the Department of Cauca and a part of the in-
terior of the Republic has been concentrated. The
port of Buenaventura, located at a distance of only
a few hours' journey from the Panama Canal, is
protected from the constant winds by two arms of
land projecting towards the ocean and has delight-
ful surroundings. Everywhere one sees the fasci-
nating tropical vegetation spreading out towards
the waves. On the horizon, to the south, one sees
the blue profiles of the western Cordilleras; to
the north, the extensive plantations of man-
grove trees, and further inland the peaks and
the valleys of the rich and fertile land of
Choco, renowned for its many mines of gold,
platinum and other minerals. With the open-
ing of the Canal, ships from Europe and the United
States will be able to make direct communication
with this port as well as with Tumaco, thus avoiding
the trans-shipment of merchandise at Colon to the
railway and thence to Panama to another steamer,
which operation at the present time is a barrier to
any considerable extension of commerce. From
Buenaventura there is a railroad to the interior
which will shortly be extended to the city of Cali,
one of the most flourishing in Colombia by reason of
its situation and of the industry of its inhabitants
who make a religion of work. Cali is at the foot
of the western cordillera in the beautiful Valle del

280 THE TWO AMERICAS

Cauca, which Humboldt has described as the ' ' Para-
dise of America." A great hill called "Los Faral-
lones" towers over the city, and from this, which
serves to refresh the valley with its cool breezes,
there is a view of an immense and magnificent pan-
orama. Through the centre of the valley there runs
the Cauca River, on whose banks there is an abun-
dance of vegetable products and of the natural
grasses that give food to a great number of cattle
and horses. Fields and woods with spring-like ver-
dure surround the small villages with their ancient
buildings and the chapel or parochial church in the
centre, and herds of cattle and troops of horses are
dotted over the green mantle which extends in every
direction. On the river there is an unceasing move-
ment of steamships laden with plantains and other
products of this land of promise. Here also are to
be seen boats of a more primitive character packed
to their fullest capacity with fruits, above which
are the farmers and their families wearing their
large hats and carrying long poles which they use
as oars, moving gracefully under the shade afforded
by the cachimbos and the bamboo-canes.

This valley is located at a distance of about one
day's journey by steamer from Panama and is
bounded on its eastern and western sides by dif-
ferent ranges of the Andes. Its area is 400 kilo-
metres in length and 25 in breadth. The tempera-
ture varies from 18 to 20 degrees centigrade, in

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 281

the plains and from 43 to 16 degrees in the moun-
tains, thus permitting cultivation in the same range
of cocoa, sugar cane, wheat and barley. In this
valley there is a population of more than 200,000,
with growing cities of from 10,000 to 30,000 inhab-
itants, such as Popayan, the cradle of many of Co-
lombia's notable men, amongst whom may be men-
tioned Mosqueira and Figueroa, who was Regent of
Spain. The latter city is even to-day the social,
educational and intellectual centre of the tropical
coasts of the Pacific ocean of the two Americas.
The city of Cali, which is beautifully laid out, is
capable of accommodating a million inhabitants, and
there are also Manizales, populated by the laborious
Antioquinians, Buga, Pamira, Cartago, and other
cities and surrounding lands, beautified by di-
verse and everlasting plants, an imposing variety
of orchids, cacao and coffee plantations, shaded by
trees which blossom with flowers of all hues, and
multi-coloured birds flying over the crystal waters
of the rivers, which appear like sheets of silver.

When the railway is completed from Buenaven-
tura to Cali it will be extended towards the south
through Popayan to Pasto and will serve many vil-
lages which in time will become large centres of
production. Popayan is one of the most interesting
cities of Colombia and has a climate of perpetual
spring. It is situated in the valley of the Cauca
between the western and the central cordillera. A

282 THE TWO AMERICAS

great volcano in constant eruption, called Purace,
raises itself towards the west and is covered with
snow during the greater part of the year. The
outskirts of the city are favorite resorts of holiday-
makers who make ascents to the crater and wander
through the green fields and the picturesque planta-
tions or pass their time on the beautiful river and
its banks, and, after picnicking under the shades of
the majestic oak trees with which the district
abounds, they return to the city playing their
guitars on the road and singing the songs of the
popular national poets and musicians, with true
Spanish instinct and spirit. The city of Pasto is
another flourishing centre which embraces various
manufacturing and mining industries. It is a short
distance from Tumaco and Barbacoas, where min-
ing, notwithstanding the difficulties of transport and
the primitive character of the machinery in use,
is being profitably carried on. Thus it will be seen
that almost throughout this beautiful valley, where
on the same plantations there are the products of
the extreme climates, there are also enormous possi-
bilities for agricultural, mining and other industrial
production.

Since the discovery of America Colombia has
been known to possess great wealth in its gold mines.
The value of the precious metal extracted during the
colonial period amounted to hundreds of millions
of dollars. Since the liberation of the slaves, who

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 283

were employed in exploiting these mines, the produc-
tion has diminished, but this affords the greater
reason for assuming that by improved means of
communication and the introduction of modern ma-
chinery the territories of Choco and Force, the
mountains of Antioquia, the mines of Marmato and
Bio Sucio, those of Alta, Baja, and Vetas, in the De-
partment of Santander, those of the Department of
Narino, and the alluvial diggings of Barbacoas con-
tain all the elements to make Colombia a future rival
of the most prolific of the gold-producing countries
known to modern times.

In reference to the mineral wealth contained in
Colombian territory I consider it important to make
known the views of Mr. Thomas A. Edison upon that
subject, as expressed to me in a recent conversation
which I had with that distinguished scientist. Mr.
Edison said:

"Your country, Colombia, is one of the richest and
best situated in South America, not only by reason
of its extensive and wealth-laden littorals on the two
oceans and on both sides of the Panama Canal, but
also by its possession of vast quantities of minerals,
including platinum and gold, particularly in the
district of Choco where these metals are so plenti-
ful, as I have had occasion to discover through con-
stantly needing their use and having sent agents
to those parts to search for them. It is true that the

284 THE TWO AMERICAS

mountains which rise in the interior of the country
present serious obstacles to the construction of rail-
roads but inasmuch as their altitude and climate are
suitable for the cultivation of the products of both
the temperate and torrid zones and that they con-
tain rich mineral deposits there is no doubt that
capital will soon be available for the construction of
railways over short distances, as has taken place in
Bolivia. I have been occupied for years in perfect-
ing the construction of a special locomotive to over-
come the difficulties of a five per cent, gradient,
which I think might be successfully used in Colom-
bia as it has been in other countries of similar for-
mation, where trains are economically run by elec-
tric power from the waterfalls of the mountains.
When those methods of exploiting the mountainous
and auriferous areas of Colombia are put into opera-
tion there is no doubt it will only be a matter of
time for the mining industry of that country to
attain proportions of great importance."

