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UUAN    CHACU    INDIANS. 


THE   EARTH   AND   ITS   INHABITANTS 


THE 


UNIVERSAL  GEOGRAPHY 


•  / 


By  elisee  reclus 


EDITED 

By   A.    H.    KEANE,   B.A. 

MEMBER  OF  COUNCIL,    ANTHROP.    INSTITUTE;    COR.    MEMB.    ITALIAN   AND   WASHINGTON   ANTHROP.    SOC,    ETC. 


VOL.  XIX. 

AMAZONIA    AND    LA    PLATA 


ILLUSTRATED     BY    NUMEROUS     ENGRAVINGS     AND     MAPS 


LONDON 
J.   S.  VIRTUE   cV   CO.,  Limited,   294,  CITY  ROAD  •. 


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A    PARTING    WORD. 


N  completing  this  long  work,  begun  in  the  days  of  my  youth,  I 
may  congratulate  myself  on  the  good  fortune  by  which,  in  the 
course  of  a  life  not  lacking  in  stirring  incidents,  I  have  been 
enabled  to  fulfil  my  engagements  of  regular  publication,  without 
ever  once  breaking  faith  with  my  readers.  At  the  same  time  I  am  well  aware 
that  the  best  intentions  and  most  conscientious  labour  would  have  been  inade- 
quate to  such  an  imdertaking,  but  for  the  devoted  fellow-workers  who  have 
constantly  aided  me  by  their  researches  and  advice. 

A  feeling  of  gratitude  must  therefore  be  uppermost,  and  my  thanks  are 
accordingly  given  to  all  friends  who  have  directly  or  indirectly  helped  me  by 
notes,  studies,  correspondence,  corrections,  encouragement,  or  criticism.  But  this 
acknowledgment  can  no  longer  reach  all  those  to  whom  it  is  due  !  A  retrospective 
glance  shows  the  path  marked  at  intervals  by  the  memory  of  comrades  in  work 
garnered  by  death.  Towards  them  above  all  my  thoughts  are  turned  at  the  close 
of  my  task.  On  this  last  page  I  record  the  name  of  Emile  Templier,  who  sought 
me  out  on  the  pontoons  of  Brest  with  a  view  to  the  publication  of  the  long  con- 
templated Earth  and  its  Inhabitants. 

This  period  of  twenty  years,  long  relatively  to  the  life  of  a  man,  is  as  nought 
in  the  histor}^  of  the  Earth ;  yet  how  well  it  has  been  utilised  1  How  many 
discoveries  and  explorations  have  followed  one  on  the  other,  adding  to  our  previous 


£iv-n  ^  A-  ^ 


iv  A    PAETIXG  WOED. 

knowledge  and  requiring  us  to  modify  our  description  of  the  world !  Alihougli 
the  mystery  of  the  Poles  is  still  unrevealed,  Nansen  has  at  least  made  his  astonish- 
ing journey  from  shore  to  shore  of  ice-capped  Greenland.  In  the  interior  of  Asia, 
the  "  Eternal  Sanctuary,"  where  dwells  the  divine  Dalai-Laraa,  has  since  Hue's 
visit  been  closed  to  profane  Europeans ;  nevertheless,  every  year  sees  the  circle 
of  itineraries  narrowed  round  about  the  sacred  spot. 

In  the  "  Dark  Continent,"  the  problems  of  the  Nile,  of  the  Zambesi,  Congo, 
and  Niger  have  all  been  solved.  Everywhere  the  network  of  travels  covers  the 
planet  with  its  ever-contracting  meshes.  A  systematic  exploration  has  even  been 
begun  of  the  underground  world,  of  the  caves  and  katabothras  of  Greece,  the 
subterranean  pits  and  channels  of  Vaucluse  and  the  Causses.  The  chart  of  the 
marine  depths,  with  their  temperatures,  living  organisms,  and  geological  deposits, 
is  progressing,  like  that  of  the  continents,  towards  completion.  As  knowledge 
increases,  man,  so  to  say,  becomes  daily  transformed  to  a  new  life. 

At  the  same  time  distant  lands  are  constantly  drawn  closer  together.  The 
Atlantic,  a  broad  expanse  for  Norse  Vikings  and  Genoese  mariners,  has  become,  in 
the  language  of  modern  seafarers,  a  mere  "  ditch  "  traversed  in  a  hundred  hours. 
Every  year  diminishes  the  time  taken  to  make  the  tour  of  the  world,  which  for 
certain  "  globe-trotters  "  has  become  a  caprice  of  the  moment.  So  bounded  are 
now  the  confines  of  the  planet,  that  it  everywhere  benefits  by  the  same  industrial 
appliances  ;  that,  thanks  to  a  continuous  network  of  postal  and  telegraphic  services, 
it  has  been  enriched  by  a  nervous  system  for  the  interchange  of  thought ;  that  it 
demands  a  common  meridian  and  a  common  hour,  while  on  all  sides  appear  the 
inventors  of  a  universal  language.  Despite  the  rancours  fostered  by  war,  desj^ite 
hereditary  hatreds,  all  mankind  is  becoming  one.  Whether  our  origin  be  one 
or  manifold,  this  unity  grows  apace,  daily  assumes  more  of  a  quickening  reality. 

In  the  presence  of  this  world  which  is  modified  from  day  to  day,  and  whose 
changes  T  can  follow  only  from  a  distance,  I  have  nevertheless  endeavoured  clearly 
to  realise  the  lands  described,  as  if  I  had  them  actually  under  my  very  eyes,  and 
to  study  their  inhabitants  as  if  I  had  mingled  in  their  society.  I  have  striven  to 
live  my  pictures,  revealing  the  characteristic  features  of  each  region,  portraying 
the  peculiar  genius  of  each  human  group.  Everywhere,  I  may  say,  I  have  felt  at 
home,  in  my  native  land,  amid  my  brother  men.     I  am  not  conscious  of  having 


A  PAETENG  WORD.  v 

teen  swayed  by  any  sentiment  other  tlian  one  of  sympathy  and  respect  for  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  universal  fatherland.  On  this  ball,  that  spins  so  swiftly  in 
space,  a  grain  of  sand  in  infinitude,  is  it  worth  while  to  cherish  mutual  hatreds  ? 

But  while  taking  my  place  at  this  standpoint  of  human  solidarity,  my  work 
seems  still  imfinished.  Before  studying  in  detail  the  planetary  surface  and  the 
peoples  inhabiting  it,  I  had  tried  in  another  work.  The  Earth*  to  study  the  life- 
history  of  the  globe  itself,  such  as  it  is  presented  isolatedly,  prepared  to  receive 
the  humanity  by  which  the  great  body  is  animated.  That  work  was  a  sort  of 
introduction  to  the  series  of  volumes  which  I  now  bring  to  a  close.  But  is  not  a 
conclusion  still  lacking  P 

Man,  like  the  Earth,  has  his  laws. 

Seen  from  above  and  from  afar,  the  diversity  of  features  intermingled  on  the 

surface  of  the  globe — crests  and  valleys,   meandering  waters,  shore-lines,  heights 

and  depths,   superimposed  rocks — presents  an  image   which,  so  far  from  being 

chaotic,  reveals   to  him  who  understands  a  marvellous  picture  of  harmonj^  and 

beauty.     The  man  who  searchingly  surveys  this  universe,  assists  at  the  vast  work 

of  incessant  creation,  always  beginning,  never  ending,  and  himself  sharing  by  the 

largeness  of  his  grasp  in  the  eternity  of  things,  he  may,  like  Newton,  like  Darwin, 

I 

find  the  word  that  sums  all  up. 

And  if  the  earth  seems  consistent  and  simple  amid  the  endless  complexity  of 
its  forms,  shall  the  indwelling  humanity,  as  is  often  said,  be  nought  but  a  blind 
chaotic  mass,  heaving  at  hazard,  aimless,  without  an  attainable  ideal,  unconscious 
of  its  very  destiny  ?  Migrations  in  diverse  directions,  settlements  and  dispersions, 
growth  and  decline  of  nations,  civilisations  and  decadence,  formation  and  displace- 
ment of  vital  centres ;  are  all  these,  as  might  seem  at  the  first  glance,  mere  facts, 
nay,  facts  unconnected  in  time,  facts  whose  endless  play  is  uncontrolled  by  any 
rhythmical  movement  giving  them  a  general  tendency,  which  may  be  expressed 
by  a  law  ?  This  it  is  that  it  concerns  us  to  know.  Is  the  evolution  of  man  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  laws  of  the  Earth  ?  How  is  he  modified  under  the 
thousand  influences  of  the  modifj-ing  en\'ironment  ?  Are  the  vibrations 
simultaneous,  and  do  they  incessantly  modulate  their  tones  from  age  to  age  ? 

*  The  Earth  :  A  Descriptive  History  o£  the  Physical  Phenomena  of  the  Life  of  our  Globe.  By 
£libee  Eeulu:>. 


Vi  A  PAETING  WOED. 

Possibly  the  little  already  known  may  enable  us  to  see  farther  into  the  darkness 
of  the  future,  and  to  assist  at  events  which  are  not  yet.  Possibly  we  may  succeed 
in  contemplating  in  thought  the  spectacle  of  human  history  beyond  the  evil  days 
of  strife  and  ignorance,  and  there  again  behold  the  picture  of  grandeur  and  beauty 
already  imfolded  by  the  earth. 

Here  is  what  I  would  fain  study  according  to  the  measure  of  my  strength. 
From  the  myriad  facts  which  I  have  had  to  record  from  chapter  to  chapter  I 
would  fain  extract  a  general  idea,  and  thus,  in  a  small  volume  written  at  leisure, 
justify  the  long  series  of  books  now  ended  without  apparent  conclusion. 

Elisee  Reclus. 


CONTENTS. 

— ♦ — 

MOB 

A  Paetino  Woed "* 

CHAP. 

I.  The  Guianas 1^6 

General  Survey,  p.  1.  Natural  and  PoUtioal  Divisions,  p.  2.  Physical  Features, 
p.  3.  Rivers,  p.  11.  Lakes,  p.  22.  Climate,  p.  25.  Flora,  p.  26.  Fauna,  p.  31. 
Inhabitants,  p.  32. 

II.  Bkitish  Guiana 47—55 

The  North- West  District,  p.  48.  Easequibo  Basin,  p.  49.  Georgetown,  p.  51. 
Material  Condition,  p.  53.     Administration,  p.  54. 

III.  Dutch  Guiana 56 — 61 

Nickerie,  p.  66.  Paramaribo,  p.  57.  Eastern  Settlements,  p.  6'J.  Natural  Re- 
sources, p.  59.     Administration,  p.  61. 

IV.  Feenoh  Guiana 62 — 76 

Convict  Stations,  p.  64.  Cayenne,  p.  66.  Natural  Resources,  p.  69.  Adminis- 
tration, p.  70.     The  Contested  Franco-Brazilian  Ten-itory,  p.  71. 

v.  Brazil:  General  Survey 77—89 

■   Geographical  Exploration,  p.  77.     Settlement,  p.  79.     Political  Relations,  p.  81. 
Ethnical  Elements,  p.  85.     Physical  Divisions,  p.  86. 

VI.  States  of  Amazonas  and  Para 90 — 124 

The  Amazons  River,  p.  90.  Rio  Negro,  p.  93.  The  Madeii'a,  p.  96.  The 
Amazons  Estuaiy,  p.  100.  The  Climate,  p.  103.  Flora,  p.  103.  Fauna,  p.  106. 
Inhabitants,  p.  108.     Topography,  p.  114.     Para,  120. 

VII.  State  of  Gotaz 125—132 

Tocantins  Basin,  p.  126.  Climate,  p.  128.  Flora — Fauna— Inhabitants,  p.  129. 
Topography,  p.  130. 

VIII.  States  of   MaranhIo,  Piauhy,  Ceara,  Rio  Grande  do  Norte,  Parahyba,  Per- 

NAMBUOO,   AND  AlAGOAS 133  —  151 

Geographical  Research,  p.  133.  Physical  Features — Rivers,  p.  134.  Fernando  do 
Noronha,  p.  136.  Climate— Flora — Fauna,  p.  137.  Inhabitants,  p.  138.  Topo- 
graphy, p.  139. 


vii'i  CONTENTS. 

OH/IP.  ''*"B 

IX.  States  of  Minas  Geeaes,  Bahia,  Seeoipe,  and  Espieito  Santo   ....     152—178 
Discovery  and  Settlemtut,  p.  Ia6.    Physical  Features,  p.  lo;3.    Kiver  S.  Francisco, 
p.  155.     Coast  Streams,  p.  158.      Climate — ^Florae-Fauna,  p.  1(J2.     Inhabitauts, 
p.  163.    Topography,  p.  167. 

X.  State  of  Eio  de  Janeeeo  and  Neuteai,  Teeritoey 179 — 108 

Physical  Features,  p.  179.  Rivers,  p.  182.  Climate,  p.  185.  Flora — Fauna — 
Inhabitants,  p.  186.     Topography,  p.  187. 

XI.  States  of  S.  Paulo,  Paeana,  and  Santa  Cathaeina 199 — 233 

The  Disputed  Zone,  p.  200.  Physical  Features,  p.  202.  Eivers,  p.  203.  Parana 
Basin,  p.  206.  Climate,  p.  210.  Flora — Fauna,  p.  211.  Inhabitants,  p.  212. 
Topography,  p.  215. 

XII.  State  of  Rio  Geande  do  Sul 234—248 

Physical  Features,  p.  236.  Coast  Lagoons,  p.  236.  Rivers,  p.  239.  Climate, 
p.  239.     Flora— Fauna,  p.  240.     Topography,  p.  242. 

XIII.  State  of  Matto  Geosso 249—262 

Historic  Survey,  p.  249.  Physical  Features,  p.  251.  Rivers,  p.  254.  Climate, 
p.  256.    Flora— Fauna — Inhabitants,  p.  257.     Topography,  p.  260. 

XIV.  Materia!,  and  Social  Conhition  of  Beazil 263 — 291 

Immigration,  p.  2G6.  Agriculture,  p.  268.  Land  Tenure,  p.  271.  Industries, 
p.  273.  Commimications,  p.  278.  Education — ReUgiou,  p.  283.  Administration, 
p.  285. 

XV.  Paeaouat 292—328 

Historic  Retrospect,  p.  293.  Extent — Population,  p.  295.  Discovery,  p.  296. 
Physical  Features,  p.  297.  Rivers,  p.  298.  Climate,  p.  302.  Flora — Fauna, 
p.  303.  Inhabitants,  p.  305.  The  Paraguay  Blissions,  p.  309.  Topogi'aphy, 
p.  313.     Material  and  Social  Condition,  p.  321.     G^jvemment,  p.  327. 

XVI.  Ueuguay 329—343 

Physical  Features — Rivers,  p.  330.  Climate,  p.  332.  Flora — Fauna — Inliabi- 
tants,  p.  334.  Topography,  p.  335.  Monte  Video,  p.  336.  Social  and  Material 
Condition,  p.  339.     Government,  p.  342. 

XVII.  AEQENTrNA 344—476 

Progress  of  Discovery,  p.  344.  Frontier  Questions,  p.  349.  Physical  Features, 
p.  352.  The  Patagoniau  Steppe,  p.  365.  The  Pampas,  p.  367.  Rivers,  p.  370. 
The  Parana  Delta,  p.  374.  The  Plate  Estuary,  p.  376.  Closed  Basins,  p.  378. 
The  Rio  Negro,  p.  382.  Patagonian  Rivers  and  Lakes,  p.  385.  Climate,  p.  392. 
Flora,  p.  396.  Fauna,  p.  398.  Inhabitants,  p.  404.  Topography,  p.  421.  Ro- 
sario,  p.  427.  Salta,  p.  429.  Tucuman,  p.  430.  Mendoza,  p.  437.  Cordoba, 
p.  442.  Buenos  Ayres,  p.  445.  Towns  of  Patagonia,  p.  456.  New  Wales,  p.  458. 
Material  and  Social  Condition,  p.  461.  Stock-breeding,  p.  463.  Land  Tenure, 
p.  467.     Industries — Trade,  p.  469.    Administration— Finance,  p.  474. 

XVni.  Falkland  Islands  and  South  Geoeqia 477— 4S2 

Appendix — Statistical  Tables 483—492 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


MAPS    FEINTED    IN    COLOrRS. 


South  America  (upper  part) 
South  America  (lower  part) 


46 
124 


Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Environs    . 

Buenos  Ayres,  La  Plata  and  the  Estuary 


PAGE 

.     178 
.     344 


PLATES. 


Grran  Chaco  Indians ....  Frontispiece 
Mount  Roiaima  .  .  .  To  f nee  page  8 
Galibi  Habitation  on  the  Banks  of  the  Maroni  36 
Cayenne — View  taken  from  Ceperou  .  .  66 
The  llaraiion  at  Tabatinga  ....  90 
Amazonian  Scenery — Caehoeira,  near  Manaos  .  96 
Flooded  Banks  of  the  Amazons  .  .  .  100 
Interior  of  a  Ticuna  Hut  ....     108 

Manaos — View  taken  from  the  Suburbs  .  .118 
Para — View  taken  from  the  River  .  .  .122 
Caraya  Indians         .         .         .         .         .         .130 

Port  of  Recife 144 

Sugar  Harvest  ......      148 

Bahia — General  View  of  the  Bay      .         .         .     152 

Paulo  Affonso  Falls 156 

Entrance  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  Bay  .  .  .  184 
Rio    de    Janeiro — General  View   taken   from 

Cobras  Island 190 

Immigrant  Station,  Flores  Island,  in   Rio   de 

Janeiro  Bay       ......     196 

Victoria  Falls,  on  the  Rio  Iguazu  .  .  .  210 
Santos  Harbour — View  taken  in  1 89 1  .  .  222 
Pai'anagna-Curitiba  Railway — View  taken  at 

the  Morro  de  Marumby     ....     226 


-Banks 


of   the   Aqui- 
To  face  page 


the 


Matto  Grosso  Scenery- 

dauana       .... 

Lengoas  Indians  on  the  March 

Camauba  Palms       ..... 

Mules  tran.sporting  Minerals    . 

Group  of  Angaitc  Indians,  North  Chaco  . 

Humaita — View  taken  from  the  Banks  of 

Paraguay.         ...... 

Convoy  of  Waggons         ..... 

Monte  Video — General  View  taken  from  the 
Cerro         ....... 

The  Parana — View  taken  at  Hemandarias 

Convoy  of  Muleteers  at  the  foot  of  the  Cordil- 
lera ........ 

Las  Palmas  Lagunes,  near  the  Mouth  of  the 
Pilcomayo 

Banks  of  the  Rio  Neuquen 

Group  of  Patagonians 

Group  of  Gauchos   . 

Tucuman 

Mendoza .... 

Buenos  Ayres — Congress  Buildings 

General  Aeha — Street  View 

Corral  in  the  Province  of  Patagones 


250 
258 
270 
276 
306 

320 
324 

336 
346 

356 

374 
382 
414 
418 
430 
438 
448 
456 
464 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


LIST   or   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


no. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 


9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 

26. 

27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 
31. 

32. 
33. 

34. 

35. 
36. 
37. 
38. 
39. 
40. 
41. 
42. 
43. 
44. 
45. 

40. 


Island  of  the  Guianas 

Routes  of  the  Chief  Explorers  of  Guiana 

Tumuc-Humac  Mountains 

Kaietexje  Falls        .        .         ■         • 

Essequibo  and  Upper  Kio  Branoo  Basins 

Sources  of  the  Oyapok 

Rivers  of  the  Franco-Brazilian  Contested 

Zone       ...... 

Takutu  Savannas       .... 

Forests  and  Savannas  of  Guiana 
Indians  of  the  Guianas 

Galibi  Man 

Galibi  Woman 

Inhabitants  of  Guiana 

North-Westem  District,  British  Guiana 

Georgetown        ..... 

Paramaribo  and  Surinam  Estuary 
Cultivated  Zone,  Dutch  Guiana 
Penal  Settlements  of  the  Maroni 
Cayenne  Island ..... 

Cayenne     ...... 

Mouth  of  the  Oyapok 

Gold  Mines  of  Guiana 

Mapa  and  Carapaporis  Bay 

Political  Divisions  of  Guiana 

Land  of  Vera  Cruz,   Section  of   Brazilian 

Coast  first  Discovered     . 
Old  Political  Divisions  and  Frontiers 

Brazil    ...... 

Brazil  and  Portugal  .... 

Colouia  del  Sacramento 

Relief  of  Brazil  .... 

Solimoes  and  Japura  Confluence 
Uaupes  Confluence  and  Eio  Negro  Cata 

racts       ...... 

Lower  Course  of  the  Rio  Branco 
Amazonian  Depression  and  Outer  Zone  of 

the  Cataracts 
Amazonian  Gulf 
Diurnal  Temperatures  of  Para  and  London 
Amazonian  Selva        .... 
Cafusa  Half- breed 
Indian  Populations  of  Amazonia 
Teffe  and  Japiu'a  Confluence 
Madeira  Falls  and  Projected  Railway 
Itacoatiara  and  Madeira  Confluence  . 

Obidos 

Alemquer — Santarom 

Para  and  its  Roadstead 

Routes  of  Explorers  in  the  Amazons  and 

Tocantins  Basins    . 
South  Goyaz  and  Future  Federal  Territory 

of  Brazil         .... 


of 


PAGE 
3 

6 
10 
13 
14 
19 

20 
27 
29 
35 
36 
37 
43 
49 
52 
58 
60 
63 
66 
67 
68 
69 
73 
75 

78 

80 
82 
84 
87 
92 

94 

95 

99 
101 
104 
105 
109 
111 
116 
117 
119 
120 
121 
123 


127 


131 


PIG. 

47. 
48. 
49. 
50. 
ol. 
52. 
53. 
54. 
55. 
56. 

57. 
58. 
59. 
60. 
61. 
62. 
63. 
64. 
65. 
66. 
67. 
68. 
69. 
70. 
71. 
72. 
73. 

74. 
75. 
76. 
77. 
78. 
79. 
80. 
81. 
82. 
S3. 
84. 
85. 
86. 
87. 
88. 


Pamahyba  Delta        . 

Fernando  de  Noronha 

S.  Luiz  de  Marauhao 

Ceara 

Cape  S.  Roque  . 

Natal 

Parahyba  and  Cabedelo 

Pemambuco 

Peenambuoo — Steeet  View 

Frinp-ing  Reefs  between  Parahyba  and  the 

Mouth  of  the  S.  Francisco 
Alagoas  Coast  . 
Maceio  and  its  Roadstead  . 
Sapao  and  Somno  Watershed 
Paulo  Affonso  FaUs  . 
Mouth  of  the  S.  Francisco 
Lower  Coiirse  of  the  Rio  Doce 
Abrolhos  .... 
Ancient  Indian  Populations  of  East  Brazil 
Queluz  Knot  and  Upper  S.  Francisco  Basin 
Ouro  Preto  .... 
OuEO  Pketo — Genbbal  View  . 
Rio  S.  Francisco  Basin 
Bahia  ..... 
CaravieUas  and  surrounding  Reefs 
Victoria  ..... 
Itatiaya  Range .... 
Peaks  of  the  Oegan  Rauqe,  neae 

eezopolis  .... 
Rio  de  Janeiro  Seaboard  . 
Mouth  of  the  Parahyba  and  Cape  S.  Thome 
Cape  Frio  ..... 
Campos  and  the  Lower  Parahyba 
Coffee  Plantations 
Rio  de  Janeiro  .... 
Rio  de  Jaueii'O  Bay  . 
Rio,  Nictheroy  and  Environments 
PetropoUs  ..... 
Contested  BrazUo-Argentiiie  Territory 
Geoup  of  Abaucaeias — State  of  S.  Paulo 
Cavanea  Channel 
S.  Sebastiao  and  its  Island 
Paranagua  Bay 
Falls  of    the  Paranapanema    above    and 

below  S.  Sebastiao 
Juiz  de  Fora      ..... 
Barbacena  ..... 

S.  Joao  del  Rey  and  Varzea  do  Mar(,'al 
Region  of  the  Minas  de  Geraes  Thermal 

Waters  . 
Ubatuba  Harbour 
S.  Paulo     . 
From  Santos  to  S.  Paulo 


The 


PAGB 
135 

136 
140 
141 
142 
143 
144 
146 
147 

148 
149 
1.50 
156 
157 
159 
160 
161 
165 
167 
168 
169 
171 
173 
176 
177 
180 

181 

182 
183 
184 
188 
189 
192 
193 
195 
197 
201 
203 
205 
206 
207 

209 
216 
217 
218 

219 
220 
221 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTEATIONS. 


FIO. 

PAGE 

FIG. 

96. 

Coffee  Plantations  North  of  S.  Paulo 

224 

142 

97. 

Sorocaba  and  Ipanema  Iron  Mines  . 

225 

143 

98. 

From  Curitiba  to  Paranagua    . 

227 

144 

99. 

Paranagua 

228 

145 

100. 

S.  Francisco  Island 

231 

146 

101. 

Santa  Catharina  Island    .... 

232 

147 

102. 

Lagoa  dos  Patos 

237 

103. 

Lagoa  Mirim 

238 

148 

104. 

German  Colonies  in  South  Brazil 

241 

149 

105. 

Porto  Alegre  and  Guahyba  Estuary 

243 

150 

106. 

Proposed    Canal   from   the    Oapivary  to 

151 

Torres  and  Laguna        .... 

244 

152 

107. 

Rio  Geande — Genehai  View 

245 

108. 

Pelotas 

246 

153 

109. 

Rio  Grande  do  Sul  and  its  Bar 

247 

154 

110. 

Tapajoz  and  Paraguay  Watershed  . 

252 

155 

111. 

Soui-ces  of  the  Alegre  and  Aguapahy 

255 

156 

112. 

Matto  Grosso  and  the  Upper  Guapore 

260 

157 

113. 

Cuyaba  and  the  Paraguay 

261 

158 

114. 

Density  of  the  Brazihan  Population 

264 

159 

115. 

Chief  Colonies  of  Immigrants  in  BrazQ    . 

267 

116. 

Chief  Forest  and  Agricultiu-al  Products 

100 

of  Brazil 

270 

117. 

Goldfields  of  Central  Brazil      . 

274 

101. 

118. 

Limit   of    the    Mining    Interdict    about 

162 

Diamantina  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 

275 

163 

119. 

Chief  Mines  of  Brazil       .... 

,276 

164 

120. 

Railways  of  Brazil 

280 

165 

121. 

Rio,  Minas  and  S.  Paulo  Railway  Sys- 

166 

tems      

281 

167 

122. 

Navigable  Waterways  of  Brazil 

282 

168 

123. 

Political  Di?isions  of  BrazQ     . 

280 

169 

124. 

Paiaob    on    Fiscal     Island  —  Custom 

170 

House,  Bay  of  Rio     .... 

289 

171 

125. 

Municipalities  of    the  State  of   Rio  de 

172 

Janeiro 

290 

173 

126. 

Foi-mer    Limits    Claimed    and    Present 

174 

Limits  of  Paraguay       .... 

296 

175. 

127. 

The  Pilcomayo 

300 

176 

128. 

"View  taken  on  the  Pilcomayo 

301 

177 

129. 

Forest  and  Campos  Regions     . 

304 

178 

130. 

Jesuit  Missions 

310 

179 

131. 

Old  Jesuit  Church  at  Pieatu 

313 

180 

132. 

Encarnacion 

314 

181 

133. 

Asuncion 

316 

182 

134. 

Asuncion— Steeet  View 

317 

183 

135. 

From  Asuncion  to  Villa  Rica  . 

318 

184 

136. 

South-West  Paraguay     .... 

319 

185 

137. 

Humaita 

320 

186 

138. 

Yerba  Mate  Regions  of  Paraguay  and 

187 

BrazU 

323 

188 

139. 

La  Plata  Estuary 

332 

189 

140. 

Monte  Video 

337 

190 

141. 

A  SaLADEEO  at  SAiTO      .... 

341 

Political  Divisions  of  Uruguay 

Chief  Routes  of  Explorers  in  Patagonia 

Martin  Garcia 

Nevados  Plateau,  North- West  Argentina 

San  Rafael  Nevado  .... 

Nahuel-Hualpi  and  neighbouring  Moun 
tains      ...... 

Sierra  de  San  Luis  .... 

Southern  Point  of  La  Ventana 

Tres  Bocas  in  1860  . 

Parana- Uruguay  Delta    . 

Akgentine  Sceneky. — View  taken  op- 
posite THE  COLLON-CUEA 

Rios  Bebedero  and  Canada 

Ancient  Basin  of  the  Colorado 

UiTe-Lafquen  .... 

Lower  Colorado  and  Rio  Negro 

Lake  Argentine  according  to  Moreno 

Mouths  of  the  Rios  Chico  and  Santa  Cruz 

From  Lake  Argentino  to  the  Southern 
Fiords  

View    taken    in    the    Acha     Valley, 

CENTRilL   PaMPA 

Closed  Basias  of  Argentina 

Floras  of  the  Plateaux  and  Ravines 

Indian  Populations  of  North  Argentina  . 

Lines  of  Outposts  against  the  Indians 

Indian  Populations  of  South  Argentina   . 

Corrientes  and  the  Great  Confluence 

Santa  Fe  and  its  Fii-st  Colonies 

General  View  op  Jujuy 

Tucuman  .... 

Andalgala  and  Mt.  Aconquija 

ChUecito  and  Famatina 

Mendoza 

Inca  Bridge   . 

Cordoba  . 

La  Plata  Museum 

Mount  Tandil  at  Cape  Corrientes 

Eeeatic  Bouldees  of  Tandil 

Chains  of  Lakes  and  Forts 

Bahia  Blanca  .... 

Welsh  Colony  of  Chubut 

Old  and  Modem  Colonies  in  Patagonia 

San  Sebastian  Bay  . 

Productive  Lands  of  Argentina 

Route  of  the  Transandine  Railway 

Lines  of  Communication . 

Geneeal  View  of  La  Plata 

Territorial  Divisions  of  Argentina 

Falkland  Archipelago 

Port  Stanley    .... 

South  Georgia 


PAOE 

342 
348 
350 
353 

358 

359 
362 
364 
371 
375 

377 
379 
380 
381 
382 
386 
388 

3S9 

391 
393 
397 
409 
412 
415 
423 
426 
429 
431 
433 
436 
438 
439 
443 
451 
452 
453 
454 
455 
458 
4.59 
461 
468 
471 
472 
473 
475 
478 
480 
481 


THE  UNIVERSAL  GEOGEAPni. 


A^IAZONIA  AND   LA  PLATA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  GUIANAS. 

General  SuRvtv. 

gitf^^-<^  URING  the  last  three  centuries  the  term  Guiana,  as  a  geographical 
allO^K^  expression,  has  been  diversely  modified.  '\\Tien  the  first  Spanish, 
EngHsh,  and  Dutch  navigators  visited  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco 
they  found  them  occupied  by  the  Guayano,  Guayana,  or  Guaya- 
naze  Indians,  whose  name  came  to  be  applied  in  a  vague  way  to 
the  whole  region  roamed  by  them  south  of  the  great  river.  This  extension  of  its 
meaning  was  all  the  more  natural  that  the  word  was  already  current  in  various 
forms,  not  only  as  a  tribal  designation,  but  also  as  the  name  of  several  rivers  in 
diiierent  parts  of  the  Continent. 

Thus  the  Guaraunos  (Warauns)  of  the  Orinoco  delta  would  appear  to  be  simply 
Guayanos ;  the  Rucuyennes  farther  east  also  called  themselves  "Wayana,  and  gave 
the  same  name  to  a  great  tree,  mythical  protector  of  the  tribe.  Lastly  the  Upper 
Rio  Negro,  in  its  higher  reaches  below  the  Andean  foothills,  bears  the  name  of 
Guainia,  a  native  term  identical  with  Guiana,  as  is  also  Waini  or  Guainia,  the 
name  of  one  of  the  coast  streams  between  the  Essequibo  and  the  Orinoco  delta. 

But  the  name  Guiana,  as  first  employed  by  Europeans,  did  not  include  the 
Atlantic  coastlands,  which  are  at  present  more  particularly  designated  by  that  name. 
It  was,  in  fact,  restricted  to  the  region  now  known  as  Venezuelan  Guiana,  and  was 
thus  limited  by  the  vast  semi-circular  bend  of  the  Upper  Orinoco.  But  in 
geographical  terminology  it  gradually  acquired  a  wider  application,  being  at  first 
extended  to  the  Brazilian  lauds  bounded  southwards  by  the  Rio  Negro  and  the 
Vol.  XIX.  it 


2  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Amazons,  ami  then  to  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  mountains,  formerly  known,  in  a 
general  way,  as  the  Serra  de  Parima,  and  figuring  on  the  early  maps  as  Caribana, 
that  is  to  say,  "  Land  of  the  Caribs." 

Extent — Natural  Divisions. 

TVithin  these  wider  limits  Guiana  constitutes  a  well-defined  section  of  the  South 
American  mainland.  It  comprises  the  whole  of  the  oval  space,  some  800,000  square 
miles  in  extent,  which  is  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  Continent  by  the  valleys  of 
the  Orinoco,  Cassiquiare,  Rio  Negro,  and  Lower  Amazons.  This  vast  region  of  South 
America  has  been  called  an  "island,"  but  there  is  no  question  here  of  a  real  island 
completely  encircled  by  a  navigable  waterway.  Although  it  may  probably  one  day 
assume  this  character,  by  means  of  a  series  of  artificial  canals,  the  navigation  is  at 
present  interrupted  by  the  famous  Aitures  and  Maipures  rapids  on  the  Orinoco,  as 
wellas  byothcrs  on  the  Cassiquiare  and  on  the  Upper  Rio  Negro,  where  boatmen  have 
to  land  their  goods  and  surmount  the  obstructions  by  portages.  Thus,  even  under 
the  most  favourable  conditions  of  weather,  currents,  and  conveyance,  the  circum- 
navigation of  Guiana  could  not  at  present  be  completed  under  three  or  four  months. 

From  the  geological  standpoint  also,  Guiana  constitutes  an  isolated  region 
distinct  from  the  rest  of  the  mainland.  It  consists  of  a  separate  mass  of  granites 
and  other  eruptive  rocks,  which  have  been  upheaved  since  the  Triassic  epoch. 

The  whole  system,  however,  presents  considerable  diversity,  and  may  be  decom- 
posed into  four  nearly  equal  natural  divisions  by  Uvo  lines  intersecting  each  other 
at  right  angles.  The  first  is  formed  by  the  crests  of  the  mountains  which  are  dis- 
posed nearly  parallel  with  the  equator,  running  from  the  low  water-parting  near 
the  Cassiquiare  towards  the  northern  headland  of  the  Amazons  estuary.  The 
second  is  somewhat  less  distinctly  indicated  by  the  transverse  depression  traversed 
in  one  direction  by  the  Essequibo,  in  the  other  by  the  Rio  Branco. 

Political  Divisions. 

But  the  rival  conquering  Powers  in  the  American  continent  could  scarcely  be 
expected  to  pay  much  attention  to  this  natural  segmentation  of  the  Guianas,  more 
especially  as  the  European  settlers  had  easy  access  only  to  the  coastlands  and  the 
banks  of  the  great  rivers.  Even  within  a  few  miles  of  the  sea  the  interior  of  the 
country  long  remained  absolutely  unknown.  Adventurers  made  their  way  into 
the  recesses  of  the  forests  and  savannas,  but  they  brought  back  no  clear  geogra- 
phical details,  and  of  the  mountainous  central  regions  nothing  was  known  bej'ond 
vague  or  fabulous  reports.  As  in  so  many  other  parts  of  the  southern  continent, 
rumour  spoke  here  also  of  the  El  Dorado,  who  was  supposed  to  bathe  in  liquid 
gold,  and  who  dwelt  in  an  emerald  and  ruby  palace.  Frequent  attempts  were 
made  to  discover  this  "  man  of  gold  "  and  plunder  his  treasures.  But  no  sj'stem- 
atic  exploration  was  undertaken  before  the  present  century. 

Thus  it  happened  that  the  political  divisions  were  made,  not  along  the  lines 
of  natural  separation,  but  were  developed  from  the  seaboard  towards  the  interior. 
Spain,  whose  domain  is  inherited  by  the  republic  of  Venezuela,  took  possession  of 


POLITICAL  DIVISIONS  OF  GUIANA.  8 

the  whole  of  northern  and  western  Guiana,  along  the  crescent  described  by  the 
Orinoco.  Portugal,  now  replaced  by  Brazil,  appropriated  that  section  of  the 
Guianas  which  lies  on  the  Amazonian  slope.  Thus  for  the  other  European  Powers 
nothing  remained  except  the  maritime  region  comprised  between  the  Orinoco  delta 
and  the  estuary  of  the  Amazons. 

Here  the  English,  Dutch,  and  French  secured  a  footing  as  conquerors  and 
colonists.  To  their  settlements  on  the  seaboard  they  added  the  "  hinterlands  "  of 
all  the  coast  streams  traversing  their  several  domains,  claiming  the  whole  region 
between  the  sea  and  the  unknown  watersheds  of  those  rivers.     The  three  colonial 


Fig.  1. — Island  of  the  Guianas. 
Scale  1  :  20,000.000. 


' 

8- 

1       >-^          __~,^^        xSldRolwnr  .:".     v.   .V.S; — 

8- 

0- 

V^^^ 

0- 

08*                                                                West  oF  Greenwich                                                                         5 

r . 

.  500  JSliles. 


domains  thus  constituted  form  the  territory  now  specially  known  as  Guiana, 
properly  so  called. 

The  frontiers  of  these  colonies,  however,  are  still  fluctuating.  Towards  the 
south  the  water-partings  have  not  yet  been  surveyed  in  their  entire  length  and  in 
all  their  intricate  details.  Numerous  expeditions  have  been  undertaken  in  this 
direction,  but  none  of  them  have  been  commissioned  to  determine  with  accuracy 
the  parting  lines  between  the  several  conterminous  territories. 

Towards  the  west  and  east  the  question  of  frontiers  assumes  a  different  aspect, 
and  here  tracts  of  considerable  extent  are  still  a  subject  of  contention.  Great 
Britain  claims  a  right  not  only  to  the  whole  of  the  Essequibo  basin,  but  also  to  a 
section  of  the  upper  Pao  Branco,  which  is  disputed,  by  Brazil.  In  the  direction 
of  Venezuela  the  frontiers  of  British  Guiana  have  been  advanced  to  the  southern 
margin  of  one  of  the  chief  branches  of  the   Orinoco  delta  along  the  channel  of 

o 


}i  '^ 


4  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

the  Amacuru.  The  boundary  has  also  been  drawn  so  as  to  include  the  rich 
auriferous  alluvia  of  the  Cuyuni  valley,  and  the  whole  of  the  disputed  territory, 
which  has  already  led  to  sanguinary  conflicts,  comprises  a  superficial  area  more 
extensive  than  that  of  the  region  recognised  as  belonging  indisputably  to  Great 
Britain. 

At  the  other  extremity  of  the  Guianas,  France  contests  with  Brazil  a  large 
tract  estimated  at  about  half  the  size  of  France.  The  district  in  dispute  forms  a 
long  strip  of  the  Amazons  basin,  extending  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  between 
the  Araguari  and  the  Rio  Branco.  All  these  disputed  lands  on  the  south,  west, 
and  east  frontiers  form  so  many  distinct  j)olitical  domains  comprised  within  the 
natural  limits  of  the  "island  of  Guiana."  The  whole  region  thus  contains  five 
separate  territories,  with  superficial  areas  as  under : — 

sq.  miles. 

British  Guiana,  including  the  district  disputed  by  Brazil        .         .         45,700 


Guiana  contested  by  Great  Britain  and  Venezuela 
Dutch  Guiana  (undisputed)     ..... 
French  Guiana  (undisputed)  ..... 
Guiana  contested  by  France  and  Brazil  . 

Total  according  to  H.  Coudreau 


60,000 

45,700 

31,000 

100,000 


272,400 


All  these  Guianas  greatly  resemble  each  other  in  their  general  physical 
aspects,  their  geographical  constitution,  the  direction  and  character  of  their 
running  waters  and  marine  currents,  the  erosions  and  deposits  of  their  coastlands, 
their  climatic  relations,  the  distribution  of  their  animal  and  vegetable  species, 
the  affinities  of  their  indigenous  populations.  To  human  agencies  are  mainly 
due  the  chief  contrasts  observed  in  the  different  colonial  territories,  which  have 
been  subjected  by  the  respective  mother  countries  to  different  social  and  economic 
conditions.  Numerous  travellers,  some  acting  on  individual  impulse,  some 
in  their  official  capacity,  have  carefully  studied  many  of  the  river  vallej's,  agri- 
cultural and  mining  districts,  and  their  itineraries  have  been  connected  with  those 
of  other  explorers  who  have  traversed  the  whole  region,  either  from  one  slope  to 
the  other,  or  from  the  banks  of  ihe  Orinoco  to  those  of  the  Amazons.  Thanks 
to  these  collective  surveys,  a  general  picture  may  now  be  formed  of  the  2Dhysical 
and  biological  features  of  the  Guianas. 

Progress  of  Discovery  and  Settlement. 

Our  first  knowledge  of  the  seaboard  is  due  to  the  Spanish  navigator,  Vicente 
Yanez  Pinzon,  who  had  accompanied  Columbus  on  his  voyage  of  discovery.  In 
the  year  1500  this  pioneer,  after  coasting  the  shores  of  Brazil  east  of  the  Amazons, 
crossed  the  estuary  and  skirted  the  low-lying  coasts  of  Guiana  as  far  as  the  Orinoco 
delta.  He  was  followed  by  Diego  de  Lepe  and  other  mariners,  who  explored  the 
same  waters  ;  but  nearly  a  century  passed  before  any  European  settlers  ventured 
to  penetrate  into  the  interior. 

A  few  Spaniards  had  already  landed  on  the  coasts  near  the  Orinoco,  when  some 
Dutchmen  attempted  in  1581  to  establish  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Demerara 
and  open  trade  with  the  natives.     Other  pioneers  were  attracted  by  the  love  of 


DISCOVERY  AND  SETTLEMENT  OF  GUIANA.  5 

adventure  and  by  the  hope  of  discovering  the  treasures  of  El  Dorado.  In  1-j96 
the  English  explorer,  Keymis,  following  in  tbe  footsteps  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in 
the  "  Empire  of  Guaya,"  that  is,  in  Spanish  Guiana,  went  in  quest  of  the  fictitious 
lake  Manoa,  which  figures  on  Raleigh's  map  as  a  great  sheet  of  water  200  miles 
long,  with  a  city  at  its  eastern  extremity,  reported  to  be  "  the  largest  in  the 
world."  This  map,  for  the  first  time  published  in  1892,*  shows  the  course  of  the 
Orinoco  and  Amazons  rivers,  and  covers  the  whole  continent  from  their  mouths  to 
the  Pacific  coast.  Writing  in  1595  to  Lord  Charles  Howiird  on  "  the  discovery  of 
the  large,  rich,  and  beautiful  empire  of  Guaya,"  Sir  Walter  remarks  in  reference 
to  the  map  :  "  How  these  rivers  crosse  and  encounter,  how  the  country  lieth,  and 
is  bordered,  the  passage  of  Camenes,  and  of  Berreo,  mine  own  discoverie,  and  the 
way  that  I  entred,  with  all  the  rest  of  the  nations,  and  rivers,  your  lordship  shall 
receive  in  a  large  chart  or  map,  which  I  have  not  yet  finished,  and  which  I  shall 
most  humbly  pray  your  lordship  to  secret,  and  not  to  suffer  it  to  pass  your  own 
hands  ;  for  by  a  draught  thereof  all  may  be  prevented  by  other  nations.  For 
I  know  it  this  very  yeere  sought  by  the  French,  although  by  the  way  they  now 
take  I  fear  it  not  much." 

But  instead  of  taking  the  route  of  the  Orinoco,  Keymis  ascended  the  river 
Oyapok,  which  traverses  the  region  that  has  since  become  French  Guiana.  In 
1688  la  Motte  Aigron  sailed  up  the  same  river  a  distance  of  "  fifty  leagues  "  from 
the  sea,  in  the  vain  hope  of  reaching  the  banks  of  the  Amazons,  and  perhaps  even 
of  discovering  the  route  leading  to  the  famous  region  of  gold  and  precious 
stones. 

So  late  as  1739  the  same  mirage  of  a  city  with  houses  of  rubies  and  other 
gems  was  still  powerful  enough  to  attract  Nicolas  Hortsmann,  who,  following 
the  course  of  the  Essequibo,  penetrated  far  into  the  interior. 

But  regular  colonisation  had  its  origin  not  in  adventure  but  in  commerce. 
Once  settled  on  the  Guiana  seaboard,  the  traders  of  various  nationalities  began  to 
struggle  for  the  ascendancy  in  the  conquered  lands,  and  their  respective  Govern- 
ments took  part  in  these  rivalries  by  organising  warlike  or  plundering  expeditions. 
Thanks  to  these  expeditions  a  better  knowledge  was  gradually  acquired  of  the 
more  favoured  districts  on  the  seaboard ;  the  geographical  features  of  the  coast- 
lands,  estuaries,  and  watercourses  as  far  as  the  first  rapids,  were  more  accurately 
laid  down,  and  some  vague  notions  of  the  inland  regions  were  obtained  from  the 
reports  of  the  Indians  and  of  the  Bush  Negroes. 

In  1672  Richter  made  his  famous  discovery  of  the  flattening  of  the  globe  at 
its  poles.  Two  years  later  the  Jesuits,  Grillet  and  Bechamel,  were  sent  to  Cayenne 
to  study  the  physical  geography  of  the  country ;  but  after  penetrating  to  the 
territory  of  the  Nurag  and  Acoqua  Indians,  these  pioneers  succumbed  to  the  hard- 
ships of  the  journey.  The  scientific  exploration  of  the  Guianas  was  thus  delayed 
till  the  eighteentn  century,  when  a  beginning  was  made  in  1743  and  1744  by 

*  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  Karie  von  Guyana  um  1.595,  von  L.  Friedriehsen.  Separatabdruck  aua 
Festschril't  dtr  Hanibiifgischen  Ameriha-Fcier,  1S92.  This  is  a  fac-simile  of  the  original  preserved  ia  the 
British  Museum. 


6 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Barrere  and  by  La  Condamine  on  his  return  from  his  memorable  expedition  to 
the  equatorial  Andes. 

Twenty  years  later  Simon  Mentelle  arrived  at  Cayenne,  where  he  sojourned 
under  conditions  of  the  greatest  difficulty  for  thirty-six  years.  During  this 
period  he  visited,  in  his  capacity  as  engineer,  the  whole  of  the  seaboard  of  French 
Guiana,  and  had  his  advice  been  attended  to,  many  a  disastrous  expedition  would 
have  been  avoided.  The  same  region  was  traversed  in  1762 — 64  by  the  botanist, 
Fusee  Aublet,  whose  work  on  the  Plants  of  Guiana  is  still  a  standard  book  of 
reference.  In  1787  his  associate,  Patris,  ascended  the  Oyapok  and  its  Camopi 
affluent,  and  Leblond,  another  naturalist  of  considerable  intelligence  and  enter- 
prise, followed  nearly  the  same  route,  returning  by  the  river  Sinnamari.     He  spent 


Fig.  2. — EotJTES  OF  THE  Chief  Explobeks  of  Guiaxa. 
Scale  1  :  13,000,000. 


^tf-'-  -,..*«*, 


4*-    ■*  'l 


60' 


West  oF  Gi 


ch 


.  250  MUes. 


several  years  in  exploring  a  great  part  of  the  land,  studying  Its  economic  plants, 
searching  especially  for  the  quinquina,  which  he  failed  to  find,  observing  the 
aborigines,  and  developing  projects  for  the  settlement  of  the  uplands. 

Both  in  French  and  Dutch  Guiana  the  engineer  Guisan  constructed  numerous 
navigable  and  drainage  canals,  taking  advantage  of  these  works  to  investigate  the 
character  of  the  soil,  climate,  and  local  products.  Stedman,  an  English  officer  in 
the  Dutch  service,  turned  to  profitable  account  a  residence  of  five  years  (1772-77) 
in  the  interior  of  the  colony  of  Surinam.  He  has  left  us  a  valuable  record  of  his 
travels  and  observations  in  this  region,  as  well  as  an  excellent  history  of  the  wars 
with  the  Bush  Negroes,  in  which  he  was  actively  engaged. 

Later  the  gangs  of  convicts  transported  to   French  Guiana   contributed  to  a 


PEOGEESS  OF  GEOGEAPHICAL  EESEAECH  IN  GUIANA.  7 

wider  knowledge  of  the  country ;  for  which,  however,  they  earned  the  evil  reputa- 
tion of  a  land  of  pestilence  and  death.  Of  all  the  educated  exiles  who  eventually 
returned  to  the  mother  country,  not  one  was  found  capable  or  willing  to  prepare  a 
■work  of  permanent  value  on  the  land  of  his  banishment. 

After  the  wars  of  the  Revolution  and  of  the  Empire  the  first  voyages  of  discovery 
modelled  on  the  memorable  expeditions  of  Humboldt  and  Bonplaud  to  the  New 
World  were  those  undertaken  by  the  brothers  Schomburgk  in  the  years  1835-3!). 
After  investigating  nearly  the  whole  of  British  Guiana,  these  distinguished  tra- 
vellers crossed  the  mountains  and  connected  their  itineraries  with  those  of  Humboldt 
and  other  explorers  in  the  Orinoco  basin.  In  French  Guiana  the  divide  between 
the  Oyapok,  Yari,  and  Araguari  rivers  had  alrcadj'  been  crossed  by  Adam  de 
Bauve  in  1830.  Leprieur  had  traversed  the  same  regions,  descending  the  Yari 
for  a  distance  of  over  fifty  leagues,  while  Gatier  surveyed  the  course  of  the  Mana 
to  its  sources. 

During  the  twenty  years  from  1849  to  1868,  Appun,  friend  and  associate  of 
the  forest  Indians,  devoted  himself  to  the  study  more  especially  of  the  plants  and 
animals  of  exuberant  tropical  nature  in  British  and  Venezuelan  Guianas  ;  the  geolo- 
gists Brown  and  Sawkins  continued  on  the  mainland  as  far  as  the  Pacaraima 
mountains  the  researches  they  had  successfully  carried  out  in  the  neighbouring 
island  of  Trinidad  ;  Idenburg  occupied  himself  with  the  climatology  and  sanitary 
condition  of  Dutch  Guiana  ;  Crevaux  in  1876  and  Coudreau  in  1883  resumed  the 
work  of  the  Schomburgks  at  other  points  nearer  to  the  Amazons,  thus  connecting 
the  itineraries  of  the  seaboard  with  those  of  the  inland  Brazilian  slopes  in  the  Hio 
Branco  and  Rio  Negro  basins. 

Since  the  year  1883  Everard  im  Thurn  has  been  occupied  with  careful  carto- 
graphic surveys  of  the  disputed  north-western  territory  claimed  by  Great  Britain 
on  the  Venezuelan  frontier.  Triangulations  are  still  lacking  for  accurate  maps  of 
that  region,  but  we  already  possess  all  the  elements  needed  to  lay  down  with  suffi- 
cient precision  the  course  of  the  ramifying  streams  and  the  relief  of  the  mountains, 
bringing  the  details  into  harmony  with  the  more  scientific  survej's  of  the  coastlands 
and  fluvial  estuaries. 

Of  the  numerous  publications  dealing  with  the  geographical  literature  of  the 
Guianas,  their  populations,  administration,  and  economic  conditions,  some  are  of 
great  value  to  students  of  anthropology  and  political  economy.  Amongst  them  are 
the  writings  of  Kappler  and  Anthony  Trollope,  Gilford  Palgrave's  Butch  Guiana 
(1876),  and,  above  all,  Everard  im  Thurn's  classical  work  on  The  Indians  of  Guiana 
(1883). 

Physical  Features — Roraima. 

Between  Venezuela  and  British  Guiana  the  chief  mountain  mass,  forming  the 
natural  frontier  of  both  regions,  is  the  superb  Roraima,  a  square  block  or  table  of 
piuk  sandstone,  which  discharges  from  a  height  of  7,500  feet  several  cascades 
blown  into  ribbons  of  spray  by  the  breeze.  The  whole  system  of  mountains,  col- 
lectively known  as  the  Pacaraima  range,  presents  its  loftiest  crests  to  the  west  and 
south-west  in  the  Upper  Rio  Branco  basin. 


8  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Towards  the  east,  that  is,  in  British  Guiana,  few  of  tie  peaks  and  terraces 
exceed  3,000  feet.  But  despire  their  moderate  elevation  these  mountains  present 
an  imposing  aspect,  thanks  to  their  sandstone  walls  rising  hundreds  of  yards  ver- 
tically above  the  surrounding  plains,  their  bare  white  cliffs  forming  a  striking 
background  to  the  tropical  vegetation  which  clothes  the  talus  accumulated  at  their 
base. 

Roraima  is  continued  north-eastwards  in  the  direction  of  the  Mazaruni  river 
by  other  quadrangular  masses,  which  present  the  appearance  of  citadels  raised  by 
the  hand  of  man.  The  regular  disposition  of  the  upper  strata,  level  as  the  surface 
of  the  marine  waters  in  which  they  were  deposited,  recalls  the  geological  epoch 
when  the  now  deeply  eroded  face  of  the  land  presented  the  aspect  of  a  vast  uniform 
plain  unbroken  by  a  single  undulation  of  the  surface. 

The  Pacaraima  Mouxtatxs. 

Carved  by  the  running  waters  into  distinct  sections,  trending  for  the  most  part 
north-west  and  south-east,  the  Pacaraima  ("  Basket '')  Mountains  gradually  con- 
tract in  the  direction  of  the  east.  Ilei'e  they  terminate  on  the  banks  of  the 
Essequibo  in  a  bold  diorite  blufP  resembling  a  calabash,  whence  its  Indian  name, 
Camuti.  The  unfossiliferous  sandstone  range  is  pierced  here  and  there  by  other 
diorite  masses.  In  the  depths  of  the  surrounding  forests  is  occasionally  heard  a 
loud  noise  like  a  long  peal  of  thunder,  which  may  probably  be  caused  by  portions 
of  the  vertical  cliffs  from  time  to  time  giving  way  and  falling  with  a  crash.* 

South  of  these  mountains,  which  are  the  highest  on  the  Guiana  slope  of  the 
Atlantic,  follow  other  less  elevated  masses  rising  in  the  middle  of  the  savannas, 
which  appear  to  have  at  one  time  formed  the  bed  of  a  vast  inland  sea  disposed  in 
a  line  parallel  with  the  neighbouring  oceanic  waters.  Canucu,  Cumucumu,  Cora- 
tamung,  and  the  other  isolated  groups,  which  have  a  mean  altitude  of  about  2,000 
feet,  formerly  constituted  a  chain  of  crystalline  schist  or  gneiss  islands  disposed  in 
the  same  direction  as  the  Pacaraima  range. 

Farther  south  other  ridges  of  like  formation  run  east  and  west  between  the 
Essequibo  and  the  copious  Takutu  affluent  of  the  Rio  Branco.  These  eminences 
rise  above  alluvial  lands,  which  at  some  remote  epoch  were  also  flooded  by  lacus- 
trine waters.  In  several  places  the  parting  line  between  the  Atlantic  and 
Amazonian  basins  is  indicated  by  no  perceptible  rising  ground,  and,  according  to 
Brown,  this  low-l3ang  divide  has  an  absolute  elevation  of  not  more  than  348  or 
350  feet.  One  of  its  depressions  is  flooded  by  the  little  Lake  Amuku,  which  lies 
on  the  zone  of  separation  between  the  Pirara,  a  sub-affluent  of  the  Takutu,  and  the 
Bupununi  tributary  of  the  Essequibo.  Hence  in  this  region  of  savannas  the 
passage  from  one  slope  to  the  other  is  extremely  easy,  and  has  been  followed  at 
all  times  by  the  Indian  tribes  in  their  migrations  between  the  Amazonian  and 
Atlantic  watersheds. 

The  absence  of  natural  frontiers  between  the  Essequibo  and  Amazons  basins 

*  Charles  Barrington  Brown,  Canoe  and  Camp  Life  in  Lrilish  Guiana. 


A 


THE  GUIANA  UrLANDS.  9 

also  accounts  for  the  differences  that  have  arisen  between  the  Governments  of 
Great  Britain  and  Brazil  regardin<j  the  limits  of  their  respective  domains  about 
the  sources  of  the  Essequibo  and  llio  Branco  affluents.  The  whole  of  the  dividing 
zone  sometimes  takes  the  name  of  the  River  Parira,  a  word  of  Macusi  origin, 
which,  according  to  Schomburgk,  indicates  the  geological  constitution  of  the 
land — a  ferruginous  conglomerate.  Above  the  water-parting  rises  a  column  of 
trap  formation,  which  is  regarded  as  a  sacred  object  by  the  surrounding  Macusi 
Indians. 

A  few  other  isolated  groups  follow  southwards  as  far  as  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  sources  of  the  Essequibo,  which  stand  at  an  altitude  of  about  820  feet. 
Here  the  heights,  glimpses  of  which  are  at  rare  intervals  obtained  from  the  river 
banks  across  the  dense  foliage  of  the  primeval  woodlands,  do  not  doveloj)  a  con- 
tinuous amphitheatre  of  rounded  hills,  but  form  a  number  of  distinct  ridges 
sharply  defined  by  deep  transverse  gorges.  They  constitute  so  many  "  huge 
blocks,  some  of  which  have  a  length  of  about  90  miles,  standing  on  very  low 
pedestals  of  plateau  formation."  * 

According  to  Coudreau,  the  loftiest  summit  in  this  region  is  Coi'rrit,  or 
Cairrid  Dekeuou  (Brown's  Acarai),  the  "  Mountain  of  the  Moon,"  which  lies 
near  the  sources  of  the  Takutu,  and  attains  an  altitude  of  about  5,000  feet.  It 
is  the  culminating  peak  of  a  ridge  with  a  mean  elevation  of  some  3,000  feet, 
which  sweeps  round  in  a  vast  bend  first  to  the  south  and  then  to  the  east,  as  far 
as  Mount  Aourriawa,  where  rise  the  headwaters  of  the  Essequibo.  Farther  on 
are  developed  the  Curucuri  heights,  seen  from  a  distance  by  Coudreau.  Hero 
the  water-parting  coincides  exactly  with  the  crest  of  the  mountain  range.  On 
one  side  descend  the  streams  flowing  to  the  Essequibo,  on  the  other  those 
flowing  to  the  Trombetas  affluent  of  the  Amazons. 

The  sierra  falls  in  the  direction  of  the  east,  where  it  forms  the  natural 
boundary  between  Dutch  Guiana  and  Brazil.  According  to  Brown,  the  highest 
summits  rise  scarcely  300  feet  above  the  sources  of  the  River  Corentyne,  which 
forms  the  frontier  line  between  Dutch  and  British  Guiana. 

The  Tumuc-Humac  Range. 

Farther  on  the  system  again  rises,  and  here  takes  the  name  of  the  Tumuc- 
Ilumac  range,  a  term  of  unknown  meaning.  From  its  northern  slopes  descends 
the  Maroni,  the  chief  watercourse  of  French  Guiana.  According  to  Coudreau, 
its  highest  summit  is  Mount  Timotakem  (2,G24  feet),  which  lies  in  the  western 
section  of  the  range.  Few  of  the  travellers  that  have  visited  this  mountainous 
region  have  laid  down  accurate  itineraries  of  their  routes,  and  hitherto  (1894) 
Coudreau  is  the  only  explorer  who  has  mapped  the  main  range  with  any  approach 
to  accuracy.  It  is  all  the  more  'difficult  to  determine  its  exact  form  and  trend 
that  all  the  slopes,  as  well  as  the  intermediate  vallej-s,  are  clothed  with  a  con- 
tinuous mantle  of  dense  woodlands. 

None  of  the  Tumuc-Humac  crests  are  lofty  enough  to  rise  above  the  zone  of 
*  Henri  A,  Coudreau,  la  France  Equimxiale. 


10 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


tropical  vegetation  ;  hence  the  same  species  occur  on  their  slopes  and  summits  as 
on  the  surrounding  plains,  and  their  thickets  everywhere  present  the  sume 
obstacles  to  the  progress  of  the  wayfarer.  The  winter  fogs  also,  which  creep  up 
to  the  highest  summits,  make  all  observations  almost  impossible. 

Of  two  hundred  peaks  scaled  by  Coudreau  not  more  than  three  rise  above  the 
forest  vegetation,  so  that  from  these  alone  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  complete 
view  of  the  horizon  and  to  follow  the  outlines  of  the  surrounding  heights.  Of 
these  natural  observatories  the  finest  appears  to  be  Mitaraca,  a  summit  1,900  feet 
high,  terminating  in  a  bare  granite  cone,  which  affords  not  a  single  tuft  of  grass 
to  help  the  climber  and  save  him  from  a  dangerous  fall.     Nevertheless,  Coudreau 

Fig.  3. — TuMtro-HuMAO  MomiTAma. 
Scale  1  :  2,400,000. 


S^W/-,  ■    —: 


West  oPGneenwich 


54' 


53- 


.  «0  Miles. 


assures  us  that  the  ascent  and  the  unrivalled  prospect  commanded  by  Mitaraca  is 
worth  the  journey  from  Paris  to  the  Guianas."  * 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  the  Tumuc-Humac  range  is  disposed  in  the  direction  of 
the  east  by  south,  parallel  with  the  section  of  the  coast  comprised  between  the 
Maroni  and  Oyapok  estuaries.  In  the  western  region  the  sj'stem  develops  two 
distinct  chains  separated  by  an  intervening  space  of  some  25  miles.  In  the 
northern  chain  rises  the  Mitaraca  "  belvedere,"  while  the  culminating  peaks, 
Tiinotakem  and  Temomairem,  dominate  the  southern  ridge. 

Towards  the  east  the  two  chains  are  connected  by  transverse  offshoots,  and 
towards  the  north  they  throw  off  ramifying  ridges,  which  enclose  the  Maroni 
basin  and  separate  it  from  that  of  the  Oyapok.  Farther  on  the  eastern  section 
of  the  system  is  prolonged  in  the  direction  of  the  east,  without,  however,  forming 
u  continuous  divide  between  the  river  valleys. 

*  Etude  rft  la  ckainc  des  monts  Tumuc-Humac  ;  MS.  Memoir. 


THE  GUIAXA  UPLANDS.  11 

At  their  eastern  extremity  the  Tumuc-numac  mountains  ramify'  like  the  ribs 
of  a  fan  towards  the  north-east,  the  east  and  south-east,  but  retain  the  aspect  of 
distinct  ridges  only  above  the  low-l3-ing  marshy  tracts.  About  the  sources  of  the 
Oyapok  between  these  ridges  the  water-partings  are  so  indistinct  that  the  channels 
of  the  Oyapok,  Cachipour,  Araguari,  and  even  of  the  Tari  affluent  of  the  Amazons, 
are  all  connected  during  the  rainy  season  bj'  continuous  chains  of  meres  and 
lagoons.  These  shallow  expanses,  however,  are  unnavigable  and  inaccessible  even 
to  the  canoes  of  the  surrounding  Indian  tribes. 

In  that  section  of  the  Guianas  which  is  comprised  between  the  southern 
uplands  and  the  seacoast,  there  nowhere  occur  any  heights  forming  continuous 
chains  of  mountains  or  hills.  Here  all  the  rising  grounds  are  broken  by  the 
fluvial  valleys  into  separate  ridges  of  short  length,  such  as  the  so-called 
"  Montagne  Francaise "  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Jlaroni ;  the  Magnetic 
Mountain  (715  feet)  towards  the  south-east  between  the  Inini  and  Mana  rivers; 
and  the  granitic  Mount  Leblond  (l,33o  feet),  towards  the  sources  of  the  Sinnamari. 

Near  the  shore  the  eminences  are  for  the  most  part  merely  isolated  masses  of 
gneiss,  schists,  or  sandstone  ranging  in  height  from  300  to  720  feet.  Formerly 
washed  by  the  marine  waves,  they  are  now  surrounded  by  alluvial  matter  deposited 
in  the  marine  waters.  One  line  of  beach  after  another  was  here  laid  down, 
enclosing  the  old  islands  and  archipelagoes,  which  are  now  to  be  sought  iu  the 
interior  of  the  Continent. 

In  French  Guiana  nothing  is  seen  along  the  seaboard  except  a  few  rocky 
prominences  on  the  beach  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the  coast.  North-west  of  Cayenne 
a  few  bluffs  stand  out  near  Mana,  Iracoubo,  Sinnamari,  and  Kourou.  South-east 
of  the  capital  stretch  the  hills  of  Caux,  whose  French  name,  as  spelt  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  has  been  altered  to  the  English  form  Kaw.  This  range  of  coast 
hills  culminates  in  Mount  Matouri  (836  feet),  in  the  "Tourdel'Ile,"  south  of 
Cayenne.  Mount  Argent,  serving  as  a  landmark  to  mariners  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Oyapok,  is  a  mere  hillock  scarcely  300  feet  high. 

The  district  known  as  the  "  island  of  Cayenne,"  though  separated  from  the 
mainland  only  b}-  a  few  marshy  channels,  is  also  studded  with  knolls  representing 
former  islands  now  connected  by  sedimentary  deposits.  Such  are  Cabassou 
dominating  the  capital,  and  farther  east  the  Eeraire  "  Mountains,"  which  were 
formerly  called  volcanoes.  The  neighbouring  depressions  where  rise  the  springs 
which  supply  Cayenne  with  water  were  similarly  regarded  as  old  "  craters." 

Along  the  coast  occur  a  few  rocky  islets,  of  which  the  most  important, 
thanks  to  its  deep  anchorage,  is  the  Salut  Archipelago  ;  farther  east  are  the  Enfant 
Perdu  ;  the  Malingre,  Pere,  Mere  and  Maraelles,  all  disposed  in  a  chain  parallel 
with  the  shore  ;  lastly,  farther  seaward,  the  two  Connetables  facing  the  mouth  of 
the  Approuague,  upheaved  peaks  of  a  submarine  plateau. 

Rivers  of  Guiaxa — The  Esseqiibo  Basin. 
The  Essequibo  (Essequeho),  largest  of  all  the  Guiana  rivers,  flows   entirely  in 
British  territory  ;  but  the  Cuyuni,  one  of  its  chief  affluents,  takes  its  rise  beyond 


12  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

the  Venezuelan  frontier.  The  main  stream,  like  all  the  other  watercourses  of 
this  region,  appears  to  bear  a  native  name,  in  which  the  final  syllable  bo  indicates 
direction  in  the  Galibi  group  of  languages ;  hence  Essequi-bo  would  have  the 
sense  of  "  Essequi -wards,"  in  the  direction  of  the  Essequi.  Nevertheless,  Schoin- 
burgk  refers  to  a  legend  which  attributes  the  origin  of  this  name  to  Don 
Juau  Esscquibel  or  Jaizquibel,  one  of  Diego  Columbus's  companions.*  Formerly 
the  diiferent  sections  of  this  great  watercourse  bore  different  native  names.  In 
the  coast  region,  where  it  develops  a  broad  estuary,  the  surrounding  populations 
called  it  the  Aranauma,  while  the  main  branch  was  designated  Chip  Wa,  that  is, 
Chip  River,  by  the  Wapisianas  and  the  neighbouring  tribes.  It  would  appear  to 
communicate  with  the  upper  Trombetas,  an  Amazonian  affluent,  through  the 
Apini,  a  river  which,  like  the  Cassiquiare,  is  said  to  have  a  double  incline. 

Rising  in  the  Awarriwa  mountain,  the  Essequibo,  which  has  a  som!ewhat 
shorter  course  than  that  figured  on  the  English  maps  of  Schomburgk  and 
Brown,  flows  first  north-eastwards  through  the  forest  inhabited  by  a  few  groups 
of  the  Chiriu  and  Taruma  Indians.  Farther  on  it  is  joined  by  the  Yaore,  which 
flows  in  a  winding  course  eastwards  throuo:h  the  uninhabited  wilderness  border- 
ing  on  the  savannas.  A  human  figure  carved  on  the  face  of  the  rock  near  a 
cascade  on  the  Yaore  is  said  by  the  Indian  boatmen  to  be  a  portrait  of  Schomburgk 
sculptured  by  the  explorer  himself,  whose  name  has  remained  famous  amongst 
the  natives ;  but  the  efiigy  is  too  rudely  drawn  to  accept  this  legend. 

Below  the  Yaore  confluence  the  Essequibo  bends  gradually  round  to  the 
north.  Here  its  bed  is  still  in  process  of  formation ;  the  stream,  interrupted  by 
numerous  rocky  barriers,  descends  from  reach  to  reach  through  a  succession  of 
cataracts.  One  of  these,  bearing  the  loj'al  but  somewhat  eccentric  name  of  "  King 
William  the  Fourth's  Fall,"  long  marked  the  limit  of  legitimate  trading  ojjerations 
on  the  ujjper  course  of  the  Essequibo.  None  ventured  beyond  this  point  except 
the  kidnappers  who  went  to  capture  slaves  for  the  planters  of  the  coastlands. 

Numerous  affluents  follow  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Essequibo,  whose  basin 
broadens  out  towards  the  west  and  contracts  to  very  narrow  limits  towards  the 
east,  from  which  direction  it  consequently  receives  only  a  few  slight  contributions. 
The  Cuyuwini,  which  collects  the  surface  waters  of  the  western  savannas,  is  suc- 
ceeded lower  down  by  the  Rupunini,  which  is  itself  joined  on  its  right  bank  by  the 
copious  river  Rewa  some  miles  above  the  confluence  with  the  main  stream.  The 
whitish  current  of  this  affluent,  which  mingles  with  the  black  water  of  the  Esse- 
quibo, offers  a  navigable  route  towards  the  west  utilised  by  the  native  boatmen  to 
reach  the  Amazons  basin  through  Lake  Amuku  and  the  Pirara  river.  The  only 
interruption  to  the  waterwaj'  between  the  two  systems  is  a  single  portage,  which 
is  reduced  to  about  half  a  mile  in  length  during  the  rainy  season. 

During  this  period  the  flood  waters  overflow  in  both  directions,  on  one  side  to 

the  Rupunini,  on   the  other  to  the  slope  drained  by  the  headstreams  of  the  Rio 

Branco.     A  great  part  of  this  district  about  the  divide  between  the  Essequibo  and 

Amazons  basins  is  occupied  by  savannas,  which  would  appear  to  have  formerly 

•  Robert  A.  Schomburgk,  Description  of  British  Guiana.     Iliikluyt  calU  tho  river  Dcssckebc. 


E  ITERS  OF  GUI/iXA. 


13 


been  the  bed  of  an  extensive  lacustrine  depression,  probably  tbe  great  inland  sea 
celebrated  in  legend  as  the  Lake  Parima  wbere  dwelt  the  "Man  of  Gold."     A 

Fipr.  4. — Kaxetetje  Faixs. 


tradition  stiU  survives  amongst  the  natives  that  the  bed  of  the  little  Lake  Amuku, 
scarcely  more  than  a  flooded  mere,  is  "entirely  lined  with  gold."* 

*  Gustavo  da  Suckmv,  Geographical  Journal,  March,  1893. 


14 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


The  Potaro  and  the  Kaieteur  Falt.s. 

Lower  down  the  Essequibo  is  joined  by  the  Burroburro  and  Potaro  rivers,  both 
flowing  from  the  foothills  of  the  Pacaraima  uplands,  and  in  their  descent  tumbling 
over  numerous  cascades  and  rapids.     The  Kaieteur  Falls,  formed  by  the  waters  of 


Fig.  5. — EssEauiBo  AND  Uppee  Rio  Beanco  Basins. 

Sralc  1  :  7,000,000. 


West  or  breenwicV> 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


5  to  26 
Fathoms. 


25  Fathoms 
aud  upwards. 


,  125  Miles. 


the  Potaro  about  the  middle  of  its  course,  are  amongst  the  finest  in  Guiana  and 
even  in  the  whole  world.  Yet  their  very  existence  was  absolutely  unknown  to 
Europeans  till  the  year  1871,  when  they  were  discovered  by  Mr.  C.  Barrington 
Brown,  at  that  time  engaged  on  a  geological  survey  of  the  British  Colony.     Ilcro 


EIVEES  OF  GUIAXA,  15 

the  Potaro  is  precipitated  over  an  abrupt  cliff  741  feet  high,  and  at  flood  water 
the  fall  is  370  feet  wide,  decreasing  at  losv  water  to  rather  less  than  half  that 
width.  During  the  rainy  season  Mr.  im  Thurn  compares  the  spectacle  to  a 
vast  curtain  of  water  nearly  400  feet  wide  rolling  over  the  top  of  the  clifF,  and 
retaining  its  full  width  until  it  crashes  into  the  boiling  water  of  the  pool  which 
hlls  the  whole  space  below  ;  but  of  the  pool  itself  only  the  outer  margin  is  visible, 
the  greater  part  being  ceaselessly  tossed  and  hurled  up  in  a  great  and  high  mass 
of  surf,  foam,  and  spray.  The  floor  of  the  amphitheatre  over  which  the  Potaro 
tumbles  "  is  occupied  by  a  waste  of  fallen  rocks,  made  black  by  constant  moisture, 
but  capped  with  short,  intensely  green  grass,  except  round  the  dark  stormy  pool, 
where  the  rocks  are  entirely  bare,  slippery,  and  black.  Immediately  behind  the 
fall  a  huge  dark  cave  is  visible  in  the  cliff,  the  upper  edge  of  the  cUfE  serving  as 
a  horizon  to  the  whole  scene  when  viewed  from  below."  * 

Lower  down  the  Potaro  continues  still  to  descend  as  from  step  to  step  through 
a  series  of  romantic  cascades.  Formerly  the  great  fall,  at  that  time  over  1,000 
feet  high,  stood  some  15  miles  farther  down  ;  but  by  incessantly  eating  away  the 
sandstone  plateau  over  which  it  is  hurled  down  to  the  plain,  it  has  gradually 
retreated  while  dimiuijhius;  in  height.  The  cornice  of  rocks  from  which  the  river 
is  precipitated  consists  of  a  hard  conglomerate  overlying  a  more  friable  sandstone. 
This  sandstone  is  incessantly  eroded  by  the  seething  waters  of  the  pool,  detaching 
huge  blocks  from  time  to  time,  and  excavating  a  dark  recess  beneath  the  over- 
hanging edge  of  the  plateau.  At  sunset  myriads  of  swallows,  gathering  from  the 
surrounding  woodlands,  sweep  the  precipice,  dart  like  a  flash  into  the  misty  spray, 
and  then  reappear  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  Such  is  the  rapidity  of  their  flight 
that  "  their  wings  produce  a  hissing  noise,  which  is  not  the  least  curious  pheno- 
menon of  this  wonderful  place.  After  descending  straight  down  they  settle  for 
the  night  on  the  face  of  the  cliff,  by  and  behind  the  faU."  f 

The  Mazaruni  and  Lower  Essequibo. 

Below  the  Potaro  affluent  the  Essequibo  is  almost  doubled  in  volume  by  the 
contributions  of  the  Mazaruni,  which  is  itself  joined  by  the  Cuyuni  eight  miles 
above  their  common  mouth  on  the  left  bank  of  the  mainstream.  Rising  on  the 
highest  slopes  of  the  Pacaraima  Mountains,  where  it  receives  the  streams  tumbling 
from  Poraima,  the  JIazaruni  is  of  all  the  Guiana  rivers  the  most  obstructed  by 
cataracts.  The  falls  and  rapids  occur  especialty  in  the  lower  part  of  its  course, 
so  that,  despite  its  great  volume,  this  river  is  almost  entirely  closed  to  navigation. 

At  the  falls  of  Chichi,  that  is,  the  "  Sun,"  in  the  Macusi  language,  the  fluvial 
bed  descends  a  total  height  of  890  feet  (1,380  to  490)  in  a  space  of  about  eight 
miles.  The  last  obstructions  occur  at  the  so-called  "Monkey  Jump,"  some  15 
miles  above  the  point  where  the  Mazaruni  is  joined  by  the  Cuyuni. 

Below  the  confluence  of  the  Mazaruni,  the  Essequibo  expands  info  a  broad 
estuary,  which  attains  a  width  of  no  less  than  15  miles  where  it  enters  the  sea. 

*  Among  the  Indians  of  Guiana,  p.  66. 
t  lb. 


16  AMLiZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

But  ttis  great  expanse  is  broken  and  divided  into  three  main  navigable  branches 
by  a  number  of  islands,  whose  long  axes  are  disposed  in  the  same  direction  as  the 
tidal  currents. 

The  enormous  volume  of  water  which  is  discharged  by  the  Essequibo,  and 
which  makes  itself  felt  at  a  distance  of  some  twelvo  miles  seawards,  is  explained 
by  the  great  extent  of  its  catchment  basin,  combined  with  an  abundant  rainfall 
and  the  impermeable  character  of  the  soil.  Daring  the  winter  season  the  upper 
reaches,  dammed  up  by  their  rocky  barriers,  overflow  their  banks  in  many  places, 
thus  periodically  restoring  the  chain  of  lakes  which  at  one  time  existed  in  the 
fluvial  valley. 

The  Demerara,  Berbice,  and  Corestyne. 

The  Demerara  (Demerari),  formerly  Lemdrare,  flows  east  of  and  parallel  to 
the  Essequibo  with  such  regularity  that  it  might  almost  be  taken  for  a  lateral 
channel,  into  which  were  formerly  discharged  the  flood  waters  of  some  stream 
rivalling  the  Amazons  itself  in  magnitude.  Rising  amid  the  northern  spurs  of 
the  dividing  range,  the  Demerara  traverses  the  same  geological  formations  as  the 
Essequibo,  first  granite  masses,  then  sandstones  with  diorites  cropping  out  at 
various  points,  and  towards  the  coast  broad  alluvial  tracts  strewn  here  and  there 
wilh  sandhills  from  50  to  60  feet  high.  Sluggish  channels  and  backwaters  ramify 
eastwards,  connecting  the  Demerara  with  the  Mahaica,  a  river  of  similar  aspect, 
but  of  much  smaller  volume. 

The  Berbice  and  the  Corentyne  (Corentijn),  which  follow  in  the  direction  of 
the  east,  also  flow  in  parallel  courses  quite  as  regular  as  those  of  the  Essequibo  and  De- 
merara. They  develop  the  same  curves  and  have  to  surmount  the  same  obstructions 
by  cascades  tumbling  over  rocky  granite,  diorite,  or  sandstone  barriers.  But  they 
vary  considerably  in  length,  the  Berbice  rising  far  in  advance  of  the  dividing 
range,  whereas  the  Corentyne  has  its  source  in  the  Curucuri  mountains  away  to 
the  south.  The  latter  is  already  a  copious  stream  at  the  point  where  it  pierces  the 
rocky  hills,  in  which  its  western  neighbour  the  Berbice  takes  its  rise. 

In  this  district  the  Corentyne  is  joined  on  its  left  bank  by  the  New  River, 
through  a  labyrinth  of  ramifying  branches,  and  below  the  confluence  the  united 
waters  descend  to  the  plains  through  a  series  of  superb  falls  and  rapids.  To  one 
of  these,  Robert  Sehoniburgk  gave  the  name  of  King  Frederick  William  the 
Fourth,  as  to  the  corresponding  cataract  of  the  Essequibo,  which  lies  under  the  same 
latitude,  and  which  presents  the  same  general  aspect  amid  its  rugged  granite  walls. 

The  Corentyne  develops  another  grand  fall  at  the  crystalline  rocks  of  Wonotobo, 
where  three  or  four  branches  ramifying  into  several  channels  are  precipitated 
from  a  height  of  about  100  feet  into  a  lake  about  a  mile  wide,  from  which  it 
issues  in  a  single  stream  about  1,000  feet  broad  and  80  feet  deep.  Beyond  this 
point  the  Corentyne  is  entirely  free  from  rapids  for  the  rest  of  its  course  of  some 
170  miles  to  the  sea.  But  its  broad  cstuar}%  studded  with  islands,  reefs,  and  shoals, 
is  of  difficult  access,  and  jDractically  closed  to  vessels  drawing  more  than  10  feet 
of  water. 


BIVEES  OF  GUIANA.  17 

Thk  Coast  Strea^is  of  Dutch  Guiana. 

This  estuary  also  receives  tlie  discharge  of  the  River  Nickerie  from  the  east. 
The  Nickerie  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  the  coast  streams  of  Dutch  Guiana, 
developing  an  irregular  but  continuous  current,  which  winds  sluggishly  from  east 
to  west  through  the  low-lying  alluvial  plains.  Some  of  the  rivers  rising  farther 
inland  on  the  advanced  terraces  of  the  dividing  range  are  intercepted  on  their 
course  to  the  Atlantic  by  these  coast  streams,  whose  volume  they  swell,  while 
deflecting  them  to  the  east  or  to  the  west,  according  to  the  abundance  of  their 
discharge  or  the  incline  of  the  land.  Thus  the  Upper  Nickerie  and  the  Coppe- 
name  after  joining  the  coast  stream  continue  their  seaward  course  in  opposite 
directions,  while  between  the  two  \vinds  a  channel  whose  current  sets  alternately 
to  the  right  or  to  the  left  according  to  the  strength  of  the  river  descending  from 
the  interior. 

East  of  the  Coppeuame  follow  the  Coesewijne  and  the  Saramacca,  which  do 
not  communicate  directlj^  with  the  Coppename  or  its  ramifying  creeks,  although 
they  fall  into  the  same  estuarj'.  The  lower  course  of  the  Saramacca,  flowing  from 
east  to  west,  cuts  oiJ  a  strip  of  coastland,  partly  bush  and  partly  swamp,  which 
has  been  completely  isolated  in  the  direction  of  the  east  as  far  as  the  Surinam 
estuary  by  an  old  creek  canalised  in  the  seventeenth  century  by  the  famous 
Governor  Sommelsdyke,  and  still  known  as  the  Sommelsdyke  Caual. 

East  of  the  Surinam,  whose  bar  is  accessible  at  ebb  tide  to  vessels  drawing  16 
feet  of  water,  the  bush  and  marshy  coastlands  present  towards  the  sea  a  long  low- 
lying  beach  of  scarcely  perceptible  curve,  and  towards  the  interior  an  intricate 
system  of  tortuous  rivers  and  creeks  wdth  alternating  currents.  Here  and  there 
these  watercourses  have  been  transformed  to  regular  navigable  canals,  largely 
utilised  by  the  boats  and  canoes  of  planters  and  natives.  Thus  follow  from  west 
to  east  between  the  Surinam  and  the  Maroni  on  the  French  frontier,  the  Comme- 
wijne,  Cottica,  Coermoeribo  (Cormontibo),  and  theWana  or  Wane  Creek. 

The  tendency  of  all  the  watercourses  iu  this  part  of  Guiana  to  set  in  a  direc- 
tion parallel  with  the  coast,  as  well  as  the  deposit  of  rich  alluvial  matter  between 
the  watercourses  themselves  and  the  present  shore -line,  cannot  be  explained 
merely  by  the  action  of  the  periodical  floods.  On  the  contrary,  the  ocean  plays  the 
chief  part  in  the  production  of  these  phenomena.  The  liquid  masses  roUed  down 
by  the  Amazons  and  the  Tocantins  do  not  precipitate  all  their  sediment  in  the 
great  "fresh-water"  estuarj'.  Being  intercepted  by  the  marine  current,  the 
fluvial  waters  are  deflected  along  the  shores  of  the  Guianas  as  far  as  the  Orinoco, 
beyond  which  a  portion  penetrates  through  the  Serpent's  Mouth  into  the  Gulf  of 
Paria. 

Thus- the  alluvi  il  matter  brought  down  by  the  great  Brazilian  rivers  is  dis- 
tributed along  -the  Guiana  seaboard,  and  in  this  way  beach  after  beach  is  succes- 
sively added  to  the  continental  periphciy.  Most  of  these  new  formations  become 
merged  in  a  continuous  low-lying  coastland,  but  their  regular  successive  growth 
is  still  shown  by  the  intermediate  creeks  disposed  parallel  with  the  shore-Une. 
The  fluvial  waters  of  the  interior,  arrested    bj'   the    opposing   marine  current, 

VOL.    XIX.  c 


18  AMAZONLV  AXD  LA  TLATA. 

are  ceaselessly  deflected  westwards,  so  as  to  flow  parallel  with  the  ocean  stream 
itself.  The  alluvial  tracts  of  peuLnsular  formation  are  thus  extended  to  great 
distances  between  the  coast  streams  and  the  sea,  until  some  weak  point  here  and 
there  suddenly  yields  to  the  action  of  some  fierce  storm  or  of  an  exceptionally 
high  inundation. 

In  this  way  has  been  formed  the  whole  coast  system  of  Dutch  Guiana,  with 
its  perfectly  distinct  double  shore-lino,  that  may  be  traced  aU  the  way  from  the 
Corentyne  to  the  Maroni.  These  tracts  of  oceanic  origin  are  still  more  clearly 
indicated  in  that  district  of  British  Guiana  which  lies  immediately  to  the  east  of 
the  Orinoco  delta,  and  the  possession  of  which  is  contested  by  Venezuela.  Here 
the  Pomerun  river,  which  reaches  the  sea  at  Gape  Nassau,  the  Waini  (Guainia)^ 
the  Barima,  and  the  Amacuru  all  intersect  so  many  strips  of  the  seaboard  that 
have  been  built  up  by  the  deposition  of  sedimentary  matter  in  the  shallow  waters 
beyond  the  primitive  continental  contour  -Kne. 