Of the Departments into which Colombia is at
present divided, these being subdivided into Prov-
inces and again into Municipalities, the Department
of Antioquia is probably the most prosperous. The
people of this section of the country have the char-
acteristics of the natives of Extremadura and Anda-
lusia, in Spain, in appearance as well as in their
physical conditions. With rose-white complexions

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 285

and of robust health their energies are devoted pref-
erentially to mining. Under the vigourous strokes
of their axes the mountains have been levelled for
the formation of villages and cities, where they have
developed the mining industry of this Department
and have thus brought large capital to the country.
The Capital of Antioquia is Medellin, the second city
of the Republic, whose inhabitants are more ad-
vanced and up-to-date in their methods than those
of any other part of the country.

Bogota, the Capital City of the Republic, has a
population of 120,000 inhabitants and is situated at
an altitude of 2,400 metres above sea level. The
climate is equable and delightful, the temperature
being always 16 degrees centigrade, which makes it
one of the most habitable cities of South America.
Its modern buildings would be worthy of any great
Capital, the Colon Theatre, especially, being one of
the handsomest of all the known temples of dramatic
art. The society of Bogota, despite the introduction
of modern customs, preserves in general the guiding
principles of the Spanish home-veneration of the
woman and warm unaffected hospitality to the
stranger.

In speaking of the women of Colombia, who in
common with their sisters of all the Ibero- American
countries are models of purity and virtue, I cannot
refrain from reciting the substance of an interview

286 THE TWO AMERICAS

I was privileged to have with Cardinal Farley on
my last visit to New York.

' * I know, ' ' said the Cardinal, ' ' that the Colombian
women are pious and are devoted to the organisa-
tion of the family and to the practice of the highest
domestic virtues. I am, therefore, anxious to learn
whether the law of divorce exists in your country."
"In my country," I replied, "the law of divorce
does not and never will exist, owing to its repug-
nance to our idea of national decorum and to our
faith in the fidelity and pious qualities of our wom-
en, who, as mothers, wives, sisters and daughters,
are not only the sovereigns of the home but educate
the man from his cradle to his maturity, and even
when he marries this moral education is continued
by his wife and at her death by her daughters. In
this way they exercise greater influence in the family
circle and in society than they could possibly have
where true femininity is sacrificed to unhealthy con-
ditions. Divorce indeed is so opposed to the delicate
ideals of our women that the remarriage of a widow,
especially if she has children, is of rare occurrence,
their guiding principle being that they should con-
stantly watch over their offspring, fulfilling the du-
ties of both mother and father. The influence of our
wives and mothers in this respect is such that in
the majority of cases in which a man with a family
of children has lost his wife he follows the example

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 287

of the woman and does not marry again. Our idea
is to cultivate and strengthen these conditions of the
home life which we have inherited from our father-
land, and, in the greater number of Latin- American
countries, it is my experience that, as in Spain, the
sacred ties of home and family are built upon these
principles. ' '

"It gives me great pleasure," said .the Cardinal,
"to know that in young America the modern ideas
of materialism which destroy the virtue of the
Christian home and render the woman morally in-
ferior have not yet become implanted. Such ideas
lower women from the elevated pedestal of sover-
eignty over the home and lead to a barbaric condi-
tion of affairs. It is a source of deep gratification
to me to know of the satisfactory conditions prevail-
ing amongst Spanish and Ibero- American families
who educate their women with such principles in
order that they may use their independence and
their influence in the direction of preserving
pure family life and the best interests of soci-
ety, because it is evident that woman, by her
traditions, her delicate sentiments, superior to those
of man in honesty, piety and self-abnegation, have
more social influence and are thus able to correct
many vices including that of polygamy, which, al-
though not permitted by law, would probably be se-
cretly practised by men. Of Colombian women in
general I have little direct knowledge, but one of

the most gratifying incidents of my life was a benev-
olent act performed by a pious Catholic lady of your
own race, Senorita Barril, of the family of Osma and
Casa Valencia, of Peru and Colombia. I informed
this lady of the generous offer of Mr. Archer Hunt-
ington to provide the land for the site of the pro-
posed Spanish Church and Museum on the heights
commanding the Hudson Eiver, as well as to con-
tribute, dollar for dollar, for all the money required
for the building that I might collect from my congre-
gation. I informed her of the fact that I found my-
self unable to collect from my parishioners even a
respectable proportion of the sum required for the
temple, and sought her help to enable the worthy
project to be carried out. To this request she read-
ily consented and in a very short time succeeded in
obtaining large contributions from both Catholics
and Protestants, with the result that the total sum
collected by Senorita Barril considerably exceeded
the amount involved in Mr. Huntington's generous
offer. That gentleman subsequently gave me a
cheque for an equal amount, and the Chapel, which
was erected with these funds, is now adorned by
precious gifts of lamps and other ornaments by His
Majesty, King Alfonso of Spain, and the Infanta
Dona Isabela."

In addition to the possessions already described
Colombia has immense territories in that section -of

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 289

the Amazonic regions adjacent to Peru, Ecuador,
Venezuela and Brazil. The large forests of the
Amazon River and the Putumayo are for the most
part unexplored, and looking at their vast extent
and the sparsity of the villages and colonies already
established there for industrial purposes, they are
still solitary tracts ready to yield fruitful results to
the hand of the labourer. There is in these forests
luxuriant vegetation on fertile land which has borne
fruit for hundreds of years without its ever having
been gathered in, and it is a fact that even in those
distant territories there is hardly an acre of ground
that cannot be sown and converted into a profitable
field for human energy. At the present time Colom-
bia has 5,000,000 inhabitants and an area sufficiently
large and amply productive to provide for ten times
that number. Towards the Venezuelan side there
are extensive plains watered by numerous rivers
that are especially adapted to the raising of cattle.
In other Departments, as in those of Tolima, Cauca,
Santander, Antioquia, Cundiamarca, etc., the pro-
duction of coffee, cacao and sugar cane is always in-
creasing, while the two commodities first named se-
cure the highest prices in foreign markets. Its for-
ests contain uncountable varieties of fine woods and
medicinal plants, the beds of its rivers (all stocked
with an abundance of fish) are rich in mineral de-
posits, and amongst its other potential wealth of
resources are the emerald mines which contain the

290 THE TWO AMERICAS

very finest quality of that precious gem. With an
intimate knowledge of these and the many other fa-
vourable conditions of the country, I am able to say,
with confidence, that the Republic of Colombia is a
splendid channel for the investment of foreign cap-
ital and for immigration.

The results of the measures which I found it nec-
essary to adopt for the pacification of the country
when, after it had undergone a three years' fratri-
cidal war, I assumed the Chief Magistracy of the
Republic, give encouragement to the belief that the
era of internecine strife and revolutionary out-
breaks has passed for all time. Those measures,
dictated at a time when the country was devastated
by the terrible struggle which had just ended, when
progress had been arrested, and the contending fac-
tors not even then reconciled, have created good out
of evil. Amongst my first administrative acts were
to cause the people to be disarmed and their
weapons returned to the arsenals ; to see that justice
was meted out to all citizens alike and the right of
every man to honourably serve his country fully
established; and to so reorganise the army as to
prevent future serious insubordination or active po-
litical partisanship within its ranks, thus definitely
placing it on a basis which would make it a bulwark
of national honour and respect instead of a force
to be exerted for the satisfaction of individual or
political ambitions. From that time forward, with

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 291

the exception of one notable interruption, due en-
tirely to extraneous influences, the country has en-
joyed the blessings of peace, and the energies of its
citizens have been devoted exclusively to the objects
of moral and material progress. The rancors and
the bitterness of former times have vanished and a
united effort is now being directed to the assurance
of the country's prosperous future which is largely
assisted by the extension of railways towards the
coasts and by the great work which will shortly
bring the Republic nearer to Europe and the United
States. With the approaching realisation of these
prospects and the application of foreign enterprise
to the development of the national resources it is in-
dubitable that this great country, to use the words
of Paul Kruger though in a more peaceful sense,
will "stagger humanity." This view is based as
much on the moral conditions of the Colombian peo-
ple as on the material prospects of the country. In
this connection Dr. Phanor Eder, in his instructive
book entitled "Colombia," has made an admirable
analysis of the situation. He says :

"I must correct a misconception that the reader
may possibly have formed, or been confirmed in, by
my use just now of the term 'chronic instability.'
Colombia has never in all its history for a long
period of time been in such a condition as that
which has devastated some other Spanish- American

292 THE TWO AMERICAS

countries ; there has been, however, chronic fear of
revolution with all its paralysis. There is much
misconception as to the number of real revolutions
in its history; only twice has the 'legitimate' suc-
cession to the Presidency been upset — a record un-
equalled by any other Spanish-American country
with the single exception of Chile. In other words,
successful revolutions have been rare: the estab-
lished Government has nearly always succeeded
either in suppressing armed revolt or in securing
a working compromise. But this past tendency to
revolution is worthy of study. The subject cannot
be dismissed with the contemptuous generalities that
the average Englishman or American is apt to be-
stow. There has been no one cause for revolution-
ism ; no general f ormulae, sometimes put forward, as
to inherent lawlessness, incompatibility of races, un-
fitness for self-government fostered by the Spanish
colonial system, etc., that will fit the case. Inherent
lawlessness we have shown at the beginning of this
chapter to be false — racial antagonisms have played
but a very small part; the unripeness for self-gov-
ernment at the birth of the nation has been a con-
tributary cause, but the true causes have been mani-
fold. . . . By reason of lack of education for
the masses, and for the classes a misdirected
education — unpractical and often superficial — there
has not been learned perseverance and patience to
correct through orderly processes of government.

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 293

Add sectional feeling, the religionism inherited from
Spain — undissolved because of lack of facile inter-
communication— and the pot is ready to boil.

"The cure, therefore, for revolutionism is obvi-
ous; material prosperity and education. It is now
at work. With foreign capital and foreign immigra-
tion material prosperity will come speedily : without
them or either of them the day of salvation will be
delayed. Immigration is needed, not so much be-
cause there is any real scarcity in the ranks of la-
bour, but for education : foreign workers, especially
if simpatico, can better teach the Colombians, who
are ready pupils, to be workers. Improved sanitary
conditions will come with the expenditure of money
and with the consequent abolition of malaria, anae-
mia, many misnamed cases of laziness will disap-
pear. Wealth and education hand in hand will lead
Colombia from the brink of the chasm to the high-
road of peace and order. ' '

The population of Colombia, though depleted by
the losses of life in the many civil wars which have
marked the country's past history and checked in
its increase by the absence of immigration, is still
estimated by reliable authorities at about 5,000,000,
as already stated. Amongst these there is a fair
percentage of whites, descended from the early
Spanish settlers, the remainder of the inhabitants
being made up of mestizos (a mixture of whites

294 THE TWO AMERICAS

and Indians), Indians and negroes. Of those who
first inhabited the country there remain only a few
scattered tribes in the forests, practising their an-
cient customs with a persistent refusal to conform
to the requirements of modern society, but there
are many civilised Indian communities who yield to
the demands of the social organisation of the coun-
try. Amongst the white element there is a small
proportion of foreigners engaged in commercial and
industrial pursuits, the native whites forming the
governing and the professional classes. They are
an intelligent, high spirited people with the Spanish-
American love of art and literature to which they
devote considerable study, and in the world of let-
ters many Colombian writers hold high rank. The
national religion is Eoman Catholic and the Church
which was disestablished by the Constitution of 1861
was restored, twenty-five years later, to the position
of a State institution. Education was extremely
backward until my accession to the Presidency when
I initiated a complete reorganisation of the system
of public instruction, adding normal schools for the
training of teachers, and agricultural and technical
schools for the better development of the country's
material resources. Since the partial carrying out
of my project for the extension of public instruction
there has been a considerable reduction in the num-
ber of illiterates. This advance, however, is but the
beginning of the spread of education which will fol-

low the general progress of the Republic that will
enable the incoming Administration and its succes-
sors to appropriate a goodly proportion of national
revenue to this worthy object.