Palgrave,  a  careful  observer  of  the  hydrographic  system  of  Dutch  Guiana, 
describes  the  rivers  of  that  region  as  its  true  highways,  "  traced  right  and  left  with 
matchless  profusion  by  Nature  herself.  Broad  and  deep,  tidal  too  for  miles  up 
their  course,  but  with  scarcely  any  variation  in  the  fulness  of  their  mighty  flow, 
summer  or  winter,  rainy  season  or  dry,  so  constant  is  the  water  supply  from  its 
common  origin,  the  equatorial  mountain  chain.  They  give  easy  access  to  the 
innermost  recesses  of  the  vast  regions  beyond,  east,  west,  and  south  ;  and  where 
their  tortuous  windings  and  multiplied  side  canals  fail  to  reach,  Batavian  industry 
and  skill  have  made  good  the  want  by  canals,  straighter  in  course,  and  often 
hardly  inferior  in  navigable  capacity  to  the  mother  rivers  themselves.  On  the 
skeleton  plain,  so  to  speak,  of  this  mighty  system  of  water  communication,  the 
entire  cultivation  of  the  interior  has  been  naturally  adjusted  ;  and  the  estates  of 
Surinam  are  ranged  one  after  another  along  the  margin  of  rivers  and  canals,  just 
as  farms  might  be  along  highways  and  byeways  in  Germany  or  Hungary.  Sub- 
servient to  the  waterways,  narrow  land-paths  follow  the  river  or  trench,  by  which 
not  every  estate  alone,  but  every  sub-division  of  an  estate,  every  acre  almost  is 
defined  and  bordered,  while  the  smaller  dykes  and  canals  are  again  crossed  by 
wooden  bridges,  maintained  in  careful  repair  ;  but  paths  and  bridges  alike  are  of 
a  width  and  solidity  adapted  to  footmen  only,  or  at  best  to  horsemen.  The 
proper  carriage  road  is  the  river  or  canal."  * 

The  IiIaroxi,  Awa,  and  OvAroK. 

The  Maroni,  the  Marowijn  of  the  Dutch,  takes  the  foremost  position  amongst 
the  secondary  watercourses  of  the  Guianas  between  the  Orinoco  and  the  Amazons. 
Its  ramifying  headstreams  cover  a  space  of  nearly  200  miles,  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Turauc-Humac  Mountains,  between  the  Corentyne  and  Oj^apok  basins 
west  and  east.  At  present  the  larger  portion  of  this  drainage  area  belongs  to 
Ilolhind,  the  whole  of  the  tract  lying  between  the  two  main  branches  of  the  Awa 
(Lawa)  and   the   Tapanahoni  having  been  attributed  to   Dutch   Guiana  by  the 

•  Dutch  Guiana,  p.  71-2. 


RIVERS  OF  GUIANA. 


19 


decision  of  the  Tsar,  to  whom  the  question  in  dispute  had  been  referred  in 
1891. 

The  Awa  or  eastern  branch,  which  now  serves  as  the  boundary  between  the 
conterminous  colonies,  is  supposed  to  be  the  more  copious  of  the  two  headstrearas, 
although  the  Tapanahoui  has  the  greater  winter  discharge.  Both  Crevaux  and 
Coudreau  wore  able  to  ascend  the  Awa  in  boats  for  a  distance  of  over  300  miles. 
It  has  stQl  a  width  of  60  or  70  feet  at  the  farthest  point  reached  by  Coudreau  on 
the  Itani,  that  is,  the  branch  which  serves  as  the  international  frontier,  and  whose 
junction  with  the  Marouini  farther  east  forms  the  Awa.  Immediately  beyond 
this  point  begin  the  first  rising  grounds  and  steep  foothills  of  the  Tumuc-IIumac 
range.    . 

Despite  its  great  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  the  fluvial  bed  at  the  confluence 

Fig.  0.— SorBCES  OF  THE  Otapok. 

.=cale  1  :  050.000. 


X:^^ 


''^^£:^'i^-X'  ■'  :.:  I: . -■ '  .■■■ 


.  •-irr*".".'"- 


53*40'  ViestcP  Greenwich 


53°io- 


la  Alile^. 


of  the  two  forks  is  onh'  650  feet  above  sea-level;  hence  in  its  descent  through 
successive  terraces  to  the  coast  the  Maroni  is  interrupted  by  no  cataracts  of  great 
height.  The  rocky  barriers  which  at  intervals  dam  up  the  stream,  and  which 
form  so  many  roaches  with  scarcely  perceptible  current,  have  been  eroded  so  as 
to  form  a  series  of  natural  sluices,  throush  which  the  river  descends  in  sheets  of 
foam,  small  cascades,  or  falls  of  slight  elevation. 

At  the  Hermina  (Araraina)  Falls,  50  miles  from  the  sea,  the  Maroni  descends 
a  total  height  of  15  or  16  feet,  in  a  distance  of  about  half  a  mile.  Bej-ond  this 
point  its  course  is  free  from  all  obstruction,  and  accessible  to  steamers  of  some 
size.  Here  the  river  flows  between  two  wooded  banks,  3,000  to  5,000  feet  apart, 
and  at  its  mouth  forms  a  bar  16  feet  deep  at  low  water. 

c  2 


20 


AILVZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


The  rivers  of  French  Guiana  following  the  Maroni  in  the  direction  of  the  east 
have  their  source  not  on  the  Amazonian  water-parting,  hut  in  a  few  isolated  hills 
lying  midway  between  that  range  and  the  sea.  Of  these  streams  the  largest  are 
the  Mana,  the  Sinnamari,  the  Approuague,  each  of  which  is  about  200  miles  long. 


Fig.  7.— RrvEES  of  toe  Franco-Brazilian  Contested  Zone. 
Scab  1 : 1,600,000. 


rt'est  ov  ureenwich       50^ 


49°40- 


Otol6 
Feet. 


Depths. 


16  to  32 
Feet. 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


.  no  Sliles. 


traversing  .spur.sely  peopkd  district.s,  and  flowing  in  straight  courses  to  the  coast, 
whicli  here  trends  round  to  the  south-east. 

Beyond  them  follows  the  Oyapok,  whose  name,  applied  to  several  other  water- 
courses, and  derived  from  the  liidian  words  ui/a  pucu,  "  long  river,"  would  be  more 


EIVEES  OF  GUIANA.  21 

appropriate  to  tlic  Amazons  than  to  any  other  South  American  stream.  Like  the 
Maroni,  the  Oyapok  rises  under  the  name  of  the  Souanre  in  the  Tumuc-IIumac 
Mountains  at  the  Watagnapa  Peak,  and  serves  as  the  eastern  frontier  of  the  un- 
disputed portion  of  French  Guiana  towards  Brazil. 

The  "  creeks  "  *  or  headwaters  of  the  Oyapok  approach  those  of  the  Maroni, 
and  these  two  rivers  closely  resemble  each  other  in  their  general  character.  The 
Oyapok  also,  which  was  usually  followed  by  travellers  bound  for  Brazilian  Guiana, 
descends  fronj  reach  to  reach  through  a  succession  of  falls  and  rapids,  which,  how- 
ever, are  both  more  numerous  and  higher  than  those  of  the  Maroni.  Coudreau 
speaks  of  two  which  plunge  over  precipices  some  60  or  70  feet  high,  and  the  Trois 
Sauls  ("  Tiaree  Leaps  ")  is  probably  the  finest  in  the  whole  of  French  Guiana. 
The  Robinson  Fall,  last  of  the  series,  lies  about  50  miles  from  the  sea. 

The  Araguaei,  Cachipouk,  and  Mapa  Grande. 

East  of  the  long  allm-ial  promontory  of  Cape  Orange,  which  is  formed  by  the 
deposits  of  the  Oyapok,  the  whole  of  the  triangular  space  comprised  between  this 
river  and  the  Araguari  belongs  to  the  same  zone  of  drainage.  Like  the  Oyapok,  the 
Araguari,  the  Cachipour,  the  Cunani,  the  Carsevenne,  the  Mapa  Grande  (Amapa  of 
the  Brazilians),  the  Frechal,  and  the  Tartarugal  all  rise  amid  the  marshy  foothills  of 
the  Tumuc-IIumac  range,  whence  they  diverge  in  all  directions  like  the  ribs  of  a  fan. 

The  Araguari  estuary  marks  the  extreme  limit  of  the  Guiana  seaboard,  beyond 
which  immediately  begin  the  waters  and  islands  of  the  Amazonian  basin. 

General  Character  of  the  Guiana  Rivers. 

As  in  Venezuelan  and  Brazilian  Guianas  beyond  the  dividing  range,  the  rivers 
of  Guiana  north  of  that  range  differ  greatly  in  the  colour  of  their  waters.  Some, 
those  especially  of  the  savannas,  are  cloudy  and  whitish,  while  others  flowing  from 
the  woodlands  seem  black  or  blackish,  although  really  tran.sparent.  In  the  Esse- 
quibo  basin  the  blackish  hue  of  these  forest  streams  is  attributed  to  the  roots  and 
branches  of  the  wallaba  tree  growing  in  the  water  along  theii-  banks. 

Although  most  of  the  Guiana  rivers  traverse  continuous  woodlands  from  the 
mountains  to  the  sea,  they  are  far  less  obstructed  by  snags  than  many  other 
watercourses  of  the  tropical  regions.  This  is  due  to  the  great  specific  gravity  of 
nearly  all  the  arborescent  species  growing  along  the  margins  of  the  Guiana  rivers. 
Instead  of  floating,  the  trees  falling  into  the  water  through  erosion  or  storms  sink 
to  the  bottom  and  rot  on  the  spot. 

But  on  the  narrow  and  shallow  upper  reaches,  the  tangle  of  branches  and 
lianas  is  a  great  impediment  to  the  boatmen,  who  are  often  obliged  to  hew  their 
way  through  with  the  axe  or  knife.  Here  the  fallen  timber  accumulates  in  barrages, 
the  so-called  taknha  of  the  Essequibo  Indians,  and  the  barrancas  of  the  Brazilian 
refugeesin  the  contested  territory.  Other  obstructions  are  formed  by  massesof  aquatic 
plants,  like  the  sudd  of  the  White  Nile,  which  often  present  as  effectual  a  barrier 
to  the  canoe-men  as  the  falls  and  rapids  themselves.  In  most  of  the  watercourses 
*  In  French  Guiana  the  term  eriipic  ("creek  ")  is  geuoraUy  applied  to  mountain  torrents. 


22  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

the  sandstone,  granite,  or  diorite  reefs  rising  to  or  above  the  surface  are  covered, 
as  with  a  coating  of  tar,  by  a  film  composed  of  iron  and  manganese  oxides.  As  on 
the  Orinoco,  the  harder  the  rock  the  blacker  the  film,  which  in  rainy  weather  emits 
noxious  odours. 

Below  the  reefs  and  rapids  the  broad  deep  rivers,  discoloured  and  dammed  up 
by  the  tidal  current,  roll  down  a  yellowish  water  often  hidden  beneath  floating 
vegetation.  In  their  lower  reaches  these  streams  merge  in  the  riverside  morasses, 
lakes,  or  lagoons,  which  in  French  Guiana  take  the  name  oi  pripris.  In  the  more 
settled  and  better-cultivated  districts  of  the  British  and  Dutch  seaboard  the 
direction  and  discharge  of  the  flood  waters  have  been  regulated  by  dykes  and 
canals.  On  the  plantations  sluices  are  used  to  arrest  the  tides,  while  the  percolat- 
ing waters  are  discharged  at  ebb  through  the  so-called  kokers,  or  ditches.  About 
the  estuaries  the  fresh  water  of  the  Guiana  rivers  floats  on  the  heavier  salt  water 
for  a  distance  of  six  or  eight  miles  seawards. 

The  Guiana  Lakes. 

Thanks  to  the  uniform  slope  of  the  land,  the  old  lakes  which  formerly  studded 
the  surface  of  Guiana,  and  whose  contours  may  often  still  be  traced  in  those  of 
the  savannas,  have  nearly  all  been  discharged.  These  ancient  lacustrine  depres- 
sions have  been  best  preserved  in  the  contested  Franco-Brazilian  territory  between 
the  Mapa  Grande  and  Araguari  rivers. 

This  lake-studded  district  lies  back  of  the  low-lying  peninsular  headland  of 
Cape  do  Norte  and  the  equally  low  island  of  Maraca.  "Within  a  comparatively 
recent  epoch  the  zone  of  fresh-water  lagoons  extended  much  farther  north  all  the 
way  to  the  Oyapok  river,  and  at  that  time  all  these  lakes,  creeks,  and  channels 
presented  a  continuous  waterway,  over  200  miles  between  Amazonia  and  French 
Guiana,  navigable  throughout  by  boats  and  barges.  According  to  the  ofiicers  in 
command  of  the  French  fort  of  Mapa,  which  was  maintained  during  the  years 
1836 — 41,  craft  of  forty  tons  were  still  able  to  follow  this  route  about  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Lago  Grande,  immediatel}'  south  of  the  Mapa 
Grande  river,  is  now  a  mere  fragment  of  the  large  sheet  of  water  encircling  the 
island  on  which  stood  the  French  fort  abandoned  in  1841,  and  reoccupied  by  the 
Brazilians  in  1890. 

South  and  south-east  of  the  peninsular  Cape  do  Norte  follow  other  lakes,  one 
of  which.  Lake  Jac,  near  the  Carapaporis  Strait  between  the  mainland  and  Maraca 
Island,  ajjpears  to  still  preserve  the  form  of  a  spacious  bay,  but  without  shelter, 
hence  exj)osed  to  the  Atlantic  storms,  and  scarcely  any  longer  navigable  by  the 
native  boatmen. 

The  Lago  Novo,  near  the  Araguari  river  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
lacustrine  chain,  also  resembles  a  marine  inlet,  and  even  affords  a  retreat  to 
manatees,  which  here  browse  on  the  forests  of  aquatic  plants.  But  it  is  also  acces- 
sible to  barges,  which  find  shelter  from  the  Atlantic  gales  under  the  lee  of  the 
insular  groups  which  form  so  many  transverse  breakwaters.  Having  a  depth  of 
from  30  to  40  feet,   this   basin  might  easily  be  transformed  to  a   magnificent 


LAKES  OF  GUIANA.  23 

harbour  of  refuge  spacious  enough  for  whole  fleets,  by  deepening  the  channel  a 
few  miles  long  with  which  it  communicates  with  the  Araguari,  and  dredgin"  the 
estuary  which  has  silted  up,  presenting  in  some  places  depths  of  little  over  three 
feet. 

The  subsidence  and  entire  disappearance  of  the  Guiana  lakes  is  a  process 
which  is  accomplished  very  rapidly.  The  reeds  and  other  plants  which  wither 
in  summer  are  deposited  in  a  bed  of  floating  humus  in  which  various  vegetable 
species  and  even  shrubs  strike  root.  Those  verdant  carpets  are  from  time  to  time 
rent  by  the  storms  and  driven  to  the  surrounding  margins.  Here  they  are  soon 
again  massed  together  and  thickened.  Thus  the  lake  becomes  gradually  filled  in, 
or  transformed  to  a  floating  quagmire,  firm  on  the  surface,  boggy  in  the  lower 
depths.  In  a  short  time  nothing  remains  of  the  lagoon  except  the  navigable 
channel,  the  icjarape,  or  "  canoe  track."  Coudreau  even  hazards  the  theory 
that  the  lakes  are  emptied  by  a  kind  of  see-saw  movement  of  the  banks.* 

In  several  of  the  lacustrine  beds  have  been  found  huge  trunks,  whoso  ori"-in 
it  is  difiicult  to  explain,  except  on  the  supposition  that  the  lakes  were  at  first  dry 
land,  which  afterwards  subsided  through  some  sudden  disturbance  of  the  ground. 
Another  explanation  of  the  phenomenon,  however,  is  suggested  by  the  form  and 
trend  of  the  seaboard.  The  alluvial  promontories  at  the  Oyapok,  Approuao-ue, 
and  Cachipour  estuaries  are  all  disposed  in  the  direction  of  the  north,  and  in 
their  lower  course  these  rivers  also  follow  the  same  direction,  evidently  imder 
the  influence  of  the  marine  current,  which  deposits  its  sedimentary  matter  along 
the  shore.  It  maj'  therefore  be  assumed  that  at  contact  with  this  current  the 
Araguari  was  also  deflected  northwards,  and  that  the  chain  of  lakes  which  have 
the  same  trend  are  the  remains  of  the  old  fluvial  bed. 

The  Carapaporis  Strait,  which  flows  between  Maraca  Island  and  the  mainland, 
and  which  is  clearly  distinguished  by  its  greater  depth  from  all  the  surrounding 
shallow  basins,  would  on  this  hypothesis  be  the  old  mouth  of  the  Araguari, 
scarcely  modified  since  the  time  when  the  river  reached  the  sea  more  to  the  east. 
If  so  much  be  allowed,  there  would  be  nothing  surprising  in  the  fact  that,  like  the 
Amazons,  the  copious  Araguari  should  float  down  large  trees  and  deposit  them 
along  its  lower  winding  course,  which  afterwards  became  a  system  of  lagoons  con- 
nected together  by  tortuous  channels.  In  the  same  way  the  marine  current  itself 
intercepts  the  snags  washed  down  by  the  Amazons,  depositing  them  along  its 
muddy  course,  where  they  afterwards  become  embedded  in  the  alluvial  coastlands 
of  more  recent  formation.  Such  ligneous  deposits  have  been  found  at  depths  of 
78  or  80  feet. 

But  however  this  be,  great  changes  have  been  in  progress  even  during  the 
contemporaneous  period.  A  mere  glance  at  the  map  suffices  to  show  that  the  sea- 
board of  the  contested  Franco-Brazilian  territory  between  the  Araguari  and  the 
Cachipour  presents  a  striking  contrast  to  the  section  of  the  coast  running  east  and 
west  between  Cayenne  and  the  Corentyne  estuary.  This  section  develops  a 
regular  convex   curve,  indicating  the  incessant  deposit  of  sediment  by  the  marine 

*  La  France  JSqiiiiioxiah-,   Voyage  a  travel's  fes  Giiyartes  et  V Amfizonie. 


24  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

current.  But  the  southern  section  has,  on  the  contrary,  been  deeply  eroded  by 
the  marine  waters ;  a  portion  of  the  old  shore  has  been  washed  away,  and  the 
Cape  do  Norte,  as  well  as  Maraca  Island,  are  so  many  fragments  of  the  ancient 
continental  seaboard.  Along  the  whole  length  of  the  coast  of  Dutch  Guiana  east 
and  west  of  Paramaribo,  the  existence  of  older  beaches  may  be  traced  by  the  lines 
of  snags  deposited  by  the  marine  current  and  now  embedded  in  the  littoral  alluvia. 

Analogous  contrasts  are  presented  by  the  character  of  the  coast  streams  in 
both  regions.  Off  the  shores  of  Dutch  Guiana  the  soft  mud  covering  the  bed  of 
the  sea  yields  like  a  movable  carpet  to  the  action  of  the  Atlantic  billows,  and 
thus  tends  to  diminish  their  force.  Thus  the  rollers  gradually  subside  until  the 
sea  becomes  quite  smooth,  so  that  vessels  often  find  safe  anchorage  between  the 
marine  current  and  the  shore  while  the  storm  rages  on  the  high  sea. 

About  the  Cape  do  Norte  and  Maraca  Island,  on  the  contrary,  the  tides  rush 
in  with  extreme  violence.  Nowhere  else,  not  even  in  the  Amazonian  estuary, 
does  the  pororoca,  as  the  bore  is  locally  called,  roll  w^  more  suddenly,  or  with  a 
succession  of  more  powerful  waves.  So  far  back  as  1743  La  Condamine  had 
already  described  the  waters  about  the  Araguari  estuary  as  amongst  the  most 
dangerous  for  shipping.  The  tides,  pent  up  in  the  narrow  gulf  on  a  gradually 
shoaling  bed,  rise  in  a  few  minutes  to  one-third  of  high  water  level  ;  they  have 
occasionally  been  observed  to  rise  almost  suddenly  as  many  as  "20  or  even  26  feet. 
The  floods  spread  far  over  the  low-lying  coastlands,  and  during  the  spring  tides, 
when  there  is  a  rise  of  from  40  to  50  feet,  whole  strijjs  of  the  mangrove-covered 
beach  have  been  swept  away.  These  verdant  islands,  drifting  with  the  current, 
are  stranded  farther  north  about  the  Cachipour  and  Oyapok  estuaries.  Even  at 
neap  tide  the  difference  between  ebb  and  flow  in  these  waters  is  still  about  10 
feet. 

Subjoined  is  a  table  of  the  chief  Guiana  rivers  between  the  Orinoco  and  the 
Amazons,  with  approximate  estimates  of  their  length,  areas  of  drainage,  dis- 
charge, and  extent  of  navigable  waters  for  small  steamers  : — 


Length  in 
miles. 

Area  of  basin 

in  square 

miles. 

Mean  discharge 

per  second  in 

cubic  feet. 

Len^h  of 
navigable 
waterway. 

Essequibo          .         .         .         620 

64,700 

70,000 

40 

Demerara 

175 

3,000 

7,250 

94 

Berbico 

325 

14,000 

18,000 

165 

Corentijn 

450 

23,000 

35,000 

TO 

Surmam    . 

300 

14,000 

18,000 

96 

Maroni 

390 

23,000 

39,000 

46 

Approuague 

190 

4,000 

2,700 

38 

Oyapok     . 

300 

12,000 

26,000 

46 

Cachipour 

320? 

8,000 

14,000 

60 

Cunani 

175? 

4,000 

7,250 

44 

Araguari 

310? 

9,500 

14,000 

125 

At  a  distance  of  from  15  to  50  miles  off  the  coast  flows  the  great  marine 
current,  which  sets  from  Cape  S.  Roquo  towards  Trinidad.  Its  axis  extends 
on  an  average  134  miles  from  the  mainland,  and  its  total  breadth  may  be  esti- 
mated at  from  230  to  250  miles.  It  varies  in  velocity  with  the  winds,  at  times 
exceeding  90  or   95  miles  u   day,  while  at   others,  when  retarded  by   the  trade 


CLIMATE  OF  GULiNA.  25 

winds,  it  moves  at  scarcely  more  than  a  mile  an  hour,  and  even  develops  lateral 
counter-currents  and  ■whirlpools.  At  such  times  it  rises  iu  the  harbours  along 
the  seaboard  like  a  fluvial  current  above  the  weirs. 

Climate  of  the  Guiaxas. 

The  Guianas  lie  entirely  within  the  zone  of  the  north-east  trade  winds. 
Nevej-theless  they  are  suiEciently  near  the  equator  to  come  within  the  influence 
of  the  prevailing  south-easterlies  for  a  part  of  the  year.  At  Cayenne,  which  may 
be  taken  as  the  central  point  of  the  Guiana  seaboard,  the  normal  wind,  setting 
usually  from  the  north-east,  blows  regularly  from  the  beginning  of  December, 
and  acquires  its  greatest  force  in  January  and  February.  At  the  spring  equinox 
its  fury  abates  a  Kttle,  and  then  follows  the  period  of  calms  interrupted  by 
squalls,  while  in  the  month  of  July  the  general  shifting  of  the  atmospheric 
currents  towards  the  northern  hemisphere  is  indicated  by  the  steadil}-  increasing 
south-easterly  breezes.  Nevertheless,  these  south- easterlies,  or  rather  east-south- 
easterlies,  do  not  blow  continuously  ;  they  prevail  usually  at  night,  being  replaced 
during  the  day  bj-  the  land  breezes.  The  Guiana  seaboard  lies  entirely  beyond  the 
sphere  of  the  cyclonic  storms. 

The  period  during  which  the  north-easterly  trade  winds  prevail  corresponds 
to  the  rainy  season,  which  usuallv  sets  in  with  the  normal  winds,  and  lasts  till  tlio 
period  of  irregular  breezes  and  of  the  drv  south-easterlies.  In  Jlarch  the  rainfall 
is  least  abundant,  whence  the  expression,  "March  Summer,"  which  is  applied  in 
French  Guiana  to  this  relatively  drj'  month.  But  in  May  the  moisture-bearing 
clouds  discharge  their  contents  in  cataracts,  and  these  heavy  downpours  are  known 
as  the  Flicies  de  la  Poussinihr,  "  Pleiades  Eains."  On  the  Guiana  seaboard  the 
mean  rainfall  exceeds  100  inches,  and  in  some  years  the  rain-gauges  have 
registered  over  160  inches,*  while  Mr.  im  Thurn  records  a  downpour  of  no  less 
than  13  inches  in  twelve  hours. t 

But  the  precipitation  varies  greatlj-  from  year  to  year,  rising  at  Georgetown, 
for  instance,  from  a  little  over  60  inches  in  1885  to  double  that  quantity  in  1890. 
During  the  rainy  season  the  temperature  is  slightly  lower  than  in  summer ; 
but  it  never  varies  more  than  a  few  degrees  from  the  normal  for  the  whole  year, 
which  may  be  taken  at  about  80°  or  8 1^  Fahr.  In  the  interior,  the  range  between 
the  extremes  is  slight,  thanks  to  the  uniform  relief  of  the  land,  which  presents 
no  great  elevations  except  in  the  Pacaraima  uplands.  But  the  greatest  differences 
are  observed  in  the  distribution  of  moisture.  Thus  the  rain-bearing  clouds 
intercepted  by  the  mountains  discharge  their  contents  in  torrents  on  the  higher 
summits,  whereas  they  part  with  but  little  of  their  humidity  on  the  plains,  where 
they  meet  with  no  obstacles. 

But  even  here  the  atmosphere  is  nearly  always  charged  with  a  largo  quantity 
of  aqueous  vapour.  At  dusk  the  fogs  spread  like  a  vast  shroud  over  the  wood- 
lands, where  they  are  often  pierced  by  the  lajge  trees,  whose  crests  rise  above  the 

*  Kainfall  of  Cayenne  iu  1874  :   168  inches  (Maurel  and  Hardy), 
t  Journal  of  the  Culvnial  Institute,  1S92 — 93. 


26  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

dense  haze  like  rocky  islets  in  the  midst  of  the  sea.  The  plains,  the  headlands, 
everything  is  wrapped  in  this  damp  covering,  with  which  are  intermingled  the 
miasmatic  exhalations  of  the  soil.  On  the  Tumuc-Humac  Mountains,  where  in 
the  space  of  five  months  Coudreau  made  over  fifteen  hundred  observations,  the 
atmosphere  is  less  charged  with  moisture  than  on  the  coastlands.  "  Here  the 
fogs  are  drier,  and  the  night  temperature  falls  to  16  degrees  "  (61°  Fahr.).* 

Flora  of  the  Guianas. 

To  the  irregular  distribution  of  the  rainfall  must  be  attributed  the  striking 
contrasts  presented  by  the  flora  of  the  Guianas.  There  are  two  distinct  botanical 
zones — the  savannas,  or  campos,  as  the  Brazilians  call  them,  and  the  primeval 
woodlands.  But  account  must  also  be  taken  of  various  sandy  and  arid  tracts 
destitute  of  all  vegetable  humus,  and  of  other  districts,  where,  despite  the 
moisture,  arborescent  plants  are  prevented  from  springing  up  by  the  dense  forests 
of  reeds. 

The  treeless  regions  extend  for  the  most  part  below  the  hills  or  mountains, 
whose  upper  flanks  are  exposed  to  constant  rains.  Thus  in  British  Guiana  the 
upper  Takutu  basin,  sheltered  from  the  moist  winds  by  the  eastern  offshoots  of  the 
Pacaraima  range,  lies  altogether  within  the  zone  of  savannas.  But  certain  plains 
in  close  proximity  to  the  Atlantic  coast  are  completely  destitute  of  forest  growths, 
although  in  their  geographical  position  and  absence  of  relief  they  closely  resemble 
other  well-wooded  plains.  Thus  in  the  contested  Franco- Brazilian  territory  the 
savannas,  interrupted  only  by  fringes  of  trees  along  the  river  banks,  extend 
parallel  with  the  Atlantic  coast  all  the  way  from  Cape  Orange  to  the  Amazons 
estuary,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  the  lower  Araguari  valley  forms  a  vast  treeless 
campo. 

In  British  and  Dutch  Guiana,  the  savannas  form  a  narrow  belt  of  open 
ground  reaching  from  the  banks  of  the  Demerara  to  those  of  the  Surinam.  The 
existence  of  these  treeless  tracts  between  the  mangrove-covered  littoral  and  the  in- 
land forests  is  due  partly  to  a  local  disturbance  of  the  moist  winds,  partly  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  formerly  the  bed  of  a  lake. 

Like  the  Venezuelan  llanos,  the  savannas  of  Guiana  present  the  whole  series 
of  transitions  from  a  wooded  to  a  grassy  surface.  In  some  districts  the  limits  of 
the  different  zones  are  as  sharply  defined  as  those  of  land  and  sea  formed  by 
vertical  cliffs.  On  emerging  from  the  virgin  forest  with  its  tangle  of  lianas  and 
parasites,  the  waj'farer  suddenly  finds  himself  surrounded  by  a  sea  of  herbaceous 
growths,  where  the  eye  sweeps  unhindered  over  a  vast  horizon  limited  in  the  dis- 
tance by  a  sky-line  of  mountain  crests.  Elsewhere  the  woodlands  break  into  an 
irregular  fringe  of  glades,  distribute  their  trees  more  openly,  and  lower  their 
height,  scattering  clusters  of  wooded  islets  round  about  their  verge. 

*  Meteorolof'ical  conditions  of  the  Guiana  seaboard  : — 


Georgeto-vra 

Mean 
Temperature. 
81'  F. 

Highest 

Temperature. 

90' F. 

Lowest 

Temperatui-e. 

74°  F. 

Rainy 
Days. 

170 

RainfaU. 
119  inches 

Paramaribo 

79° 

96° 

70° 

177 

HO      „ 

Cayenne 

80' 

92° 

72-' 

160 

130      „ 

FLORA  OF  GUUJs^A. 


27 


The  savannas  also  present  analogous  differences.  Some,  especially  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  dividing  range  between  the  British  and  Brazilian  Guianas, 
are  entirely  destitute  of  arborescent  vegetation,  and  these  the  Brazilians  call 
campos  limpos,  "savannas  proper."  But  in  most  of  the  Guiana  prairie  lands  are 
seen  a  few  trees,  either  scattered  or  disposed  in  rows.  Every  winding  stream  has 
its  fringe  of  forest  growths  ;  every  brook  and  gorge  has  its  screen  of  Mauritia 
palms,  regulhr  colonnades,  whose  capitals  are  formed  of  10  or  12  pendent 
fan-shaped  leaves,  the  resort  of  whole  flocks  of  parrots.  Where  the  watercourses 
ramify  into  a  multitude  of  channels,  the  savannas  are  decomposed  into  as  many 
secondary  prairies  with  intervening  screens  of  the  same  palms,  or  of  other  trees. 


Fig.  8. — Takutu  Savaitsas. 
Scale  1 : 3,200,000. 


e?-    WestoFG-eer-v-^  59' 


60  Miles. 


resembling  the  long  lines  of  poplars  which  border  the  meadowlands  in  the  Loire 
valley. 

The  general  aspect  and  the  vegetation  of  the  savannas  are  modified  with  the 
varying  quantity  of  atmospheric  moisture  or  the  greater  or  less  aridity  of  the  soil. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sea  and  of  the  coast  streams  or  creeks,  the  pripris 
or  swampy  tracts  have  somewhat  the  character  of  the  savannas  proper.  They  dry 
up  in  summer  when  the  ground  yields  a  scanty  growth  of  grasses,  continuing  sea- 
wards the  surface  of  the  arid  inland  prairies.  In  French  Guiana  most  of  these 
swamps  take  the  name  oi pinotieres,  from  the  }  inof  palms  (assai  or  ettterpe  edulis), 
which  border  their  margins. 


28  AMAZONIA  AKD  LA  PLATA. 

As  the  ground  rises  towards  the  interior,  the  savannas  become  clothed  with 
various  grasses  and  leguminous  plants  analogous  to  those  of  the  European  meadows. 
Pale  green  during  the  rainy  season,  they  assume  a  russet  or  a  yellowish  garb  in 
summer ;  but  they  are  for  the  most  part  destitute  of  flowering  species.  They 
nowhere  array  themselves  in  bright  colours,  nor  do  they  emit  the  fragrance  jjecu- 
liar  to  the  flowery  meads  of  west  Europe.  But  what  they  chiefly  need  is  the  aid  of 
man  in  developing  a  more  extensive  growth  of  alimentary  plants.  Fi-om  the  re- 
sults of  the  few  agricultural  clearings  that  have  been  made,  especiall}'  for  fodder 
crops,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  natural  fertility  of  these  regions. 

With  few  exceptions,  the  inhabitants  contribute  little  to  modify  the  flora  of 
the  savannas  beyond  the  rough-and-ready  process  of  firing  the  withered  grasses  in 
the  summer  season.  The  object  of  these  conflagrations  is  merely  to  collect  a  few 
turtles  amid  the  embers.  No  attempt  is  made  to  improve  the  pastures,  and  on 
the  high  lands  beyond  the  alluvial  tracts,  the  fires  have  in  many  places  consumed 
plants,  roots  and  all,  down  to  the  sandj'  subsoil.  A  few  arid  heights,  whose  under- 
ground recesses  are  the  resort  of  huge  lizards,  have  already  hei'e  and  there  assumed 
somewhat  the  aspect  of  sandhills.  The  fire,  under  the  influence  of  the  winds,  is 
at  times  p)ropagated  with  great  rapidity,  but  as  a  rule  it  spreads  much  slower  than 
in  the  Algerian  bush  or  on  the  prairies  of  the  Far  West  in  North  America.  The 
plants,  containing  more  moisture,  are  less  inflammable,  and  the  conflagration  is 
usually  arrested  on  the  verge  of  the  forests  after  devouring  a  few  of  the  more 
exposed  trees.  Even  in  the  savanna  itself  it  spares  the  vci-dant  clusters  which 
are  formed  round  about  the  springs,  and  which  afford  cover  to  the  animals  during 
the  summer  heats. 

The  Guiana  forests,  which  on  the  eastern  slopes  occupy  by  far  the  greatest 
part  of  the  whole  region,  belong  to  the  Amazonian  botanical  world.  Nearly  all 
the  species  of  the  seka  are  represented  in  the  Guiana  woodlands,  which  neverthe- 
less form  but  a  relatively  small  division  of  the  continent. 

Instead  of  monotonous  forests  consisting  mainly  of  one  or  two  sociable 
plants,  such  as  the  European  or  North  xYmerican  pine,  spruce,  oak,  or  beech  groves, 
this  region  possesses  a  vegetable  world  characterised  by  the  jDrodigious  variety 
of  its  forms.  French  Guiana  alone  presents  as  many  as  260  forest  species,  that 
is  to  say,  10  times  more  than  are  found  in  France  itself. 

The  marine  current  setting  from  Cape  S.  Roque  along  the  Brazilian  sea- 
board round  to  the  Guianas  certainly  contributes  its  share  to  the  distribution  of 
the  southern  forms  by  the  seeds,  fruits,  and  branches  which  it  casts  up  along  the 
seaboard.  But  all  the  vegetable  treasures  of  Guiana  are  still  but  approximately 
known,  some  regions  not  having  yet  been  visited  by  any  naturalists. 

Nevertheless,  the  itineraries  followed  by  botanists  already  cover  most  of  the 
ground.  In  1872,  Grisebach  estimated  at  3,500  the  number  of  species  described 
up  to  that  date.  The  most  widespread  families  are  those  of  the  leguminous  type, 
which  represent  about  a  ninth  part  of  all  the  local  forms.  Next  to  them  the  most 
numerous  are  the  ferns  and  orchids.  The  palms,  of  which  as  many  as  30  varie- 
ties occur  in   French   Guiana  alone,   comprise  about  the  hundredth  part  of  the 


FLORA.  OF  GUIANA. 


20 


whole  flora ;    but  their  majestic  appearance,  making  them  conspicuous   objects 
at  a  distance,  gives  them  a  seeming  importance  far  bej'ond  their  mere  numbers. 

The  members  of  the  Venezuelan  and  Colombian  zones,  which  are  not  found 
in  Guiaua,  are  mainly  the  Alpine  plants  flourishing  in  the  Andes  at  altitudes 
much  higher  than  the  summits  of  the  Pacaraima  and  Cairrit  ranges.  At  least 
200  varieties  pf  tree  ferns  grow  on  the  slopes  at  heights  of  over  3,000  feet ;  in  a 
few  days  Eichard  Schomburgk  discovered  as  many  as  93  different  members  of 
this  family  in  the  Eoraima  district,  which  has  been  called  the  "  Eldorado  of 
botanists."  Here  the  slightest  difference  of  relief,  aspect,  or  soil  is  marked  by 
fresh  forms.     The  be/aria  (bejaria),  or  "  rose  of  the  Andes,"  and  a  plant  allied  to 

Fig.  9.^FoEEST3  AXD  Savaxnas  of  GriANA. 
Scale  1  :  13,000,000. 


the  cinchona,  are  also  represented  on  the  slopes  of  Eoraima.  On  the  banks  of 
the  Essequibo  the  Indians  make  use  of  arrows  obtained  from  a  poisonc -as  bamboo, 
which  produces  the  same  effect  as  the  curare.* 

The  superb  Victoria  re/jia,  discovered  in  1837,  in  the  Berbice  Eiver,  British 
Guiana,  and  afterwards  met  in  many  other  watercourses  in  the  Amazonian  region, 
is  an  example  of  the  marvellous  beauty  that  efflorescence  may  assume  in  equato- 
rial America.  In  some  places  the  surface  of  the  lakes  almost  entirely  disappears 
under  a  carpet  of  enormous  leaves  and  tufts  of  white  petals  intermingled  with 
other  flowers,  blue,  pink,  or  yellow,  and  with  quaking  grasses.  Under  certain 
favourable  atmospheric  conditions,  the  flowers  of  a  nympha;acea  abounding  m 
these  fresh-water  basins  shine  with  the  calm  glow  of  a  night  light,  much  loss  vivid 

•  C.  B.  Brown,  Caitoc  and  Cunip  Life  in  Hiiliih  Guiuiia. 


30  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

than  that  of  tropical  fire-flies  and  of  other  luminous  insects,    but  brighter  than 
that  emitted  by  decaying  timber. 

Amongst  alimentary  plants  are  the  wild  cacao,  several  varieties  of  edible 
passionworts,  wild  pine-apples,  some  sap-yielding  palms,  the  marantacecc  from 
which  arrowroot  is  extracted,  the  twelve  varieties  of  manioc,  the  euphorbiacea 
from  which  cassava,  coac,  and  the  so-called  paiourai  beverage  are  prepared,  the 
carambola  [averrlioa  c),  the  tuka  {bertholetia  excelsa),  whose  fruit,  resembling  a 
cannon  ball,  and  about  the  size  of  a  man's  head,  contains  in  four  cells  six  or  eight 
of  the  excellent  Brazil  or  Para  nuts. 

The  "  traveller's  tree  "  of  Madagascar  is  represented  in  the  Guianas  by  the 
ravenala  guianensis,  a  wild  plantain  with  enormous  leaves  shooting  up  from  near 
the  ground  to  a  height  of  10  or  even  15  feet.  "  The  bases  of  the  leaf- stalks  " 
sheath  the  one  over  the  other,  and  in  the  pockets  formed  by  each  of  these  sheath- 
ing parts  much  rainwater  is  retained  even  through  the  dry  season.  Another* 
noticeable  feature  in  these  plants  is  that  the  seeds  within  the  tough  thin  shell 
of  the  fruit  are  packed  in  a  large  quantity  of  short  fibrous  substance  like  clippings 
of  wool,  in  the  Guiana  species  of  brightest  scarlet  colour,  but  in  the  Madagascar 
plant  of  blue. — {Ira  Thurn.^ 

In  the  coast  region  are  met  the  oleaginous,  medicinal,  resinous,  and  aromatic 
species  of  Amazonia,  and  room  might  still  be  found  for  all  those  of  equatorial  Africa. 
The  awara  (attaka  speciosa),  a  member  of  the  palm  famil}',  yields  an  oil  as  valuable 
as  that  of  the  Guinea  oil-palm,  which  was  introduced  into  Guiana  in  1806.  Other 
kinds,  such  as  the  carapa  ffin/aiiensis,  whose  nuts  contain  as  much  as  70  per  cent, 
of  their  weight  in  oil,  the  wax-tree  (viroh  sahi/era),  and  the  incorruptible  wapa 
(tamarindusindica),  also  offer  industrial  resources  hitherto  scarcely  utilised  ;  the 
same  may  be  said  of  the  150  species  and  upwards  of  medicinal  plants,  all  contain- 
ing valuable  properties  in  their  wood,  sap,  roots,  leaves,  flowers,  or  fruits. 

Amongst  the  caoutchoucs  and  others  yielding  gums  and  rubber  of  the  gutta- 
percha tyi^e,  noteworthy  is  the  balata  {(uhras  or  mimusops  halata),  the  "bullet- 
tree  "  of  English  writers,  whose  sap  is  at  once  elastic  and  ductile.  Like  Arabia, 
Guiana  has  also  its  incense  tree,  the  hyawa  {idea  heptaphylla) ,  which  is  burnt  in 
the  churches  on  the  coastlands.  "  Where  the  hvawa  tree  erows,  the  whole  air  for 
some  distance  round  is  j^leasant  and  wholesome  with  the  incense-like  odour  of  the 
white  resin  that  drops  from  its  stem  and  falls  in  masses  on  the  ground ;  and  a 
still  more  powerfully-scented  resin,  which  coats  the  trunk  of  another  tree,  the 
tauranero  of  the  Indians  {humirhim  florihunduin,  Mart.),  seems  to  imitate  and  sur- 
pass the  odour  of  vanilla." — {Im  TInmi.) 

The  natives  have  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  whites  numerous  dycwoods,  such 
as  the  rucu  and  the  lena  {genipa  americnna),  and  others  abounding  in  tannin. 
"With  the  fibres  of  hundreds  of  plants,  from  the  palm  to  the  pine-apple,  they 
weave  a  thousand  different  textile  fabrics,  which  are  used  for  endless  purposes. 
Altogether  this  region  holds  in  reserve  a  prodigious  storehouse  of  raw  materials, 
all  available  for  the  industrial  arts. 

Guiana  also  abounds  in  timber  and    cabinet  woods,  which  it  is  to  be  feared 


FAUNA  OF  GUIANA.  31 

may  soon  attract  the  attention  of  those  reckless  speculators  who  have  already 
■wasted  so  many  woodlands.  The  mora  exceka,  a  leguminous  tree,  which  overtops 
all  other  forest  growths,  shooting  up  to  a  height  of  120  or  130  feet,  exceeds 
the  oak  and  even  the  teak  in  elasticity  and  durability  ;  it  is  unsurpassed  for  ship- 
building, and  in  economic  value  is  rivalled  only  by  the  green-heart  ebony  ^nec- 
tandra  Rodim). 

Dozens  of  forest  trees  are  met  which  possess  more  solidity  than  the  oak,  but 
their  specific  gravity  is  for  the  most  part  equal  to  or  even  greater  than  that  of 
water.  During  the  last  century  some  of  these  heavy  woods  were  used  for 
maliing  mortars  and  gun-carriages.  The  species  suitable  for  cabinet  work  are 
noted  for  their  bright  green,  yellow,  grey,  or  black  tints,  their  mottled,  marble, 
or  satin-like  surface.  One  species  which  shows  in  section  a  lovely  spotted  brown 
grain  has  taken  the  name  of  "  tiger-wood  "  from  its  resemblance  to  the  spotted 
skin  of  the  American  tiger  (jaguar).  Another  is  the  letter-wood  {brosimiim 
Auhletii),  so  called  from  the  deep  colour  of  its  surface,  on  which  are  inscribed  black 
figures  resembling  hieroglyphics. 

Fauna  of  the  Guianas. 

In  its  fauna,  no  less  than  in  its  flora,  Guiana  forms  a  land  of  transition 
between  the  Amazonian  zone  and  those  of  the  Venezuelan  seaboard  and  of  the 
West  Indies.  None  of  its  mammals,  saurians,  or  reptiles  belong  to  it  exclusively  ; 
and  if  some  of  its  birds,  insects,  or  other  smaller  organisms  have  not  hitherto 
been  met  elsewhere,  it  may  be  almost  taken  for  granted  that  such  forms  do  also 
occur  in  the  conterminous  regions  possessing  the  same  climate,  soil,  and  vegetation. 

The  species  usuall}'  spoken  of  as  specially  characteristic  of  the  Guianas  are 
those  that  naturalists  have  first  observed  in  this  region.  Such  are  the  marsh  or 
mangrove  deer  (cervus  palustris),  which  frequents  the  swampy  districts  ;  the  crab- 
eater  {cancrophagiis  major),  which  preys  on  crabs  and  builds  its  nest  in  the  banks 
of  the  creeks;  the  grej^  crane  (f/;v(.s  ferricora),  with  the  digestion  of  an  ostrich, 
and  nearly  as  tall ;  of  aquatic  fowl,  such  as  duck,  flamingoes,  herons,  ibis,  there  is 
a  great  variety,  gathering  at  times  in  flocks  of  thousands.  The  tyrannns  siil- 
phio'eus,  most  common  of  all  birds,  whose  voice  is  heard  in  every  tree,  has  from 
its  peculiar  note  received  in  French  Guiana  the  eccentric  name  of  Qu'est-ce  q-iil 
dit,  contracted  to  Kiskadi.  In  the  depths  of  the  forest  is  often  heard  the  metallic 
note  of  the  so-called  bell-bird  {camjmnero),  of  which  there  are  two  varieties 
{chasmarhtjnchus  carunctilafus  and  C.  rayiegatuK).  But  Mr.  im  Thurn  "  never 
could  detect  much  resemblance  Lq  the  note  of  these  birds  to  the  sound  of  a  bell. 
The  cry  of  the  first  species  is  more  like  the  ring  produced  by  two  pieces  of  iron 
struck  against  each  other  ;  but  the  notes  of  the  male  and  female  birds  difi'er  con- 
siderably. The  cry  of  the  second  species  is  like  the  sound  made  by  the  drill  in 
blasting  operations.  Then  also  in  the  forest  is  heard  an  extraordinary  deep  sound, 
like  the  lowing  of  an  ox,  and  it  is  long  before  the  traveller  realises  the  fact  that 
this  is  made  by  the  '  quow  '  or  '  calf-bird  '  (gi/mnocephalus  calvns),  a  bird  no  bigger 
than  a  pigeon." 


32  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

In  British  Guiana  the  great  caj-man  is  confined  to  the  upper  courses  of  the 
Essequibo  and  Berbicc  rivers ;  nor  does  it  occur  anywhere  in  Dutch  or  French 
Guiana,  though  it  is  again  met  in  the  Franco-Brazilian  contested  territory.  The 
rivers  of  Dutch  and  French  Guianas  are  frequented  only  by  two  small  species  of 
alligators. 

Nearly  all  the  snakes  are  harmless  to  man ;  the  small  number  of  venomous 
serpents  take  the  collective  name  of  gragcs  in  Cayenne,  where  they  are  often  met 
in  a  torpid  state.  Some  of  the  boas,  especially  those  of  aquatic  habits,  such  as 
the  water  camoodi  [eunectcsmuriua),  acquire  enormous  dimensions.  According  to 
Kappler,  one  killed  on  the  upper  Surinam  river  measured  over  43  feet,  and  Mr. 
im  Thurn's  companion  shot  one  in  the  Potaro  river  which  "  proved  to  be  20  feet 
in  length  and  three  feet  in  girth  at  the  thickest." 

The  gigantic  low-low,  a  sUurian  found  in  the  Essequibo,  and  much  appreciated 
by  the  natives,  exceeds  ten  feet  in  length,  and  weighs  as  much  as  220  pounds. 
The  pirai  or  perai  (serasalino  niger),  whose  bite  is  justly  dreaded  by  man,  swarms 
in  most  of  the  rivers,  and  is  probably  one  of  the  most  voracious  animals  in  exis- 
tence. They  not  only  snap  oS  the  feet  of  duclcs  and  the  tails  of  iguanas,  but  will 
even  attack  alligators,  who  "  do  not  alwaj's  escape  with  whole  tails.  A  perai 
itself,  if  wounded  by  any  chance,  is  at  once  attacked  and  devoured  by  its  fellows. 
If  a  monkey  or  bird,  when  shot,  falls  in  the  water,  perai  rush  together  from  all 
quarters  and  carry  off  the  prey  before  the  sportsman  can  reach  it ;  and  more  than 
once,  when  fishing  in  clear  water,  the  bait  having  been  taken  by  some  other  fish, 
I  have  seen  the  captive,  as  it  was  pulled  through  the  water  towards  the  boat,  pursued 
and  snatched  by  rushing  perai." — {Im  Ilium.) 

The  Guiana  Indians  are  rare  experts  in  domesticating  wild  animals,  such  as 
the  agamis  (jjsophia  crejjitans),  cranes,  hoccos  (crax  alector),  parrakeets,  dogs, 
aras,  and  even  jaguars.  The  stranger  arriving  suddenly  near  a  native  homestead 
is  liable  to  be  attacked  by  these  "  pets,"  and  unless  the  owner  comes  to  restore 
order,  he  will  have  much  difSculty  in  reaching  the  cabin.  Of  the  two  species 
of  wild  dogs  in  British  Guiana,  one,  the  maikang  of  the  natives,  commits  great 
depredations  on  the  plantations.  These  carnivora  prowl  about  in  large  packs  at 
night,  penetrating  through  the  enclosures  without  giving  tongue,  and  playing 
havoc  with  the  poultry  and  other  farm-yard  animals.  The  maikang  crossed  with 
the  common  species  produces  an  excellent  breed  of  hunting  dogs,  which  fetch 
large  prices  in  Georgetown. 

Inhabitants  of  the  Guianas. 

All  the  Guiana  Indians  are  collectively  grouped  by  the  English  and  Dutch 
settlers  under  the  respective  names  of  bucks  and  hocks,  terms  which,  in  a  sense, 
assimilate  them  to  the  beasts  of  the  field.  During  the  early  colonial  tim^s  the 
Europeans,  ignorant  of  the  different  languages  and  usages  of  these  aborigiacs, 
were  naturally  inclined  to  regard  the  various  groups  as  so  many  distinct  "  nations." 
Thus  Barrere  in  1743  enumerates  over  forty  of  such  groups  in  French  Guiana 
alone,  without  attempting  to  classify  them  according  to  their  mutual  affinities. 


CHAPTER  II. 
British  Guiana. 


^HIS  section  of  the  Guianas,  with  its  still  undetermined  political 
frontiers,  is  hy  far  the  most  important,  both  for  population  and 
commercial  activity.  It  is  usually  taken  for  granted,  without  fur- 
ther inquiry,  that  this  remarkable  superiority  of  British  Guiana  as 
a  field  of  enterprise  is  primarily  due  to  the  administrative  genius 
of  the  English.  But  if  this  relative  prosperity  may  at  least  in  part  be  attributed 
to  the  non-intervention  of  the  home  government  in  local  afiairs,  to  the  comparatively 
limited  staiF  of  office-holders,  and  to  the  continuity  of  the  policy  pursued  towards 
the  colony,  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  British  Guiana  also  enjoys  considerable 
natural  as  well  as  political  advantages. 

In  the  first  place,  it  possesses  the  largest  river  basin,  while  its  chief  plantations 
are  more  accessible  to  shipping  both  from  Europe  and  the  "West  Indies.  Hence 
these  plantations  had  already  been  profitably  worked  by  the  Dutch  long  before 
the  English  conquest.  The  cultivable  zone  stretches  along  the  coast,  with  a  good 
seaward  outfall  for  drainage  purposes.  Consequently,  numerous  towns  and  villages 
have  been  founded  and  estates  laid  out  in  close  proximity  between  the  Atlantic 
and  the  stagnant  waters  of  the  interior.  But  in  Dutch  Guiana  and  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  French  colony  the  marshy  zone  lies  on  the  coast,  masked  only  by  a 
mangrove  screen  from  the  ocean. 

It  was  easy  to  begin  agricultural  operations  on  the  open  coastlands  of  the 
British  territory,  and,  thanks  to  the  proximity  of  the  West  Indies,  the  first  planters, 
for  the  most  part  Scotchmen,  were  able  without  difficulty  to  procure  all  the  labour 
they  needed.  Since  1802,  when  Great  Britain  occupied  this  northern  part  of 
Guiana,  which  was  officially  ceded  to  her  in  1814,  the  rulers  of  the  land  have 
largely  profited  by  the  neighbourhood  of  the  "West  Indian  colonies  to  favour  the 
immigration  of  the  negroes  of  the  overpeopled  island  of  Barbadoes,  as  well  as  of 
the  large  island  of  Trinidad.  Later,  when  the  emancipation  deprived  the  great 
landowners  of  the  slaves  who  worked  their  estates,  the  Indian  Government  threw 
open  its  coolie  market  for  the  benefit  of  the  wealthy  sugar-growers  of  Demerara. 

All  these  circumstances  secured  for  British  Guiana  a  decided  advantage  over 
the  conterminous  colonies,  and  as  a  natural   result   this  very  advantage   brought 


48  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

about  a  better  commercial  status,  a  more  rapid  development  of  its  industrial 
resources,  more  numerous  and  more  active  relations  with  the  outer  world.  All 
actual  progress  acts  as  a  stimulant  of  further  prosperity.  If  British  Guiana  is  no 
more  a  colonj'  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word  than  are  the  other  two  territories 
under  European  rule,  it  has  at  least  become  a  sphere  of  spontaneous  colonisation 
for  settlers  from  the  West  Indies  and  the  Azores.  In  ordinary  language,  the 
English  speak  of  their  possessions  on  the  South  American  mainland  as  in  fact 
forming  part  of  the  West  Indies. 

The  North-West  District. 

Till  recently  the  zone  of  large  agricultural  domains  was  limited  in  British 
Guiana  to  that  section  of  the  seaboard  which  is  comprised  between  the  Pomerun 
and  Berbice  rivers.  The  north-western  region,  the  possession  of  which  is  con- 
tested by  Venezuela,  remained  uninhabited.  During  the  early  days  of  colonisa- 
tion a  few  Dutch  settlers  had  established  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Pomerun, 
the  first  arrivals  dating  from  the  year  1580.  But  they  had  never  advanced  west- 
wards in  the  direction  of  the  Orinoco.  Their  plantations  on  the  Pomerun  itself 
were  even  abandoned  one  after  the  other,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  only  inhabitants  of  this  district  were  some  Indians  and  negro  half- 
breeds  encamped  in  the  forest  glades.  The  latter  are  descendants  of  runaway 
slaves  who  had  taken  refuge  here  in  1738,  and  whom  their  owners  feared  to 
pursue ;  but  the  Maroons  on  their  part  did  not  dare  to  remain  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  whites,  and  so  joined  the  Indian  tribes. 

Regular  colonisation  in  this  district  was  first  undertaken  by  some  Portuguese 
speculators  about  the  year  1870,  and  since  then  agricultural  progress  has  been 
continuous  and  rapid.  The  chief  difficulty  was  the  interruption  of  the  communi- 
cations during  the  dry  season.  The  itabbo  or  ditch  connecting  the  Moruka  and 
Waini  rivers  is  completely  dry  for  six  months  in  the  year,  and  even  during  this 
period  the  alluvial  lands  are  not  firm  enough  to  afford  a  footing  to  wayfarers  in 
the  woodlands  between  the  two  basins. 

At  present  the  steamers  pl}'ing  between  Georgetown  and  the  Orinoco  delta 
have  brought  the  whole  of  the  "  north-western  district  "  into  easy  relations  with 
the  rest  of  the  colony.  The  new  domain  thus  opened  up  has  been  occupied  at 
three  different  points  by  traders  and  others  engaged  especially  in  the  lumber 
business.  One,  lying  nearest  to  the  plantations  on  the  banks  of  the  Pomerun, 
stands  at  the  junction  of  the  waters  formed  by  the  Baramanni  lagoon  with  the 
Waini  river  ;  another  at  the  confluence  of  the  Morawhanna,  which  connects  the 
Barima  with  the  Waini  ;  the  third  at  the  mouth  of  the  Barima  in  the  Orinoco 
estuary.  The  natural  and  administrative  centre  of  the  whole  district  is  the 
Morawhanna  station,  where  the  British  Government  has  erected  a  group  of  public 
buildings,  including  a  courthouse,  police  barracks,  and  hospital. 

This  may  be  taken  as  a  proof  of  the  determination  of  the  Foreign  Office 
absolutely  to  ignore  the  pretensions  of  Venezuela  to  the  north-western  district, 
which  has  a  superficial  area  of  9,400  square  miles.     In  colonial  times  the  nearest 


INHABITANTS  OF  GUIANA.  33 

But  these  ethnical  affinities  were  gradually  recognised,  and  the  studies  of  the 
missionaries  and  philologists  have  now  reduced  all  the  indigenous  populations  of 
Guiana  to  three  independent  families :  Araicak,  Canb,  and  Tujn.  Even  these 
groups,  however,  present  many  points  of  resemblance  in  their  appearance,  physiog- 
nomy, and  customs,  while  differing  greatly  in  speech. 

The  Arawaks. 

The  oldest  group,  constituting  the  aboriginal  element  in  the  strictest  sense, 
appears  to  be  that  of  the  Arawaks,  a  name  which  has  been  referred  with  great 
improbability  to  a  Tupi  word  meaning  "  porridge-eaters."  AU  the  natives  alike, 
as  well  as  the  Creoles,  Hve  on  a  manioc  diet,  so  that  the  Arawaks  are  not  specially 
distinguished  in  this  respect.  They  are  met,  all  bearing  the  same  name,  every- 
where throughout  the  British  Guiana  seaboard,  and  under  different  designations 
in  the  inland  districts ;  here  they  usually  call  themselves  Lokono  (Lukkunu), 
that  is,  "  Men." 

The  Wapisianas,  Tarumas,  Atorais  (Atorradi)  of  the  upper  Essequibo  and  of 
the  Takutu,  and  the  PaUcurs  of  the  contested  territorj'-,  all  belong  to  this  primitive 
group.  At  the  time  of  Schomburgk's  journey  the  Amaripa  tribe,  formerly  neigh- 
bours of  the  "Wapisianas,  were  already  extinct,  or  represented  only  by  a  single 
survivor,  a  woman  sixty  years  old.  The  coast  Arawaks,  living  in  the  midst  of  the 
whites  and  of  other  settled  populations  with  a  sort  of  English  jargon  as  their 
common  medium  of  intercourse,  have  all  been  Anglicised,  and  are  gradually 
merging  in  the  somewhat  cosmopolitan  labouring  class  employed  on  the  planta- 
tions. Under  the  Dutch  rule  these  Arawaks  were  exempt  from  the  servitude 
"  legally  "  imposed  on  all  the  other  Indians. 

Those  of  the  Moruka  coast  stream  north-west  of  the  Essequibo  estuary  are  not 
full-blood  Arawaks.  During  the  Venezuelan  "War  of  Independence  some  Orinoco 
Indians  belonging  to  an  unknown  tribe,  but  already  largely  Ilispanified  in  their 
usages,  took  refuge  in  British  Guiana,  in  order  to  escape  from  oppression  and 
massacre.  Here  they  received  a  concession  of  some  land  in  the  hilly  district  about 
the  sources  of  the  Moruka,  where  they  settled,  cultivating  the  soil,  intermarrying 
with  the  Arawaks,  and  thus  reverting  to  the  Indian  type.  Later  some  Portu- 
guese immigrants  mingled  with  these  half-breeds,  while  the  discovery  of  the 
gold  mines  brought  them  in  contact  with  the  cosmopolitan  populations  of  the 
auriferous  districts. 

Till  recently  the  Arawaks,  who  have  their  camping-grounds  on  the  banks  of 
the  Aruka,  a  western  affluent  of  the  Barima,  kept  completely  aloof  from  the 
whites,  and  of  all  the  natives  these  alone  were  unfamiliar  -with  the  English 
language.  As  amongst  the  Caribs  of  the  West  Indies,  some  traces  of  bilingual 
speech  have  been  discovered  amongst  them,  a  phenomenon  which  can  only  be 
explained  by  the  intermingling  of  two  races  as  the  result  of  conquest. 

The  Arawaks  have  preserved  many  of  the  old  national  usages,  amongst  others 
certain  tests  of  endurance,  such  as  the  whip-game  or  dance,  in  which  the  dancers, 
all  being  men,  "  stand  in  two  rows  opposite  each  other.      Each  man  has  in  his 

VOL.    XIX.  D 


34  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

hand  a  whip  with  a  hard  strong  lash  made  of  fibre.  Every  now  and  then  a  couple 
retire  from  the  line  and  use  their  whips.  One  stands  steadily,  one  leg  iu  front 
of  the  other  ;  the  other  swings  back  his  whip,  and,  with  all  the  force  he  can 
command,  lashes  the  calf  of  the  first  man's  leg.  Then  in  his  turn  the  second  man 
stands  still  to  receive  a  lash  from  the  other.  They  lash  each  other  iu  this  way 
until  their  calves  are  striped  with  weals  and  blood  flows  freely.  The  punishment 
is  borne  and  inflicted  with  perfect  good  temper,  and  was  probably  originally 
devised  as  a  test  of  endurance.  Finally  the  dancers  retire  and  drink  together." — 
{Im  Thurn.) 

These  Arawaks  appear  to  have  been  by  far  the  most  civilised  of  all  the 
Guiana  peoples,  for  they  possess  fictile  vases  of  most  varied  forms  embellished 
with  ornaments  and  grotesque  human  and  animal  figures  in  high  relief.  The 
pottery  of  other  Guiana  tribes  is  extremely  simple,  without  any  decorative  work 
beyond  a  few  rude  designs  executed  in  thin  lines.  To  the  Arawaks  should  per- 
haps be  attributed  the  stone  porringers  met  in  several  parts  of  the  Guianas,  the 
circle  of  standing  stones  seen  by  Harrington  Brown  in  the  Pacaraima  Mountains, 
and  resembling  that  of  Stanton  Moor,  the  timehri  or  inscribed  rocks  of  the  Ber- 
bice,  Corentyne,  and  Maroni  rivers,  covered  with  figures  of  men  and  animals, 
especially  frogs,  together  with  other  eccentric  forms,   some  shallow,  some  deeply 

incised. 

The  Wapisianas  and    Atorais. 

The  Wapisianas  and  Atorais,  who  dwell  about  the  region  of  the  water-parting, 
being  rarely  visited  by  the  English  travellers,  have  still  preserved  their  primitive 
type.  The  Atorais  would  probably  be  the  losers  by  miscegenation  with  other 
tribes,  for  their  women  are  distinguished  by  remarkably  perfect  figures  and 
great  dignity  of  expression.  The  profile  of  the  face  differs  little  from  that  of 
Europeans,  and  the  complexion  is  almost  white.  According  to  Coudreau,  many  of 
the  Atorais  are  no  darker  than  the  Andalusians,  the  Sicilians,  or  the  peasantry  of 
South  France. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  "Wapisianas  are  of  a  browner  colour,  with  less  regular 
features  and  less  graceful  carriage.  Like  the  Atorais,  they  have  a  hairless  face 
with  only  a  few  short  bristles  on  the  upper  lip  and  chin,  while  the  hair  of  the  head 
is  very  abundant.  Both  sexes  pierce  the  lower  lip  with  at  least  two  pins,  and 
insert  another  in  the  cartilage  of  the  nose,  to  which  they  attach  a  piece  of  metal. 
This,  it  would  seem,  is  the  distinctive  mark  of  the  tribe.  Formerly  the  Wapisiana 
girls  were  obliged  to  have  the  two  upper  incisors  extracted ;  but  this  custom 
appears  to  have  fallen  into  abeyance. 

These  natives  wear  nothing  but  the  calembe,  the  loin-cloth  of  the  negroes  ;  but 
they  pay  great  attention  to  the  head-dress  and  other  personal  embellishments, 
decking  themselves  with  all  the  beads,  coins,  and  trinkets  they  can  pick  up. 
Maize  is  grown,  but  only  to  extract  from  the  grain  a  kind  of  beer,  called  cashiri, 
which  throws  the  drinkers  into  a  state  of  hilarious  intoxication.  It  is  during 
these  orgies  that  the  young  men's  brides  are  usually  carried  off,  marriage  being 
still  made  amongst  the  Atorais  and  "Wapisianas  by  abduction. 


INHABITANT^  OF  GUIANA. 


35 


Like  most  other  Guiana  tribes,  the  Wapisianas  practise  the  strange  custom  of 
couvade.  Throughout  the  region  of  the  divide  between  the  Takutu  and  Essequibo 
basins,  their  language  has  become  the  chief  medium  of  trade  and  general  inter- 
course between  the  surrounding  groups,  even  those  of  Carib  origin.  The  Atorais, 
or  at  least  the  men,  have  almost  completely  given  up  their  own  in  favour  of  the 
soft  and  sonorous  "Wapisiana  tongue,  which,  being  highly  vocalic,  is  well  suited  for 
oratory. 

Amongst  the  indigenous  tribes  connected  with  the  Arawaks  should  perhaps 
be  included  the  Warraus  (Guaraunos)  of  British  Guiana,  who  have  their  camping 
grounds  in  the  wooded  alluvial  tracts  of  the  north-west,  and  who  have  partly 
adopted  Christianity.     Scarcely  differing  from  those  of  the  Orinoco  delta,  they  live 

Fig.    10. — IsniAJTS  OF  THE  GuiANAS. 
Scale  1 :  11,000,000. 


(A)  Arawaks.  (C)  Cariba.  (T)  Topi. 

1S6  MUes. 


like  them  in  cabins  built  and  entirely  furnished  with  the  wood,  leaves,  and  fibre  of 
the  Mauritia  palm,  from  which  plant  they  also  procure  their  clothing,  food,  and 
drink.  The  Warraus  never  perform  any  ablutions,  in  this  respect  differing 
altogether  from  most  of  the  other  natives,  who  take  great  delight  in  bathing. 

When  there  are  any  family  disputes  to  settle,  the  tribe  gathers  on  some  sand- 
bank, where  the  men  of  all  ages  range  themselves  in  two  opposite  rows  armed  with 
shields  made  of  the  Mauritia  palm.  Then  all  advance,  each  facing  an  opponent 
and  watching  his  opportunity  to  spring  forward  and  thrust  him  back.  The  shields 
now  meet  and  clash,  the  two  antagonists  planting  one  foot  firmly  on  the  ground, 
and  pushing  with  the  knee  of  the  other  leg  with  might  and  main  against  hi.s 
opponent's  shield.      Whoever  succeeds  in  forcing  the  other  back   from  his  position 

D  2 


80 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


is  deemed  to  have  gained  the  case  in  dispute,  which  is  accordingly  settled  in  favour 
of  the  side  which  has  proved  most  successful  in  this  wrestling  match.  All  the 
Warrau  women,  says  Richard  Schomburgk,  have  a  profoundly  sad  and  indescrib- 
ably soft  physiognomy. 

The  Caribs. 

The  Carib  (Caraib)  division  has  representatives  in  every  part  of  the  Guianas, 
and  some  of  the  tribes  even  bear  the  general  name  of  the  whole  family.     One  of 

Fig.  11.— Galibi  Man. 


these  groups  is  settled  at  Warramuri,  west  of  the  Moruka  estuary,  close  to  an 
enormous  shell  mound  and  other  kitchen  refuse,  attesting  a  long  sojourn  of  several 
centuries  in  the  district.  To  these  natives  Everard  im  Thurn  gives  the  distinctive 
name  of  "  true  Caribs,"  on  the  assumption  that  they  lauded  here  on  their  arrival 
from  the  "West  Indies,  supposed  by  him  to  be  the  original  home  of  the  race.  This 
view  is  so  far  confirmed  by  certain  legends  bringing  them  from  the  north,  while 


g 


73 

Z 


z 


z 
o 

H 

■< 

3 


<: 
a 


INHABITANTS  OF  GUIANA. 


87 


the  Caribs  themselves  claim  to  have  descended  from  above  through  a  hole  in  the 
sky. 

But  most  American  ethnologists  look  on  the  central  regions  of  Brazil  as  the 
most  probable  cradle  of  the  Carib  race,  in  which  case  the  expression  "  true  Caribs  " 
would  be  more  applicable  to  the  tribes  dwelling  in  the  interior  of  the  Guianas  than 
to  those  now  settled  on  the  seaboard.  The  Galibi  of  French  Guiana,  who  are 
also  of  pure  Carib  stock,  and  who  even  bear  this  name  under  a  somewhat 
more  euphonious  form,  have  occupied  the  coast  zone  west  of  Cayenne  for  at  least 

Fig.  12. — Galibi  Woman. 


two  centuries  and  a  half.  Here  they  had  some  twenty  villages  in  1652,  and  at 
present  some  of  their  settlements  are  scattered  along  the  Sinnamari  and  Iracubo 
rivers,  and  especially  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Maroni. 

Another  Carib  people,  the  Calinas,  remnant  of  a  great  and  powerful  nation, 
have  held  their  ground  in  the  Surinam  valley.  To  the  same  stock  belong  the 
famous  Koucouyennes  of  the  interior,  who  ai;,e  so  named  by  the  Creoles  from  the 


38  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

roucou  (rucu)  with  which  they  paint  their  bodies,  but  who  call  themselves  Wayana, 
perhaps  another  form  of  the  word  Guiana. 

The  fine  Akawoi  (Waika  or  Kapohn)  Indians  of  the  mountainous  districts  of 
British  Guiana  watered  by  the  Mazaruni,  the  Partamonas  of  the  Potaro  river,  the 
formidable  Arecunas,  who  dwell  in  the  upland  valleys  about  Roraima,  the  Waye- 
wes  of  the  Upper  Essequibo,  the  Tairas  of  French  Guiana,  lastly  the  Macusi  about 
the  headwaters  of  the  Rio  Branco,  all  belong  to  the  widespread  Carib  familj',  and 
speak  closely  related  dialects  of  the  same  stock  language.  Like  the  Wapisiana  in  the 
dividing  range  between  the  Essequibo  and  Rio  Branco,  the  Galibi  tongue  has 
become  a  sort  of  lingua  franca  for  all  these  tribes.  Several  Carib  words,  such 
as  cayman,  toucan,  and  hammock,  have  found  currency  in  the  European  languages. 

In  general,  the  Caribs  of  Guiana  are  inferior  in  physique  to  the  Arawaks, 
especially  if  the  Atorais  be  taken  as  the  type  of  this  race.  The  Galibi  have  short, 
slender  figures,  while  their  round,  soft,  and  beardless  face  gives  them  a  feminine 
look.  The  Macusi,  though  more  hirsute,  have  heavier  frames  and  more  massive 
figures. 

Like  most  Indians,  the  Roucouyennes  look  taller  than  they  are,  which  is  due 
to  the  length  and  fulness  of  the  bust  contrasting  with  the  slight  development  of  the 
extremities.  The  long  bandages  in  which  they  wrap  themselves  in  accordance 
with  their  hygienic  ideas  give  them  the  appearance  of  great  corpulence.  Their 
figures  are  very  short,  while  the  feet  are  broad  and  flat,  and  the  eyelids  slightly 
oblique,  as  with  the  Chinese.  They  have  the  habit  of  plucking  out  the  eyebrows 
"  the  better  to  see,"  as  they  say,  but  more  probably  as  an  offering  to  the  sun.* 
Some  of  the  Galibi  tribes  also  follow  the  Wapisiana  fashion  of  piercing  the  lower 
lip  with  bits  of  bono  or  a  peg,  which  they  keep  constantly  moving  with  the  tongue, 
and  of  causing  the  calves  to  swell  by  means  of  wide  garters  tightly  clasped  below 
the  knee. 

The  Tupi  and  other  Aborigines. 

The  Tupi,  who  form  the  third  ethnical  division  of  the  Guianas,  are  a  branch 
of  the  great  Brazilian  race  represented  by  hundreds  of  tribal  groups  between  the 
Maroni  and  Plate  rivers.  In  Guiana  territory  the  two  chief  Tupi  tribes  are  the 
Oyampi  of  the  Tumuc-IIumac  range  about  the  Upper  Oyapok,  and  the  Emerillous, 
who  dwell  farther  west  between  the  Approuague  and  the  Maroni  afiluents.  Both 
are  skilled  agriculturists,  raising  quantities  of  manioc  for  the  gold  hunters,  with 
whom  they  are  becoming  assimilated  in  speech  and  costume. 

But  amongst  the  tribes  of  these  inland  regions  several  still  survive  whose  lan- 
guage is  unknown,  and  whom  it  is  not  yet  possible  to  affiliate  to  any  of  the  sur- 
rounding ethnical  stocks.  Such  are  the  Oyaricoulets,  who  are  reported  to  occupy 
the  valley  of  the  Itani,  which  flows  through  the  Awa  to  the  Maroni.  According 
to  local  report — for  no  traveller  has  yet  described  them  from  personal  observation — 
they  have  a  white  complexion,  with  blue  eyes  and  light  beard ;  heirce  some  writers 
have  felt  inclined  to  regard  them  as  whites  keeping  aloof  from  their  European 

*  £lie  Eeclus,  MS.  Notes. 


INHABITANTS  OF  GUIANA.  39 

kiudred.     Coudreau,  however,  was  assured  by  the  Roucouyennes  that  these  Oyari- 
coulets  were  "  like  the  other  Indians." 

In  British  Guiana  rumour  speaks  also  of  the  fabulous  Didi,  a  hairy  race,  whom 
all  the  other  natives  dread  without  ever  having  seen  them.  But  in  these  regions, 
when  an  Indian  is  afraid  of  seeing  any  formidable  being,  or  even  a  rock  of 
fantastic  shape,  he  rubs  his  eyes  with  red  pepper.  Then,  seeing  nothing,  he  is 
happy  in  the  thought  that  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  seen. 

General  Chakacteristics  of  the  Guiana  Indians. 

But  to  whatever  ethnical  divisions  the  Guiana  Indians  may  belong,  they  have 
all  very  much  the  same  usages.  Were  habits  and  customs  to  be  taken  as  a 
criterion  of  racial  aflBnity,  many  peoples  of  different  speech  would  have  to  be 
classed  together.  Thus  the  Galibi,  Oyambi,  EmerUlons,  and  Wapisianas,  all 
practising  the  couvade,  would  be  grouped  in  the  same  category.  But  such 
resemblances  may  be  due  rather  to  a  common  environment  and  like  economic 
conditions  than  to  blood  relationship. 

In  none  of  the  tribes  has  authority  been  firmly  established  on  the  model  intro- 
duced by  the  European  settlers.  Certain  persons  may  bear  more  or  less  distinctive 
titles  ;  but  for  all  that  they  are  not  true  "  chiefs  "  in  the  common  acceptation  of 
the  term.  Their  personal  qualities  may  ensure  them  great  influence,  but  they 
must  not  interfere  so  far  as  to  issue  orders.  Each  member  of  the  tribe  enjoys 
full  personal  liberty  in  all  his  movements  and  actions.  This  freedom  extends 
even  to  the  children,  who  are  never  punished.  "  Dogs  alone  are  beaten,"  says  a 
Macusi  proverb. 

Nevertheless,  the  ordeals  formerly  inflicted  on  the  young  of  both  sexes  on 
reaching  the  adult  period  were  atrocious.  Thus  the  mother  scourged  her  daughter 
while  father  and  brothers  slept,  and  woe  to  her  if  her  cries  roused  them  from  their 
slumbers.  Amongst  the  Roucouyennes  the  initiatory  rites  consisted  in  subjecting 
both  boys  and  girls  to  the  sting  of  wasps  and  bite  of  ants.  The  unhappy  victims 
swooned  away  in  sheer  agony  without  uttering  a  groan. 

To  their  healing  and  divining  powers  the  peaimen  (piai,  pJii/ai,  peartzan,  or 
medicine-men)  are  indebted  for  a  larger  share  of  moral  authority  than  that  of  the 
so-called  chiefs  ;  but  even  they  would  never  presume  to  exercise  any  direct 
control.  Perhaps  the  veneration  in  which  they  were  formerly  held  should  in 
great  measure  be  attributed  to  the  severe  trials  which  they  had  to  undergo  before 
being  considered  worthy  of  admittance  into  this  primitive  order  of  priesthood. 
More  than  one  of  the  candidates  succumbed  to  the  prolonged  hardships  they  had 
to  suffer  during  the  terrible  years  of  novitiate. 

But  at  present  the  preliminary  training  has  been  greatly  mitigated  and 
curtailed.  The  chief  instrument  of  the  rite  is  the  maraca,  a  small  calabash 
about  the  size  of  the  fist  enclosing  a  few  rattling  pebbles.  This  maraca  serves 
to  scare  the  devil  and,  if  need  be,  to  raise  him,  especially  when  a  hcnaima  or 
avenger  has  to  be  summoned  in  case  of  bloodshed.  Inspired  by  the  relentless 
spirit  of  the  vendetta,  the  man  who  undertakes  the  duty  of  following  and  killing 


40  AMAZONIA  .iND  LA  PLATA. 

the  wrong-doer,  or,  failing  to  find  him,  any  of  his  kindred,  is  no  longer  a  respecter 
of  persons  ;  for  the  time  being  he  has  neither  clan  nor  family  ;  he  disappears  in 
the  depths  of  the  forest,  and  does  not  again  show  himseli  in  public  until  he  has 
throttled,  poisoned,  or  even  tortured  his  victim.  But  the  kenaima  plays  many 
parts,  and  to  his  malevolence  are  usually  accredited  all  diseases ;  hence  to  circum- 
vent him  trees  are  often  cut  down  and  strewn  across  his  presumed  track. 

In  some  tribes,  and  especially  amongst  the  Roucouyennes,  the  dead  are  still 
occasionally  cremated,  all  their  belongings  being  heaped  on  the  pyre  and  con- 
sumed with  the  body.  AH  travellers  are  unanimous  in  asserting  the  former 
prevalence  of  anthropophagy.  But  the  chief  tribes  that  were  addicted  to  this 
horrible  practice,  such  as  the  Nouragues  of  the  Approuague  valley  and  the 
Acoquas  of  the  Tumuc-Humac  mountains,  have  already  disappeared.  Amongst, 
the  descendants  of  these  cannibal  tribes  are  mentioned  the  Tairas  and  the  Oyampi. 

So  recently  as  1830  the  Oyampi  still  sang  the  burden  of  the  songs  celebrating 
the  old  rites  :  "  In  the  olden  time  we  were  men,  we  ate  our  enemies  ;  now  like 
women,  we  eat  nothing  but  manioc."  The  very  word  Oyampi  would  appear  to 
mean  "  Men-eaters."  But  it  may  be  confidently  stated  that  since  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century  cannibalism  has  completely  ceased  amongst  all  the  known 
tribes.  The  Caribs  burnt  the  heart  of  the  vanquished  foe,  and  mingled  its  ashes 
with  their  drink. 

The  largest  share  in  the  steady  decrease  of  the  native  populations  is  taken  by  the 
warlike  tribes,  who  have  generally  best  preserved  their  racial  purity.  More  than 
half  of  the  groups  mentioned  by  the  old  writers  have  already  disappeared. 
Nevertheless  the  survivors  are  still  far  more  numerous  than  is  commonly  supposed. 
Explorers  ascending  the  rivers  often  overlook  the  groups  encamped  in  the  recesses 
of  the  forests.  The  indigenous  population  of  the  Guiana  seaboard,  exclusive  of 
the  Amazonian  slopes,  would  appear  to  still  number  about  8,000. 

The  Blacks — the  Bush  Negroes. 

Thanks  to  the  slave  trade  an  African  population  has  been  introduced  into  the 
Guianas,  chiefly  by  the  Antilles  route,  which,  jointly  with  the  half-castes,  far 
outnumbers  the  aborigines.  Distributed  at  first  in  the  plantations  of  the  coast- 
lands,  and  afterwards  removed  by  their  owners  to  the  towns  as  domestic  servants, 
the  negroes  have  everywhere  throughout  this  region  supplanted  the  aborigines, 
who  have  retired  before  the  progress  of  culture  farther  and  farther  into  the  back- 
woods. 

A  stop  was  put  to  the  importation  of  black  labour  in  the  Guianas  by  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  first  proclaimed  in  the  French  territory  in  1794,  and  later 
carried  out  effectively  in  British  Guiana  in  1838,  and  successively  thereafter  in 
the  other  colonies.  Nevertheless  a  part  of  the  overflowing  black  population  of 
Barbadoes  found  its  way  to  the  Guianas,  thus  continuing  the  movement  of  African 
immigration  by  new  elements  under  new  conditions.  Thousands  of  free  Krooraen 
from  Liberia  also  find  employment  in  the  timber-yards  and  as  sailors  on  board 
the  coasting  vessels.     But  after  procuring  by  strenuous  efforts  enough  money  to 


INHABITANTS  OF  GUIANA.  41 

purchase  several  wives,  these  natives  of  Liberia  usually  return  to  their  native 
land. 

At  present  the  Guiana  negroes  form  two  natural  groups — the  descendants 
of  the  slaves  who,  after  intermingling  with  the  free  immigrants,  have  always 
remained  in  contact  with  the  white  settlers  on  the  coast,  and  the  independent 
blacks,  who  live  in  the  interior  of  the  country.  These  descendants  of  the 
Maroons,  or  runaway  slaves,  who  have  now  become  peaceful  citizens,  reconciled 
with  the  offspring  of  their  former  masters,  are  universally  known  as  Bush 
Negroes,  the  Bosch  Negers  of  the  Dutch,  and  the  Negrcs  Boch  or  Negrcs  des  Bois 
of  the  French. 

But,  despite  their  name,  these  blacks  do  not  roam  the  woods  like  wild  game, 
•  but  are,  on  the  contrary,  peaceful  agriculturists,  settled  along  the  banks  of  the 
river,  where  they  occupy  permanent  villages  surrounded  by  cultivated  lands. 
Negro  republics  have  been  founded  in  the  British,  Dutch,  and  French  territories  ; 
but  the  most  numerous  groups  have  established  themselves  in  the  Surinam  and 
Maroni  river  basins. 

The  first  migrations  took  place  in  the  year  1663,  when  the  Portuguese  Jews 
of  the  Surinam  vaUey  sent  their  slaves  to  the  forests  in  order  to  avoid  the  poll- 
tax,  hoping  they  would  return  as  soon  as  the  tax-gatherers'  backs  were  turned. 
But  the  fugitives,  having  tasted  freedom,  remained  in  their  camping- grounds. 
About  fifty  years  later  (1712)  some  French  marauders  having  invaded  the  Suri- 
nam and  Commewijne  riverside  plantations,  the  proprietors  took  refuge  in  the 
capital,  leaving  their  slaves  to  shift  for  themselves.  The  majority  joined  the 
French  in  plundering  the  abandoned  houses,  and  on  the  return  of  the  owners 
took  refuge  in  the  neighbouring  forests,  where  they  began  a  protracted  war  of 
pillage  and  reprisals  with  the  whites. 

The  number  of  predatory  bands  increased  from  year  to  year,  and  suddenly,  in 
1730,  a  formidable  insurrection  broke  out  in  the  Upper  Surinam  basin  on  the 
plantations  belonging  to  the  Government  itself.  The  struggle  lasted  with  vary- 
ing success  for  nearly  20  years,  when  the  authorities  were  fain  to  recognise  the 
insurgents  as  belligerents  and  freemen.  Then  followed  a  treaty  of  peace,  in  which 
the  boundaries  of  the  independent  territory  were  determined. 

Other  risings  took  place  in  1757,  when  Arabi,  a  chief  probably  of  Mahom- 
medan  origin,  defeated  the  Dutch  planters,  and  in  1761  compelled  the  Government 
to  agree  to  terms  of  peace  in  the  treaty  of  Auca,  from  which  the  principal  black 
republic  became  known  as  that  of  the  "  Aucan  (Jocan,  Tukan)  Negroes."  Next 
year  another  group,  that  of  the  Maroons  of  the  Saramacca  river,  also  secured  its 
political  independence.  Later  other  communities  were  established,  such  as  those 
of  the  Poligudus  (Poregoedoe)  and  of  the  Paramaccas  on  the  Upper  Maroni,  the 
KoflB,  Becoes,  Matrocanes,  or  Musingas. 

In  1772  Boni,  the  legendary  hero  of  the  Bush  Negroes,  led  his  bands  nearly 
up  to  the  very  walls  of  Paramaribo.  Regular  war  had  to  be  declared  against  him, 
and  an  army  of  1,200  men  despatched  from  Europe,  one  of  the  chief  ofiicers  being 
Stedman,  well  known  for  his  excellent  work  on  Guiana.     The  war  lasted  several 


42  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

years,  during  which  nearly  the  whole  of  the  expedition  perished,  scarcely  20 
of  the  men  returning  in  good  health  to  Europe.  At  last  an  alliance  with  the 
Aucans,  who  had  remained  loyal  to  their  treaty  engagements,  enabled  the  Dutch 
to  drive  Boni  back  to  the  foot  of  the  Tumuc-Humac  mountains. 

As  a  general  rule  the  negroes  of  the  interior  succeeded  in  asserting  their 
independence,  while  the  slaves  on  the  coastlands  about  Paramaribo  and  the  forts 
were  crushed  by  the  disciplined  troops  opposed  to  them.  The  Maroons  of  the 
West  Indies,  even  those  of  the  large  island  of  Jamaica,  were  never  able  to  make 
head  against  regular  soldiers  proceeding  systematically  to  the  general  occupation 
of  the  islands  by  erecting  forts  and  opening  strategical  routes.  But  the  Bush 
Negroes  of  Guiana  had  space  in  their  favour.  They  were  always  free  to  retire 
farther  and  farther  towards  the  unknown  interior,  and  thus  escape  the  pursuit  of 
their  owners. 