My recent trip through the Isthmus has intensi-
fied my admiration for the American nation, which
has accomplished so much for the causes of civilisa-
tion and progress, and especially in its building of
the great Canal which will transform the face of
the earth and produce greater changes of impor-
tance in routes of travel than has ever been accom-
plished by any other work of a similar character.
Yet, whilst the world at large has eulogised this
great American achievement there have been uni-
versal expressions of regret that its moral value
should be lessened by doubts of the character of the
methods whereby it was enabled to be carried into
operation. It is therefore sincerely hoped by all
friends of the United States that when, in 1915,
there will be celebrated the opening of the Inter-
national Exposition to commemorate the union of
the two oceans, justice will have been rendered to
Colombia so that the Exposition will not be an
apotheosis of the triumph of might over right.

The importance of the Panama Canal to the Re-
public of Colombia cannot be exaggerated or too
frequently pointed out at the present time. The
completion of that gigantic work will bring to her
rich and extensive territories myriads of workers

296 THE TWO AMERICAS

from the congested countries of Europe; the trees
of the forests will be felled to make way for the
locomotive; the rivers will give up their latent
wealth and the treasure embedded in the virgin soil
will become available to the pick of the miner. There
will finally disappear, as though by enchantment,
the old political bitterness and hatred; and there
will be but one nation-wide policy — that of Father-
land and work. The few obstinate patriots, still
irreconcilable, will unite in fraternal embrace with
their fellow citizens in the task of national recon-
struction; and the rainbow of peace, which for the
past thirteen years has shone in the Colombian sky,
will shine still brighter, as a tribute to the patriotic
instincts of the worthy sons of a great country.

The name of the hero, Simon Bolivar, is so indis-
solubly bound up with the foundation and early
history of the Republic of Colombia as to render
incomplete any description of the country which
does not embrace some account of that great man.
In the preceding and other chapters of this book
I have merely made passing references to Bolivar's
noble character and great achievements, for the rea-
son that his share in the emancipation of South
America is already a matter of common historic
record. In order, however, to show that in addi-
tion to being a strict disciplinarian and a statesman
of great breadth of view, he was a pious, simple

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 297

man, inspired by love of family and of God, I append
a translation of his last will and testament, which,
so far as I am aware, has not yet been published in
the English language :

BOLIVAR'S WILL

"In the name of the Almighty God, Amen, I,
Simon Bolivar, Liberator of the Republic of Colom-
bia, born in the city of Caracas, in the Department
of Venezuela, legitimate son of Juan Vicente Bolivar
and Maria Concepcion Palacios, deceased, of the
same city, being gravely ill but in the full posses-
sion of memory and understanding and believing
and confessing with firm faith in the high and sover-
eign mystery of the Beautiful and Holy Trinity of
the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three distinct per-
sons, but one true God, under which faith I have
lived and declared my intention to live as an earnest
Catholic Christian until my death, I now make my
testamentary disposition and, under Divine invoca-
tion authorise and order my will in the following
form:

* ' 1. Firstly, I commend my soul to Almighty God
and my body to the earth of which it was formed,
leaving to the disposition of my testamentary execu-
tors the arrangements of my interment and the pay-
ment of other pious objects which they may consider
necessary or may be ordained by the Government.

298 THE TWO AMERICAS

"2. I declare that I was legally married to the
Senora Teresa Toro, deceased, and that there are
no children of the marriage.

"3. I declare that when we contracted the mar-
riage my deceased wife had no means or effects and
that I introduced for our mutual benefit the whole
of my patrimony.

"4. I declare that I do not possess other prop-
erty than the lands and mines of Aroa, situated in
the Province of Carabobo, and certain jewels set
forth in an inventory which will be found amongst
my papers in the possession of Seiior Juan de Fran-
cisco Martin, a resident of Cartagena.

"5. I declare that my only money indebtedness
is a certain number of dollars due to the said Juan
de Francisco Martin and to Powles & Company. I
therefore authorise and instruct my testamentary
executors to recognise such indebtedness and to sat-
isfy it from the proceeds of my estate.

"6. It is my wish that the medal presented to me
by the Congress of Bolivia, in the name of the peo-
ple of that country, shall be returned in the same
spirit in which it was given as a proof of the true
affection which I preserve, even in my last moments,
for that Republic.

"7. It is my wish that the two works presented
to me by my friend, General Wilson, "The Social
Contract," by Eousseau, and "The Military Art,"
by Monte-Cuculi, both of which were formerly part

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 299

of the Library of Napoleon, be presented after my
death to the University of Caracas.

"8. It is my wish that out of my estate 8,000
pesos shall be given to my steward, Jose Palacios,
as a remuneration for his faithful service.

"9. I order that all my papers in the possession
of Senor Cavageau shall be burned.

"10. It is my wish that after my death my re-
mains shall be deposited in my birthplace, the city
of Caracas.

"11. It is a request to my executors that the
sword presented to me by the Grand Marshal de
Ayacucho shall be returned to his widow, in order
that she may retain it as a proof of the affection in
which I have always held the deceased Grand Mar-
shal.

"12. It is a request to my executors that they
should reiterate my grateful thanks to General Eo-
berto Wilson for the admirable conduct of his son,
Colonel Belford Wilson, who so faithfully accom-
panied and supported me until the last moments of
my life.

' ' 13. For the fulfilment of the provisions of this,
my last will and testament, I name as my testamen-
tary executors General Pedro Briceno Mendez, Juan
de Francisco Martin, Dr. Jose Vargas and General
Laurencio Silva, upon whom I confer full license
and authority to dispose of my effects in such man-

300 THE TWO AMERICAS

ner as to them may appear necessary, and I further
extend their period of the fatal year of executor-
ship for such further time as may be required
for the general and free administration of my
estate.

' ' 14. The provisions of this, my last will and tes-
tament, being fulfilled and all just claims being sat-
isfied, I name as my sole heirs and legatees to my
residuary estate and to all future successions to
which I shall have succeeded or may succeed, my
sisters, Maria Antonia and Juana Bolivar, and the
three children of my deceased brother, Juan Vicente
Bolivar, Juan, Felicia and Fernando Bolivar, with
instructions that my residuary estate be divided into
three parts, two of which are devised to my before-
mentioned two sisters, and the other part to the be-
fore-mentioned children of my brother Juan Vicente,
that with the blessings of God they may use and en-
joy such legacies.

"I revoke, annul and declare of no effect any
other will, testament, codicil, memorandum, or
spoken words, made or delivered prior to this, my
last will and testament, which I declare to embody
my final wishes and testamentary dispositions.

* ' Made, executed and witnessed, by General Mari-
ano Montilla, General Jose Maria Carreno, Colonel
Belford Hinton Wilson, Colonel Jose de la Cruz
Paredes, Colonel Joaquin de Mier, Commandant

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA 301

Juan Glen, and Dr. Manuel Perez de Recuero, at the
Hacienda of San Pedro Alejandrino, in the limits
of the city of Santa Marta, the tenth day of Decem-
ber, 1830."

Before me, Jose Catalino Noguera, Notary Public.

SIMON BOLIVAE.

CHAPTER XXI

CONCLUSION

T T is a fitting conclusion to this humble effort on
•*• my part to strengthen the friendly relations of
all the countries on the American continent, that I
should avail myself of the opportunity to deal with
the important declarations made by President Wil-
son and ex-President Roosevelt, since the preced-
ing pages were written. It is with the keenest satis-
faction and, I hope, with becoming modesty, that I
claim, at the hands of those two distinguished men, a
complete justification of the purpose of this book
and of the views it embodies. If, in my criticisms
of the international policy of the United States in
regard to the Latin Republics, the terms employed
have been somewhat vigourous their general tenor
will find full endorsement in the pronouncements of
the two great American citizens whose authoritative
statements will elicit unqualified approval through-
out Ibero-America. I refer to the address delivered
by President Wilson before the Southern Commer-
cial Congress at Mobile, Alabama, on October 27th
last, and to the lecture given by Colonel Roosevelt
at the University of Rio de Janeiro a few days
previously.

302

CONCLUSION 308

In my introductory comments I made special men-
tion of the fact that the horrors of civil war were
still afflicting one of the important States of Latin-
America; but ''out of evil cometh good" as, if the
unhappy conditions arising out of that revolution
had not become so intensified and so fraught with
serious consequences to the whole continent, the
declaration of the high-minded policy and attitude
of the present Administration of the United States
towards Latin- America, which will go far to remove
the unfortunate mutual misunderstandings still pre-
vailing, might have been postponed to a period when
its power for good would be considerably lessened,
if not altogether lost.

Eliminating the preliminary references of purely
local interest the following is a report of President
Wilson's address at Mobile, as published by the
New York Times, of October 28th :

"I come because I want to speak of our present
and prospective relations with our neighbours to
the south. I deemed it a public duty as well as a
personal pleasure to be here to express for myself
and for the Government I represent the welcome we
all feel to those who represent the Latin- American
States. The future, ladies and gentlemen, is going
to be very different for this hemisphere from the
past. The States lying to the south of us, which
have always been our neighbours, will now be drawn

304 THE TWO AMERICAS

closer to us by innumerable ties, and, I hope, chief
of all by the tie of a common understanding of each
other.

"Interest does not tie nations together. It some-
times separates them, but sympathy and understand-
ing do unite them. And I believe that by the new
route that is just about to be opened, while we
physically cut two continents asunder, we spiritually
unite them. It is a spiritual union which we seek.
I wonder if you realise, I wonder if your imagina-
tions have been filled with the significance of the
tides of commerce ?

* ' These great tides which have been running along
parallels of latitude will now swing southward
athwart parallels of latitude, and that opening gate
at the Isthmus of Panama will open the world to a
commerce that she has not known before — a com-
merce of intelligence, of thought and sympathy be-
tween north and south, and the Latin-American
States which to their disadvantage have been off the
main lines will now be on the main lines. I feel
that these gentlemen honouring us with their pres-
ence to-day will presently find that some part at any
rate of the centre of gravity of the world has shifted.
Do you realise that New York, for example, will be
nearer the western coast of South America than she
is now to the eastern coast of South America?

' ' There is one peculiarity about the history of the
Latin-American States which I am sure they are

CONCLUSION 305

keenly aware of. You hear of concessions to foreign
capitalists in Latin America. You do not hear of
concessions to foreign capitalists in the United
States. They are not granted concessions. They
are invited to make investments. The work is ours,
though they are welcome to invest in it. We do not
ask them to supply the capital and do the work.
It is an invitation, not a privilege, and States that
are obliged, because their territory does not lie with-
in the main field of modern enterprise and action,
to grant concessions, are in this condition, that for-
eign interests are apt to dominate their domestic
affairs, a condition of affairs always dangerous and
apt to become intolerable.

"What these States are going to seek, therefore,
is an emancipation from the subordination which has
been inevitable to foreign enterprise and an asser-
tion of the splendid character which, in spite of these
difficulties, they have again and again been able to
demonstrate. The dignity, the courage, the self-pos-
session, the respect of the Latin-American States,
their achievements in the face of all these adverse
circumstances, deserve nothing but the admiration
and applause of the world. They have had harder
bargains driven with them in the matter of loans
than any other peoples in the world. Interest has
been exacted of them that was not exacted of any-
body else, because the risk was said to be greater,
and then securities were taken that destroyed the

306 THE TWO AMERICAS

risks. An admirable arrangement for those who
were forcing the terms! I rejoice in nothing so
much as in the prospect that they will now be eman-
cipated from these conditions, and we ought to be
the first to take part in assisting in that emancipa-
tion. I think some of these gentlemen have already
had occasion to bear witness that the Department of
State in recent months has tried to serve them in
that wise. In the future they will draw closer and
closer to us because of circumstances of which I wish
to speak with moderation and, I hope, without indis-
cretion.

' ' We must prove ourselves their friends and cham-
pions, upon terms of equality and honour. You
cannot be friends upon any other terms than upon
the terms of equality. You cannot be friends at
all except upon the terms of honour, and we must
show ourselves friends by comprehending their in-
terest, whether it squares with our interest or not.
It is a very perilous thing to determine the foreign
policy of a nation in the terms of material interest.
It not only is unfair to those with whom you are
dealing, but it is degrading on the part of your own
actions.

"Comprehension must be the soil in which shall
grow all the fruits of friendship, because there is a
reason and a compulsion lying behind all this which
are dearer than anything else to the thoughtful men
of America; I mean the development of constitu-

CONCLUSION 307

tional liberty in the world. Human rights, national
integrity, and opportunity, as against material in-
terests— that, ladies and gentlemen, is the issue
which we now have to face. I want to take this occa-
sion to say that the United States will never again
seek one additional foot of territory by conquest.
She will devote herself to showing that she knows
how to make honourable and fruitful use of the ter-
ritory she has. And she must regard it as one of
the duties of friendship to see that from no quarter
are material interests made superior to human lib-
erty and national opportunity. I say this, not with
a single thought that any one will gainsay it, but
merely to fix in our consciousness what our real rela-
tionship with the rest of America is. It is the rela-
tionship of a family of mankind devoted to the de-
velopment of true constitutional liberty. We know
that that is the soil out of which the best enterprise
springs. We know that this is a cause which we are
making in common with them because we have had
to make it for ourselves.