Various  estimates  ranging  from  about  8,000  to  some  20,000  have  been  made  of 
these  Bush  Negroes,  who  till  recently  enjoyed  absolute  independence,  but  who  are 
now  being  brought  gradually  under  the  control  of  the  central  administrations. 
Owing  to  the  interminglings  brought  about  by  slavery,  migrations,  and  wars,  all 
memory  of  the  original  stock  races  has  perished,  and  the  only  known  fact,  obvious 
enough  in  itself,  is  the  almost  pure  African  descent  of  the  Maroons.  Of  these,  the 
finest  and  most  civilised  are  the  Aucans,  whUe  the  most  degraded  by  isolation  and 
poverty  are  those  belonging  to  the  Matrocane  communities. 

But  according  to  Gifford  Palgrave,  all  alike  present  a  perfectly  African  tj'pe. 
"  The  men  are  often  six  feet  and  more  in  height,  with  well-developed  Hmbs  and 
pleasing  open  countenance ;  and  the  women  in  every  physical  respect  are,  to  say 
the  least,  worthy  of  their  males.  lU-modelled  trunks  and  disproportioned  limbs 
are,  in  fact,  as  rare  among  them  as  they  are  common  among  some  lighter-com- 
plexioned  races.  Their  colour  is,  in  general,  very  dark,  and  gives  no  token  of  the 
gradual  tendency  to  assume  a  fairer  tint  that  may  be  observed  among  the  de- 
scendants of  negroes  residing  in  more  northerly  latitudes.  Their  hair,  too,  is  as 
curly  as  that  of  any  Niam-Niam  or  Darfooree  chief,  or  native  of  Senegal.  I 
have  heard  it  asserted  more  often  than  once  that,  by  long  domicilement  in  the 
South  American  continent,  the  negro  type  has  a  tendency  to  mould  itself  into  one 
approaching  that  of  the  Indian  aboriginal ;  and  something  of  the  kind  might  be 
looked  for,  if  anywhere,  among  the  Bush  Negroes  of  the  Surinam  interior.  But 
in  the  specimens  that  I  saw,  and  they  were  many,  I  could  not  detect  any  such 
modiiication."  * 

Nevertheless,  both  Paul  Levy,  who  has  lived  with  the  negroes  of  the  auriferous 
regions,  and  Carl  Appun,  who  resided  many  years  in  British  Guiana,  affirm  that 
the  tendency  is  perceptible.  The  colour  of  the  skin  would  appear  to  be  less 
black,  the  hair  longer  and  less  woolly.  But  it  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish 
between  fuU-blood  and  half-caste  types,  and  interminglings  have  taken  place  not 
only  between  blacks  and  Europeans,  but  also  between  blacks  and  Indians.  Thus 
the    Carbougres   (Karbocgers)  of    the  Coppename  river  are  the  issue  of  negro 

*  Butch  Guiana,  p.  170. 


INHABITANTS  OF  GUIANA. 


43 


fathers  and  Indian  mothers,  and  consequently  any  inferences  drawn  from  their 
appearance  would  be  fallacious. 

Some  few  words  of  the  African  negro  or  Bantu  dialects  are  said  to  have  been 
preserved  in  the  language  of  the  Maroons,  which  has  an  English  basis  with  a  very 
large  Portuguese  element.  Next  in  order  of  importance  come  the  Dutch  and 
French  contributions,  all  uttered  with  the  thick  soft  African  pronunciation,  and 
connected  together  by  an  extremely  simple  syntax.  But  this  primitive  jargon 
is  gradually  yielding  to  the  cultured  languages,  English,  Dutch,  French,  and  Por- 
tuguese, of  the  European  settlers. 

Descendants  of  the  black  insurgents,  whose  war-cry  everywhere  was  "  Land  and 

Fig.  13. — Inhabitants  op  Gxjiana. 

Scale  1  :  13,000,000. 


Bosh  Negroes. 


TT^t^iflna. 


Ciyilised  or 
assimilated. 


SlOililes. 


Liberty,"  the  Bush  Negroes  have  all  remained  agriculturists.  They  grow  sufficient 
produce  for  their  own  consumption,  and  also  supply  the  towns  and  plantations  of  the 
seaboard  with  rice.  But  their  main  resource  is  wood-cutting,  which  is  exclusively 
in  their  hands.  They  fell  the  large  forest  trees  suitable  for  buQding  and  cabinet 
work,  and  convey  the  lumber  to  Paramaribo  by  the  rivers  and  canals.  They  run 
little  risk  of  losing  this  monopoly,  thanks  to  their  sober  habits,  by  which  they  are 
favourably  distinguished  from  the  aborigines.  They  have,  however,  suffered  from 
the  demoralisation  rampant  in  the  gold-mining  districts.  Indispensable  as  boat- 
men on  the  upper  courses  of  the  rivers,  they  show  remarkable  skill  in  managing 
their  corials  or  curiares,  and  the  light  craft  to  which  the  English  have  given  the 


44  AMiVZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

name  of  "wood-skins."  These  are  frail  canoes  made  from  the  bark  of  copaifera 
puhliflora  or  of  hymmnea  courbaril,  like  the  birch-bark  canoes  of  the  Huron 
Indians. 

So  early  as  1739,  the  Moravian  missionaries  had  already  founded  stations 
amongst  the  Bush  populations,  but  they  have  had  little  success  except  with  the 
Moesinga  communities.  From  a  vague  reminiscence  of  the  teachings  received 
during  the  period  of  slavery  on  the  plantations,  the  negroes  have  retained  a  sort 
of  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being,  creator  of  man,  monkeys,  and  manioc,  on  the  whole 
a  beneficent  deity,  whose  wife  was  called  Maria,  and  whose  son  bore  the  name  of 
Jest  Kisti.  But  apart  from  this  shred  of  Christianity,  most  of  the  Bushmen  have 
preserved  their  nature  worship,  and,  in  fact,  "  they  believe  what  their  mothers 
believed."  But  the  fervour  even  of  this  primitive  cult  seems  to  be  on  the  wane 
in  most  of  their  villages,  and  the  fetishes  and  gadus  or  effigies  of  tutelar  animals 
have  generally  disappeared  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the  white  settlements. 

At  present  the  chief  object  of  negro  worship  is  the  ceiba  or  cotton-tree,  that 
noblest  forest  growth  of  the  West  Indies,  which  rises  in  solitary  grandeur  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  settlements,  its  wide-spreading  branches  affording  shelter  to  the 
community  Hke  some  beneficent  deity.  Traces  may  often  be  seen  of  offerings, 
such  as  fowls,  yams,  libations  of  drink,  scattered  round  its  stem,  the  object  being 
to  propitiate  the  spirit  dwelling  in  its  branches,  who  is  of  a  beneficent  disposition, 
unlike  his  demon  brother  of  the  poison  tree  Hiari,  who  also  finds  some  votaries 
inspired  rather  by  fear  than  gratitude. 

No  idols  properly  so  called  are  worshipped,  but  the  negroes  of  the  more 
inland  districts  cover  themselves  with  oheeahs  or  amulets  of  shells,  bones,  or 
feathers ;  such  charms  are  even  hung  round  the  necks  of  their  dogs  to  improve 
their  scent  in  the  chase.  A  curious  trait  is  the  custom  of  bringing  back  and 
burying  with  all  honours  the  hair  of  those  who  may  happen  to  die  at  a  distance 
from  their  homes. 

These  communities  dwell  in  peace  unrufiled  by  the  wranglings  of  rival  chiefs 
contending  for  the  supreme  power.  Enjoying  an  equal  share  of  comfort,  the 
Bush  Negroes  also  enjoy  absolutely  equal  rights.  Nevertheless  every  village  has 
its  nominal  headman  nearly  always  chosen  from  the  same  family,  and  distinguished 
amongst  his  fellow-citizens,  not  by  any  personal  authority,  but  by  the  privilege 
of  parading  on  feast  days  in  a  military  uniform  and  flourishing  a  gold-headed 
cane  in  public. 

But  the  chiefs  in  a  pre-eminent  sense,  those  of  the  Aucan  community,  bear  the 
distinctive  title  of  Oramman,  from  the  English  "  Grand  Man."  The  Aucan  chief 
is  allowed  a  respectful  precedence  by  his  Saramaccan  and  Moesinga  colleagues, 
and  is,  in  fact,  recognised  as  the  overlord  of  all  the  Surinam  Bush  Negroes,  though 
in  rank  and  title  rather  than  in  power.  His  pedigree  goes  back  to  the  first 
Aucan  chief,  Pamo,  but  in  the  female  line,  the  matriarchal  traditions  having  been 
preserved  from  times  anterior  to  the  period  of  slavery.  The  Gramman  is  even 
recognised  by  the  Dutch  Government,  which,  however,  has  taken  the  precaution 
to  provide  him  with  a  European   Resident  under  the  title  of  Posfhoiidcr.     This 


INHABITANTS  OF  GUIANA.  45 

"  Postliolder  "  was  formerly  a  simple  delegate  from  the  whites,  who  at  last  became 
the  chief  magistrate  and  arbitrator  in  lawsuits  between  private  persons  and  in 
differences  between  the  various  village  communities.  The  Gramman  of  the  Boni 
people  in  French  Guiana  is  no  longer  much  more  than  a  civil  functionary  receiv- 
ing a  regular  subsidv  from  the  Colonial  Government. 

Like  the  aborigines,  the  negroes,  other  than  the  immigrants  from  Trinidad, 
Barbadoes,  and  Martinique,  are  decreasing,  although  the  climate  of  the  Guianas 
appears  to  be  as  favourable  to  the  black  race  as  it  is  unfavourable  to  Europeans. 
Miscegenation  with  other  races  may,  to  a  small  extent,  explain  this  decrease  ;  but 
even  amongst  those  living  apart,  as  well  as  amongst  those  intermingled  with  the 
cosmopolitan  populations  of  the  towns  and  coastlands,  the  number  of  deaths 
exceeds  that  of  the  births  everywhere  except  amongst  the  Aucans.  In  the  last 
century  it  was  supposed  that  the  Africans  could  never  multiply  in  Guiana,  because 
nearly  all  the  infants  died  of  convulsions  during  the  first  nine  days  after  birth. 

This  excessive  mortality  is  attributed  by  Palgrave  to  the  ill-regulated  affection 
of  the  mothers  for  their  offspring,  whom  they  literally  "kill  with  kindness," 
which  takes  the  form  of  overfeeding.  But  this  cause  being  prevalent  elsewhere 
as  well  as  in  Guiana,  some  other  explanation  must  be  sought.  It  would  seem,  in 
fact,  that  the  blacks  have  not  yet  become  perfectly  acclimatised,  as  shown  b}^  their 
feeble  resistance  to  such  disorders  as  leprosy,  elephantiasis,  smaU-pox,  and  many 
others,  which  commit  great  havoc  amongst  them.  Those  dwelling  in  the  bush 
are  also  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  lucilia  hominivora,  a  horrible  insect  pest 
which  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  ears  and  nostrils  with  fatal  results. 

The  Coolies — European  Settlers. 

After  the  emancipation  most  of  the  freedmen  having  abandoned  the  planta- 
tions either  to  seek  work  in  the  towns  or  else  to  cultivate  their  own  holdings,  the 
great  landowners  had  to  seek  elsewhere  for  labourers.  French  and  Dutch  Guianas 
were  too  poor  to  import  many  alien  hands ;  but  British  Guiana,  with  its  wider 
extent  of  cultivable  lands,  and  with  the  great  labour  market  of  British  India 
thrown  open  by  the  Government,  has  engaged  no  less  than  170,000  Asiatic 
coolies  siuce  the  year  18-10.  At  present  this  element  represents  fully  one-third  of 
the  whole  population  of  the  English  colony,  the  most  valued  being  the  so-called 
hill- coolies  from  the  uplands  south  of  the  great  bend  of  the  Ganges.  Emigrant 
offices  have  been  opened  in  Calcutta  and  Madras  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
Demerara  planters,  who  have  also  engaged  a  few  thousand  Chinese  coolies. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Surinam  plamters  have  introduced  labourers  from  Java, 
while  Arabs,  Annamites,  and  Senegal  negroes  have  been  attracted  to  the  French 
colony.  Even  white  labour  has  been  sought,  but  only  in  such  markets  as 
Madeira  and  the  Azores,  whose  inhabitants  are  accustomed  to  a  tropical  cKmate. 
These  immigrants,  collectively  called  "  Portuguese,"  though  a  very  mixed  race, 
seem  destined  to  become  the  true  ethnical  element  of  the  Guianas  of  the  future. 
They  have  alreadv  established  themselves  in  several  districts  beyond  the  zone  of 
plantations  which  it  has  taken  the   French,  Dutch,   and  English  some  two  hun- 


40  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

dred  and  fifty  years  of  patient  labour  to  reclaim  from  the  swamps  and  woodlands. 
Even  the  whites  who  formerly  succeeded  best  in  Dutch  Guiana  were  Jews  for  the 
most  part  of  Portuguese  origin.  The  chief  group,  a  body  of  Hebrew  planters 
expelled  from  Brazil,  arrived  in  1663,  and  to  their  influence  is  due  the  large  pro- 
portion of  Portuguese  words  that  have  found  their  way  into  the  Creole  language 
of  the  Bush  Negroes. 

All  the  costly  attempts  to  colonise  the  country  with  whites  drawn  from  other 
lands  have  ended  in  disaster.  Individuals  of  strong  constitution  may  no  doubt 
become  acclimatised  by  carefully  observing  all  the  rules  of  health.  But  to  adapt 
whole  families  and  communal  groups  to  an  environment  so  different  from  that  of 
Europe  is  certainly  a  far  more  dangerous  and  difficult  experiment  than  to  settle 
tjiem  in  Canada  or  the  United  States,  especially  when  the  emigrants  are  deprived 
of  ordinary  comforts  and  even  of  proper  food,  as  has  too  often  been  the  case. 
Although  consumption  is  almost  unknown  on  the  coastlands,  the  new  arrivals  are 
rapidly  decimated  by  the  marsh  fevers,  which  are  most  dangerous,  especially  when 
the  hot  sun  begins  to  suck  up  the  deadly  exhalations  in  the  swampy  districts. 
Since  the  year  1855,  yeUow  fever  also  has  made  frequent  visits  to  this  sea- 
board. 

Hence  the  Europeans,  although  the  political  masters  of  the  land  and  owners  of 
the  plantations,  have  remained  practically  aliens  in  the  midst  of  a  motley  cosmo- 
politan population,  in  which  the  half-caste  elements  are  steadily  increasing.  Except 
in  some  favourable  years,  the  mortality  is  always  higher  than  the  birth  rate,  and 
meanwhile  the  Europeans  of  pure  descent  are  being  outstripped  on  all  sides  by  the 
Portuguese  islanders  from  the  north,  by  the  Brazilians,  also  of  Portuguese  speech, 
from  the  south,  by  the  Spanish  Venezuelans  from  the  west;  in  a  word,  by  intruders 
of  Latin  speech  and  culture  arriving  from  every  quarter. 


"P*GalhBas 


~  S'MARTA 


"ft/.^ 


/-<r/^ 


«WARACA 


_  Wla 
Coro 


>». 


J^  VALENCIA' '^*^'*^__  ..       >?^i^    <yL'^_^«naoJiD 

luibimi 


V    ^^         '  *^        GEORGU 


LONDON.  J.a.vll 


'Vmsterdam 

Nickti-i.        ^  PARAM  AR I RO 

But^na  -AlSioji^  Irnt^xibo 

AnuinA,  Slta\tr^itX  *SiimaiDAi*i 


1894. 

Based  oatKe  test  of  (he  Tuiversal  Gf^o^raphy  and  other  recent  Documents 
Scale   1:15.000.000 


The  reUlivE  imp  ortaiu:  e  of  towns 
mthe  varioiia  regions  is  indicated 
asfer  aspoBsihlebythesizeof 
•he  t^e . 

Uetghzs 


«»  Over  100.000  Tnlxab.tanls 

o  Oivor  50.000  -.1 

e  Over  25.000        "    -i 

"  Over  10. 000  <> 

•  Under  10.000  ., 


0  tn  spoO      Fe^t. 

3fi00  to  6MH} 

6f>00  to  12.000         (> 

12000  to  l&OOO  1) 

If.OOO  &  [^nvart£«        ,) 


0    If  500   FcW/u»rru» 
500  V>   leOO  11 

1000  to  2000         -■> 
2000  to  3000  )» 


ObidM 


GUIANA 


oantarem 


Souro.  S«Iiiuui 

y'^iPflrSX  IBelem) 


*r 


»^ 


9l0iite^iir«iM  ^; 

S.Luiz  Parnahyba  ^  Inara^ 

(iuiii.      """SI""  °  rramorL 


Mnayij      •     ^'liapiCTirii  ,1 


FortalezafCearal 


o.  DO  NORf', 
^.■"  •s.j, 


BRITISH  GUIANA. 


49 


Spanish  stations  were  those  on  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  bc3'ond  the  frontiers 
proposed  by  Great  Britain,  and  since  then  no  part  of  the  territory  has  ever  been 
occupied  by  the  Venezuelans.  The  negotiations  tliat  had  been  opened  in  1894 
with  a  view  to  the  settlement  of  these  frontier  questions  fell  through  because  the 
Venezuelan  Government  insisted  on  including  their  groundless  claims  to  the 
north-western  district,  claims  that  the  British  Government  "considered  to  be 
so  unfounded  in  fact,  and  so  unfair  to  the  colony  of  British  Guiana,  as  not  to  be 
proper  subject  for  arbitration"  (Lord  Rosebery). 

The  lower  alluvial  parts  of  the  district  comprise  some  of  the  richest  soil  in 

Fi^.    H. — IfOETH-WESTEBN   DISTRICT,    BeiTISH   GuIANA. 

Scale  1 :  3,000,000. 


West  oF  Gn 


0tnl6 
Feet. 


Depths. 


16  to  32 

Feet.  , 


32  to  160 

Fset. 


160  Feet 
and  upwards. 


,  60  Miles. 


the  world.  Some  of  the  tracts  that  have  recently  been  drained  "  now  yield 
crops  of  tropical  produce  in  simply  amazing  abundance.  As  an  illustration  of  this 
I  may  mention  that  the  garden  which  hardly  two  and  a-half  years  ago  I  cleared  and 
drained  for  mj-self  now  already  has  in  it  avenues  of  trees  (casuariiia)  over  40 
feet  high  which  I  then  planted.  On  the  other  hand,  the  higher  part  of  the  new 
district  is  being  fast  overrun  by  very  successful  gold-diggers."  * 


The  Essequibo  Basin — Qu.vtata. 
Despite  its  vast  extent  and  the  great  development  of  its  ramifjang  waters,  the 
Esseqiubo  river  basin  has  hitherto  received  but  a  very  small  portion  of  the  Guiana 

*  Im  Thuni,  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  October,  1892. 
VOL.  XIX.  i. 


50  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

populations,  nor  has  any  centre  of  European  enterprise  been  j^et  established  within 
its  limits.  The  region  about  its  headwaters  is  occupied  by  the  Taruma  Indians, 
who  are  rarely  visited  by  travellers,  and  whose  relations  with  the  colony  are  con- 
ducted through  the  agency  of  a  few  traders  thinly  scattered  over  a  wide  space. 

Groups  of  hamlets  follow  at  great  distances  along  the  course  of  the  rivers, 
especially  about  the  portages,  where  the  cataracts  have  to  be  turned  by  the  boat- 
men. The  river  traffic  carried  on  by  their  means  is  almost  entirely  limited  to  the 
section  of  the  Essequibo  below  the  confluence  of  the  Rupununi,  although  this 
affluent  follows  the  natural  route  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Amazons  basin 
through  the  Pirara  depression.  But  everywhere  the  riverside  stations  are  wide 
apart,  and  till  recently  they  were  exclusively  inhabited  by  Indians  and  half-breeds, 
with  a  few  black  or  Portusjuese  dealers  from  the  distant  coast  towns.  Neverthe- 
less,  there  can  bo  no  doubt  that  sooner  or  later  the  broad  highway  leading  from 
the  Atlantic  to  Amazonia  will  acquire  great  commercial  importance. 

Meanwhile,  the  chief  group  of  huts  near  the  Pirara  depression  is  the  obscure 
village  of  Qiiafata,  trysting-ground  of  the  Wapisiana,  Macusi,  and  Waj^ewe 
Indians,  who  here  carry  on  a  barter  trade  in  hammocks,  sarbacanes,  and  other 
objects  of  native  industrj^,  taking  in  exchange  the  cutlery,  beads,  dogs,  and 
manioc  rasps  supplied  by  the  European  dealers.  The  natives  have  been  visited 
both  by  Protestant  missionaries  from  Demerara  and  by  Catholic  Fathers  from 
JManaos,  and  near  Quatata  are  seen  the  remains  of  the  little  Fort  Hew  Guinea, 
erected  by  the  English  to  uphold  the  claims  of  Great  Britain  to  this  important 
strategical  position.  The  district  is  yearly  visited  by  half-caste  Brazilian  immi- 
grants engaged  in  stock-breeding. 

Baktica. — Zeelandia. 

At  the  confluence  of  the  navigable  Mazaruni  and  Cuyuni  affluents  above  the 
estuary  stands  the  little  town  of  Bartica  Grove,  or  simply  Barticn,  at  one  time  a 
flourishing  mission  station,  till  lately  reduced  to  a  few  wooden  huts  embowered 
in  the  overhanging  riverside  vegetation,  a  recently  restored  church,  some  small 
residences,  and  a  few  timber-sheds.  The  picturesque  village,  with  its  avenues  of 
tall  mango-trees  and  tangle  of  flowery  shrubs  overtopped  by  groups  of  graceful 
palms,  was  till  recently  occupied  chiefly  by  the  so-called  "  river -men,"  idle  negroes 
and  half-breeds,  who  make  a  precarious  living  on  the  Government  timber- grants, 
or  as  boat-hands  to  help  travellers  in  surmounting  the  numerous  cataracts  of  the 
Essequibo  affluents. 

Since  1887  the  prosperity  of  Bartica  has  revived,  thanks  mainly  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  gold-mining  industry  in  the  western  districts.  The  place  is  now 
rapidly  increasing,  and  tends  to  become  the  chief  trading  centre  of  the  colony. 
Chinese  and  Portuguese  traders  have  already  opened  numerous  stores  for  the 
supply  of  the  mining  populations,  and  the  future  of  Bartica  seems  to  be  assured 
by  its  advantageous  position  at  the  converging  point  of  a  network  of  navigable 
waters  leading  in  one  direction  up  the  Essequibo  to  the  Amazons  and  Brazil,  in 
another  by  the  Cuyuni  towards  the  Orinoco  and  Venezuela. 


BEITISn  GUIANA.  61 

A  few  miles  to  the  west  an  eminence  rising  above  tte  left  bank  of  the  Maza- 
nini-Cuyuni,  a  short  distance  above  the  confluence,  is  crowned  by  the  extensive 
buildings  of  the  penal  settlement,  established  in  1843,  and  containing  about  300 
Convicts.  To  prevent  the  prestige  of  the  ruling  race  from  being  lowered,  no 
English  criminals  are  confined  in  this  establishment,  which  is  surrounded  by  a 
magnificent  park,  planted  with  fine  trees  of  rare  species.  The  mansion  of  the 
governor,  the  houses  of  the  officials  and  turnkeys  are  all  shaded  in  an  exuberant 
vegetation  of  tropical  growth. 

The  convicts  are  mostly  employed  in  working  the  neighbouring  quarries,  which 
supply  Georgetown  with  the  granite  required  for  its  quays  and  buildings.  Some 
of  the  well-conducted  enjoy  a  moderate  share  of  freedom,  being  allowed  to  seek 
employment  in  the  district  as  carpenters,  gardeners,  or  woodmen.  A  steamer  plies 
regularly  between  the  settlement  and  Georgetown,  Bartica  being  the  chief  station 
on  the  route. 

Below  the  Mazaruni  confluence  the  Essequibo  develops  its  broad  estuarj',  at 
first  in  an  open  expanse  some  miles  wide,  and  lower  down  in  numerous  channels 
winding  between  an  archipelago  of  islands,  nearly  all  inhabited.  One  of  these, 
three  miles  from  the  sea,  contains  the  still-imposing  ruins  of  Fort  Zeelandia,  which 
was  erected  by  the  Dutch  in  1743  as  the  commercial  and  administrative  centre 
of  their  colony.  Each  island  is  rounded  off  in  a  superb  dome  of  rich  vegetation, 
while  the  view  is  everywhere  bound  by  a  circle  of  arborescent  growths.  The 
larger  members  of  the  archipelago  are  occupied  by  plantations  surrounded  by  large 
timber,  and  cultivated  grounds  stretch  along  the  estuary  north-westwards  in  the 
direction  of  the  Pomerun,  north-eastwards  towards  Georgetown,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Demerara. 

Georgetowx. — New  Amsterd.\m. 

The  old  Dutch  town  of  Stabroek,  which  in  1774  supplanted  Zeelandia  as  the 
residence  of  the  governor,  has  acquired  considerable  importance  since  it  has  become 
the  capital  of  British  Guiana  under  the  name  of  Georgetown.  It  is  already  the 
largest  centre  of  population  on  the  stretch  of  seaboard  between  the  Orinoco 
and  Amazons  estuaries,  and  here  are  concentrated  twice  as  many  inhabitants  as  are 
found  in  the  whole  of  French  Guiana.  Yet,  seen  from  the  sea,  Georgetown  almost 
escapes  observation,  little  being  visible  except  a  dense  mass  of  leafy  vegetation 
overtopped  by  clumps  of  cocoanut  palms  and  oreodoxas.  But  a  nearer  view  reveals 
the  shipping  which  crowds  the  broad  Demerara  estuary,  with  a  background  of 
elegant  white  houses  skirting  the  right  bank  of  the  river. 

Georgetown,  which  is  inhabited  in  large  majority  by  blacks  and  people  of 
colour,  extends  considerably  over  a  mile  along  the  estuary  between  Fort  William 
at  the  entrance  and  the  group  of  villas  dotted  over  the  plains.  Even  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  busiest  thoroughfares  and  of  the  quays  where  are  stored  nearly  all 
the  products  of  the  Guianas,  the  houses  with  their  verandahs  of  flowering 
creepers  are  surrounded  by  shady  gardens,  and  each  dwelling  has  its  cistern  for 
watering  the  trees  and  flower-beds. 

e2 


52 


AMAZONIA  AND  lA  PLATA. 


Numerous  artesian  wells,  sunk  at  distances  of  -300  or  400  j'ards,  j-icld  a  supply 
of  water  slightly  charged  with  minerals.  Till  recently  the  suburb  of  Hopeiotrn 
was  almost  exclusively  inhabited  by  Chinese,  and  a  large  agricultural  population 
is  also  distributed  over  the  rich  and  carefully  cultivated  plantations  which  extend 
for  great  distances  round  about  the  capital,  both  on  the  seaboard  and  along  the 
river  banks.  The  railway  riuining  eastwards  to  Ma/iaica,  on  the  river  of  like 
name,  has  developed  a  large  local  traffic  in  goods  and  passengers.  This  line,  23 
miles  long,  dates  from  the  year  1850,  being  the  first  opened  in  South  America  ; 
it  is  to  be  continued  towards  Berbice,  but  is  meantime  the  only  railway  in  British 


Fig.  1.5. — Geoegetown. 
Scale  1  :  87,000. 


58°  >e 


Bania  exposed 
at  low  water. 


Depths. 


0tol6 

Feet. 


16  Feet 
and  upwards. 

.  2  MUes. 


Guiana.     At  Mahaica  has  been  founded  a  lazaretto,  with  accommodation  for  about 
200  victims  of  leprosy  drawn  from  every  part  of  the  colony. 

New  Amdcrdam,  called  also  Bcrhicc,  from  the  river  on  the  right  bank  of  which 
it  stands,  occupies  in  the  eastern  district  a  position  analogous  to  that  of  George- 
town farther  west.  As  indicated  by  its  name,  this  place  is  also  of  Dutch  origin, 
as  might  almost  be  inferred  from  the  numerous  canals  flowing  between  its 
different  quarters.  Although  the  first  buildings  date  from  the  year  1796,  sub- 
sequent changes  have  failed  to  efface  the  primitive  aspect  of  the  town,  with  its 
silent  canals,  its  shady  squares,  and  quaint  houses  embowered  in  verdure. 


BRITISH  GUIANA.  53 

Material  Condition  of  British  Guiana. 

As  in  other  regions  exploited  by  slave  labour,  field  operations,  performed  by 
men  like  machines,  controlled  by  overseers  armed  with  the  lash  or  the  stick,  were 
incompatible  with  the  cultivation  of  any  great  variety  of  crops  in  British  Guiana. 
Simple  processes  carried,  out  in  a  mechanical  way  were  alone  possible ;  hence  the 
products  of  the  sugar-cane — rum,  "  foots,"  molasses — besides  cotton  and  coffee, 
were  the  only  articles  of  export  during  the  plantation  days.  Even  still,  despite 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  crude  old  agricultural  systems  linger  on,  and  land 
tenure  has  undergone  no  change,  large  domains  still  everywhere  prevailing.  Only 
the  gangs  of  black  slaves  are  now  rejjlaced  by  contract  labour,  though  the  Hindoo 
coolies  have  to  conform  to  the  same  old  rigid  methods  of  routine  work.  A 
single  estate  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Demerara  comprises  as  many  as  5, GOO  acres, 
and  yields  5,500  tons  of  sugar,  emploj'ing  altogether  3,730  coolies  and  freedmen. 

The  administration,  however,  has  at  last  discovered  that  it  would  be  unwise  to 
dispose  of  the  remaining  unallotted  lands  in  great  domains.  With  a  view  to 
attracting  settlers,  efforts  are  being  made  to  create  a  numerous  class  of  small  free- 
holders by  limiting  to  50  acres  the  lots  granted  to  new  arrivals. 

The  Sugar  Industry. 

As  in  the  slave  days,  sugar  continues  to  be  the  staple  crop.  About  half  of  all 
the  cultivated  land  is  under  cane,  and  this  single  item  represents  on  an  average 
over  nine-tenths  of  all  the  colonial  exports.  Thanks  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
improved  processes  of  production,  and  the  excellent  quality  of  the  sugar,  the 
Demerara  planters  have  hitherto  been  able  to  hold  their  own  against  the  fierce 
competition  of  the  European  beet-sugar  growers.  But  to  maintain  their  ground 
they  shrink  from  no  necessary  outlay.  While  utilising  the  upheaved  strip  of 
coastlands,  they  have  encroached  on  the  sea  itself,  by  the  construction  of  an  ex- 
ceedingly costly  system  of  dykes,  which  at  the  same  time  serve  as  roads. 

The  land  has  been  cut  up  by  a  network  of  canals  and  trenches,  by  which  the 
surface  is  drained,  while  facilities  are  afforded  for  the  transport  of  the  cane.  The 
soil  is  renovated  by  a  liberal  employment  of  chemical  manures,  and  the  mills  have 
been  provided  with  the  most  improved  machinery  and  general  plant  for  crystal- 
lising the  sap  to  the  best  advantage.  The  cane,  containing  on  an  average  17  per 
cent,  of  sugar,  is  thus  made  to  peld  as  much  as  16  per  cent.,  whereas  by  the  old 
processes  of  crushing  scarcely  one-half  could  be  extracted.  The  best  "  Deme- 
rara "  commands  on  the  English  markets  prices  far  higher  than  the  product  of  all 
other  sugar-canes.  It  is  also  exported  to  Nova  Scotia,  Newfoundland,  and  other 
British  colonies,  and,  despite  the  heavy  protective  tariffs,  it  competes  successfully 
with  the  sugars  of  Louisiana  and  of  Cuba  in  the  United  States  markets.  The 
Demerara  rum,  which  is  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  Jamaica,  is  exported  chiefly  to 
Great  Britain  ;  while  the  GeorgetowTi  molasses  are  highly  appreciated  in  the  French 
Antilles. 

The  Berbice  coffee  plantations,  which  formerly  yielded  a  choice  variety  of  the 
berry,  have  now  been  almost  everywhere  replaced  by  cane  ;  in  fact,  the   shrub  18 


54  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

scarcely  anywhere  met  except  in  gardens  and  in  the  small  negro  holdings.  Next 
to  sugar  the  chief  product  of  British  Guiana  at  present  is  lumber,  which  is  cut  by 
the  Partamona  and  Calina  tribes  on  the  banks  of  the  Essequibo  above  Bartica  and 
in  other  fluvial  valleys  south  of  t^e  plantations.  These  Indians  are  closely  related 
to  the  Galibi  who  dwell  on  the  banks  of  the  Muroni  about  the  Franco-Dutch 
frontiers. 

In  late  years  the  trade  in  fruits,  cocoanuts,  and  bananas  has  acquired  some 
importance,  and,  despite  the  distance,  might  compete  with  the  fruit  trade  that 
has  sprxmg  up  between  Central  America  and  the  United  States.  The  Guiana 
fruits,  especially  the  bananas,  have  a  delicate  flavour  fully  equal  to  those  of  the 
"West  Indies,  Costa  Rica,  and  Guatemala. 

Trade — Administration. 

Altogether  British  Guiana  has  a  mean  annual  export  trade  of  about  £8,000,000 
in  sugar  and  other  products  of  cane,  timber,  cabinet  woods,  and  fruits,  to  which 
in  late  years  have  been  added  gold  dust  and  small  diamonds  collected  on  the  banks 
of  the  Barima  and  Cuyuni  rivers  and  in  the  alluvia  of  the  coast  streams  in  the 
north-western  district.  "  In  1884  the  gold  exported  was  only  250  ounces  from 
the  whole  colony,  and  this  had  increased  in  steady  and  natural  ratio  in  1891  to 
101,297  ounces.  From  the  Morawhanna  river,  from  which  the  first  gold — 129 
ounces — was  obtained  only  in  November,  1889,  2,8-30  ounces  were  obtained  in 
March,  1892.  It  should  bo  added  that  though  the  metal  as  yet  obtained  has  been 
got  by  means  of  such  primitive  instruments  as  the  battel,  the  torn,  and  the  sluice 
from  the  alluvial  mud,  there  are  already  signs  that  the  more  serious  enterprise  of 
quartz-crushing  will  soon  be  entered  on."  * 

British  Guiana  imports  provisions,  machinery  of  all  kinds,  textile  fabrics,  and 
other  manufactured  wares  chiefly  from  England,  and  to  some  extent  from  the 
United  States.  Georgetown  is  now  connected  by  regular  lines  of  steamers  with 
Great  Biitain,  the  West  Indies,  and  Canada. 

Till  the  year  1831  Domerara  and  Berbice  constituted  two  distinct  colonial 
governments,  as  they  had  under  the  Dutch  rule.  Most  of  the  laws  and  local 
regulations  had  been  maintained,  and  numerous  traces  still  survive  of  this  system. 
The  political  power  is  almost  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  governor  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  Queen.  He  is  assisted  in  his  administration  by  a  "  Court  of 
Policy  "  composed  of  the  five  chief  colonial  officers,  and  of  five  members  chosen  by 
the  Court  and  the  two  presented  by  the  notables,  who  form  electoral  bodies  num- 
bering altogether  2,0-16  in  1893. 

To  the  Governor  and  Court  of  Policy  are  also  entrusted  the  legislative  and 
executive  functions.  But  in  determining  the  rate  of  taxes  tlie  Governor  has  to 
consult  six  financial  representatives,  who  form,  with  the  other  Government  officials, 
a  "  Combined  Court."  The  colony  is  still  administered  under  the  Dutch  civil  law, 
modified  by  various  decrees  and  ordinances  ;  but  the  criminal  law  has  been  con- 
formed to   that  of  England,  though  the  jury  system  has  not  yet  been  adopted. 

'   Im  Tliurn,  Proc.  li.  Geo.  Soc,  October,  1S92. 


BRITISH  GUIANA.  55 

Tie  so-called  "  Rhenish  "  scale  of  weights  and  measures  still  prevails  on  the  banks 
of  the  Demerara,  although  abolished  in  Holland  itself. 

The  police  comprises  a  few  hundred  men,  while  the  military  garrison  num- 
bers about  300  soldiers,  drawn  from  the  West  Indian  black  regiments.  Tlie 
Church  of  England,  which  is  the  national  church,  has  a  hierarchy  of  one  bishop, 
with  a  number  of  rectors  and  curates  supported  by  the  British  Government, 
which  also  subsidises  the  Presbyterian  and  Catholic  Churches.  In  1891  about 
38,000  children,  or  one-ninth  of  the  whole  population,  were  receiving  regular 
instruction  in  the  colonial  schools.  The  annual  budget  usually  balances  itself, 
while  the  public  debt  amounted  in  1890  to  £200,000. 

The  colony  is  divided  into  the  four  administrative  districts  or  counties  of  the 
North- West,  Essequibo,  Demerara,  and  Berbice. 


CHAPTER  III. 


DUTCH    GUIANA. 

HE  Dutch,  who  were  the  first  settlers  in  Bi-itish  Guiana,  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  prosperity  of  that  colony  to  the  benefit  of  their 
English  rivals.  What  they  have  preserved  of  their  old  posses- 
sions is  of  far  less  value  than  what  they  have  lost.  Surinam,  as 
they  call  their  present  colony  of  Guiana,  has  scarcely  one-sixth  of 
the  population  grouped  round  Demerara,  in  the  British  possessions,  while  its 
trade  hardly  amounts  to  one-fifth  of  the  commercial  transactions  carried  on  by  the 
neighbouring  colony. 

The  economic  crisis  following  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  1863  involved 
numerous  plantations  in  utter  ruin,  and  vast  stretches  of  cultivated  land  reverted 
to  the  solitude  of  the  savannas  and  woodlands.  The  population  even  decreased 
by  emigration,  and  several  years  of  decadence  elapsed  before  the  first  symptoms 
of  a  slow  revival  became  manifest.  At  present  the  population  is  on  the  increase, 
though  this  is  due  to  the  arrival  of  a  few  Indian  coolies.  The  planters  are 
gradually  resuming  possession  of  the  land,  but  are  for  the  most  part  devoting 
their  attention  to  economic  plants  different  from  those  cultivated  by  their 
predecessors. 

As  in  British  Guiana,  the  inhabited  and  cultivated  zone  forms  but  a  small 
part  of  the  whole  territory.  It  comprises  the  coastlands  between  the  outer  belt  of 
bush  and  mangrove  swamps  and  the  inland  savannas.  But  even  in  this 
cultivated  zone  there  are  numerous  gaps  occupied  by  scrubby  and  ma-rshy  tracts. 


NiCKEKIE — GrONINGEN. 

Nickerie,  the  westernmost  district,  lying  east  of  the  Corentyne  and  its  estuary, 
is  but  thinly  settled,  and  the  population  is  still  very  slight.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  some  planters  and  traders  established  a  colony  at  the 
headland  close  to  the  confluence  of  the  Corentyne  with  the  River  Nickerie  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  estuary.  The  site  seemed  favourable,  and  the  settlement 
increased  rapidly.  But  in  less  than  two  generations  the  very  ground  on  which  the 
quays  and  buildings  had  been   erected  was  swept  away  by   the  Atlantic  waves 


DUTCH  GUIANA.  57 

continually  encroaching  on  the  land.  The  inhabitants,  disheartened  and  com- 
pelled to  retreat  constantly  towards  the  interior,  at  last  dispersed,  and  nothing 
remained  except  a  little  group  of  cottages  at  the  entrance  of  the  estuary. 

According  to  Palgrave,  the  rapid  advance  of  the  sea  at  this  point  is  due  to  a 
subsidence  of  the  land,  and  not,  as  the  residents  supposed,  to  a  change  in  the 
direction  of  the  winds  and  currents,  giving  more  force  to  the  breakers.  This 
observer  speaks  of  "  a  broad,  triangular  space  of  shallow  water,  lashed  into  seeth- 
ing waves  b}'  wind  and  current,  where,  a  few  feet  under  the  surface,  lies  what 
was  once  the  busy  area  of  populous  streets.  Meanwhile  the  breakers,  not  content 
with  the  mischief  already  done,  continue  ceaselessly  tearing  away  the  adjoining 
land  bit  by  bit.  Right  in  front  a  large  house,  left  an  empty  shell,  without  doors 
or  window-frames,  by  its  fugitive  inhabitants,  is  on  the  point  of  sinking  and 
disappearing  among  the  waters  that,  unopposed,  wash  to  and  fro  through  the 
ground  floor.  Close  by  the  victorious  sea  has  invaded  the  gardens  of  the  neigh- 
bouring dwellings,  and  will  evidently  soon  take  possession  of  the  buildings  them- 
selves. Farther  on  a  few  isolated  fragments  of  what  was  once  a  carefully 
constructed  sea-dam  rise  like  black  specks  among  the  yeasty  waters,  and  the 
new  earth-  wall  built  to  protect  what  yet  remains  of  Nickerie  has  .a  desponding, 
makeshift  look,  as  if  aware  that  it  will  not  have  long  to  wait  for  its  turn  of 
demolition."  * 

Groningcn,  another  colony  of  which  its  promoters  had  great  expectations,  has 
proved  even  a  greater  failure  than  Nickerie.  It  was  founded  in  1843  near  the 
Saramacca  estuary,  and  peopled  with  Frisians  carefully  chosen  for  the  purpose 
of  introducing  "  white  labour  "  into  these  equatorial  regions.  But  the  enter- 
prise met  the  fate  that  invariably  overtakes  all  such  experiments.  Of  the  384 
settlers  about  one  half  were  dead  within  six  months,  and  most  of  the  survivors 
had  to  remove  to  the  neighbouring  plantations.  Several  have  prospered  as  artisans 
and  gardeners  in  Paramaribo,  but  Groningen  itself  has  all  but  disappeared.  It 
stood  about  midway  between  Paramaribo  and  Batavia,  which  lies  a  few  miles  to 
the  south-west  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Coppename  estuary. 

Here  is  a  lazaretto,  where  the  patients  are  maintained  by  their  friends  and 
families.  But  the  village  lies  too  near  the  settled  districts,  and  another  leper- 
house  is  to  be  established  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Upper  Surinam  in  the  unin- 
habited district  of  Grand  Chatillon.  Nowhere  are  the  ravages  of  this  loath- 
some malady  more  destructive  than  in  Dutch  Guiana,  especially  among  the 
blacks  and  people  of  colour.     In  1893  nearly  a  thousand  were  said  to  be  tainted. 

Paramaribo. 

Unlike  Georgetown  and  New  Amsterdam,  Paramaribo,  capital  of  Dutch 
Guiana,  does  not  lie  on  the  sea  coast.  In  this  region  the  form  and  character  of 
the  seaboard  has  required  the  towns  and  settlements  of  the  plantations  to  be 
established  in  the  relatively  dry  zone,  which  is  traversed  by  the  coast  streams 
flowing  parallel  with  the  strip  of  swampy   mangrove-covered  foreshore.     Para- 

*  Dutch  Guiana,  p.  17. 


58 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


maribo  is  a  French  foundation  dating  from  the  year  1G40,  when  some  refugees 
from  Cayenne  built  a  little  fortalice  on  the  spot  where  now  stands  Fort  Zcelandia, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Surinam  just  above  its  estuary.  Ten  years  later  Lord 
Willoughby  of  Parham  raised  the  place  to  the  dignity  of  a  capital,  and  when  it 
soon  after  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Dutch,  it  became  the  administrative  centre 
of  their  Surinam  possessions. 

Paramaribo,  which  is  an  Indian  name  and  not  a  corruption  of  Parham,  stands 
on  a  terrace  of  shingle,  coral,  and  shells  at  the  point  where  the  river  describes  a 


Fig.  16. — Pabamaetdo  and  SuaiuAM  Estuary. 
Scale  1 :  330,000. 


56°  20 


Sands  exposed 
at  low  water. 


Uepthfi 


Ofoie 
Feet. 


16  Feet 
.nnd  upwards. 


.  6  Miles. 


curve  round  to  the  east  before  its  junction  with  the  Commewijue  at  the  head  of 
the  estuary.  It  has  the  aspect  of  a  tropical  Amsterdam,  and,  despite  the  difference 
of  materials,  its  wooden  houses  painted  grey  recall  the  more  substantial  brick 
structures  of  the  Dutch  city.  Some  Government  buildings,  such  as  the  Govern- 
ment palace,  the  synagogue,  and  a  few  churches  impart  an  air  of  importance  to 
this  somewhat  old-fashioned  town.  Being  well  kept  it  is  by  no  means  an 
unhealthy  place,  although  the  atmosphere,  unrefreshed  by  the  sea  breezes,  some- 
what resembles  that  of  a  hothouse  in  Kew  Gardens. 


DUTCH  GUIANA.  59 

Paramaribo  is  soon  to  be  connected  by  rail  with  the  fertile  riverside  districts  in 
the  Saramacca  valley.  The  approaches  from  the  sea  are  commanded  hy  Fuii  Nieuw 
Amsterdam,  which  occupies  a  strategical  position  of  vital  importance  at  the  Comme- 
wijne  confluence  in  full  view  of  the  estuary. 

Eastern  Skttlements. 

East  of  Paramaribo  the  banks  of  the  Commewijne  and  Cottica  rivers  were 
lined  with  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  gardens  and  plantations,  which  are  now 
partly  abandoned,  while  most  of  them  have  changed  hands.  Black  descendants  of 
the  old  slaves  have  become  the  owners  of  many  a  domain  which  at  one  time 
depended  on  some  great  Dutch  landed  estate.  The  village  of  Sommehdi/k,  com- 
manded by  a  pentagonal  fort  at  the  junction  of  the  two  streams,  recalls  the  name 
of  the  fomous  Dutch  governor,  who  was  himself  owner  of  one-third  of  all  the 
colonial  plantations. 

Some  50  miles  above  Paramaribo  on  the  Surinam  river,  are  seen  the  ruins  of 
a  synagogue  and  of  a  group  of  cottages  at  a  place  called  Jocden  Savane,  "  Savanna 
of  the  Jews,"  which  preserves  the  memory  of  the  Portuguese  and  Leghorn  Jews, 
who,  after  their  expulsion  from  Pernambuco,  took  refuge  in  Guiana  and  established 
themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Surinam  in  1641.  The  white  population  is  still 
largely  composed  of  Israelites,  who  control  the  money  market  of  Paramaribo,  and 
supply  the  colon}'  with  most  of  its  professional  men — doctors,  lawyers,  and  judges. 
During  the  eighteenth  century  these  Semites  had  their  own  administration  of 
justice,  at  least  for  all  cases  heard  in  the  lower  courts.  During  their  religious 
feasts  also  they  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  immunity  from  arrest  or  legal  prosecution 
of  any  kind. 

The  left  bank  of  the  Maroni  on  the  French  frontier  is  very  thinly  peopled. 
Here  the  scattered  groups  of  cabins  nearly  all  belong  either  to  the  Galibi  Indians 
or  to  the  descendants  of  the  Maroons,  now  universally  known  as  Bush  Negroes.  The 
western  streams  are  inhabited  by  a  few  communities  of  Bovianders,  that  is,  half- 
breeds  sprung  from  Dutch  fathers  and  Indian  mothers. 

Natural  Resources. 

During  the  slave  period,  sugar  was  the  chief  crop  in  Surinam,  as  in  British 
Guiana.  But  the  planters,  unable  to  resist  the  crisis  following  on  emancipation, 
abandoned  most  of  their  large  estates  ;  hence  the  colony  even  now  possesses  only 
a  small  number  of  sugar  mills  belonging  to  wealthy  caijitalists,  who  have  pro- 
vided them  with  plant  and  machinery  as  complete  as  those  of  the  Georgetown 
factories.  A  single  proprietor  employs  as  many  as  1,580  hands,  negroes,  Hindus, 
Javanese,  and  Chinese. 

The  cultivation  of  the  coffee  shrub,  which  had  formerly  acquired  great  impor- 
tance, producing  about  6.000  tons  for  the  annual  export  trade,  was  neglected  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  colony  had  to  import  the  coffee  required  for  its  own 
consumption.  This  industry,  however,  has  been  revived  with  fair  prospects 
of  permanent  success  since  the  year  1883,  when  some   speculators  introduced  the 


60 


AMAZONLV  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Liberian  plant,  wliich  thrives  admirably  in  tbe  Surinam  territorj',  better  even 
than  iu  Java  itself. 

In  the  north-western  districts  some  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  haluta,  a 
plant  which  has  been  called  the  gutta-percha  of  Guiana.  Cotton  is  no  longer 
grown,  being  entirely  supplanted  by  cacao,  the  stajjle  product,  the  cultivation  of 
which  requires  little  care.  Although  the  cacao  tree  produces  nothing  for  eight 
or  ten  years,  after  that  it  jHields  a  certain  and  regular  harvest. 

As  a  rule,  the  large  plantations,  whose  products  feed  the  export  trade,  enrich 
the  country  less  than  do  the  small  holdings,  in  which  the  negroes  and  peasantry 
of  various  races  raise  provisions,  vegetables,  fruits,  and  especially  bananas.  An 
experiment  in  communism  has  been  carried  out  on  the  Onvericaeht  estate,  which  is 


Fig'.  17. — CuLTrTATED  Zone,  Dutch  Guiana. 
Scale  1 :  4,000,000. 


West  oF  Gi-ecnwicK 


Cultivated 
Lands. 


Lands  granted 
to  Gold  Miners. 


Sav.Tnnas. 


Virf^ 
Forests. 


Sand  and 
Shell  Mounds. 


78  Miles. 


jointly  held  by  a  colony  of  300  negroes,  engaged  in  husbandry  and  the  lumber 
business. 

In  Dutch,  as  in  British  Guiana,  the  gold  industry  has  lately  acquired 
some  importance.  Diggings  had  already  been  carried  on  for  some  20  years 
in  the  French  territory,  when  the  Dutch  Government  had  the  affluents  of  the 
Maroni  explored,  and  here  the  precious  metal  was  discovered  by  the  prospector, 
Alma,  in  187-1.  Since  that  time  further  discoveries  have  been  made  in  the  upper 
valleys  of  all  the  rivers,  and  especially  on  the  banhs  of  the  Awa,  the  tributary  of 
the  Maroni  recently  awarded  to  Holland. 

The  yearly  yield  of  gold  has  steadily  increased  without  having  yet  reached 
the  sum  of  £160,000.     At  first   the  auriferous  sands  ulouc   were   washed;    but 


DUTCH  GUIANA.  61 

recently  the  miners  have  ascended  the  valleys,  and  have  begun  to  attack  the 
primitive  rocks  in  which  the  mineral  is  embedded.  Thus  the  mining  industry 
has  rapidly  become  one  of  the  important  branches  of  the  colonial  industry,  which 
had  hitherto  been  limited  to  a  small  number  of  products.  With  a  view  to  the 
development  of  the  gold-mines,  a  road  50  miles  long  has  been  opened  between  the 
Surinam  and  Maroni  rivers. 

Administration. 

Despite  certain  empty  parliamentary  forms,  the  colonial  government  cnjo}^s 
absolute  authority.  The  governor,  named  by  the  Crown,  is  also  president  of  the 
"  House  of  Assembly,"  comprising  13  members,  of  whom  he  nominates  four. 
The  nine  others,  elected  for  six  years,  owe  their  nomination  to  notables  enjoying 
an  income  of  at  least  40  florins. 

The  governor  proposes,  and,  if  he  chooses,  disposes.  Should  his  advice  be 
rejected,  he  puts  in  writing  the  reasons  of  his  dissent  from  the  delegates,  where- 
upon the  majority  has  to  consider  the  matter  settled. 

Instruction  is  obligatory  for  all  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  twelve, 
and  in  1887  nearly  5,400  pupils  were  attending  the  48  public  schools.  The 
annual  budget  amounts  to  about  £100,000. 

Dutch  Guiana  is  divided  for  administrative  purposes  into  16  districts  with 
variable  circumscrijjtions.  But  all  decentralised  or  provincial  administration 
can  be  no  more  than  nominal  in  a  country  whose  capital  alone  contains  more 
than  half  of  the  entire  population,  excluding  the  Bush  Negroes,  who  are  not  com- 
prised in  the  census  returns. 

The  German  Government  is  said  to  entertain  the  idea  of  purchasing  Dutch 
Guiana  with  the  view  of  converting  it  into  a  penal  settlement  like  that  of  French 
Guiana. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


FRENCH    GUIAKA. 


French  Guiana  Proper. 

ERE  French  Guiana  Increased  by  the  addition  of  the  contested  region 
extending  from  its  recognised  frontiers  southwards  to  the  Ara- 
guari  estuary,  it  would  equal  the  British  territory  in  superficial 
area ;  but  in  respect  of  population,  trade,  industry,  political  and 
social  life,  no  comparison  is  possible  between  the  two  colonies. 
Of  all  the  French  possessions  beyond  the  seas  not  one  h:is  prospered  less  than 
Guiana.  Its  story  cannot  be  told  without  a  feeling  of  humiliation,  and  the 
example  of  this  territory  is  usually  chosen  to  show  the  incapacity  of  the  French  as 
a  colonising  people,  as  if  the  country  had  ever  been  a  colony  in  the  strict  sense  of 
the  word. 

No  really  spontaneous  stream  of  immigration  has  ever  been  directed  from 
France  to  Guiana  ever  since  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  when  some 
French  freebooters,  ro\'ing  the  seas,  established  a  few  ports  of  refuge  or 
refitting  stations  at  favourable  points  along  the  seaboard.  All  who,  during  the 
last  250  years,  have  landed  on  these  shores  between  the  Maroui  and  03'apok  estu- 
aries, have  come  either  as  colonial  officials  and  soldiers,  or  else  in  gangs  of  slaves 
and  hired  labourers,  or  even  in  convoys  of  criminals  and  convicts  often  of  the 
worst  type. 


Essays  at  Colonisation. 

The  country  has  never  been  quickened  by  the  spirit  of  free  colonisation. 
The  very  sites  of  the  settlements  were  often  selected  beforehand  by  administrators 
■who  had  never  visited  the  colony.  Impracticable  decrees  issued  from  Paris  were 
carried  out  in  a  haphazard  waj'  ;  no  preparations  were  made  on  the  spot  for  the 
reception  of  the  new  arrivals,  who  consequently  perished  in  thousands,  camping 
without  food  or  shelter  on  the  banks  of  swampy  creeks.  Even  those  who  had 
been  more  favoured  by  fortune,  and   who  had  obtained  some  cover  and  supplies. 


FEENCH  GUIANA. 


63 


succumbed  at  last  to  their  hopeless  plight      "  Feeling  themselves  forsaken  by  the 
whole  world,  they  died  through  lack  of  will  to  live."  * 

All  essays  at  compulsory  colonisation  having  failed,  it  seemed  natural  to 
make  choice  of  Guiana  as  a  proper  field  of  transportation  for  political  enemies 
and  as  a  convenient  settlement  for  offenders  against  the  common  law.      More 


Fig.  18. — Pknai,  Settlements  on  the  Maeont. 
Scale  1  :  450,000. 


West  or  Greenwicli 


53'50' 


Depths. 


0tol6 

Feet. 


16  Feet 
and  upwards. 


9  miles. 


than  once  notoriously  unhealthy  districts  were  assigned  to  the  exiles ;  tribunals 
which  shirked  the  responsibility  of  pronouncing  sentence  of  death  were  thus  none 
the  less  able  to  call  in  its  aid,  and  "  the  dry  guillotine  "  became  the  popular 
name  of  Cayenne. 

*  Jules  Itier,  Notes  atalistiqiies  sur  la  Guijanc  fran(;aite. 


64  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Such  a  by- word  easily  enough  explains  the  repugnance  felt  by  all  freemen  for 
this  region,  which  nevertheless  is  not  cursed  with  the  deadly  climate  attributed 
to  French  Guiana  by  the  popular  fancy  since  so  many  wretched  victims  of  sen- 
tences of  transportation  began  to  be  cast  upon  its  shores. 

The  very  failure  of  the  frequent  attempts  to  colonise  the  country  had  the 
natural  consequence  of  causing  much  indecision  in  the  plans  of  the  central 
government,  as  well  as  in  the  activity  of  the  local  administrators.  Few  officials 
enter  on  their  functions  in  Cayenne  without  forthwith  yearning  to  return  to  their 
native  land.  Being  merely  "  birds  of  passage,"  they  can  take  but  slight  interest 
in  a  region  which  they  hope  soon  to  quit.  But  without  attaching  themselves  to 
the  land,  they  may  perhaps  be  tempted  to  distinguish  their  administration  by  some 
ambitious  scheme  at  variance  with  those  of  their  predecessors  in  oflace,  and  calcu- 
lated to  enhance  their  reputation  in  high  places. 

Thus  the  affairs  of  the  colony  are  managed  in  a  shiftless  way  without  a  con- 
tinuous policy,  as  needs  must  be  in  a  territory  which  has  seen  thirty-four  governors 
replace  each  other  since  the  middle  of  the  century.  Hence  whatever  real  pro- 
gress is  made  in  French  Guiana,  either  in  an  increase  of  population  or  in  the 
development  of  its  natural  resources,  must  be  attributed,  not  to  the  administration, 
but  to  the  slow  ferment  working  spontaneously  in  the  mass  of  the  aboriginal 
elements  increased  by  a  few  immigrants  from  Martinique,  some  Bush  Negroes 
from  Surinam,  Portuguese  and  Brazilians  from  the  conterminous  regions.  But  on 
the  other  hand,  the  introduction  of  Hindu  coolies  has  been  made  without  system 
or  humanity.  Of  8,372  engaged  in  the  prime  of  life,  4,522,  more  than  half, 
perished  within  22  years  (1856-78),  and  of  the  whole  number  only  G75  were 
restored  to  their  native  homes. 

Convict  Stations — Mana. 

The  basin  of  the  copious  River  Maroni,  which  separates  French  from  Dutch 
Guiana,  is  inhabited  in  its  upper  and  middle  course  only  by  a  few  scattered 
groups  of  Indians,  negroes,  and  gold-hunters.  The  first  white  settlements  are 
seen  some  38  miles  above  the  estuary,  and  even  these  are  nearly  all  occupied 
by  convicts.  Free  colonisation  in  this  district  is  represented  only  by  a  few 
plantations  which  were  granted  to  some  Algerian  Arabs  after  their  discharge  from 
detention. 

Saint-Jean,  which  lies  farthest  up  the  river,  has  the  advantage  of  railway  com. 
munication  with  the  capital  of  the  penal  colony ;  but  the  surrounding  district  is 
marshy  and  unhealthy.  Saiiit-Laurcnt,  a  little  lower  down,  also  on  the  right 
bunk  of  the  Maroni,  is  better  situated,  and  here  reside  the  directors  of  the  penal 
station.  The  cabins  of  the  Negro,  Arab,  and  Annamite  convicts  occupy  the  sunny 
glades  of  a  densely-wooded  park  not  far  from  the  cemetery. 

Opposite  Saint-Laurent  stands  the  village  of  Alhina,  the  only  settlement 
founded  by  the  Dutch  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Maroni.  In  Fortal  Island,  a  little 
higher  up,  is  situated  the  most  important  plantation  in  French  Guiana,  occupied 
mainly  with  the  production  of  roucou. 


FEENCH  GUIANA.  65 

The  Mana  river,  which  follows  the  Maroni  in  the  direction  of  the  east,  has  its 
little  commune  of  Mana,  named  from  the  river,  but  the  other  coast  streams,  such  as 
the  Organebo,  the  Iracubo,  and  the  Counamano,  traverse  almost  uninhabited  dis- 
tricts. Mana  recalls  some  essays  at  colonisation,  which  were  carried  on  with 
great  vigour  and  perseverance.  The  enterprise  was  undertaken  by  a  religious 
sister,  Madame  Javouhey,  with  a  rare  display  of  determination  almost  indepen- 
dently of  Government  control,  although  aided  by  the  officials.  With  the  help  of 
the  sisters  of  the  community,  of  numerous  hired  labourers,  and  several  hundred 
slaves,  she  founded  various  establishments,  plantations,  asylums,  schools,  a  general 
hospital,  and  a  lazaretto.  The  present  village  of  Mana  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  salubrious  in  Guiana,  and  was  formerly  the  "  rice  granary  "  of  the  whole 
colony. 

SlNNAMARI KOUROU. 

SiiDinDiari,  originally  a  Dutch  settlement,  founded  near  the  mouth  of  the 
river  of  like  name,  has  become  famous  as  a  place  of  banishment.  In  1797  and 
1798,  after  the  Roj^alist  conspiracy  of  Fructidor,  over  five  hundred  suspected  were 
transported  to  this  place;  of  the  329  landed  by  the  Charente,  171,  more  than  half, 
rapidly  succumbed  to  their  hardships,  despair,  and  disease.  But  far  more  disas- 
trous had  been  the  attempt  made  to  colonise  the  district  in  1763,  when  about 
13,000  emigrants  from  Alsace,  Lorraine,  and  Saintonge  were  landed  on  the  banks 
of  the  Kourou,  some  thirty  miles  east  of  the  Sinnamari. 

France  had  just  ceded  Canada  to  England,  and  Choiseul,  who  with  his  cousin, 
de  Praslin,  at  that  time  ruled  the  Monarch}',  decided  to  replace  the  lost  territory 
by  calling  Guiana  "  Equatorial  France,"  and  despatching  thither  fleet  after  fleet 
of  colonists.  Even  some  players  were  included  for  the  purpose  of  amusing  the 
future  "  Guianese  "  in  their  hours  of  relaxation.  In  memory  of  Canada  they  were 
provided  with  skates,  but  the  provisions  were  forgotten,  and  no  arrangements 
were  made  for  landing  and  housing  the  settlers,  while  the  Chevalier  de  Turgot, 
who  had  been  appointed  leader  of  the  expedition,  remained  in  France.  Even 
during  the  voyage  the  unhappy  victims  were  decimated  by  the  plague,  and  on  the 
banks  of  the  Kourou  famine  carried  off  those  spared  by  typhus.  After  at  least 
10,000  had  perished  miserably,  a  few  hundred  survivors  at  last  succeeded  in 
getting  back  to  Saint-Jean  d'Angely,  the  port  from  which  they  had  sailed.*  A 
coffee  plantation  belonging  to  the  Government  marks  the  spot  where  most  of  the 
"  colonists  "  had  succumbed  to  their  miseries.  A  few  critical  remarks  on  the 
colonising  genius  of  the  promoters  of  this  scheme  cost  Freron  six  months  in  the 
Bastille. 

Farther  east  the  district  about  the  Kouroii  estuary  was  also  the  scene  of  some 
colonising  experiments.  At  present  some  convicts  are  engaged  on  the  plantations ; 
but  the  Kourou  penitentiary  is  a  mere  dependency  of  the  three  Salut  Islands 
belonging  to  the  neighbouring  penal  establishment.  Saint-Joseph  and  the  lie 
Boijale  form  the  convict  station  proper,  reserved  for  dangerous  subjects,  or  for 

*  J.  Mourie,  la  Guyanc frm^aisc. 
VOL.  XIX.  P- 


66 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


such  as  are  placed  under  special  control.     Vessels  of  large  size  find  good  anchorage 
under  the  shelter  of  the  Salut  Islands. 


Cayenne. 
Cmjcnne,  which  appears  to  take  its  name  from  an  old  Indian  chief,  is  one   of 
the  earliest  settlements  in  Guiana.      The  island  on  which  it  stands  was  occupied 


Fig.  19.— Cayenne  Island. 
Scale  1  :  200,i;i00. 


West  op  GreenwicK  52*20' 


b2'\'^' 


UeptliH. 


OtolO 
Feet. 


10  Feet 
and  upwards. 

3  Miles. 


ill  1604  by  a  party  of  Frenchmen  under  the  leadership  of  the  Norman,  La 
Ravardiere,  who  had  been  commis.sioned  by  a  trading  company  of  Rouen.  The 
first  immigrants,  as  well  as  the  Dutch  Jews  and  others   who  followed  them,  had 


3 
O 


Z 


■J 


FRENCH  GUIANA. 


67 


settled  at  the  foot  of  the  Eemire  Uills  some  distance  to  the  east  of  the  present 
town,  which  was  founded  at  the  little  fort  of  Saint-Louis,  but  did  not  become  the 
permanent  capital  of  French  Guiana  till  the  year  1877. 

Cayenne  is  comparatively  speaking  a  large  place,  containing  10,000  inhabi- 
tants, or  about  one  third  of  the  whole  population  of  the  colony.  It  is  laid  out  in 
the  usual  American  chessboard  fashion,  with  streets  at  right  angles  and  shady 
squares  on  a  peninsular  space  at  the  foot  of  the  verdant  Ceperou  eminence  at  the 
north-west  extremity  of  the  island. 

The  administrative  and  Government  buildings,  hotels,  barracks,  and  prisons 
occupy  a  large  part  of  the  town,  which  is  encircled  by  parks  and  magnificent 
avenues  of  palm-trees.     Being  well  exposed  to  the  Seabreeze,    Cayenne   would 


Fig.  20. — Catenx-e. 
Scale  1  :  30.000. 


0  to  3 
Feet. 


Liepths. 


3to6 
Feet. 


6  to  10 
Feet. 


lu  1  eet 
and  upwards. 


.  1,100  Yards. 


naturally  enjoy  a  healthy  climate  but  for  the  canals  in  the  environs,  which  often 
get  choked.  A  supply  of  water  is  brought  by  conduits  from  a  neighbouring 
height  fed  by  the  Rorota  rivulet.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  population 
consists  of  negroes,  chiefly  descendants  of  the  freedmen  who  flocked  to  the  place 
after  the  emancipation  of  1848.  But  all  the  other  races  of  the  colony  have  their 
representatives  in  Caj-enne.  Most  of  the  domestic  servants  are  Creoles  from 
Martinique  ;  the  booths  and  stores  are  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  Chinese  hucksters, 
while  the  fish  markets  are  supplied  by  natives  of  Annam.  The  harbour  is 
atces.sible  to  vessels  drawing  14  feet,  but  it  is  partly  exposed,  and  the  shipping 
has  occasionally  been  wrecked  by  high  tides  occurring  in  rough  weather.  A 
lighthouse  has  been  erected  on  the  Enfant  Perdu,  a  rock  at  the  northern  entrance. 
Formerly   gardens   and  plantations  abounded   in    the   environs  of    Cayenne, 

i-2 


68 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  TLATA. 


especially  along  the  canals  and  in  the  eastern  parts  of  the  island.  The  Jesuits 
possessed  rich  coffee  plantations  at  the  foot  of  the  Remire  hill,  and  Gabrielle,  on 
the  mainland  south-east  of  the  cajjital,  was  even  at  one  time  famous  for  its  spices. 
During  the  first  years  of  the  Restoration  the  cloves  of  this  estate  yielded  a  revenue 
of  £16,000  in  favourable  years. 

But  at  present  all  the  old  cultivated  tracts  have  reverted  to  the  state  of  bush, 
and  nothing  is  now  seen  except  here  and  there  a  few  coffee  and  cacao  shrubs  run 


Fig.  21.— Mouth  of  the  Oyapok. 
Scale  1 :  1,100,000. 


Oto  16 

Feet. 


Depths. 


IB  to  32 

Feet. 


32  to  64 

Feet. 


B4  Feet 
and  upwards. 


.18   Miles. 


wild.  The  island  is  traversed  by  some  carriage  roads,  one  of  which,  11  miles 
long,  runs  to  the  so-called  Degrad  den  Cannes,  a  landing  stage  for  the  little 
steamer  which  plies  on  the  Mahuri  creek  as  far  as  the  village  of  Roiira. 
Farther  on,  that  is,  always  to  the  windward  of  Cayenne,  flows  the  Kate  river 
with  a  settlement  of  the  same  name,  beyond  which  follows  the  Approuague, 
famous  for  its  auriferous  alluvia.  It  was  in  the  valley  of  the  Aratai,  a  western 
affluent  of  the  Approuague,  that  gold  was   first  discovered  in   this  basin  by  a 


FRENCH  GUIANA, 


69 


Brazilian  named  Paulino  in  the  year  1855.  Since  then  both  the  Approuague 
and  the  Upper  Maroni  goldfields  have  yielded  a  continuous  supply  of  the 
precious  metal  to  the  miners. 

On  the  coast  between  the  Approuague  and  Oyapok  estuaries  the  so-called 
Moniaijne  d' Argent  {"  Silver  Mountain  "),  a  little  eminence  2G4  feet  high,  also 
recalls  some  old  mining  operations.  Ilore  an  unhealthy  penal  settlement,  which 
had  to  be  abandoned,  has  been  replaced  by  a  coffee  plantation.  The  Montagne 
d'Argent  serves  as  a  landmark  to  pilots  making  for  the  mouth  of  the  Oyapok, 
present  easterly  limit  of  French  Guiana.  There  are  scarcely  any  settlements  in 
the  valley  of  this  copious  river,  which  has  been  thoroughly  but  unsuccessfully 

Fig.  22. — Gold  Mines  or  Guiana. 
Scale  1  :  13,000,000. 


West  op  oreen 


Gold  Mines  (Placers). 


explored  by  prospectors.      Nothing  was   found  except  a  few  particles  along  the 
banks  of  the  stream. 

Natural  Resources. — Trade. 

In  French  Guiana  are  found  all  the  products  of  the  tropical  zone,  but  none 
in  sufEcient  abundance  to  support  a  large  export  trade.  In  1890,  after  half  a 
century  of  agricultural  decline,  not  more  than  9,400  acres  were  under  cultivation 
in  the  whole  colony,  and  of  these  fully  two-thirds  were  devoted  to  the  production 
of  provisions  for  the  local  consumption.  Sugar,  coffee,  and  cacao  represent 
altogether  a  total  annual  crop  of  not  more  than  100  tons.  The  so-called  hattes  or 
menafjcrics  (cattle  farms,  farmsteads),  contain  very  "few  cattle,  and  in  1890  the 


70  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

■wliole  colony  possessed  only  218  weedy,  badly-bred  horses.  Of  homed  cattle, 
which  succeed  best,  there  were  over  6,000,  and  about  the  same  number  of  pigs, 
besides  those  running  wild  in  the  woods.  A  few  hundred  sheep,  goats,  asses,  and 
mules  complete  the  list  of  livestock. 

The  industries,  properly  so-called,  are  in  a  rudimentary  state,  being  limited  to  a 
few  tafia  (coarse  rum)  distilleries,  some  saw-mills,  and  other  small  establishments. 
The  largest  industrial  operations  are  those  connected  with  auriferous  quartz- 
crushing.  But  the  yield  of  gold  has  gradually  fallen  off  since  1875.  In  that 
year  the  registered  return  rose  to  about  4,500  pounds,  valued  at  £227,000,  to 
which,  perhaps,  half  as  much  more  should  be  added  for  the  pilferings  at  the  works 
and  for  the  gold  smuggled  abroad.  The  iron  ores,  which  abound  in  some  districts, 
have  never  been  worked. 

Despite  certain  statements  to  the  contrary,  the  trade  of  French  Guiana  is 
certainly  greater  at  present  than  it  was  before  the  Revolution.  The  J'early 
exchanges  with  the  rest  of  the  world  average  from  £520,000  to  £720,000.  The 
imports  greatly  exceed  the  exports,  most  of  the  merchandise  brought  into  the 
colony  being  destined  for  the  convict  stations  and  the  garrisons,  which  produce 
nothing  in  return.  At  present  the  whole  of  the  shipping  falls  below  100,000 
tons,  but  it  is  steadily  increasing,  thanks  to  the  greater  facilities  of  communica- 
tion enjoyed  by  steamers  over  sailing  vessels.  Cayenne  is  connected  by  a  regular 
line  of  steamships  with  Martinique  and  France  by  the  Surinam  and  Demerara 
route.  Small  steamers  ply  on  the  coast,  and  a  telegraph  line  200  miles  long  con- 
nects Cayenne  with  the  Maroni. 

Administratiox. 

Although  French  Guiana  possesses  a  general  council  of  16  elected  members, 
of  whom  seven  for  Cayenne,  and  also  nominates  a  deputy  to  the  French  Chambers,' 
the  population  is  too  small  and  the  army  of  officials  too  strongly  organised  for 
the  absolute  power  of  the  governor  to  be  checked  by  this  initial  measure  of  local 
representation.  Under  the  direct  orders  of  the  governor  are  the  military  com- 
mander, the  heads  of  the  naval  forces  and  of  the  marine,  the  director  of  the 
interior,  the  procurator-general,  the  head  of  the  penitentiary  department.  All 
these  functionaries  constitute  his  privy  council,  to  which,  as  a  matter  of  form,  are 
added  three  of  the  inhabitants  whom  he  chooses,  and  whose  vote  he  can  always 
depend  upon. 

But  even  were  the  whole  council  in  opposition,  the  governor  might  still  defy 
them,  and  even  manipulate  the  annual  budget,  not  to  say  expel  any  refractory 
members.  Except  during  the  elections,  the  Iloniteur  Ojficiel,  issued  weekly,  is 
the  only  journal  in  the  Colony.  In  a  word,  the  penitentiary  system  of  adminis- 
tration may  be  said  to  mould  civil  society  itself. 

After  the  Coup  d'Etat  of  1851,  the  transportation  system  was  introduced  by 
special  decree,  and  is  now  the  sole  motive  for  the  maintenance  of  French  rule  in 
Guiana.  The  first  convoy  of  condemned  criminals  arrived  at  the  Salut  Islands 
in  1852,  and  by  the  year  1867  over  18,000  had  been  despatched  to  the  various 


PnEXCU  GUIANA.  71 

penitentiaries  successively  cliosen  in  the  territory.  Being  now  replaced  by  New- 
Caledonia  as  the  chief  penal  colony,  French  Guiana  receives  only  a  part  of  the 
recidivktes,  that  is,  those  Europeans  condemned  to  over  eight  years'  transportation, 
and  all  the  Arabs,  Annamites,  and  negroes. 

The  four  penitentiaries  of  Cayenne,  the  Salut  Islands,  Eourou,  and  the  Maroni 
contain  on  an  average  from  3,000  to  4,000  inmates,  who  are  for  the  most  part 
employed  on  pubKc  works.  But  besides  utilising  them  in  this  way,  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  penal  settlements  also  lend  them  either  gratuitously  or  for  a  small 
sum  to  the  town  of  Cayenne,  to  the  governor  of  the  colony,  and  to  private 
firms.  Although  the  labour  of  a  convict  is  rated  at  about  two  francs  (Is.  8d.) 
a  day,  all  accessories  included,  the  charge  per  head  usually  varies  from  three  to 
eight  pence.  But  it  may  be  asked,  on  the  other  hand,  what  is  the  real  value  of 
forced  as  compared  with  free  labour  ?  To  judge  from  the  state  of  the  roads  on 
which  the  convicts  are  constantly  engaged,  it  must  be  concluded  that  their  labour 
is  almost  worthless,  at  least  in  Guiana,  despite  the  large  number  of  hands 
emploj-ed.  Thus  by  excluding  free  labourers,  they  retard  rather  than  promote  the 
material  progress  of  the  colony. 

French  Guiana  proper,  that  is,  the  settled  territory,  has  been  divided  into 
thirteen  communes  in  the  full  enjoj-ment  of  civil  rights,  with  an  organisation 
analogous  to  those  of  the  mother  country  and  of  the  other  colonies.  Nevertheless 
all  municipal  privileges  were  suspended  for  three  years,  and  only  restored  in  1892 
under  the  reserved  condition  of  the  governor's  intervention  in  the  choice  of  certain 
communal  fimctionaries.  The  only  exception  has  been  made  in  favour  of  the 
capital,  which  retains  its  full  rights  without  any  reserve. 

The  thirteen  districts,  to  which  must  be  added  that  of  the  penitentiaries  on 
the  banks  of  the  Maroai,  comprise  scarcely  the  eighth  part  of  the  whole  territory, 
or  about  54,000  acres  altogether.     The  unsettled  inland  region  remains  undivided. 

II. 

The  Contested  Franco-Brazilian  Territory. 

Officially  the  territory  in  dispute  between  France  and  Brazil  would  appear  to 
comprise  a  space  of  at  least  100,000  square  miles.  It  forms  a  long  zone  stretching 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rio  Branco,  and  limited  northwards  by  the  course  of  the 
Oyapok,  the  Tumuc-Humac  Mountains  with  their  western  spurs,  the  course  of  the 
Araguari,  and  the  equator. 

The  question,  however,  has  no  real  importance,  except  so  far  as  regards  the 
contested  coast  district  between  the  Oj'apok  and  Araguari  rivers.  Farther  west 
the  whole  valley  of  the  Rio  Branco  has,  beyond  all  doubt,  become  Brazilian  in 
speech,  social  usages,  political  and  commercial  relations.  The  appropriation  of 
this  section  by  France  would  be  equivalent  to  appropriating  a  slice  of  Brazil 
itself. 

As  to  the  intermediate  regions,  which  have  been  traversed  bj-  the  explorers 
Crcvaux,  Coudrcau,  and  Barbosa  Bodrigucs,  they  arc  iuhabitcd  only  by  completely 


72  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

independent  Indian  populations  estimated  by  Coudreau  at  not  more  than  12,700 
souls  altogether. 

The  district  really  contested  comprises  a  superficial  area  approximately  estimated 
at  that  of  15  French  departments,  or,  say,  about  35,000  square  miles.  But  even 
here  the  civilised  inhabitants  number  no  more  than  some  3,000,  or  12  to  the 
square  mile. 

Disputed  Frontiers. 

So  early  as  the  seventeenth  century,  these  regions  were  already  claimed  both 
by  France  and  Portugal ;  but  there  never  could  have  been  any  doubt  as  to  the 
southern  frontier,  which  was  too  plainly  indicated  by  the  broad  stream  of  the 
Amazons.  Fort  Macapa,  on  the  very  bank  of  the  estuary  near  the  equator,  had 
been  erected  by  the  Portuguese  in  1688,  occupied  by  the  French  in  1797,  and  the 
same  year  recovered  by  the  Portuguese.  The  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  concluded  in 
1713,  was  intended  to  settle  the  question  once  for  all,  but  instead  of  doing  so,  it 
further  complicated  matters,  bj'  fixing,  as  limit  of  the  respective  domains,  a  river 
which  nobody  knew  anything  about,  and  the  very  estuary  of  which  had  never  been 
explored  by  any  navigator. 

It  is  still  asked.  What  is  this  river  Yapok  or  Vincent  Pinzon  which  the  Utrecht 
diplomatists,  ignorant  of  the  relations  in  America,  had  in  mind  when  they  drew 
up  their  rudimentary  map  ?  On  the  one  hand,  the  Portuguese  identified  it,  amid 
so  many  Yapoks,  or  "  Great  Rivers,"  on  this  coast,  with  that  which  falls  into  the 
sea  between  the  Montague  d'Argent  and  Cape  Orange.  On  the  other,  the  French 
might  assert  that  the  true  "  Groat  River,"  Vincent  Pinzon's  "  fresh-water  sea,"  was 
certainly  the  Amazons  itself,  and,  if  not  this,  then  the  Araguari,  as  being  the 
largest  watercourse  in  the  region  north  of  the  Amazons. 

Whole  libraries  might  be  filled  with  the  memoirs  and  diplomatic  documents 
that  have  been  published  on  this  unsolvable  question.  Various  commissions  have 
been  engaged  interpreting  the  meaning  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  or  in  settling  the 
problem  by  a  definite  decision,  but  all  their  suggestions  have  been  rejected,  and 
Brazil,  heir  of  Portugal,  still  advances  the  original  claim  to  the  Oyapok  as  the 
common  frontier.  Nevertheless,  she  is  willing  to  settle  the  matter  by  accepting 
the  Carsevenne  as  her  northern  boundarj'  in  this  direction. 

But  history  is  not  formulated,  it  "makes  itself,"  despite  treaties  and  conven- 
tions. In  1836  the  French  established  a  station  on  Lake  Mapa,  in  the  heart  of  the 
disputed  territory,  and  four  years  afterwards  the  Brazilians  founded  the  military 
colony  of  dom  Pedro  Set/undo  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Araguari.  A  convention 
decided  that  the  rival  Powers  should  evacuate  the  district  in  litigation,  and  France 
accordingly  abandoned  the  station  of  Mapa.  But  Brazil  declined  to  withdraw 
from  the  occupied  territory,  and  in  1860  even  exercised  political  functions  north 
of  the  Araguari  as  far  as  the  Tartarugal. 

The  country,  till  recently  a  solitude,  is  being  gradually  settled  ;  a  few  villages 
have  been  founded,  and  the  inhabitants,  mostly  Brazilian  deserters  and  fugitives, 
who  might  well  be  satisfied  with  unmolested  independence,  are   now  seeking  to 


FRENCH  GL'IAXA. 


73 


escape  from  tHeir  political  isolation.  They  have  several  times  asked  to  be  annexed 
to  French  Guiana,  notably  in  the  year  1SS3,  ^vhen  they  were  visited  by  the  explorer 
Coudreau. 


COUXAXI. 

At  last  the  inhabitants  of  Counani,  the  chief  village  in  the  northern  district 
under  litigation,  resolved  in  1886  to  set  up  for  themselves ;  but  after  proclaim- 
ing their  political  autonomy  they  wanted  a  French  president,  and  Paris  was  for  a 

Fig.  23. — Hapa  a>t)  Caeapapobib  Bat. 

Scale  1 :  650,000. 


•      C-."  g  V  ■'  -■- -   ;.  V                 =■ —              : 

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50 

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"50=2C-                           WestopGreen^.ncK                             'sO'iC 

Otol6 
Feet. 


Deptlis. 


16  to  32 

Feet. 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


,  12  llilea. 


time  entertained  with  the  spectacle  of  a  worthy  geographer  of  Yanves  suddenly 
transformed  to  the  chief  of  a  hitherto  unknown  State.  This  adventurer  forthwith 
surrounded  himself  with  a  Court,  summoned  a  Ministry  to  his  aid,  and  instituted 
a  national  order, /'£/o(7e  de  Counani  ("The  Star  of  Counani "),  with  more  com- 
manders, grand- crosses,  knights,  and  oflScers  than  the  inhabitants  of  the  cajjital 
of  the  republic.  But  his  Government  was  short-lived  ;  within  a  twelvemonth  the 
president  of  the  new  political  community  was  deposed  by  his  Prime  Minister, 
and  nothing  further  was  heard  of  the  "  independent  State  of  Counani." 


74  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Meanwhile  the  question  at  issue  is  solving  itself  in  a  practical  way.  The 
district,  till  lately  a  wilderness  without  appreciable  economic  value,  is  already 
well  known  from  the  explorations  of  Coudreau,  and  its  natural  resources  have 
awakened  the  cupidity  of  its  northern  and  southern  neighbours.  The  population, 
estimated  at  no  more  than  1,500  at  the  proclamation  of  the  ephemeral  republic,  had 
increased  twofold  within  the  next  six  j-ears,  and  the  annual  trade  alread}'  amounts 
to  £60,000. 

The  coast  steamers,  calling  at  all  the  ports  around  the  South- American  sea- 
board, have  not  yet  made  their  appearance  at  any  point  between  the  Oyapok  and 
Mapa  estuaries  ;  but  a  brisk  trade  is  carried  on  by  the  so-called  tapouyes,  small 
craft  so  named  from  a  local  Indian  tribe.  These  vessels,  ranging  from  5  to  15 
tons,  are  all  built  by  the  natives,  for  in  this  respect  the  independent  tribes  are 
more  industrious  than  the  inhabitants  of  French  Guiana.  The  little  harbours  of 
the  estuaries,  being  obstructed  by  bars,  are  inaccessible  to  large  vessels,  although 
nature  has  here  provided  the  best  anchorage  on  the  whole  of  the  seaboard  between 
the  Orinoco  and  the  Amazons.  Such  is  the  deep  Caraj)aporis  channel,  which 
flows  between  Maraca  Island  and  the  mainland,  and  which  at  some  former  period 
approached  nearer  than  at  present  to  the  Araguari  estuary.  This  harbour  of 
refuge  in  the  midst  of  the  dangerous  waters  exposed  to  the  bores  rushing  iip  the 
neighbouring  estuaries  may  yet  become  one  of  the  most  frequented  roadsteads  on 
the  Atlantic  coast. 

The  people  of  Counani  have  not  yet  begun  to  work  the  auriferous  alluvia  of 
their  river  valleys  ;  but  their  extensive  savannas  enable  them  to  raise  large  herds 
of  cattle.  According  to  Coudreau,,  as  many  as  18,000  oxen  find  good  pasturage 
in  the  district  between  the  Oyapok  and  the  Araguari.  Stock-breeding  has  even 
extended  beyond  the  mainland  to  the  hitherto  unoccupied  Maraca  Island. 

'  The  fisheiies  also  are  very  productive,  the  lakes  teeming  with  the  piracuru, 
which  is  cured  for  the  markets  of  Cayenne  and  Para.  The  fishers  also  harpoon 
the  manatees,  capture  turtles,  and  extract  an  excellent  fish-glue  from  the  ma- 
choiran.  Rubber  and  other  valuable  gums  are  collected  in  the  surrounding  wood- 
lauds. 

Inhabitants. — Eecext  Progress. 