' ' Reference has been made here to-day to some of
the national problems which confront us as a nation.
What is the heart of all our national problems? It
is that we have seen the hand of material interests
sometimes about to close upon our dearest interests
and possessions. We have seen material interests
threaten constitutional freedom in America. There-
fore, we will now know how to sympathise with those

308 THE TWO AMERICAS

in America who have to contend with that, not only
within their borders, but from outside their borders
also. I know what the response of the thought and
heart of America will be to a programme like that,
because America was created to realise a pro-
gramme like that.

"This is not America because it is rich. This is
not America because it has set up for a great popu-
lation great opportunities of material prosperity.
America is a name which sounds in the ears of man
everywhere as a synonym of individual opportunity,
as a synonym of individual liberty. I would rather
belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich
nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty.
But we shall not be poor if we love liberty, because
the nation that loves liberty truly sets every man
free to do his best and be his best; and that means
the release of all the splendid energies of a great
people who think for themselves. A nation of em-
ployees cannot be free any more than a nation of
employers can be.

"So, in emphasising the points which must unite
us in sympathy and in spiritual interest with the
Latin- American people, we are only emphasising the
points of our own life, and we should prove our-
selves untrue to our own traditions if we proved
ourselves untrue friends to-day. Do not think,
therefore, gentlemen, that questions of the day are
mere questions of policy and diplomacy. They are

CONCLUSION 309

shot through with the principles of life. We dare
not turn from the principle that morality and
not expediency is the thing that must guide us, and
that we will never condone iniquity because it is most
convenient to do so.

"So, it seems to me that this is a day of infinite
hope, of confidence in a future greater than the
past has been. For I am fain to believe that, in
spite of all the things that we wish to correct, the
nineteenth century that now. lies behind us has
brought us a long stage toward the time when,
slowly ascending the tedious climb that leads to the
final uplands, upon which we shall get the ultimate
view of the beauties of mankind, we, nevertheless,
have breathed a considerable part of that climb, and
shall presently — it may be in a generation or two —
come out upon those great heights where there
shines, unobstructed, the light of the justice of
God."

In the noble words quoted above President Wilson
has proclaimed the policy of the United States in
relation to the Latin Republics of the western
hemisphere to be one of morality and justice against
political or financial expediency, and no one doubts
the sincerity or the good faith with which that
announcement of policy was made. But it is not
the fear of the loss of territory by conquest on the
part of the United States that creates uneasiness in

310 THE TWO AMERICAS

the greater countries of South America. It is rather
the past evidences of a spirit of domination over
the Latin Republics that have aroused resentment
in those quarters where it is least desirable, and
President Wilson emphasised this view when he
said:

"We must prove ourselves their friends and
champions upon terms of equality and honour. You
cannot be friends upon any other terms than upon
the terms of equality."

It is obvious, from their very nature, that con-
cessions granted to foreigners for the enjoyment
of monopolies are based on principles not strictly
in accord with the theory of a republican form of
government and that they frequently lead to inter-
national conflicts as a result of differences between
the grantor and grantees, but, even in cases where
a weak nation may be the real offender, the re-
sources of her courts of justice and of diplomacy
should be exhausted before recourse is had to an
attack upon her independence or upon her terri-
torial integrity. In dwelling upon these conditions
President Wilson declared that powerful nations,
such as the United States, do not grant concessions
but merely invite the investment of foreign capital.
Yet if many of the difficulties which the smaller
Latin- American Republics have had with other coun-

CONCLUSION 811

tries owe their origin to the granting of concessions
it must also be remembered that in their earlier
stages of existence and in the undeveloped state of
their resources it would have been impossible to
obtain capital for the exploitation of their indus-
tries on conditions which were not to some extent
oppressive. It must also be remembered that in
most cases the granting of concessions has not been
an unmixed evil to many of the southern Repub-
lics. Abundant confirmation of this statement is to
be seen in Argentina, where the original conces-
sions— apparently onerous in terms — given to Brit-
ish capitalists for the construction of railways in
that country have led to the investment of upwards
of one billion dollars in that form of enterprise alone
and have made the Argentine Republic one of the
most prosperous countries of the world.

There are also instances in which foreign con-
cessionaires have constituted themselves an impe-
rium in imperio, but, even in those cases, the gradual
development of the national wealth has produced
competition among foreign investors and thus mini-
mised the effects of the arbitrary exercise of the
authority and influence acquired by the concession-
aires. On the other hand there could be cited many
examples of laudable enterprise and honourable con-
duct on the part of the contractors when the only
security offered them for embarking upon such
investments were the possibilities and the hon-

312 THE TWO AMERICAS

esty of the countries always separated from
them by great distance, by widely varying con-
ditions, and by a foreign system of law. There
are to-day many countries on the American con-
tinent abounding in mineral riches and other
latent sources of production which are retarded in
their progress through the need of foreign capital to
open them up. Great capitalists in the United
States have so many opportunities for profitable in-
vestment within their own borders that it is unlikely
they would enter unknown and unproved channels
without adequate inducements. The credit of a
State is based on similar conditions to those apply-
ing to private individuals and is governed entirely
by considerations of classification and standing.
Thus the question of government concessions to pri-
vate contracting parties is always one of expediency.
In view of what I have said as to the action of
ex-President Roosevelt in relation to the Panama
Canal it would seem paradoxical and inconsistent on
my part to eulogise the attitude of that distinguished
man towards Latin- Americans. I am free, however,
to admit that his latest utterances in regard to the
people and countries of the southern portion of the
continent are founded upon principles, the expres-
sion of which will do much to allay the general in-
dignation aroused by the mistaken act of patriotism
which culminated in the violation of Colombia's
most sacred rights. Colonel Roosevelt's lecture

CONCLUSION 313

demonstrated the results of his profound and con-
scientious study of the history and characteristics
of the Latin-American nations ; and in the belief that
the objects of this work will be better served by a
wider dissemination of the principles and facts em-
bodied in that exhaustive analysis, I regard it as a
duty and as an act of justice to reproduce here the
following report of the lecture, extracted from the
New York Times, of October 25th :

' ' The Western Hemisphere is slowly working out
for itself its own theory of that part of international
policy which concerns both the attitude of all the
American Commonwealths in the face of the rest of
the world, and also their dealings with one another.
You, my hosts and hearers, and your guest, and our
fellow-countrymen, alike belong to the young nations
of the New World. Because of the fact that it is a
new world, and that we are young nations, we suffer
certain disadvantages and have certain peculiar dif-
ficulties of our own to face. Nevertheless, also be-
cause of these very facts, we enjoy compensating
advantages, which more than outweigh the disad-
vantages.

"Prominent among these advantages is the fact
that we have an almost free hand for fair dealing
in American international relations, being fettered
by comparatively few of the wide inequalities of
culture and civilisation, and the bitter memories of

314 THE TWO AMERICAS

history, which of necessity prevent any community
of feeling among races which stand at the opposite
poles of human existence ; whereas in the Old World,
in the huge continental mass composed of Europe,
Asia, and Africa, there exist many vast and popu-
lous regions sundered from one another by the well-
nigh impassable gulfs which lie between civilisation
and barbarism, and between barbarism and pure
savagery.

"Here in America the civilised nations do not
have to fear huge military barbarisms. Neither do
we have to dread the presence of vast tracts of coun-
try peopled by savages, which the civilised nations
must bring under control, and which, if not pos-
sessed by one efficient and civilised nation, merely
become the property of some other efficient and civ-
ilised nation. Under such conditions it is practically
impossible to reach a general working agreement of
any kind about international conduct; for the com-
munities— European, Asiatic, and African — stand
on planes of culture and conduct which are hope-
lessly far apart.

"In the two Americas, on the contrary, there are
no such wide divisions. With negligible exceptions
all the important nations possess a common heritage
of Occidental civilisation, and, as compared with the
other divergencies in the Old World, they possess
substantially similar governmental forms and re-
ligions and cultural ideals.

CONCLUSION 315

"Again, with negligible exceptions, there are no
great waste spaces, tenanted only by savages, which
are open to settlement by and are the potential
causes of quarrel among the civilised powers; the
remaining tracts of land open to settlement and de-
velopment— and nowhere are they larger or more
inviting than here in Brazil — are substantially all
within the well-settled boundaries of fully estab-
lished nations.

' ' In consequence there is a far better chance here
than elsewhere to work out some scheme of common
international conduct which shall guarantee to
every nation freedom from molestation by others so
long as its own skirts are free from wrongdoing,
and so long as it does not itself sink into a condition
of mere impotent anarchy. There are two sides to
consider: first, our common attitude toward Old
World powers, and, second, our relations among our-
selves.

"Less than a century and a half have passed since
the entire Western Hemisphere was held in real or
titular possession by European nations; at that
time the fate and ownership of the American col-
onies depended on the outcome of wars between na-
tions across the seas. As late as a century ago this
condition still obtained as regards all American
countries except my own, and that was less than half
its present size and of not a tenth its present
strength.

316 THE TWO AMERICAS

1 ' Ninety years ago the countries of Latin America
had likewise achieved independence ; but it was still
a precarious independence, and there was still like-
lihood that some one of the great military European
nations would reestablish itself as an American
power at the expense of one or more of the strug-
gling infant nationalities. At that time the United
States was still the only American nation able to
secure any hearing whatever in Europe, and even
the United States could secure only a scant and im-
patient hearing.

* ' Now there are several American nations, promi-
nent among which is your own, who can secure re-
spectful hearing anywhere in the world. These
American nations, such as Brazil and the United
States, stand on an absolute footing of equality.
One cardinal doctrine on which we all agree is that
America shall not be treated as offering ground for
fresh colonisation or territorial aggrandisement by
any Old World power.

' ' This is a doctrine of vital concern to all the na-
tions of America ; for it would be a calamity to all if
any great military nation of the Old World obtained
a foothold here; such an event would in the end
force us all, under penalty of loss of our own inde-
pendence, ourselves to become military powers, and
to plunge this continent back into Old World condi-
tions of armed rivalry.

' ' So much for the common interest of all our Com-

CONCLUSION 317

monwealths in the face of non-American powers.
No less vital is the matter of our own behaviour
toward one another, no less than toward these non-
American powers.

"The relations of the northern and the southern
continents of the Western Hemisphere are certain
to become much closer in the future. The opening
of the Panama Canal will itself markedly help to
make them closer, and great though the benefits of
the Canal will be to our own country, I believe that
they will be if anything even greater to the coun-
tries of South America. I wish to see the trade be-
tween the United States and all South American
countries increase and in such intercourse the first
essential is the ability to inspire confidence. There-
fore, from every standpoint, I believe that the United
States should scrupulously so act as to inspire con-
fidence in her sister republics.

"It is for this reason that I feel a peculiar na-
tional pride in our having twice withdrawn from
Cuba, and having intervened in Santo Domingo
purely for Santo Domingo's advantage. There is
no brighter chapter in our history than that which
tells of these actions. The United States does not
wish the territory of its neighbours. It does wish
their confidence. If ever as regards any country,
intervention does unfortunately become necessary, I
hope that wherever possible it will be a joint inter-
vention by such powers as Brazil and the United

318 THE TWO AMERICAS

States, without thought of the selfish aggrandise-
ment of any of them and for the common good of the
western world.

"With every right there must always go hand in
hand a duty; and no man, and no nation, can per-
manently enjoy the right if he or it shirks the duty.
With every privilege there must go the responsibil-
ity of exercising the privilege aright. Every Amer-
ican Commonwealth is bound as a matter of honor-
able obligation to behave fairly toward its sister
Commonwealth; and this is an impossibility if it
does not keep order and enforce justice within its
own borders. Among civilised nations it is a gen-
eral, although not a universal, rule that ability to
command respect abroad is largely dependent upon
the preservation of stability and order and the
proper administration of justice at home.

* ' The history of my own country teaches this les-
son. Like your country, like Brazil, we had to deal
with the problem of the abolition of slavery. We
showed less ability than you did to deal with it in
wise and cool-handed fashion. You abolished it
peacefully and without bloodshed, whereas in our
case it cost us a terrible civil war, and brought the
nation to the verge of destruction. During that pe-
riod we lost all power to help other nationalities in
our hemisphere, or to enforce respect from others
for our own rights whether in America or elsewhere.