About  two-:hirds  of  the  inhabitants  are  of  Brazilian  origin,  and  consequently 
generally  speak  Portuguese ;  nevertheless,  all  understand  the  Creole-French  of 
Cayenne,  which  has  borrowed  several  Indian  words.  The  remaining  third  consists 
of  Portuguese,  Martinique  islanders,  and  French  Creoles,  besides  the  Indian  half- 
breeds,  who  till  recently  were  the  exclusive  inhabitants  of  the  district.  These 
are  known  by  the  collective  name  of  Tapuyos,  a  word  which  in  the  Tupi  or 
"general  language"  of  Brazil  has  the  meaning  of  "stranger,"  or  "enemy." 
It  is  now  commonly  applied  indifferently  to  all  the  sedentarj'  Indians  on  the 
banks  of  the  Amazons,  and  even  to  the  half-castes  of  all  races,  whose  mixed 
descent  is  betrayed  by  the  colour  of  their  skin. 

I'olitical  pressure  is  felt  especially  on  the  Brazilian  side,  where  the   military 


FRENCH  GUIANA.  75 

station  of  Pedro  II.  serves  as  a  support  to  tlie  gradual  occupation  of  tlie  whole 
territory.  Even  the  Apurima  district,  with  its  extensive  savannas  and  live-stock 
farms,  which  stretch  northwards  beyond  the  Araguari  about  the  Lago  Novo,  has 
become  a  simple  administrative  dependency  of  Macapa. 

The  Brazilians  have  encroached  farther  still  in  the  direction  of  the  Mapa  river, 
where  they  have  founded  the  colony  of  Ferrcira  Gomes.     On  the  other  hand,  the 


Fig.  24. — Political  Divisions  op  GtruNA, 
Scale  1 :  130,000,000. 


Between  France 
and  Brazil. 


Disputed  Territories. 

ill 

Between  England 
and  Venezuela. 


Between  England 
and  Brazil. 


250  Miles. 


half-submerged  lands  traversed  bj^  the  Ouassa  and  the  Cachipour  on  the  French 
Guiana  frontier  are  amongst  the  least  inhabited  districts  of  the  contested  territory. 
Nevertheless,  the  trade  of  Counani  and  of  Jlapa  tends  to  gravitate  far  more 
towards  Caj'enne  than  towards  Para.  This  is  due  to  the  greater  proximity  of  the 
French  capital,  as  well  as  to  its  more   accessible  harbour.     In  the   direction  of 


76  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Para  is  developed  the  dangerous  gulf  of  tlie  "  fresh-water  sea,"  with  its  islands, 
currents,  high  tides,  and  bores. 

In  the  northern  basin  of  the  Ouassa  the  three  villages  of  Rocaoua,  Couripi,  and 
Ouassa  are  mere  groups  of  huts  round  which  roam  the  PaHcour  and  Aroua  Indians. 
Even  the  ranchos  of  Cachipour  give  shelter  to  scarcely  more  than  a  dozen 
families.  The  two  already  mentioned  villages  of  Counani  and  Mapa  are  situated 
farther  south.  Mapa  stands  near  the  place  where  the  French  had  erected  their 
little  fort  in  1836,  and  has  the  advantage  of  lying  nearest  to  the  Carapaporis  road- 
stead. Both  of  these  villages  contain  a  few  wood  and  brick  houses  rising  above 
the  groups  of  palm -roofed  huts.  They  have  also  each  its  school,  and  the  intellec- 
tual and  moral  condition  of  the  inhabitants  diiJers  little  from  that  prevalent  in  the 
surrounding  European  settlements.  In  1890  a  service  of  steamers  was  established 
between  Para  and  the  mouth  of  the  Mapa  river,  with  an  intermediate  port  of 
call  at  Bailique  Island  at  the  entrance  of  the  Amazons  estuary. 

All  these  little  centres  of  population  have  been  constituted  so  many  adminis- 
trative "  captainries,"  each  with  its  "  first  captain,"  "  second  captain,"  and 
"  brigadier,"  officials  who  are  listened  to  when  they  have  any  personal  worth,  but 
whose  orders  are  unheeded  when  displeasing  to  the  citizens.  In  these  microscopic 
communities  unanimity  alone  may  be  said  to  have  force  of  law.  The  officers 
themselves  are  nominated  by  acclamation  in  the  public  gatherings,  and  deposed 
by  the  same  summary  process. 


i 

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IH 

CHAPTER  Y. 

BRAZIL— GENERAL  SURVEY. 

RAZIL  unquestionably  takes  the  foremost  position  in  Latin  America, 
and  in  extent  it  ranks  as  the  fifth  of  the  great  States  of  the 
world,  being  exceeded  onlj^  by  the  British  Empire,  Russia,  China, 
and  the  United  States.*  In  superficial  area  it  nearly  equals  all 
the  Hispano-American  republics  of  South  America,  and  scarcely 
yields  to  them  in  population. 

In  its  form  and  general  relief  Brazil  presents  a  sharp  contrast  to  the  Andine 
States,  which  are  developed  in  a  vast  semicircle  round  her  landward  frontiers- 
The  plateaux  and  crests  of  the  uplands  belong  to  an  orographic  system  entirely 
different  from  that  of  the  Cordilleras,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  continent  within  a 
continent.  Between  the  two  stretch  the  plains  watered  by  the  great  rivers 
Amazons  and  Parana,  with  their  multitudinous  ramifications. 

Being  intersected  by  the  equator,  Brazil  also  differs  from  the  conterminous 
regions  in  its  higher  temperature  and  more  tropical  nature.  Only  at  its  southern- 
most extremity  does  it  penetrate  into  the  temperate  zone,  which  comprises  not 
more  than  a  thirteenth  part  of  the  total  area.  The  mean  elevation  being  much 
lower  than  that  of  the  Andine  States,  the  climate  is  proportionately  warmer,  and 
all  the  conditions  of  its  flora,  fauna,  and  inhabitants  are  correspondingly  different. 
Another  contrast  is  derived  from  the  relatively  greater  proximity  of  Brazil  to 
the  Old  "World.  The  shortest  line  between  Europe  and  South  America  lies 
between  Cape  St.  Vincent  and  the  Brazilian  headland  of  Cape  S.  Roque,  while 
Pernambuco  is  nearer  to  Cadiz  than  is  La  Guaira  or  any  other  Venezuelan  sea- 
port. 

Geographical  Exploeation. 
The  discovery  of  Brazil  has  been  attributed  to  a  certain  Joao  Ramalho,  who  died 
at  San  Paulo  in  1580,  after  a  pretended  residence  of  ninety  years  in  the  country. 

*  Comparative  extent  of  the  great  States  of  the  -world  in  1893,  excluding  the  Colonial  empires, 
according  to  Wagner,  Supan,  and  others  : — 

Russia,  less  the  inUnd  seas 8,000,000  square  miles. 

China  with  Mongolia,  but  exclusive  of  Tibet  and  Corea       .  3,800,000  ,, 

United  States  with  Alaska 3,530,000  ,, 

Dominion  of  Canada -with  Labrador  and  the  Archipelagoes  3,116,000  ,, 

Brazil .  3,070,000  „ 


78 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


But  thougli  history  has  forgotten  this  doubtful  precursor  of  Columbus,  the  Bra- 
zilian seaboard  was  certainly  sighted  within  eight  years  of  the  great  navigator's 
first  voj'age  by  an  expedition  which  had  not  been  equipped  for  the  New  World  at 
all.  While  Vicente  Pinzon  and  Diego  de  Lepe  were  penetrating  into  the  Amazons 
estuary,  Pedr'  Alvarez  Cabral,  bound  for  the  East  Indies,  steered  so  far  to  the 
west  that  he  struck  land  which  he  supposed  to  be  an  island.     Here  his  vessels 


Fig.  25. — Lastd  of  Veea  Ceuz,  Section  of  Beazilian  Coast  fiest  discoveeed. 

Scale  1 :  500,000. 


West  op  Greenwich 


Oto6 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


6  to  12 
Fathoms. 


12  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


88  MUes. 


found  a  refuge  in  the  haven  which  has  preserved  its  original  name  of  Porto 
Seguro.  Taking  possession  of  the  place  in  the  name  of  Portugal,  he  sailed 
away,  leaving  behind  two  criminals  who  were  to  learn  the  language  of  the  country 
in  order  afterwards  to  act  as  interpreters. 

On   a  cross  erected  near  the  port,  Cabral   had   caused  the  arms  of  the  King  of 


I 


BEAZIL— GENERAL  SUEVEY.  79 

Portugal  to  be  engraved,  and  Spain,  unaware  of  the  true  character  of  this  "island" 
of  Vera  Cruz,  made  no  claim  to  its  possession.  In.  any  case,  it  lay  to  the  east,  that 
is,  to  the  Portuguese  side  of  the  line  drawn  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.  between  the 
two  halves  of  the  globe  assigned  to  Spain  and  Portugal. 

But  the  "  island  "  expanded  with  subsequent  discoveries,  and  soon  extended 
•westwards  beyond  the  conventional  line  laid  down  by  the  Treaty  of  Tordesillas  iu 
1 494  between  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  hemispheres.  The  name  of  Vera  Cruz 
given  to  the  land  by  Cabral,  and  afterwards  changed  to  Santa  Cruz,  was  not 
extended  with  the  western  discoveries,  but  remained  restricted  to  a  river  and  a 
settlement  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Porto  Seguro.  The  popular  name  of  BruziJ, 
previously  applied  to  a  mysterious  land  in  which  were  supposed  to  grow  the  trees 
already  known  as  Brazil  or  Brasil,  at  last  became  permanently  attached  to  the  new 
region,  which  thus  took  its  name  from  the  dyewood,  not  the  dyewood  from  the 
country.  Next  year  (1501),  Andrea  Goncalvez  Amerigo  Vespucci  reached  the 
bay  of  Todos  os  Santos,  where  now  stands  the  city  of  Bahia. 

Progress  of  Portuguese  Settlement. 

Once  revealed  to  the  outer  world,  this  seaboard  received  numerous  visitors, 
amongst  others  de  Gonneville  and  other  Dieppe  navigators.  By  1503  the  Normans 
had  already  made  several  voyages,  especially  "  iu  quest  of  the  braisil,  which  is 
a  wood  for  dyeing  in  red."  In  1509  the  whole  seaboard  had  been  explored  as  far 
as  the  Plate  estuarj-,  which  was  entered  by  Vicente  Pizon  and  Diaz  de  Sols.  A 
barter  trade  was  opened  with  the  natives,  and  in  1532,  Martin  Alfonso  de  Souza 
fovmded  the  two  colonies  of  S.  Vicente  and  Piratininga  in  the  present  province  of 
S.  Paulo,  and  not  far  from  the  modern  city  of  Santos. 

Other  groups  of  Portuguese  established  themselves  at  various  points  along  the 
coast,  and  by  the  year  1534  the  royal  domain  had  already  been  divided  into  vast 
hereditary  "  captainries  "  granted  to  great  lords  with  almost  regal  powers  on  the 
condition  of  introducing  settlers  and  maintaining  trade  relations  with  the  mother 
country.  In  order  to  consolidate  his  power  and  keep  these  great  vassals  iu  due 
control,  King  John  III.  created  a  government  general  for  Brazil  in  1549,  with 
capital  Salvador,  the  present  Bahia,  so  named  from  the  Bahia  ("  Bay  ")  de  Todos 
OS  Santos. 

Colonisation  continued  to  spread  inland  less  by  alliances  with  the  natives  than 
bj'  conquest.  Nevertheless,  in  1549  the  Jesuits  had  already  penetrated  inland  to 
convert  the  Indians,  and  thus  was  begun  the  network  of  explorations  which  even- 
tually brought  them  in  peaceful  contact  with  the  Guarani  of  Paraguay,  and  with 
the  Mojos  and  Chiquitos  about  the  sources  of  the  Madeira.  But  on  the  other  hand 
the  Mamvlucos  {Memhyruca),  white  and  Indian  half-breeds  of  S.  Paulo  and  the 
other  captainries  in  the  south,  looked  on  the  aborigines  as  mere  slaves,  and  hunted 
them  down  like  so  much  game. 

North  of  Bahia  also  armed  expeditions  spread  havoc  along  their  line  of  march 
to  the  conquest  of  the  boundless  Amazonian  regions.  By  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century  Sergipe,  North  Parahyba,  Natal,  and  the  Cafe  S.  Roquc  district  had  been 


80 


AM.\^ONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


reduced ;  Ceara  was  occupied  in  1610,  and  in  1G16  tlio  Portuguese  had  reached 
the  Amazonian  seaport  of  Para. 

They  had  at  the  same  time  to  defend  themselves  against  foreign  rivals  eager  to 
contend  for  a  share  in  the  vast  Brazilian  domain.  In  1567  they  recovered  Rio  de 
Janeiro  Bay  from  the  French,  and  here  was  founded  the  city  which  later  became 
the  capital  of  the  whole  region.  In  1615  the  French  were  also  expelled  from  the 
island  of  Maranhao,  east  of  the  Amazons  estuary  ;  but  the  Dutch,  after  capturing 

Fig.  26. — Old  Political  Divisions  and  Feontiees  op  Beazil. 
Scale  1  :  52,000,000. 


West  or  b'"eenwic^l 


Territories  contested  between  Brazil  and 


TJruf'U.iy  (li:iuda        France. 
Oriental) 
(formerly  CiB-Platina] . 


EZl 

England. 


Colombia.         Argentina. 


Republic. 


1,250  Miles. 


Salvador,  held  their  ground  for  thirty  years  (1624 — 54)  on  the  whole  of  the  sea- 
board between  the  Rio  S.  Francisco  and  the  Rio  Grande  do  Norte,  making  Per- 
nambuco  their  capital,  and  even  reducing  Ceara  and  Maranhao.  Portugal  being 
powerless  to  recover  the  lost  territory,  the  natives  themselves  — whites,  Indians, 
and  blacks — rose  against  the  Dutch,  and  after  nine  years  of  incessant  warfare 
drove  them  from  Pernambuco.  Peace  followod  in  1661,  after  which  Brazil 
remained  exempt  from  any  serious  foreign  invasion  down  to  the  present  day.     Rio 


BRAZIL— GENER-iL  SURVEY.  81 

de  Janeiro,  however,    was  captured  in  1711  by  the  French    filibuster,  Duguay- 
Trouin,  who  levied  a  heavy  ransom  on  the  inhabitants. 

During  the  eighteenth  century  the  Paulistas,  that  is,  the  people  of  S.  Paulo,  most 
enterprising  of  all  the  Brazilians,  continued  their  excursions  towards  the  Far 
"West,  whence  they  brought  gold,  diamonds,  and  other  treasures.  Stations  were 
established  at  the  mountain  passes,  at  the  entrance  of  the  valleys,  at  the  conflu- 
ences of  the  rivers,  and  Goyaz  and  Matto  Grosso  were  thus  gradually  annexed  to 
the  colony.  The  Paulistas  even  encroached  on  the  Spanish  domain,  invading  the 
"  Missions  "  iu  the  Parana  and  Paraguay  basins,  and  extending  their  expeditions 
beyond  the  Mamore  to  Bolivia  and  the  Peruvian  foot-hills.  Thus  was  continually 
enlarged  the  domain  of  Portuguese  speech,  while  the  "  buffer "  zone  separating 
the  Brazilian  uplands  from  the  spurs  of  the  Andes  was  gradually  narrowed  to  the 
advantage  of  the  Brazilian  soiancjos.  These  pioneer  squatters  and  backwoodsmen 
had  explored,  if  not  the  whole  course,  at  least  the  upper  reaches  and  headwaters 
of  the  Amazons  affluents,  and  the  whole  region  began  to  assume  a  certain  geo- 
graphical unity. 

Political  Relations. 

After  the  rout  of  the  Dutch,  the  sturdy  Brazilians  had  many  occasions  of 
resisting  the  exactions  of  the  Portuguese  themselves,  who  came  to  be  gradu- 
ally regarded  as  forasteiros  ("  foreigners,"  "  aliens ").  About  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  several  risings  took  place  with  varying  success  in  the 
l^rovinces  of  S.  Paulo,  Minas  Geraes,  and  Pernambuco ;  but  after  the  North 
American  revolution,  the  national  movements  become  more  serious,  and  the  year 
1789  witnessed  the  defeat  of  the  first  republican  conspiracy  in  Brazil ;  followed 
by  the  execution  of  Tiradentes,  one  of  the  chief  conspirators,  in  1792,  the  date 
chosen  by  the  Brazilians  as  the  starting-point  of  their  new  national  era. 

Although  the  Portuguese  rule  was  maintained  some  years  longer,  the  prince 
regent  Dom  Joao,  on  escaping  from  Portugal  to  Brazil,  had  to  make  Rio  de 
Janeiro  the  capital  of  the  Monarchy.  Brazil  itself  took  the  title  of  a  kingdom, 
and  distant  Portugal  began  to  be  regarded  as  a  dependency  of  its  former 
colony.  In  1817  a  republican  insurrection  broke  out  in  Pernambuco,  and  in  1S21 
the  Brazilian  Cortes  ("  Chambers")  opposed  the  departure  of  Dom  Joao  VI.  for 
Portugal.  Although  the  deputies  were  dispersed  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
the  regent  Dom  Pedro  had  next  year  to  choose  between  the  imperial  throne  of 
an  independent  Brazil  or  a  return  to  Portugal.  He  chose  the  throne,  and 
thus  was  accomplished  almost  without  bloodshed  the  final  severance  of  Brazil 
from  the  mother  country. 

Having  thus  become  master  of  her  own  destinies,  Brazil  developed  a  marked 
individuality  in  strong  contrast  to  that  of  the  Spanish  republics.  Although 
Brazil,  like  the  neighbouring  States,  contains  hundreds  of  little-known  indepen- 
dent tribes,  her  mixed  white  and  Indian  populations  present  more  unity,  a  more 
complete  fusion  of  the  racial  elements,  than  do  the  Hispano-American  mestizoes. 
Most  of  the  aborigines,  to  whatever  stock  they  maj^  belong,  have  also  been  merged 

VOL.    XIX.  G 


82 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


somewhat  closely  In  a  single  family  by  the  adoption  of  the  lingoa  geral  ("  general 
language  ")  as  the  common  medium  of  intercourse. 

The  Slave  Qvestiox. 
A  still  greater  contrast  is  presented  by  the  African  element,  which  enters  in 
far  greater  proportion  into  the  constituents  of  the  Lusitano-American  than  into 


Fig.  27.— Brazil  and  Poetugal. 
Scale  1  :  88,000,000. 


1,850  Miles. 


those  of  the  Uispano-American  populations.  Owing  to  the  proximity  of  the 
Guinea  coastlands,  slaves  were  imported  by  the  million  into  the  Brazilian  planta- 
tions, and  although  the  majority  call  themselves  "white,"  the  Brazilian  nation, 
viewed  as  a  whole,  must  certainly  be  called  mixed.  In  any  case,  even  the  full- 
blood  negroes  are  regarded  as  equals  by  their  white  fellow-citizens. 

Yet  of  all  cultured  nations  Brazil  had  longest  maintained  the  institution  of 
slavery ;  even  the  slave  trade  was  legally  carried  on  till  1826,  and  then  abolished 


BRAZIL— GENERAL  SURVEY.  83 

onlj' under  tlie  pressure  of  tlie  British  Government.  Nor  w.s  the  convention 
observed,  and  the  trafEc  continued,  despite  the  English  cruise  -s,  and  despite  the 
"  Aberdeen  Act "  of  1845,  claiming  the  right  of  pursuing  and  capturing  slavers 
in  the  Brazilian  harbours.  From  50,000  to  80,000  continued  to  be  annually 
smuggled  in  down  to  the  middle  of  the  century,  and  as  many  as  1,500,000  are 
estimated  to  have  been  imported  between  1826  and  1851,  when  the  Brazilian 
Government  was  compelled  by  public  opinion  to  place  the  slave  trade  on  the  same 
level  as  piracy.  In  1851  the  servile  population  was  estimated  at  2,200,000,  but 
owing  to  the  excessive  mortality  of  the  blacks,  and  the  cessation  of  the  import 
trade,  they  had  fallen  to  1,500,000  in  1871. 

Public  opinion  still  continued  to  demand  the  abolition  of  slavery  itself.  In 
1866  the  Benedictine  monasteries  liberated  their  1,600  blacks,  and  the  good 
example  was  followed  by  the  hospitals  and  other  institutions.  At  last  in 
1871  was  passed  the  law  of  progressive  emancipation,  which  aimed  at  the 
total  extinction  of  slavery  in  a  single  generation.  The  same  law  summarily 
liberated  all  the  slaves  of  the  State,  of  the  Cz-own,  and  of  intestate  estates, 
and  this  was  followed  bj'  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  in  1888,  the  very  year 
in  which  Brazil  effected  an  almost  bloodless  political  revolution,  changing  the 
form  of  government  from  an  empire  to  a  federal  republic.  The  emancipation 
affected  740,000  blacks,  so  that  in  twenty  j'ears  their  number  had  been  reduced 
by  one-half. 

But  if  servitude  has  disappeared,  the  system  of  large  landed  estates  per- 
sists. This  is  at  present  the  chief  factor  in  the  social  life  of  Brazil ;  it  has 
given  an  immense  impulse  to  free  immigration  and  to  the  importation  of  hired 
labourers. 

Brazil  and  the  TTnited  States. 

In  many  respects  Brazil,  the  "  South  American  Union,"  maj'  be  compared  with 
the  North  American  Union.  In  their  geographical  aspect  both  regions  pi-eseut 
a  curious  resemblance,  each  occupying  the  central  parts  of  symmetrical  continents 
"watered  by  river  S3'stems  of  prodigious  extent.  'The  relief  also  is  much  the  same, 
somewhat  narrow  parallel  coast  ranges  on  the  east  side,  traversed  or  flanked  on 
the  west  by  the  great  backbone  of  the  New  World. 

Even  their  history  presents  striking  analogies,  despite  the  difference  of  origin 
Latin  on  one  side,  Anglo-Saxon  on  the  other,  and  despite  the  slighter  indus- 
trial and  intellectual  development  of  Brazil.  In  both  regions  the  whites  found 
themselves  originally  face  to  face  with  the  aborigines,  who  were  relentlessly 
pressed  farther  and  farther  inland.  In  both  slave  labour  -was  imported  to  clear 
the  ground  and  work  the  plantations,  and  in  both  has  been  developed  an  aristocracy 
of  planters,  whose  power  rests  on  the  exploitation,  almost  on  the  monojooly  of  a 
small  number  of  agricultural  products. 

The  two  great  Powers  of  North  and  South  have  also  had  their  frontier  ■wars, 
the  United  States  with  Mexico,  Brazil  with  the  southern  neighbours,  and  in  1893 
the  latter  was  still  wrangling  diplomatically  over  boundary  questions. 

g2 


84 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Recent  Events. 
In  1680  the  Portuguese  had  already  founded  the  city  of  Sacramento,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Plate  river,  where  now  stands  the  old  Portuguese  "  colony  " 
of  Colonia.  For  nearly  a  century  the  two  rival  Powers  contended  for  this  impor- 
tant station,  which  eventually  remained  with  the  Spaniards.  The  period  of 
transition  following:  the  revolution  of  Buenos  Aires  and  the  rising  of  the  Creole 
population  enabled  the  Portuguese  to  recover  the  Banda  Oriental,  a  territory 
which  has  now  become  the  republic  of  Uruguay,  and  for  some  years  Brazil 
remained  in  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  "  Cis-Platiue "  province.     But  the 


Fig.   28. — COIONIA  DEL  Saceajtento. 
Scale  1  :  950,000. 


West  or  L-reenwicfi 


Oto  16 
Feet. 


Depths. 


16  Feet 
and  upwards. 


Li^hthouBe. 


18  Miles. 


inhabitants,  nearly  all  of  Spanish  descent  and  speech,  soon  rose  against  the  rule  of 
the  Lusitanians,  and  after  a  war  of  three  years,  in  which  they  were  joined  by  the 
Buenos  Aires  people,  they  achieved  their  independence.  Since  then  (1828)  Uruguay 
has  preserved  its  autonomy,  thanks  to  the  natural  rivalries  of  its  two  powerful 
northern  and  southern  neighbours. 

In  the  south-west  the  Brazilians  became  involved  in  other  conflicts,  here 
contending  not  for  the  natural  frontier  formed  by  the  Paraguay -Parana  confluence 
but  for  the  maintenance  of  their  present  frontiers,  and  to  prevent  the  prepon- 
derance of  Paraguay,  which,  under  the  dictatorship  of  Solano  Lopez,   threatened 


BRAZIL— GENERAL  SLTiVEY.  85 

to  upset  the  balance  of  power  in  the  Plate  regions.  The  five  years'  war 
(1865 — 70),  in  which  Argentina  and  Uruguaj'  sided  with  Brazil,  was  one  of  the 
most  sanguinary  ever  waged.  Paraguay  was  transformed  to  a  citadel  surrounded 
bv  a  circle  of  fire  and  sword,  which  was  gradually  narrowed,  till  the  whole  nation 
had  well-nigh  perished. 

Foreign  wars  were  accompanied  or  followed  by  intestine  strife,  the  province 
of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  often  rising  in  revolt,  and  even  constituting  itself  au 
independent  republic  which  held  its  ground  from  1835  to  1840.  Here  the 
peoples  of  Spanish  descent  are  more  numerous  than  elsewhere  in  Brazil,  while 
their  usages  and  commercial  relations  attract  them  to  the  centres  of  trade  in  the 
Plate  regions. 

Still  more  serious  internal  convulsions  have  recently  broken  out,  and  a  civil 
war,  which  was  fortunately  brought  to  a  sudden  close  in  the  spring  of  1894, 
seemed  for  a  moment  to  threaten  the  very  stability  of  the  State,  if  not  the  over- 
throw of  republican  institutions  and  the  restoration  of  the  Monarch}'.  In  the 
autumn  of  1893  the  insurgents,  having  secured  the  adhesion  of  the  nav}',  fomid 
themselves  strong  enough  to  occupy  several  strategical  points  in  the  Bay  of  Rio 
de  Janeiro,  and  even  repeatedly  to  bombard  the  capital  itself. 

Ethkical  Elements. 

Till  recent  times  Portugal  had  maintained  a  certain  ascendency  in  its  former 
colony,  if  not  by  its  trade  and  industries,  at  all  events  through  the  immigration 
of  the  labouring  classes.  Every  year  a  few  thousands  in  the  prime  of  life  cume 
from  the  banks  of  the  Douro  and  Minho,  or  from  Madeira  and  the  Azores,  to 
strengthen  the  Lusitanian  element  in  the  Brazilian  towns  and  rural  districts. 
The  islanders  are  generally  known  by  the  name  of  Aiujicos,  from  Angra,  former 
capital  of  the  Azores,  and  from  them  are  also  perhaps  named  numerous  places  in 
Brazil,  such  as  Angical  and  Arraial  dos  Angicos.  Thanks  to  their  common  speech 
and  usages,  these  Portuguese  immigrants  readily  adapted  themselves  to  the  new 
environment,  and  rapidlj'  merged  in  the  surrounding  populations. 

Nest  to  the  Portuguese  the  Germans  were  the  most  numerous  settlers,  intro- 
duced at  first  as  hired  labourers,  and  afterwards  as  free  immigrants.  Those 
engaged  by  speculators  for  the  plantations  of  Amazonia  and  of  the  Mucury  basin 
perished  wholesale  of  famine  and  hardships  of  all  kinds.  But  the  settlers  in  the 
temperate  regions  of  Santa  Catharina  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  thrived  so  well 
that  their  patriotic  fellow-countrymen  began  to  believe  in  the  birth  of  a  "  New 
Germany  "  between  the  Uruguay  and  Brazil. 

But  although  many  grew  wealthy,  and  for  a  time  almost  maintained  a  State 
within  a  State,  their  national  cohesion  has  already  been  broken  by  the  stream  of 
Italian  immigration,  which  has  begun  to  overflow  into  every  j^art  of  Brazil,  and 
especiall)'  into  the  southern  provinces.  The  influence  of  other  white  peoples — 
French,  English,  and  North  Americans — is  felt  not  by  their  numbers,  but  by 
their  enterprising  spirit  displayed  in  every  branch  of  trade  and  industry. 

Under  the  Dutch  rule  the  Jews  became  powerful  in  Pernambuco,  and  although 


86  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

tliey  were  afterwards  persecuted  by  the  Inquisition,  burnt  by  the  hundred,  and 
compelled  to  abjure  their  national  religion,  they  are  now  returning  in  greater 
numbers  than  ever,  especially  from  Germany  and  Russia.  The  gypsies,  descen- 
dants of  those  transported  by  Portugal  to  Brazil  about  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  still  wander  in  small  groups  over  the  inland  plateaux,  while  the 
Chinese  have  begun  to  make  their  appearance  in  the  towns  and  on  the  plantations. 

In  general  the  Brazilians  have  not  degenerated  physically,  and  on  the 
plateaux  they  are  distinguished  by  their  tall  stature,  skill,  and  energy.  Despite 
the  frequent  wars  into  which  they  have  been  dragged,  they  are  not  a  bellicose 
people,  but  rather  of  peaceful  disposition,  patient  and  long-suffering.  Although 
far  from  ambitious,  they  are  endowed  with  considerable  intelligence  and,  like  the 
Ilispano- Americans,  are  "  a  nation  of  orators." 

Even  in  colonial  times  Brazil  had  produced  numerous  writers  and  independent 
thinkers,  amongst  others  Antonio  Jose  de  Silva,  burnt  by  the  Inquisition  at  Lisbon 
in  1739.  Jose  de  Lacerda,  the  first  explorer  to  penetrate  far  into  the  interior  of 
equatorial  Africa,  was  a  Brazilian,  as  was  also  Gusmao,  first  of  modern  physicists 
to  send  up  a  balloon  (1709). 

Main  Physical  Divisions. 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  Brazil  forms  a  geographical  unit  characterised  by  an  almost 
insular  mass  of  crystalline  and  archoDan  mountains  disijosed  in  the  direction 
from  north  to  south,  steeply  inclined  towards  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  developing 
broad  plateaux  between  the  fluvial  slopes.  But  despite  this  general  simplicity 
of  structure  the  countrj^  is  so  vast  that  within  its  limits  are  still  comjirised  several 
distinct  physical  divisions  of  great  extent.  Hence  nearly  all  of  its  most  dis- 
tinguished explorers  have  been  fain  to  confine  themselves  to  a  single  region,  or 
even  to  a  single  section,  as,  for  instance,  some  particular  river  basin  of  that  region. 
It  will  accordingly  be  convenient  to  spread  the  detailed  description  of  Brazil  over 
a  number  of  separate  chapters,  in  which  may  be  summed  up  the  special  geo- 
graphical and  biological  features  of  each  phj-sical  division. 

The  natural  limits  of  these  physical  divisions  coincide  in  no  way  with  those 
of  the  old  administrative  "provinces,"  which  correspond  with  the  States  at  present 
constituting  the  federal  republic.  In  fact,  these  provinces  had  for  the  most  part 
a  purely  artificial  origin.  They  were  carved  by  royal  or  ministerial  caprice  out 
of  the  coast  region,  and  then  extended  inland  in  total  ignorance  of  the  configura- 
tion of  the  interior.  These  ancient  "  captainries,"  which  varied  from  time  to  time 
in  number  and  extent,  have  become  the  political  and  administrative  divisions  of 
East  Brazil,  while  new  provinces  were  afterwards  created  from  the  western  terri- 
tories, which  stretched  away  to  the  unknown  regions  inhabited  by  independent 
wild  tribes.  Here,  also,  as  on  the  seaboard,  fictitious  frontiers  were  traced  on 
the  map  long  before  any  knowledge  had  been  acquired  of  the  natural  frontiers. 

Amongst  the  broad  physical  divisions  Amazonia  alone  comprises  about  one- 
half  of  the  whole  republic.  It  would  even  be  doubled  in  size  were  it  made  to 
include  all  those  parts  of  Venezuela,  Colombia,  Ecuador,  Peru,  and  Bolivia  which 


BRAZIL— GENEEAL  SURVEY. 


87 


belong  to  its  basin  on  the  inland  slopes  of  the  Andes.  The  great  river  which 
forms  the  central  axis  imparts  to  Amazonia  an  independent  life,  a  world  apart, 
■with  distinct  natural  features,  products,  and  populations,  and  with  a  separate 
outlet  towards  Europe  and  North  America.  "\\'ith  the  rest  of  BrazU  its  relations 
are  still  maintained,  not  by  overland  routes,  but  by  this  great  waterway.  All 
landward  communication  except  in  the  south-east  is  prevented  by  the  boundless 

Fig.  29. — Relief  of  Bbazil. 

6>.-ale  1  :  500,000,000 


Heigh's. 


0  to  630 
Feet. 


6cO  to  1.660 
Feet. 


1,650  to  3,300 
Feet. 

Beptlis. 


3,300  to  6,550 
Feet. 


6.550  Feet 
and  upwards. 


Otolfy) 

FatLoms. 


ICO  to  1,000 
Fathoms. 


1 ,000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


.  1,250  Miles. 


and  tractless  woodlands  inhabited  only  by  savage  tribes.  A  direct  overland 
journey  from  Manaos,  capital  of  Amazonia,  to  Eio  de  Janeiro,  capital  of  tho 
republic,  would  resolve  itself  for  half  the  route  into  a  dangerous  exploring  expe- 
dition. A  hostile  fleet  anchoring  in  the  Amazons  estuary  would  sutEce  to  divide 
Brazil  into  two  halves  as  distinct  as  France  and  Algeria.     Hence  it  is  not  sur- 


88  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

prising  that  tlie  civilised  populations  dwelling  on  the  banks  of  tlie  great  river 
have  always  submitted  with  reluctance  to  the  Government  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

Apart  from  Amazonia,  the  rest  of  Brazil  is  divided  into  natural  divisions  less 
clearly  marked,  although  still  offering  some  striking  contrasts.  The  great  oval 
space  in  which  are  developed  the  twin  rivers  Araguaj'a  and  Tocantins,  and  which 
about  coincides  with  the  State  of  Goyaz,  constitutes  one  of  these  geographical 
regions  skirted  eastwards  by  the  main  central  range,  which  runs  north  and  south 
as  far  as  the  chief  diverging  point  of  the  two  fluvial  systems. 

The  projecting  seaboard  at  Pernambuco  serves  as  limit  to  another  region, 
which  splits  the  great  equatorial  current  into  two  streams  flowing  iu  inverse  direc- 
tions, and  which  separate  the  S.  Francisco  basin  from  the  slope  draining  to  the 
'  Amazons  Gulf.  Here  are  grouped  the  States  of  Maranhao,  Piauhy,  Ceara,  Hio 
Grande  do  Norte,  Parahyba,  Pernambuco,  and  Alagoas,  which,  desijite  their 
proximity  to  the  equator,  enjoy  a  relatively  salubrious  climate,  at  least  on  the 
plains  exposed  to  the  sea  breezes.  They  everywhere  present  the  aspect  of  exten- 
sive plateaux  or  sertiios  of  slight  relief,  thinly  wooded,  and  inhabited  mainly  by 
stock-breeders,  who  suffer  much  from  the  periodical  droughts. 

Another  natural  division,  including  the  two  central  and  flourishing  States  of 
Bahia  and  Minas  Geraes,  comprises  nearly  the  whole  of  the  S.  Francisco  basin 
with  some  of  the  headwaters  of  the  Parana.  This  may  be  regarded  as  the  true 
central  region  of  the  country,  not  only  in  its  geographical  position,  but  also  as 
regards  its  climate,  flora,  and  inhabitants.  The  seaboard  States  following  south 
from  the  lower  S.  Francisco — Sergipe,  Bahia,  Espirito  Santo,  Rio  de  Janeiro — 
constitute  the  outer  slope  of  the  basin  traversed  by  the  S.  Francisco,  and  in  these 
States  are  situated  all  the  natural  approaches,  mountain  passes,  and  river  gorges 
leading  from  the  Atlantic  to  that  inner  basin.  This  coast  zone  presents  a  more 
rapid  seaward  incline  than  that  of  the  northern  plateaux.  The  mountains  are 
loftier  and  approach  nearer  to  the  sea ;  the  rivers  are  more  copious  and  swifter ; 
the  flora  richer  and  more  varied,  thanks  to  the  regular  rains  accompanying  the 
trade  winds.  But  the  climate  seems  less  healthy,  although  here  lies  the  old 
capital,  Bahia,  one  of  the  two  largest  cities  in.  Brazil. 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  the  modern  capital,  occuj)ies  a  distinct  zone  sharply  limited  on 
the  north  by  the  deep  Rio  Parahyba  valley.  In  the  natural  slope  of  the  land 
and  the  direction  of  its  rivers,  this  part  of  Brazil  is  connected  with  the  plateaux  of 
S.  Paulo,  although  a  large  portion  of  its  inhabitants  has  gravited  towards  the 
Upper  S.  Francisco  basin. 

West  of  Minas  Geraes  and  of  Goyaz,  the  State  of  Matto  Grosso,  which  com- 
prises the  water-parting  between  the  Amazons  and  Plate  basins,  constitutes 
another  physical  zone,  where  the  more  open  country,  scattered  clumps  of  trees, 
and  wooded  river  banks  contrast  with  the  vast  Amazonian  forests  and  grassy 
plains  of  the  plateau  regions.  Here  the  aborigines  still  hold  their  ground  against 
the  European  and  half-caste  settlers. 

On  the  other  hand,  South  Brazil,  traversed  by  the  Parana,  the  Uruguay,  and 
their  affluents,  has  got  rid  of  nearly  all  the  indigenous  tribes,  and  here  Europeans 


BRAZIL— GENERAL   SURVEY.  80 

of  pure  stock  are  relatively  far  more  numerous  than  in  anj'  other  part  of  the 
republic.  Here  also  the  State  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  often  torn  bj'  civil  strife, 
constitutes  a  separate  geographical  area,  a  peninsular  region  clearly  delimited  on 
the  west  and  north  by  the  course  of  the  Uruguay.  This  State  forms  an  inter- 
mediate zone  between  Brazil  proper  and  the  Plate  River  regions,  although  still 
differing  greatly  from  the  Argentine  pampas  in  the  inequalities  of  its  relief,  its 
arborescent  vegetation,  and  the  usages  of  its  agricultural  populations. 

Geographical  Nomenclature. 

In  the  geographical  nomenclature,  names  of  Indian  and  especially  of  Tupi 
origin  are  scarcely  less  numerous  than  those  introduced  by  the  Portuguese 
settlers.  Such  native  names  have  at  least  the  advantage  of  generally  conveying 
a  clear  meaning  ;  most  of  them  indicate  some  local  peculiarity  :  the  colour  of  the 
running  waters,  the  height,  form,  or  aspect  of  the  mountains,  the  character  of  the 
vegetation  or  its  absence.  Recently  a  reaction  has  set  in  against  the  Portuguese 
and  in  favour  of  the  Tupi  terminology,  and  one  result  of  the  late  political  change 
was  to  impart  a  more  Indian  appearance  to  the  maps.  Such  names  as  Impera- 
triz,  Principe  Imperial,  &c.,  have  been  replaced  by  Tupi  words  which,  if  of 
less  familiar  aspect,  possess  more  geographical  interest. 

The  recurrence  of  favourite  names  is  also  extremely  frequent,  and  everj^  State 
has  its  Iguassu,  its  Parana  Minim,  its  Chapada  Grande,  its  Bom  Jardin,  and  its 
B5a  Vista.  On  the  east  coast  there  are  no  less  than  thirtj^-nine  towns  and  vil- 
lages named  from  St.  John  (S.  Joiio),  besides  many  more  in  the  interior.  The 
villages  usually  take  the  title  of  jjovoa^ao,  while  aldeia,  the  word  employed  in 
Portugal,  is  reserved  in  Brazil  for  the  native  villages.  In  Minas  Geraes  a 
common  term  for  village  is  arraial,  "  camping-ground,"  due  to  the  former  gold- 
hunters,  who  formed  temporary  encampments  in  the  auriferous  districts. 


CHAPTER  Vr. 

Amazonia  :  States  of  Amazoxas  and  Para. 

YEN  when  restricted  to  the  section  of  tlie  fluvial  basin  claimed  by 
Brazil,  the  expression  Amazonia  covers  a  space  about  twelve 
times  the  size  of  the  British  Isles,  but  with  a  population,  civilised 
and  savage,  of  little  over  half  a  million.  Politically  it  comprises 
the  two  States  of  Amazons  and  Para,  although  a  portion  of  the 

latter  lies  beyond  Amazonia  proper.     Even  its  capital,  Belem  or  Para,  is  situated 

on  a  lateral  channel  east  of  the  Amazons  basin. 


The  Amazons  Eiver. 

This  river,  most  copious  in  South  America  and  in  the  whole  world,  is  already 
a  great  continental  watercourse  at  the  point  where  it  enters  Brazilian  territory,  at 
the  foot  of  the  Tabatinga  cliffs.  Between  the  Huanuco  Andes  and  this  place  it 
has  traversed  a  distance  of  1,500  miles,  flowing  at  first  in  its  upland  valley 
parallel  with  the  Pacific  coast,  then  through  the  pongos  or  gorges  by  which  it 
escapes  from  the  Andine  regions,  and  lastly  in  a  winding  bed  across  the  Mainas 
plains.  In  this  upper  section  it  has  been  Joined  by  several  large  afiluents,  such  as 
the  Chinchipe,  the  Paute,  IMorona,  Pastaza,  Huallaga,  and  UcayaH,  this  last 
draining  the  whole  of  South  Pern.  It  has  also  received  the  Napo  from  Ecuador, 
and  the  Javary,  which  forms  the  political  frontier  between  Peru  and  Brazil. 

At  the  Javary  confluence  the  volume  of  the  Marafion  (Upper  Amazons)  exceeds 
that  of  the  largest  river  in  Europe,  yet  it  has  still  to  traverse  two-thirds  of  the 
continent  at  its  broadest  part,  and  to  receive  the  contributions  of  such  mighty 
streams  as  the  Japura,  the  Purus,  the  Rio  Negro,  the  Madeira,  the  Tajjajoz,  and  the 
Xingu,  beyond  which  it  expands  into  a  prodigious  estuary  before  finally  mingling 
its  waters  with  those  of  the  Atlantic. 

During;  its  long:  course  from  the  Andes  to  the  sea  the  great  arterv,  which  has 
everywhere  a  depth  of  at  least  160  feet,  changes  its  name  three  times.  The 
Marafion,  as  it  is  called  within  the  Peruvian  frontier,  becomes  the  SolimSes,  or 
Alto  Amazonas,  in  the  section  between  the  Tabatinga  and  the  Rio  Negro  conflu- 
ence, beyond  which,  that  is,  throughout  its  lower  course,  it  is  spcciallj'  known  as 


■*  ■w^t'     ■  ■— g^— t^^i^^ 


■  '  TT'--   lifflt^''*^''^  I  -  •  -'^^^^^-■^- 


J 


•      AMAZONIA.  91 

the  Rio  de  las  Amazonas.  For  the  riverine  Indians  it  was  the  Parana  Tinga, 
"  White  River,"  the  Parana  Guassu,  "  Great  River,"  or  simply  I'ara,  "  River  "  in 
a  pre-eminent  sense,  a  name  now  restricted  to  a  lateral  channel  connected  with  the 
Amazons  system.  Lastly  the  Brazilians  have  conferred  on  their  majestic  stream 
the  title  of  Rio  Mar,  "  Sea  River." 

Before  the  days  of  steam  the  Amazons  was  seldom  visited,  and  to  the  missionary 
Fritz  (1690)  is  due  the  first  chart  of  its  course,  rectified  in  1749  by  La  Condamine. 
Then  came  in  the  present  century  the  scientific  explorations  of  Spix  and  Martins, 
of  Castelnau,  Ilerndon,  Gibbon,  Orton,  Myers,  Spruce,  Wallace,  Bates,  de  la  Espada, 
Agassiz,  Ilartt,  Barbosa  Rodrigues,  Jose  da  Costa  Azevedo,  and  Tardy  de  Mon- 
travel. 

On  the  Brazilian  frontier,  the  Amazons  flows  at  a  level  of  not  more  than  270 
feet  above  the  sea  ;  here  it  is  nearly  two  miles  wide  and  already  presents  the  impos- 
ing aspect  which  it  retains  for  the  rest  of  its  seaward  journc}'.  Several  of  the 
afiluents  themselves  enter  the  main  stream  through  nioutlis  of  enormous  width. 
The  waters  of  some  are  of  the  same  yellowish  colour  as  the  Amazons  itself,  while 
others  are  of  divers  tints,  clear  and  turbid,  wliite  or  reddish,  or  even  black,  though 
limpid,  each  revealing  a  page  of  its  geological  history  in  its  peculiar  shade  and 
in  the  sediment  it  holds  in  solution. 

The  Putumayo  asd  Japuka. 

The  northern  affluents  descend  from  a  zone  only  half  as  broad  as  that  traversed 
by  those  from  the  south  ;  hence  their  contributions,  however  copious,  are  in  gene- 
ral much  smaller  than  those  of  the  southern  streams.  Nevertheless  one  of  them, 
the  lea,  that  is,  the  Puturaaj'o  of  the  Colombians,  would  seem  to  be  relatively 
the  most  voluminous ;  its  headwaters,  rising  north  and  south  of  the  equator, 
descend  from  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Quito  highlands,  which  are  exposed  to 
heavy  rains  throughout  the  year.  The  Putumayo  is  one  of  those  rivers  which 
have  most  contributed  to  the  erosion  of  the  Andine  system,  reducing  it  in  Ecuador 
to  a  comparatively  narrow  ridge  between  the  broader  Colombian  and  Peruvian 
masses.  The  Guames  (Guamucs),  one  of  its  head  branches,  issues  from  the  Cocha, 
or  "Lake,"  as  it  is  called  pre-eminentl}',  and  below  its  junction  the  Putumayo 
soon  becomes  accessible  to  barges  drawing  six  or  seven  feet.  It  flows  along  a 
gentle  incline  unobstructed  by  reefs  or  rapids,  at  a  sharp  angle  with  the  Amazons, 
and  in  Brazilian  territory  is  known  only  by  its  Indian  (Omagua)  name,  19a.  It 
was  first  visited  by  the  Jesuit,  Juan  de  Sosa,  in  1G09,  and  in  recent  times  has  been 
surveyed  by  Rafael  Reyes  (1874),  Simson  (1876),  and  Crevaux  (1879).  Like 
the  Napo,  the  Japura,  and  other  Ecuador  tributaries,  the  lea  floats  down  muc  h 
pumice  from  the  slopes  of  the  volcanoes,  and  this  pumice  accumulates  in  masses 
along  all  the  chalk  cliff's  of  the  Amazons. 

The  Japura  (ITyapura)  rises  a  little  north  of  the  Putumayo  in  the  Colombian 
Andes,  and  both  streams  flow  in  nearly  parallel  courses  to  a  point  where  the 
Lower  Japura  trends  directly  cast,  joining  the  Amazons  through  a  labyrinth  of 
channels.     Its  incline  is  much  greater  than  that  of  the  I(;a,  and  after  issuing  from 


92 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


the  Andes  it  plunges  into  tlie  profound  gorges  of  a  sandstone  plateau,  where  the 
current  is  contracted  from  a  width  of  about  half  a  mile  to  some  200  feet.  The 
Araracoara  rapids,  followed  by  a  cascade  100  feet  high,  mark  the  farthest  point 
reached  by  Spix  and  Martins,  and  later  by  Silva  Coutinho,  and  few  travellers 
have  yet  succeeded  in  penetrating  higher  up. 

The  Apapuris,  which  joins  the  Japura  below  the  rapids,  is  regarded  by  the 
Brazilians  as  the  political  frontier  between  their  Amazonian  territory  and 
Colombia,  whereas  the  Colombians  claim  as  the  international  boundary  the  Avati 
Parana  creek,  which  branches  off  from  the  left  bank  of  the  SolimOes,  and  winds 
through  a  half-submerged  district  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Japura.  Thus,  in  this 
part  of  its  course  the  Amazons  may  be  said  to  be  a  tributary  of  the  Japura,  by 
which  125  miles  lower  down  it  is  joined  through  numerous  channels. 

Even  beyond  the  confluence,  for  a  space  of  at  least  40,000  square  miles,  extend- 


Fig.  30. — SoLiMoES  AND  Japuea.  Contluenoe. 
Scale  1  :  8,600,000. 


133  MUea. 


ing  all  the  way  to  the  Rio  Negro,  the  region  comprised  between  the  two  con- 
verging streams  is  occupied  by  an  intricate  system  of  lagoons,  creeks,  and 
backwaters,  which  shift  their  forms  and  channels  with  every  inundation  under 
the  alternating  pressure  of  the  SolimOes  and  Japura  waters.  If  the  Amazons  basin 
was  at  one  time  an  inland  sea,  as  seems  probable,  its  former  aspect  is  best  pre- 
served in  this  half-lacustrine,  half-emerged  inter-fluvial  district. 


The  Jutahy,  Jurua,  and  Purus. 
Between  the  Tea  and  the  Japura  confluences  the  Solimues  is  joined  by  several 
southern  tributaries,  such  as  the  Jutahy  (Hyutai)  and  the  Jurua,  which  in  any 
other  region  would  be  regarded  as  great  rivers.  In  1867  Chandless  ascended  the 
Jurua  for  a  distance  of  1,125  miles,  including  all  the  meanderings  of  its  tortuous 
channel,  and  at  the  farthest  point  reached  by  him  the  stream  was   still  some  30 


AMAZONIA.  93 

feet  deep  and  about  400  feet  wide.  Yet  the  Jurua  ranks  only  as  a  third-class 
river  in  Brazil. 

A  little  below  its  confluence  the  SolimOes  is  joined  by  the  TefPe,  or  "Deep," 
beyond  which  follow  on  the  same  right  bank  the  black  Coary  and  the  Purus,  the 
latter  descending  from  the  base  of  the  Peruvian  Andes.  The  Purus,  essentially  a 
1  iver  of  the  plains  and  entirely  fed  by  rainwater,  was  ascended  by  Serafim  for 
1,300  miles  in  1852,  by  Manoel  Urbano  in  1860,  and  in  1864 — 5  by  Chandless, 
whose  name  has  been  given  to  one  of  its  western  affluents.  The  botanist,  Wallis, 
accompanied  the  first  steamer,  which  in  1862  reached  a  point  800  miles  above 
the  confluence. 

Like  all  the  other  southern  affluents  of  the  Amazons,  the  Purus,  which  has  an 
extremely  winding  course  of  about  1,850  miles,  has  a  general  north-easterly  trend, 
and  brings  to  the  main  stream  the  contributions  of  several  large  tributaries,  such  as 
the  Araca,  Hyuacu,  Aquiry,  Pauyarim,  Mucuim,  and  Tapaua.  It  flows  entirely  in 
the  old  depression,  which  occupies  the  heart  of  the  former  Amazonian  sea,  and 
throughout  its  whole  course  it  is  entirely  free  from  rapids  or  other  obstructions  ; 
even  islands  are  rare  ;  but  its  numerous  meanderiugs  are  constant!}'  shifting  their 
course  owing  to  the  erosions  of  the  flood  waters,  which  even  a  short  distance 
above  the  confluence  rise  to  a  height  of  no  less  than  60  feet.  Farther  up  the 
inundations  fill  its  whole  valley  for  a  distance  of  15  or  even  20  miles,  and  at 
this  season  temporary  branches  are  opened  in  the  direction  of  the  Amazons.  But 
the  channels  figured  on  the  old  maps  as  communicating  eastwards  with  the 
Madeira  do  not  appear  to  have  any  real  existence. 

The  Eio  Negro  and  its  Affluents. 

Between  the  Purus  and  Madeira  confluences  the  Solimoes  becomes  the 
Amazons  by  the  junction  of  the  Rio  Negro  ("Black  River")  on  its  left  bank. 
Of  the  numerous  watercourses  bearing  this  name,  none  has  a  better  claim  to  the 
epithet,  and  aU  travellers  who  have  visited  the  Parana  Pixuna,  as  the  natives  call 
it,  have  been  struck  by  the  contrast  presented  by  the  Rio  Negro,  especially  at  its 
confluence  with  the  almost  milkj'  Rio  Branco  ("White  River"),  descending  from 
the  argillaceous  savannas  on  the  British  Guiana  frontier.  The  two  currents  flow 
side  by  side,  like  two  streams  in  the  same  bed,  and  during  the  November  floods, 
when  the  Rio  Branco  sends  down  a  larger  volume  than  the  Rio  Negro,  it  may  be 
distinctly  traced  for  a  distance  of  some  20  miles  below  the  confluence.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  mosquitoes  do  not  infest  the  black  rivers,  which  also  abound  less 
in  fish  and  are  often  avoided  by  crocodiles,  though  these  saurians  fi-equent  the 
Rio  Negro.  The  water  is  limpid,  but  unpleasant  to  the  taste,  and  apparently 
even  unwholesome,  owing  to  the  decomposed  vegetable  matter  with  which  it  is 
charged,  and  to  which  it  owes  its  dark  colour.  This  colour,  however,  is  percep- 
tible only  in  the  deeper  parts,  the  shallow  waters  being  of  a  light  brown  and  even 
yellowish  tint. 

Of  the  numerous  streams  converging  to  form  the  Rio  Negro  the  Rio  Uaupes 
(Ucuyaris)  seems  to  have  the  best  right  to  be  regarded  as  its  true  upper  course 


94 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


It  has  its  source  in  tlie  upland  valleys  of  the  Colombian  Andes  south  of  the 
Guaviare  or  Western  Orinoco  ;  its  course  follows  the  same  direction  as  the  main 
stream  between  San  Joaquim  and  Barcellos ;  the  beds  of  both  rivers  also  present 
the  same  geological  characters,  while  both  descend  to  the  lower  reaches  through  a 
series  of  granite  falls  and  rapids.  Above  the  Jurupari,  highest  of  these  falls,  the 
river,  here  as  "  white  "  as  the  Solimoes  and  inhabited  by  the  same  species  of  fishes, 
traverses  the  level,  treeless  plains  at  the  foot  of  the  Andes.  The  Uaupes  was 
ascended  to  its  source  by  Jesuino  Cordeiro  in  1854,  and  since  then  its  lower  reaches 
have  been  visited  by  Wallace,  Stradelli,  and  Coudreau,  all  of  whom  assert  that  its 
mean  discharge  greatly  exceeds  that  of  the  Upper  Rio  Negro.     During  the  floods 


Fig.    31. — UiUPE3   COXFLUEXCB   AND   RlO   XeQEO    CaTAKACTS. 

Scale  1  : 1,600,000. 


0° 


..'■'.:    o  ■■•■.;■.•■.•?•■■••;•.■•  •■.•'o'.'-o'.'l' •.°.  ' 

•  ^•■•.■■■.'  •  ».■.."•; '>.^^■''■;■••..•.■;  -o".;-  v 

.,.   .    .     'o'--  °  ■'^■^'•'M^,  :■■■'■•'■  ■•■•••■■  •.■v'y-v".'-.-;"- 

..•;,^>-'»^v.^-'^'"'P°A  v-v---?^-:;  ■•:V•«^r^^••.:-^■V•=.^V'-V■^;'•:^         ' 

•■  .'■•°; :"'■'■  •■. ■  ■  '•isrs'^Ana' '•■»^■ ". ■„;<•■•.'<■■  .'l'-^- '•  ".■■■■- •°.' "  ••'•  °o..'- ''■■>•  •'■ » . 

••••.■. V'.«-o-'-v»-.  ■;.  M-     .:■■:•  '-'M''--  ■.'.  ■..■  •  ■;••;••.»:•  '.••.•.■.:  ■•• .°  ■.••  •„■...  <>• 

.  »:  .'•:  •.°  ■■•.-...  «-.it/.-o-, ■..<>..  •■••■'.••■;?..•;.■#•■  .■.•...*•  .'.   •°„-..-. •■  :■•  .  ..c-  .'■ 

...  '■•■■6;^°•■■rfl'S'^'?^i!<•°:;■V•^»j■•^«^  ° 

;.o-.  •;  ;°-v.;.C-.'-.»-- ;.  t    '  f,    VrfK'..  •.•■••..■•  ;•«  ...•;,    ■.,•?..•..•■:.• '. 

■,ii.-,=,..-....=  ^,,  ,,.  ,      .,  \.D^'^  ■     •.,.:».?■■■...•«:..>;•■ '  •■■.». 

':•    ■..  •.."••  •!•. /if  f/-K"°-.,Vo- »"--■•   i  .K-.i>t  Sao  Gabriel  •.  ■  .  •   :■''■   ■„:  ■■...>".     '.- . 


*-'•  •   riaf^  .  •••».•■  •••«•.■«•■•  <i.. 


West  or  breenwich 


67°  so- 


30  Miles. 


one  of  its  affluents  communicates  through  the  Ira  Parana  with  the  Apapuris  tribu- 
tary of  the  Japura. 

Above  the  Uaupes  confluence  the  Rio  Negro  is  connected  by  the  Cassiquiare 
with  the  Orinoco  system.  Another  less  known  and  less  important  bifurcation 
occurs  farther  south,  where  the  Baria  ramifies  into  two  branches,  one  of  which 
flows  north  to  the  lower  Cassiquiare,  while  the  other  descends  directlj''  to  the  Rio 
Negro  under  the  name  of  Rio  Canabur}'.  A  continuous  waterway  almost  parallel 
with  the  Upper  Rio  Negro  is  thus  developed  in  the  direction  of  the  east  for  a 
distance  of  about  300  miles,  without,  however,  offering  any  advantage  to  the 
navigation  by  canoes  at  the  divide. 

Eclow  the  Cassiquiare  confluence  the  Rio  Negro  enters  Brazilian   territorj  at 


AMAZONIA. 


05 


the  foot  of  the  "  Cucuhy  Rock,"  a  superb  granite  bluff  1,000  feet  high,  visible  for 
a  great  distance  on  the  surrounding  plains.     After  its  junction  with  the  TJaupcs 
the  mainstream  trends  eastwards  between  two  chains  of  granite  hills,  which  con- 
stitute the  true  water-parting  between  the  Orinoco  and  Amazons  systems.      The 
rocky  divide,  which  is  con- 
tinued north-eastwards  to  ^'5-  32.— Lowee  Couese  of  the  Eio  Beanco. 
the     Parima    range,     has  Scale  i :  3,600,000. 
been  pierced  at  this  point 
by  the  waters  descending 
from    the    gently    sloping 
northern   plains.       Geolo- 
gically speaking,  the  part- 
ing line  occurs,  not  at  the 
bifurcation   of   the    Cassi- 
quiare,  but  at  the  breach 
effected   by   the    running 
waters  along  the  continu- 
ous series  of  cataracts,  50 
on  the  Uaupes  and  25  on 
the  Rio   Negro,   cataracts 
which,  despite  their  slight 
faU,  present  a  picturesque 
eflfect  with  their  project- 
ing   reefs,     eddies,     and 
swirling  waters.     The  Rio 
Negro    series  has   a   total 
incline  of  not  more  than 
50  feet   in   a   distance  of 
about  40  miles. 

The  Rio  Branco 
("■White  River"),  which 
promises  to  acquire  great 
importance  as  the  most 
direct  future  highway 
between  British  Guiana 
and  Central  Amazonia,  has 
been  frequently  ascended 
by  the  Portuguese.  Re- 
cently a  Yenezuelo-Brazi- 
lian  Frontier  Commission  has  studied  its  upper  valleys,  but  the  surveys  have 
been  suspended  owing  to  the  hostility  of  the  natives. 

Like  the  Rio  Negro,  the  Parima,  as  the  Rio  Branco  was  formerly  called,  has 
for  its  true  upper  course  an  affluent  much  longer  and  more  copious  than  the  branch 
commonly  regarded  as  the  chief  headstream.     This  affluent,  the  Uraricoera,  rises 


nest  of  Greenwich 


60° 


60  Miles. 


93  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

ia  an  upland  granitic  valley  of  the  Serra  Parima,  soutli  of  tte  Machiati  peak,  and 
after  an  easterly  course  of  360  miles  joins  the  Takutu,  or  "Upi^er  Rio  Branco," 
which  collects  the  torrents  from  Roraima  and  Ca'irrit,  as  well  as  the  Pirara  creek 
on  the  depression  giving  access  to  the  Essequibo  through  its  Rupunini  affluent. 
The  Mahu  (Ireng),  branch  of  the  Takutu,  is  famous  for  its  falls,  one  of  which,  the 
Corona,  160  feet  high,  ranks  with  Roraima  and  the  Kaieteur  Falls  as  one  of  the 
"three  wonders"  of  British  Guiana. 

After  receiving  all  these  headstreams  the  Rio  Branco  trends  south-westwards, 
and  like  the  Uaupes  and  Rio  Negro  descends  through  a  series  of  rapids  which  inter- 
ruj)t  all  navigation  between  the  upper  and  lower  reaches.  Below  these  obstructions 
the  Rio  Branco  flows  in  an  almost  due  southerly  course  between  a  double  chain  of 
lagoons  and  backwaters,  representing  old  abandoned  beds,  down  to  its  confluence 
with  the  Rio  Negro.  The  Jauapiry,  which  joins  the  main  stream  below  the  Rio 
Branco,  appears  to  be  a  remnant  of  one  of  these  deserted  channels. 

In  its  lower  course  the  Rio  Negro  forms,  like  the  Canadian  rivers,  a  succession 
of  lakes  rather  than  a  normal  watercourse.  In  some  places  it  expands  to  a  width  of 
20  to  30  miles,  far  more  than  the  Amazons  itself,  but  the  incline  is  so  gentle  that 
the  current  is  at  times  scarcely  perceptible,  and  towards  the  confluence  the  Amazons 
often  sets  up  the  Rio  Negro,  developing  a  sort  of  "  bar,"  from  which  Manaos  took 
its  old  name  of  "  Barra  do  Rio  Negro."  The  rise  at  high  water  ranges  from  about 
30  to  40  feet,  the  ordinary  depth  being  100  or  even  160  feet.  Nevertheless  navi- 
gation at  low  water  is  impeded  by  numerous  sandbanks,  and  the  small  steamers, 
drawing  no  more  than  four  and  a  half  feet,  which  ascend  to  Santa  Izabel,  450  miles 
above  the  confluence,  have  sometimes  to  stop  running  for  one  or  two  months  in 
the  year. 

The  Madeira. 

The  Madeira,  or  "  Wood  "  river,  the  Cayari  ("  White  Water  ")  of  the  natives, 
mnrks  with  the  Rio  Negro  the  great  transverse  depression  of  the  Amazonian  basin. 
It  has  its  farthest  sources  on  the  Bolivian  uplands,  and  on  the  nearly  level  low- 
lying  plains,  which  are  mostly  drained  by  the  Plate  river,  The  Beni  (Veni),  its 
main  headstream,  which  formerly  received  the  overflow  of  Lake  Titicaca,  is  joined 
within  the  Bolivian  frontier  by  the  copious  Madre  de  Dios  (Mayu-Tata,  Amaru- 
Mayo,  "Snake  River"),  and  farther  on  by  the  Mamore  ("Mother  of  Men"), 
whose  great  tributary,  the  Guapore,  flows  entirely  within  Brazilian  territory. 

The  Guapay,  or  Rio  Grande,  that  is,  the  upper  course  of  the  Mamore,  rises  in  the 
Cochabamba  Andes  at  an  altitude  of  over  13,000  feet,  and  after  describing  a  great 
bend  round  those  mountains  is  swollen  by  the  waters  of  several  rivers  from  the 
low-lying  plains  between  the  Bolivian  and  the  Brazilian  highlands.  Its  passage 
from  the  southern  to  the  northern  plains  is  here  closed  by  a  barrier  of  metamorphic 
gneiss  rocks,  which  obstructs  the  current  and  develops  a  long  series  of  falls  and 
rapids.  Formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Beni  and  Mamore,  the  Madeira  floats 
down  large  quantities  of  drift  wood,  whence  the  name  given  to  it  by  its  first 
explorer,  Francisco  Palheta,  in  1723.  Since  that  time  it  has  served  as  the  main 
highway  between  the  Amazonian  plains  and  the  plateaux  of  Bolivia,  and  this 


■■4 
o 


3 
■5 


EIVEES  OF  AMAZONIA.  97 

route  has  been  followed  by  all  recent  explorers,  sucb  as  D'Orbigny,  Church,  and 
Keller-Leuzingcr.  The  hydrograi^hic  chart  prepared  in  1878  to  a  scale  of  TinrVo"o" 
is  based  on  the  careful  surveys  of  Self  ridge. 

From  the  Guajara  Guassu  Falls  on  the  Mamore  to  the  last  cataracts  of  Santo 
Antonio  the  total  incline  scarcely  exceeds  200  feet  in  a  distance  of  about  240  miles. 
The  highest  cascade,  that  of  Ribeirao,  some  12  miles  below  the  Beni,  has  a  drop 
of  40  feet,  the  45  others  varying  from  30  feet  to  a  few  inches;  but  the 
whole  system  presents  so  many  difficulties  to  the  navigation  that  the  native  boat- 
men take  from  two  to  three  months  to  make  the  ascent  from  the  lower  to  the 
upper  reaches. 

Below  these  obstructions  the  Madeira  flows  mainly  north-east  parallel  to  the 
Purus  with  a  uniform,  though  somewhat  rapid  current,  which  is  nowhere  less  than 
16  feet  deep  at  low  water,  and  in  some  places  exceeds  500  feet,  with  a  total  mean 
discharge  of  no  less  than  1,400,000  cubic  feet  per  second.  It  enters  the  Amazons 
through  numerous  island- studded  channels,  and  throws  off  one  branch,  the 
Parana  Mirim  ("  Little  River ")  which  joins  the  main  stream  about  190  miles 
lower  down,  thus  enclosing  the  vast  island  of  Tupinambaramas. 

The  Trombetas,  Tapajoz,  and  Xingu. 

Beyond  the  Madeira  confluence  the  largest  affluent  on  the  north  side  is  the 
Trombetas,  which  collects  the  surface  waters  of  the  savannas,  and  on  its  course 
to  the  Amazons  develops  a  ramifj'ing  lake  due  to  the  alluvial  matter  deposited 
by  the  mainstream  about  the  confluence.  Higher  uji  similar  phenomena  are 
presented  by  the  TJrubu,  TJatuma,  Yamunda  (Neamunda  or  Cumery),  all  carefully 
explored  by  Barbosa  Rodrigues.  Farther  down  the  Paru  and  the  Jary,  which 
descend  from  the  Tumuc-Humac  Mountains,  have  a  more  regular  course,  freer 
from  stagnant  waters,  but  obstructed  at  intervals  by  rapids  and  even  by  cascades. 
Crevaux  descended  the  Jary  and  the  Paru  in  1877-79  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 

On  the  south  side  the  Amazons  is  joined  below  the  Madeira  by  the  Tapajoz, 
so  called  from  the  Tapajocos  Indians,  who  have  been  completely  exterminated  by 
the  Portuguese.  Its  two  headstreams,  the  Arinos  and  the  Juruena,  rise  in 
Matto  Grosso,  near  the  sources  of  the  Paraguay,  and  after  their  junction  the 
Tapajoz  flows  parallel  with  the  Madeira  north-eastwards  to  the  scarp  of  the 
plateau.  Here  it  is  obstructed  by  a  series  of  16  cataracts,  beyond  which  it 
forms  a  broad  navigable  watercourse,  flowing  between  wooded  banks  for  300 
miles  to  a  point  where  the  navigation  is  again  interrupted  by  the  Salto  Augusto, 
the  only  cascade  which  is  impassable  at  all  seasons. 

For  the  rest  of  its  course  of  220  miles  the  Tapajoz  forms  a  sluggish  stream 
nearly  as  dark  as  the  Rio  Negro,  which  gradually  expands  into  a  broad  lagoon 
with  scarcely  perceptible  current.  Like  that  of  the  Trombetas,  Lake  VHlafranca, 
as  this  flooded  depression  is  called,  owes  its  existence  to  the  sedimentary  matter 
deposited  by  the  Amazons  at  the  confluence.  The  Tapajoz  presents  the  shortest 
natural  route  between  the  Amazons  and  Plate  estuaries. 

The  Xingu,  last  great  affluent  of    the  Amazons  proper,   rises  on  the  same 

VOL.    XIX.  H 


98  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

plateau  as  the  Tapajoz,  and,  like  it,  is  obstructed  by  a  series  of  reefs  and  rapids, 
inaccessible  to  boats.  Although  visited  in  the  eighteenth  centurj'  by  the  Jesuit, 
Hundertpfund,  and  again  in  1842  by  Adalbert  of  Prussia,  so  little  was  known  of 
the  Xingu  till  quite  recently  that  its  southern  affluents  figured  on  many  maps  as 
tributaries  of  the  Tapajoz.  But  the  charts  prepared  from  the  surveys  of  Von 
den  Steinen  in  1884  and  1887  may  be  regarded  as  fairly  accurate. 

At  its  confluence  the  Xingu,  already  under  the  influence  of  the  tides,  expands 
into  a  vast  lake  like  that  of  the  Tapajoz.  The  strip  of  land  separating  it  from 
the  Amazons  is  divided  by  creeks  into  an  archipelago  of  wooded  islands,  while  a 
labyrinth  of  other  channels  is  developed  above  the  confluence  along  the  right 
bank  of  the  mainstream. 

Throughout  its  course  of  about  2,000  miles  between  Tabatinga  and  Macapa, 
the  Amazons  maintains  a  somewhat  uniform  aspect,  varying  in  breadth  far  less 
than  the  Rio  Negro,  and  nearly  everywhere  narrow  enough  for  at  least  a  fringe 
of  verdure  to  be  visible  on  both  banks  from  midstream.  Below  the  Trombetas 
confluence  it  even  contracts,  at  the  Obidos  narrows,  to  5,000  or  6,000  feet,  during 
the  floods  in  June,  with  a  mean  depth  of  250  feet,  and  a  velocity  of  about  8,000 
yards  an  hour.  From  these  data  it  may  be  inferred  that  at  this  season  the  Amazons 
discharges  at  least  3,500,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  before  receiving  the  contri- 
butions of  the  Tapajoz,  Xingu,  and  some  other  affluents.  During  the  great 
inundations  the  overflow  south  of  Obidos  runs  into  the  Lago  Grande  de  Villa 
Franca,  a  vast  reservoir  34  miles  long  and  from  four  to  10  miles  wide.  Many 
billions  of  cubic  feet  are  thus  withdrawn  from  the  sea  at  this  point.  In  the  same 
place  both  Spix  and  Martins  and  "Wallace  have  estimated  the  discharge  in  the 
dry  season  at  not  more  than  530,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  annual  rainfall  of  the  whole  basin  cannot  be  calculated  at  less  than  100 
inches,  which  would  supply  a  uniform  discharge  of  at  least  18,000,000  cubic  feet. 
But  large  quantities  are  lost  by  evaporation  in  the  vast  reservoirs  lining  both 
banks  of  all  the  northern  and  southern  affluents  below  the  rapids. 

The  Amazonian  Mediterranean. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  Amazonian  basin,  from  the  Andean  foothills  to 
the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  there  everywhere  occur  tabular  or  horizontal  terraces 
of  sandstone  and  argillaceous  rocks,  ranging  from  100  to  about  1,000  feet  in 
height.  In  the  central  part  of  the  depression  the  northern  and  southern  terraces 
recede  to  a  distance  of  some  500  miles  from  each  other ;  but  at  Obidos  and  Monte 
Alegre  they  approach  much  nearer  to  the  fluvial  banks.  Between  these  two 
towns,  Santarem  on  the  left  side  stands  at  the  extremity  of  a  fragment  of  the 
same  rocky  formation,  which  extends  to  the  shores  and  islands  of  the  estuary, 
including  most  of  the  large  island  of  Marajo  and  the  sea-coast  stretching  south- 
eastwards  in  the  direction  of  Piauhy  and  Ceara. 

Whatever  be  the  origin  of  this  vast  system  of  sedimentary  strata,  whether 
it  is  to  be  referred  with  Agassiz  to  glacial  action,  or  with  other  geologists  more 
probably  to  the  paleozoic  and  especially  the  carboniferous  ages,  there  can  be  little 


ElVEES  OP  AMAZONIA. 


99 


doubt  ttat  at  some  remote  period  the  whole  region  of  plains  and  terraces  formed 
the  bed  of  a  vast  lake,  or  of  several  lakes  constituting  an  American  Mediterranean 
larger  than  the  Canadian  lake  system,  larger  even  than  the  Mediterranean  of  the 
Old  World.  In  the  Pebas  cliffs  on  the  Peruvian  Maraiion,  Orton  discovered, 
embedded  in  layers  of  many-coloured  clays,  a  mass  of  marine  shells  comprising  no 
less  than  17  extinct  species  dating  from  the  close  of  the  Tertiary  epoch. 

At  that  time  the  Maranon,  issuing  from  the  Manseriche  gorges,  entered  the 
inland  sea  through  a  delta,  which,  gradually  advancing  eastwards,  at  last  filled 
the  whole  plain.  Possibly  the  fluvial  waters  were  then  discharged  north-eastwards 
in  the  direction  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  through  the  depression  at  present  traversed 

Fig.  33. — Amazonian  Depeessiou  and  Outer  Zone  of  the  Catasacts. 
Scale  1  :  36,000,000. 


'■^x.:^ 


West  op  Gneenwich 


48- 


"Zone  of  the  Amazons  Affluents  above  the  Falls, 


1,250  Miles, 


by  the  Rio  Negro,  the  Cassiquiare,  and  the  Orinoco.  At  least  the  marine  shells 
of  the  Upper  Amazons  resemble  the  types  characteristic  of  the  West  Indian 
waters.  In  that  case,  the  bluffs  of  Monte  Alegre,  the  Santarem  heights,  and 
the  other  hills  approaching  the  banks  of  the  Amazons  at  the  Obidos  narrows, 
should  be  regarded  as  the  remains  of  the  ridge  or  dyke  which  formerly  closed  the 
basin  of  the  inland  sea  and  of  the  lakes  ascending  in  terraces  up  the  slopes  of  the 
Andes  to  Lake  Titicaca. 

The  Amazoxi.\n  Floods. 
As  regular  in  its  periodical  changes  as  the  Nile  itself,  the  Amazons  rises  and 
falls    with  the    alternating    seasons  by  a  succession   of   "  ebbs "   and    "  flows " 
{enchente  and  vasante),  in  which  the  inhabitants  recognise  a  sort  of  tidal  move' 

h2 


100  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

ment.  On  the  Brazilian  frontier  it  begins  to  swell  in  the  month  of  Februarj', 
and  under  the  combined  action  of  melting  snows  and  torrential  rains  it  gradu- 
ally attains  a  level  of  40,  50,  or  even  56  feet  above  low-water  mark.  But  the 
flood  waters,  diversely  influenced  by  the  special  inundations  of  the  affluents  on 
both  sides,  do  not  reach  the  lower  Amazons  till  the  month  of  April.  In  the 
lower  reaches  a  sort  of  balance  is  struck  between  the  waters  coming  from  the 
north  and  from  the  south ;  the  rise  of  the  one  corresponds  with  the  fall  of  the 
other,  so  that  the  Amazons  always  exceeds  the  dead  level  that  it  would  reach  if 
regulated  by  the  action  of  the  Marafion  alone. 

During  the  floods  the  low  islands  disappear,  the  banks  are  inundated,  the 
scattered  lagoons  unite  with  the  river  and  ramify  in  vast  inland  seas,  driving  the 
animals  to  take  refuge  in  the  forest  trees,  and  the  Indians  to  encamp  on  rafts 
moored  to  the  shore.  Then,  as  the  stream  begins  to  fall,  the  waters,  returning 
to  their  bed,  slowly  erode  the  soddened  banks  by  their  imderwash,  and  huge 
masses  of  earth  suddenly  give  way  carrying  with  them  trees,  snags,  and  animals. 
The  islands  themselves  are  often  exposed  to  sudden  destruction,  and  when  the 
protecting  barriers  of  drift-wood  yield  to  the  force  of  the  current,  a  few  hours 
suffice  for  the  swirling  waters  to  sweep  them  away.  Then  follow  those  long  pro- 
cessions of  tangled  masses  of  earth,  snags,  branches,  breaking  asunder  and  again 
uniting,  accumulating  about  the  headlands,  spreading  along  the  margins,  often 
transporting  whole  floras  of  herbaceous  plants  attached  to  the  roots,  whole  faunas 
of  birds  perched  on  the  boughs  or  of  reptiles  coiled  round  the  stems. 

The  Amazoxs  Estuary. 

The  Atlantic  tides  ascend  the  Amazons  as  far  as  Santarem,  over  600  miles 
from  Cape  do  Norte,  which  is  regarded  as  the  terminal  point  of  the  estuary.  But 
the  salt  water  does  not  enter  the  river,  and  the  only  effect  of  the  flow  is  to  check 
the  speed  and  raise  the  level  of  the  fluvial  current.  Even  round  Mexiana  Island 
in  the  middle  of  the  gulf,  the  water  is  quite  fresh  and  potable  at  all  seasons. 

The  great  clash  between  the  fluvial  and  marine  waters  takes  place  in  the 
broad  part  of  the  estuary  where  the  Amazons,  losing  in  depth,  spreads  over  the 
lateral  shoals  and  banks.  Here  the  waves,  impelled  by  the  marine  current  and  by 
the  Atlantic  swell  in  the  direction  from  east  to  west,  and  especially  from  south-  ' 
east  to  north-west,  meet  the  fluvial  waters  on  a  rapidly-rising  bed.  Thus  is 
produced  the  pororoca,  that  is,  according  to  Barbosa  Rodrigues,  the  poroc  poroc,  or 
"  destroj'er."  This  Amazonian  bore  exceeds  in  height  all  those  developed  in  the 
Seine,  Ganges,  Yangtze,  or  elsewhere.  Its  terrible  roar  is  heard  at  a  distance  of 
five  or  six  miles,  and  the  successive  waves,  the  first  of  which  is  at  times  10  feet 
high,  form  a  complete  barrier  from  shore  to  shore  across  the  estuary.  Their 
violence  is  felt  especially  about  Cape  do  Norte  towards  the  mouths  of  the  Ara- 
guary  and  the  Straits  of  Maraca  Island. 

The  estuary,  which  is  intersected  by  the  equator,  expands  between  Marajo 
Island  and  the  Guiana  coast  to  a  broad  marine  inlet,  forming  that  "  fresh-water 
sea  "  which  so  astonished  Pinzon  and  other  navigators  after  him.      "West  and 


< 

■A 

a 
o 


AMAZONS  ESTUAEY. 


101 


south  of  Marajo  Island  the  estuary  ramifies  into  a  labyrinth  of  creeks  and  chan- 
nels, which  merge  in  another  estuarj^  that  of  the  Rio  Tocantlns.  At  first  sight 
all  these  fluvial  waters  might  seem  to  belong  to  the  Amazonian  system.  But  the 
Amazons  and  Tocantins  currents  do  not  intermingle,  or  at  least  they  do  so  to 
a  scarcely  appreciable  extent.  Nevertheless,  the  western  creeks  through  which 
the  Amazons  communicates  with  the  Rio  Para  are  flooded  by  the  waters  of  the 
great  river.     Thus  a  small  portion  of  the  larger  current  would  appear  to  join  that 

Kg.  34. — Amazonian  Gum. 
Scale  1  :  13.000,000. 


Depths. 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


Oto  650 
Feet. 


StolOO 
Fathoms. 

Heights. 


100  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


650  Feet 
and  upwards. 


.  310  Miles. 


of  the  Tocantins,  and  the  Rio  de  Para  might  in  a  sense  be  taken  for  one  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Amazons. 

In  the  interior  the  sandstones  of  the  Amazonian  basin  crumble  away  under 
the  action  of  winds,  rains,  sun,  and  vegetation.  But  on  the  seaboard  and  in  the 
islands  of  the  estuary  they  are  further  exposed  to  the  incessant  attacks  of  the 
Atlantic  waves.  Both  geology  and  contemporary  history  show  that  the  sea 
is  here  steadily  encroaching  on  the  land,  swallowing  up  islets,  eating  away  the 
shores  of  islands  and  headlands.  Thus  the  coast  of  Macapa  on  the  north  side 
of  the  estuary   has  considerably  receded  since  the   beginning    of  the  century  ; 


102  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Salinas  Point,  east  of  the  Rio  Para,  and  Santa  Anna,  east  of  Maranliao,  have  both 
lost  ground,  while  Caviana  in  the  archipelago  crossed  by  the  equator  has  been 
cut  in  two  by  a  strait  formed  by  the  gradual  expansion  of  two  creeks  on  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  island. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  prodigious  quantities  of  sediment  continually 
washed  down  by  the  Amazons,  which,  unlike  the  Mississippi  and  so  many  other 
great  rivers,  builds  up  no  delta  at  its  mouth  ?  This  sediment  probably  represents 
a  cube  500  feet  on  all  sides  floated  down  every  24  hours.  Such  a  mass 
spread  over  the  estuary  and  surrounding  waters  would  rapidly  raise  the  marine 
bed  but  for  the  great  equatorial  current,  by  which  it  is  caught  up  and  distributed 
along  the  coast  in  the  direction  of  the  north-west.  Some  of  the  matter  held  in 
solution  is  thus  deposited  on  the  Guiana  seaboard,  while  much  more  is  dispersed 
over  the  West  India  waters,  and  especially  along  the  shores  of  Georgia  and  both 
Carolinas.  Here  should  probably  be  sought  the  true  Amazonian  delta ;  here 
would  seem  to  be  deposited  the  alluvial  matter  incessantly  washed  down  from 
the  equatorial  Andes. 

Navigation  of  the  Amazons. 
Before  the  introduction  of  steam,  sailing  craft  took  five  full  months  to  ascend 
from  Para  to  the  "  bar  "  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and  five  more  to  stem  the  current  as 
far  as  the  Peruvian  frontier.  At  that  time  the  circumnavigation  of  the  globe 
even  against  unfavourable  winds  and  currents  took  less  time  than  the  ascent  of 
the  Amazons  with  the  trade  winds  setting  steadily  up  stream.  Steam,  aided, 
since  1867,  by  the  opening  of  the  river  to  all  flags,  has  effected  a  revolution  in  the 
Amazonian  world,  the  consequences  of  which  are  making  themselves  felt  more 
and  more  every  year.  The  region  of  the  Upper  Amazons,  formerly  cut  off  from 
the  great  trading  centres,  has,  so  to  say,  been  brought  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic, 
which  is  continued  into  the  interior  of  the  continent  by  the  great  river,  presenting 
with  its  endless  ramifications  a  prodigious  system  of  navigable  waters  over 
30,000  miles  in  extent.  If  the  whole  of  Brazil  be  viewed  as  an  island  encircled 
by  oceanic  and  fluvial  waters,  its  periphery  may  be  taken  at  about  14,000  miles,  of 
which  3,500,  or  about  one-fourth,  belong  to  the  Amazonian  sj'stem. 

Subjoined  is  a  table  of  the  mainstream  with  its  more  important    Brazilian 
affluents  • — 


Length  in 
Eng.  Miles. 

Drainage  area 
in  aq.  miles. 

Me.-m  flisoharge 
in  cubic  feet 
per  second. 

Navigable  coarse. 

steamers. 

Boita. 

Maranon 

1,500 

400,0e0 

707,000 

880 

1,120 

,  I^.a      . 

1,000 

45.000 

75,000 

920 

660 

Northern     Japura 

1,750 

118,000 

177,000 

970 

920 

Affluents  [  Rio  Negro 
1^  Trombetas 

SriO 

272,000 

380,000 

460 

450 

350 

46,800 

53,000 

280 

310 

r Javery 

600 

34,500 

50,000 

500 

560 

Jutahy 

400 

11,800 

18,000 

310 

370 

Southern 
Affluents 

Jurua  . 

1,250 

91,200 

88.000 

920 

1,100 

Piu-us 

2,220 

147,000 

141,000 

1,120 

1,550 

M  adeira 

3,000 

493,000 

565,000 

660 

1,0.50 

Tapajoz 

1,200 

164,000 

183,000 

200 

860 

Amaznns  i 
the  Atla 

^v  Xingu 
rom  Peru  to  : 
ntic        .        ; 

1,300 
3,600 

150,000 
2,235,000 

141,000 
4,240,000 

75 
3,220 

630 
3,600 

CLIMATE  AND  FLORA  OF  AMAZONLA.  103 

Climate  of  Amazoxia. 

The  climate  of  this  region  is  revealed  by  the  action  of  the  river  itself,  by  the 
winds  checking  its  current,  the  periodical  oscillations  of  its  discharge,  the  alter- 
nating rise  and  fall  of  its  affluents.  A  "  visible  equator,"  as  it  has  been  called  in 
reference  to  its  course,  parallel  with  the  line  intersecting  its  basin  from  the  Andes 
to  the  Atlantic,  the  Amazons  never  leaves  the  zone  in  which  the  north-east  and 
south-east  trade  winds  contend  for  the  supremacy.  Usually  these  regular  winds 
penetrate  inland  no  farther  than  Mauaos  at  the  Rio  Negro  confluence,  beyond 
which  the  aerial  currents  become  less  uniform,  being  deflected  from  their  normal 
course  by  local  influences,  such  as  the  Venezuelan  llanos  in  the  north,  the  Bolivian 
and  Matto  Grosso  plains  in  the  south. 