1 * Had we remained disunited, had we become sub-

CONCLUSION 319

ject to chronic revolutionary disturbance, we should
have reduced ourselves to utter and shameful impo-
tence in the face of the nations of mankind ; and one
result would unquestionably have been that America
would once again have become subject to schemes of
colonisation and armed territorial occupation by Old
World powers.

' ' It is for this reason I feel not only that you are
to be congratulated but that all of us who belong
to the brotherhood of American Commonwealths are
to be congratulated because of the steady growth
in power, prosperity and stability which your great
Republic of Brazil has of recent years so conspicu-
ously shown — a marvellous growth, in which certain
other South American Republics have had their
share. I believe that, just as in the nineteenth cen-
tury the most striking growth feature of the civil-
ised world was what took place in North America,
so in the twentieth century the most permanently
important feature will be the growth and develop-
ment of South America. I believe that the present
century is the century of South America.

"Furthermore, I believe that the world has now
grown sufficiently advanced to realise that normally
the growth of one nation in prosperity and well-be-
ing is of benefit, and not harm, to other nations.
Among private individuals it is normally a benefit,
and not a disadvantage, to a man to live in a well-to-
do neighbourhood, to have neighbours who are sue-

320 THE TWO AMERICAS

cessful in life, and to deal with men who are pros-
perous. For precisely similar reasons it is an ad-
vantage to a nation to have as neighbours nations
which are thriving and successful. Such a nation
is benefited if the other nations with which it has
commercial and diplomatic relations are prosperous
in their business, and therefore stable in their gov-
ernmental activities.

" Under a republican or democratic form of gov-
ernment this means that there must be an honest
chance to settle differences of public opinion at the
polls by votes fairly cast and fairly counted, and a
willingness, when the decision has thus been fairly
reached, to abide by it. This must, therefore, also
mean the general recognition of the fact that cheat-
ing and swindling, whether by force or fraud, at the
polls or at the nominating conventions are well-nigh
as obnoxious, and if long continued would be abso-
lutely as obnoxious to public morality as armed
revolutionary violence itself.

' ' From this it follows that every American nation
has reason to congratulate itself on the stability and
prosperity of its sister nations. I am sure that I
utter the sentiments of the people of the United
States when I say that their only desire, as regards
neighbouring countries, is to see them stable, or-
derly and prosperous. Any country whose people
conduct themselves in such fashion can count upon
the hearty and practical friendship of the United

CONCLUSION 321

States. If they act with reasonable efficiency and
decency in social and political matters, if they keep
order and discharge their just obligations, they will
surely achieve national success; and it is this na-
tional success, for all of her sister republics, which
the United States sincerely and earnestly desires.

' ' Chronic wrong-doing, or an impotence which re-
sults in a general loosening of the ties of civilised
society, may in America as elsewhere ultimately
force intervention by some strong and stable civil-
ised nation in the exercise of an international police
power. Such a duty is thankless, irksome, and un-
pleasant, whether it be performed by England,
France, or the United States, whether in Algiers or
Egypt, or on the Isthmus of Panama; and, there-
fore, we all hail with delight the advent to real
power of such nations as Brazil, the Argentine, and
Chile, whose maintenance of peace and security
within their own bounds, and whose efforts to sub-
stitute other and fairer methods for those of war in
the settlement of international disputes in South
America are fraught with good omen for the entire
Western Hemisphere.

"Each of us has something to learn from, and
something to teach to, his neighbours. I believe
that in the era which is now opening the republics
of Latin America will be able to teach much to the
people of my own country. The Latin American
people possess many qualities which it would be

322 THE TWO AMERICAS

well for us of the north to develop. Their unques-
tioned superiority in intellectual brilliancy and logic
will enable them, when once they have secured in-
ternal peace and government stability, to achieve
a better solution of some of the most vital prob-
lems of popular government than any that has yet
been reached in any part of the world. ' '

With justifiable national pride, Colonel Eoosevelt
draws his comparison of the social and political
conditions of the great Eepublic of the north with
those of the south, where, in most cases, they have
produced so marked a change in results ; but, whilst
indicating these differences he does full justice to
the many qualities and intellectual strength of the
Ibero- American nations. Warm-hearted, impulsive,
and eager for political emancipation, the Latin peo-
ple of America have invariably subordinated ma-
terial advantage to their social and moral improve-
ment ; and this in a large measure accounts for many
of the uprisings and for the turbulent conditions
which have characterised the comparatively short
history of many of these countries. The rude com-
motions which followed the liberation of all the Ee-
.publics forming the great heart of South America
appear to have been rooted in these virgin lands,
whose people sought the enemy in their own terri-
tory and launched themselves against each other
with an utter disregard of the fact that they were

CONCLUSION 323

all of common parentage. Most of these youthful
nations have suffered through long periods of civil
strife which impeded their advance ; but, ultimately
realising that these internal struggles were weaken-
ing the national forces, they discarded their fac-
tional colours and gathered under a united flag to
exchange the rifle for the hoe, the sword for the
plough, and the wheels of the cannon for the wheels
of the locomotive.

Although, even at the present time in one Republic
or another, there arises some revolutionary spirit,
it is only the convulsive effect of a medieval era
that is passing, the final eruption of a dying political
volcano, or the last cannonade in the triumph of
peace after a decisive battle. The age has passed
for the existence of the barbarous conditions which
at one time plunged so many of the Latin Republics
into a state of misery. To-day every country must
conform to the higher order of civilisation imposed
upon it by the demands of universal peace and good
will. The smaller Republics of the American con-
tinent have many beautiful examples to follow ; and
they have only to look for some of these, to the three
great countries to the south, whose phenomenal
progress in every phase of national effort and duty
has evoked the admiration of the world. The Re-
publics «of Argentina, Brazil and Chile have shown,
in a manner worthy of emulation, the practical wis-
dom of diverting the energies of the people from

the harmful pursuits of civil wars to the more bene-
ficial occupation of developing the national indus-
tries. In a corresponding degree most of the others
have entered upon the same forward march ; and in
succession to the revolutions which formerly red-
dened their soil and darkened the blue of their skies,
there has dawned an era of peace and tranquility
which will lead to that moral and material advance
to which they all have so many legitimate claims.

THE END

DATE DUE

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