The  light  breeze  following  the  flow  of  the  Amazons  combines  with  the 
trades  passing  higher  up  to  refresh  the  atmosphere,  thus  contributing  to  give  the 
Amazonian  lands  a  far  greater  relative  salubrity  than  that  of  many  other  tropical 
regions.  In  April  and  the  beginning  of  May  the  ''  general "  winds,  as  the  trades 
are  called,  prevail  from  Cape  S.  Roque  to  Maranhao,  and  are  rapidly  propagated 
along  the  seaboard,  following  in  the  wake  of  the  sun  on  its  course  to  the  northern 
tropic.  But  on  reaching  the  estuarj^  thej' are  arrested,  or  at  least  greatly  retarded 
for  a  time,  perhaps  under  the  influence  of  the  atmospheric  current  accompanying 
that  of  the  river,  and  felt  at  a  distance  of  150  or  200  miles  from  the  coast.  Thus 
it  happens  that  the  south-east  trades  sometimes  take  quite  two  months  to  advance 
from  Cape  S.  Roque  to  the  Orinoco. 

The  prevalence  of  these  winds  coincides  with  the  dry  season  from  September 
to  January,  while  the  calms  correspond  with  the  rainy  period  from  February  to 
July  and  August.  The  mean  rainfall  for  the  whole  basin  probably  exceeds  80 
inches,  the  slight  precipitation  in  the  region  of  the  savannas  being  compensated 
by  the  heavy  downpours  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes.  But  great  differences 
are  observed  between  the  climates  of  the  lower  and  upper  Amazonian  districts. 
The  latter,  being  less  exposed  to  the  fresh  sea  breezes,  have  a  greater  range  of 
temperature  ;  the  Rio  Negro  is  often  swept  by  fierce  gales  and  here  fine  and  rainy 
weather  follow  without  much  regularity  throughout  the  year.  At  Para,  on  the 
contrary,  the  seasons  are  much  more  sharply  defined,  despite  the  slight  variations 
of  temperature  from  month  to  month.* 

Amazonian  Flora. 

The  hot  and  moist   Amazonian   woodlands  rival,   and  even  surpass  in  their 

immensity   the  great  forest  zone    of  the  Congo  itself.      The  selva,  that  is,   the 

thickly    wooded  region,   occupies  with   little    interruption   a   space  estimated   at 

about  2,000,000    square   miles,  or    seventeen    times    that    of  the    British   Isles. 

Including  the  north-eastern  tracts  on  the  Guiana  seaboard,  it  extends  in  a  broad 

zone    between  the  Amazons  and   the   savannas,  but  is   interrupted  towards  the 

*  Meteorological  conditions  of  Para  in  Brazilian  Amazonia  : — 

Temperature. 


Latitude.  Maximum.  Mean.  Minimum,  Rainfall. 

Para.         .     T'iS'S.  95°  Fahi-.  8i' Fahr.  72°  Fahr.  120  inches. 


104 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Atlantic  by  extensive  grassy  spaces,  such  as  the  campo  (plain)  of  Alemquer  and  parts 
of  Marajo  Island.  Towards  the  west  it  broadens  out  over  the  Upper  Orinoco 
basin,  and  also  comprises  the  eastern  slopes  of  South  Colombia,  of  Ecuador,  Peru, 
and  Bolivia,  as  well  as  the  low-lying  plains  traversed  by  all  the  southern  Amazons 
affluents  below,  and  even  for  some  distance  above,  the  rapids  in  the  direction  of 
the  Brazilian  plateaux. 

Many  parts  of  the  selva  have  never  been  visited  or  traversed  except  by  the 


Fig.  35.— Diurnal  TEMPEEATOEEa  op  Paka  and  London. 


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natural  routes  of  its  navigable  streams,  although  its  true  character  is  not  best  seen 
from  the  banks  of  creeks  or  rivers.  The  traveller  sailing  up  the  Amazons  sees 
little  except  a  compact  wall  of  forest  trees  interlaced  with  lianas,  overtopped  by  a 
continuous  mass  of  verdure,  the  stems  rising  on  both  banks  like  a  line  of  pali- 
sades straight  as  reeds,  enveloped  in  gloom  at  their  base,  expanding  overhead  to 
the  light  of  the  sun.  From  the  boats  in  midstream  no  precise  forms  can  be  dis- 
tinguished in  this  rampart  of  vegetation ;  to  form  some  idea  of  the  endless  variety 
of  trees  and  shrubs  the  observer  must  penetrate  into  some  of  these  sinuous  igarapes 


FLOEA  OP  AMAZONIA. 


105 


whicli  ramify  amid  tlie  thousands  of  archipelagoes  strewn  over  the  Amazons. 
Here  the  plants  overhanging  the  stream  present  an  infinite  variety  of  vegetable 
Hfe,  feathery  or  fan-shaped  foliage,  pendent  clusters  of  bloom,  gorgeous  festoons 
of  flowery  creepers. 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  the  Amazonian  flora  is  quite  distinct  from  that  of  Brazil 
proper.  Both  doubtless  possess  many  forms  in  common  ;  but  the  contrasts  are 
numerous,  and  the  Para  region  resembles  Cayenne  in  its  flora  and  fauna  far  more 
closely  than  it  does  South  Brazil.  This  remarkable  fact  seems  to  confirm  the 
opinion  of  those  geologists  who  hold  that  the  Amazonian  waters  were  formerly 
barred  by  a  transverse  ridge  from  access  to  the  Atlantic  through  the  present 
estuary.  The  species  originating  on  the  Guiana  uplands  might  thus  have  been 
easily   propagated  southwards  across    Marajo  and  the  other  islands  to    South 


Fig.  36. — Amazonian  Selva. 
Scale  1  :  40,000,000. 


Savannas. 


Forests. 

E2] 


Catingas. 


,  930  Miles. 


Amazonia.  With  these  were  intermingled  some  Andean  forms  descending  from 
the  upper  to  the  lower  reaches  after  the  rupture  of  the  transverse  dyke. 

An  endless  variety  of  local  forms  corresponds  with  the  varying  character  of  the 
soil,  in  one  place  alluvial  or  rocky,  in  another  saady  or  clayey,  dry  or  marshy. 
The  more  recent  riverside  igapos,  14  or  15  feet  above  low-=water  mark,  in  many 
places  occupying  lacustrine  depressions  many  hundred  square  miles  in  extent,  are 
overgrown  with  tall  grasses,  willows,  or  trumpet-trees  (cecropias).  The  zone  of 
older  igapos  is  recognised  at  a  distance  by  other  forms,  including  the  rubber-tree 
(siphonia  elastica).  Higher  up  the  belt  of  clays  and  alluvial  tracts,  flooded  only 
during  the  inundations,  are  indicated  by  thickets  of  various  palms  and  numerous 
other  species.  Then  follows  the  firm  ground,  the  old  argillaceous  bed  of  the  inland 
seas,  where  flourish  most  of  those  large  trees  whose  wood  exceeds  in  beauty  and 
hardness  that  of  the  finest  European  forms. 

Although  nowhere  rivalling  the  Australian  or  Californian  giants,  some  of  the 


106  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

trees  attain  a  height  of  180  or  even  200  feet.  Such  are  the  moiratinga,  probably 
a  variety  of  the  mora  cxccha  of  Guiana ;  the  samauma  {i-riodendron  samauma),  and 
the  massaranduba,  or  "  milk-tree,"  whose  sap  is  taken  with  coffee,  though  large 
quantities  appear  to  be  dangerous.  The  widespreading  branches  of  a  gigantic 
ceaba,  discovered  by  Wallis  on  the  banks  of  the  E,io  Branco,  covered  a  space  of 
about  six  acres,  where  25,000  persons  might  iiud  standing  room.  The  monguba, 
another  species  of  bombax  or  silk-cotton  tree,  has  the  peculiarity  of  shedding  all 
its  leaves  before  sprouting  again. 

A  strange  and  striking  feature  of  Amazonian  arboresccnce  consists  in  the  great 
development  of  the  outer  walls  sustaining,  but  detached  from,  the  stem,  leaving  an 
intervening  space  wide  enough  to  afford  refuge  to  several  persons.  Another 
characteristic  of  these  woodlands  are  the  countless  species  of  parasitic  growths, 
climbing  the  trunk  to  reach  the  light,  or  clinging  to  the  branches,  from  which 
hang  their  long  aerial  roots,  waving  in  the  breeze,  or  interlacing  with  the 
ascending  lianas. 

Palms,  of  which  there  occur  several  hundred  species,  constitute  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  arborescent  forms,  even  forming  whole  forests  in  certain  sandy  districts 
and  on  the  margins  of  the  savannas.  In  many  places  a  single  variety  prevails — 
the  graceful  assa'i  [euterpe  oleracea)  round  about  Para ;  the  paxiuba  {Iriartea 
exhoryza)  in  parts  of  the  Japura  and  19a  valleys ;  the  barrigoto  {iriartea  ventricosa) 
on  the  Upper  Amazons ;  the  piassaba  in  the  E,io  Negro  basin ;  the  tucum  (asfro- 
caryum  rulgare)  on  the  Purus  and  Jurua. 

European  travellers  are  surprised  by  the  lack  of  bright  flowers.  Even  orchids 
are  rare,  while  edible  fruits,  abounding  in  some  districts,  are  absent  from  others. 
The  sandy  river-banks  with  a  sunny  aspect  yield  the  caju  {anacardium  occidentale), 
the  fruit  of  which  is  much  prized ;  the  guajeru  (chrysobalanus  icaco)  of  the  coast- 
lands,  the  wild  pineapple  {bromelia  abacaxi),  the  inga  lucida,  and  the  various  passion- 
flowers, all  contribute  fruits  or  berries  much  valued  by  the  natives. 

Other  products  of  the  selva,  cabinet- woods,  rubber,  various  gums,  resins,  and 
camj)horated  substances,  drugs,  fibres,  and  dyewoods,  exist  in  thousands  and  are 
daily  being  more  and  more  utilised  by  human  industry. 

The  Amazonian  Fauna. 

The  death-like  stillness  prevailing  in  many  districts  might  lead  the  observer  to 
suppose  that  animal  life  was  poorly  represented  in  these  woodlands.  But  if 
individuals  are  few,  the  species  present  a  great  diversity.  During  his  eleven  years' 
exploration  in  Amazonia,  Bates  collected  as  many  as  14,712  animal  forms,  of  which 
8,000  were  completely  new  to  science.  Life  teems  even  in  apparently  deserted 
parts  of  the  selva ;  the  gloom  beneath  the  undergrowth  may  be  forsaken,  while 
the  foliage  bathed  in  light  is  alive  with  whole  populations  of  insects,  birds,  and 
even  mammals. 

Most  of  the  quadrupeds  have  so  -well  adapted  themselves  to  their  environment 
that  they  advance  easily  from  tree  to  tree.  The  land  mammals  are  both  few  and 
nearly  all  of  small  size ;  even  the  tapir,  largest  of  all,  is  smaller  than  the  original 


FAUNA  OF  AMAZOXLV.  107 

type.  But  on  the  other  hand  there  are  38  memhers  of  the  monkey  family, 
all  climbers  and  all  with  prehensile  tails.  The  cercohpfes,  a  species  of  bear,  is  also 
of  exclusively  arboreal  habits,  and  of  the  four  kinds  of  ant-eaters  [myrmecojjharjn) 
studied  bj-^  Bates,  three  live  in  the  trees,  as  do  also  the  degenerate  descendants  of 
the  colossal  megatherium  (sloth),  besides  various  squirrels,  snakes,  and  other 
reptiles. 

Gulls  and  the  frigate-bird  ascend  the  Amazons  to  the  Peruvian  plains  2,500 
miles  from  the  sea,  while  the  manatee  and  dolphins  frequent  all  the  large  affluents 
as  far  as  the  first  rapids.  But  the  various  species  of  cetaceans  have  acquired 
exclusively  fluvial  forms.  The  water  boa  (eiiiiecfes  miiriiii(s),  which  sometimes 
attacks  man,  acquires  enormous  proportions  in  the  Napo  basin,  where  Osculati  saw 
one  which  appeared  to  him  some  50  or  60  feet  long. 

The  Amazons  waters  are  infested  by  the  formidable  j'acare  uassti,  or  great 
crocodile ;  but  the  turtle,  which  formerly  swarmed  in  the  main  stream,  has  been 
nearly  exterminated  or  driven  up  the  aflluents  bj'  the  reckless  destruction  of  its 
eggs.  Both  of  these  animals  withdraw  to  the  lakes  and  tributaries  during  the 
rainy  season,  returning  in  the  dry  period,  or  else  burying  themselves  in  the  mud 
during  the  summer  months.  Saurians  and  fishes  of  identical  species  vary  in  colour 
according  to  the  darker  or  lighter  tints  of  the  fluvial  waters  frequented  by  them. 

All  the  running  waters  teem  with  fishes,  and  the  600  or  700  species  estimated 
by  Spix  were  raised  by  Apiassiz  to  nearly  2,000  for  the  Amazons  alone,  that  is, 
twice  as  many  as  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  more  than  in  the  whole  Atlantic.  The 
Hyanuary  lagoon  west  of  the  Rio  Negro  confluence  contains  over  200,  or  more 
than  all  the  rivers  and  lakes  of  Europe  together.  Some  are  extremely  ferocious  ; 
the  pira/i/ias  {tefrafjonopteruH),  despite  their  small  size,  attack  man  with  great  fury, 
and  often  snap  off  the  lips  of  dogs  and  horses  drinking  in  the  streams  infested  by 
them. 

Although  poor  in  some  bird  forms,  notably  humming  birds,  Amazonia  abounds 
in  others,  and  Wallace  alone  collected  over  500  different  kinds.  Aquatic  beetles 
are  rare,  but  on  the  other  hand  no  less  than  700  species  of  butterflies  occur  within 
a  radius  of  four  miles  round  Para.  It  was  the  extreme  variety  of  the  lepidoptera 
that  enabled  Bates  to  prosecute  those  comparative  studies  on  transformation  and 
mimicry  that  supplied  so  many  arguments  in  support  of  Darwin's  theory  on  the 
Origin  of  Species.  Some  of  the  winged  pests,  such  as  the  nocturnal  mosquito  and 
the  pium  or  day  fly,  render  certain  riverside  districts  in  the  Purus  valley  quite 
uninhabitable ;  the  sauba  ant  also  {cecodoma  cephalotes),  which  lines  its  imderground 
galleries  with  leaves,  makes  all  tillage  impossible  in  many  places.  Coffee  planta- 
tions laid  out  at  great  cost  have  been  utterly  destroyed  by  its  invading  hosts.  The 
galleries,  which  extend  to  a  distance  of  160  and  even  200  feet,  are  the  work  of  a 
delving  population  provided  with  a  frontal  eye  like  the  fabulous  cyclops  or  the 
modern  miners  with  their  Davy  lamps.  A  denizen  of  these  subterranean  abodes 
is  the  amphisbcena,  "  mother  of  the  saubas,"  a  harmless  snake  said  by  the  natives 
to  have  two  heads.  Even  more  dreaded  than  the  sauba  is  the  formiga  do  fogo,  or 
"  fire-ant  "  Onyrmica  rubra),  which  has  at  times  put  whole  communities  to  flight. 


108  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Inhabitants  of  Amazonia. 

Amongst  tlie  few  traces  of  the  former  inhabitants  of  Amazonia  is  a  necro- 
polis discovered  near  Manaos,  evidently  of  great  antiquity,  containing  hundreds 
of  large  mortuary  jars  of  elegant  design,  but  of  unknown  origin.  To  a  more 
recent  period  would  appear  to  belong  the  shell-mounds  occurring  near  Para,  in 
Marajo  Island  and  in  the  Santarem  district.  The  numerous  fragments  of  human 
industry  found  in  these  mounds  seem  to  have  been  deposited  by  the  present 
riverine  populations  ;  some  of  the  skulls  differ  in  no  respect  from  those  of  the 
Tapuyos.  Like  those  of  the  Mississippi  basin,  some  of  the  mounds  affect  the 
form  of  caymans  or  other  huge  animals,  probably  the  otem  of  the  tribe.  Certain 
jade  objects,  "  worth  their  weight  in  gold,"  are  supposed  by  most  observers  to 
have  come  from  the  region  of  the  Upper  Rio  Branco ;  one,  representing  a  jaguar 
devouring  a  turtle,  recalls  the  style  of  similar  Muysca  sculptures.  Inscribed 
rocks  have  been  discovered  in  many  parts  of  the  Rio  Negro,  Tapajoz,  and  Madeira 
valleys. 

Of  the  150  tribes  recorded  by  Orellana  on  his  memorable  voyage  down  the 
Amazons  all  have  disappeared,  and  such  has  been  the  destruction  of  human  life 
that  the  white  man  would  seem  to  have  visited  these  regions  only  to  create  a 
solitude.  Very  few  full-blood  Indians  now  survive  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons 
and  those  formerly  grouped  in  communities  under  the  Jesuits  are  now  merged  in 
a  homogeneous  population  speaking  the  Ungoa  geral  which  had  been  taught  them 
with  the  catechism,  but  which  is  itself  now  being  gradually  replaced  by  the 
Portuguese  of  the  Brazilian  traders. 

The  Tapuyos,  Arawaks,  and  Caribs. 

These  Indians  take  the  general  name  of  Tapuyos,  which  appears  to  have 
formerly  belonged  to  a  Tupinamba  tribe  that  migrated  from  East  Brazil  to 
Amazonia  in  the  sixteenth  ceutury.  They  probably  belong  for  the  most  part  to 
the  Tupi  family,  whose  various  dialects  resembled  that  which  the  Jesuits  reduced 
to  written  form  and  made  the  "  general  language  "  of  Brazil.  A  purer  form  of 
this  idiom  appears  to  be  the  Gruarani  of  Paraguay,  where  is  probably  to  be  sought 
the  origin  of  these  Amazonian  Tuj^is.  Since  the  publication  of  the  first  Tuj^i 
grammar  by  Anchieta  in  1595,  this  dialect  has  been  sedulously  cultivated,  and 
now  possesses  quite  a  literature,  in  which  the  Brazilians  themselves  take  a  certain 
patriotic  pride. 

It  is  scarcely  any  longer  possible  to  recognise  the  original  elements  amid  the 
endless  interminglings  that  have  taken  place  between  the  red,  white,  and  black 
races.  The  term  niamcluco,  at  first  restricted  to  the  children  of  white  fathers 
and  Indian  mothers,  is  now  commonly  applied  to  all  half-breeds.  A  very  marked 
type  is  that  of  the  cafuzo,  the  offspring  of  a  black  father  and  Indian  mother, 
noted  especially  for  his  enormous  head  of  bristly  black  hair,  lank  but  not  woolly. 
In  general,  the  mixed  Amazonian  populations  may  be  said  to  have  gained  in 
physical  beauty  and  natural  grace,  as  well  as  in  intelligence. 

Besides  the  Tapuyo  half-castes,  good  boatmen,  but  indolent,  and  of  little  use 


INTERIOR   OF   A   TICUNA    HUT. 


INHABITANTS  OF  AMAZONIA. 


109 


on  the  plantations,  all  the  affluents  of  the  mainstream  are  still  occupied  by  nume- 
rous full-blood  aborigines,  who  have  hitherto  kept  mainly  aloof  from  the  white 
and  black  intruders.  Despite  the  studies  of  D'Orbignj%  Martins,  Crevaux,  Coudreau, 
Ehrenreich,  and  other  ethnologists,  much  doubt  still  prevails  regarding  the  mutual 
affinities  of  these  peoples,  who,  however,  to  judge  from  the  analogy  of  their 
dialects,  would  appear  to  belong  to  a  small  number  of  original  groups. 

The  Arawaks  and  the  Caribs  of  Venezuela  and  Guiana  are  here  also  numerously 
represented ;  but  the  Tiipi  constitute  the  chief  ethnical  element  throughout  the 
southern  section  of  the  Amazonian  basin.  On  the  northern  slope,  and  especially 
in  the  lea  and  Japura  valleys,  the  dominant  people  are  the  Miranhas,  a  general 
name  applied  by  Ehrenreich  to  various  scattered  tribes  living  apart  from  each 
other.  Another  distinct  group  is  that  of  the  Carayas  of  the  Xingu  and  Araguaya 
basins,  who  differ  both  in  speech, 
physique,  and  usages  from  all  the  ^'S-  ST.-Capusa  Half-bbeed. 

others.  Of  the  entire  Amazonian 
indigenous  population,  estimated 
at  about  90,000,  all  these  inde- 
pendent wild  tribes  number  prob- 
ably about  one-half. 

On  the  Upper  SoHm5es  the 
riverside  populations  are  already 
very  mixed,  although  still  pre- 
serving their  tribal  organisation 
and  traditions.  Here  are  met  a 
few  Omaguas,  recognised  by  their 
round,  soft  features,  some  Yahuas 
of  haughty  carriage,  and  the 
Ticunas,  distinguished  by  their 
paiated  robes.  The  warlike 
Miranhas  carry  a  rude  spear  of 
hard  wood,  and  use  a  kind  of 
drum    hollowed    from    a    single 

block,  which  is  heard  "  two  leagues  away,"  and  with  which  they  are  said  to 
communicate  news  from  village  to  village,  like  some  of  the  West  African  tribes. 
Like  the  old  Quichuas,  they  ensnare  the  game  by  means  of  coarse  nets  suspended 
from  tree  to  tree. 

Near  the  Miranhas  dwell  some  tribes  of  different  stock,  amongst  others  the 
Carijonas  and  the  Witotos,  or  "  enemies,"  whom  Crevaux  met  on  the  Upper 
Japura,  beyond  the  BraziKan  frontier,  and  who  are  pure  Caribs,  while  the  Passe  of 
the  Lower  lea  belong  to  the  same  stock  as  the  Arawaks.  These  are  distinguished 
by  their  fine  physique,  intelligence,  gentle  disposition,  and  skill,  hence  are  much 
valued  as  domestic  servants  in  Manaos.  Like  their  Uainuma  neighbours,  they 
blackened  a  great  part  of  the  face  with  the  juice  of  the  genipa,  whence  the  expres- 
sion Juri  Pixtina,  "  Blackmouths,"  ofteo  applied  to  them. 


Ni?^ 


"?7,/^>.->' 


110  AM.VZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Rio  Negro  and  Trombetas  Tribes. 


Oa  the  Uaupes  branch  of  the  Rio  Negro  dwell  the  Uaupes,  a  group  of  21 
tribes  speaking  15  different  dialects,  and  according  to  Coudreau  of  diverse  origin. 
Some,  such  as  the  dominant  Tarianas,  are  undoubtedly  Caribs,  while  the  Macus, 
who  roam  the  forests  from  the  Andes  to  Manaos,  would  seem  to  be  akin  to  the 
"Witotos  of  the  Upper  Japura,  though  these  also  are  stated  to  be  true  Caribs. 

Most  of  the  Uaupes  differ  in  dress  and  usages  as  well  as  in  speech,  and  their 
common  religion  appears  to  be  the  chief  bond  of  union  between  them.  Despite 
the  zeal  of  the  Catholic  missionaries,  they  still  preserve  a  national  cult,  in  which 
are  intermingled  Pagan  and  Christian  rites,  the  latter  derived  from  the  teachings 
of  the  Jesuits  during  the  eighteenth  century.  Tupan,  a  great  traveller,  and  author 
of  the  numerous  drawings  carved  on  the  granite  rocks  about  the  cataracts,  repre- 
sents the  God  of  the  Christians.  Jurupari,  the  native  god,  born  of  Virgin  Mary, 
is  an  evil  genius,  who  encourages  drink,  murder,  and  other  vices  amongst  his 
people.  In  his  honour  are  celebrated  great  feasts,  dances,  flagellations,  and  orgies  ; 
but  he  receives  a  secret  worship,  from  which  the  women  are  jealously  excluded. 
But  all  the  Uaupes  are  disappearing,  and  in  the  Rio  Negro  basin  civilised  and 
savage  together  had  been  reduced  to  8,000  in  1884. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Macusi,  dominant  on  the  southern  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tains drained  by  the  Rio  Branco,  appear  to  have  greatly  increased  since  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  they  acquired  the  ascendancy  over  the  Wapisianas. 
The  Macusi,  probably  of  Tupi  stock,  form  two  main  groups,  one  in  the  east  on  the 
rivers  Mahu  and  Takutu,  the  other  in  the  west  towards  the  Upper  Uraricuera 
basin.  Formerly  much  dreaded  on  account  of  their  poisonous  arrows,  they  have 
ceased  to  prepare  the  curare  poison,  and  now  use  firearms.  Their  savannas  being 
traversed  by  the  natural  highway  between  the  Essequibo  and  the  Amazons, 
they  have  recently  taken  to  trade,  and  already  begin  to  speak  a  little  broken 
English. 

Next  to  these  the  most  powerful  tribe  are  the  Wayewe  of  the  Upper  Mapuerro, 
which  flows  to  the  Amazons  under  the  name  of  Urubu.  The  Wayewe,  that  is, 
"  Whites,"  are  probably  pure  Caribs,  men  of  splendid  physique,  noble  features, 
fair  complexion,  and  very  industrious.  The  kindred  Japii  are  "the  finest 
Indians  "  met  by  Coudreau  during  his  ten  years'  explorations  in  Guiana.  This 
observer  was  surprised  to  find  light  hair  and  blue  eyes  amongst  the  Japii,  while 
their  northern  neighbours,  the  Tucans,  were  distinguished  by  prominent  cheek- 
bones and  oblique  Mongol  eyes. 

Except  the  Macusi,  Wayew^s,  and  Piangotos,  all  the  independent  tribes  of 
the  Rio  Branco,  Urubu,  Yamunda,  and  Trombetas  rivers  appear  to  be  decreasing. 
Several  have  even  disappeared  altogether,  amongst  others  the  Paravilhanas, 
"  Bowmen,"  who  were  very  powerful  in  the  fifteenth  century.  Of  the  twenty- 
two  groups  recorded  in  1787  only  nine  survive,  and  one  of  these,  the  Crichanas 
of  the  Rio  Jauapery,  at  constant  war  with  the  whites,  were  threatened  with 
extinction,  when  Barbosa  Rodrigues  succeeded  in  establishing  peace  between  the 


INHABITANTS  OF  AMAZONIA. 


Ill 


hostile  elements.     The  Crichanas  have  the  curious  custom  of  buning  their  dead 
in  the  hollow  trunks  of  trees  killed  by  the  close  embrace  of  coiling  lianas. 

All  the  wild  tribes  being  driven  to  the  upper  reaches  above  the  rapids,  the 
Tapuyos,  Negroes,  and  Brazilians  occupy  the  lower  courses  of  the  northern 
affluents,  where  some  have  formed  little  mucambos,  or  petty  communal  settle- 
ments, inhabited  especially  by  runaway  blacks,  deserters,  and  freedmen.  Through 
their  influence  Portuguese  is  gradually  replacing  the  native  dialects  in  this 
remote  region  where  the  lingoa  geral  had  never  penetrated.  Here  are  stiU 
vainly  sought  the  famous  "  Amazons  "  of  the  Icamiaba  nation,  with  whom  the 
whites  had  to  contend  during  their  first  voyage  down  the  great  river  named  from 


Fig.  38. — IxDLLN  Populations  of  Amazonia. 
Scale  1 :  36.000,000. 


1,220  Miles. 


them.  According  to  Wallace,  Orellana  and  his  companions,  seeing  the  young 
Indian  warriors  in  the  distance,  with  their  long  hair  dressed  in  a  top-knot,  their 
necklaces  and  bracelets  of  berries,  may  have  easily  taken  them  for  women  ;  hence 
the  origin  of  the  fabulous  Amazons,  suggested  by  classical  reminiscences.  Both 
Barbosa  Rodrigues  and  Coudreau  believe  that  the  tribe  of  pretended  female  warriors 
is  still  represented  by  some  of  the  Uaupes,  whose  chiefs  possess  "  divine  stones," 
quartz,  jasper,  or  jade,  through  which  they  take  years  to  drill  holes,  and  which 
serve  both  as  amulets  and  as  badges  of  their  authority.  On  the  Upper  Yamunda 
is  seen  a  lake  consecrated  to  "  Mother  Moon,"  into  which  the  "  Amazons  "  threw 
their  tnuirakitans,  sacred  stones,  representing  animals,  fishes,  or  other  symbolic 
objects. 


112  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Rio  Javary  and  Purus  Tribes. 

Independent  wild  tribes  are  far  more  numerous  on  tlie  southern  slope  of  the 
Amazons  valley,  where  they  are  reckoned  by  the  hundred,  all  with  their  dis- 
tinctive characters  and  special  dialects,  which,  however,  may  be  traced  to  one 
great  linguistic  family.  Those  of  the  Eio  Javary,  on  the  Peruvian  frontier,  are 
for  the  most  part  akin  to  the  Panos,  who  appear  to  have  reached  a  high  state  of 
culture  before  they  were  again  reduced  to  barbarism  and  nearly  exterminated  by 
wars  and  epidemics.  The  various  tribes  of  the  Pio  Jurua  appear  to  be  of  Arawak 
stock,  as  are  also  the  multitudinous  little  groups  of  the  Purus  valley.  Amongst 
these  the  Ipurinas  are  noted  for  their  physical  beauty  and  dignified  presence. 
They  embellish  themselves  with  black  paintings  on  a  scarlet  ground,  and  also 
engage  in  fierce  combats  "for  pleasure,"  so  that  most  of  them  are  covered  with 
scars,  of  which  they  are  very  proud.  A  favourite  game  is  to  single  out  some  tree 
as  an  enemj^,  and  pierce  it  with  arrows,  uttering  the  sharp  cry,  "  I-pu-ri-na, 
I-pu-ri-na  !  "  whence  their  name.  So  many  of  their  warriors  perish  in  battle  that 
the  women  greatly  outnumber  the  men,  and  polygamy  has  become  common. 

Members  of  the  Arawak  family  are  also  the  Catauixi  and  the  Paumari  of  the 
Lower  Purus,  although  the  latter  bury  their  dead,  Kke  the  Quichuas,  in  large 
earthern  jars,  which  are  deposited  in  mortuary  cabins.  The  Paumari,  that  is, 
Pama-uri,  "  Berry-eaters,"  seem  to  be  descended  from  the  old  Purus  nation,  who 
gave  their  name  to  the  river.  Between  the  Purus  and  Madeira  confluences  the 
right  bank  of  the  Amazons  is  roamed  by  a  few  survivors  of  the  formerly  powerful 
Mura  nation,  who  were  nearly  extermiaated  by  the  Mandurucus  towards  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Although  spealdng  a  totally  diSerent  language. 
Bates  afiiliates  them  to  their  Mundurucu  enemies,  who  are  of  Tupi  stock.  They 
are  so  indolent  that  "  lazy  as  a  Mura  sleeping  on  three  strings  "  has  become  a 
proverbial  expression,  implying  that  they  have  not  energy  enough  to  net  them- 
selves proper  hammocks.    " 

Rio  Madeira  Tribes — The  Mundtjrucus. 

About  the  cascades  and  rapids  of  the  Madeira  are  encamped  the  Caripunas, 
or  "  Watermen,"  akin  to  other  Caripunas  of  the  Pano  family,  who  occupy  the 
Ucayali  valley.  East  of  them  follow  the  Parentintins,  whose  territory  stretches 
along  the  right  bank  of  the  Madeira,  and  thence  through  the  forest  eastwards  in 
the  direction  of  the  Rio  Tapajoz.  These  are  full-blood  Tupis,  who  appear  to  have 
migrated  from  the  south,  and  who  are  at  constant  war  with  their  eastern 
neighbours,  the  Mandurucus. 

Very  different  from  these  warlike  tribes  are  the  harmless  and  indolent  Parexi, 
Cabixi,  Cachitini,  and  Vaimare,  all  Arawak  peoples  inhabiting  the  campos  or 
plateaux  between  the  Guapore,  Tapajoz,  and  Paraguay  basins.  These  have  come  more 
in  contact  with  the  whites,  who  have  taught  them  the  use  of  firearms,  as  well  as  of 
iron  implements  for  cultivating  the  soil.  They  are  expert  manufacturers  of  baskets, 
sieves,  hammocks,  and  textiles,  with  which  they  procure  European  wares  from  the 
Brazilian  traders.     Thus  they  are  becoming  rapidly  civilised,  and  many  even  get 


INHABITANTS  OF  AMAZONIA.  113 

baptized,  though  still  preserving  some  of  their  old  usages  and  religious  practices. 
The  dead  are  buried  under  the  hammock  of  the  nearest  akin,  and  provided  with 
food  for  the  six  days'  journey  which  it  takes  to  reach  cloudland. 

Along  the  middle  course  of  the  Tapajoz  dwell  several  Tupi  tribes,  such  as  the 
Apiacus  (Abiabas,  or  "  Men "),  the  Mundurucus  and  the  Mauhes.  Although 
usually  of  peaceful  habits  the  Apiacas  still  occasionally  indulge  in  their  old  cannibal 
practices.  Those  tattooed  with  three  horizontal  bars  on  the  cheek  are  privileged  to 
eat  their  prisoners  of  war,  the  children  captured  on  their  predatory  expeditions 
being  spared  till  their  twelfth  year,  when  they  are  served  up  at  their  sacred  feasts. 
Eumour  speaks  of  a  mysterious  people  in  their  district,  the  Jacar^uaras,  a  race  of 
albinoes  said  to  travel  only  at  night,  hence  usually  called  Morcegoft,  or  "  Bats." 

Of  all  the  Brazilian  aborigines  the  most  powerful  are  the  Mundurucus,  said  by 
Bates  to  number  20,000,  and  regarded  by  Couto  de  Magalhaes  as  typical  children 
of  nature.  Their  settlements  follow  along  the  banks  of  the  Tapajoz  and  in  the 
forest  glades,  and  from  them  the  whole  country  takes  the  name  of  Munducuriana. 
Tall,  stout,  muscular,  and  of  somewhat  clear  complexion,  the  various  tribes  and 
classes  are  distinguished  by  their  respective  tattoo  marks,  which,  although  falling 
into  disuse,  are  still  held  in  great  respect.  So  elaborate  were  the  designs  that  it 
sometimes  took  ten  years  to  complete  the  picture. 

Loyalty  to  their  pledged  word,  a  proud  and  noble  bearing  are  characteristics  of 
the  Mundurucus,  who  are  also  skilled  husbandmen  and  expert  at  featherwork  and 
various  other  arts.  Formerly  very  warlike,  they  have  developed  a  thorough 
military  organisation,  preparing  in  peace  for  war,  so  that  at  the  first  sound 
of  the  drum  all  fly  to  arms  and  muster  in  vast  barracks,  from  which  the  women 
are  excluded.  They  always  attack  at  dawn,  their  manoeuvres  being  directed  by 
the  varied  beat  of  the  drum.  In  the  fight  no  quarter  is  given,  but  after  the  vic- 
tory every  care  is  taken  of  the  women  and  children,  the  latter  being  adopted  to 
repair  the  losses  sustained  in  battle. 

Eio  Tapajoz  and  Xingu  Tribes. 

The  Mauhes  of  the  Lower  Tapajoz,  who  have  given  their  name  to  an  extensive 
system  of  creeks  and  channels  on  the  south  side  of  the  Amazons,  ajjpear  to  belong 
to  the  same  group  as  the  Mundurucus,  although  long  separated  from  them,  and 
speaking  a  totally  different  language.  East  and  west  of  them  are  the  fierce  Arara 
(Yuma)  Caribs,  who  attack  always  by  night,  and  who  are  regarded  by  the  sur- 
rounding populations  rather  as  demons  than  men.  Till  lately  the  Mauhes  wei-e 
the  only  natives  who  prepared  the  guarana,  a  decoction  obtained  from  the  beans 
of  a  species  of  Hana  {pauUinia  sorbilis),  which  is  used  throughout  Brazil  and  even 
in  Bolivia  against  dysentery  and  ague.  In  local  business  transactions  the  paullinia 
beans  serve  as  currency. 

East  of  the  Tapajoz  the  Xingu  basin  appears  from  Karl  von  den  Steineu's 
researches  (1884 — 87),  to  have  been  the  point  of  dispersion  for  the  various  Carib 
tribes,  which  under  so  many  names  have  spread  in  successive  waves  of  migration 
north-west  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes,  northwards  to  Guiana,   Venezuela,  and  the 

VOL.  XIX.  I 


114  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Antilles,  and  whose  origin  had  hitherto  been  sought  in  the  West  Indies,  or  even 
in  the  North  American  continent.  The  Bakairi  and  their  northern  neighbours, 
the  Nahuquas,  are  the  purest  members  of  the  Carib  family,  judging  at  least  from 
their  speech,  which  has  been  least  modified  by  foreign  elements.*  Although  sur- 
rounded by  Tupi  and  other  races,  they  keep  so  aloof  that  till  quite  recently  they 
still  belonged  to  the  stone  age,  with  no  knowledge  of  the  metals,  of  the  dog,  of  the 
banana  and  many  other  edible  fruits  well  known  to  their  neighbours.  They 
smoke  no  tobacco  and  prepare  no  fermented  drinks,  while  their  earthenware  is 
greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the  kindred  Roucouj'ennes  of  French  Guiana. 

From  all  this  Von  den  Steinen  concludes  that  of  all  the  Caribs,  the  Bakairi 
stand  nearest  to  the  primitive  stock  and  to  the  cradle  of  the  race.  The  national 
legends  speak  of  migratory  movements  in  the  direction  from  south  to  north,  and  such 
movements  have  taken  place  even  in  the  contemporary  period.  The  Araras  scattered 
alonsr  the  south  side  of  the  Amazons  have  the  same  tattoo  markings  as  the  Bakairi, 
a  blue  line  crossing  the  cheek  from  the  corner  of  the  mouth  to  the  outer  angle  of 
the  eyelid. 

Some  of  these  primitive  Caribs,  converted  to  Christianity  about  the  year  1820, 
have  at  least  adopted  a  show  of  culture,  and  their  chief,  dressed  in  an  official 
costume,  has  become  a  Brazilian  captain.  But  there  still  remain  some  groups  of 
independent  Bakairi,  of  peaceful  habits,  fond  of  music,  and  building  straw  huts 
with  a  narrow  entrance,  like  large  bee-hives.  Having  little  knowledge  of  the 
industries,  they  procure  various  manufactured  objects  from  their  Suya  neighbours, 
who  live  farther  down  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Xingu.  These  Suyas  are  dis- 
tinguished by  their  tall  stature,  physical  strength,  energy,  and  skill  in  making 
pottery  and  wicker  ware. 

On  the  Lower  Xingu  the  chief  people  are  the  Yurunas  of  Tupi  stock,  formerly 
cannibals,  but  now  noted  for  their  gentle  disposition  and  hospitality.  Nevertheless, 
they  still  avoid  contact  with  the  whites,  and  continue  to  deck  themselves  with 
glass  bead  necklaces,  girdles,  and  pendants,  and  wear  the  hair  plaited  in  a  single 
long  pigtail.  They  are  unsurpassed  in  taming  animals,  and  every  village  is  a 
menagerie  of  tapirs,  monkeys,  agoutis,  toucans,  parrokeets,  and  other  pets.  The 
Yurunas  would  be  the  happiest  of  mortals  but  for  the  raids  of  the  fierce  Carayas, 
who  infest  the  right  bank  of  the  Xingu,  and  who  are  akin  to  others  of  the  same 
name  in  the  Araguay  and  Tocantins  basins. 

Topography  of  Amazonia. 
The  impression  produced  on  a  traveller  steaming  up  the  Amazons  is  that  of  a 
boundless  solitude.  Towns  properly  so  called  are  extremely  rare,  and  many 
stations  whose  names  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  books  of  travel  are  mere  clusters 
of  cabins.  Such  is  Tabatinga,  the  frontier  post  towards  Peru,  which  consists  of 
two  or  three  little  dwellings  and  a  half-ruined  fort  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Amazons, 
here   1,600  yards  wide.     A  somewhat  large  place  is  S.  Paulo  de  Olivcn^a  on  the 

*  Karl  von  den  Steinen,  Burch  central  BrasiUen  ;  Paul  Ehrenreioh,  Peiermann's  MUteilungm,  1891, 
Heft  IV. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  AMAZONIA.  115 

soutt  side,  wbich  stands  on  a  bluff  rising  215  feet  above  low- water  level. 
Tuitantiiis,  on  tbe  left  bank  between  the  loops  of  the  lea  and  Jutahy  affluents, 
stands  on  the  site  of  the  old  mission  of  Tunati. 

Being  easily  navigable  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes  by  craft  drawing  six  or  seven 
feet,  the  lea  is  much  visited  by  rubber  and  sarsaparilla  seekers.  Its  upper  course 
is  occupied  by  the  Macaguajes,  the  middle  b}'  the  Orejones,  and  the  lower  by  the 
Ticunas.  The  Orejones  slit  lips,  ears,  and  nostrils  for  the  insertion  of  ornaments, 
wear  a  willow  band  as  the  national  costume,  still  wield  the  stone  axe,  and  make 
some  fine  pottery. 

From  Tunantins  to  the  port  of  Fonte  Boa  ("  Good  "Well  ")  follow  a  series  of 
islands  formerly  frequented  by  millions  of  turtles,  which  yielded  vast  quantities  of 
oil  to  the  Portuguese  traders.  But  being  recklessly  hunted  down,  they  have 
now  forsaken  these  breeding-grounds. 

Teffe — Stations  on  the  Purus  and  Madeira. 

Tiffe,  formerly  Ega,  owes  its  present  name  to  the  river  on  wiiich  it  stands. 
Although  containing  less  than  1,000  inhabitants,  it  ranks  as  a  great  city  in  the 
Solimoes  basin.  Its  foundations  were  laid  in  1668  by  the  missionary  Samuel  Fritz 
as  a  station  for  Indians  who  have  since  lost  their  tribal  name  and  become  merged 
with  the  other  half-caste  Tapuyo  populations.  In  1781  the  Hispano-Portuguese 
Boundary  Commission  established  its  headquarters  at  Ega,  and  the  naturalist 
Bates  made  choice  of  the  same  place  as  the  centre  of  his  excursions  in  TJjjper 
Amazonia  during  the  years  1850-59. 

Teffe  enjoys  great  natural  advantages  in  its  healthy  climate,  its  almost  complete 
immunity  from  mosquitoes,  its  rich  soil  and  vegetation,  its  excellent  commercial 
position  in  the  centre  of  a  network  of  navigable  waters,  and  lastly  its  spacious 
harbour  formed  by  the  deep  lake  fed  by  the  Rio  Teffe  by  a  lateral  channel  on  its 
right  bank.  It  is  also  a  pleasant  place  of  residence,  every  house  having  its  orange 
and  banana  grove  and  its  turtle  pond. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  lake  stands  the  village  of  Nogueira,  famous  throughout 
Amazonia  for  its  earthenware  decorated  with  geometrical  designs.  Farther  down 
follow  the  settlements  of  Coary  (Avellos)  on  the  right  bank,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  Coary,  and  Cothjaz  on  one  of  the  creeks,  through  which  the  Lower  Japura 
communicates  with  the  Solimoes. 

Till  recently  the  great  River  Purus,  longer  than  the  Danube,  had  not  a  single 
white  habitation  on  its  banks.  But  despite  its  insalubrity,  the  crowds  of  mosquitoes, 
and  other  drawbacks,  the  extreme  richness  of  its  forests  in  rubber  and  other 
valuable  products  has  somewhat  suddenly  begun  to  attract  settlers.  The  first 
steamer,  which  made  its  appearance  in  1862,  was  followed  in  1869  by  a  flotilla  of 
15  boats,  by  which  a  regular  service  was  established  from  the  Amazons  to  the 
first  camping  grounds  of  the  seriiigueiros.  These  rubber-hunters  increased  from 
2,000  in  1871  to  no  less  than  50,000  in  1890,  nearly  all  nomads,  besides  the  local 
tribes. 

In  1871  Labre,  one  of  the  most  active  explorers  of  the  Upper  Purus  basin, 

i2        • 


116 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


founded  the  station  of  Lahrea,  whicli  perpetuates  his  name,  and  wticli  haa  become 
the  capital  of  the  district.  It  stands  at  the  converging  point  of  the  routes  followed 
by  the  seekers  of  rubber  not  only  in  the  Upper  Purus  and  Aquiry  basins,  but  also 
in  the  remote  regions  watered  by  the  Beni  and  the  Madeira.     At  present  steam 


Fig.  39. — Tktfe  and  Japuea  Conthience. 
Scale  1  :  1,000,000. 


West  of  Greenwich       64°-»5 


64° 30- 


Depths. 


0  to  100 
Fathoms. 


100  Fathoms 
aad  upwards. 

.^_  26  Milea. 


navigation  on  the  Purus  stops  at  the  little  port  of  Hyutanaham,  some  hundred 
miles  below  Labrea. 

From  the  economic  standpoint  the  Madeira  may  be  regarded  as  forming  part 
of  the  same  domain  as  the  Purus,  but  only  below  the  cataracts.  Higher  up,  the 
Guapore  region,  formerly  an  independent  lacustrine  basin,  belongs  to  the  Matto 


TOPOGEAPnY  OTT  AMAZONIA. 


117 


Grosso  world,  with  different  natural  conditions  and  centres  of  attraction.  But  the 
Lower  Madeira  traverses  regions  analogous  to  those  of  the  Purus.  It  has  even 
been  proposed  to  connect  both  valleys  by  a  road,  if  not  by  a  railway,  to  run  from 


Fig.  40. — Madbiea  Faixb  and  Peojeoted  Railway. 
Scale  1 :  1,700,000. 


W«at  of^reenwK:>i 


30  Miles. 


the  Madeira  above  the  falls  to  the  Beni,  and  thence  to  the  Aquiry  at  the  head  of 
the  boat  navigation  of  the  Purus. 

But  the  works  already  begun  aimed  also  at  turning  the  Madeira  rapids  by  a 
lateral  railway ;  speculators  had  been  occupied  with  this  project  since  1867,  and 
according  to  the  plans  of  the  engineer,  Keller,  the  line,  about  180  miles  long, 
might  be  built  for  about  £600,000.  But  although  the  works  have  had  to  be 
abandoned  through  diplomatic  and  other  complications,  a  certain  traffic  is  still  kept 


118  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

up  between  the   two  navigable  sections  of   the  Madeira  despite  the  labour  and 
expense  involved  in  loading  and  unloading  at  the  different  portages. 

Saiifo  Antonio  on  the  right  bank  guards  the  lower  approaches  to  the  cataracts. 
Lower  down  all  the  way  to  the  Amazons,  a  distance  of  tiGO  miles,  the  onl}'  settle- 
ments are  a  few  little  hamlets,  such  as  Crcifo,  Iliimaifa,  and  Borla.  Crato  has 
succeeded  another  Crato  which  served  as  a  place  of  exile  for  political  oflFenders 
under  the  Portuguese  rule. 

Stations  in  the  Rio  Negro  Basix — Manaos. 

The  Eio  Negro,  interrupted,  like  the  Madeira,  by  rapids,  has  scarcely  more 
inhabitants  along  its  lower  course  above  Manaos.  Towards  the  close  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  the  riverside  stations  of  Tlionwr,  Moreira,  Burcellos,  and  Aijmo  had 
acquired  some  importance,  thanks  to  the  enforced  labour  of  the  natives  on  the 
cotton,  rice,  indigo,  coffee,  cacao,  and  tobacco  plantations,  and  in  the  cotton  spin- 
ning and  weaving  factories.  But  this  industry,  which  supplied  cotton  stuffs  for 
the  whole  of  the  Rio  Negro  basin  and  even  for  the  province  of  Para,  rested  on 
the  unstable  foundation  of  a  system  of  practical  slavery,  and  was  ruined  by  a 
change  in  the  local  administration.  The  Indians  took  refuge  in  the  forests,  and 
the  settlements  were  soon  reduced  to  a  few  groups  of  wretched  hovels. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Uaupes  are  situated  some  groups  of  population,  such  as 
Jnaurite,  Panore,  and  Taraqua,  which,  having  about  300  inhabitants  each,  seem 
like  veritable  cities  amid  the  surrounding  wilderness.  Of  the  so-called  "  towns  " 
on  the  Rio  Negro  below  the  Uaupes  Barcellos  is  the  largest,  yet  at  the  time  of 
Coudreau's  visit  in  1884  it  comprised  only  30  hoiises.  But  in  the  last  century, 
when  it  was  the  capital  of  a  "  captainry,"  it  had  as  many  as  4,000  inhabitants. 
Most  of  these  emigrated  in  1809,  when  BarceUos  was  replaced  by  Manaos  as  the 
centre  of  the  administration. 

At  that  time  the  Rio  Branco  also  contained  a  few  large  villages,  such  as  Srnifa 
Maria,  Carmo,  and  Pesqtieira  Real,  the  very  sites  of  which  can  no  longer  be 
identified.  They  are  chiefly  replaced  by  the  pleasant  little  town  of  Boa  Vista  on 
the  left  bank  below  the  fort  of  S.  Joaquiin. 

Manaos,  formerly  Barra,  or  Fortalezo  da  Barra  do  Bio  Negro,  takes  its  present 
name  from  a  powerful  Tupi  tribe,  who  offered  a  stout  resistance  to  the  Portuguese 
invaders.  It  occupies  a  considerable  space  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Amazons  above 
the  level  of  the  highest  floods  and  about  10  miles  above  the  Rio  Negro  confluence. 
Since  1850,  when  it  became  the  capital  of  Amazonia,  it  has  gradually  attracted  to 
itself  nearly  all  the  trade  of  the  great  river  and  its  innumerable  affluents.  Its 
advantageous  position  at  the  converging  point  of  the  great  navigable  highways  of 
the  Solimoes,  Amazons,  Rio  Negro,  and  Madeira  makes  Manaos  the  natural 
emporium  for  the  produce  of  half  Brazil.  Being  also  accessible  to  deep-sea  vessels, 
it  has  developed  a  direct  foreign  trade  since  1876;  hence  in  recent  years  the 
population  has  greatly  increased,  especially  by  immigration  from  Ceara,  and 
according  to  Barbosa  Rodrigues,  here  are  already  concentrated  half  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  vast  province  of  Amazonia.     Here  also  reside  most  of  the  foreign 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  iVMAZONIA. 


119 


inercliants,  especially  the  English,  who  have  nearly  monopolised  the  trade  of  the 
Purus  basin,  and  the  French,  Jews  and  Christians,  who  are  chiefly  interested  in 
the  rubber  industry  of  the  Rio  Jurua. 

Stations  on  the  Lower  Amazons. 

Itacoatiara,  formerly  Serpa,  cro^\Tis  a  high  bluff  on  the  north  side  of  Ihe 
Amazons  a  little  below  the  Madeira  confluence.  Lower  down  on  the  south  side 
is  seen  the  old  station  of  ViUa  Bella  ( Villa  Nova  da  Rainha  or  da  Imperatriz, 
according  to  the  political  changes),  now  Parintins,  where  begin  the  cacao  planta- 

Fig.  41. — Itacoatiara  akd  Madeira  Confluence. 
Scale  1  :  600,000. 


S|v|is|p 

.    ••     •  ^/^^C>^^|Ciiri|»ua  ■,■'..           .*       0.  .*"y-"^^T  •   •«• 

3- 

^v^W^&L^^^ 

3- 

^•';^''-/'^^^     -^^^ihji^^i^k:^^ 

<=^^Sr                  '<■■-.•  ■°.'  .^V'--'  ,    „  ..  '•  :  0'.$^^=^^^ 

; ;r_i          -y*   *:    .^-i: ^.^'        o   •     I.          ■•    o'c*      o          AO        t'''    -        o 

■.    '■  ■  .^v=A,ywian,  ■<':  y^ji^M  ■ ..    ., 

»  ■  •  .  ■               W'JTviV  ^ — ^.■''-  y — .•  ■     .•  / 

o        »  * 
*     '       '  *    ■      •     .  * " 

• "   *       .  _    :      ■ 

'         *             a  .          u  •      * 

.■/ ••  •■'■■.■'■^■-  .-"H^^om^^.  ■--' 

o".-  ■•.  '':.  '■■':  '"'-  -'':.^J^.f^y\^-^°y -'■■>"-■■ 

5- 
30- 

tp'^t^-^ 

5* 

30 

59-I0- 


V/e St  oMjf eenwicK 


sa-icr 


9  Miles. 


tions  which  form  the  chief  wealth  of  the  country.  These  are  continued  along 
the  banks  intermingled  with  other  profitable  cultures,  such  as  tobacco,  roucou, 
guarana,  bananas,  and  maize.  On  the  opposite  side  stands  the  town  of  Faro,  near 
the  point  where  Orellana  met  his  pretended  "  Amazons." 

Obidos,  the  ancient  Pauxis,  occupies  a  somewhat  important  strategical  position 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Amazons  at  the  narrowest  part  of  its  course  through 
Amazonia.  But  its  importance  is  more  apparent  than  real,  and  the  country  has 
benefited  less  from  the  garrison  of  the  neighbouring  fort  than  from  the  mocam- 
histas  (deserters)  who  have  taken  refuge  in  the  Trombetas  valley.  Here  they 
have  laid  out  some  coffee,  cacao,  and  maize  plantations,  and  have  become  almost 


120 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


assimilated  to  the  aborigines  by  alliances  with  the  Piangoto  Indians,  through 
whose  kinsmen  beyond  the  mountains  they  have  opened  commercial  relations 
with  the  Dutch  of  Surinam. 

Alemquer,  on  a  lateral  creek  of  the  Amazons  east  of  Obidos,  is  increasing  in 
wealth  and  population,  especially  by  developing  the  natural  resources  of  the  vast 
savannas  of  the  Campo  Grande,  which  stretch    away  to  the  frontiers  of  Guiana. 


Fig.  42.— Obidos. 

Scale  1 :  380,000. 


r 

50 

2°. 

l^-a^-:^"^-^v?i^:-:^;.^^'-  '^y-':. \.-- ■/■''-■  ■-.:••  :/^ -  v ■ 

r 

50 

.w"^5^  o-.-.^V^v^^^'  ■•  -■.;,•,■  •   •  •  '.'..• ;  ;■   . .  *  •  •  •=■•■•,  .,•.  •'  o'- 

■■\-r : ^^^'j^-y-^^^^.- ■'.'%.: .:  »•.■•... .o-/.-'.  -v:  .;■  •■  .,-.■.  • 

••■    ■  •".'■  •■"■;'•.;  •°  !^^Ll^'  •.v."; ':  °"  ^%  ••%'  '^"'  ^  ' '  ^^'r-  y  Co  l  o  ny    '•      '.  ;' '   •■■•_••■    V"  ■ 

?  .     ^       *  •    \-    •     n            Lacuna  Caupinas                                ^,  ,   «   ,    ;  ■^„.           '»■     *  o  -V-^^^, 

VVeit  oF  Greenwich            55"^-                                                                                      55°50 

Depths. 


OtoBO 
Fathoms. 


50  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


.  6  Miles. 


Although  sheep  and  goats  have  not  yet  been  acclimatised,  horned  cattle  and  pigs 
multiply  rapidly  on  these  magnificent  grazing  grounds. 

Santarem. — Para. 

Between  Manaos  and  Para  the  chief  place  is  Santarem,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tapajoz,  which  was  founded  in  1758,  but  at  first  made  little  progress  despite  the 
advantages  offered  by  its  navigable  waters.  The  port  is  accessible  to  vessels  of 
the  heaviest  tonnage  by  taking  advantage  of  the  tides  and  the  trade  winds,  which 
prevail  almost  uninterruptedly  for  six  months  in  the  year.  From  the  Atlantic 
to  Santarem  the  river  and  its  estuary  are  disposed  nearly  in  a  straight  line,  so 
that  sailing  vessels  are  able  to  ascend  by  running  before  the  wind  on  a  single  tack. 

Steam  navigation  has  further  increased  the  commercial  advantages  of  San- 
tarem ;  but  on  the  Tapajoz  all  river  craft  are  still  arrested  by  the  cataracts  above 


TOPOGRArnY   OF  AMAZONIA. 


121 


Itnifuba,  275  miles  from  the  confluence.  Hence,  the  resources  of  the  backwoods, 
which  yield  v;iniUa,  copahu,  rubber,  and  other  valuable  products,  have  been  little 
developed.  But  the  magnificent  tonka  (tonga),  identical  with  the  sarrapia  {dipteri/x 
odorata)  of  the  Orinoco  basin,  grows  in  abundance  in  the  Santarem  district  itself 
and  from  it  is  obtained  a  costly  aromatic  essence. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  neighbouring  lagoon  formed  by  the  Tapajoz  at  the 

Fig.  43. — Alemqtteb— Santaeem. 
Scale  1  :  800,000. 


3.  .••.  o  •.  „.:  •■•.'„•.  ••..  •    :';■.■    '•    ••    .•  .■.•.•••'';••.••••.•.••.•.■ 
.•.'.•;  ■■•••.■■'-';■•!.'.■.'••..".■.•"■'  ■.  V'  •"•'■'■.•■o.°  '.''•''' o'o-,-.'-  ■  V-'   ,'■"'• 


W.stoF&n 


b4'40' 


18  Miles. 


confluence  stands  the  little  town  of  Villafranca.  In  the  vicinity  of  this  place 
the  Brazilian  Government  possesses  a  vast  cacao  plantation  inherited  from  the 
Jesuits.  Higher  up,  on  the  same  side  of  the  river,  some  Americans  from  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi  founded  an  agricultural  settlement  after  the  War  of  Seces- 
sion ;  at  present  the  station  is  largely  inhabited  by  Brazilians. 

The  south   side  of  the  Amazons  below  Santarem  is  the   most  thickly-settled 
region  in  the  whole  basin.    Here  houses  and  plantations  follow  uninterruptedly  for 


122  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

30  miles  at  the  foot  and  on  the  scarp  of  a  sandstone  plateau  which  skirts  the 
river  at  a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles  inland.  This  is  the  so-called  montanha 
("mountain"),  although  it  rises  scarcely  more  than  from  430  to  500  feet  above 
the  stream.  Numerous  taperas  and  fapcriuhas  ("ruins"  and  "little  ruins  "),  as 
well  as  the  remains  of  causeways,  show  that  even  in  pre-Columbian  times  the 
region  was  densely  peopled. 

Farther  on,  but  on  the  north  side,  stands  the  pleasant  little  town  of  Monte 
Alcgre  ("  Merrymount "),  which  fully  deserves  its  name.  Unlike  all  other 
Amazonian  settlements,  it  stands,  not  on  a  riverside  cUfi  or  bluff,  but  on  a  real 
hiU  overgrown  with  cacti,  and  from  its  terraced  slopes  an  extensive  prospect  is 
commanded  of  the  long  meanderings  of  the  great  river,  the  fringing  lagoons  and 
their  network  of  creeks  and  backwaters,  all  separated  by  the  serpentine  belt  of 
woodlands  and  savannas. 

Lower  down  follow  Almeirim  at  the  mouth  of  the  Paru,  peopled  by  Aracaju 
Indians  ;  Povfo  de  Moz,  commanding  the  labyrinthine  waters  about  the  Xingu 
confluence,  and  visited  by  the  steamers  which  ascend  to  Souzel  below  the  last 
Xingu  falls ;  Gurtipa,  in  the  north-east  on  another  network  of  navigable  creeks, 
for  a  time  occupied  by  the  Dutch.  After  their  departure,  Gurupa,  which  takes 
its  name  from  an  extinct  Tuj)i  tribe,  was  made  the  port  of  entry  and  custom-house 
for  the  whole  of  the  Amazons  basin. 

Maeapa,  founded  by  the  Portuguese  in  1744  on  the  north  side  of  the  estuary 
just  two  miles  north  of  the  equator,  was  originally  intended  to  be  the  bulwark  of 
Am  izonia.  The  passage  is  even  still  guarded  by  a  strong  citadel,  which,  how- 
ever, is  useless  for  the  defence  of  such  a  broad  estuary,  and  Maeapa,  owing  to  the 
dangerous  approaches,  has  never  developed  into  a  trading  place.  Mazagao,  some 
40  miles  inland,  takes  its  name  from  the  Moroccan  city  of  Mazagan,  the  present 
el-Brija,  which  was  held  by  the  Portuguese  for  two  centuries  and  a-half  till  the 
year  1770. 

On  Marajo  Island  the  chief  places  are  Breres,  on  the  deep  southern  channel 
of  the  Amazons  ;  Chaves  on  the  north  side,  and  Saure,  near  the  old  settlement  of 
Johannes,  from  which  the  island  takes  its  alternative  name  of  Joannes. 

Para,  whose  full  official  name  is  Santa  Maria  de  Nazareth  de  Be.lem  do  Grao 
Para,  from  a  much-frequented  place  of  pilgrimage,  stands  on  a  slightly  elevated 
beach  east  of  the  great  estuary  or  gulf  of  Para,  called  also  gulf  of  the  Tocantins. 
This  part  of  the  broad  sheet  of  water,  known  as  the  Guajaru  channel,  ramifies  into 
the  interior  of  the  city,  where  it  is  joined  by  the  little  river  Capim,  while  other 
creeks  radiate  in  all  directions.  Occupying  a  level  space  unbroken  by  any  hills 
or  rising  grounds,  Para  presents  towards  the  estuary  nothing  but  a  long  frontage 
of  somewhat  commonplace  structures.  But  despite  its  general  unpicturesque 
aspect,  there  is  no  lack  of  pleasant  quarters  in  the  interior,  where  the  houses,  with 
their  ornamental  balconies  and  facades  of  encaustic  tiles,  are  shaded  by  large, 
wide-spreading  trees.  Some  of  the  avenues  are  lined  with  ceibas,  some  with 
palms,  and  others  with  the  bread-fruit  tree,  while  the  suburbs  are  interspersed 
with    orange    groves    gradually  merging  in   the   spontaneous    vegetation  of  the 


> 
S 


o 


S^ 


^ 


TOPOGRArHY    OF   AMAZONIA. 


lL>3 


surrounding  Troodlands.  But  a  more  businesslike  air  prevails  in  the  commercial 
quarters,  for  Para  has  become  a  great  trading  place,  being  surpassed  in  this 
respect  only  by  the  capital  and  three  other  Brazilian  cities. 

Founded  in  1G15,  Para  grew  slowly  till  the  separation  of  Brazil  from  the 


Fig.  44. — Paba  A^•D  ITS  Eoadstbad. 

Scale  1  :  350,000. 


o    ;      ^n-  ...    .  ••' 


West  or  breenvvich 


■^Zi>- 


Depttis. 


0  to  5 
Fathoms. 


5  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


,  6  Miles. 


mother-country.  Then  as  the  imperial  capital  it  continued  to  be  a  hotbed  of 
social  and  political  disturbance,  and  was  nearly  ruined  by  the  FO-called  Cabanagem, 
a  social  war  involving  many  conflicting  elements,  which  broke  out  in  1835,  and 
left  the  city  reduced  from  a  population  of  24,500  iu  1819,  tu  l-j,000   in    1848.     In 


124  AMAZONTA  AXD  LA  PLATA. 

1850  the  yellow  fever  made  its  first  appearance,  struck  down  two-thirds  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  drove  the  rest  to  seek  safety  in  flight. 

Since  then  Para  has  made  astonishing  progress,  the  population  increasing  more 
than  sixfold  and  the  exchanges  over  tenfold  in  four  decades.  All  the  retail  busi- 
ness and  a  considerable  amount  of  the  foreign  trade,  as  well  as  several  of  the 
industries,  are  in  the  hands  of  recent  Portuguese  immigrants,  who  here  display  a 
great  spirit  of  solidarity. 

Although  over  60  miles  from  the  sea,  the  channel  at  Para  is  still  23  feet  deep, 
giving  access  to  large  vessels,  which  here  ship  rubber  (the  finest  in  the  world), 
cacao,  hides,  drugs,  Peruvian  straw  hats,  and  other  produce,  in  exchange  for 
preserves,  breadstuffs,  and  European  wares  of  all  sorts.  Most  of  the  exchanges 
are  with  the  United  States,  England,  and  France  in  the  order  named. 

Hound  about  Para  are  several  little  trading  places,  such  as  Vigia,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  estuary ;  Salinas,  on  the  white  cliffs  facing  seawards ;  Braganga, 
farther  east,  a  watering  place  now  connected  by  rail  with  Para  ;  Cameta,  on  a 
high  bluS  west  of  the  Tocantins,  which  is  here  five  miles  wide. 


i 


2  ^^  T^    i  i  i^t  i-  i  i   I  III  ^llAl    ii-^    }    'W"  Iv  ^ 


A    s 


■sei 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  T0CA:IS!TINS  BASEST— state  OF  GOYAZ. 


HE  Tocantins  hydrographic  system  is  closely  coniiected  with  that  of 
the  Amazons.  If,  as  seems  probable,  a  continuous  subsidence  of 
the  old  marine  bed  has  given  access  to  the  Atlantic  waters, 
causing  them  to  flood  the  lands  at  present  occupied  by  the 
Amazonian  gulf,  the  Tocantins  must  at  one  time  have  communi- 
cated directly  with  the  Amazons  through  a  confluence  lying  to  the  east  of  Marajo 
Island.  It  was  thus  a  simple  aflfluent  of  the  great  river.  In  any  case  it  flows 
from  the  same  slope  as  the  Xingu,  the  Tapajoz,  and  the  other  southern  tributaries 
of  the  main  stream,  and  its  course  is  developed  in  the  same  direction. 

But  the  Tocantias,  rising  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Brazilian  orographic  system, 
is  conterminous  about  the  region  of  its  sources  with  two  other  large  fluvial  basias, 
those  of  the  S.  Francisco  and  the  Parana.  Hence  it  has  been  proposed  to  found 
a  new  capital  of  the  federal  republic  on  this  dividing  line  near  the  diverging 
poiat  of  three  great  rivers. 

There  is  no  coincidence  between  the  political  frontiers  of  Goyaz  and  the  natural 
limits  of  the  Tocantins  catchment  basin.  Goyaz,  the  superficial  area  of  which  may 
be  approximate!}'  estimated  at  about  300,000  square  miles,  occupies  south  of  the 
Pyrenees  divide  part  of  the  southern  slope  draining  to  the  Parana,  and  towards 
the  west  it  comprises  no  more  than  one-half  of  the  Araguaya  Valley ;  the  channel 
of  this  river  in  fact  forms  its  frontier  towards  Matto  Grosso  and  Amazonia. 

The  drainage  area  itself  is  otherwise  very  sharply  defined.  An  oval- 
shaped  cirque  is  developed  round  the  sources  of  the  two  main  branches — 
Tocantins  and  Araguaya — and  this  cirque  is  closed  northwards  by  the  rocky 
ridges  where  are  formed  the  last  fluvial  cataracts.  The  outer  walls  of  this  vast 
amphitheatre  are  formed,  if  not  by  distinct  mountain  ranges,  at  least  by  the 
escarpments  of  a  plateau.  Towards  the  east  especially  the  edge  of  the  basin 
rises  in  scarps  of  bold  relief,  which  have  even  received  the  name  of  serras 
("ranges  "),  from  the  aspect  which  thej'  present  towards  the  valley.  Such  are 
the  Serra  das  Mangabeiras,  the  Serra  do  Douro,  da  Tabatinga,  and  do  Paranan. 

In  reality  these  heights  consist  of  chapadoes,  fragments  of  a  sandstone  plateau 
at  a  mean  elevation  of  1,300  feet,  above  which  rise  at  intervals  cubic  masses  about 
165    feet    higher,   with  a    few  intervening   depressions  of  corresponding  depth- 


12G  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

The  whole  region  formerly  constituted  a  level  plain,  whose  present  inequalities 
are  due  to  the  erosion  of  running  waters.  But  for  a  small  part  of  its  lower 
course  the  Tocantins  flows  through  the  alluvial  plain  which  forms  an  eastern  pro- 
loagation  of  that  of  the  Amazons.  ■ 

Amazons  and  Tocantins  Basins. 

The  absolutely  unknown  regions  of  this  basin  still  comprise  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  its  area.  It  is  generally  so  inaccessible  that  explorers,  amongst  whom 
must  be  mentioned  Francis  de  Castelnau,  Couto  de  Magalhaes,  Hassler,  and  Ehren- 
reich,  have  for  the  most  part  confined  their  excursions  to  the  river  and  its  imme- 
diate vicinity.  Goyaz  has  also  been  visited  by  Pohl  and  Natterer,  and  during 
the  eighteenth  century  a  few  voyages  of  discovery  were  undertaken,  although 
such  expeditions  were  forbidden  by  the  Portuguese  Government  through  its  dread 
of  all  change.  Tavares  Lisbao,  guilty  of  having  made  the  descent  of  the  Tocan- 
tins as  far  as  Para,  was  imprisoned  with  his  companions,  and  had  a  narrow  escape 
from  capital  punishment. 

Two  rivers  of  equal  length,  and  differing  little  in  volume,  unite  to  form  the 
mainstream.  These  are  the  Tocantins,  properly  so  called,  and  the  Aragua)'a, 
whose  mutual  relations  may  be  compared  to  those  of  the  Loire  and  AUier  in  France. 
Between  the  two  Brazilian  as  between  the  two  French  watercourses  there 
stretches  a  line  of  heights  sufficiently  elevated  to  assume  in  some  places  the  aspect 
of  mountains,  and  collectively  forming  a  distinct  geological  zone.  In  Goyaz  this 
zone  consists  of  metamorphic  rocks  encircled  by  sandstones. 

The  farthest  sources  of  the  Tocantins  or  eastern  branch  escape  from  an  upland 
valley  enclosed  by  the  transverse  ridge  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  are  collected  in  the 
placid  Lake  Formosa.  They  emerge  from  this  basin  in  the  single  channel  of 
the  Maranhiio,  which  flows  first  north-west,  and  then  trends  round  at  a  right  angle 
to  the  north-east. 

After  its  junction  with  a  torrent  from  the  Montes  Clares,  the  Maranhao  takes 
the  name  of  Tocantins,  which  it  preserves  for  the  rest  of  its  course  to  the  s?a. 
Its  volume  is  doubled  by  the  Parana  (Parana-Tinga,  or  "White  River"),  which 
collects  all  the  streams  descending  from  the  western  slopes  of  the  Paranan  and 
Tabatinga  Mountains. 

Below  the  Parana  confluence  the  Tocantins  would  be  accessible  to  large 
steamers  but  for  the  rocky  ledges  interrupting  its  course  at  several  points. 
Various  other  affluents  follow,  nearly  all  from  the  eastern  slope,  amongst  them 
the  E.io  do  Somno,  descending  from  a  divide  2,140  feet  high,  whose  waters  are  dis- 
charged through  the  Sapao  to  the  S.  Francisco  basin  and  through  the  Somninho 
to  the  Tocantins.  On  Homem  de  Mello's  map  of  1885,  a  lakelet  on  the  crest  of 
the  divide  is  even  figured  as  discharging,  besides  these  two  emissaries,  a  third 
affluent,  the  Novo,  flowing  also  to  the  Tocantins. 

Aftep- its  junction  with  the  Manoel  Alves  Grande  the  mainstream  forces  its 
way  by  a  succession  of  abrupt  changes  through  a  series  of  rocky  barriers,  by  the 
northernmost  of  which  it  is  at  last  deflected  westwards  to  the  Araguaya. 


TOCANTINS   BASrST. 


127 


Both  as  regards  the  direction  of  its  valley  and  its  volume  the  Araguaya 
would  appear  to  be  the  more  important  of  the  twin  streams.  It  rises  farther 
south  than  the  Tocantins,  descending  under  the  name  of  the  Rio  Grande  from 
the  Serra  Cayapo,  near  the  sources  of  some  of  the  headwaters  of  the  Paraguay. 
Swollen  by  the  Eio  Claro  and  other  considerable  affluents,  it  is  already  a  navigable 


Fig.  45. — KOUTES  OF  ESPLOREES  E3  THE  AjIAZONS  AlTD  ToCASTDfS  BaSINS. 
Scale  1  :  35,000,000. 


1,2^0  Miles. 


MaraSon ;  Humboldt  (1S02). 

Pastaza:  Maldonado  (1743) ;  Mo.  Godin  (1769). 

Coca-Xapo:  Gonzalo  Pizarro  (1540);  Teseira  (1637); 
Fritz  [IfiiS] ;  ViUavicencio  (ISSS). 

HoiOlaga  :  Maw  (1827);  Hemdon  (lSo2). 

rcayali :  Castelnan  (1S46)  ;  Gibbon  (1862). 

Javary:  Black  and  Hoonholtz  (1874). 

Putumayo-Ii;i:  Jaande  Sosa  (1609) ;  Reyes  (1S74) ;  Sim- 
son  (1876)  ;  Crevaux  (1S7S). 

Junia :  Chandless  (1S67). 

Caqaeta-Japura ;  Spix  and  Martins  (1820) ;  Silva  Cou- 
tinho  (1884);  Crevanx  (1878). 

Purus  ;  Trbano  (1860)  ;  Chandless  (1864) :  Labre  (1SS7) ; 
Ehrenreich(lSS9). 

Eio  Xegro-Uaupes-Branco :  Santos  (1770) ;  Homboldt 
(1800);   Spix  and  Martins  (1820) ;  de  Banve  (1833); 


E.  Schomburgk  (1838);  Wallace  (1861);  StradeUi 
(1881)  ;  Ccndreau(1886). 

Madeira ;  Palheta  (1723) ;  d'  Orbigny  (1826-183.1) ;  Castel- 
nau  (1815) ;  Keller-Lenzinger  (1867) ;  Selfridge  (1878). 

Trombetas:  Barbosa  Rodrigues  (1867) ;  Coudreau  (18S4). 

Tapajoz :  IjingsdorfE  (1827)  ;  Castelnau  (1M4) ;  Chandless 
(18621 ;  Barbosa  Eodrigues  (1872). 

PaiTi :  Crevaox  (1878-79). 

Xingn :  Adalbert  of  Prussia  (1842) ;  Von  den  Steinen 
(1884-1887). 

Jary :  Crevanx  (1878-79). 

Amazons:  OreUana  ilMO) ;  Texeira  (1637) ;  Fritz  (1690) ; 
Condamine  (1744) ;  Spix  and  Martins  (1820) ;  Mont- 
ravel  (1S16)  ;  Azevedo  (18621  ;  Agassiz,  Hartt  (18651. 

Tocantins :  Castelnau  (1844) ;  Couto  de  Magalhsea  (18«) ; 
Hassler  (1886) ;  Ehrenreich  (1888). 


stream  before  receiving  from  the  west  its  largest  tributary,  the  Rio  das  Mortes, 
called  Roncador  in  its  upper  course. 

Above  the  confluence  the  Araguaya  ramifies  into  two  branches,  which  again 
imite  much  farther  down,  thus  enclosing  the  elongated  Bananal  Island,  which  has 
a  superficial  area  estimated  at  8,000  square  miles. 

This  island  of  "  banana  groves,"  which  is  no  less  than  250  miles  long  from  south 
to  north,  appears  to  be  an  alluvial  lacustrine  bed,  perfectly  level  throughout  and 
in  the  north  still  strewn  with  marshes.      It  is  even  said  to   be  occupied  by  an 


128  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

extensive  sheet  of  water  which  discharges  into  the  eastern  or  lesser  branch  of  the 
Araguaya.  Farther  north  follow  two  other  islands  of  similar  formation  skirting 
the  Serra  dos  Cayapos,  which  graduall}'  converges  on  the  river,  throwing  off  trans- 
verse ridges  of  gneiss  or  igneous  origin  across  the  stream.  Thus  are  formed  the 
series  of  cascades  and  rapids  through  which  the  Araguaya  descends  from  the 
plateaux  to  the  Amazonian  plains.  In  a  space  of  about  LS  miles  it  descends  a 
total  incline  of  85  feet,  and  beyond  this  zone  of  cataracts  the  river  becomes 
entangled  in  rocky  gorges,  about  500  feet  wide,  terminating  in  the  Cachoeira 
Grande  ("Great  Cataract"),  where  it  falls  50  feet  in  a  distance  of  12  miles. 
Then  it  pursues  a  tranquil  course  to  a  point  where  it  is  abruptly  deflected 
northwards  to  its  confluence  with  the  Tocantins.* 

Below  the  confluence  the  united  stream,  which  retains  the  name  of  Tocantins, 
is  still  obstructed  by  numerous  rapids,  one  of  which  at  the  Tauiry  rocks  com- 
pletely arrests  the  navigation  except  for  boats  of  light  draught  at  high  water  in 
March  and  April.  Even  below  the  last  falls  of  Itaboca  the  channel  is  interrupted 
by  sunken  reefs,  so  that  the  regular  navigation  stops  at  the  ruined  fort  of 
Alcobaca,  where  at  low  water  the  river  falls  to  a  depth  of  about  three  and  a  half 
feet.  Here  it  is  distant  130  miles  from  the  system  of  navigable  creeks  through 
which  it  enters  the  Para  estuary.  Hence  the  whole  of  Goyaz  is  deprived  of  all 
natural  communication  with  the  coast,  and  its  two  great  watercourses  require  to 
be  supplemented  by  canals,  roads,  or  railways  before  they  can  be  of  much  use  in 
developing  the  resources  of  the  country. 

Ci.iJiATE  OF  Goyaz. 

To  Goyaz  a  great  diversity  of  climate  is  imparted  by  the  course  taken  by 
the  Tocantins  from  south  to  north  and  along  a  steeply -inclined  slope.  From  the 
sources  of  the  Araguaya  to  the  Para  estuary  the  river  traverses  17°  of  southern 
latitude,  and  there  is  a  total  descent  of  about  4,000  feet  between  the  crest  of  the 
divide  in  the  Serra  Goyana  and  the  alluvial  coastlands.  Thus  the  lower  section 
of  the  fluvial  basin  falls  within  the  Amazonian  zone  and  consequently  enjoj's  a 
hot  moist  climate,  with  but  slight  vicissitudes  between  diurnal  and  periodical 
temperatures,  whereas  the  upland  regions  naturally  present  far  greater  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold.  Under  the  influence  of  the  normal  south-east  trades,  or  of 
the  south-western  winds,  the  glass  here  falls  at  times  several  degrees  below  freez- 
ing-point, especially  during  the  month  of  August,  while  the  summer  heats 
occasionally  exceed  104^  Fahr. 

A  correspondingly  high  range  occurs  between  day  and  night  when  the  wind 
veers  round  abruptly  from  one  quarter  to  the  other,  and  differences  of  36°  or  even 
46°  have  been  recorded  in  less  than  24  hours.       Summer  is  ushered  in  with  the 

*  Hydrographic  system  of  the  two  rivers  : — 


Length  in 
Eng.  miles. 

Drainnge 

area  in 

square  miles. 

Pischarge  in 

cubic  teet 

per  secoud. 

Tocantins 

.     1,550 

190,000 

f 

Araofuaya 

.      1,2.50 

164.000 

? 

United  Stream 

.      1,740 

354,000 

350,000? 

INHABITANTS  OF  GOYAZ.  129 

rains  which  begin  to  fall  in  September,  and  which  in  the  upland  Tocantins  valleys 
appear  to  represent  an  annual  precipitation  of  nearly  80  inches. 

Flora  and  Fauna. 

On  the  lower  Goyaz  slopes  the  selva  is  developed  in  a  continuous  sea  of 
verdure  interrupted  only  by  the  watercourses  ;  but  on  the  upland  forests  it  becomes 
rarer  and  more  open.  Here  most  of  the  surface  is  occupied  with  terraced  campos 
(savannas),  where  arborescent  vegetation  is  represented  only  by  isolated  clumps, 
or  catingas,  that  is,  groves  and  thickets  interrupted  by  numerous  clearings.  In 
the  more  fertile  regions  these  catingas  present  the  aspect  of  pleasant  parklands, 
while  elsewhere  they  have  a  wretched  appearance,  compared  by  the  white  settlers 
to  neglected  orchards. 

The  slopes  descending  from  the  sparsely-wooded  plateaux  to  the  leafy  forest 
tracts  are  clothed  with  a  tall  herbaceous  vegetation.  Here  certain  southern  species 
already  indicate  the  transition  between  the  Amazons  and  Plate  basins.  South  of 
the  chapadOes  the  plateaux  are  overgrown  with  several  varieties  of  the  canella 
de  ema  {vellosia  maritima),  an  extremely  picturesque  plant  with  terminal  clusters 
of  lovely  white  flowers  protected  by  pendent  fibres  like  the  leaves  of  weeping 
willows. 

The  waters  of  the  Tocantins  are  frequented  by  three  species  of  caymans  as  well 
as  by  dolphins.  Its  upper  affluents  are  said  to  be  inhabited  by  the  minhoceo,  a 
prodigious  species  of  lepidosiren,  resembling  a  huge  worm,  and  big  enough  to 
drag  down  and  drown  large  animals.  The  so-called  "  ostriches  "  of  Argentina 
range  as  far  as  South  Goyaz. 

Inhabitants.    . 

Although  their  name  is  perpetuated  in  that  of  the  region  traversed  by  the 
Tocantins,  the  Goyaz  or  Guaj-az  Indians  are  extinct  as  a  separate  nation,  and 
their  descendants  are  now  merged  with  tribes  of  a  dilferent  origin.  At  present 
the  most  important  indigenous  people  are  the  Cayapos,  who  are  met  also  under 
other  names  in  Matto  Grosso  and  S.  Paulo.  In  Goyaz,  where  they  are  said 
to  number  about  12,000,  they  live  mostly  apart  from  the  settlements  in  the 
western  mountains  between  the  Araguaya  an'd  the  Xingu  rivers,  and  In  the  north- 
east on  the  borders  of  the  State  of  Maranhao. 

According  to  their  language  and  usages,  the  Cayapos  must  be  grouped  with 
the  widespread  Ges  family,  so  named  by  Martins  from  the  final  syllable  of  most 
of  the  tribal  denominations.  But  the  shape  of  the  head,  which  is  highly  brachy- 
cephalic,  differs  from  that  of  all  other  members  of  the  Ges  connection.  They  are 
also  distinguished  by  an  extremely  marked  Mongoloid  type.  Like  the  kindred 
Botocudos,  the  CayajDos  wear  the  botoque  or  wooden  disc  in  the  lower  lip.  But 
they  are  much  more  industrious  than  the  Botocudos,  and  display  great  skill  in  the 
preparation  of  arms,  instruments,  and  various  other  objects. 

Other  Indians  of  the  same  race,  known  to  the  Brazilians  by  the  name  of 
Chavantes,  dwell  in  the  Araguaya  basin,  and  especially  in  the  region  traversed 

VOL,    XIX.  K 


130  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

by  the  Rio  das  Mortes.  They  call  themselves  Akue,  and  to  the  same  group 
belong  the  Chikriabas  of  the  divide  between  the  Paranatinga  and  Paranahvba 
rivers,  the  Akroas  and  Cherentes  of  the  Rio  do  Somno  and  of  the  Tocantins  above 
the  "Two  Bars,"  and  the  Apinages,  naked  savages  of  the  hilly  district  between 
the  Araguaya  and  the  Tocantins.  Couto  de  Magalhaes  asserts  that  the  Chavantes 
eat  their  dead  children  in  order  to  again  assimilate  them.  At  Goyaz,  Castelnau 
saw  a  Cherent  captive  with  nearly  two  hundred  scars  on  his  breast  indicating  the 
number  of  men  he  had  killed  and  eaten.  Those  on  the  right  side  represented  the 
"  Christians,"  those  on  the  left  the  natives. 

The  Carayas,  who  also  roam  the  right  bank  of  the  Xingu,  have  their  chief 
tribes  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Araguaya  valley,  in  Bananal  Island,  and, 
east  of  the  Tocantins,  on  the  borders  of  the  provinces  of  Para  and  Maranhao. 
They  are  regarded  as  of  different  stock  from  the  Ges,  Tupi,  and  Carib  races,  and 
their  polysyllabic  language  appears  to  be  fundamentally  distinct  from  all  other 
South  American  tongues.  Most  of  the  Carayas  have  very  narrow  skulls,  upturned 
nose,  small  and  slightly  oblique  eyes,  and  much  less  coarse  hair  than  that  of  most 
other  natives. 

Amongst  the  numerous  Caraya  tribes,  who  muster  altogether  about  4,000 
"  bows,"  the  Chamboas  appear  to  be  the  most  mixed,  owing  to  numerous  alli- 
ances with  the  Ca3fapos  and  the  frequent  adoption  of  captive  children.  The 
Carayas  are  probably  the  most  skilled  craftsmen  of  all  the  Brazilian  aborigines  ; 
they  are  also  expert  boatmen,  and  the  tribes  formerly  known  as  Canoeiros  ("  Canoe- 
men  ")  belonged  probably  to  this  race.  Morally  the  Carayas  are  distinguished 
by  their  sober  habits,  truthfulness,  and  contempt  of  stratagem.  Their  dead  are 
buried  in  a  vertical  position,  the  head  being  left  above  ground,  so  that  they  can 
still  be  fed  with  bananas  and  other  food. 

In  South  Goyaz  the  Negro  element  was  at  one  time  relatively  very  numerous. 
But  most  of  the  slaves  perished  without  leaving  any  issue  ;  over  100,000  were 
said  to  be  employed  on  the  plantations  of  the  coinarca  of  Goyaz  at  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  of  these  not  more  than  4,000  were  still  alive  at 
the  time  of  the  emancipation.  Hence  there  is  but  a  slight  strain  of  black  blood 
in  the  half-caste  Brazilian  populations  of  Goyaz,  who  are  chiefly  descended  from 
white  fathers  and  Indian  mothers.  In  all  the  districts  where  the  waters  are 
charged  with  magnesium  goitre  is  very  prevalent  amongst  these  somewhat 
degenerate  mestizoes.  Owing  to  the  demoralisation  attending  the  working  of 
gold  mines,  Francis  de  Castelnau  declares  that  in  his  time  the  country  had 
reverted  to  "a  complete  state  of  barbarism." 

Topography  of  Goyaz. 

According  to  an  article  of  the  new  republican  constitution,  the  future  federal 

capital  is  to  be  founded  near  the  sources  of  the  Maranhao,  and  in  1892  a  space 

■  of  about   G,000  square   miles   was    here   marked  out   as  a    federal    district,    the 

common  property  of  the  nation.     This  region  appears  to  enjoy  an  excellent  climate, 

and  also  possesses  an  abundance  of  good  water,  ample  for  the  requirements  of  the 


^fc 


aPW" 


w^&m. 


?a^^==efeiSl 


:~3^:^aaa^ 


CARAYA    INDIANS. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF   GOYAZ. 


131 


new  municipality.  The  communications  are  also  much  easier  than  had  been 
supposed,  for  the  Pyrenees  mountains  scarcely  rise  more  than  800  or  1,000  feet 
above  the  highest  eminences  of  the  surrounding  chapadas.  The  loftiest  peak, 
formerly  greatly  overestimated,  is  now  known  to  attain  an  absolute  height  of  not 
more  than  4,550  feet,  which  is  actually  1,000  feet  less  than  the  Chapada  dos 
Veadeiros,  near  Formosa. 

Villa  dos  Couros,  as  Formosa  was  formerly  called,  is  situated  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Lake  Formosa,  and  forms,  with  Meia-Ponte  (now  Pi/rcnopolk),  one  of 
the  two  largest  centres  of  population  in  South  Goyaz,  although  both  contain  only 
2,000  or  3,000  inhabitants.  The  gold  and  diamond  washings,  which  formerly 
attracted  numerous  adventurers  from  S.  Paulo  and  Minas  Geraes  to  the  Meia- 
Ponte  district,  are  no  longer  productive  since  the  abolition  of  slave  labour. 


Rg.  46. — South  G^jtaz  and  FnTUEE  Federsx  Teeeitoey  of  Brazil. 

Scale  1  •■  2,640,000. 


49°  '  West  aF 'Greenwich 


60  Miles. 


Along  the  Upper  Tocantins  follow  the  little  stations  of  San  Felir,  Porto 
Nacional,  and  Pedro  Afonso.  The  last-mentioned  is  well  situated  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Rio  do  Somno,  through  which  is  to  pass  the  future  railway  to  Barra  on  the 
S.  Francisco.  But  meanwhile  the  Tocantins  basin  is  practically  closed  in  the 
direction  of  the  north,  except  to  daring  adventurers  and  explorers. 

Goyaz,  capital  of  the  State,  formerly  called  Villa  Boa,  lies  in  the  Upper 
Araguaya  valley  close  to  the  divide  towards  the  sources  of  the  Tocantins. 
Although  the  administrative  centre,  Goyaz  is  a  smaller  place  than  it  was  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  thousands  of  black  slaves  were  engaged  in  the  gold  and 
diamond  mines  discovered  in  the  neighbourhood.  In  this  district  the  vine  is 
cultivated,  and  even  yields  two  annual  crops,  one  of  which,  however,  is  used 
chiefly  for  making  vinegar.  The  Goyaz  wines  were  said  to  be  formerly  much  appreci- 
ated, and  the  Goyanos  now  claim  for  their  tobacco,  the  f«mo  pieado  leaf,  that  it  is 

K  2 


132  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

"  the  best  in  the  world."     At  any  rate,  it  commands  the  highest  price  on  the 
Bahia  market. 

Beyond  the  important  riverine  port  and  military  station  of  Jurupensen,  50 
miles  below  Goyaz,  follow  at  long  intervals  a  few  other  little  settlements,  such  as 
Leopoldiiia,  at  the  confluence  of  the  VermeDio  with  the  Araguay,  and  S.  Joao 
dasduas  Barras  at  the  confluence  of  the  Araguay  with  the  Tocantins.  But  S.  Joao 
de  Araguaya,  as  it  is  also  called,  never  can  become  an  important  riverside  port, 
the  navigation  being  obstructed  by  numerous  falls  and  rapids,  both  above  and 
below  this  station.  Below  the  last  (Itaboca)  falls,  where  the  united  waters  flow 
with  a  tranquil  navigable  current,  the  Tocantins  ceases  to  belong  to  Goyaz. 
Here  it  enters  the  province  of  Para,  which  it  traverses  for  the  rest  of  its  course 
to  the  estuary. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


EQUATORIAL  SEABOARD. 

States   of   Makanhao,   Piauhy,    Ceaka,  Rio  Grande  do  Noete,  Parahyba, 

Pernambuco,  and  Alagoas. 


ETWEEN  the  Para  estuary  and  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  S.  Francisco 
the  seaboajxi  is  disposed  in  the  direction  from  north-west  to  south- 
east and  comprises  numerous  relatively  small  river  basins,  all 
resembling  each  other  in  their  general  incline,  their  soil,  climate, 
.  and  products.  The  whole  region  presents  a  transitional  character 
between  Amazonia  and  the  more  thickly-peopled  parts  of  Brazil,  and  towards 
the  south  it  is  limited  by  extensive  mountainous  solitudes. 

Owing  largely  to  the  lack  of  communications  all  the  States  of  this  seaboard 
ar^  still  in  a  backward  condition,  and  the  population  averages  scarcely  more  than 
eight  or  ten  to  the  square  mile — 4,320,000  in  a  total  area  of  about  470,000  square 
miles.  In  normal  years,  when  the  rainfall  is  abundant,  there  is  a  tendency  to 
increase  ;  but  in  unfavourable  seasons  the  enterprising  people  of  Ceara  emigrate 
in  large  numbers  to  Amazonia,  although  even  this  movement  has  at  least  the 
advantage  of  promoting  more  intimate  relations  with  the  remote  provinces  of  the 
republic. 

Geographical  Research. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  interior  is  also  rapidly  advancing,  thanks  to  the  labours  of 
the  engineers  and  speculators  engaged  in  laying  down  the  traces  of  future  high- 
ways or  in  the  quest  of  mineral  treasures.  Geographical  exploration  had  already 
begun  in  1594  by  the  arrival  of  Jacqujes  Briffault  in  the  island  where  now  stands 
the  town  of  San  Luiz  do  SJaranhao.  The  missionaries,  Yves  d'Evreux  and  Claude 
d' Abbeville,  have  left  us  descriptions  of  the  savages  with  whom  they  sojourned  in 
the  early  days  of  the  discovery,  and  during  the  Dutch  occupation  of  Pernambucft 
(1630 — 1654),  other  districts  were  described  by  Johannes  van  Laet,  Barlaeus,  and 
Nieuhof. 

Various  expeditions  into  the  sertao  for  the  capture  of  slaves  gradually  revealed 
the  trend  of  the  river  valleys  and  mountain  ranges  ;  but  of  the  Brazilian  regions 
these  have  been  least  visited  by  naturalists  and  geographers.     In  1809  and  the 


134  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

following  years  Henry  Koster  traversed  the  coastlands  between  Recife  and 
Marauhao.  In  1875  Wells,  starting  from  Carolina  on  the  Tocantins,  crossed  the 
mountainous  zone,  and  reached  Maranhao  by  the  Rio  de  Grajahu  valley.  The 
coast  has  also  been  carefully  studied  by  Vital  d'Oliveira  and  later  by  Mouehez, 
both  of  whose  charts  serve  as  bases  for  the  still-defective  maps  of  the  interior. 

Physical  Features — Geology. 

The  coast  ranges  between  the  Tocantins  and  the  S.  Francisco  basins  constitute 
no  continuous  chains  with  regular  watersheds ;  they  are  evidently  the  remains  of 
elevated  plains  eroded  by  running  waters,  although  the  crests  may  still  enable 
geologists  to  divine  the  original  structure  of  the  ravined  plateaux.  The  loftiest 
ridges  appear  to  be  the  Serra  do  Piauhy  and  the  Serra  dois  Irmaos,  which 
dominate  the  course  of  the  S.  Francisco  on  the  north-west.  These  crests,  running 
south-west  and  north-east,  may  be  regarded  as  the  edge  of  a  plateau,  another 
edge  of  which  is  formed  in  the  south-west  by  the  Serras  Mangabeiras  and 
Gurgueia.  Some  of  the  peaks  exceed  3,000  feet,  although  the  highest  measured 
by  Wells  between  the  Tocantins  and  the  streams  flowing  to  the  Gulf  of  Maranhao 
only  attained  an  elevation  of  2,100  feet. 

Little  is  known  of  the  geological  structure  of  these  uplands.  The  escarp- 
ments inclined  towards  the  S.  Francisco  consist  of  archsean  rocks  analogous  to 
those  of  Canada,  and  to  the  same  formation  belong  the  heights  on  the  projecting 
coastland  between  Ceara  and  Alagoas ;  but  farther  west  these  primitive  rocks 
underlie  calcareous  strata  of  the  chalk  ages.  The  whole  of  the  Upper  Parnahyba 
valley  is  occupied  by  these  formations,  while  farther  north,  parallel  with  the  coast, 
follow  sandstone  terraces  like  those  of  Amazonia,  doubtless  dating  from  the  same 
period  when  arenaceous  sediment  was  deposited  on  the  bed  of  a  vast  fresh-water 
Mediterranean. 

At  that  time  the  Amazonian  gulf  formed  dry  land,  and  the  same  agencies  are 
still  at  work  eating  away  the  present  seaboard.  Between  the  Para  and  Maranhao 
estuaries,  a  distance  of  about  300  miles,  land  and  water  are  continually  battling 
for  a  tolerably  broad  belt  of  creeks,  inlets,  islands,  reefs,  channels,  and  lagoons, 
intermingled  in  endless  confusion  and  shifting  with  every  tide.  Here  the  bore 
rushes  in  with  tremendous  fury,  at  times  with  a  velocity  of  six  miles  an  hour,  a 
veritable  tidal  cataract  tearing  the  beach  into  shreds  and  sweeping  away  all 
obstacles.  But  in  this  ceaseless  struggle  the  advantage  remains  with  the  ocean. 
Along  the  strand  beds  of  marine  organisms  are  found  superimposed  on  shell 
mounds  of  lacustrine  origin ;  the  aquatic  mangrove  is  encroaching  on  the  land 
flora,  and  here  and  there  clumps  of  palms  are  seen  already  invaded  by  the  surging 
waters. 

RiVEES. 

Numerous  streams  descend  from  the  hills  and  plateaux  of  the  Atlantic  water- 

.  shed  ;  but  no  river,  not  even  the  Parnahyba,  rivals  the  great  Amazonian  affluents 

in  the  length  of  its  course.     The  Gurupy,  flowing  between  the  States  of  Para  and 


EASTERN  STATES  SOUTH    OF  THE  AMAZONS. 


135 


Maranliao,  is  scarcely  known  except  as  a  frontier  stream.  The  more  copious 
Grajahu,  swollen  by  the  Mearim  on  the  right  and  by  the  Pindare  on  the  left  bank, 
enters  the  sea  through  a  broad  estuary  in  which  is  situated  the  island  of  S.  Luis 
de  Haranhao.  The  Itapicuru,  so  named  from  the  mountains  where  it  rises,  falls 
into  the  same  estuary,  and  is  the  largest  river  in  the  State  of  Maranhao,  accessible 
to  small  steamers  for  340  miles  from  its  mouth. 

The  Parnahyba,  or  "  Bad  River,"  if  such  be  the  true  meaning  of  the  word, 
owes  its  evil  reputation,  perhaps,  to  its  unhealthy  valley,  or  more  probably  to  the 
difBcult  and  dangerous  navigation  of  its  shallow  bed.  Yet  in  length  and  the 
extent  of  its  drainage  area  it  surpasses  all  the  rivers  of  West  Europe.  During 
an  upper  course  of  over  370  miles  it  receives  all  the  waters  descending  from  the 

Fig.  47  — Paknahyba  Delta. 

Scale  1  :  1,000,000. 


42*20 


'  e5toF  breenwich 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


6  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  tathoms 
and  upwards. 

25  Miles. 


northern  slopes  of  the  divide — Mangabeiras,  Gurgueia,  Piauhy,  and  Dois  Irmiios. 
But,  imlike  the  Amazons,  it  enters  the  sea,  not  through  an  estuary,  but  through  a 
ramifying  delta  advancing  far  beyond  the  normal  coastline.* 

The  Jaguaribe,  which  collects  nearly  all  the  running  waters  of  Ceara,  is  far 
less  copious  than  the  Parnahyba,  and,  despite  its  numerous  affluents,  is  navigable 
onlj'  for  15  miles  of  its  lower  course.  In  1815  its  mouth  was  completely  closed  by 
the  bar,  and  all  the  shipping  were  caught  like  fish  in  a  net. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Parnahyba  to  that  of  the  S.  Francisco  the  coast  is 

fringed  by  a  reef,  or  by  several  perfectly  regular  lines  of  reefs,  some  of  coralline, 

some,  notably  the  famous  Pernambuco  reef,  of  different  origin.     Probably  in  the 

whole  world  there  exists  no  other  natural  formation  which  has  more  the  appear- 

*  Length  of  the  Parnahyba,  930  miles ;  drainage  area,  130,000  square  miles. 


186 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


ance  of  being  the  work  of  man.  Its  mean  breadth  ranges  from  100  to  200  feet, 
and  the  flat  top  remains  exposed  at  low  water.  The  rock  consists  of  a  compact 
sandstone,  which  probably  represents  a  range  of  dunes  deposited  by  the  water, 
consolidated  by  calcareous  substances  and  gradually  covered  with  an  extremely 
hard  coating  of  various  animal  and  vegetable  organisms.  It  resists  the  action 
of  the  waves,  and  the  oldest  pilots  detect  no  change  in  its  general  outlines. 

Fernando  de  Noronha. 
The  eastern  extremity  of  the  continent,  indicated  by  the  headland  of  S.  Roque, 
is  continued  for  a  great  distance  seawards  by  a  submarine  plateau  about  56  miles 

Fig.  48. — Feenanbo  de  Nobonha. 
Scale  1 :  100,000. 


fiat  / 


F/stform  I. 


lesJunteaux 


C/facef/tere 


y.  aiux  frs£atss 


32°2S- 


West  or  GreenwlcVi 


Seas- 


on the  Haps  the  place  names  differ  with  the  nataonaUty  of  the  siirveyors. 
i^^^— ^^^_^^^  2  Miles. 

broad.  Here  is  the  edge  of  the  continental  pedestal,  where  the  water  rapidly 
deepens  from  30  or  40  to  1,500  and  even  2,000  fathoms.  The  first  land  visible 
in  this  direction  is  the  annular  enclosure  of  las  Rocas,  a  true  coralline  atoll, 
like  those  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  enclosing  a  lagoon  about  six  miles  in  circum- 
ference. 

About  110  miles  farther  east  is  seen  the  volcanic  island  of  Fernando  de  Noronha 
disposed  south-west  and  north-east,  and  separated  from  the  continent  by  depths  of 
1,500  fathoms.  This  land,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  mariner  who  dis- 
covered it  in  1503,  occupies  a  space  of  no  more  that  six  square  miles  ;  but  within 
these  narrow  limits  is  seen  the  most  varied  scenery,  creeks,  and  havens,  hills  and 


EASTERN  STATES  SOUTH  OF  THE  AMAZONS.  137 

plains,  even  scnuc  bold  peaks,  the  whole  terminating  westwards  in  an  abrupt  cliff 
1,000  feet  high,  surmounted  by  a  phonolithic  column  in  the  form  of  a  colossal 
lighthouse. 

The  governor  of  the  island  refused  the  naturalists  of  the  ChaUcnger  permission 
to  explore  it ;  but  sinoe  then  it  has  been  studied  by  the  geologist  Branner  and  the 
zoologist  Ridley,  and  it  is  now  well  known.  The  basalts  of  which  it  largely  con- 
sists are  of  ancient  date,  and  since  the  discovery  no  eruption  has  taken  place. 
The  lava  flows  occurred  at  a  time  when  the  island  was  submerged  to  a  depth  of 
about  75  fathoms,  as  shown  by  the  cakes  of  coral  attached  to  the  basalt  columns 
at  this  height  above  the  sea. 

The  other  islets  lying  in  mid-Atlantic  on  the  same  axis  as  Fernando  do 
!Noronha  are  jagged  serpentine  rocks,  flecked  with  patches  of  white  guano  and 
almost  inaccessible.  Penedo  de  S.  Pedro,  highest  of  these  reefs,  lying  near  the 
track  of  the  steamers  plying  between  Pernambuco  and  Saint  Vincent,  presents  the 
aspect  of  a  row  of  pillars  rising  abruptly  above  the  surface.  In  these  waters  sea- 
quakes are  a  frequent  phenomenon. 

Climate. 

In  these  tropical  lands  the  mean  temperature  varies  little  throughout  the  year, 
at  Pernambuco  not  more  than  3°  Fahr.  between  the  wet  and  dry  seasons.  Even 
the  average  lowest  (July)  and  the  average  highest  (Februar}^)  show  a  range  of 
only  about  5'^  or  6^  Fahr. 

On  the  north-east  coast  the  normal  wind  is  the  south-east  trade,  usually  called 
the  "general  wind."  Coming  from  the  circumpolar  Antarctic  regions,  it  tempers 
the  heats,  at  least  on  the  seaboard,  and  also  coincides  with  the  wet  season  from 
December  to  June,  when  the  rainfall  in  ordinary  years  sufiices  to  nourish  an 
exuberant  vegetation.  Some  districts,  such  as  Maranhao,  are  exposed  to  frequent 
thunderstorms,  followed  by  heavy  downpours.  But  at  Pernambuco,  although  the 
rains  are  very  heavy,  whole  years  sometimes  j)ass  without  any  electric  discharges. 
Even  the  rains  themselves  are  often  delayed,  or  cease  to  fall  before  the  end  of  the 
normal  wet  season.  The  droughts  which  ensue,  especially  iu  the  interior,  are 
accompanied  by  great  changes  of  temperature,  which  is  very  high  during  the  day 
in  an  atmosphere  charged  with  dust,  and  relatively  low  during  the  clear  nights 
owing  to  the  excessive  radiation.  In  this  respect  there  is  a  great  contrast  between 
the  climate  of  the  coastlands,  where  two  out  of  three  days  are  rainy,  and  tha,t  of 
the  inland  districts,  where  the  proportion  is  reversed.* 

Flora  and  Fauna. 

The  vegetation,  corresponding  with  the  cHmatic  differences,  is  extremely  rich, 
and  presents  the  same  species  as  Amazonia  on  the  well-watered  coastlands,  and 

*  Meteorological  contrast  between  the  coast  and  the  seriao  (interior) : — 

"Tempera  tore. 


Latitude. 

max. 

min. 

mean. 

Eainfall. 

Coast— Recife 

8°  3'  S. 

89°  Fahr. 

64°  Fahr. 

78'  Fahr. 

120  inches. 

Sertao— Sta.  Izabd 

8°  46-  S. 

93'  Fahr. 

oG"  Fahr. 

76'  Fahr. 

40     „ 

138  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

becomes  gradually  poorer  towards  the  interior.  To  the  matta,  or  forest  zone  of 
the  seaboard,  succeeds  the  catiiuja,  a  more  open  or  scrubby  district,  which  merges 
higher  up  in  the  agreste,  where  trees  and  shrubs  become  rarer,  and  consist  of 
species  which  shed  their  leaves  in  summer.  Lastly  comes  the  sertuo  of  the  arid 
uplands,  with  poor  pasturage,  where  stock-breeding  is  the  only  possible  industry, 
except  in  the  brejos  or  combes,  marshy  or  fed  by  springs,  forming  so  many  oases  in 
the  wilderness. 

In  these  dry  inland  regions  the  prevailing  species  are  the  gummiferous  or 
aromatic  plants,  whose  foliage  is  deciduous  in  the  summer  season.  The  charac- 
teristic palm  is  the  carnauba  or  wax-tree  {copcrnivia  cerifcra),  one  of  those  useful 
plants  which  supply  the  natives  with  all  their  wants — food,  drink,  light,  clothes, 
and  habitations. 

Formerly  the  fauna  of  Ceara  and  neighbouring  districts  was  very  rich,  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  "  ostrich  "  (rhoa)  still  roamed  the 
coastlands  opposite  the  island  of  Maranhao.  In  the  limestone  caves  of  the  Mar- 
anhao,  Piauhy,  and  Ceara  mountains,  frequented  by  myriads  of  bats  and  vampires, 
the  remains  have  been  found  of  huge  extinct  mammals,  such  as  the  mastodon 
and  the  megatherium.  Even  Fernando  de  Noronha  had  its  special  fauna,  repre- 
sented by  a  large  species  of  rat,  birds,  lizards,  snakes,  insects,  and  shells,  showing 
that  the  island  had  been  separated  from  the  mainland  since  the  close  of  the 
Mesozoic  epoch. 

Inhabitants. 

One  of  the  caves  in  the  valley  of  the  Quixeramobim  affluent  of  the  Jaguaribe 
contained  part  of  a  human  skull  evidently  of  great  antiquity.  But  it  is  uncertain 
whether  it  belonged  to  an  ancestor  of  any  of  the  dominant  races — Tupi,  Tupi- 
namba,  Tupinambulx,  that  is  "  Brave  Men,"  or  Tabajara,  "  Village  Lords  " — with 
whom  the  first  French  settlers  in  Maranhao  entered  into  friendly  relations  during 
the  sixteenth  century.  Nor  has  any  knowledge  survived  of  those  Indians  who 
formed  alliances  with  the  French  immigrants,  all  having  long  been  merged  in 
the  general  Bi-azilian  population. 

Although  the  Guajajaras  of  the  Pindare  valley  were  exterminated  by  the  gold- 
hunters,  some  of  this  race  are  still  met  at  the  sources  of  the  Upper  Grajahu. 
They  are  a  vigorous  people  of  Mongolic  type,  and  the  neighbouring  "  White 
Indians "  are  remarkable  for  their  light  complexion.  Farther  east,  on  the 
higher  parts  of  the  plateau,  there  still  survive  some  fragments  of  distinct  tribes, 
such  as  the  Akroas  and  Caj'apos  between  the  Tocantins  and  the  Grajahu,  in  the 
Serra  da  Cinta  and  the  Serra  do  Negro.  These  natives,  who  appear  to  be  of 
Ges  stock,  approach  the  coastlands  in  AYest  Maranhao,  where  they  are  known  as 
Timbiras  and  Gamellas,  the  latter  term  having  reference  to  their  "  lip  disk." 

On  the  Piauhy  and  Pernambuco  borderlands  still  roam  a  few  scattered  bands 
of  the  Pimenteiras,  whose  speech  shows  traces  of  Carib  afEnities  or  contact.  In 
the  sixteenth  century  the  Caethes  of  the  Pernambuco  district  had  already  begun 
to  amalgamate  with  the  Europeans,  who  were  later  again  crossed  with  the  slaves 


INHABITANTS  OF  THE  EASTEEN  STATES.  139 

imported  from  Africa.  In  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  revolt 
broke  out  among  the  negroes,  a  few  of  whom,  having  obtained  some  firearms,  took 
refuge  in  the  bush,  where  they  founded  qiiiloiiihos  or  settlements  on  the  Eio  Una 
("Black  River"),  which  reaches  the  coast  some  60  miles  south  of  Pernambuco. 
A  larger  group  of  these  runaways  established  themselves  in  the  present  State  of 
Alagoas,  where  they  soon  became  powerful  enough  to  found  a  little  republic, 
whose  capital.  Palmares,  had  a  population  of  6,000,  and  traded  with  Pernambuco. 
But  the  planters,  alarmed  at  the  flourishing  state  of  this  community  of  freemen, 
organised  an  expedition  against  them,  and,  after  a  first  failure,  captured  Palmares 
and  distributed  the  inhabitants  over  the  plantations. 

Amongst  the  populations  of  this  seaboard  those  of  Ceara  enjoy  throughout 
Brazil  a  high  reputation  for  energy  and  enterprise.  Like  their  neighbours  they 
are  a  blend  of  three  distinct  stocks,  retaining  the  endurance,  tenacity,  and  cunning 
of  the  Indians,  the  buoyancy,  impulsiveness,  and  kindliness  of  the  negroes,  the 
intelligence  and  strength  of  the  whites.  They  are  often  driven  by  the  long 
droughts  to  seek  employment  elsewhere,  and  mainly  to  the  immigrants  from 
Ceara  is  due  the  growing  prosperity  of  Amazonia.  They  number  at  present 
nearly  20,000. 

Topography — Towxs  of  Maranhao. 

Turyassu,  on  a  marine  inlet  near  the  Rio  Turyassu  in  the  State  of  Maranhao, 
exports  sugar  and  other  agricidtural  produce,  besides  hides,  horses,  coarse  crockery, 
and  costly  hammocks.  South-west  of  this  place,  between  the  Gurupy  and  Mara- 
cassume  rivers,  stands  the  little  group  of  the  Monies  Aitreos  ("Gold  Hills"), 
which,  however,  are  almost  entirely  neglected;  nor  has  any  attempt  been  made  to 
work  the  copper  ores  discovered  in  the  Maranhao  Mountains. 

On  the  east  coast  beyond  Turyassu  follow  Cururupu  and  Guimaraes,  the  latter 
a  great  centre  of  the  sugar  industry.  But  the  largest  place  on  the  coast  between 
Para  and  Pernambuco  is  S.  Luiz  de  Maranhao,  or  simply  S.  Luis,  built  on  the  site 
of  the  settlement  founded  in  1610  by  La  Revardiere,  and  named  in  honour  of 
Louis  XIII.  Standing  on  the  west  side  of  a  low  island  separated  by  the  Mosquito 
creek  from  the  mainland,  S.  Luiz  commands  the  two  estuaries,  which  reach  S. 
Ifarcos  bay  farther  west.  This  bay  is  accessible  to  vessels  of  heavy  tonnage,  and 
the  harbour,  although  gradually  silting  up,  has  developed  a  considerable  export 
trade  in  sugar,  hides,  and  coffee.  All  the  coast  steamers  call  at  S.  Luiz,  while 
small  craft  ascend  the  Pindare,  Grajahu,  and  other  streams  flowing  to  the  bay. 

In  the  district  are  several  small  places,  such  as  Alcantara,  noted  for  its  cacaos  ; 
Yianna,  on  a  lake  draining  to  the  Rio  Pindare  ;  2loiigao,  higher  up  on  the  same 
river,  centre  of  a  brisk  trade  in  live  stock  brought  from  the  interior  and  even  from 
the  Tocantins  basin.  A  railway  has  long  been  projected  to  run  from  the  coast 
near  S.  Luiz  up  the  Grajahu  valley  to  the  banks  of  the  Tocantins  with  a  station  at 
Carolina  at  the  mouth  of  the  Manoel  Alvez  Grande. 

On  the  Itapucuru,  which  traverses  the  eastern  part  of  Maranhao,  the  chief 
place  is  Caxias,  native  town  of  Gon9alvez  Bias.     In  the  district  cotton  and  other 


140 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


tropical  plants  are  cultivated,  and  here  are  also  some  fine  grazing-grounds.  On 
the  same  river  stands  Itajmcuru  Mirim,  which  is  easily  accessible  to  steamers,  and 
which  was  formerly  known  by  the  name  of  Feira  ("  Fair"),  owing  to  the  large 
herds  of  cattle  which  were  brought  from  the  interior  to  this  market.  Itapucuru 
Mirim,  that  is,  "  Little  Itapucuru,"  has  outstripped  Itapucuru  Grande  ("  Great 
Itapucuru  "),  the  modern  Eosario,  at  the  entrance  of  S,  Jose  estuary  or  bay,  which 


Kg.  49.— S.  Lniz  DB  Maeamhao. 
Scale  1  :  160,000. 


■44°so- 


West  oF.  Green^» 


•Wis: 


Otol6 
Feet. 


Depths. 


32  to  80 
Feet. 


80  Feet 
and  upwards. 


_  3  Miles. 


separates  Maranhao  Island  from  the  east  coast.  Farther  east  Bareirinhas,  on  the 
Rio  Preguicias  near  the  sea,  has  developed  some  activity  in  the  preparation  of 
brandies. 


Towns  of  Pi.\uhy  and  Ceara. 
In  its  upper  reaches  the  Parnahyba,  which  flows  between  the  States  of 
Maranhao  and  Piauhy,  is  but  thinly  peopled.  But  below  the  Rio  Gurgiicira  ferry 
settlements  become  more  numerous.  Beyond  the  two  little  stations  of  Manga, 
facing  each  other  on  both  banks,  follow  the  towns  of  8.  Francisco  and  Amarante 
close  to  the  Piauhy  confluence.  TItcrczina,  capital  of  the  State  of  Piauhy,  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Poty,  has  made  rapid  progress  since  its  foundation  in  1852. 
Through  its  suburb  of  Florcs  (formerly  Cajazciras),  which  belongs  to  the  State  of 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  CEAEA. 


141 


Maranbito,  it  will  soon  be  connected  by  rail  with  Oaxias  in  the  Itapucuru  valley. 
Since  it  has  ceased  to  be  the  administrative  centre,  Ociras,  the  old  capital,  in  the 
Eio  Caninde  valley,  has  lost  most  of  its  inhabitants. 

Below  Therezina  follow  several  trading  places,  such  as  Uniao  on  the  right, 
Curraliiiho  and  S.  Bernardo  on  the  left  bank.  Towards  the  mouth  of  the  Par- 
nahyba,  only  the  eastern  part  of  the  delta  is  comprised  in  the  State  of  Piauhy, 
whereas  in  the  interior  its  territory  stretches  some  300  miles  west  and  east.  On 
the  narrow  Iguarassu  branch  of  the  delta  stands  the  port  of  entry,  Parnahyha, 
surrounded  by  unhealthy  alluvial  lands.  Amarra(;uo,  at  the  mouth  of  the  same 
channel,  and  just  within  the  bar,  is  the  port  of  call  for  passing  steamers. 

Camocim,  another  port  lying  farther  east  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Coreahu  in 


Fig.  50.— Ceaka. 
Scale  1 :  800,000. 


38*40' 


West  op  Gree 


otoie 

Feet. 


Depths. 


16  to  32 

Feet. 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


18  Miles. 


the  State  of  Ceara,  exports  hides  and  agricultural  produce.  This  place  is  now 
connected  by  rail  with  Graitja,  higher  up  the  same  river,  and  with  Sohral  in  the 
Acaracu  basin.  Although  some  of  the  affluents  of  this  river  wash  down  auriferous 
sands,  the  gold  industry  has  not  flourished,  and  this  part  of  Ceara  is  occupied 
almost  exclusively  with  stock-breeding. 

Fortaleza  {Ceara),  capital  of  the  State,  lies  not  on  a  fluvial  estuary,  but  about 
seven  miles  west  of  the  little  Rio  Ceara,  which  gives  its  name  to  the  State,  The 
roadstead  is  sheltered  on  the  east  by  the  Mucuripe  Peninsula  ;  but  a  fringing  reef 
prevents  the  approach  of  large  vessels,  which  have  to  ride  at  anchor  farther  out, 
and  land  their  cargoes  by  means  of  janr/adafs,  or  rafts  rigged  with  sails.  Fortaleza 
is  surrounded  by  arid,  sandy  plains,  and  has  to  depend  on  artesian  wells  for  its 


142 


AMAZ0NL4.  AND  LA  PLATA. 


water  supply.  During  long  droughts  the  population  is  sometimes  doubled  by 
refugees  from  the  country.  In  1878  it  was  thus  suddenly  increased  to  nearly 
60,000,  of  whom  2;i,250  were  carried  oif  in  two  months  by  small-pox,  famine,  and 
privations  of  all  sorts. 

To  give  employment  to  the  sufferers  the  tortuous  railway  was  taken  in  hand 
and  completed  in  eighteen  months,  which  now  ascends  from  Ceara  by  an  extremely 


Kg.  51.— Cape  S.  RoatJE. 

Scale  1  :  200.000 


Depths. 


0  to  10 
Feet. 


10  to  16 
Feet. 


16  to  32 
Feet. 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


5  Miles. 


Bleep  gradient  over  the  rocky  hills  some  60  miles  southwards  to  the  town  of 
BaturiM.  A  branch  line  runs  westward  to  Marangiinpe,  noted  for  its  oranges,  vast 
quantities  of  which  are  now  exported  to  England.  Ceara  itself  forwards  cotton, 
the  wax  of  the  carnauba  pulm,  caju  wine,  goat  skins  and  ox  hides.  Ceara  was 
the  first  place  to  get  rid  of  slaverjr,  which  had  to  be  abolished  because  the  people 
were  liberating  the  slaves  by  force,  sheltering  them,  and  plundering  the  planta- 
tions. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OP  CEAEA. 


143 


The  Rio  Jaguaribe  basin,  comprising  all  the  southern  and  eastern  parts  of 
Ceara,  possesses  most  of  the  towns,  amongst  others  Crafo,  Janlim,  and  Lavras  on 
the  uplands ;  Ico  and  Iijafu  in  the  lower  valleys ;  Quixeramobim  and  Quixada  on 
the  Rio  Quixera  affluent.  At  Quixada  the  Fortaleza-Baturite  railway  enters  the 
Jaguaribe  basin,  thus  attracting  to  the  capital  the  trade  of  these  important  dis- 
tricts.    At  present  the  natural  outlet  for  the  settlements  on  the  Lower  Jaguaribe 


Fig.  52.— Natal. 

Scile  1  :  -10,000. 


I  West  op  Greenwic'i 


35°  2 


35°  n  55 


Beptba. 


0  tol6 
Feet. 


16  to  32 
Feet. 


32  Feet 
and  upwarda. 


1,100  Yards. 


is  the  port  of  Araeaty,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  11  miles  above  its  mouth. 
A  brisk  trade  is  here  carried  on  in  agricultural  produce  and  in  such  local  articles  as 
mats,  straw  hats,  and  vegetable- wax  candles. 

The  trade  of  that  part  of  east  Ceara  which  lies  west  of  Cape  S.  Roque  is  also 
partly  directed  towards  the  port  of  Mossoro  [Santa  Liizia),  in  the  neighbouring 
State  of  Rio  Grande  do  Norte.     This  town,  which  lies  on  the  left  bank  of  the 


144 


AilAZOXIA  AND  LA  TLATA. 


Eio  Mossoro,  30  miles  from  the  sea,  iff  accessible  to  large  vessels,  which  here  ship 
cotton,  sugar,  and  especially  courinhos  or  "  small  hides,"  that  is,  kid  skins  of  excep- 
tionally fine  quality. 

Tow>-s  OF  Rio  Graxde  do  Xorte  A^^)  Parahtba. 

Eio  Grande  do  Xorte  has  for  its  capital  and  largest  seaport  the  town  of  Natal, 
which  lies  near  the  extremity  of  a  peninsula  on  the  south  side  of  the  Eio  Grande 


Fig.  53. — Pabahtba  asd  Cabsdelo. 
Stale  1 :  340,000. 


34"S5' 


West  oF  Gi-een 


54-45' 


Depths. 


0tol6 

leet. 


16  to  32 

Feet. 


32Fc«t 
and  upwards. 


,  6  llUes. 


estuary.  The  bar  and  reefs  at  its  mouth  prevent  all  access  to  large  vessels,  which 
have  to  anchor  in  the  offing.  Sugar,  the  chief  export,  comes  mostly  from  the 
fertile  valley  where  is  situated  Ceara  Mirim,  "  Little  Ceara,"  a  centre  of  the 
sugar-refining  industry.  A  railway  running  from  Xatal  southwards  successively 
crosses  the  arid  sandy  plateaux,  and  the  rich  intervening  valley  under  cotton, 
sugar  cane,  and  other  tropical  plants. 

Here  are  several   flourishing  little   towns  and   seaport?,  such  as  S.  Jose  de 
Mijnbu  on  the  Eio  Trahiry  ;  Goi/anuiha,  the  chief  place  in  the  Eio  Jacu  valley. 


m\k 


o 
a 


o 


TOPOGEAPHY  OF  PEENAMBUCO.  145 

and  farther  south  Canguardamn,  Nom  Cniz,  and  Penha  in  the  Rio  Curiiuatahu 
valle}'. 

In  the  State  of  Parahyha  do  Norte  the  port  of  Mamnnguape,  on  the  river  of 
like  name,  still  does  a  little  coasting  trade,  althougli  the  city  of  I'urahi/ha  has 
attracted  most  of  the  trafHc  hy  the  construction  of  a  railway  penetrating  to  Inde- 
pendencia  ou  the  Upper  Mamanguape,  and  tapping  the  neighbouring  serra  with  its 
numerous  agricultural  settlements,  such  as  Baiiaiiciras,  Brrjo  d'Areia,  and  Alagoa 
Gnnidc.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  S.  Joiio  dc  Cariry,  Campiiia  Gmndr, 
Iiigct,  and  Pilur  have  their  natural  outlet  in  the  estuary  of  the  Rio  Parahyha  do 
Norte,  on  the  right  bank  of  which  stands  the  city  of  Parahyha.  On  the  heights 
is  the  Cidadc  VcHia  ("  Old  Town  "),  founded  in  1579,  now  a  group  of  almost  aban- 
doned monasteries;  lower  down  is  the  Varadouro  ("Marina"),  the  business 
quarter  about  18  miles  above  the  entrance  of  the  estuary,  where  the  shipping  is 
arrested  by  the  reefs  and  where  the  northern  extremity  of  the  peninsula  is  crowned 
by  the  fortress  of  Cahcdelo. 

Towns  of  Pernaiibuco  and  Alagoas. 

South  of  Parahj'ba,  the  ancient  city  of  Goyana,  already  a  flourishing  place  in 
the  time  of  the  Dutch  occupation,  holds  an  analogous  position  on  the  bend  of  a 
river,  which  towards  its  mouth  expands  into  an  estuary,  but  which  is  also  half 
closed  by  a  barrier  of  reefs. 

Goyana  lies  in  the  State  of  Pernambuco,  that  is,  Parana-mbuk,  "  Sea  River," 
so  named  in  reference  to  the  semi-circular  channel  which  enclosed  the  island  of 
Itamaraca.  This  island  is  one  of  the  most  densely-peopled  districts  in  Brazil, 
and  produces  much  sugar,  abundance  of  provisions,  and  "  the  best  fruits  on  the  sea- 
board." So  early  :as  1630,  as  many  as  23  sugar-works  had  been  established 
in  Itamaraca,  whither  the  Dutch  at  one  time  thought  of  removing  the  seat  of 
their  Brazilian  colony. 

Pernambuco,  capital  of  the  State,  takes  its  official  name  of  Rmfe  from  the 
"  reefs "  which  shelter  its  harbour  like  natural  breakwaters.  It  is  one  of  the 
historical  cities  of  the  New  World,  and  a  commercial  emporium  which  seems  des- 
tined to  a  great  future.  Founded  in  1503,  by  Duarte  Coelho,  it  became  the  seat 
of  administration  under  the  Dutch  at  the  time  when  they  were  masters  of  north- 
east Brazil.  A  few  remains  of  their  establishments  are  still  visible  at  Recife  and 
in  the  island  of  Antonio  Vaz  at  S.  Antonio,  formerly  Mauricea  [Mauritsstud),  so 
named  in  honour  of  Maurice  of  Nassau. 

Under  the  name  of  Pernambuco  are  comprised  several  distinct  urban  groups, 
such  as  Olinda,  the  former  capital,  on  an  eminence  over  four  miles  from  the  com- 
mercial centre,  a  group  of  crumbling  palaces  and  convents  north  of  the  roadstead. 
On  the  mainland  the  country  seats,  gardens,  and  farmsteads  of  Campo  Grande  con- 
nect the  old  and  new  quarters,  while  Recife,  properly  so  called,  covers  the  island 
nearest  to  the  outer  reefs  with  its  public  buildings,  depots,  and  warehouses,  and  is 
itself  connected  by  bridges  with  the  more  southerly  and  larger  island  of  Antonio 
Vaz.     Other  causeways  connect  this  central  quarter  with  that  of  Boa  Vida,  which 

AOL.   XI. \.  L 


14'6 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


lies  to  the  west  on  the  mainland,  and  is  continued  by  suburbs  in  various  direc- 
tions. Numerous  villas  are  scattered  north-westwards  along  the  banks  of  the  Rio 
Beberibe,  and  westwards  in  the  sinuous  valley  of  the  E-io  Capibaribe  and  neigh- 
bouring heights. 

Beyond  the  reefs  the  open  roadstead  offers  bad  anchorage  to  the  large  steamers 


Fig.  54.— Peenambuco. 
Scale  1  :  40,000. 


West    or  breenwich 


54°  55' 


34"52' 


Snnda  exposed 
at  low  water. 


0tol6 

Feet. 


Depths. 

16  to  32 

Feet. 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


1,860  Yards. 


and  other  shipping,  which  are  often  driven  on  the  rocks  by  the  southern  and 
easterly  gales.  Fortunately  storms  are  rare,  and  even  at  low  water  the  channel 
gives  access  to  vessels  drawing  15  feet.  They  first  enter  the  P050,  which  is  the 
deepest  part  of  the  harbour,  and  are  thence  distributed  over  the  well- sheltered 
natural  basin  of  the  Mo.squciro.  The  engineer,  Fournie,  proposes  to  improve  the 
dangerous  approaches  by  running  a  pier  nearly  half  a  mile  long  from  the  south 


PERNAMBUCO. 


H7 


side  of  the  channel  eastwards  to  deep  water,  thus  enabling  largo  vessels  to  load 
and  unload  at  all  states  of  the  tide  and  in  all  weathers.  Ilawkshaw  proposes  a 
somewhat  similar  plan,  but  with  longer  and  more  crescent-shaped  pier. 


Fist.  St. — Peexambuco — Street  Vie'st. 


Either  project  would  make  Pernambuco   one  of  the  best   harbours  in  Brazil. 
But  its  admirable  position  near  the  north-east  angle  of  the  continent  has  already 

l2 


148 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


miulo  Recife  the  chief  point  of  attraction  for  vessels  coming  from  North  America, 
Europe,  and  Africa.  No  part  of  the  Brazilian  seaboard  possesses  more  strategical 
importance.  It  forms  the  advanced  bulwark  of  the  republic,  and  in  the  near 
future  Pernambuco  promises  to  become  the  most  frequented  port  in  South  America, 

especially  for  the  pas- 
Fio-.  5G.— FErsT.iNQ  Keefs  between  Pakahtba  and  the 
Mouth  of  the  S.  Feancisco. 
Scale  1 :  3,500,000. 


senger  traiSc  between 
and     New 


JJeptha, 


the    Old 
Worlds. 

Three  trans-Atlan- 
tic cables  radiate  from 
Recife,  which  is  the 
port  of  call  for  twelve 
lines  of  steamers,  while 
hundreds  of  other 
vessels  here  ship  cot- 
ton, coffee,  sugar,  to- 
bacco, hides,  skins,  the 
dyewoods  formerly 
known  as  "  pernam- 
bucs,"  natural  history 
collections,  and  other 
objects.  Great  Britain 
takes  the  '^rgest  share 
of  this  t:  France, 

German^  ad  the 
United  States  follow- 
ing in  the  order 
named.  Pernambuco 
is  the  seat  of  a  geo- 
graphical institute  and 
other  learned  societies. 
Numerous  carriage 
roads  and  three  rail- 
ways radiate  to  the 
surrounding    towns — 


OtoS 
Fathoms. 


5to50 
Fathoms. 


60  to  600 
Fathoms. 


BOO  to  1.000 
Fathoms. 


60  Miles. 


1.000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


Iguarasstc  in  the 
north;  Pao  d'Alho  in 
the  north-west  at  the 
bifurcation  of  the  rail- 
ways running  one  towards  Naznrdh,  the  other  towards  Limociro,  two  busy  trading 
places  surrounded  by  sugar-works.  Limoeira  is  the  chief  place  in  the  Rio 
Capibaribe  valley,  where  are  also  situated  Bom  JariUm,  Taquaretinga,  and  Birjo  da 

Mddre  de  Beus. 

The  railway  running  west  of  Recife  towards  the  Upper  Ipojuca  valley  succes- 


M  v^i,'  /^ 


TOPOGEAPIIY  OF  ALAGOAS. 


U9 


sively  passes  the  stations  of  Jahoatun,  most  frequented  rural  resort  of  the  citizens 
of  reruumbuco,  Victorin,  Grara/d,  Bczcrrus,  Caniari'i,  the  most  flourishing  mart  in 
the  interior  of  the  State.  South-westwards  the  chief  station  on  the  S.  Francisco 
line  is  Cabo,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  neighbouring  Cabo  ("  Cape  ")  Santo 
An'ostiuho,  where  formerly  stood  a  fort  hotly  contested  by  the  Dutch  and  Portu- 
guese during  the  first  halt'  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Beyond  Gaboon  the  same  line  follow,  still  within  the  State  of  Pernambuco, 


rig.  57. — Alaqoas  Coast. 
Softle  1  :  376,000. 


West  01   Greenwich 


35°  50- 


35°40' 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


5  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  Fathoms 
aud  uowards. 


.  6  Miles. 


the  towns  of  Palmares  and  Ganni/ntiis,  the  latter  a  health  resort  2,810  feet  above 
sea-level,  much  frequented  bj'  consumptive  patients.  It  lies  in  the  valley  of  the 
Upper  Mundahu,  above  the  zone  of  sugar-cane,  in  a  fertile  district  growing  cotton, 
coffee,  tobacco,  and  cereals. 

The  western  section  of  the  State  of  Pernambuco  and  the  whole  of  Alagoas 
(the  "  Lagoons  ")  are  comprised  within  the  S.  Francisco  basin.  But  Maceio, 
capital  of  the  latter,  stands  on  a  peninsula  between  the  sea  and  one  of  the  lagoons 
from  which  the  State  takes  its  name.     The  Lagoa  do  Norte,  as  this  basin  is  called, 


150 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


receives  the  Rio  Jlundalm,  while  the  Manguaba  lagoon  farther  south  is  fed  by  one 
of  the  numerous  streams  bearing  the  general  name  of  Parahyba. 

Here  the  pleasant  town  of  Maceio  with  its  suburb  of  Juragua  is  shaded  with 
groves  and  avenues  in  which  are  intermingled  the  African  date  with  the  Indian 
coconut  pylm.  Unfortunately  the  harbour,  though  protected  from  the  east  and 
north  winds,  is  exposed  to  the  southern  gales,  during  the  prevalence  of  which  the 
shipi^ing  has  to  take  refuge  farther  east  in  the  roadstead  of  Pajussara  under  the 
shelter  of  the  Ponta  Verde  and  a  chain  of  reefs.     Cotton,  sugar,  and  caju  wine  are 


Fig.  58. — Maceio  and  its  Koadstead. 
.Scale  1  ;  6ii,000. 


38-5' 


West  or  breenwich 


38'3' 


OtolS 
Feet. 


Depths. 


16  to  32 
Feet. 


2,200  Yards. 


amongst  the  exports.  Maceio  receives  much  of  its  supplies  from  the  railway 
which  runs  north-westwards  up  the  Mundahu  valley  to  JJiiiiio,  one  of  the  numerous 
places  which  during  the  Empire  bore  the  name  of  Imperalnz  in  honour  of  the 
"  Empress  "  of  Brazil. 

The  Rio  Parahyba  valley,  which  is  disposed  south-east  parallel  with  that  of 
the  Mundahu  and  connected  with  it  by  a  branch  line,  abounds  in  sugar  planta- 
tions in  the  municipalities  of  Victoria,  Villa  Vigosa  (formerly  Asscmblca),  Atalaia, 
Pilar,  and  Alagoas.  The  last-mentioned,  which  was  capital  of  the  State  till  1839, 
stands  near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Manguaba  lagoon.      It  is  much  less 


FEENANDO  NOEONHA.  151 

favourably  situated  for  trade  than  Maceio,  the  present  capital.  Small  steamers 
ply  regularly  on  the  creeks  and  the  neighbouring  Lake  Manguaba  between  the 
towns  of  Maceio  and  Pilar.  At  the  latter  place  they  ship  the  cotton  brought  to 
the  coast  from  the  surrounding  plantations. 

Fernando  Noronha,  which  belongs  administratively  to  the  State  of  Pernambuco, 
is  a  natural  dependency  of  the  north-eastern  provinces  of  Brazil.  It  has  no  towns 
or  any  colony  of  free  settlers,  being  entirely  set  apart  by  the  federal  government  as 
a  convict  station.  The  island  is  so  infested  by  rats  and  mice  that  the  convicts, 
who  are  employed  at  certain  times  in  hunting  them  down,  sometimes  kill  as  many 
as  20,000  in  a  single  day.  In  the  year  1893  a  project  was  brought  forward  to 
establish  a  quarantine  and  a  signal  station  on  the  island.  The  deposits  of  phos- 
phates have  not  yet  been  worked,  although  some  guano  has  been  collected  on 
some  of  the  neighbouring  rocks  and  islets. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


^^^ 

K^ 

^K 

^Q 

^^R)3| 

tt 

w 

S.  FRANCISCO  BASIN  AND  EAST  SLOPE  OF  THE  PLATEAUX. 

States  of  Mixas  Geraes,  Bahia,  Sekgipe,  and  Espikito  Santo. 

BOUT  half  of  this  region  is  comprised  within  the  S.  Francisco  basin, 
a  vast  depression  of  oval  shape  analogous  to  that  of  the  twin  rivers 
Araguaya  and  Tocantins,  of  nearly  the  same  size.  Only  the  S. 
Francisco  does  not  maintain  its  normal  direction  from  north  to 
south,  but  trends  round  to  the  east,  falling  into  the  Atlantic  at 
the  point  where  the  coast-line  begins  to  turn  south-west  below  the  Pemambuco 
promontory.  By  this  change  in  its  course  the  main  artery,  rising  in  the  zone  of 
elevated  plateaux,  gives  a  certain  unity  to  both  of  the  natural  regions  which  it 
traverses. 

Farther  south  the  crests  of  the  divide  form  a  sharp  limit  between  the  fluvial 
basin  and  the  slopes  facing  the  Atlantic.  But  viewed  as  a  whole,  the  coastlands 
may  be  regarded  simply  as  the  seaward  escarpments  of  the  plateaus  watered  by 
the  S.  Francisco.  But  the  political  frontiers  coincide  only  to  a  certain  extent  with 
their  natural  limits.  In  the  south  the  State  of  Minas  Geraes  encroaches  con- 
siderably on  the  Parana  slope,  as  well  as  on  the  Rio  Doce  basin  towards  Espirito 
Santo  or  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

But  however  limited  in  extent,  the  region  of  the  S.  Francisco  combined  with 
that  of  the  Atlantic  slopes  is  the  most  important  section  of  the  republic,  ilinas 
Geraes  ("  General  Mines  "),  one  of  its  four  political  divisions,  is  a  magnificent 
country  with  natural  resources  rendering  it  independent  of  the  whole  world. 
Although  not  the  largest,  it  is  by  far  the  most  populous  State  in  Brazil,  and  even 
from  the  historic  point  it  may  claim  the  first  rank.  After  enriching  Portugal 
beyond  all  the  other  colonies,  it  was  the  first  to  strike  a  blow  for  national  inde- 
pendence, and  such  is  its  commanding  position  that  proposals  have  several  times 
been  made  to  break  it  up  into  two  or  more  separate  States. 

Bahia,  although  of  less  importance  than  Minas  Geraes,  takes  the  second  place 
in  the  republic  for  population,  and  its  capital  is  surpassed  by  Rio  de  Janeiro  alone 
in  size  and  commercial  activity.  Sergipe,  despite  the  small  extent  of  its  territory, 
takes  more  than  its  share  in  the  general  trade  of  the  country,  and  even  Espirito 


o 


o 


STATES  OF  THE  S.  FRANCISCO  BASIN.  153 

Santo,  mainly  a  forest  zone  of  difEcult  access,  has  made  rapid  progress  in  recent 
years.  Collectively  the  four  States  comprise  a  superficial  area  of  about  434,000 
square  miles,  with  a  population  (1893)  of  o,570,000. 

Progress  of  Discovery  and  Settlement. 

The  vast  bay  of  Todos  os  Santos,  on  which  now  stands  the  city  of  Bahia,  was 
already  sighted  by  Christovao  Jaques  in  1503,  three  years  after  the  discovery  of 
the  Brazilian  coast.  The  colony  developed  rapidly  in  the  second  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  after  Bahia  had  been  chosen  as  capital  of  all  the  Brazilian 
captainries.  But  the  forest-clad  seaward  slopes  long  presented  an  insurmount- 
able barrier  to  the  occupation  of  the  interior.  Expeditions  were,  however,  under- 
taken towards  the  unknown  lands  traversed  by  the  Upper  S.  Francisco,  whence 
Marcos  de  Azevedo  brought  silver  and  emeralds  in  1650.  Twenty  years  later 
some  daring  Paulistas,  under  Fernando  Dias  Paes  Leme,  pushed  northwards  to  the 
reo-ions  reported  to  abound  in  precious  stones.  They  reached  the  sources  of  the 
Pio  Doce  without,  however,  discovering  the  treasures  for  which  this  district  after- 
wards became  famous. 

Other  Paulistas  were  more  fortunate,  and  in  1720  the  Portuguese  Government, 
in  order  to  secure  its  mineral  revenues,  constituted  the  captainry  of  Minas  Geraes 
with  about  the  same  limits  as  those  of  the  present  State.  Each  of  the  new  mining 
centres  became  starting-points  for  fresh  explorations,  and  since  the  era  of  scien- 
tific research  was  opened  by  Humboldt,  the  whole  land  has  been  traversed  by 
Ton  Eschwege,  Auguste  de  Saint-Ililaire,  Spix  and  Martins,  Mawe,  Gardener, 
Spruce,  Burton,  Liais,  Halfeld,  Wells,  Manoel  de  Macedo,  and  others.  In  1815-17 
Max  von  "Wied  visited  and  carefully  described  the  Botocudos ;  Lund  devoted 
many  years  to  the  study  of  the  extinct  fauna  of  the  Caves  ;  Gorceix,  Hartt,  Fer- 
raud,  Orville,  Derby,  and  many  other  miners,  engineers,  and  geologists  examined 
the  character  of  the  rocks  and  their  mineral  treasures,  and  a  beginning  has 
been  made  with  a  topographic  map  to  the  scale  of  Too'lirro",  which  is  to  be  con- 
nected with  works  of  a  like  nature  now  progressing  in  the  State  of  S.  Paulo. 

Physical  Features. 

To  the  mountainous  region  where  the  Rio  S.  Francisco  takes  its  rise,  the  term 
campos,  "  plains,"  or  "  fields,''  is  sometimes  applied  ;  but  these  upland  plains  pre- 
sent no  such  level  spaces  as  the  Venezuelan  llanos.  The  surface  is  everywhere 
broken  by  hills  rising  from  300  to  GOO  feet  above  the  normal  height  of  the  vast 
plateau.  One  of  the  loftiest  summits  in  Minas  even  takes  the  name  of  Itabira  do 
Campo,  in  contradistinction  to  the  less  elevated  Itabira  da  Serra,  or  do  Mat  to 
Dentro,  in  the  mountainous  and  wooded  eastern  regions. 

The  mean  altitude  of  these  uplands,  which  form  the  central  water-jjarting 
of  Brazil,  and  which  slope  in  all  directions,  is  about  3,000  feet,  while  the 
culminating  peaks  between  Queluz  and  Barbacena  exceed  4,000  feet.  From 
this  central  nucleus  diverge  the  various  ranges,  which  rise  above  the  common 
pedestal,  and  which  nearly  everj'where  decrease  with  it  in  altitude. 


154  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Towards  the  west  the  S.  Francisco  and  Parana  basins  are  separated  by  such  a 
range,  which  farther  on  merges  in  a  second  divide,  whence  ramify  northwards  the 
Serra  da  Canastra  and  numerous  other  ridges.  South-west  of  the  Barbacena  knot 
a  chain  with  steep  outer  slopes  is  developed  parallel  with  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  coast. 
North-eastwards  the  Serra  da  Mantiqueira,  as  this  chain  is  called,  is  continued 
under  various  names,  everywhere  following  the  trend  of  the  coastline.  Lastly,  in 
the  north  stretches  the  main  range  to  which  Eschwege  has  given  the  name  of 
Serra  do  Espinhaco,  that  is,  the  "  Backbone  "  of  Brazil.  Yet  the  peaks  rising 
above  this  range  are  of  moderate  elevation,  the  very  highest,  the  Cara(,-a  Peak  in 
the  north-east,  falling,  according  to  Liais,  below  6,500  feet.  Farther  south  follow 
the  Piedado  (5,850  feet),  and  near  Ouro  Preto,  capital  of  Minas,  Mount  Itacolumi, 
which  was  long  supposed  to  be  the  culminating  point  of  Brazil,  but  to  which 
Gerber  assigns  a  height  of  not  more  than  5, GOO  feet.  In  geological  terminology, 
Itacolumi  has  given  its  name  to  a  yellowish  sandstone  which  covers  a  great 
part  of  Central  Brazil,  but  which,  according  to  Burton,  forms  at  most  only  a 
small  part  of  Itacolumi  itself.  Like  Caraca,  this  mountain  is  said  to  consist 
mainly  of  quartzite. 

North  of  Caraca  the  Serra  do  Espinhaco  is  continued  for  a  distance  of  about 
150  miles,  without  presenting  any  very  prominent  summits.  Beyond  the  Itabira 
da  Serra  follow,  in  the  diamantiftrous  Serro  do  Frio,  the  igneous  Itambe  (4,315), 
and  west  of  the  Rio  das  Velhas,  the  rugged  and  twin-crested  Itabira  do  Campo 
(5,150  feet).  Like  the  other  Itabira,  this  moixntain  consists  almost  exclusively  of 
a  ferruginous  ore,  the  so-called  "  itabirite,"  containing  60  per  cent,  of  pure  metal. 
On  various  maps  of  this  district  there  figures  a  so-called  Mount  Boas,  7,550  feet 
high.  But  no  such  name  is  known  in  the  country,  nor  do  any  of  the  summits 
attain  such  an  elevation  above  the  sea. 

Beyond  the  Diamantina  ridge  is  developed  the  sinuous  Itacambira  range,  which 
is  continued  northwards  by  the  Grao  Mogol  chain,  and  farther  on  by  the  Serra 
das  Almas.  This  section  merges  in  the  State  of  Bahia  in  vast  plateaux,  where  the 
ranges  are  in  reality  mere  scarps  of  the  tablelands  eroded  at  their  base  by  the 
running  waters.  A  more  distinct  chain  is  the  Serra  dos  Aimores,  which  takes  its 
name  from  its  former  aboriginal  inhabitants,  and  which  runs  parallel  with  the 
coast  of  Espirito  Santo,  though  pierced  by  the  gorges  of  numerous  rivers  flowing 
from  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Espinhaco.  In  the  quartzose  gneiss  Capazao  mass 
near  the  root  of  this  chain,  the  botanist  Schwacke  has  recently  scaled  a  hitherto 
unknown  summit  7,220  feet  high. 

West  of  the  Rio  S.  Francisco,  a  few  other  ridges,  such  as  the  Serra  dos  DivisSes 
between  Minas  and  Goyas,  still  present  a  somewhat  mountainous  aspect.  But 
farther  north  all  traces  of  mountains  disappear,  and  here  nothing  is  seen  except 
desert  plateaux,  formidable  travcsslas  destitute  of  water  and  vegetation,  and  in 
many  places  covered  with  salt.  Lastly  in  the  same  Rio  S.  Francisco  valley  rise 
numerous  groups  and  ridges,  some  parallel  with  the  fluvial  valley,  others  running 
athwart  its  course  and  giving  rise  to  cascades  and  rapids. 

Of  these  groups  the  most  famous  is  that  of  Lagoa  Santa,  well  known   in  the 


S.  FEANCISCO  BASIN.  155 

geological  and  pre-historic  records  of  Brazil.  The  limestone  district  is  pierced  by- 
innumerable  caves,  some  mere  fissures,  others  vast  galleries,  huge  vaulted  chambers, 
winding  passages,  ramifying  in  an  endless  maze  of  underground  recesses.  The 
rocks  seem  to  have  been  first  crushed  by  tremendous  lateral  pressure,  and  then 
eroded  by  running  waters.  Calcareous  concretions  hang  from  the  vaults  of  the 
caverns,  or  rise  in  pillars  from  the  floor,  which  is  covered  with  argillaceous  layers 
of  varying  thickness  containing  land  and  fresh-water  shells  identical  with  contem- 
porary species.  In  these  layers  have  also  been  found  enormous  quantities  of  animal 
remains  which  have  been  studied  by  Claussen,  and  later  more  successfully  by 
Lund. 

East  of  the  S.  Francisco  valley  the  "  Backbone  "  consists  mainly  of  gneiss, 
passing  in  certain  places  to  granite,  syenite,  and  mica-schist.  The  crystalline 
rocks  are  of  a  granulated  texture,  with  large  feldspar  crystals  easily  disintegrated 
and  forming  arenaceous  and  reddish  layers  disposed  in  broad  slopes  at  the  base  of 
the  hills ;  in  some  districts  these  layers,  covered  with  a  vegetable  humus,  are  nearly 
1,000  feet  thick.  Nowhere  are  seen  any  sedimentary  deposits  overlying  masses  of 
gravel  produced  by  the  disintegration  of  mountains,  which  at  one  time  stood  at  a 
prodigious  elevation  above  sea  level.  "  The  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  ancient 
Brazil  was  one  of  the  greatest  mountain  regions  of  the  earth,  and  that  its  summits 
may  very  probably  have  exceeded  in  height  any  now  existing  in  the  world.  What 
we  now  behold  are  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  mountains,  and  the  singular  conical 
peaks  are,  as  Liais  has  explained,  the  remains  of  some  harder  masses  of  metamor- 
phic  gneiss,  of  which  the  strata  were  tilted  at  a  high  angle."  * 

The  plateaux  in  which  the  Parana  and  its  affluents  have  excavated  their  upper 
valleys  are  formed  to  a  considerable,  but  still  undetermined,  depth  of  the  tritu- 
rated fragments  of  the  ancient  Brazilian  highlands ;  such  is  also  the  origin  of  the. 
plains  of  Paraguay  Gran  Chaco,  and  the  Argentine  pampas,  as  well  as  of  the 
sandbanks  in  the  Plata  estuary.  In  this  chemical  laboratory  the  rocks  have 
changed  their  place  and  form — from  crystalline  mountains  they  have  become 
stratified  plains. 

Here  also  the  ground  contains  much  gold,  as  well  as  iron  ores,  and,  in  some 
districts,  diamonds.  Those  mines  more  especially  are  worked  which  are  covered 
with  caiiga,  a  recent  conglomerate  formed  by  the  detritus  of  the  mountains,  and 
cemented  by  ferruginous  waters.  The  gravels  under  which  diamonds  are  found 
are  known  by  the  name  of  cascalho. 

Rivers — The  S.  Francisco. 
The  Rio  S.  Francisco,  explored  by   Halfeld  in  1852-54,  and  by  Liais  in  1862, 
■was  known  in  its  higher  reaches  to  the  Paulistas  before  its  lower  course  had  been 
traced  or  identified  with  the  estuary  discovered  and  named  the  S.  Francisco  in  the 
year  1501. 

After  flowing  for  about  half  its  course  from  south  to  north  parallel  with  the 
Tocantins,  Xingu,  and  other  Amazons  affluents,  it  trends  round  to  the  north-east 
*  John  Ball,  ^oles  of  a  Naturalist  m  South  America,  p.  317. 


15G 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


and  then  to  the  east,  and  before  reaching  the  ocean  even  turns  to  the  south-east, 
after  descending  from  the  inland  plateaux  over  the  superb  Paulo  Aflonso  Falls. 

Even  near  its  source  in  the  Serra  da  Canastra,  the  S.  Francisco  develops  a  cas- 
cade to  which  Saint-Hilaire,  confounding  it  with  another,  has  wrongly  given  the 
name  of  Casca  d'Anta.  Descending  to  the  lower  valley  through  a  succession  of 
escadinhas  or  "  steps,"  it  is  joined  on  the  right  by  the  Para,  and  farther  on  by  the 
much  more  copious  Paraopeba,  which  collects  the  surface  waters  in  the  south-eastern 
part  of  the  basin.  At  this  confluence  the  united  streams  have  already  a  discharge 
of  over  7,000  cubic  feet  per  second,  while  the  level  is  raised  during  the  floods  to 
from  26  to  40  feet  according  to  the  seasons.     Thus  are  formed   numerous  swampy 


rig.  59. — SapJo  and  Soscno  Watershed. 
Scale  1 :  5,300,000. 


•"Sli'Sw^ 


■  'Joab  Lppes 


48' 


r/s5t  or  ureenwich 


125  Miles. 


and  malarious  tracts,  whose  noxious  exhalations  even  affect  swine  after  the  inunda- 
tions. 

The  Rio  das  Velhas  (Guaicuhy),  chief  affluent  of  the  Upper  S.  Francisco, 
descends  from  the  Queluz  heights  in  the  mining  district,  and  contributes  on  an 
average  over  7,000  cubic  feet  per  second  to  the  main  stream.  The  Velhas  is 
partly  fed  by  underground  streams  carrying  off  the  overflow  of  the  numerous 
reservoirs  in  the  cave  district.  The  Lagoa  de  Sumidouro,  one  of  the  subter- 
ranean lakes,  is  alternately  flooded  and  empty  according  to  the  rainy  and  dry 


seasons. 


Below  the  Velhas  confluence,  the  S.  Francisco  flows  in  a  broad,  deep  channel, 
navigable  by  large  craft  throughout  the  year.  Here  it  is  joined  by  several 
copious  affluents,  also  navigable  in  their  lower  courses — the  Paracatu  ("  White 
Iiiver"j,  the  Urucuia,    and   the    Cariuhanha  from  the  west,  and  fiom  the  east 


S.  FKANCISCO  BASiy. 


157 


Pig.  60. — Pattlo  Apfonso  Falls. 
Scale  1  :  37.000. 


the  Rio  Verde.  But  tlie  largest  affluent  is  the  Rio  Grande,  which  joins  the 
main  stream  at  the  point  where  it  begins  to  bend  round  to  the  north-east. 
Through  its  Rio  Preto  tributary,  its  Sapuo  sub-tributarj%  a  lake  with  double 
discharge,  and  the  Rio  Somno,  the  Rio  Grande  oflers  a  continuous  waterway 
from  the  S.  Francisco  to  the  Tocantins,  and  consequently  to  the  Amazons.  The 
engineer  Moraes  has  proposed  to  construct  a  canal  to  divert  the  Rio  Preto  into 
one  of  the  upper  afflu- 
ents of  the  Parnahyba, 
and  thus  contribute  to 
relieve  the  distress  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Ceara 
during  periods  of  long 
drought. 

Below  the  Rio  Grande 
the  S.  Francisco  has 
still  to  descend  1,300 
feet  before  reaching  the 
sea.  AVhere  it  begins 
to  be  deflected  abruptly 
eastwards,  its  level  is 
lowered  through  a  series 
of  dangerous  steps, 
forming  the  upper 
stages  of  the  great  Paulo 
Affonso  Falls,  justly  re- 
garded as  the  "  wonder 
of  Brazil."  Above  the 
falls  the  stream  whirls 
along  amid  a  labyrinth 
of  islands,  reefs,  and 
isolated  rocks,  so  close 
together  that  at  low 
water  a  plucky  jumper 
might  leaj)  from  step- 
ping stone  to  stepping 
stone  right  across  the 
current,  although  even 
then  it  discharges  over 
35,000  cubic  feet  per  second.  During  the  floods  its  volume  is  increased  probably 
fivefold,  for  at  this  point  the  S.  Francisco,  already  within  60  miles  of  the  sea, 
has  received  all  its  great  affluents. 

As  it  draws  near  the  falls  the  stream  ramifies  into  several  channels  between 
three  elongated  islands  and  some  neighbouring  islets,  all  formed  of  a  compact 
mass  of  gneiss.     At  the  lower  extremity  of  the  group,  the  channels,  which  varying 


^;.,,-..>-^ 


38° 20- 


West   or    breenwicln       SS")?' 


.1,100  Yards. 


158  AiLiZONIA  AND  LA  TLATA. 

number  with  the  seasons,  reach  the  head  of  the  plateau,  over  which  they  plunge 
into  a  yawning  chasm  280  feet  below.  At  high  water  the  plunge  is  made  at  a 
single  drop  ;  but  at  other  times  the  water  first  strikes  a  ledge  projecting  about 
30  feet  from  the  side ;  then,  after  a  second  drop  of  50  feet,  it  reaches  the  chasm 
at  a  third  leap.  But  what  is  thus  lost  in  majesty  is  gained  in  the  element  of  the 
unforeseen,  and  in  the  bewildering  effect  produced  by  several  columns  of  water 
clashing,  rebounding  in  parabolic  curves,  radiating  volumes  of  iridescent  spray  into 
space. 

The  main  body  of  water,  ref)resenting  nearly  the  whole  river,  although 
scarcely  more  than  50  feet  broad,  escapes  through  the  channel  lying  nearest  to  the 
right  bank.  The  rest  of  the  stream  from  the  upper  cataracts  rejoins  the  swirling 
flood  through  a  narrow  bed  skirting  the  base  of  the  enclosing  wall.  Then  the 
united  current  rushes  into  a  formidable  gnrganta  (gorge)  with  vertical  sides 
excavated  in  the  live  rock,  with  overhanging  ledges,  possibly  the  remains  of 
natural  bridges  formerly  crossing  the  gorge  at  spans  of  from  260  to  330  feet. 

To  view  the  cataract  in  its  wildest  mood,  visitors  usually  take  their  stand  in  a 
grotto  which  has  been  gradually  formed  by  the  action  of  the  rising  spray.  No 
other  falls  present  a  more  surprising  diversity  of  aspects  according  to  the  varying 
condition  of  the  river.  Comparisons  are  naturally  made  between  the  North 
American  and  this  "  Brazilian  Niagara,"  and  although  there  is  almost  a  total 
lack  of  the  umbrageous  vegetation  one  expects  to  see  in  this  tropical  zone,  there 
is  also  at  least  so  far  a  complete  absence  of  the  unsightly  factories  by  which  the 
northern  falls  are  disfigured. 

Beyond  the  gorges  the  S.  Francisco  continues  to  descend  through  a  succession 
of  cascades  and  rapids  inaccessible  to  river  craft  all  the  way  to  I'irauhes,  where 
the  river  flows  at  a  height  of  not  more  than  60  feet  above  sea  level.  Here  it 
broadens  out  in  the  direction  of  the  south-west,  entering  the  sea  through  two 
mouths  between  shady  banks  of  anacardiums,  mangoes,  and  coconut  palms.  At 
low  water  the  bar  is  less  than  10  feet  deep,  and  the  approach  is  often  endangered 
by  the  rocky  shallows  and  breakers  one  or  two  miles  off  the  estuary.  The  Paulo 
Affonso  falls  and  gorges  are  turned  on  the  north  bank  by  a  railway  connecting  the 
navigable  waterways  above  and  below  these  obstructions.* 

Coast  Stre.4ms. 

South  of  the  Eio  S.  Francisco  follow  several  coast  streams  rising  on  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  Serra  dos  Airaores  or  of  its  offshoots,  and  consequently 
greatly  inferior  in  length  and  drainage  area  to  the  main  artery.  The  Paraguassu 
with  its  Jaquipe  (Jacuhype)  affluent  falls  into  a  lateral  inlet  of  Todos  os  Santos 
Bay  ;  but  at  the  head  of  the  tidal  waters  its  navigation    is  arrested  by  a  cascade. 

*  Hydrography  of  the  Rio  S.  Francisco  : — 

Total  length  of  mainstream         ......         1,800  miles. 


Area  of  basin  according  to  Chichko    . 

Navigable  upper  course 

Navigable  lower  course 

Navigable  waterways  of  the  whole  basin 

Discharge  per  second  according-  to  Liais 


267,000  square  miles. 
810  miles. 
135  miles. 
4,350  miles. 
09,000  cubic  feet. 


TUE  LITTLE  S.  FILiNCISCO. 


159 


The  Rio  de  Contas  is  similarly  obstructed  by  numerous  falls.     Farther  south  the 
Pardo  and  Poxim  have  a  common  delta  with  the  Jcquitinhonha,  which  often  takes 


Fig.  61. — Mouth  of  tiie  S.  Francisco. 
Scale  1  :  IW.CHX), 


36-?9' 


West  gI"  ureenwich 


36""-4- 


Depths. 


Oto2 
Fathoms. 


2  Futhomg 
and  upnords. 


Sandbank. 


.  3  Miles. 


the  name  of  "  Little  S.  Francisco,"  from  its  great  volume  and  the  grand  cataracts 
interrupting  its  lower  course.  Below  the  Salto  Grande  ("Great  Falls"),  iho 
Jcquitinhonha,  which  sometimes  takes  the  name  of  Eio  Belmonte  from  the  town 


ICO 


AMAZONIA  AXD  LA  PLATA. 


at  its  mouth,  becomes  a  navigable  stream  ;  but  its   mouth  is  blocked  by  an  ex- 
tremely dangerous  bar  with  only  six  or  seven  feet  of  water  at  flow. 

A  more  natural  highway  to  the  mining  districts  of  the  interior  is  presented  by 
the  valley  of  the  Rio  Doce,  which  receives  its  farthest  headwaters  from  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  Espinha<jo  Range.  But  the  dense  forests,  rugged  mountains, 
fluvial  gorges  and  cataracts,  and  till  recently  the  neighbouring  independent  Indian 
tribes,  have  hitherto  prevented  this  route  from  being  utilised.  The  river  scarcely 
deserves  its  title  of  Doce,  or  "  Mild,"  until  it  has  escaped  from  the  State  of  Minus 
Geraes,  through  a  series  of  terraced  falls  and  rapids.  On  the  low-lying  plains, 
where  it  becomes  navigable,  both  banks  are  lined  with  lakes  and  swamps,  which 

Fig.  62.— LOWEE  COUESE  OF  THE  Rio  DoCE. 
Scale  1  :  1,600,000. 


40'  .  West  oF  Grtenw'ich 


Depths. 


Oto5 
Fathoms. 


5  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


.  30  Miles. 


receive  the  overflow  of  the  flood  waters.  At  this  period  its  level  is  higher  than 
that  of  the  surrounding  plains,  which  have  scarcely  yet  been  reclaimed  from  the 
ocean.  The  Rio  do  Nca-te,  one  of  the  lateral  creeks  in  this  half-submerged 
region,  flows  parallel  with  the  coast  for  over  70  miles  northwards  in  the  direction 
of  the  Rio  Mucury.  The  bar  of  the  Rio  Doce  has  at  least  10  feet  at  ebb,  and  over 
11  at  high  water.* 

*  Chief  coaststreams  tet-ween  the  Rio  S.  Francisco  and  the  Pamahyba,  according  to  Chiohko  : — 

T>en^,h  in  Drainiige  Area 

English  miles.  in  square  miles. 

Itapicuru 320  15,000 

Paraguassu 300  18,000 

Contas 310  22,000 

Jequitinhonha  with  the  Pardo       ....  500  42,000 

Doce 435  37,.O00 


THE  ABEOLHOS  EEEFS. 


161 


Between  the  Jequitinhonha  and  the  Mucury,  the  coast  is  fringed  at  varying 
distances  by  a  few  clusters  of  coralline  reefs,  such  as  the  Itacolumi,  and  the 
remarkable  atoll  encircling  the  Abrolhos,  three  granitic  islets  about  130  feet  high. 
Near  the  Abrolhos  is  the  dangerous  Parcel  atoll,  scene  of  many  a  shipwreck.  In 
these  waters,  some  40  square  miles  in  extent,  the  coral  reefs  spring  from  the 


Fig.  63. — Abkolhos. 
Scale  1  :  500,000. 


i8'58  West  op  G 


38"45 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


5  to  10 
Fatboms. 


10  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 

12  Miles. 


marine  bed  in  columnar  form,  sometimes  spreading  out  at  top  like  "  parasoles." 
These  cfinpeiroes,  or  "  large  hats,"  as  they  are  called,  stand  flush  with  the  surface 
in  depths  of  from  5  to  10  fathoms.  They  consist  of  innumerable  many-coloured 
branches,  of  such  delicate  texture  that  they  are  often  crushed,  and  their  shafts 
even  overturned  by  passing  vessels,  which  continue  their  course  uninjured  by  the 
collision. 

VOL.  XI. \.  M 


162  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Some  600  miles  seawards  stands  the  volcanic  Trinidade  Island,  which  the 
astronomer  Halley  occupied  in  1700,  in  the  name  of  England.  But  since  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  has  belonged  politically  to  Brazil.  About  30 
miles  farther  east  are  seen  the  three  islets  of  Martim  Vaz,  so  named  from  the 
Portuguese  pUot  who  discovered  them  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 


Climate. 

On  the  coastlands  the  temperature  in  this  tropical  part  of  Brazil  never  falls 
below  68°  F.,  ranging  from  about  72"  in  July  to  79'^  or  80°  in  January.  Towards 
the  interior  the  heat  naturally  decreases  with  the  altitude,  while  the  range 
between  the  extremes  increases  from  about  18°  on  the  seaboard  to  as  much  as  54° 
on  the  plateaux. 

Between  Recife  and  Rio  de  Janeiro,  the  coast  lies  entirely  within  the  zone  of 
the  southern  trade  winds,  which  set  steadily  from  the  south-east  during  the  winter 
season  from  April  to  September.  In  summer  the  north-east  trades  predominate  ; 
but  irregularities  occur  in  all  seasons,  and  the  calms  resulting  from  the  collision 
between  opposing  currents  are  sometimes  followed  by  fierce  storms,  though 
true  cyclones  are  rare. 

Although  the  European  settlers  speak  ofEcially  of  "  spring,  summer,  autumn, 
and  winter,"  the  only  natural  division  is  that  of  the  Guarani  natives,  who  recog- 
nise the  "  season  of  the  sun  "  and  the  "  season  of  rain  "  alone.  On  the  coast  the 
rains,  which  fall  chiefly  in  autumn,  are  much  heavier  than  on  the  plateaux,  shel- 
tered by  the  mountains  from  the  moist  sea  breezes.  Nevertheless,  even  in  the  Upper 
S.  Francisco  basin  the  precipitation  is  abundant  enough  to  develop  boggy  tracts 
like  those  of  Ireland.  Farther  north  the  elevated  chapadas  of  Bahia  suffer,  on  the 
contrary,  from  a  deficient  rainfall,  and  here  some  districts  present  the  aspect  of 
real  deserts.* 

Flora  and  Fauna. 

A  selva  comparable  to  that  of  Amazonia  occupies  all  the  well-watered  coast- 
lands  and  the  higher  valleys  of  the  ranges  exposed  to  the  moist  marine 
winds.  But  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  backbone  continuous  woodlands  become 
rare.  Much  of  the  treeless  aspect  of  the  hills  is,  however,  due  to  the  action  of 
man,  especially  in  the  mining  districts,  where  the  timber  required  for  the  under- 
ground galleries  has  often  to  be  renewed  every  four  years.  On  the  northern 
plateaux  the  forests  are  reduced  to  mere  catangas,  clumps  or  thickets  of  shrubs 
which  shed  their  leaves  during  the  dry  season  ;  here  many  of  the  heights,  especi- 

*  Meteorologioal  conditions  of  the  Upper  S.  Francisco  valley  and  of  the  towns  on  the  adjacent  sea- 
board : — 

Temperature. 

Latitude.  Height.       . '-■ ^      Kainfall. 

max.  mean.  min. 

Conconhas  de  Sahara        19"  47'         2,250  feet       90°  I'ahr.       68"  Fahr.       34°  Fahr.       66  inches 
Bahia       .         .         .         12°  58'  215    „         88°  Fahr.       79°  Fab r        70°  Fahr.       96      „ 


INHABITAXTS— THE  BOTOCTTDOS.  163 

ally  in  the  souttem  parts  of  Bahia,  are  entirely  destitute  of  vegetation  and  covered 
with  saline  efflorescences. 

In  their  general  features  the  flora  and  fauna  differ  in  no  respects  from  those 
of  the  neighbouring  provinces.  But  some  of  the  species  are  confined  to  limited 
areas,  and  many  of  the  fishes  of  the  Upper  S.  Francisco  are  quite  different  from 
those  of  the  lower  reaches  below  the  falls.  Minas  Geraes  and  Bahia,  like  Ceara 
and  Piauhy,  had  a  far  richer  fauna  characterised  by  huge  quadrupeds  in  a 
relatively  recent  epoch  than  at  present.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Lagoa  Santa, 
Lund  and  other  naturalists  have  discovered  in  about  1,000  caves  as  many  as 
115  species  of  fossil  mammals,  whereas  the  living  fauna  no  longer  comprises  more 
than  88  altogether.  Amongst  the  extinct  animals,  Lund  describes  a  great  ape, 
an  enormous  jaguar  twice  the  size  of  the  present  Brazilian  "  tiger,"  a  cabiai  as  bi" 
as  a  tapir,  a  horse  greatly  resembling  our  modern  horse,  and  a  llama  like  that  of 
Peru. 


IXHAB1T.\XTS. 

Human  remains  also  are  found  in  the  caves  of  ITinas  Geraes,  where  Lund  has 
discovered  the  fossil  bones  of  at  least  thirty  persons  of  all  ages.  From  his  com- 
parative study  of  these  remains  he  infers  that  the  race  to  which  they  belonged 
was  identical  in  its  general  type  with  that  by  which  it  was  occupied  at  the  time 
of  the  discovery.  The  most  striking  feature  of  the  Lagoa  Santa  skulls  is  the 
narrowness  of  the  receding  forehead,  like  that  of  the  figures  carved  by  the  Mayas 
on  the  Palenque  monuments.  The  cheek-bones  also  are  very  prominent,  while  the 
incisors  have  a  broad  flat  surface  Hke  that  of  the  molars.  To  judge  from  their 
small  brain-pan,  the  natives  of  the  Upper  S.  Francisco  basin  must  have  possessed 
a  low  degree  of  intelligence.  The  coriscos,  or  stone  axes,  often  picked  up  in  the 
country,  exactly  resemble  those  of  European  collections  in  form  and  substance. 

The  natives  of  the  coastlands,  with  whom  the  discoverers  first  came  into  friendly 
or  hostile  contact,  belonged  to  the  Ges  family.  The  Tupi,  most  civilised  of  all 
the  aborigines,  applied  to  these  coastlanders  the  depreciative  term  Tapuya, 
"  Strangers  "  or  "  Barbarians."  This  is  the  same  word  that,  under  the  sKghtly 
modified  form  of  Tapuyo,  is  now  applied  collectively  to  all  the  Indians  living  at 
peace  with  the  Brazilians. 

Of  the  Ges  family  the  best  known  representatives  are  the  famous  Burungs, 
better  known  as  Botocudos,  from  the  bofoq'ie  or  wooden  disc  worn  by  them  in 
the  under  b'p  and  in  the  ear-lobes.  They  also  take  the  name  of  Aimores,  which 
has  been  extended  to  the  moimtains  dominating  their  territory.  Some  ethnologists 
class  the  Botocudos  in  a  separate  family.* 

The  nomad  survivors  of  the  ancient  Aimores  have  their  camping-grounds  on 
the  banks  of  the  Mucury,  Doce,  and  other  coast  streams  and  in  the  forests  of  the 
Atlantic  slope  of  Minas  Geraes.     About  1830  they  still  numbered  some  14,000  ; 

A.  H.  Keane,  On  the  Botocudos,  1883,  p.  5. 

m2 


1G4  AlSrAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

but  since  then  most  of  the  tribal  groups  have  disappeared,  partly  through  epi- 
demics and  general  absorption  in  the  surrounding  settled  populations,  but  partly 
also  through  wholesale  butcheries  encouraged  by  the  Brazilian  officials.  During 
the  early  frontier  wars,  from  about  1790  to  1820,  every  effort  was  made,  not 
merely  to  reduce,  but  to  extirpate  them  root  and  branch.  Being  regarded  as  irre- 
claimable savages,  addicted  to  cannibalism  and  other  pagan  practices,  and  alto- 
gether no  better  than  wild  beasts,  methods  of  warfare  were  adopted  against  them 
which  are  not  usually  sanctioned  by  civilised  communities.  The  small-pox  virus 
was  industriously  spread  amongst  them,  and  poisoned  food  scattered  over  the 
forests  frequented  by  their  hunters.  By  these  and  other  means  the  Conde  de 
Linhares  cleared  the  coast  districts  about  the  Rios  Doce  and  Belmonte,  and  another 
Commendador  boasted  to  Professor  Hartt  that  he  had  either  slain  with  his  own 
hand,  or  ordered  to  be  butchered  with  knife,  gun,  and  poison,  many  hundreds  of 
this  "vermin." 

The  charge  of  cannibalism  brought  against  the  Botocudos  by  early  writers, 
and  still  imputed  to  them  by  their  neighbours,  seems  to  be  fully  justified  by 
abundant  evidence.  D'Orbigny  states  that  they  wore  collars  or  strings  of  the 
teeth  of  the  persons  they  had  eaten,  and  the  portrait  of  a  woman  so  ornamented 
is  figured  in  Sir  W.  Ouseley's  "  Travels."  Von  Martins  also  asserts  positively 
that  all  were  formerly  anthropophagists,  devouring  not  only  the  enemy  slain  in 
battle,  but  also  members  of  the  Puri,  Malali,  Coroado,  and  other  kindred  tribes. 
The  heads  were  not  eaten,  but  stuck  as  trophies  on  stakes,  and  used  as  butts  for 
the  practice  of  archery. 

All  the  hmvos,  that  is,  the  independent  wild  tribes,  are  still  in  the  stone  age, 
or  rather,  have  scarcely  yet  reached  that  stage.  The  highly-finished  diorile, 
granite,  and  porphyry  implements,  found  in  the  surrounding  districts,  belong  to 
the  Amazonian  and  other  more  advanced  Brazilian  aborigines,  and  do  not  appear 
to  have  ever  been  used  by  the  Botocudos.  The  objects  manufactured  by  them 
are  almost  exclusively  of  wood  or  vegetable  fibre.  Such  are  the  wooden  mortars, 
bamboo  water  vessels,  cotton  or  bark  sacks,  reed  spears,  bows  and  arrows,  which 
last  are  their  only  ofiensive  weapons.  The  bow  is  about  6  feet  long,  and  so 
strong  that  none  but  natives  can  use  it ;  the  arrows  also  are  of  great  length, 
and,  being  poisoned,  the  Portuguese  soldiers  had  to  be  protected  against  them 
by  the  glhoa  (Tarmas,  a  kind  of  armour,  made  of  cotton  cloth,  thickened  with 
several  layers  of  cotton  wadding. 

An  instrument  of  a  more  peaceful  character  is  a  small  bamboo  flute,  which 
is  played  on  through  the  nose.  This  strange  habit  was  probably  occasioned  by 
the  lip  ornament,  which  prevented  the  mouth  from  being  conveniently  used  for 
the  purpose. 

Physically,  the  Botocudos  are  of  robust  frame,  with  full  chest,  broad  shoulders, 
small  extremities,  somewhat  oblique  eyes,  prominent  cheek-bones,  very  large 
mouth  and  skull  like  that  observed  by  Lund  in  the  Lagoa  Santa  skeletons.  Their 
distinctive  ornaments  were  the  enormous  discs  of  light  wood  by  which  the  lower 
lip  and  ear-lobes  were  immensely  distended.     Unable  to  use  the  lips  in  speaking, 


ABORIGINES  OF  EAST  BEAZIL. 


165 


they  spoke  from  tte  throat  and  through  the  nose,  and  were  unahle  to  utter 
several  consonantal  sounds.  Their  arms  were  barbed  darts  and  arrows,  their 
habitations  frail  structures  of  foHage,  their  religion  fear  of  e^vil  spirits,  against 
whom  they  protected  themselves  by  kindLLug  great  fires,  as  agaiast  wild  beasts. 
At  present  the  few  surviving  Botocudos  all  speak  Portuguese,  and  since  1870  the 
use  of  the  botoque  has  fallen  into  abeyance. 

Another  extinct  tribe  of  different  speech  and  origin  were  the  ilalali,  visited 
in  1  SI  7  by  Saint-HUaire,  but  siuce  merged  in  the  surrounding  peasant  population. 


Fig.  64. — An"CIE2JT  Isihas  PoptJiATioss  of  East  Brazil. 
Scale  1 :  ll.OXi.fuvi. 


West  oF  Gree"\'.  led 


.  2oti  Miles. 


They  went  in  great  dread  of  the  Botocudos,  and  one  of  their  choice  articles  of 
food  was  a  large  white  worm,  which  had  the  property  of  throwing  into  an  ecstatic 
sleep  of  several  days  those  who  ate  it. 

Unless  the  legend  of  Eamalho  and  his  adventures  in  the  Bay  of  Santos  have 
a  substratum  of  truth,  the  first  white  settlers  ia  Brazil  were  the  interpreters  left 
by  Alvarez  Cabral  on  the  Santa  Cruz  coast,  and  the  pioneers  who  lived  with  the 
aborigines  on  the  shores  of  Todos  os  Santos  Bay.  The  settlement  on  this  bay 
acquired  considerable  importance,  first  as  the  capital,  and,  later,   as  the  second 


166  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

city  in  Brazil.     But  tlie  spot  where  Cabral's  associates  landed  is  at  present  one  of 
the  least  fi-equented  in  the  whole  country. 

The  first  arrivals  from  Portugal  generally  penetrated  inland  to  the  plateaux 
of  Minas  Geraes  and  the  Upper  S.  Francisco  Valley,  attracted,  in  the  first  instance, 
by  the  mineral  wealth  of  these  regions,  and  afterwards  induced  to  remain  by  the 
fertility  of  the  land,  its  excellent  climate,  and  abundant  resources.  Towards  the 
second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  intrepid  Paulistas  flocked  in  thou- 
sands to  the  mining  districts  in  quest  of  gold  and  of  the  precious  stones  wrongly 
called  "  emeralds."  But  they  were  not  the  only  intruders,  and  the  settlers  on  the 
shores  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  as  well  as  adventurers  from  beyond  the  seas,  also  claimed 
a  share  in  these  treasures.  Civil  war  soon  broke  out  between  these  emboabas, 
or  "  strangers "  from  Portugal  and  the  other  provinces,  and  the  Paulistas,  who 
considered  themselves  the  lawful  owners  of  the  mineral  districts,  which  thev  had 
wrested  from  the  Cataguar  Indians.  In  1708  the  emboabaa  were  nearlj^  exter- 
minated on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  das  Mortes ;  but  other  bands  pressed  forward, 
and  after  renewed  conflicts  both  factions  had  to  become  reconciled  under  the 
stern  repressive  measures  imposed  on  all  parties  by  the  central  government. 

Extremely  rigorous  laws  were  enacted  to  regulate  the  operations  in  the  gold- 
fields,  and  afterwards  in  the  diamantiferous  districts  discorered  in  1728.  Nowhere 
else  was  a  more  draconic  administration  introduced,  and  the  consequence  was 
widespread  corruption,  frauds,  thefts,  smuggling,  and  the  general  demoralisation 
which  is  the  usual  outcome  of  legalised  terrorism. 

Since  that  epoch  the  political  relations  have  changed,  and  the  mines,  which 
had  inspired  this  ferocious  legislation,  and  caused  aU  this  moral  degradation,  are 
themselves  now  to  a  large  extent  exhausted.  The  old  mining  cities  have  fallen 
mto  decay ;  little  remains  of  formerly  fiourishing  centres  of  population,  except 
crumbling  ruins  overshadowed  by  sumptuous  churches  like  the  vast  minsters  of 
mediaeval  Europe.  But  the  impoverishment  of  certain  districts  has  not  prevented 
general  progress,  shown  by  a  tenfold  increase  in  the  population  since  the 
mining  days. 

The  blacks  introduced  as  slaves  in  the  mining  districts  of  the  plateaux  have 
left  scarcely  any  descendants,  and  the  few  survivors  have  been  absorbed  in  the  half- 
caste  populations  of  the  interior.  But  nowhere  in  Brazil  are  the  Africans  better 
represented  than  in  the  districts  of  the  Lower  S.  Francisco  and  in  the  city  of 
Bahia.  Here  was  formerly  the  centre  of  the  slave  trade.  Besides  those  intro- 
duced from  the  coast  of  Angola  to  work  on  the  plantations  and  in  the  mines, 
others  arrived  as  freemen  in  the  quality  of  sailors  and  supercargoes,  and  to 
these  (Krumen  and  others)  was  given  the  general  name  of  Minas,  from  a  tribe  on 
the  Slave  Coast  south  of  Dahomey.  Even  stiU  these  form  in  Bahia  a  sort  of 
corporation,  whose  members  are  distinguished  by  their  moral  qualities  and  spirit 
of  solidarity,  as  well  as  for  their  tall  stature  and  physical  strength.  Their  speech 
comprises  numerous  words  inherited  from  the  African  languages,  and  hundreds 
of  Yoruba  and  Cabinda  terms  have  been  adopted  in  the  current  dialect  of  Bahia. 
Here   the   negroes  accompany  their  magic  incantations  with  snatches  of  songs 


TOPOGEAPHT— QUELUZ. 


167 


from  tlie  old  African  tongues,  and  some  of  their  families  have  lateral  branclies 
in  Dahomey,  with  whom  friendly  relations  are  still  maintained. 

The  Mineiros,  or  Geralistas,  as  the  inhabitants  of  Minas  Geraes  are  called, 
descend  partly  from  pure  or  mixed  Paulistas,  partly  from  Portuguese  immigrants. 
Besides  these,  all  the  nations  of  West  Europe  are  represented  in  Bahia  and  the 
other  coast  towns.  But  systematic  immigration  dates  only  from  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  first  attempts  to  settle  the  ilucurj'  and  Doce  valleys 
with  thousands  of  German,  Dutch,  Swiss,  and  Alsatian  colonists  ended  in  disaster. 
No  preparations  had  been  made  to  receive  the  strangers,  most  of  whom  perished  of 


Rg.  65. — QiTELUz  KxoT  ASB  TJffeb  S.  Frincisco  Basht. 

Scale  1  :  4.000.000. 


i::-^   '-f: 


^i^V 


46"  /.'est  oFG'eenwch 


:^ 


,  60  Miles. 


typhus  or  famine,  and  the  Mucury  stations  were   long  known  by   the  name  of 
Curnijicina,  the  "  Shambles." 

Since  then  immigration  has  been  carried  on  more  successfully,  and  numerous 
settlements,  chiefly  of  Italians,  who  are  better  suited  for  the  climate,  have  been 
founded  along  the  routes  leading  from  the  coast  to  the  uplands.  Thanks  to  them, 
the  hitherto  neglected  State  of  Espiiito  Santo  is  being  rapidly  peopled. 


TopoGK.4PHY — Towns  of  Mixas  Geraes. 


Quelus,  the  town  in  the  Upper  S.  Francisco  basin  which  lies  nearest  to  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  stands  some  3,000  feet  above  the  sea  near  the  sources  of  the  Paraopeba. 
Since  its  foundation  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Queluz  has  passed 
through  the  same  vicissitudes  as  the  other  settlements  of  the  district.     First  en- 


168 


AlklAZOOTA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


riched,  then  ruined  b}'  the  decay  of  the  mining  industry,  it  has  again  prospered  by 
agriculture  and  stock-breeding.  The  cotton  grown  in  this  district,  as  well  as  in 
those  of  Bomfim,  Tamandua,  and  Pitanfjiii/,  which  lie  more  to  the  west  in  the 
Paraopeba  and  S.  Francisco  valleys,  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  highly  valued 
fabrics  preferred  to  similar  stuffs  of  European  make.  The  village  of  Congonhas  cle 
CanqM,  so  named  from  a  wild  shrub  resembling  the  Paraguayan  Yerba  mate,  is 
one  of  the  chief  places  of  pilgrimage  in  Brazil. 

OuRO  Preto. 

Miguel  Burnier  occupies  a  central  position  in  the  mining  district  of  Minas 
Geraes.     Westwards  rises  the  Serra  do  Ouro,  "  Gold  Mountain,"  and  towards  the 


Fig-.  66. — OuBO  Peeto. 
Scale  1  :  30,000. 


im^'- 


43'40' 


West  or  Greenwich 


,  1,100  Yards. 


north-west  another  chain  bears  the  expressive  name  of  Serra  da  Moeda,  "  Money 
Mountain."  Ouro  Branco,  "  White  Gold,''  occupies  in  the  east  an  upland  valley 
midway  from  Ouro  Preto,  "  Black  Gold,"  formerly  ViUa  Rica,  present  capital  of 
the  State  dominated  on  the  south-east  by  the  picturesque  twin-peaked  Itacolumi. 
Although  lying  in  the  Rio  Doce  basin,  Ouro  Preto  belongs  in  its  historj^,  industrial 
and  commercial  relations  entirely  to  the  region  draining  to  the  Upper  S.  Fran- 
cisco. Owing  its  existence  to  the  auriferous  deposits  discovered  in  1698,  it 
stands  on  ground  everywhere  undermined  by  old  galleries,  in  which  is  collected 


TOPOGEAPHY— DIAMANTINA. 


1G9 


the  very  wafer  used  for  drinking  purposes  by  its  inhabitants.  The  streets  them- 
selves are  mere  trenches  constructed  in  connection  with  the  mining  operations,  and 
in  1875  ores  were  still  extracted  from  a  pit  in  the  suburbs. 

Despite  the  branch  railway  counectiug  Ouro  I'reto  with  Rio  de  Janeiro  over 
a  pass  in  the  Espinhaco  range,  it  suffers  from  lack  of  easy  communications.     Its 

Fig.  67. — Otjeo  Pketo — Genehai  VrEW. 


school  of  mines,  a  scattered  group  of  structures  which  is  to  be  replaced  by  a 
monumental  edifice,  contains  a  marvellous  collection  of  ores,  diamonds,  and  crys- 
tals. 


DiAMANTINA LaGOA    SaXTA. 

East  of  Ouro  Preto,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  same  Mount  Itacolumi,  are  situated 
the  gold  mines  of  Paanagcui  and  the  decayed  city  of  Mnrianna.      The  railway 


170  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

traversing  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Espinhaco  range  here  penetrates  to  the 
northern  mining  region  through  Injicionado,  Caftas  Alfas,  Santa  Barbara,  Itahira 
do  Maito  Dentro,  Conceigao,  and  Serro,  all  of  which  places  occupy  upland  valleys 
watered  by  the  headstreams  of  the  Rio  Doce.  Serro  still  possesses  some  gold  and 
diamond  mines,  but  it  now  depends  chiefly  on  its  agricultural  resources. 

Diamantina,  formerly  Tijuco,  lies  in  the  upper  Jequitinhonha  valley,  but  its 
commercial  relations  are  chiefly  with  Rio  de  Janeiro  through  the  S.  Francisco 
basin.  The  yield  of  its  diamond  mines  has  fallen  from  about  £150,000  to  less 
than  £40,000  a  year.  Farther  north  the  formerly  flourishing  town  of  Grao  Mogol 
has  been  nearly  abandoned. 

In  the  Upper  Rio  das  Velhas  valley  are  several  thriving  places,  such  as  Sahara 
at  the  head  of  the  navigation,  whose  highly  productive  gold  mines,  especially 
Morro  VeUio,  near  Villa  Nora  de  Lima,  are  now  worked  by  some  wealthy  English 
companies.  ViUa  Nova  is  well  known  to  mineralogists  by  its  old  name  of  Con- 
gonhas  de  Sahara.  Morro  Velho  employs  from  1,500  to  2,000  hands,  and  at  pre- 
sent has  an  average  annual  yield  of  about  £80,000 ;  if  fully  worked  the  output 
might  exceed  £280,000. 

About  eight  miles  from  the  railway  west  of  Sahara  lies  the  healthy  plateau  of 
Bello  Horisontc,  one  of  the  sites  which  have  been  proposed  for  the  future  capital  of 
Minas  Geraes.  The  pure  waters  of  the  district  already  surveyed  would  suffice  for 
the  requirements  of  a  city  of  450,000  inhabitants.  A  narrow  valley  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  Sahara  is  occupied  by  the  mining  village  of  Gaethe,  which  abounds  in 
asbestos. 

Santa  Luzia,  below  Sahara  on  the  Rio  des  Velhas,  lies  near  Lagoa  Santa,  where 
Lund  passed  many  years  exploring  the  surrounding  caves.  The  jasper  beds 
in  the  neighbourhood  supply  the  material  for  the  statuettes  and  other  objects 
executed  by  the  local  artists.  Farther  on,  Parauna, "  Black  Water,"  on  the 
affluent  of  like  name,  has  also  been  mentioned  as  a  favourable  site  for  the 
future  capital  of  the  State,  of  which  it  occupies  the  geometrical  centre. 

In  the  northern  section  of  Minas  Geraes  the  towns  of  Mantes  Claras  das 
Farmigas  at  the  head  of  the  Rio  Verde,  and  Paracatu,  formerly  Piracatu,  near  the 
Goyaz  frontier,  have  become  flourishing  centres  of  the  cattle  trade.  Like  those  of 
Lagoa  Santa,  the  Montes  Glares  cliffs  are  pierced  by  numerous  caves,  iu  which 
have  been  found  the  remains  of  the  megalonyx  and  other  extinct  animals. 

Towns  of  Bahia  and  Sergipe. 

Below  the  Velhas  confluence,  where  stands  the  little-frequented  port  of  Chiai- 
cuhy,  Januaria,  or  Salgado,  is  the  last  place  on  the  S.  Francisco  within  the  Minas 
Geraes  frontier.  In  the  State  of  Bahia  foUow  Cariuhanha ;  Bom  Jesus  de  Lapa 
with  its  "miraculous"  grotto;  Urubu,  the  "Vulture"  town,  facing  Motmt  Pernam- 
buco ;  Barra,  at  the  Rio  Grande  confluence,  chief  place  in  the  western  districts  of 
Bahia  ;  Pilao  Arcado,  lower  down  on  the  left  bank,  a  great  centre  of  the  salt 
industry.     Here  are  vast  beds  of  native  salt  still  untouched  by  the  miner. 


TOPOGEAPHY— JOAZEIEO. 


171 


Fartter  on,  the  main  route  penetrates  into  a  region  whicli  abounds  in  inscribed 
rocks,  datin"  from  prehistoric  times.  The  whole  country  is  at  present  even  less 
thinly  inhabited  than  at  the  time  of  the  Jesuit  missions,  and  before  the  arrival 
of  the  whites,  it  appears  to  have  been  the  centre  of  a  large  indigenous  population. 


Fig.  68. — Eio  S.  Fkancisco  Basin. 

Scale  :  1,400,000. 


We!t  oF  Greenwich 


Depths. 


0  to  600 
Fathoms. 


500  to  2,000 
Fatboms. 


2.000  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 

310  Miles. 


Joazeiro,  on  the  right  bank  above  the  Paulo  Affonso  Falls,  has  been  chosen  as 
the  future  terminus  of  the  railway,  which  runs  from  the  city  of  Eahia  north- 
westwards to  the  S.  Francisco  valley.      This  riverside  port  already  does  a  brisk 


172  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

trade  in  rubber,  gums,  ores,  and  the  salt  brought  from  the  neighbouring  Eio 
Salitre.  Boa  Vista,  another  riverine  station  above  the  falls,  is  also  to  be  connected 
by  rail  with  Pernambuco  through  Cahrobo,  Agiias,  Bellas,  and  Garnnhinis.  Of 
these  various  projects  to  turn  the  cataracts  one  only  is  comijleted — the  railway 
running  through  the  States  of  Pernambuco  and  Alagoas  between  Jatoba  and 
Piranhas  heading  the  navigation  on  the  lower  S.  Francisco. 

Below  the  falls  follow  the  busy  towns  of  Propria  in  the  State  of  Sergipe,  and 
Pcncclo  in  Alagoas.  Penedo  dates  from  1620,  and  occupies  an  important  strate- 
gical position  captured  by  the  Dutch,  who  here  erected  a  strong  fort,  some  remains 
of  which  are  still  seen.  At  present  all  the  vessels  crossing  the  bar  ascend  to 
Penedo,  where  they  ship  cotton,  skins,  rice,  and  other  produce  in  exchange  for 
Europiean  wares. 

In  Sergipe,  the  "  paradise  of  the  Brazilian  Union,"  and  smallest  of  the  federal 
States,  the  population  is  concentrated  chiefly  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Sergipe,  a 
tributary  of  the  Cotinguiba.  Aracaju,  the  present  capital  on  the  south  bank  seven 
miles  above  its  mouth,  is  accessible  to  vessels  drawing  six  feet,  and  this  place 
ranks  second  in  Brazil  for  the  export  trade  in  sugar.  Here  are  also  shipped 
cotton,  brandy,  and  other  produce  brought  down  from  Maroim  and  Larangeiras,  and 
several  railways  are  advancing  northwards  to  Capclla  and  westwards  to  Siiiiuo 
Piaz,  future  centre  of  various  converging  lines.  San  Christorao,  the  old  cajjital, 
stands  on  the  Rio  Vasa  B  arris,  which  is  obstructed  by  shoals  and  mudbanks,  and 
accessible  only  to  boats,  although  there  are  fully  12  feet  of  water  on  the  bar. 

At  the  southern  extremity  of  the  State  the  coast  is  indented  by  a  third 
estuary,  that  of  the  Rio  Real,  towards  which  converge  several  watercourses.  Of 
these  the  most  important  is  the  Rio  Piauhy,  which  flows  near  the  town  of  Estancia, 
one  of  the  chief  agricultural  centres  of  these  coastlands. 

On  the  Bahia  coasts  all  tratfic  tends  to  gravitate  towards  San  Salvador  de 
Bahia,  or  simply  Bahia,  at  the  entrance  of  the  vast  inlet  of  Todos  os  Santos  Bay. 
Bahia,  second  largest  city  in  Brazil,  occupies  the  extremity  of  the  promontory 
which  shelters  the  magnificent  inland  sea.  The  headland  on  which  it  stands  is 
the  highest  land  round  the  whole  basin,  so  that  from  a  height  of  about  150  feet 
the  upper  town  commands  an  extensive  view  of  the  shipping,  bay,  islands,  road- 
stead, and  surrounding  plains.  In  the  lower  town  the  busy  thoroughfares  run 
parallel  with  the  shore  in  the  narrow  space  comprised  between  the  water  and  the 
escarpments  of  the  headland.  The  two  quarters  are  separated  by  an  intervening 
zone  of  verdure,  where  the  graceful  foliage  of  tall  palms  and  leafy  mangoes  con- 
trasts with  the  neighbouring  domes  and  belfries.  At  night  two  parallel  lines  of 
light  three  or  four  miles  long  indicate  the  position  of  the  upper  and  lower  towns, 
which  are  connected  by  zigzags,  an  elevator,  and  two  inclined  planes  traversed 
by  locomotives.  A  small  public  garden  separates  the  city  proper  from  the 
fashionable  suburb  of  Victoria,  which  extends  southwards  to  the  wooded  heights 
at  the  extremity  of  the  headland,  indicated  from  a  distance  by  the  lighthouse  of 
San  Antonio. 

According  to  the  local  records,  the  first  settlement  was  here  formed  in  1510 


TOPOGEAPHT  — BAHL*.. 


173 


by  Dio»o  Alvares,  a  trader  known  to  the  surrounding  natives  by  the  name  of 
Caramuru.  But  no  regular  colony  was  founded  till  1549,  when  Thome  de  Souza, 
governor  of  the  captainries,  took  up  his  residence  on  Salvador  hill.      Bahia  con- 


Rg.  69.— Bahia. 
Scale  1 :  90,000. 


Depths. 


U  to  16 
Feet. 


16  to  32 
Feet- 


3?  to  64 
Feet. 


,  2,200  Taids. 


64  Feet 
and  upwards. 


tinued  to  be  the  seat  of  the  colonial  administration  till   1763,  and  long  remained 
without  a  rival  for  population  and  commercial  importance.     In  1585  about  half 
of  all  the  25,000  whites  settled  in  Brazil  were  stated  to  be  residents  of  Bahia. 
At  that  time  the  blacks  were  much  more  numerous  in  Pernambuco ;  but  Bahia 


174  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

soon  monopolised  the  slave  trade,  and  despite  of  later  legislation  the  local  traders 
continued  to  be  the  chief  importers  of  negroes  down  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  introducing  in  some  years  as  many  as  00,000.  Bahia  was  nearly  ruined 
by  the  suppression  of  the  traffic,  and  with  difficulty  recovered  from  the  blow  by 
developing  its  agricultural  resources.  The  black  element  is  still  predominant  in 
la  Velha  Mulata,  the  "  Old  Mulattress,"  as  the  place  is  popularlj'  called. 

At  the  time  of  the  foundation  the  Jesuits  established  themselves  in  Bahia, 
which  still  retains  its  rank  as  the  religious  metropolis  of  Brazil.  It  was  also  in 
the  seventeenth  century  the  intellectual  centre  of  Portuguese  America ;  but  its 
libraries,  museums,  and  learned  societies  are  scarcely  worth j^  of  a  city  with  over 
200,000  inhabitants.  Bahia,  however,  possesses  one  of  the  two  schools  of  medicine 
that  have  been  founded  in  the  republic.  Its  citizens  are  also  distinguished 
amongst  all  Brazilians  for  their  dignified  bearing  and  culture,  and  they  have  at 
all  times  taken  a  considerable  share  in  the  government  of  the  country.  In  one 
respect,  Bahia  is  more  "  Brazilian  "  than  Kio  de  Janeiro.  It  lacks  the  cosmo- 
politan character  of  the  federal  capital,  and  its  houses,  many  of  which  are  faced 
with  varnished  faience  ware,  are  more  like  those  of  Lisbon.  One  of  its  churches 
has  been  entirely  built  of  dressed  stones  imported  from  Portugal. 

The  harbour,  sheltered  from  the  east  and  south-east  winds  by  the  promontory, 
is  exposed  to  the  Atlantic  swell  rolling  in  through  the  broad  entrance  to  the  bay. 
Hence  large  vessels  ride  at  anchor  some  distance  off  the  quays.  No  attempt  has 
yet  been  made  to  carry  out  the  project  to  enclose  a  space  of  over  250  acres  by 
means  of  two  breakwaters,  one  over  a  mile  long  running  from  the  northern 
extremity  of  Bahia  to  Fort  S.  Marcello,  the  other  carried  in  the  direction  of  the 
same  fort  from  the  southern  quarter,  where  are  situated  the  arsenal  and  custom- 
house. Sugar,  tobacco,  coffee,  cotton,  cattle,  and  hides  are  the  chief  articles  of  the 
export  trade,  which  is  valued  at  nearly  £2,000,000  a  year.  The  local  markets  are 
abundantly  provided  with  provisions,  and  are  specially  noted  both  for  the  great 
variety  and  profusion  of  tropical  fruits,  and  for  the  endless  diversity  of  tj^es — 
white,  black,  and  half'breeds  of  every  shade— observed  in  the  picturesque  groups 
frequenting  them. 

In  the  neighbouring  waters  a  few  whalers  still  pursue  the  cetaceans,  wbich 
yield  the  train-oil  used  in  lighting  the  city  before  the  introduction  of  gas,  but  now 
forwarded  to  Europe.  During  the  prevalence  of  southern  winds  the  whales  fre- 
quently penetrate  into  the  bay,  and  are  then  pursued  by  boatmen  armed  with  har- 
poons. About  fifty  are  captured  every  year,  and  a  spermaceti  refinery  has  been 
established  in  the  city.  Others  formerly  existed  in  the  neighbouring  island  of 
Itaparica,  where  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  most  of  the  whalebone 
was  prepared,  which  at  that  time  was  used  instead  of  railing  for  enclosing  gardens 
and  courtyards. 

Some  deposits  of  coal  have  been  discovered  in  Itaparica,  a  long  narrow  island, 
with  a  town  at  its  northern  extremity.  The  soil  is  extremely  fertile,  and  the 
island  is  noted  for  the  excellence  of  its  produce  no  less  than  for  its  genial  climate. 
It  is  locally  known  as  the  "Europe  of  the  poor,"  because  it  is  much  frequented 


TOPOGEAPHT— CACHOEIEA.  175 

by  artisans  and  others  who  have  not  the  means  of  making  the  grand  four  in  the 
Old  "World.  During  the  war  of  independence  Great  Britain  offered  to  take 
Itaparica  in  payment  of  the  debt  due  to  her  hy  Portugal.  But  this  would  be 
equivalent  to  surrendering  the  key  of  Brazil  to  the  English,  and  the  offer  was 
declined. 

On  the  Atlantic  slope  of  the  peninsula  are  situated  various  suburban  retreats, 
such  as  Rio  Vermelho  and  Bomjiin  with  a  church  reputed  to  be  the  richest  iu  BrazU. 
The  shores  of  the  bay  are  also  studded  with  numerous  trading  places,  which  com- 
municate with  Bahia  by  means  of  little  steamers  said  to  number  over  a  thousand. 

Below  Sanfo  Amaro,  on  the  river  of  like  name,  which  enters  the  bay  at  its 
northern  extremity,  the  State  has  established  an  agricultural  institution  and  model 
farm.  Cachoeira,  on  the  Rio  Paraguassu,  which  debouches  on  the  west  side  of  the 
bay,  collects  the  tobacco,  coffee,  fruits,  and  other  agricultm-al  produce  of  the 
district,  and  forwards  it  to  Bahia  either  direct  or  through  its  out-port,  JTaragor/i'pe. 
Farther  north  lies  /a  Feira  de  Santa  Anna,  "  Saint  Anne's  Fair,"  chief  market  for 
the  cattle  of  the  backwoods  and  of  the  S.  Francisco  valley. 

A  viaduct  of  four  spans,  each  300  feet,  the  most  remarkable  structure  of  the 
kind  in  Brazil,  connects  Cachoeira  with  its  suburb  of  <S.  Felix  on  the  right  bank, 
terminus  of  the  railway  ascending  the  Paraguassu  valley  to  the  diamantiferous 
district  of  LencSes.  In  1845,  when  first  discovered,  the  mines  of  this  district 
yielded  diamonds  to  the  value  of  £2,650.  The  blackish  amorphous  carbonado 
diamonds  used  in  piercing  tunnels  are  chiefly  obtained  at  Lencoes  and  the  neigh- 
bouring Ciwpada.  Diamantina  west  of  the  Paraguassu  valley. 

Nazareth,  at  tha  head  of  the  navigation  on  the  Jaguaripe  estuary  south  of  the 
fertile  Itaparica  Island,  supplies  Bahia  with  manioc  and  other  produce  brought  by 
a  railway  from  tha  interior.  Another  Hne  runs  from  Bahia  due  north  to  the 
station  of  Alagoinhas^  where  it  bifurcates.  One  branch  traverses  the  sugar  and 
tobacco  plantations  of  the  coast  as  far  as  Timbo  near  the  Eio  Itapicuru,  while  the 
other  runs  north-west  towards  Villa  Nova  da  RainJia,  whence  it  is  to  be  continued 
to  Joazeiro  above  the  S.  Francisco  Falls.  Kear  Monte  Santo,  east  of  this  branch, 
was  discovered  in  1784  the  fiimous  meteorite  of  Bendego,  a  huge  block  weighing 
114  cwt.,  which  was  afterwards  removed  at  great  expense  to  the  museum  of  Eio 
de  Janeiro. 

South  of  Bahia  follow  the  coast  towTis  of  Valenca,  said  to  produce  the  best 
cotton  fabrics  in  Brazil,  Taperoa,  Camamu,  with  the  excellent  harbour  of  Acarahy, 
Contas,  Hheos,  founded  in  1530,  Canavieiras  in  the  Jequitinhonha  delta,  formerly 
a  place  of  exile  for  political  prisoners,  Belmonte,  which  gives  its  name  to  the  Lower 
Jequitinhonha.  In  the  upper  reaches  of  this  river  the  Paulistas  founded  the 
famous  mining  town  of  Jfiiias  Novas  in  the  territory  of  the  Macussi  Indians  early 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  The  place  rapidly  prospered,  and  as  rapidly  declined, 
owing  to  the  severe  fiscal  measures  taken  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  Crown. 
The  yellow  topazes  and  aquamarines  of  ilinas  Xovas  have  enriched  many  col- 
lections. 

A  railway  running  from  the  port  of  Caravelhs  at  the  southern  extremity  of 


176 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


the  State  of  Bahia  to  the  auriferous  upland  valleys,  passes  the  town  of  Philadelphia 
{Theophilo  Ottoni),  centre  of  the  agricultural  colonies  founded  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mucury.  This  line,  which  is  to  terminate  at  Guaicuhy  at  the  confluence  of  the  Rio  das 
Velhas  with  the  S.  Francisco,  gives  a  decided  advantage  to  Caravellas  over  all  the 
other  seaports  of  South  Bahia.     Hence  immigration  has  set  in  this  direction,  while 


Fig.  70.— Caeatellas  aot)  sueeoundino  Reefs. 
Scale  1 :  1,000.000. 


West  or  ureenwicK 


0  to  la 
Feet. 


Depths 


32  to  160 
Feet. 


leo  Feet 
and  upwards. 


Eeefs  exposed  at  low  water. 
___^__^_^^    18  Miles. 


Porfo  Setjuro  is  almost  abandoned,  except  by  the  fishing  smacks  which  capture  the 
garupa,  a  species  of  salmon  found  among  the  Itacolumi  and  Abrolhos  reefs. 


Towns  of  Esptrito  Santo. 

S.  Mafhcus,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State  of  Espirito  Santo,  forwards  its 
coffees  and  manioc  through  the  port  of  Concei^ito  da  Barra.  Excellent  cotton 
is  grown  in  the  district  of  Pessanha  on  a  northern  affluent  of  the  Rio  Doce. 
South  of  this  river  follow  the  little  seaports  of  Riacho,  Sanfa  Cruz,  near  the  bay 
of  Espirito  Santo,  which  gives  its  name  to  the  State,  and  on  which  is  situated  the 
capital  Victoria,  formerly  Cnpitania. 


yiCTOEIA. 


177 


This  place  stands  at  the  south-west  extreniitT  of  the  island  formed  by  the 
narrow  JIani>/pe  channel,  which  is  here  crossed  by  a  wooden  bridge.  On  the 
mainland  are  seen  the  remains  of  the  old  capital.  Villa  Velha,  with  its  imposing 
group  of  churches  and  convents.  Farther  east  the  entry  of  the  estuary  is  indicated 
by  the  isolated  heights  of  Penha  (430  feet),  and  iloreno  (690  feet),  the  former 
crowned  by  a  church,  the  latter  by  a  lighthouse.  To  the  north,  beyond  the  Frade 
Leopardo  peak  rises  the  still  loftier  three-crested  ilestre- Alvarez,  contracted  to 
Mestialve  (3,2"20  feet).  According  to  ilouchez,  this  is  a  long  extinct  volcano,  still 
containing  sulphur  beds.     Thanks  to  its  great  height  and  isolated  position   near 


Fisr.  71. — VicTOBii. 

Scale  1  :  140.(»i. 


WestoFf- 


Oto  16 
Feet 


I>eptlis. 


16  to  33 
Feet, 

Sandbank. 


-•HFeet 
and  upwards. 


21  llfles. 


the  coast,  ilestialve  is  one  of  the  most  striking  landmarks  on  the  whole  of  the 
Brazilian  seaboard. 

Since  the  completion  of  the  harbour  works,  Victoria  is  accessible  to  large 
vessels,  the  bar  ha%-iQg  from  Ifi  to  20  feet  even  at  low  water.  Its  trade  is  rapidly 
increasing,  and  thousands  of  immigrants  are  now  landed  at  this  port,  which  has 
become  entirely  independent  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  in  its  relations  with  Europe.  The 
colonists  already  number  about  30,000 — Germans,  Poles,  Swiss,  Tyrolese,  Portu- 
guese, and  especially  Italians,  who  greatly  outnumber  all  the  rest.  They  settle 
chiefly  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  State,  near  Anchieta  (formerly  Benerente), 
Alfredo  Chares,  Ifapemirim  and  Cachoeiro. 

Anchieta  perpetuates  the  name  of  the  Jesuit  missionary,  who  had  at  one  time 
gathered  together  as  many  as  12,000  Indians  from  the  surrounding  forests.    Under 

N 


VOL.    XIX. 


178 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


the  rule  of  the  priests,  the  "  reductions  "  (stations)  were  kept  aloof  from  all  con- 
tact with  the  whites,  and  even  after  their  expulsion  from  -Brazil  the  Jesuits 
stipulated  that  an  "  inalienable  "  space  of  six  square  leagues  should  be  left  round 
the  Indian  villages.  But  their  backs  were  scarcely  turned  when  the  reservation 
was  invaded.  Some  of  the  recent  arrivals,  still  under  government  control,  receive 
a  yearly  subsidy,  besides  seed,  corn,  and  cattle.  But  most  of  the  settlers '  are 
already  "emancipated,"  that  is  to  say,  are  thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  culti- 
vating small  freeholds  at  their  own  risk.  Coffee,  which  is  the  chief  crop,  yielded 
in  1892  about  3,9-30,000  cwts.  But  manioc,  rice,  beans,  and  other  provisions  are 
also  raised  for  the  surrounding  markets. 


RIO    DE  JANEIK 


Gu&Tdtiba 


^^:^''^^^^^:^^^^=^^!^>^^^^^ 


X'- 


-TV.. 


S.Antonio  <la  BIca 


RIODtJAND^       . 


::N.S.d*5»ude 


J*.   <ia H^da^i^ 


. I 

0  to  S  faiiumie 


LONDON.  J.  s.   e;: 


)  AND  ENVIRONS 


N'  S  doAmparo 


^    j  T5icTHE.Roy 

^   Icafvihj 

"^^l""                  Ji.rujub« 

>    ,J\^Zr^z 

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Camborj 


War, 


S.Jo 


ptf^Nf. 


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10    i4>    26  ZS    V-pwarij, 


'U  E     &.   C=    LIMITED, 


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^^B 

^^B 

CHAPTER  X. 

PARAHTBA  BASIN. 
State  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  I^eutral  Territory. 


HE  State  in  which  is  situated  the  capital  of  Brazil,  forms  a  land  of 
transition  between  the  tropical  and  temperate  zones.  At  Cape 
Frio,  the  direction  of  the  coast-line,  which  had  a  general  southern 
trend  below  Cape  S.  Roque,  changes  abruptly  to  the  west,  and  after 
describing  a  regular  curve  resumes  its  normal  course  from  north  to 
south  with  some  points  to  the  west.  The  southern  tropic  passes  just  south  of  the 
State  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  thus  coincides  with  the  trend  of  the  seaboard  at  this 
point. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Rio  Parahyba,  which  rises  on  the  plateaux  of  S.  Paulo, 
at  the  same  divide  where  the  upper  affluents  of  the  Parana  have  their  source,  flows 
north-east  in  a  deep  trough  forming  a  natural  boundary  to  the  triangular  space 
comprising  the  State  of  Rio.  On  its  upper  slopes  this  river  valley  belongs  to  the 
temperate  plateaux,  and  in  its  lower  course  to  the  tropical  zone. 

Since  the  early  days  of  the  discovery,  the  famous  bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  has 
played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  history  of  the  New  "World.  After  the  heroic 
ages,  when  French  and  Portuguese  contended  for  the  possession  of  Nictheroy,  the 
surrounding  region  has  been  explored  in  every  direction,  and  hundreds  of 
observers  have  contributed  to  our  knowledge  of  the  land  in  all  its  aspects.  Never- 
theless, it  still  lacks  large  scale  maps  possessing  even  approximate  accuracy. 
Excellent  charts,  however,  wiU  soon  be  available  at  least  for  the  city  and  the 
surrounding  neutral  municipality,  the  triangulation  of  which  is  now  completed. 
Rio  is  tlie  most  densely  peopled  district  in  Brazil,  having  a  population  of  nearly 
2,000,000  to  an  area  of  27,000  .square  miles. 


Physicai,  Features. 

The  mountain  barrier  enclosing  the  Parahyba  valley  on  the  north-west  would 
form  the  most  natural  frontier  of  the  State  ;  but  the  political  parting-line,  instead 

>-  2 


180 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


of  uniformly  following  the  crest  of  this  range,  coincides  sometimes  with  the 
course  of  gome  affluent,  sometimes  with  that  of  the  Parahyba  itself.  Neverthe- 
less, Itatiaya,  the  loftiest  group  of  the  Serra  Mantiqueira,  stands  precisely  at  the 
south-western  angle  of  the  State,  where  it  is  conterminous  with  the  territory  of 
S.  Paulo.  This  volcanic  mass,  which  scarcely  falls  much  below  10,000  feet, 
probably  owes  its  great  relative  elevation  to  its  comparatively  recent  origin.  The 
summit,  which  is  occasionally  streaked  with  snow,  was  first  ascended  by  the 
botanist,  Glaziou,  in  1871. 

Towards  the  north-east  the  Serra  Mantiqueira  decreases  gradually  in  height 
and  presents  some  gaps,  one  of  which,  the  Joao  Ayres  Pass  (3,620  feet),  has  been 
utilised  for  the  trunk  railway,  which  ramifies  westwards  in  the  interior  of  Miuas 


Fig.  72. — Itatiaya  Eanoe. 
Scale  1 :  650,000. 


22Vl 


.. -,■*/•' 


<,* 


V"est  or  uneenwich 


44°  so- 


ls Miles. 


Geraes.  But  various  lateral  off-shoots  are  thrown  off,  which  in  many  places 
present  the  aspect  and  take  the  name  of  "  serras." 

Beyond  the  deep  trough  of  the  Rio  Parahj'ba,  a  somewhat  regular  chain  is 
developed  parallel  with  the  Serra  Mantiqueira.  In  the  State  of  S.  Paulo  this 
chain  is  known  as  the  Serra  do  Mar,  or  "  Coast  Range  "  ;  but  in  Rio  it  takes 
various  names,  according  to  its  varying  height,  trend,  and  general  aspect. 
Amongst  these  sections  the  most  noteworthy  is  the  famous  Serra  dos  Orgaos, 
"  Organ  Range,"  which  stretches  north-east  of  the  capital,  and  which  is  so  called 
from  the  somewhat  columnar  form  of  its  escarpments,  showing  a  vague  or  fanciful 
resemblance  to  the  pipes  of  an  organ. 

An  isolated  peak  near  TherezopoUs  has  received  the  equally  fanciful  name  of 


THE    ORGAN    MOUNTAINS. 


181 


"Finger  of  God."  "  The  Pedra  Assu,  or  "Great  Stone,"  culminating  point  of  the 
organ  lange,  attains,  according  to  Ghiziou,  a  height  of  7,325  feet.  Towards  the 
north-east,  where  it  is  pierced  by  the  Rio  Parahyba,  the  isolated  Frade  de  Macah^ 

Fig.  73. — Peaks  of  the  Okgax  Ranoe,  n-kar  Therezopolis. 


still  retains  an  elevaiion  of  5,740  feet,  while  the  three  peaks  of  Mount  Matheus,  in 
the  Serra  das  Almas,  are  estimated  at  6,170  feet.  The  railway  from  Nictheroy  to 
Nova  Friburgo  crosses  the  Organs  at  an  altitude  of  3,-390  feet. 


182 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Westwards,  the  Organ  range  is  continued  by  the  Serra  de  Tingua,  which  has 
an  extreme  height  of  5,410  feet.  This  range,  being  of  igneous  origin,  with 
obliterated  craters,  presents  a  marked  contrast  to  the  neighbouring  gneiss  and 
granite  mountains.  "West  of  the  Serra  de  Tingua,  a  railway  long  regarded  as  a 
marvel  of  BraziKan  enterprise  surmounts  the  Serra  do  Mar  by  a  series  of  steep 
gradients  and  eighteen  tunnels,  the  highest  point  reached  being  1,356  feet. 
Farther  on  towards  the  S.  Paulo  frontier  the  nearly  isolated  Serra  Bocaina  has 
several  peaks  5,000  feet  high,  facing  the  superb  Itatlaya  group  on  the  other  side 
of  the  i.pper  Parahyba  valley.     On  the  seaward  side  of  the  Serra  do  Mar  a  few 


Pig.  74. — Rio  de  Janeiko  Seaboaed. 
Scale  1  ;  1,800,000. 


OtolO 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


10  to  25 
Fathoms- 


2.1  to  60 
Fathoms. 


50  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


30  Miles. 


narrow  heights,  rising  abruptly  above  the  sea,  represent  ancient  i.slands  now  joined 
to  the  mainland.  Such  are  the  cones  encircling  Rio  de  Janeiro  Bay,  the  entrance 
t«  which  is  dominated  by  Mount  Tijuca  (3,360  feet),  where  Agassiz  thought  traces 
of  former  glaciation  might  be  detected. 


Rivers. 

The  Parahyba  do  Sul,  or  simply  Parahyba,  has  its  sources  close  to  the  sea  at 
the  south-ea.st  extremity  of  S.  Paulo.  It  flows  first  south-west,  in  the  very  oppo- 
site direction  to  the  course  which  it  afterwards  takes  to  escape  fi'om  its  rocky 


RIVEES  OF  EIO  DE  JANEIRO. 


183 


barriers.  After  receiving  the  Rio  Preto  from  Itatiava  and  tte  Parahybuna, 
••  Black  River,"  it  is  joined  by  the  Dous  Eios  above  the  S.  Fidclis  Gorge. 
Below  this  point,  where  it  is  only  230  feet  above  sea  level,  it  becomes  a  na\-igable 
stream,  winding  through  rich  alluvial  plains  to  the  zone  of  its  marshy  delta. 

The  sediment  washed  down  by  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Parahyba  has  formed 
extensive  sandbanks  north  of  Cape  S.  Thome,  which  frequently  shift  their  position 
during  the  floods  and  storms,  and  reduce  the  water  at  the  bar  to  little  over  six 


Fig.  75. — Mouth  of  the  Parahtba  and  Cape  S.  Thome. 
Scale!  :  l.iooooo. 


"est  o'  Ljreanwich 


4I°M 


Depths. 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


5  to  10 
Fatboms. 


10  to  -25 
Fathoms. 


25  Fathoms 
and  apwards. 


IS  ililes. 


feet.  The  Parahyba,  a  term  of  doubtful  meaning,  has  a  total  length  of  about  600 
miles,  a  drainage  area  of  26,000  square  miles,  a  navigable  course  of  50  miles,  and 
a  mean  discharge  of  53,500  cubic  feet  per  second. 

On  the  narrow  seaward  slopes  of  the  coast  range  there  is  no  room  for  the 
development  of  any  large  streams.  The  Macaeu,  which  enters  the  north-west  side 
of  Rio  Bay,  although  one  of  the  largest,  has  a  course  of  less  than  60  miles.  But  if 
the  seaboard  lacks  copious  rivers,  it  abounds  in  stagnant  lagoons  and  land-locked 
inlets.  South  of  the  Lower  Parahyba  the  Lagoa  Feia,  an  old  marine  gulf  now 
separated  from  the  sea  by  a  strip  of  sands,  has  an  average  superficial  area  of  170 
square  miles,  and  communicates  through  shallow  creeks  with  numerous  other 
lagoons  dotted  over  the  low-lving  coastlands.     Northwards  it  is  connected,  during 


184 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


the  floods,  with  the  Parahyba  ;  eastwards,  with  the  chain  of  backwaters  on  both 
sides  of  Cape  S.  Thome  ;  south-westwards,  a  channel,  or  rather,  a  broad  ditch, 
traversing  several  other  lagoons,  carries  to  the  Macahe  the  overflow  of  the  Lagoa 
Feia. 

West  of  the  Archipelagoes  and  peninsular  headlands  terminating  at  Cape  Frio, 
several  sheets  of  water  follow  along  the  low-ljing  tract  comprised  between  the  sea 
and  the  foot  of  the  Serra  do  Mar.  Araruama,  largest  of  these  basins,  maintains 
constant  communication  with  the  ocean  through  a  passage  north  of  Cape  Frio 
giving  free  access  to  the  tides.     But  the  other  lagoons  are  closed,  and  after  long 


Fig.  76.— CiPE  Feio. 

Scale  1  :  950,000. 


42°  50 


West  or  Greenwich 


OtolO 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


10  to  25 

Fathoms. 


2.'ito50 
Fathoms. 


50  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


,  IS  Miles. 


periods  of  rain  they  have  to  be  opened  by  cuttings  in  the  intervening  sandy 
cordons.  These  lagoons  might  be  easily  transformed  to  productive  salines,  and 
they  were  often  used  as  such  even  under  the  Portuguese  rule,  although  in 
order  to  protect  the  monopoly  of  the  Setubal  salines,  the  extraction  of  salt  was 
forbidden  by  the  royal  edicts  of  1690  and  1691. 

The  marvellous  bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  "  Eiver  of  January,"  which  has  given 
its  Portuguese  name  to  the  Brazilian  capital,  and  which  was  formerly  much  more 
aptly  named  Nictheroy,  "Hidden  Water,"  by  the  surrounding  Tupi  Indians, 
belongs  in  its  northern  extremity  to  the  type  of  the  coast  lagoons.     It  is,  in  fact, 


O 


« 

o 

5 

o 

H 
W 

M 

H 
55 


i\ 


CLIMATE    OF    EIO    DE    JAXEIEO.  1S5 

at  once  a  gulf  and  a  lagoon,  while  the  entrance  resembles  a  strait.  Here  the 
granite  rocks  approach  on  both  sides  so  closely  that  only  a  passage  is  left  1,600 
yards  wide  with  15  fathoms  on  the  sill.  Inside  this  passage  the  east  and  west 
shores  are  indented  with  semi-circular  inlets,  whose  intervening  headlands  are 
continued  by  islands  and  islets  far  into  the  water.  Beyond  these  labyrinthine 
groups  of  rocky  and  verdant  heights,  the  bay  expands  into  a  vast  inland  sea,  with 
shelving  beach  exposed  and  flooded  at  each  ebb  and  flow.  With  its  300  islands 
the  land-locked  basin  covers  a  space  of  170  square  miles,  over  a  third  of  which  is 
deep  enough  for  the  largest  vessels.  The  deeply  indented  shores  further  present 
a  succession  of  ramifying  creeks,  where  the  shipping  finds  an  unlimited  extent  of 
perfectly  sheltered  anchorage.  Nevertheless  some  parts  of  the  bay  are  slowly 
silting  up,  and  some  of  the  old  mooring  places  have  had  to  be  abandoned. 

Outside  the  inner  coast-line  formed  by  the  bay,  the  regular  marine  beach  is 
indicated  west  of  the  Rio  heights  by  the  so-called  restiiiga  of  Marambaia,  a  narrow 
strip  of  sand  running  nearly  in  a  straight  line  between  a  headland  and  an 
adjacent  islet.  Farther  on,  the  peak  of  the  Ilha  Grande,  over  1,000  feet  high, 
follows  in  the  same  direction,  projecting  its  spurs  towards  a  still  more  elevated 
peninsular  promontory,  which  shuts  off  the  gulf  of  Paraty  from  the  ocean.  Alon" 
the  line  of  all  these  islands  and  peninsulas  the  marine  waters  preserve  their  normal 
depth,  and  nowhere  show  any  indication  of  shoaling. 


CLnUTE. 

Within  a  narrow  space  mountains,  vallej-s,  and  coastlands  oiler  so  many 
parallel  zones,  each  with  its  separate  climate.  To  the  contrast  of  varying  tem- 
perature is  added  the  play  of  alternating  sea  breezes,  due  to  the  trend  of  the  two 
sections  of  the  coast,  one  disposed  from  north  to  south,  the  other  from  east  to  west. 
But  everywhere  the  htimidity  is  relatively  very  great  throughout  the  year,  although 
tlie  rainfall  is  heaviest  in  summer,  when  the  weather  is  also  most  stormy  tmder  the 
influence  of  the  west  and  north-west  gales.  The  most  prevalent  winds,  however, 
are  those  of  the  southern  trades,  which  usually  blow  from  the  south-east. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  State  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  is  not  one  of  the  healthy  regions 
of  Brazil.  The  numerous  marshy  tracts  on  the  coast  are  dangerous  at  all  seasons, 
especially  for  strangers.  Besides  the  endemic  agues,  these  districts  are  visited  by 
epidemics  of  yellow  fever,  which  are  fatal  to  all  white  settlers.  But  the  moun- 
tain slopes  and  breezy  heights  offer  health  resorts,  where  the  European  may 
recover  from  the  debilitating  effects  of  a  residence  on  the  lowlands.  The  climate 
of  Rio  is  said  to  have  undergone  a  change  since  the  destruction  of  the  great 
forests.  Rains  and  storms  would  appear  to  have  become  far  more  irregular  than 
formerly.* 

*  Meteorological  conditioiis  of  Rio : — 

Temperatare.  Rainy 

latitude.        Altitude.      .^  —      Days.        RainfalL 

max.  mean.  zniQ. 

Rio    .        .     22°54'S.      220  feet.       102=  Fahr.       73=  Fahr.       50°  Fahr.       127      43  inches. 


186  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Flora  and  Fauna. 


The  flora  and  fauna  also,  originally  analogous  to  those  of  the  neighbouring 
State  of  Espirito  Santo,  have  already  been  greatly  modified,  at  least  in  the  district 
surrounding  the  capital.  Here  the  primeval  forests  have  everywhere  disappeared 
except  on  the  unhealthy  parts  of  the  plains,  or  in  the  less  accessible  scarps  of  the 
mountains.  Most  of  the  large  animals  have  also  vanished.  Tapirs  are  no  longer 
met  anywhere,  and  jaguars  only  in  the  remoter  parts  of  the  backwoods.  The 
former  herds  of  peccaries  and  other  porcos  do  matfo,  "  forest  swine,"  are  reduced  to 
a  few  rare  bands  on  the  verge  of  the  outlying  settlements,  and  even  some  of  the 
bird  species  have  diminished  in  number.  But  on  the  other  hand  as  many  as  800 
species  of  butterflies  and  over  2,000  of  insects  may  still  be  found  in  a  narrow  radius 
roxmd  about  the  bay. 

Inhabitants. 

Like  the  animals,  the  aborigines  have  all  disappeared  within"  the  limits  of  the 
State,  nor  can  even  the  half-caste  descendants  of  the  old  Tamoyo  (Tamoi,  Aiam) 
race  be  any  longer  recognised.  As  friends  of  the  Freitch,  these  were  hostile  to 
the  Pero  (Portuguese),  who  sought  allies  amongst  the  Mbarancayas  ("Cats")  of 
Espirito  Santo,  and  by  their  aid  got  the  better  both  of  the  French  and  of  the 
Tamoyos.  These  were  mostly  exterminated,  while  the  rest  escaped,  and  are  now 
said  to  be  represented  by  the  Tupinambas,  or  Tupinambaranas,  of  the  large  island 
of  that  name  below  the  Madeira  confluence. 

The  Paulistas,  who  hunted  down  the  aborigines  to  supply  the  mines  and 
plantations  with  slaves,  also  contributed  to  the  destruction  of  the  Tamoj^os,  who 
were  of  pure  Tupi  stock  and  speech.  They  were  also  cannibals,  at  least  to  the 
extent  of  eating  the  enemy  slain  in  battle.  The  early  European  travellers,  such 
as  Hans  Staden,  Jean  de  Lery  and  Magalhanes  de  Gandavo,  all  agree  in  their  des- 
criptions of  the  usages  of  these  maritime  Tupi  tribes,  and  their  statements  are  in 
nearly  complete  agreement  with  those  of  Yves  of  Evreux  and  Claude  of  Abbeville 
respecting  the  Indians  of  Maranhao,  who  belong  to  the  same  widely  diffused 
ethnical  family.  All  alike  painted  their  bodies  with  the  red  rucu  dye,  and  black 
with  genapa ;  they  also  disfigured  themselves  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  did  the 
Botocudos  by  the  insertion  of  various  objects  in  the  lips,  ear  lobes  and  other  parts 
of  the  face.  They  pierced  the  under  lip  of  the  children,  gradually  enlarging  the 
aperture  until  it  was  wide  enough  to  receive  a  wooden  disk  or  some  stone  orna- 
ment. They  also  pierced  the  cheeks  for  the  insertion  of  pieces  of  crystal,  and 
took  pride  in  covering  the  face  with  artificial  protuberances,  and  plastering  their 
bodies  with  feathers  and  thorns.  Yet  all  were  robust  and  healthy,  and  amongst 
them  there  were  scarcely  any  lame  or  halt,  maimed  or  distorted. 

These  Tupi  tribes  lived  in  large  cabins  sometimes  150  or  160  feet  long,  with 
as  many  fire-places  as  there  were  separate  family  groups.  All  had  their  ham- 
mocks disposed  along  the  whole  length  of  the  common  corridors,  the  vast  dor- 


INHABITANTS  OF  EIO  DE  JANEIRO.  187 

mitory  resembling  the  lower  deck  of  a  galley.  They  dwelt  together  m  peace ; 
the  friend  of  one  was  the  friend  of  all,  and  whoever  had  anything  to  eat,  however 
little  it  might  be,  shared  with  all  present. 

Marriage  was  strictly  endogamous,  that  is,  within  the  tribe,  and  the  Tamoyos 
lawfidly  married  their  nieces,  daughters  of  their  own  brothers  or  sisters.  Ac- 
cording to  Gandavo,  some  of  the  women,  scorning  the  occupations  of  their  sex, 
dressed  and  decorated  themselves  like  the  men,  carried  the  bow  and  arrows  and 
hunted  in  their  company.  Each  of  these  viragoes  was  attended  by  another  Indian 
woman  whom  she  called  her  helpmeet. 

Trials  of  endurance  were  held  in  high  honour  amongst  the  Tupinambas.  The 
chief,  entering  the  cabins,  gashed  the  young  men  on  their  legs  with  a  very  sharp 
fish-bone,  to  teach  them  to  suffer  without  complaint,  and  thus  earn  the  name  of 
men  and  warriors.  In  battle  the  combatants  hurled  insults  and  curses  at  each 
other,  shouting  from  camp  to  camp  :  "  May  all  e\ils  befall  you ;  to-day  I  will 
make  a  meal  of  you !  "  And  in  fact  the  victor  consumed  the  flesh  of  the  van- 
quished. Such  was  the  renown  attached  to  the  exploit  that  henceforth  the  Indian 
warrior  took  a  new  name,  and  also  bestowed  one  on  his  wife,  selecting  it  from 
some  fish,  fruit  or  flower. 

Isolated  amid  these  Tupi  peoples  were  the  Watecas  (Goytacazes),  "Runners," 
who  were  akin  to  the  Botocudos,  and  who  occupied  the  lower  districts  of  the 
Parahyba  still  from  them  called  "  Campos  dos  Guatacazes."  These  were  the 
wildest  of  all  the  coast  Indians ;  and  such  was  the  terror  inspired  by  their  name 
that,  in  the  popular  imagination,  they  acquired  gigantic  proportions  and  super- 
human strength. 

Near  their  camping-grounds,  amid  the  lagoons,  they  heaped  up  the  remains  of 
their  vanquished  foes,  which  formed  islands  amid  the  lagoons  of  their  watery 
domain.  After  over  a  century  of  fierce  resistance  to  the  Portuguese,  they  were 
at  last  overcome  in  1630,  when  those  surviving  the  battlefield  either  escaped  to 
the  backwoods  on  the  Minas  Geraes  frontier,  or  else  were  removed  to  an  agricid- 
tural  reservation.  Those  of  the  woodland  cut  their  flowing  locks  and  shaved  the 
crown  of  the  head,  whence  the  term  Coroados  ("  Crowned  ")  applied  to  them  by 
the  Portuguese  iu  common  with  many  other  tribes  adopting  the  same  style  of 
headdress. 

Nearly  all  the  aborigines  having  thus  disappeared,  their  place  has  been  taken 
by  Africans  and  by  immigrants  from  almost  every  European  land.  In  no  other 
part  of  Brazil  are  the  people  of  a  more  cosmopolitan  character.  Some  of  the 
inland  settlers  from  Germany  and  Switzerland  have  even  partly  preserved  the 
national  type ;  while  the  great  trade  of  the  capital  with  Europe  and  North 
America  has  given  it  almost  a  foreign  aspect. 

Topography. 

In  the  Parahyba  valley  all  the  centres  of  population  depend  almost  for  their 
very  existence  on  coffee,  the  staple  product  of  Brazil.     Such  are  Rezende,  domi- 


188 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Dated  by  the  loftiest  summits  of  the  Serra  Mantiqueira ;  Barra  Mansa,  whose 
name  ("  Easy  Bar  ")  indicates  the  mild  character  of  the  neighbouring  rapids  ; 
Barra  do  Piraliy,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Rio  Pirahy ;  Paraliyha  do  Sul,  named 
from  the  mainstream  itself  ;  Entrerios,  at  the  Parahybuna  confluence. 

Other  towns,  such  as  Rio  Claro,  Vassouras,  Valenga,  and  Cantagallo,  although 
not  situated  in  the  Parahyba  basin  properly  so  called,  belong,  nevertheless,  to  the 
same  agricultural  zone,  and  have  merely  a  local  importance.  On  the  other  hand, 
Petropolis,  TherezopoUs,  and  Nora  Friburgo,  although  lying  on  the  Parahyba 
elope,  belong  to  the  capital,  of   which   they  are  advanced   suburbs  and  health 


Fig.  77. — Campos  ajjd  the  Lowee  Paeahtea. 

Scale  1  :  1.100.000. 


18  MUes. 


resorts  on  the  breezy  uplands.  An  older  settlement  is  S.  Fidelts,  below  the  Dous 
liios  confluence,  formerly  peopled  by  Coroados  and  Puri  Indians.  The  Puri,  that 
is,  "  Brigands,"  as  their  neighbours  called  them,  still  survived  in  the  tribal  state 
down  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Their  small  stature  and  Mon- 
golian physiognomy  were  the  astonishment  of  all  travellers. 

Campos,  on  the  south  (right)  bank  of  the  Parahyba  some  38  miles  above  its 
mouth,  lies  in  an  extremely  fertile  district  at  the  head  of  the  fluvial  navigation 
and  below  all  the  affluents.  Here  were  established  the  blockhouses  and  depots  for 
the  early  settlers  in  the  valley  ;  here  the  planters  built  their  sumptuous  residences  ; 
here  converge  all  the  natural  routes  and  railways  of  the  district ;  and  here  the 


TOPOGRAPHY  OP  EIO  DE  JANEIRO. 


189 


engineers  have  bridged  the  river  with   a   fine  viaduct,  replacing  the  old  harca- 
peiidiikt. 

Campos   has  also  become  a  great  centre  of  the  sugar  industry,  where  from 
50,000  to  60,000  tons  of  cane  are  annually  crushed.     Unfortunately,  the  outlets  of 


to 


the  local  industries  have  all  bad  harbours.  Such  are  S.  Joao  da  Barm,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Parahyba,  and  much  farther  south  Imbetiba,  a  suburb  of  Macahe, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  like  name.  Macahe  communicates  with  Campos  by  a 
series  of  creeks  and  lagoons  forming  a  continuous  waterway  about  56  miles  long. 


190  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

An  Indian  village  stood  on  this  spot  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
Jean  de  Lery  speaks  of  an  inaccessible  bluff  rising  like  a  tower  on  the  neighbour- 
ing coast,  which  glittered  in  the  rays  of  the  sun  with  such  dazzling  brightness  that 
it  might  be  taken  for  an  emerald.  It  is  difficult  to  identify  this  rock,  unless  it  be 
the  superb  Frade  de  Macahe,  which  is  seen  in  the  west  rising  like  a  pyramid 
above  the  Serra  do  Mar. 

Cape  Frio  has  given  its  name  to  a  town  standing  on  a  deep  creek  at  the  head 
of  the  Itamarica  passage.  Like  the  other  parts  of  the  Serra  Abaixo,  the  Brazilian 
"  Piedmont,"  Caho  Frio  exports  sugar,  molasses,  and  rum,  besides  provisions  for  the 
capital,  from  which  it  is  distant  about  60  miles.  Here  also  large  quantities  of 
prawns,  lobsters  and  sardines  are  preserved,  and  a  special  industry  is  the  grinding 
of  shells  to  a  powder,  which  makes  an  excellent  lime  much  valued  by  the  builders 
of  the  capital.  Even  after  their  expulsion  from  the  bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  the 
French  still  continued  to  visit  the  secluded  district  of  Cabo  Frio,  where,  by  the 
aid  of  their  Tamoj'o  friends,  they  obtained  cargoes  of  brazil-wood  and  of  other 
local  produce.  In  order  to  put  a  stop  to  this  "  contraband  "  trade,  Philip  II. 
founded  the  settlement  of  Cabo  Frio  in  the  year  1575. 

Rio  and  Neighbouring  Towns. 

Two  cities  facing  each  other  at  the  entrance  of  Rio  Bay  take  their  name  from 
the  "Hidden  Water" — Nicfhemy  {Nitheroliy),  present  capital  of  the  State,  on 
the  east  side,  and  on  the  west  Bio  de  Janeiro,  metropolis  of  Brazil.  One  per- 
petuates the  old  Indian  name  of  the  basin ;  the  other  bears  the  Portuguese  title 
recording  the  fact  that,  when  first  discovered,  the  vast  inlet  was  taken  for  the 
mouth  of  some  great  "  rio  "  or  "  river."  But  both,  despite  the  differences  of  their 
political  administration,  constitute  essential  parts  of  the  same  organism. 

Rio  presents  an  imposing  aspect  as  it  is  sighted  by  the  traveller  who,  after 
rounding  the  headland  of  Cape  Frio,  commands  a  full  view  of  the  island- studded 
waters,  with  the  superb  Itaipu  peak  on  the  east  side  of  the  entrance.  Farther  on 
the  heights  back  of  Rio  come  gradually  into  view — a  world  of  domes,  pinnacles, 
needles,  limited  westwards  by  Marambaia  Bay.  In  the  distant  background  appear 
the  hazy  outlines,  terraces,  crags,  and  precipices  of  Gavia,  Tijuca,  Corcovado,  the 
whole  presenting  such  a  prodigious  variety  of  peaks,  crests,  summits,  that  the 
separate  forms  are  lost  in  a  chaos  of  picturesque  mountains,  stretching  away  to 
the  rugged  Serra  da  Estrella  and  the  columnar  escarpments  of  the  Organ  Range. 

Beyond  Cotuntuba  Island  the  imposing  mass  of  the  Pao  d'Assucar  ("  Sugar 
Loaf")  is  seen  dominating  the  entrance  on  the  west  side,  and  towering  to  a  height 
of  1,270  feet  above  the  surface.  A  headland  projecting  from  the  foot  of  this 
conspicuous  rock  is  crowned  by  Fort  Siio  Jotio  continued  seawards  by  another 
fortified  islet.  The  entrance,  1,600  yards  wide,  is  thus  disposed  in  two  channels, 
one  on  the  west,  little  used  by  shipping,  the  other  on  the  east  1,000  yards  broad, 
giving  easy  access  to  the  largest  vessels.  Here  the  long  flat  terrace  of  the  Santa 
Cruz  peninsula  with  its  masked  batteries,  forms  the  chief  bulwark  of  the  capital, 


H!i'"''l»"il:!:iBITi':!i'llll:ail!l"!gll!:cH 


EIO  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS.  191 

and  is  supported  witliin  tlio  bay  by  other  defensive  -works  crossing  the  promontories 
on  both  sides.  The  elongated  islet  of  Villcgagnon  facing  the  city  proper  is  also  forti- 
fied and  used  as  a  marine  barracks  and  outpost  of  the  arsenal  which  occupies  the 
nearest  headland  over  half  a  mile  distant. 

Yillegagnon,  formerly  Scrigipe  (Sergipe)  marks  the  site  of  the  first  European 
settlement  by  the  Huguenot  adventurer  who  here  erected  Fori  Coligny  in  155-5. 
A  few  years  later  the  victorious  Portuguese  captain,  Estacio  de  Sa,  established 
himself  on  the  mainland  near  the  Pao  d'Assucar.  After  his  death  this  military 
station  was  removed  to  the  Morro  do  CasfcIIo  promontory,  at  the  northern  foot  of 
which  were  grouped  the  first  houses  of  S.  Sebastiao  do  Rio  de  Janeiro,  in  some 
documents  called  also  Sebastianopolis.  The  heart  of  the  city  which  was  gradually 
developed  round  this  position  during  the  eighteenth  century,  stretches  over  a  mile 
east  and  west,  being  limited  on  the  south  by  the  Morros  do  Castello  and  de  Santo 
Antonio,  and  northwards  by  the  S.  Bento  and  Conceicao  heights. 

Within  this  narrow  space,  houses,  streets,  and  squares  are  necessarily  crowded 
together,  giving  difficult  access  to  carriages,  although  most  of  the  thoroughfares 
are  laid  down  with  tramways.  The  mean  and  commonplace  houses  receive  little 
sunshine,  and  gloom  prevails  in  all  the  large  warehouses.  Yet  in  the  middle  of 
this  wretched,  badly-paved  quarter,  with  its  open  drains  and  close  atmosphere,  is 
situated  the  Rua  do  Ouvidor,  chief  resort  of  merchants,  loungers,  and  fashionable 
society. 

But  this  old  quarter,  traversed  by  the  Rua  do  Ouvidor,  forms  a  mere  frag- 
ment of  the  present  metropolis,  which  has  overgrown  its  natural  limits  in  every 
direction.  After  covering  the  low  saddleback  between  the  Castello  and  Santo 
Antonio  heights,  it  has  spread  out  along  the  shores  and  tributary  valleys,  succes- 
sively absorbing  all  the  surrounding  hamlets,  villas,  and  other  groups  of  rural 
habitations. 

Gradually  the  hills  near  the  waterside  have  been  encircled  like  islands  by  the 
surging  tide  of  buildings,  while  the  more  inland  heights  project  like  peninsulas 
amid  the  semi-circle  of  expanding  suburbs.  Thus  have  been  formed  the  districts 
of  Lajm  on  the  creek  of  like  name  at  the  foot  of  the  Santa  Thereza  hills ;  Flamengo 
farther  south  ;  Laraiigeiras,  the  "  Orangeries,"  between  the  Carioca  and  Corcovado 
cliffs ;  Bofqfogo,  on  a  circular  inlet  enclosed  by  the  Pao  dAssucar  and  other 
granite  heights.  Farther  on  the  chain  of  suburbs  is  continued  along  the  shore 
by  Capocabana,  and  south  of  Corcovado  by  various  other  quarters  stretching 
beyond  the  Rodrigues  de  Freitas  lagoon  to  the  Botanic  Garden  and  to  Guvia. 
Northwards  the  semi-circular  S.  Christovao  Bay  is  skirted  by  a  large  quarter 
grouped  romid  the  former  imperial  palace ;  westwards,  beyond  the  vast  public 
groimds  of  Largo  da  RepubKca,  foUow  other  serpentine  suburbs  aU  the  way  to  the 
brooks  descending  from  the  vallej's  of  the  Tijuca  mountains.  Altogether  from 
Gavia  on  the  Atlantic  to  Caju  on  the  bay,  or  to  Cascadura  in  the  interior,  the 
distance  in  a  straight  line  is  no  less  than  17  miles,  and  even  beyond  these  points 
other  suburban  groups  are  springing  up  in  various  directions. 

Nicthcroy  also  has  spread  like  the  metropolis  along  the  shores  of  the  bay  and 


192 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


up  the  surrounding  valley's.  Here  are  the  suburbs  of  Icarahy,  Jurujuha,  and  /S. 
Lourengo,  the  last-named  originally  a  native  settlement  occupied  by  those  Indians 
who  had  sided  with  the  Portuguese  in  their  wars  with  the  French. 

Despite  the  vast  space  which  it  covers,  Rio  has  a  population  which,  according 
to  the  roun-h  returns  for  1893,  cannot  be  estimated  at  more  than  about  half  a 
million.     The  official  census  of  the  municipality  for  1890  gave  48,576  houses  and 


Fig.  79. — Eio  DE  Jakeieo. 
Scale  1 :  90,000. 


■4?°15- 


West  of  G 


iJepthb. 


Oto  16 
Feet. 


16  to  32 

Feet. 


32  to  64 
Feet. 

.  2,200  Yards. 


64  Feet 
and  upwards. 


71,607  families,  which,  allowing  seven  persons  to  the  family,  would  make  almost 
exactly  500,000.  But  the  Fluminenses,  or  "  River  Folk,"  as  the  inhabitants  of 
Rio  are  familiarly  called,  often  exaggerate  the  population  of  their  city,  and  are 
reluctant  to  admit  that  in  this  respect  Buenos  Ayres  takes  the  foremost  place 
amongst  the  cities  of  South  America.  They  speak  in  an  off-hand  way  of  "  a 
million  "  as  about  the  population  of  the  Brazilian  capital,  "  including  the 
suburbs." 


RIO  AND  ITS  ENTIEONS. 


193 


But  the  mortality  is  excessive,  aud  but  for  the  constant  immigration  from  the 
rural  districts,  and  even  from  remote  parts  of  Brazil,  such  as  Ceara,  Pernumbuco, 
and  Bahia,  as  well  as  from  Europe,  Rio  would  gradually  be  depopulated.     In  this 


Fig.  80. — Rio  DK  JiS-EiEo  Bat. 

Scale  1  :  SiC.OOC. 


W«i  oF  G 


'■55-5- 


0to3 
feet. 


9  to  16 
Feet 


16  to  64 
Feet. 


6' to  160 
Feet. 


fi  Miles. 


leoFeet 
and  upwards. 


movement  the  Italians  and  the  Portuguese  form  the  majority  of  the  labouring  and 
retail  trading  classes,  while  the  liberal  professions  are  chiefly  represented  by  the 
English,  Xorth  Americans,  French,  Germans,  and  Swiss. 

The  free  circulation  of  the  air  is  prevented  by  the  screen  of  mountains   inter- 

VOL.    XIX  O 


194  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

veniiig  between  the  city  aud  the  Atlantic.  Most  of  the  streets  are  also  badly 
paved  and  worse  drained  ;  hence  in  recent  years  Eio  has  suffered  much  from 
epidemics,  especially  yellow  fever,  which  would  appear  to  have  even  become 
endemic.  Water,  however,  flows  abundantly  in  all  quarters,  being  supplied  in  the 
proportion  of  about  40  gallons  daily  per  head  of  the  population.  Eio  no  longer 
dejjends  as  formerly  on  the  Carioca  springs  alone,  which  rise  in  the  hills  north  of 
Corcovado,  and  the  water  from  which  is  conveyed  by  conduits  and  a  fine  aqueduct 
to  the  central  districts.  In  the  surrounding  forests,  which  have  become  State 
property,  reservoirs  have  been  constructed  at  intervals  along  the  course  of  several 
underground  channels.  Such  is  that  of  Pedregulho  near  S.  Christoviio,  which  is 
fed  by  the  Rio  de  Ouro  30  miles  to  the  north,  and  which  has  a  capacity  of  about 
9,000,000  gallons. 

Rio  is  far  from  a  monumental  citj'.  The  churches  are  copies  of  copies  in  the 
usual  Jesuit  style,  while  with  few  exceptions  the  recent  public  buildings  resemble 
huge  barracks.  On  the  other  hand  few  cities  are  adorned  with  more  beautiful 
avenues,  such  as  those  of  la  Tijuca,  and  the  triple  avenue  of  lofty  palms  [Orcodoxa 
oleracea)  in  the  Botanical  Gardens.  These  palms  have  a  perfectly  smooth,  slender 
stem  about  80  feet  high,  terminating  in  a  mass  of  leaves  each  averaging  10  or  12 
feet  in  length. 

Although  there  are  no  special  industries,  Rio  has  to  some  extent  become  a 
manufacturing  city,  with  numerous  cotton-spinning  and  weaving  mills,  foundries, 
furniture,  cabinet,  and  shipbuilding  works.  Several  docks  and  repairing  basins 
have  been  excavated  in  the  live  rock  of  the  Saude  hills  and  in  Cobras  Island  near 
the  marine  arsenal.  Coffee,  the  staple  of  the  export  trade,  was  shipped  to  the 
value  of  £8,000,000  in  1892,  the  total  exports  amounting  to  about  £15,000,000, 
and  the  imports  to  over  £16,000,000.  In  the  general  movement  of  the  foreign 
exchanges  Great  Britain  takes  the  first  place,  the  United  States,  France,  and 
Germany  following  in  the  order  named.  The  traffic  with  the  interior  is  almost 
exclusively  carried  on  by  means  of  the  two  chief  lines  of  railway,  one  running  to 
S.  Paulo,  the  other  to  Minas  Geraes.  The  local  circulation  is  amply  provided  for 
by  numerous  tramways,  worked  either  by  mules  or  by  electricity,  while  the  com- 
munications with  Nictheroy  and  the  various  towns  and  ports  around  the  bay  are 
kej)t  up  by  means  of  steam  ferries.  These  have  preserved  their  English  name  of 
"ferry,"  while  the  omnibuses  are  still  known  by  the  name  of  "  bonds,"  from  the 
bonds  originally  issued  by  the  English  company  which  introduced  this  system  of 
locomotion. 

Rio,  which  has  been  capital  of  Brazil  since  1763,  is  the  seat  of  the  chief 
museums  and  learned  institutions  of  the  republic.  Amongst  these  is  the  School 
of  Medicine,  one  of  the  first  in  the  New  World,  in  connection  with  the  vast 
Misericordia  Hospital.  This  sumptuous  establishment,  which  accommodates  1,200 
patients,  and  which  appears  to  be  admirably  conducted,  stands  on  the  spot  where 
Magellan  lauded  in  1520  on  his  voyage  round  the  globe.  Other  important  estab- 
lishments are  the  Polytechnic  School,  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  the  Conserva- 
toire of  Music,  the  Blind  and  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylums,  the  School  of  Navigation, 


BIO  AND  ITS  ENTIEOXS. 


195 


the  Natural  Historv  iruseum,  the  Public  Library  with  200,000  volumes,  the 
Historico-Geographical  Institute,  and  the  Geographical  Society,  both  with  valu- 
able special  libraries.  The  observatory,  at  present  rising  above  the  picturesque 
ruins  of  an  old  Jesuit  Church,  is  to  be  removed  to  a  peak  of  the  Serra  do  Mar 
near  Petropolis,  3, 450  feet  above  sea-level. 

Besides  the  botanic  garden,  with  a  domain  of  no  less  than  1,500  acres,  of 
which,  however,  not  more  than  150  are  laid  out,  there  are  several  other  public 
grounds,  all  displaj-ing  the  great  variety  and  splendour  of  the  Brazilian  veseta- 
tion.  Such  are  the  Passeio  Publico,  on  the  seashore,  the  Largo  do  Constitucao,  near 
which  are  grouped  the  chief  theatres,   and  the  Largo  do  Republica,   between   the 


Tig.  SI. — Rio.  Xicthesot  a^td  EirviKOJncENia. 

Scale  1  :  ISOaXO. 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


5to  lU 
FathODiB. 


10  to  25 
Fathomfl. 


23  Fathomj 
and  apvaids. 


Oil  toCTn. 


.6  Uiles. 


old  town  and  the  new  quarters  stretching  westwards.  On  the  beach  near  the 
botanic  garden  it  is  proposed  to  lay  out  a  fashionable  watering-place  under  the 
nume  of  Garic,  with  a  seaward  frontaee  of  nearly  three  miles. 

Besides  its  public  groimds,  the  Brazilian  capital  offers  to  sightseers  many  ad- 
mirable prospects  from  the  numerous  eminences  that  spring  from  the  very  heart 
of  the  city  like  the  islands  from  the  waters  of  the  bay.  Eio  is  not  like  Rome  or 
Byzantium,  a  "  city  of  seven  hills."  In  fact  the  heights  are  not  easily  enume- 
rated, for  certain  rising-grounds  may  be  regarded  as  isolated  knoUs  or  as  simple 
headlands,  while  others,  attacked  by  the  quarrymen,  are  in  process  of  disappearing. 
These  quarries  of  red  or  grey  granite  interspersed  with  black  grains,  supply  au 
excellent  building  material   for  the  public  monuments.     3Jore  than  half  of  the 

o2 


196  AMj^ONIA  and  la  PLATA. 

Morro  de  S.  Diogo,  north  of  the  city,  has  already  been  levelled,  and  several 
heights  have  been  swept  away  to  improve  the  ventilation,  and  to  till  up  some  of 
the  swamps  and  creeks  along  the  shores  of  the  bay. 

Amongst  the  improvements  already  begun,  but  interrupted  by  the  civil  war 
(1894),  is  the  levelling  of  the  Morro  do  Senado  near  the  centre  of  the  city,  with 
the  refuse  of  which  the  Praia  Formosa  inlet  is  to  be  filled  in,  thus  connecting  with 
the  mainland  the  two  islands  dos  Meloes  and  das  Jlo^as,  and  reclaiming  the  whole 
space  of  about  820  acres  with  a  mean  depth  of  10  feet,  which  stretches  a  distance 
of  nearly  three  miles  from  the  beach,  at  Saude,  to  the  headland  of  Caju.  This 
scheme,  when  carried  out,  wiU  afford  a  vast  space  for  the  expansion  of  the  com- 
mercial quarter,  while  the  new  wharves  and  the  dock,  of  over  30  acres,  will  have 
a  mean  depth  of  no  less  than  30  feet. 

It  is  also  proposed  to  enclose  by  a  semicircular  dj'ke  the  whole  space  com- 
prised between  Fiscal  Island  and  the  military  arsenal  in  the  east  end,  and  to  level 
the  two  morros  of  Santa  Antonio  and  Do  Castello.  Corcorado,  another  summit 
2,330  feet  high,  is  reached  from  the  suburb  of  Larangeiras,  by  an  extremely  steep 
and  winding  railway  two  and  a  half  miles  long.  From  this  commanding  peak 
in  the  south-west,  a  superb  panoramic  view  is  afforded  of  the  city  with  its  domes 
and  belfries,  the  blue  waters  of  the  bay  studded  with  shipping,  the  wooded  and 
rocky  islands  and  the  mountains  bounding  the  horizon  in  the  distance.  On 
Governador,  largest  of  the  islands,  have  been  found  numerous  human  remains, 
and  other  objects  dating  from  pre-historic  times.  Here  Fstacio  de  Sa,  founder 
of  Rio,  fell  mortally  wounded  in  a  fray  with  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French. 
More  to  the  north-east  stretches  the  charming  island  of  Paqueta,  covered  with 
gardens  and  villas.  Close  to  the  beach  between  Nictheroy  and  jS.  Goiifalo,  lies  the 
islet  of  Flores,  a  sort  of  labour  market,  where  immigrants  are  landed  and  hired 
by  the  planters.  Nearly  4,000  were  recently  crowded  together  in  this  narrow 
space,  which  affords  convenient  room  for  little  more  than  a  thousand. 

Several  of  the  surrounding  urban  groups  must  be  regarded  as  mere  dependen- 
cies of  the  metropolis.  Such  are  Santa  Cruz,  a  station  on  the  Central  Railway 
some  38  miles  to  the  west  of  Rio,  where  the  shambles  have  been  established, 
Jacarepagua  and  Guaratiba,  both  in  the  neutral  municipalitj-,  the  former  on  a 
tributary  of  the  Camorim  lagoon,  the  latter  on  the  plains  sloping  south-west  to  the 
Marambaia  estuary. 

Petropolis,  the  "Yersailles  of  Rio,"  Hes  beyond  the  neutral  territory  on  the 
northern  slope  of  the  Organ  Range,  within  the  Parahyba  basin.  Originally  an 
agricultural  colony,  where  2,000  Germans  were  settled  near  the  imperial  residence 
in  1845,  Petropolis  has  become  a  great  agricultural  centre,  one  of  its  numerous 
colleges  occupj'ing  the  imperial  chateau  itself.  Petropolis  is  also  a  health  resort 
much  frequented  by  the  citizens  of  Rio,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  fine  high- 
way often  spoken  of  as  the  "  Simplon  "  of  America,  and  by  a  railway  of  remark- 
ably steep  ascent,  crossing  the  highest  crest  at  an  elevation  of  2,740  feet. 

From  the  summit  of  the  Corcovado  (2,200  feet),  in  the  Petropolis  district,  a 
magnificent  panoramic  view  is  commanded  of  one  of  the  most  picturesque  regions 


mm^ 


z 


PETEOPOLIS. 


107 


on  the  globe.  "  "With  a  perfectly  cloudless  sky,"  writes  Mr.  Dent,  "  the  eye 
ranged  from  the  Organ  Mountains  on  the  north  side,  some  50  miles  away,  to  Cape 
Frio,  75  miles  to  the  east,  and  to  a  Cape  beyond  the  ILha  Grande  near  Paraty, 
some  70  miles  or  more  to  the  west ;  while  to  the  south  lay  the  broad  expanse  of 
the  Atlantic,  whose  ripplets  broke  in  silver  threads  upon  the  sandy  shores,  or 
dashed  against  precipitous  rocks.  All  the  mountains  on  the  IS'ictheroy  side 
appeared  a  promiscuous  mass  of  dark  green  hillocks.  The  whole  of  the  Bay  of  Rio 
de  Janeiro,  with  its  countless  islands,  was  mapped  out.  At  a  dizzy  depth  below  lay 
the  vast  citv,  its  numerous  morros,  or  hills,  scarcely  appearing  to  rise  above  the 
plain.  To  the  west,  by  glimpses  through  the  rough-and-tumble  forest-clud 
mountains,  were  lovely  scraps  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Cape  in  the  far  distance,  on 
the  borders  of  the  province  of  S.  Paulo.     The  horizon  of  the  Atlantic  was  lost  in 


Fig.  82. — Petkopolis. 
Scale  1 :  .'ifio.oon. 


West  or  Gree/iwicti 


43-10 


6  Miles. 


the  haze  ;  but  on  Its  blue  bosom  were  seen,  as  tiny  white  specks,  ships  in  full  sail, 
and  one  or  two  steamers.  Just  below  lay  the  Botanical  Gardens  and  the  dark  green 
slimy  waters  of  the  Lagoa  Rodriguez  de  Freitas,  contrasting  wonderfully  with  the 
clear  blue  of  the  bay  and  the  Atlantic,  from  which  latter  it  is  separated  by  a  strip 
of  white  sandy  beach.  I  could  distinctly  hear  the  pleasant  jingle  of  the  bells  on 
the  tram-car  mules  some  2,000  feet  below,  and  even  the  trampling  on  the  hard 
setts,  and  could  just  see  the  cars  crawling  along  like  specks  on  the  long,  straight 
white  road."  * 

Is'ota  Frihurgo,  which  occupies  a  position  analogous  to  that  of  Petropolis  on  the 


•  A  Year  in  Brazil^  p.  209. 


198  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

northern  slope  of  the  serra  da  Boa  Vista,  as  the  coast  range  is  here  called,  was 
also  originally  an  agricultural  settlement  founded  in  1819,  by  1,700  peasunts 
from  the  Swiss  canton  of  Friburg.  But  within  a  single  decade  more  than  a  third 
of  these  colonists  had  disappeared,  and  since  the  middle  of  the  century  this  place 
has  been  a  thoroughly  Brazilian  town,  containing  but  few  of  the  first  Friburg 
families.  From  the  district  Rio  draws  vegetables,  poultry,  and  other  supplies 
forwarded  by  the  railway  to  Nictheroy.  Although  now  chosen  as  the  seat  of  the 
State  legislature,  Therezopolls  is  a  less  important  place  than  either  Petropolis  or 
Nova  Friburgo.      It  is  still  (1894)  unconnected  by  rail  with  the  bay. 

Bej^ond  the  neutral  municipality  follow  several  well-sheltered  little  havens 
along  the  west  coast.  Such  are  Mangaratiha,  ruined  by  the  abolition  of  slavery ; 
Angra  dos  Beis,  dating  from  1532,  now  the  quarantine  station  of  Rio,  and  Paraty, 
farther  west,  noted  for  a  rum  of  prime  quality. 


CHArXER  XI. 

PAR.'LNA  SLOPE  A^T>  ADJACENT  COASTLANDS. 
States  of  S.  Pavlo,  Parana,  and  Santa  Catharina. 

TIE  geographical  region  draining  south-westwards  to  the  Parana 
presents  a  remarkable  degree  of  physical  uniformity,  although 
divided  into  several  political  administrations,  and  although  the 
zone  of  the  waterparting  is  unequally  distributed  between  Minas 
Geraes,  Goyaz,  and  Matto  Grosso.  The  whole  territory  is  the 
fragment  of  a  plateau  disposed  in  a  vast  curve  between  the  two  parallel  lines  of 
the  Atlantic  coast  and  the  course  of  the  Parana.  Northwards  it  is  limited  by  the 
Rio  Grande,  a  main  branch  of  the  Upper  Parana,  and  towards  the  south  by  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Rio  Uruguay. 

At  the  south-west  corner,  in  the  narrow  tract  comprised  between  the  converg- 
ing Parana  and  Uruguay  rivers,  the  boundary  towards  Argentina  has  not  yet  been 
determined.  But  colonisation  has  scarcely  yet  been  extended  to  this  region,  and 
even  in  S.  Paulo,  hj  far  the  most  populous  of  the  three  States,  there  still  exist 
"  unknown  lauds  "  of  great  extent  disposed  in  parallel  strips  by  the  Upper  Parana 
affluents. 

From  the  reports  of  pioneers  and  adventurers  these  lands  are  known  to  be  to 
a  large  extent  fertile.  They  seem  destined  some  daj'  to  be  the  home  of  teeming 
populations,  and  their  settlement  has  already  been  commenced.  Every  year, 
every  day  almost,  sees  fresh  tracts  reclaimed  from  the  wilderness. 


The  Paolistas. 

Amongst  all  the  populations  of  Brazil,  those  of  S.  Paulo  are  distinguished  by 

their  enterprising  spirit,  so  much  so  that  in  some  respects  this  region  might  be 

regarded  as  the  true  centre  of  Portuguese  America.  Soon  after  the  discovery  the 

daring  pioneer,  Joao  Ramalho,  in  friendly  alliance  with  the  Indians,  had  estab- 


200  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

listed  himself  on  the  inland  plateaux  far  from  the  sea-coast.  So  early  as  1532  a 
fortified  station  was  founded  at  Piratininga  ("  Dried  Fish  "),  near  the  spot  where 
was  afterwards  built  the  city  of  S.  Paulo.  In  1552  the  Jesuits  arrived  and 
took  up  their  residence  in  the  midst  of  the  Indians,  laying  the  foundations  of 
S.  Paulo,  which  was  destined  to  eclipse  the  earlier  settlement  of  Santo  Andres 
de  Piratininga. 

But  the  inevitable  conflict  soon  broke  out  between  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
elements.  The  free  colonists,  eager  for  wealth,  had  begun  to  enslave  the  natives, 
employing  them  either  in  cultivating  the  land  or  in  the  quest  of  gold  ;  but  the 
priests,  while  also  utilising  their  labour,  strove  at  least  to  protect  them  from 
violence  and  enforced  servitude.  On  the  other  hand  the  Jesuits,  regardless  of 
political  frontiers,  continued  to  work  in  unison  on  both  sides  of  the  Hispano- 
Portuguese  boundary,  and  advantage  was  readily  taken  of  this  alliance  to  charge 
the  missionaries  with  treason  when  they  tried  to  prevent  or  to  punish  the  incur- 
sions of  the  Paulist  bandeirantes  in  the  Paraguay  and  Bolivian  missions.  Hence 
constant  struggles,  in  which  the  Jesuits  were  at  last  worsted,  although  often  up- 
held by  the  central  power  and  always  by  the  authority  of  the  Roman  pontiff. 
Thus  a  free  hand  was  given  to  the  Paolistas,  who,  in  their  slave-hunting  raids, 
crossed  rivers  and  mountains,  ranging  right  up  to  and  even  beyond  the  Amazons 
to  the  slopes  of  the  equatorial  Andes.  Muratori  estimates  at  two  millions  the 
number  of  Indians  captured  by  these  predatory  bands  in  the  course  of  three 
hundred  years. 

This  indomitable  energy  displayed  in  their  kidnapping  expeditions  they  now 
apply  to  more  peaceful  pursuits,  and  since  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 
they  have  distinguished  themselves  in  this  respect  beyond  all  other  natives  of 
Brazil.  To  them  more  especially  the  country  owes  its  pre-eminence  over  all  rivals 
as  a  coffee-growing  land.  They  also  take  the  foremost  position  in  the  industries ; 
their  railway  system  is  the  most  fully  developed,  and  they  have  even  outstripped 
Minas  Geraes  and  Rio  de  Janeiro  in  the  preparation  of  the  typographical  chart  to 
the  scale  of  to"o"',o"o"o'-  An  expedition  appointed  to  explore  one  of  the  great 
routes  destined  one  day  to  connect  their  territory  M'ith  the  Argentine  regions, 
has  even  drawn,  to  the  scale  of  to'.o'o'o''  a  map  of  the  whole  course  of  the  Rios 
Itapiringa  and  Paranapanema. 

This  map  is  certainly  superior  to  those  of  the  same  category  published  by 
Castelnau  for  the  Tapajoz  and  Araguaya  basins,  by  Halfeld  for  the  Rio  S.  Fran- 
cisco valley,  and  by  Liais  for  that  of  the  Rio  das  Velhas.  And  these  cartogra- 
phic labours  themselves  are  but  the  outward  and  tangible  proof  of  the  profound 
investigations  carried  on  by  numerous  explorers  and  students  in  every  branch  of 
natural  history. 

The  Disputed  Zone. 

Despite  its  excellent  soil  and  climate,  and  its  numerous  navigable  waters,  the 
upper  Parana  basin  is  the  least  known  region  in  this  section  of  the  republic. 


CONGESTED  BE-VZILO-AEGEXTIXE  FRONTIEES. 


201 


Since  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  railway  engineers  and  other  surveyors 
have  traversed  the  country  in  all  directions,  but  their  itineraries,  prepared  for 
special  purposes,  have  contributed  little  to  a  general  knowledge  of  the  land  and  of 
its  vast  agricultural  resources. 

S.  Paulo  represents  nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  region  in  extent,  and  its 
population  is  greatly  superior  to  that  of  the  two  other  States  together.*  Santa 
Catharina,  smallest  of  the  three,  threatens  to  be  still  further  reduced  by  the  loss 

Fig.  83.— Contested  Brazilo-Argestiiie  Teeeitobt. 

Scale  1  : 3.0i».O0O. 


Territories  claimed  by  Aiijentina. 


Territory  originally 
claimed. 


Territory  added 
to  the  first  claim. 


,  eo  Miles. 


of  the  south-western  district,  which  is  the  territory  claimed  from  Brazil  by 
Argentina.  This  debatable  land  remains  unsettled  and  almost  abandoned  since 
the  Spanish- sneaking  settlers  are  advancing  into  the  interior  by  the  route  of  the 
lower  Parana,  and  the  Portuguese  by  that  of  the  seaboard. 

After  the  first  treaty  of  1750,  a  mixed  commission  was  appointed  to  fix  the 
common  frontier ;  but  its  work  was  never  finished,  and  in  1777  it  was  decided 
by  the  treaty  of  S.  Ildefonso  that  the  boundary  should  foUow  the  waterparting 

•  Area  of  S.  Panlo :  112.000  sqnare  nules  ;  of  Parana  and  Santa  Catharina,  11.3,000  square  miles ; 
respective  populations,  1,386,000  and  423,000. 


202  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

between  the  sources  of  the  Pipiry  Guazu  affluent  of  the  Uruguay  on  one  and  side 
of  the  San  Antonio  affluent  of  tbe  Iguazu  on  the  other,  and  should  "cover  the 
settlements  and  missions  of  Spain  and  PortugaL"  But  the  commissioners  were 
unable  to  identify  these  rivers,  and  after  eighteen  years  of  futile  attempts  to  come 
to  an  understanding  they  ceased  to  act.  Since  then  Paraguay,  one  of  the  heirs 
of  the  Spanish  claims,  has  been  excluded  by  force  of  arms,  and  the  issues  have 
been  narrowed  down  to  the  pretentions  of  Argentina  and  Brazil.  In  1887  the 
question  was  referred  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  who,  however,  has 
to  decide  in  favour  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  litigants  absolutely,  without  the 
option  of  awarding  to  each  a  share  of  the  disputed  territory,  which  has  a  total  area 
of  about  12,000  square  miles,  with  a  scattered  population  (1890)  of  2,000  stock- 
breeders owning  40,000  head  of  cattle. 

Physical  Features. 

South  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  the  Coast  Range  ceases  to  present  the  aspect  of  a 
mountain  chain,  at  least  beyond  the  Bocaina  Mass.  After  ascending  the  seaward 
slope  and  the  slight  prominence  forming  the  scarp  of  the  plateau,  the  traveller 
advancing  from  Santos  finds  himself  on  a  rolling  plain  with  no  apparent  limits 
except  distant  ridges  of  low  elevation.  The  character  of  the  vegetation  also 
changes  abruptly  from  the  tall  and  leafy  trees  of  the  tropical  zone  to  stunted 
growths,  in  many  places  recalling  the  heaths  of  North  Germany,  and  on  the 
terraces  to  groups  of  fine  araucarias  growing  somewhat  wide  apart  and  giving 
free  play  to  the  sunlight. 

Although  the  border  ridges  are  continued  regularly  along  the  sea-coast,  the 
different  sections  take  various  names,  generally  from  the  towns  or  villages  at 
their  foot.  Above  the  port  of  Ubatuba  they  are  known  as  the  Serra  de  Ubatuba  ; 
between  Santos  and  S.  Paulo  as  the  Serra  de  Cubatao,  from  a  hamlet  lost  in  the 
marshy  bush  on  a  creek  enclosing  the  island  of  Santos.  Seen  from  the  coast  the 
crests  seem  to  run  at  a  somewhat  uniform  altitude  of  about  3,000  feet,  and 
consist  of  gneiss  and  granite  pierced  by  eruptive  masses  of  melaphyre.  In  the 
Serra  dos  Itatins  between  Santos  and  Iguape  the  range  would  seem  to  rise  to 
4,'370  feet ;  farther  on  the  Serra  de  Guarahu  presents  the  same  elevation,  and  in 
the  State  of  Parana  the  Serra  Graciosa  rises,  according  to  D'Orville  Derbj%  to 
5,000  feet.  The  Serra  do  Mar  is  crossed  by  the  railway  from  Santos  to  S.  Paulo 
at  an  altitude  of  2,620  feet,  while  the  line  between  Paranagua  and  Curitiba  pierces 
the  crest  through  a  tunnel  3,130  feet  high. 

In  the  State  of  Santa  Catharina  the  system  is  interrupted  by  the  broad  valley 
of  the  Rio  Itajahy,  beyond  which  it  develops  the  superb  terraces  known  as  the 
Campos  de  Boa  Vista,  and  the  picturesque  granite  hills  of  Tubarao.  Here  paleo- 
zoic limestones  and  sandstones  abut  on  the  crystalline  rocks  of  the  Coast  Range, 
and  vast  stalactite  caves  traversed  bj'  running  waters  occur  in  many  places. 
But  the  goldfields,  profitably  worked  during  the  last  century,  have  been  aban- 
doned. 


PHYSICAL  FEATUEES  OF  THE  PAEANA  STATES. 


203 


In  S.  Paulo,  as  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  the  Serra  Mantiqueira  still  runs  parallel 
with  the  Serra  do  Mar,  but  nowhere  presents  any  great  elevations.  Beyond 
Itatiava  it  falls  over  3,000  feet,  although  north  of  Pindamonhaugaba  the  vast 
plateau  of  Campos  do  Jordao  is  dominated  by  crests  and  peaks  ranging  from 
5,000  to  6,000  feet.  In  the  Jloro  do  Lopo,  on  the  borders  of  Minas  Geraes,  the 
chain,  here  5,450  feet  high,  broadens  out,  and  throws  off  numerous  spurs   in   the 


Fi^.  81. — Gbocp  of  Akaucakias -State  of  S.  PAtxo. 

1^ 


direction  of  the  north.  The  heights  near  Pocos  de  Caldas  (5,200  feet  ?)  are  of 
the  same  formation  as  Itatiaya — granites  and  gneiss  associated  with  phonoliths 
and  tuffas  giving  evidence  of  former  volcanic  eruptions. 

Xorth  of  the  capital  the  Serra  Mantiqueira  takes  the  name  of  Cantareira,  and 
beyond  the  pass  where  it  is  crossed  by  the  northern  railway  it  becomes  the  Sierra 
de  Jaragua  from  a  conspicuous  peak  3,600  feet  high.  Beyond  the  broad  and 
deep  valley  of  the  Rio  Tiete  it  merges  on  one  side  in  the  inland  plateaux,  on  the 


204  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

otter  in  the  Serra  do  Mar  system.  On  the  outer  slopes  the  erupted  rocks  have, 
for  the  most  part,  been  transformed  to  the  famous  terra  roxa,  "  red  earth,"  which 
yields  such  magnificent  crops  to  the  coffee  growers.  In  some  places  this  formation 
has  a  thickness  of  GO,  100,  and  even  220  feet.  The  colour  is  of  a  duller  red  than 
that  of  the  terra  vermelha  or  massape,  which  occurs  in  many  other  parts  of  Brazil, 
and  which  is  derived  from  the  disintegrated  granites  of  those  regions.  Agricul- 
turists thoroughly  understand  the  different  shades  of  colour  in  all  these  lands,  the 
market  price  of  which  is,  in  fact,  determined  by  the  particular  hue  of  the  soil. 

On  the  Parana  slope  many  of  the  uplands  are  sufficiently  level  to  take  the 
name  of  campos — broad  expanses  under  grasses  or  low  plants  contrasting  with  the 
primeval  forests  and  capoeiras  or  thickets  of  second  growth.  Although  the 
campos  have  been  enlarged  by  conflagrations,  they  do  not  appear,  as  many  assert, 
to  owe  their  existence  exclusively  to  the  action  of  fire.  These  treeless  regions 
certainly  receive  a  suflacient  rainfall  to  nourish  an  arborescent  vegetation,  for  the 
trees  now  and  then  planted  by  the  half-nomad  settlers  readily  take  root  and 
flourish  without  artificial  irrigation. 


Rivers — Coast  Streams. 

On  the  seaboard  between  the  States  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul 
the  chief  watercourse  is  the  Ribeira  de  Iguape,  whose  headstreams,  rising  on  the 
inland  plateaux,  pierce  the  Serra  do  Mar  through  deep  gorges.  In  its  lower 
course  the  Iguape  flows  close  to  the  coast,  and  even  throws  off  a  branch  three 
miles  long  which  joins  the  Cananea  inlet.  But  the  mainstream  trends  north- 
eastwards to  the  coast  at  a  point  where  the  sea  is  open  and  free  from  reefs.  Small 
steamers  ascend  the  Lower  Iguape  and  even  its  two  affluents,  the  Juquia  and  the 
Jacupiranga.  In  Santa  Catharina  the  chief  river  is  the  Itajahy,  which  traverses 
the  German  settlements,  and  is  thus  better  known  although  inferior  in  size  and 
volume  to  the  Iguape,  whose  catchment  basin  probably  exceeds  11,000  square 
miles. 

The  Serra-abaixo,  "  Piedmont,"  or  narrow  strip  of  coastlands  between  the  Serra 
do  Mar  and  the  Atlantic,  has  been  entirely  formed  by  marine  deposits.  In  the 
sandstones  covered  with  shifting  dunes  are  embedded  stems  and  roots  bearing  a 
great  resemblance  to  the  present  magnolia  trees.  These  deposits  have  certainly 
been  covered  by  the  ocean  within  a  comparatively  recent  period,  and  several 
successive  movements  of  upheaval  and  subsidence  would  appear  to  have  taken 
place.  The  cliffs  containing  vegetable  remains  reveal  eight  or  ten  distinct  strata 
of  varying  thickness,  all  disposed  horizontally.  One  of  these  strata,  consisting  of 
a  nearly  pure  limonite  iron  ore,  has  been  formed  in  marshy  waters.  According  to 
Karl  Rath  the  whole  of  the  South  Brazilian  coast  between  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul  is  at  present  rising.  The  old  Indian  graves,  and  the  tambaqui  or 
shell-mounds  occurring  in  large  numbers  along  the  beach,  all  stand  at  a  height 
of  40  to  80  or  90  feet  above  high  water,  although  they  must  have  been  originally 
deposited  at  sea-level. 


HYDEOGBAPHY  OF  THE  PAEAXA  STATES. 


205 


Along  the  whole  of  the  southern  seaboard  beyond  Santos  frequent  modifica- 
tions have  evidently  taken  place  in  the  contour  line  of  the  coastlands.  On  the 
one  hand,  the  sea  has  penetrated  through  creeks  and  inlets  into  the  mainland  ; 
on  the  other  the  mainland  has  advanced  seawards,  develojjing  mud  banks,  sandy 
spits,  and  cordous  along  the  beach.  In  the  north  the  coast  of  S.  Paulo  has  been 
carved  into  rocky  headlands  and  islands,  plunging  their  steep  escarpments  into 
deep  water,  or  rising,  like  the  large  island  of  S.  Sebastiao,  4,300  feet  above  the 


Fig.  So. — CaXANKA   CHANIfBL. 
Scale  1  :  700,000. 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


Dppths. 


5  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  Fathoms' 
and  upwards. 

12  lliles. 


surface  ;  but  farther  south  is  seen  the  opposite  phenomenon  of  sandy  formations 
fringing  the  shore.  Some  rocky  islands  have  thus  been  joined  to  the  mainland 
by  recent  alluvial  deposits  filling  up  the  intervening  channels.  Such  are  the 
Santos  and  Santo  Amaro  hills,  where  the  old  marine  straits  are  now  represented 
only  by  shallow  backwaters. 

The  vast  Bay  of  Paranagua,  Mhich  greatly  resembles  that  of  Eio  de  Janeiro, 
is  bordered,  like  the  Santos  inlet,  by  marshy  tracts  standing  little  above  sea-level. 
Farther  south  the  large  island  of  S.  Francisco  at  the  Joinville  estuary  has  pre- 
served its  insular  character,  being  still  separated  from  the  mainland  by  an  open 


206 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


channel,  although  its  outer  margin  facing  seawards  coincides  exactly  with  the 
normal  coast-line.     Similar  conditions  are  presented  by  the  granite  island  of  Santa 


Fig.  86.— S.  Seeastiao  akd  its  Island. 
Scale  1  :  500,000. 


£5i- 


45°  50- 


Mest  or  Greenwich 


45°io- 


Depths. 


0to6 

Fathoms. 


5  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  to  25 
Fathoms. 


25  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


1-2  lliles. 


Catharina,  which  an  upheaval  of  eight  or  ten  feet  would  suffice  to  connect  with  the 
mainland  by  a  narrow  stem  projecting  between  the  northern  and  southern  inlets. 


Paran.\  Hydrographic  System. 
To  the  somewhat  precipitous  slope  facing  the  Atlantic  corresponds  the  long 
gentle  incline  stretching  inland  towards  the  Rio  Parana.      One  section  of  this 


THE  EIO  PAEAXA  BASIN. 


207 


inner  slope  has  even  a  northerly  dip,  and  in  this  direction  flow  several  of  the 
large  rivers  in  S.  Paulo,  such  as  the  Tiete  and  the  Mogy  Guassu.  But  their 
course  i«  everywhere  intercepted  by  the  heights  of  the  central  watershed  and 
deflected  south  and  south-west  to  the  Parana. 

In  the  volume  of  its  waters  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  hydrographic  system  belongs 
far  more  to  Brazil  than  to   the  republics  of  Argentina  and  Paraguay.     Although 


Fig.  S".— Pabanaoua  Bat. 
Scale  1  :  S30,000. 


iiiM- 


%,t  oF  G^es'w  :h 


otoie 

Feet. 


Depths. 


16  to  32 
Feet 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


6  Miles. 


it  is  not  disposed  in  the  direction  of  the  main  fluvial  axis,  the  Brazilian  Parana 
receives  the  most  numerous  and  the  most  copious  affluents  from  the  watershed 
near  the  Atlantic,  and  has  a  much  longer  course  than  the  Paraguay  branch.  In 
this  respect  the  Parana  occupies  a  position  in  the  Plate  system  analogous  to  that 
of  the  Missouri  in  the  Mississippi  basin. 

Of  the  numerous  headwaters  of  the  Parana  the  most  important  are  the 
Corumba,  the  San  Marcos  or  the  Paranahyba,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  which 
of  these  has  the  best  claim   to  be  regarded  as  the  main  branch.      The  Parana- 


208  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

hyba  rises  at  the  point  fartliest  removed  from  the  fluvial  axis,  and  at  first  flows 
due  north  in  the  direction  of  the  S.  Francisco.  But  while  still  a  small  stream 
it  bends  round  north-west  and  west  to  the  junction  with  the  San  Marcos  descend- 
ing from  the  north. 

Some  125  miles  lower  down  the  mainstream  is  joined  by  the  copious  Corumba, 
issuing  from  the  rocky  gorges  of  the  Pyrenees  Mountains,  and  farther  on  by  Meia 
Ponte  and  the  Rio  dos  Bois  descending  from  the  same  watershed.  From  the 
opposite  side  comes  the  Rio  das  Velhas  with  the  contributions  of  the  Canastra  and 
Matta  de  Corda  uplands.  At  the  confluence  of  the  Rio  Grande,  which  rises  on 
the  Minas  Geraes  plateaux,  the  mainstream  takes  the  name  of  Parana,  that  is 
"  River,"  in  a  pre-eminent  sense,  which  it  retains  for  the  rest  of  its  course  to 
the  Plate  estuary. 

The  Rio  Grande  is  distinguished  from  all  the  other  branches  both  by  its 
greater  volume,  and  by  the  rugged  character  of  its  upper  basin.  Its  chief  head- 
stream  rises  in  the  Itatiaya  group  over  8,200  feet  above  sea-level,  and  although  it 
is  joined  by  several  large  streams,  such  as  the  Rio  das  Mortes  and  the  Sapucahy 
from  the  north,  and  the  Rio  Pardo  from  the  S.  Paulo  uplands,  its  upper  course  is 
too  steep  to  be  navigable  except  for  short  stretches.  Here  it  is  interrupted  by 
several  grand  waterfalls,  such  as  the  Maribondo  Cascade  below  the  Pardo  confluence 
with  a  drop  of  about  65  feet.  Other  cataracts  have  been  gradually  obliterated  by 
the  erosion  of  the  reefs  which  obstructed  the  current.  Thus  south  of  Uberaba  all 
the  schistose  masses,  by  which  the  river  was  formerly  blocked,  have  been  eaten 
away  piecemeal.  Nothing  now  remains  of  these  barriers  except  some  fragments 
of  solid  quartz,  which  form  rocky  islets  in  mid-streara.  At  one  jjoint  these 
islets  have  served  as  the  foundations  of  a  bridge,  which  the  engineers  have  built 
across  the  Rio  Grande,  and  the  twenty-five  piers  of  which  all  stand  on  these 
natural  supports. 

Both  the  Pardo  and  its  Mogy  Guassu  affluent,  as  well  as  the  Tiete,  flowing 
more  to  the  south,  parallel  with  the  Rio  Grande,  all  present  long  stretches  of 
navigable  waterways,  thanks  to  their  more  gentle  incline  and  to  the  works  that 
have  been  carried  out  to  regulate  their  course.  The  Mogy  Guassu,  which  winds 
through  the  most  flourishing  coffee  plantations  in  S.  Paulo,  has  a  continuous 
navigable  channel  of  140  miles,  scarcely  interrupted  by  a  few  rapids  which  have 
been  improved  by  lateral  weirs. 

Of  all  the  Parana  affluents  the  Tiete  has  its  sources  nearest  to  the  Atlantic, 
some  of  its  headstreams  rising  within  seven  or  eight  miles  of  the  coast,  but  over 
3,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Being  connected  by  rail  with  the  port  of  Santos,  its 
valley,  like  that  of  the  Mogy  Guassu,  give  access  to  the  till  recently  deserted 
regions  of  the  Campos  of  the  Parana.  Its  lower  course,  however,  is  obstructed  by 
the  Avanhandava  and  Itapura  falls,  respectively  44  and  65  feet  high.  A  few 
miles  below  the  Tiete  confluence,  the  Parana  itself  develops  the  great  Urubupunga 
("  Vulture  ")  falls. 

Below  the  Tiete  follow  other  large  tributaries,  such  as  the  Sucuryu,  Rio 
Verde,  Ivinheima,  and  Paranapanema,  the  last-mentioned  being  nearly  as  copious 


I 


THE  PAEANA  BASIN. 


209 


as  the  Rio  Grande.  About  half  of  the  Paranapanema  basin,  comprising  some 
30,000  square  miles,  still  figures  on  the  maps  as  the  Zona  desconhccida,  the  "  Un- 
known Zone." 

The  Paranapanema,  or  "  Useless  Piver,"  as  the  word  is  interpreted  by  some 
etvmolocists,  fully  deserves  its  name,  so  completely  obstructed  is  its  channel  by 
projectint'  reefs  and  rapids.  At  the  present  limit  of  navigation  below  the  Rio 
Pardo,  occurs  the  Salt  Grande,  "  Great  Fall,"  where  a  volume  of  about  1,000 
cubic  feet  per  second  is  precipitated   some  30  feet   down  to  a  seething  chasm, 


Fig.  88. — Falls  of  the  PiK.iNAPANEiii  above  axd  below  S.  Sebasilio. 
Scale  1 :  750,000. 


49'56- 


49'34- 


nest  oh  breenv-zlcVi 


2,200  Yards. 


■whence  the  boiling  waters  escape  through  a  narrow  cleft  in  the  rocks.  Other 
cascades  follow,  preventing  all  navigation  down  to  the  Tilbagy  confluence, 
whence  the  channel  is  free  to  its  junction  with  the  Parana,  850  feet  above  sea 
level. 

Parallel  with  the  Paranapanema,  flow  the  Ivahy  and  Piquiry,  joining  the 
great  artery  on  the  plateau  above  the  point  where  it  forces  its  way  through  the 
Maracaju    (Mbaracajni)    ridge   on   the    Paraguay   frontier  down    to    the    plains. 

VOL.    XIX.  I' 


210  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Above  this  point  the  Parana  expands  to  a  broad  lake  with  two  branches 
enclosing  a  large  island,  beyond  which  it  tumbles  over  several  falls  from  50 
to  60  feet  high,  all  differing  in  the  character  of  their  rocks  and  vegetation,  as 
well  as  in  the  volume  of  water  precipitated.  The  Sefe  Qucdas,  or  "Seven 
Falls,"  as  this  group  is  popularly  called,  must  not  be  taken  in  the  literal  sense, 
for  the  stream  ramifies  in  the  dry  season  at  times  into  as  many  as  twenty  partial 
currents,  while  during  the  floods  all  merge  in  a  single  liquid  mass.  In  1631,  when 
the  Jesuits  had  to  abandon  their  missions  of  la  Guayra  they  lost  in  these  waters 
over  300  boats,  and  since  then  the  Sete  Quedas  have  been  known  by  the  alterna- 
tive name  of  the  Guayra  Falls. 

Below  this  point  the  Parana,  after  gliding  over  a  few  more  rapids,  gradually 
enters  on  its  tranquil  course,  and  is  here  joined  by  its  last  great  affluent  formerly 
called  the  Eio  Grande  de  Curitiba,  now  better  known  by  its  Guarani  name  Iguazu 
(Y-guassu).  Like  the  parallel  rios,  Paranapanema  and  Tiete,  the  Iguazu  is 
interrupted  by  a  succession  of  cascades,  terminating  at  the  Victoria  Falls  with  an 
extreme  drop  of  140  feet.  At  this  point  the  Brazilian  Government  has  estab- 
lished its  military  colony  and  arsenal,  commanding  the  navigation  of  the  whole 
course  of  the  Lower  Parana  as  far  as  the  Argentine  waters.  The  famous  Con- 
quistador Alvar  Nunez  had  followed  this  route  on  his  daring  journey  from  Brazil 
to  Paraguay  in  1542. 

Beyond  the  Iguazu  confluence,  the  Parana,  henceforth  free  from  cataracts  or 
dangerous  rapids,  passes  through  several  narrow  gorges,  such  as  that  of  Itangu- 
aymi,  where  the  stream,  4,000  or  5,000  yards  broad  in  some  places,  contracts  to 
scarcely  460  feet.  Lower  down  the  river  maintains  everj'where  a  great  width, 
rolling  down  a  vast  body  of  yellowish  water  studded  with  low  islands  and  lined 
by  marshy  banks.  At  the  Paraguay  confluence  its  volume  is  often  ten  times 
greater  than  that  of  the  rival  stream. 

Climate. 

In  a  general  way  the  climate  of  the  region  resembles  that  of  Miuas  Geraes, 
with  the  essential  diflerence  that,  lying  partly  beyond  the  tropical  zone,  it  enjoys 
a  greater  diversity  of  seasons.  Here  the  winters  are  real  winters,  characterised  by 
a  marked  fall  of  the  temperature,  by  cold  polar  winds,  and  at  times  even  by  snow. 

But  the  chief  contrast  is  less  between  north  and  south  than  between  east  and 
west,  as  determined  by  the  varying  altitudes.  The  littoral  zone  at  the  foot  of 
the  coast  range  still  belongs  partlj'  to  the  torrid  region,  and  merges  southwards 
in  subtropical  lands  resembKng  Italy  both  in  their  climate  and  their  verdant 
seaward  slopes. 

Another  parallel  zone  is  that  of  the  "  Serra,"  or  "  Mountain,"  marked  by  a 
lower  temperature,  but  still  imder  the  influence  of  the  moist  sea  breezes.  This  is 
followed  by  the  inner  and  much  broader  zone  of  the  Campos,  presenting  the 
normal  conditions  of  a  continental  climate  with  its  great  range  of  temperatuj'es,  in 
some  years  exceeding  60°  or  70°  Fahr. 


h 


J 


FLORA  OF  S.  PAULO.  211 

On  the  Campos,  which  are  gradually  being  brought  under  cultivation,  frosts 
are  much  dreaded,  especially  when  cold  nights  arc  followed  by  sultry  days,  when 
the  glass  rises  to,  and  even  above,  8G°  Fahr.  Frosts  follow,  especially  after  heavy 
rains,  when  radiation  is  stimulated  by  clear,  cloudless  skies.  The  rainfall  itself 
is  very  unequally  distributed,  rising  in  some  years  from  nearly  120  inches  at 
Santos  to  over  160  on  the  crests  of  the  neighbouring  mountains,  and  then  falling 
to  less  than  40  at  S.  Paulo  on  the  landward  slope.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
aerial  currents  generally  maintain  their  normal  direction  throughout  the  year.  A 
regular  diurnal  alteration  takes  place  between  the  south-east  marine,  and  the 
north-west  land  breezes,  the  former  prevailing  during  the  night  and  early  morning, 
the  latter  in  the  evening. 

Thus  S.  Paulo,  although  standing  on  the  inland  plateau,  enjoys  a  semi-marine 
climate ;  but  a  few  miles  farther  on  the  conditions  are  entirely  changed.*  The 
line  of  equal  magnetic  declination  traverses  the  State  of  S.  Paulo  with  a  gradual 
incline  towards  the  west.  In  1885  it  had  reached  the  seaboard  above  Iguape  a 
short  distance  to  the  west  of  Santos. 


Flora  and  Fauna. 

During  the  winter  months  (June,  July  and  August)  the  bare  trunks  of  the  trees, 
the  withered  herbage  and  the  absence  of  flowers,  impart  a  dreary  aspect  to  the 
landscape.  But  with  the  first  rains  nature  is  transformed,  and,  as  if  by  enchant- 
ment, the  plains  are  covered  with  the  green  sprouts  of  young  plants,  and  even 
with  brilliant  corollas.  According  to  the  seasons  diiierent  groups  of  flowers  burst 
into  bloom,  blue,  yellow  or  red  tints  predominating  each  in  its  turn. 

Loefgren  estimates  at  2,000  the  number  of  plant  forms  growing  on  the  Campos 
of  S.  Paulo.  Here  the  araucaria  paraiiensis  is  one  of  the  characteristic  forest 
trees,  abounding  especially  in  the  more  temperate  zone.  In  general,  the  tropical 
selva  is  intermingled  with  the  herbaceous  vegetation  of  the  Plate  region,  the 
former  prevailing  especially  on  the  seaboard,  and  along  the  valleys  of  the  streams 
flowing  to  the  Parana  ;  but  here  great  clearances  have  already  been  made  by  the 
planters,  the  soil  of  the  forest  tracts  being  found  the  most  favourable  also  for  the 
coffee  shrub. 

But  in  many  districts  the  woodlands  have  been  cleared  too  rapidly.  Much 
ground,  carelessly  prepared  for  tillage,  has  had  to  be  abandoned  after  a  preliminary 
attempt  at  cultivation,  and  new  forests,  consisting  of  different  species,  take  the 
place  of  the  primitive  selva.  Such  tracts,  locally  called  Capociras,  are  less 
beautiful,  less  picturesque  than  the  virgin  forest,  and  at  the  same  time  more 
difiicult  to  traverse.     These  thickets,  with  their   tangle  of   thorny  bushes  and 


*  Meteorological  conditions  in 

the  Parana  States : — 

Lat. 

Altituae. 

Mean  Temp. 

EainfaU. 

Rainy  Days. 

City  of  S.  Paulo 

23'  35' 

2,460  feet. 

65'  Fahr. 

55  inches 

1.52 

Campinas  . 

22°  .58' 

2,170    „ 

68'      „ 

60      „ 

171 

Itapetinuiga 

23"  35' 

2,120    „ 

64°      „ 

54      „ 

y 

Blumenau 

26°  55' 

164    „ 

p2 

70°    „ 

•»      „ 

113 

212  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

other  undergrowths,  arc,  ia  fact,  accessible  only  to  the  tapir  and  the  hunter 
familiar  with  the  practicable  tracks. 

The  herbaceous  vegetation  of  the  Campos  differs  little  in  its  general  aspect 
from  that  of  the  Argentine  pampas.  Here  also  the  plains  are  dotted  over  with 
clumps  of  low  trees,  which  shed  their  leaves  during  the  drj'  season.  But  vast 
spaces  are  entirely  treeless,  either  owing  to  the  periodical  conflagrations,  or  because 
arborescent  vegetation  is  prevented  from  striking  root  by  the  dense  growth  of 
herbaceous  plants.  These  plants  themselves,  however,  present  a  great  variety  of 
forms,  resembling  in  their  main  features  those  of  the  pampas,  and  even  of  the 
Andean  punas. 

Similar  contrasts  are  offered  by  the  local  fauna.  Monkeys,  coatis,  capyvaras, 
sloths,  ant-eaters,  and  tapirs  are  still  met  in  S.  Paulo  and  Parana ;  turtles  and 
crocodiles  also  frequent  the  streams ;  while  the  flowery  plains  are  enlivened  by 
gaudy  butterflies  and  humming-birds  of  resplendent  plumage.  The  fiandu,  or 
plateau  ostrich,  which  has  disappeared  from  North  Brazil,  is  still  found  in  some- 
what numerous  flocks  on  the  Parana  campos.  But  he  cannot  hope  long  to 
escape  from  the  pursuit  of  the  sportsman  with  his  deadly  rifle  and  swift 
hound.  The  American  ostrich  must  soon  become  a  mythical  bird  like  so 
many  other  species  that  have  already  disappeared.  It  will  become  associated 
with  the  other  monstrous  forms  created  by  the  popular  fancy,  or  exag- 
gerated by  vague  tradition.  Thus,  according  to  the  unanimous  testimony  of 
the  natives,  the  region  of  the  water-parting  between  the  sources  of  the  Parana 
and  of  the  Uruguay,  was  formerly,  and  perhaps  still  is,  infested  by  a  "  worm  "  of 
huge  proportions,  strong  enough  to  uproot  the  trees  on  the  marshy  ground.  The 
legend  has  reference  perhaps  to  some  extinct  anaconda  of  exceptional  size,  and 
may  be  regarded  as  a  lingering  reminiscence  of  the  serpent- worship  which  lies  at 
the  origin  of  so  many  religious  systems. 

Mr.  Wells  tells  us  that  certain  marshy  districts  called  hurityzak  are  stiU  the 
haunts  of  enormous  anacondas,  of  such  a  size  that  he  hesitates  to  give  their  exact 
length  for  fear  of  being  charged  with  exaggeration.  He  adds,  however,  that  they 
are  "  certainly  longer  than  I  have  ever  heard  of  any  species  of  snake  in  any  part 
of  the  globe."  He  was  assured  by  the  natives  that  cattle  wading  into  the  swamps 
to  drink  water  are  often  swallowed  by  the  monsters,  all  but  the  head  and  horns, 
and  he  seems  to  give  some  credence  to  the  statement.* 

Inhabitants. 

Pre-historic  remains  abound  on  the  seaboard,  where  hundreds  of  shell-mounds 
are  met,  containing,  like  those  of  Europe,  chipped  stones  and  other  objects  of 
primitive  industry.  In  these  fambaqui,  ■smlgarly  pronounced  sambaqui,  have  also 
been  found  skeletons  belonging  to  very  different  types,  usually  seated  and  associ- 
ated with  vases,  ornaments,  weapons,  and  utensils,  the  implements  being  mostly 
of  basalt,  but  also  of  porphyry,  quartz,  and  meteoric  iron. 

*   Three  Thousand  Miles  Through  Brnzil,  vol.  II.  p.  167. 


INHABIT.VXTS  OF  THE  PARANA  KEGIOXS.  213 

The  stell-mounds  certainly  date  from  a  remote  epoeli,  for  several  have  disap- 
peared beneath  the  detritus  washed  down  by  ancient  streams,  while  large  trees  of 
the  primeval  forest  have  struck  root  in  others.  Some  represent  a  prodigious 
amount  of  labour,  being  over  300  feet  wide  and  50  feet  high.  For  two  or  three 
hundred  vears  they  have  furnished  the  lime-bumers  with  sufficient  materials  to 
supply  Eio  Santos  and  many  other  towns  with  Kme,  yet  a  considerable  number 
still  remain. 

On  the  plateaux  are  also  seen  numerous  sepulchral  mounds,  which  are  known 
in  the  country  by  the  appropriate  name  of  scjmlturns  relhas,  "  old  burial  grounds." 
It  is  noteworthy  that  the  earth  used  in  the  construction  of  these  barrows  is  always 
different  from  that  of  the  surrounding  soil.  Some  are  built  of  stones,  in  which 
case  the  materials  have  also  been  brought  from  a  distance,  as  if  some  religious 
idea  were  associated  with  the  increased  labour  thus  involved. 

From  the  form  of  most  of  the  skulls  found  in  the  old  graves  it  may  be  inferred 
that  the  pre-historic  aborigines  belonged  to  the  same  race  as  the  contemporary 
Tupi  and  Guarani  peoples.  Nevertheless,  Loefgren  found  in  a  tambaqiii  sis  miles 
west  of  S.  Vicente  a  skull  analogous  to  those  brought  to  Kght  by  Lund  in  the 
Lagoa  Santa  caves. 

When  the  first  Europeans  arrived,  the  dominant  Tamoyos  were  very  powerful, 
and  took  the  lead  in.  a  general  alliance  of  all  the  coast  tribes  against  the  Portu- 
guese. These  would,  in  fact,  have  probably  been  exterminated  but  for  the 
intervention  of  the  Jesuits,  Kobrega  and  Anchieta,  who  induced  the  warlike 
Indians  to  make  peace  at  a  critical  junctui-e. 

The  other  natives  of  the  coastlands — Goyanazes,  Ttatias,  Piturunas,  Guanha- 
nari,  Carijos— have  all  been  merged  in  the  general  population,  which  is  now 
rapidly  miugling  with  the  most  diverse  elements.  The  Italians  arrive  in  great 
numbers  in  S.  Paulo,  and  in  many  rural  districts  are  already  in  the  majority. 
With  them  come  other  Europeans,  besides  gypsies,  eastern  Jews,  and  JIaronites 
from  Syria.  In  general,  the  Paulist  type  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  finest 
in  Brazil.  According  to  a  local  saying,  we  are  asked  to  admire,  in  Bahia,  the 
/le's,  not  the  sAe's ;  ia  Pernambuco,  thq^  she's,  not  the  he's ;  in  S.  Paulo,  the  she's 
and  the  he's. 

Being  broken  into  scattered  groups,  the  aborigines  of  the  Parana  States  no 
longer  possess  any  kind  of  solidarity  in  their  struggles  against  the  whites,  and  are 
thus  destroyed  in  detail.  Those  grouped  round  the  Jesuit  mission  of  La  Guayra 
were  the  first  to  disappear,  whole  communities  of  peaceful  neophytes  being  dis- 
persed or  led  captive  during  the  ten  years  ending  1638.  The  Jesuits  themselves  had 
to  take  flight,  and  in  1641  Montoya  attempted  to  remove  the  survivors  to  the 
district  at  present  known  as  the  "  Missions  "  on  the  banks  of  the  Lower  Parana. 
But  in  the  exodus  more  than  half  of  his  faithful  adherents  perished,  and  after  all 
the  massacres,  hardships,  and  disasters  in  the  river  only  12,000  remained  of  those 
once  flourishing  congregations. 

Of  late  years  a  certain  counter-movement  has  set  in  amongst  the  indigenous 
populations.     Being  arrested  or  driven  back  by  the  rising   flood  of  Argentine 


214  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

colonisation,  some  of  tlie  Guarani  Indians,  who  had  come  originallj'  from  the 
south,  have  retraced  their  steps  in  the  direction  of  the  Upper  Parana.  A  few 
families,  immigrants  from  Paraguay,  now  dwell  in  the  western  forests  of  the 
State  of  S.  Paulo,  and  these  do  good  service  as  boatmen  in  forwarding  merchan- 
dise by  the  water  highway.  But  they  nowhere  group  themselves  in  villages 
under  the  control  of  the  whites,  and  they  also  keep  aloof  from  the  surrounding 
aborigines. 

The  aborigines,  who  continued  to  lead  a  savage  existence  in  the  forests  and  on 
the  campos,  collectively  called  Bugres  by  the  Brazilians,  belong"  to  three  distinct 
families  :  Chavantes,  Cayuas  or  Cayovas,  and  Coroados.  It  is  imcertain  whether 
the  chavantes  are  of  the  same  stock  as  those  bearing  the  same  name  on  the  banks 
of  the  Araguaya  and  Tocantins.  Their  Coroado  neighbours  call  them  Cucurton, 
that  is,  "Unclothed."  They  are  noted  for  their  repulsive  features  and  nearly 
black  colour,  and  lead  a  wretched  existence,  without  huts  or  tents,  cultivating  no 
land,  and  living  on  roots,  fruits,  lizards,  and  rats.  During  the  dry  season  they 
fire  the  savannas,  and  kill  with  branches  all  the  small  animals  that  try  to  escape 
the  conflagrations.  They  pass  whole  days  digging  for  the  honey  of  a  little 
burrowing  bee,  using  for  the  purpose  the  scraps  of  iron  they  steal  from  the 
settlers. 

In  S.  Paulo  and  Parana  the  Paranapanema  basin  is  partly  occupied  by  about 
3,000  Cayuas,  who  are  certainly  of  Tupi  origin,  their  Abanheenga  language 
differing  little  from  the  lingua  gcral.  Several  members  of  the  tribe  are  now  asso- 
ciated with  the  whites,  and  take  part  in  the  field  operations ;  but  they  have  the 
reputation  of  being  extremely  sensitive,  so  that  the  colonists  have  to  be  constantly 
on  their  guard  to  avoid  giving  them  offence. 

The  Cayuas  are  expert  boatmen  and  daring  swimmers,  and  display  great  skill 
in  shooting  the  rapids.  They  weave  excellent  robes  or  blankets  with  nettle  fibre, 
make  good  earthenware,  and  cultivate  a  variety  of  maize  unknown  to  the  whites. 
They  reckon  by  sevens,  and  still  wear  the  tembcta  or  cherimhita,  a  stick  of  resin 
introduced  into  the  lower  lip,  and  looking  like  a  long  thorn.  Similar  ornaments 
of  transparent  quartz  or  other  hard  material  are  used  in  various  other  parts  of 
Brazil,  and  the  practice  was  formerly  far  more  general,  perhaps  universal, 
amongst  the  populations  of  the  whole  region  between  the  Amazons  and  the 
Parana. 

To  the  third  indigenous  group  of  S.  Paulo  the  Brazilians  apply  the  name  of 
Coroados,  "  Crowned  "  ;  but  these  Coroados  are  of  different  stock  from  other  tribes 
similarly  designated,  such  as  those  who  formerly  occupied  the  State  of  Santa 
Catharina,  and  who  have  left  Tupi  names  to  all  the  rivers  of  that  region.  The 
term  has  reference  merely  to  the  common  fashion  of  wearing  the  hair  in  form  of  a 
crown  round  a  tonsure  on  top  of  the  head. 

The  Paranapanema  Coroados  are  a  thick-set,  vigorous  race,  with  broad 
shoulders,  large  head,  powerful  jaws,  and  small  eyes.  In  fact,  they  present  a 
tj^G  somewhat  analogous  to  that  of  the  Asiatic  Mongols,  whereas  most  of  the 
Tupis    have    the    eagle-like    physiognomy    of     the    North-American    Redskins. 


TOPOGEAPHT  OF  illNAS  GEBAES.  215 

Neither  the  Cavuas  nor  the  Chavantes  understand  the  language  of  the  Coroados, 
who  have  been  credited  with  a  symbolic  system  of  representation,  which  the 
whites  are  unable  to  interpret,  and  which  will  probably  have  perished  before  any 
attempt  can  be  be  made  to  decipher  the  symbols. 

The  traveller  crossing  the  woodlands  enclosed  on  all  four  sides  by  the  rivers 
Paranapanema,  Parana,  Ivahy,  and  Tibagy,  often  meets  in  the  vicinity  of  aban- 
doned huts  coils  of  creeping  plants  suspended  across  the  path  intentionally  and 
decorated  with  bits  of  wood,  feathers,  bones,  birds'  talons,  the  jaws  of  monkeys 
or  of  wild  boars,  and  similar  strange  objects.  From  their  peculiar  arrangement  it 
seems  evident  that  the  whole  series  forms  a  sort  of  historic  record,  a  statement  or 
message  addressed  for  some  purpose  to  allied  or  kindred  tribes,  and  intelligible  to 
them. 

Occasionally  the  Coroados  make  use  of  this  mysterious  method  of  composition 
to  threaten  the  whites.  Arms  planted  in  the  ground,  wings  of  the  aras,  like 
those  with  which  they  feather  their  arrows,  are  symbols,  the  sense  of  which  can 
scarcely  be  misunderstood.  They  are  certainly  more  significant  than  the  strange 
markings  which  from  time  to  time  appear  on  the  mangoes  and  other  trees  over 
wide  tracts  in  India,  and  which  raise  periodical  scares  amongst  the  white  rulers 
of  the  land. 


Topography — Towns  of  South  3Ii>as. 

Since  the  introduction  of  railwavs  new  directions  have  been  given  to  the 
current  of  migration.  Thanks  to  the  facilities  afforded  by  this  means  of  commu- 
nication, the  populations  of  the  Upper  S.  Francisco,  and  of  the  chief  towns,  such 
as  Ouro  Preto,  Sahara,  and  Pitanguy,  have  begun  to  gravitate  in  the  direction  of 
Eio  de  Janeiro,  despite  the  natural  slope  of  the  land,  which  should  constitute 
Bahia  the  centre  of  attraction.  Still  more  powerfully  drawn  towards  Eio  and 
S.  Paulo  are  the  mineral  tosvns  of  the  south-east  in  the  Parahyba  basin,  and 
those  of  the  south-western  districts  traversed  by  the  head-waters  of  the  Parana. 
Several  of  these  places  have  already  acquired  some  importance  as  secondary 
centres  of  trade  and  industry.  In  these  respects  they  have  even  outstripped  the 
city  of  Ouro  Preto,  which  stiU  retains  the  rank  of  capital,  but  which  is  situated  in 
a  narrow  valley  draining  to  the  Rio  Doce,  and  standing  apart  from  the  main  high- 
ways of  communication. 

On  the  Parahyba  slope,  within  the  ilinas  frontier,  the  chief  place  is  Juiz  de 
Fora,  which  stands  about  2,300  feet  above  the  sea  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Para- 
hybuna  affluent.  Here  is  the  seat  of  a  flourishing  German  colony,  and  since  the 
opening  of  the  central  railway  and  of  the  carriage-road  to  Petropolis,  Juiz  de 
Fora  has  become  an  industrial  town,  and  the  most  active  agricultural  centre  in 
Minas  Geraes.  It  now  aspires  to  succeed  Ouro  Preto  as  the  future  capital  of  the 
State. 

In  the  same  basin  follow  other  thriving  settlements,  such  as  Parahyhuna,  on 
the  river  of  like  name,  at  the  foot  of  the  superb  Fortaleza  bluff;  Mar  de  Hespanha, 


216 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Fig.  89.— Jinz  ee  Foea. 

SoiUe  1 :  90,000. 


in  the  midst  of  coffee  plantations,  on  a  terrace  stretching  north  of  the  Eio  Para- 
hyba ;  Leopoldlna,  which  has  given  its  name  to  an  extensive  S3'stcm  of  railwaj's, 
with  terminus  at  Nictheroy,  on  the  bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  with  numerous 
branches  ramifying  through  Espirito  Santo  and  Minas  Geraes ;  Uba,  also  in  a 
coffee-growing  district  on  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Serra  de  S.  Geraldo,  which  is 
crossed  by  a  winding  railway  at  an  altitude  of  2,400  feet. 

On  the  Parana  slope  of  Minas  Geraes  Barbacena  occupies  a  position  analogous 

to  that  of  Juiz  de  Fora  on  the 
Parahyba  slope.  Standing  at  an 
elevation  of  3,680  feet  near  the 
central  divide  of  Brazil,  it  com- 
mands the  watersheds  of  the  four 
great  rivers,  Parahyba  do  Sul,  Rio 
Doce,  S.  Francisco,  and  Parana. 
Barbacena  may  thus  be  regarded  as 
the  central  city  of  Brazil,  and  it 
accordingly  claims  like  Juiz  de  Fora 
to  be  chosen  as  the  State  capital. 
It  presents  a  pleasant  appearance, 
spread  out  in  amphitheatrical  form 
on  the  crest  of  a  long  ridge  planted 
with  bananas  and  orange  groves. 
Several  of  the  surrounding  valleys 
are  frequented  as  health  resorts  by 
the  people  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  during 
the  hot  season. 

On  the  neighbouring  heights 
rises  the  Rio  das  Mortes,  whose 
name  recalls  the  sanguinary  con- 
flicts of  former  times  between  the 
Paulistas  and  the  gold-hunters  of 
other  provinces.  This  river  flows 
westwards  in  a  valley  whore  are 
situated  the  twin  towns  of  Tira- 
dcntcs  (formerly  S.  Jose  del  Rey), 
and  S.  Jo~to  del  Re)/,  founded  by  the 
Paulistas  in  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Although  no  longer 
important  mining  centres,  these  places  have  become  busy  market  towns  in  the 
midst  of  numerous  German,  Belgian,  and  Italian  settlers,  who  grow  corn  and 
tobacco,  and  also  occupy  themselves  with  stock-breeding  and  dairy-farming. 

The  vine  thrives  in  this  district,  though  less  exuberantly  than  in  the 
industrious  municipality  of  CamjMiiha,  which  lies  to  the  south-west  in  a  valley 
draining  to  the  Rio  Grande. 

S.  Joao  del  Rey  is  amongst  the   towns  which  aspire  to  the  honour  of  being 


^'P^^ 


West  oF  Cr, 


2  Miles. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  MDfAS  GERAES. 


217 


Fig.  90. — Baebacesa. 

Scale  1  :  23,000. 


F?7!™S5?vFri7^7T^:5^vr-^^ 


-T- 


~  -A3*  i 

\  vbtation 


A 


selected  as  the  federal  capital.  The  commission  appointed  to  examine  the  rival 
claims  and  report  on  the  most  convenient  site  for  the  future  metropolis  of  Brazil 
has  revived  the  idea  of  the  Marqviis  de  Pomhal,  who  favoured  S.  Paulo.  It 
recommended  in  the  first  place  Varzea  do  Mortal,  in  a  pleasant  gently  sloping 
valley,  which  stretches  east  of  S.  Joao  beyond  the  Rio  das  Mortes.  Although 
pent  up  in  a  narrow  gorge  with 
steep  escarpments  preventing  the 
free  circulation  of  the  air,  and  close 
to  a  deep  sink  where  were  formerly 
collected  the  waters  of  the  sur- 
rounding mines,  S.  Joao  is  a  healthy 
town.  Yarzea  do  ilarcal  would 
appear  to  be  still  more  favourably 
situated  on  breezy  terraces  with 
abundance  of  pure  water  and  ample 
space  for  expansion  in  the  direction 
of  Tiradentes. 

The  southern  region  of  Minas 
Geraes,  wedged  in  between  the 
States  of  Eio  de  Janeiro  and  S. 
Paulo,  abounds  more  than  any  other 
part  of  Brazil  in  thermal  waters. 
Here  are  to  be  found,  within  easy 
reach  of  the  capital  and  in  a  salu- 
brious climate,  all  the  restorative 
conditions  which  so  many  citizens 
of  Eio  travel  yearly  all  the  way 
to  Europe  in  search  of.  The  hills 
rising  to  the  south  of  Campanha 
bear  the  name  of  Serra  das  Aguas 
Virfiwsas,  "  Range  of  the  Salutary 
Waters,"  and  the  church  erected 
on  the  spot  has  been  dedicated  to 
"  Our  Lady  of  Health." 

Strangers  have  already  been 
attracted  to  the  Lamhary  springs, 
near  the  river  of  like  name,  but  in 
less  numbers  than  to  those  of  Cax- 

ambii,  a  watering-place  over  two  miles  south-west  of  Baependy,  at  the  foot  of  a 
dome-shaped  mountain.  The  six  chief  springs  of  this  place,  gaseous  and  alkaline, 
resemble  those  of  Coutrexeville.  Other  mineral  streams  occur  at  Coutendm,  in 
a  neighbouring  vaUev,  and  125  miles  farther  west  Caklas,  formerly  Ouro  Fino, 
occupies  the  centre  of  another  thermal  region  draining  through  the  Rio  Sapucahy 
to  the  Rio  Grande.    In  this  rugged  mountainous  district  Pogos  de  Caldas,  ydth  its 


•iS'^o  MS5L  ol~  l/rse" 


1,100  Yards. 


218 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


bathing  establisliments  and  groups  of  villas,  stands  on  a  rivulet  fed  by  four 
sulphurous  springs.  The  district  is  reached  from  the  stations  of  Campinas  and 
Mogy  Mirim,  on  a  branch  line  belonging  to  the  S.  Paulo  railway  system. 

Uberaha,  natural  centre  of  the  Triangulo  Miiieiro,  "  Mining  Triangle,"  that  is, 
the  western  section  of  Minas  between  the  Paranahyba  and  Rio  Grande  headwaters 
of  the  Parana,  lies  on  the  Camjjos  north  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  is  at  present  the 
most  important  place  in  the  Brazilian  Far  West.  Founded  in  1807  in  the  midst 
of  the  Cayapo  Indians,  it  has  already  become  a  busy  trading  centre,  forwarding  to 


Fig.  91.— S.  Jolo  DEL  Key  and  Vaezea  do  MAEfAL. 
Scale  1  :  80,000. 


44°27' 


West  oF  G, 


i!,'200  Yards. 


Goyas  and  Matto  Grosso  the  goods  brought  up  by  rail  from  the  coast,  and  ex- 
porting in  return  livestock  and  agricultural  produce.  "Westwards  the  railway  is 
to  be  continued  through  the  flourishing  town  of  Frudal  to  the  Maribondo  Falls, 
at  the  head  of  the  navigation  on  the  Rio  Grande.  The  Cruzeiro  do  Sul, 
"Southern  Star,"  largest  diamond  of  the  New  World,  was  found  in  1854  near 
Bagagem,  in  the  gravels  of  a  brook  flowing  to  the  Paranahyba. 

In  the  Parahyba  valley,  traver.sod  by  the  trunk-line  between  Rio  de  Janeiro 
and  S.  Paulo,  are  situated  several  important  places,  such  as  Ca^apara,  Taithate, 
Findamonhangaha,    Cruaratingueta,    Lorena,    and     Cruzeiro.       Taubate,    the    old 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  illXAS  GEEAES.  219 

Ifahoate  of  the  Guayanas,  takes  the  first  place  from  the  historic  standpoint. 
The  natives  who  inhabited  the  district  on  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  in  the 
sixteenth  century  were  at  war  with  the  people  of  Piratininga,  the  colony  which 
gave  birth  to  S.  Paulo,  and  the  rivalries  of  these  Indian  tribes  were  perpetuated 
bv  their  half-caste  descendants.  Conflicts  frequently  took  place  between  the 
miners  of  S.  Paulo  and  those  of  Taubate,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  very  children  fought  on  both  sides  during  the  sanguinary  war  of  the 
Emboabas,  which  dyed  red  the  waters  of  the  Rio  das  ilortes. 

At  present  Taubate  has  been  greatly  distanced  by  S.  Paulo,  although  it  is  still 

Fig.  92.— Region  of  the  Misas  Gebaes  Thkejlu.  Waiebs. 
Scale  1 : 2.000,000. 


,  30  Miles. 


a  thriving  place,  with  factories,  plantations,  and  bituminous  springs,  yielding  a 
mineral  oil  and  gas  for  the  local  consumption.  On  the  completion  of  a  branch 
from  the  trunk  line  Taubate  will  become  a  depot  for  the  coffees  grown  in  the 
eastern  parts  of  the  State  of  S.  Paulo.  This  branch,  which  has  a  station  at 
Parahyhuna,  near  the  source  of  the  Parahyba,  crosses  the  coast  range  and 
descends  by  steep  gradients  down  to  the  port  of  Ubatuha.  Although  now  little 
frequented,  this  deep  harbour,  sheltered  on  the  east  by  the  headland  of  Pont  a 
Grossa,  cannot  fail  to  become  a  flourishing  seaport  as  soon  as  the  coffee-growing 
districts  are  tapped  by  the  Taubate  railway  now  in  progress. 

"West  of  the  upper  Parahyba  basin  the  Rio  and  S.  Paulo  trunk  line  crosses 


220 


AMAZOXTA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


the  watersted  at  an  altitude  of  about  2,020  feet.  Mogy  das  Cnizcs,  capital  of 
the  district,  has  been  chosen  as  the  cross  junction  of  another  line,  which,  like  that 
of  Taubate,  will  also  share  in  the  heavy  traffic  at  present  monopolised  by  the 
Santos  line.  From  Mogy  das  Cruzes  the  new  route  will  ascend  the  Tiete  valley, 
and  after  crossing  the  Serra  do  Mar  will  descend  to  the  port  of  »S'.  SebastiSo, 
facing  the  island  of  like  name.  This  perfectly  sheltered  basin,  with  depths  of 
10  to  15  fathoms  within  half  a  cable's  length  of  the  shore,  might  easily  accom- 


Fig.  93. — Ubatuba  Haeboue. 
Scale  1  :  160,000. 


E*" ■^"■■".'  p_^^^-;^-'ir'^  ^^        ^JZi^; 


y*  ^  i^---     \  '-' 


West  or  uree 


45°  5 


Depths. 


0tol6 
reet. 


16  to  32 
Feet. 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


.  3  Miles. 


modate  all  the  commercial  navy  of  Brazil ;  but  for  lack  of  communications  it 
has  hitherto  been  little  frequented. 


Towns  of  the  State  of  S.  Paulo. 

S.  Paulo,  capital  of  the  most  commercial  and  industrious  State  in  the  republic, 
dates  from  13G0,  when  the  Jesuits  established  themselves  on  the  high  bluff 
washed  by  the  Rio  Tamanduatehy,  now  occupying  the  heart  of  the  city.  After 
filling  the  triangular  space,  limited  east  by  this  river  and  west  by  the  Saracuro, 
the  rising  settlement  covered  the  steep  slopes  hitherto  separating  it  from  the 
outer  quarters,  which  began  to  spring  up  in  all  directions.  It  already  occupies 
a  space  of  at  least  10  square  miles,  and  is  connected  by  a  superb  viaduct  with  a 


TOrOGEAPHY  OF  S.  TAULO. 


221 


new  district  beyond  the  Rio  Saracuro.  Eastwards  spreads  another  quarter, 
occupied  cliiefly  by  Italians,  where  the  badly  kept  streets  and  open  drains  con- 
trast unfavourably  with  the  handsome  structures  and  villas  of  the  western  parts. 
Eut  the  drainage  is  everywhere  defective,  and  despite  its  altitude  of  2,4(i0  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  an  abundance  of  pure  water  brought  by  an  aqueduct  from  the 
Serra  Cantareira,  S.  Paulo  is  not  quite  healthy.  In  recent  years  it  has  even  occa- 
sionally been  visited  by  yellow  fever  introduced  from  Santos.  A  fine  public 
park  stretches  north  of  the  city,  near  the  "  English "  station,  and  a  botanic 


Fig.  9i.— S.  Taoto. 
Scale  1 :  130,000. 


?egS  S^An, 


46'40' 


Ivest  or  breenwich 


46-35' 


2i  Miles. 


garden  is  being  laid  out  in  connection  with  the  neighbouring  natural  history 
museum. 

The  old  Jesuit  college  has  been  transformed  to  the  government  palace,  and 
the  house  built  by  the  fathers  for  the  Indian  cacique,  Tebycira,  has  been 
replaced  by  the  Convent  of  S.  Bento.  Near  these  structures  stand  the  chief 
monuments,  churches,  post-ofiice,  banks,  and  school  of  law,  "the  eyrie,"  where 
are  incubated  the  future  politicians  of  the  country.  The  population,  nearly  half 
Italian,  appears  to  have  increased  about  threefold  during  the  past  decade,  and  in 
recent  years  S.  Paulo  has  become  a  busy  industrial  hive,  as  well  as  a  great 
agricultural  centre.     Amongst  the  attractions  of  the  neighbourhood  are  the  race- 


222  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

course,  the  much-frequented  shrine  of  la  Penha,  crowning  a  blufE  east  of  the 
city,  and  the  imposing  but  still  unoccupied  palace  of  Ipiranrja,  the  finest  architec- 
tural building  in  Brazil,  erected  by  the  Italian  architect,  Bezzi,  to  commemorate 
the  establishment  of  the  empire. 

Santos,  formerly  Todos  os  Santos,  "  All  Hallows,"  is  at  once  the  depot  and 
outlet  for  the  trade  of  S.  Paulo.  The  first  settlement  on  this  coast  dates  from 
1532,  when  the  present  watering-place  of  S.  Vicente  was  founded  five  or  six 
miles  farther  east.  Here  was  produced  the  first  sugar  in  Brazil,  extracted  from 
the  cane  introduced  from  Madeira,  and  here  the  Jesuits  established  the  first 
primary  school  in  1566.  This  outer  port,  standing  like  Santos  itself  on  an  island 
separated  by  a  narrow  strait  from  the  mainland,  continued  till  the  year  1709  to 
rank  as  the  capital  of  the  section  of  the  Brazilian  seaboard  stretching  for  about 
(iOO  miles  between  Macahe  and  Cananea. 

Santos,  regularly  planned,  but  badly  kept,  extends  along  the  foot  of  the 
steep  Monserate  eminence,  which  occupies  the  centre  of  the  island,  and  which 
is  crowned  by  a  church  commanding  a  superb  panoramic  view.  But  the  site  of 
the  city  is  hopelessly  insalubrious ;  or  at  least  to  make  it  healthy  it  would  be 
necessary  to  raise  the  miry  soil,  sodden  with  the  rain  and  tidal  waters  mingling 
with  the  slush  of  the  sewers.  Mudbanks  are  exposed  at  low  water,  while  the 
putrid  carcasses  of  cattle  embedded  in  the  sands,  are  left  to  the  carrion  birds, 
which  do  duty  as  scavengers.  Hence  no  place  in  the  New  World  has  suffered 
more  from  yellow  fever  in  proportion  to  its  population  than  Santos.  At  times  all 
work  has  been  suspended  by  the  death  or  flight  of  the  emplo3'ees,  and  vessels 
abandoned  by  their  crews  have  been  seen  drifting  helplessly  in  the  bay.  As  the 
bad  season  approaches,  nearly  the  whole  population  takes  refuge  in  the  health 
resorts  of  the  surrounding  heights,  or  in  Balnearia  and  other  watering-places  on 
the  coast. 

Yet,  despite  these  recurrent  epidemics,  Santos  is  the  centre  of  a  large  import 
and  export  trade,  averaging  collectively  about  £15,000,000  a  year.  Formerly  it 
exported  the  produce  of  Minas  Geraes,  and  even  of  Matte  Grosso  ;  but  at  present 
it  is  the  outlet  mainly  of  the  State  of  S.  Paulo,  whose  trade,  however,  is  steadily 
increasing.  To  meet  the  growing  trafiic  A'arious  harbour  works  have  been  under- 
taken, and  the  largest  vessels  will  soon  be  able  to  load  and  unload  at  the 
wharves.  The  English,  and  next  to  them  the  Norwegians,  take  the  largest  share 
of  the  general  movement  of  Santos,  which  is  regularly  visited  by  as  many  as 
twenty  lines  of  steamers.  A  splendid  railway,  constructed  by  English  engineers, 
across  the  primeval  forests  of  Cubatao,  and  over  the  coast  range,  serves  to  bring 
down  the  coffees  of  S.  Paulo,  and  to  forward  to  the  interior  rice  from  India, 
Newfoundland  cod,  English  coal,  and  all  kinds  of  European  manufactured 
goods. 

But  this  line  is  already  quite  inadequate  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  local 
trade,  and  the  frequent  blocks  and  delays  in  forwarding  goods,  are  driving 
commerce  to  seek  new  and  costly  routes.  Two  PauHst  companies,  one  in  the 
west,  the  other  in  the  east,  have  been  formed  to  compete  with  the  English  society 


o 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  S.  PAULO. 


223 


and  relieve  the  congested  traffic  between  S.  Paulo  and  Santos.  Other  indepen- 
dent corporations  are  also  planning  fresh  routes  from  the  iaterior  to  Ubatuba, 
S.  Sebasfiao,  and  other  future  rivals  of  Santos  on  the  coast. 

Meanwhile  the  Santos  line  ramifies  north  of  S.  Paulo  in  various  directions, 


Fig.  9.5.— Feoh  Sastos  to  S.  Paulo. 
Scale  1  :  650,000. 


Otoo 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 

la 

5to  W 

Fathoms. 


10  Fathoms 
and  upwaids. 


,  12  Miles. 


penetrating  into  the  "  Far  West,"  as  the  cofPee-growing  districts  of  the  State 
are  called.  The  main  branch,  after  leaving  S.  Paulo,  crosses  the  Rio  Tiete  and 
surmounts  the  Cantareira  heights  east  of  the  Jaragua  Peak.  The  first  station, 
Jundiahy,  which  serves  as  the  terminus  of  the  English  railway,  is  followed  by 
the  busy  trading  centre,  Campinas,  which  unfortunately  occupies  an  unhealthy 


224 


AMAZONIA  AXD  LA  PLATA. 


site,  subject  to  torrid  heats  and  to  visitations  of  yellow  fever,  which  in  1892 
carried  olf  nearly  3,000,  or  about  one-sixth  of  the  whole  population.  Campinas 
boasts  of  being  the  birthplace  of  the  composer,  Carlos  Gomez,  and  since  1817  the 
municipality  has  squandered  vast  sums  on  a  commonplace  church  intended  chiefly 
as  a  repository  for  the  superb  woodcarvings  to  which  an  artist  of  Minas  Geraes 
devoted  his  whole  life. 

Sugar,  tin  recently  the  chief  agricultural  product,  is  now  mainly  replaced  by 


Tig.  96.— Coffee  Plantations  Nobth  of  S.  Paulo. 
Scale  1  :  3,000,000. 


West  oF  Greenwich 


I 


.  CO  Miles. 


coffee,  which  thrives  marvellously  on  the  "  red  soil "  covering  a  great  part  of 
the  northern  and  eastern  districts.  The  school  of  agriculture  founded  near 
Campinas  serves  chiefly  for  the  instruction  of  planters,  while  the  railway  system 
owes  its  existence  entirely  to  this  industry. 

The  main  branch,  running  north  of  Campinas,  passes  the  important  towns 
of  Casa  Branca,  S.  Simcio,  and  Riberao  Prelo.  The  last  named,  of  quite  recent 
origin,  is  already  the  centre  of  the  most  extensive  coffee  plantations  in  the  world. 


TOPOQEArnT  OF  S.  PAULO. 


92.n 


Farther  on  the  line  mounts  the  plateau  about  3,000  feet  high,  and  after  passing 
the  stations  of  Batitiaca  and  Frauca,  descends  to  the  valley  of  the  llio  Grande, 
which  is  crossed  by  a  viaduct  1,316  feet  long.     Near  Franca  diamonds  are  found. 

Another  line,  starting  also  from  Campinas,  ramifies  beyond  Limeifa  in  one 
direction  through  Araras  and  Pira-isunioif/'t  to  the  Rio  Mogy  Guassu,  in  another 
to  Rio  Claro,  and  thence  northwards  to  Jubolkahal  in  the  cainpos  region. 

In  the  Tiete  valley,  also  connected  by  rail  with  the  capital,  occur  several 
thriving  places,  such  as  liu,,  an  old  Jesuit  mission  dating  from  1610,  and  still  a 
great  relig-ious  centre  with  a  large  Jesuit  college,  and  more  churches  for  its  size 
than  any  other  town.     At  the  foot  of  the  terrace  on  which  Itu  stands  the  Tiet^ 


Fig.  97.— SOEOOABA   AKD   IPANEMA   IeON  MutES. 
Scale  1  :  200,000. 


5  Miles. 


develops  the  magnificent  cataracts  which  supply  motive  power  to  the  workshops 
of  8aUo  cVItu,  "  Itu  Falls."  Piracicaba,  north-west  of  Itu  on  an  affluent  of  the 
Tiete,  also  utilises  a  neighbouring  cascade  for  its  sugar  and  cotton- spinning  mills. 
This  cascade  stands  at  the  head  of  navigation,  whereas  the  Tiete  is  inaccessible 
even  to  boats  above  Porto  Feliz  some  30  miles  west  of  Salto  d'ltu.  The  Tiete  and 
I'iracicaba  steamers  plying  on  the  river  farther  down  ship  the  coffee  of  the  western 
plantations  in  districts,  to  which  the  railways  have  not  yet  penetrated.  The  two 
military  colonies  established  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Aranhandaca  and  Ilapura  cata- 
racts, have  not  succeeded.  These  places,  in  the  language  of  a  provincial  report, 
were  for  a  long  time  nothing  more  than  "  official  expressions." 

Sorocaba,  on  a  southern  affluent  of   the  Tiete,  70  miles  west  of  the  capital, 

VOL.    XIX.  Q 


226  AMAZOXIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

presents  a  solitary  spectacle  of  decadence  in  the  State  of  S.  Paulo.  It  has  been 
ruined  bj'  the  railways  which  have  brought  prosperity  to  so  many  other  places. 
Till  recently  it  was  the  central  market  for  cattle,  and  especially  for  mules  for- 
warded by  the  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  stock-breeders.  As  many  as  200,000  animals 
were  often  seen  at  its  fairs,  and  the  mules  of  Rio  Grande  are  still  distributed  over 
the  States  of  Santa  Catharina  and  Parana,  and  even  enter  that  of  S.  Paulo  through 
the  Faxina  route.  Eut  on  reaching  the  various  stations  they  are  at  once  for- 
warded by  rail  direct  to  the  plateaux  and  coastlanda,  so  that  the  Sorocaba  market 
receives  yearly  less  and  less  of  this  traffic. 

The  iron  industry  of  IpancuM,  in  the  same  district,  has  also  suffered,  though 
from  another  cause.  This  j)lace,  which  takes  its  name  from  an  affluent  of  the  Rio 
Sorocaba,  is  famous  for  its  ferruginous  ores,  yielding  from  70  to  80  per  cent,  of 
excellent  metal.  Nevertheless,  the  works  established  on  the  spot  have  not  suc- 
ceeded, despite  government  suj^port.  Everything  costs  more  than  it  fetches,  and 
the  ferruginous  mount  Ara^o//aba  (3,180  feet),  commonly  called  o  morro  do  ferro, 
"  Iron  Mount,"  remains  little  utilised. 

At  present  (1894)  Botucatu  is  the  last  important  place  in  the  cultivated  region. 
Beyond  the  surrounding  coffee  plantations  begin  the  vast  unexplored  solitudes 
comprised  between  the  lower  Tiete  and  the  Paranapanema.  Since  the  .seventeenth 
century  a  great  shifting  of  the  aboriginal  populations  has  taken  place  in  this 
region.  Over  100,000  civilised  Indians  were  grouped  round  the  settlements  of 
S.  Ifjnncio  Mayor  and  other  places  on  the  Paranapanema  and  Parana  rivers.  But 
the  land  was  depopulated  by  the  slave-mongers,  and  the  work  of  colonisation,  and 
even  to  some  extent  of  geographical  exploration,  has  to  be  begun  again.  Some 
progress,  however,  has  already  been  made,  and  in  1890  the  annual  production  of 
cattle  was  estimated  at  100,000.  A  beginning  had  also  been  made  with  sugar, 
coffee,  cotton  and  tobacco  growing. 

The  southern  part  of  the  State,  still  unconnected  with  the  capital  by  carriage 
roads  or  railways,  constitutes,  with  the  conterminous  districts  of  Parana,  a  perfectly 
distinct  geographical  region.  It  is  but  thinly  settled,  and  its  chief  towns  are 
mere  villages,  such  as  Apiahij,  now  forsaken  by  the  gold-hunters ;  Xiririca,  with 
unworked  quarries  of  lovely  white  marble ;  Icjuape  and  Cananea,  two  small 
riverside  ports,  the  former  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ribeirao,  communicating  by 
a  navigable  canal  with  the  so-called  Mar  Pcqiiciio,  "  Little  Sea,''  which 
extends  for  over  60  miles  along  the  banks.  Cananea,  bccupying  an  island  in 
this  flooded  depression,  is  accessible  to  large  river  craft  at  high  water.  This 
port  marks  the  sjiot  where  Christovao  Jacques  and  Amerigo  Vespucci  landed 
in  1503,  and  from  the  same  place  set  out  the  first  bandcira  of  eighty  adventurers 
in  search  of  gold,  not  one  of  whom  ever  returned. 

Towns  of  the  State  of  Parana. 

Curitiha,  capital  of  the  State  of  Parana,  stands,  like  S.  Paulo,  on  a  plateau 
bounded  eastwards  by  the  Serra  do  Mar,  and,  like  it,  is  connected  by  rail  with  an 


■k 
D 

z 

< 


TOPOGEAPHT  OF  THE  STATE  OF  PAEANA. 


227 


outlet  on  the  Atlantic.  Standing  at  an  altitude  of  2,920  feet,  Curitiba  enjoys  a 
temperate  climate,  and  is  surrounded  by  Euroijean  settlers  who  bring  to  its 
market  the  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the  Old  "World.  It  ranks  as  a  capital  only 
since  the  year  1854,  when  the  territory  of  Parana  was  detached  from  S.  Paulo 
and  constituted  a  separate  province. 

A  carriage  road  running  to  the  coast  by  the  town  of  Graciosa  was  supplemented 
in  1885  by  the  railway,  which,  after  turning  the  superb  Mount  Morumby  (4,700 
feet),  descends  through  a  series  of  cuttings,  tunnels,  and  viaducts  to  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  at  Morretes.  The  highest  point  reached  stands  at  the  entrance  of 
a  tunnel  3,135  feet  above  the  sea,  and  from  the  successive  terraces  and  inclined 
planes  magnificent  views  are  afforded  of  the  surrounding  mountains,  slopes,  and 
lowland  tracts,  stretching  away  to  Paranagua  Bay. 

At  Morretes,  formerly  a  centre  of  the  mat^  export  trade,  the  railway  bifurcates, 


Fig.  08. — Feom  Cueitiba  to  Paeanaoua. 
Scale  1  :  800,000. 


iVrst  oFlG, 


48°40' 


12  Miles. 


one  branch  running  north-west  to  the  port  of  Aiifonina,  which  though  shallower 
than  that  of  Paranagua,  is  still  accessible  to  vessels  drawing  14  or  16  feet.  During 
the  floods,  which  often  threaten  to  inundate  the  main  line  between  Morretes  and 
Paranagua,  the  Antonina  branch  offers  an  alternative  route  for  the  foreign  trade 
of  Curitiba. 

Paranagua  standing  on  the  north  (left)  bank  of  the  Itubere  (Itibiri)  estuary, 
is  no  longer  directly  accessible  to  large  vessels,  which  have  to  ride  at  anchor  at  a 
distance  of  over  a  mile  to  the  north-west  in  the  deep  waters  of  the  bay  sheltered 
from  the  east  b}'  the  hilly  Cotiiiga  Island.  The  town  itself  is  moving  in  this 
direction,  and  numerous  new  structures  already  extend  along  the  new  harbour. 
Its  export  trade  is  mainly  restricted  to  forest  produce,  such  as  araucaria  wood 
and  yerba  mat^  obtained  from  the  ikic  corityhensis,  a  plant  allied   to  that  which 

q2 


22S 


AilAZONIA  AXD  LA  PLATA. 


j'ields  the  mate  of  Paraguay.  Nearly  20,000  tons  of  this  article  were  exported  in 
1892,  valued  at  £312,000. 

Visitors  are  still  shown  the  ruins  of  the  old  Jesuit  College,  former  headquarters 
of  the  Parana  missions.  In  the  surrounding  forest  clearings  are  several  agricul- 
tural settlements,  the  most  important  of  which  is  Alexandra,  where  a  group  of 
Italian  colonists  cultivates  alimentary  plants,  and  have  also  laid  out  some  sugar  and 
coffee  plantations. 

In  the  interior,  west  of  Curitiba,  some  flourishing  colonies   have  developed 


Fig.  99. — Pakanagua. 

Scale  1  :  100,000. 


43°  52' 


0tol6 

Feet. 


Depths. 


16  to  32 
Feet. 


»i  Feet 
and  upwards. 

.  2  MUes. 


into  towns  such  as  Campo  Ln^-go  and  Palmeira,  and  farther  north  Ponfct  Grosm  on 
the  upland  plains  watered  by  the  Tibagy.  Till  recently  nearly  all  the  German 
settlers  were  attracted  to  the  States  of  Santa  Catharina  and  Eio  Grande  do  Sul ; 
at  present  the  stream  of  Italian  immigration  is  setting  in  the  direction  of  S. 
Paulo,  while  Parana  is  favoured  chiefly  by  the  Poles.  Yet  this  movement  began 
with  the  disastrous  undertaking  of  liS78,  when  1,366  Slav  peasants  were  intro- 
duced without  any  preparations  being  made  for  their  reception.     Left  at  Palmeira 


TOPOGEAPHY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  PAEANA.    •  229 

to  their  ovra  resources,  many  perished,  and  of  the  survivors  some  found  their  way 
back  to  Europe,  while  others  were  removed  to  the  United  States. 

The  handful  that  remained  on  the  spot  became  the  nucleus  of  fresh  colonies, 
which  have  gradually  reclaimed  the  wastes  on  the  elevated  campos  watered 
by  the  Rio  Iguazu.  Most  of  these  "  Eussians,"  as  they  are  generally  called, 
come  from  Prussian  and  Austrian  Poland,  though  in  quite  recent  years  they  have 
been  joined  by  Russian  Poles,  driven  by  religious  persecutions  from  the  provinces 
of  Lithuania  and  the  Vistula.  For  a  space  of  18  or  20  miles  Curitiba  is  sur- 
rounded b)^  these  exclusively  Polish  colonies,  which  even  ofEcially  take  the  name 
of  "  New  Poland."  Others  are  settled  about  Palmeira,  and  along  the  right  bank 
of  the  Iguazu  all  the  way  to  tbe  new  station  of  Porto  Unao.  Other  groups  have 
established  themselves  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  State  on  the  Rio  Negro  and 
Rio  Yermelho  towards  the  Santa  Catherina  frontier. 

These  Polish  colonists,  among  whom  not  a  single  Jew  is  found,  are  approxi- 
mately estimated  at  100,000,  or  about  one-third  of  the  whole  population  of  Parana. 
The  mortalitv  is  extremely  low,  so  that  the  natural  increase  by  the  excess  of  births 
over  deaths  rises  to  an  average  of  four  per  cent.,  a  proportion  rarely  attained  in 
any  country.  The  Poles  of  Parana  preserve  their  language  and  national  usages  ; 
they  have  their  own  churches  and  schools,  and  even  support  a  newspaper.  Being 
nearly  all  peasants,  they  have  monopolised  the  production  of  cereals  and  vegetables, 
and  have  begun  to  drive  back  towards  S.  Paulo  the  settlers  of  other  nationalities. 
One  of  these  groups,  bowever,  the  Italian  communist  settlement  of  La  Cecilia, 
near  Palmeira,  has  hitherto  resisted  the  Slav  invasion. 

Although  gold  occurs  at  Campo  Largo  and  quicksilver  at  Palmeira,  Parana  is 
more  noted  for  its  natural  curiosities  than  for  its  mineral  resources.  Some  20  miles 
east  of  Ponta  Grossa,  the  argOlaceous  ground  is  pierced  by  tbree  astonishing 
biiracos  or  pits,  one  of  which  is  no  less  than  560  feet  deep  and  264  feet  wide  at  the 
mouth.  A  sluggish  stream  flowing  at  the  bottom  passes  from  chasm  to  chasm 
towards  a  lagoon  which  drains  to  the  Rio  Tibagy.  Farther  east  a  crumbling  mass 
of  old  red  sandstone  has  received  the  name  of  Villa  Velha,  "  Old  Town,"  from  the 
pyramids  and  other  fantastic  forms  which  it  has  assumed. 

In  1894  Curitiba  possessed  only  one  railway  running  through  Lapa  to  the 
Santa  Catharina  frontier.  The  Rio  Iguazu,  crossed  by  this  line,  becomes  navigable 
at  Porto  do  Amazoiias,  some  60  miles  west  of  the  capital,  but  125  miles  lower 
down  the  stream  is  interrupted  by  numerous  rapids.  Owing  to  the  general  lack 
of  communications  nearly  the  whole  of  the  fertile  western  districts  of  Parana  still 
remain  a  vast  wilderness  roamed  only  by  a  few  bands  of  Coroados.  Here  tho 
traveller  lights  upon  the  shapeless  ruins  of  former  missions,  such  as  Villa  Rica  in 
the  Rio  Ivahy  valley,  and  at  the  confluence  of  the  Piquiry  with  the  Parana,  the 
central  station  of  la  Giiai/ra,  headquarters  of  the  vast  theocratic  empire  founded  by 
the  Jesuits  and  ruined  by  the  Paulistas.  In  this  region  almost  the  only  recent 
colonial  settlement  is  that  of  Guarapava,  not  far  from  the  Lead  of  the  Rio  Ivahy, 
which  here  develops  a  superb  cascade  248  feet  high. 

In  1889  the   Brazilian   Government  selected  a   site  at  the  confluence  of   the 


230  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Iguazu  witli  the  Parana,  below  the  great  falls,  for  the  military  colony  of  Foz  de 
Iguazu,  which  has  since  become  a  free  settlement  with  a  mixed  Brazilian,  Para- 
guayan, and  French  population  of  700  souls  chieflj^  engaged  in  collecting  mate 
and  cultivating  cereals.  Foz  de  Iguazu  occupies  an  important  strategical  position 
as  a  frontier  station  towards  Paraguay  and  Argentina.  Here  a  beginning  has 
already  been  made  with  a  national  arsenal  and  a  flotilla,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  sooner  or  later  an  important  centre  of  population  must  spring  up  either  at  Foz 
de  Iguazu,  or  at  some  other  confluence  in  the  neighbourhood.  In  this  district  the 
Talley  of  the  Parana  is  intersected  by  the  shortest  highway  running  from  the  Atlantic 
seaboard  westwards  to  Matto  Grosso,  that  is,  to  the  geographical  centre  of  the  Conti- 
nent.    The  position  is  somewhat  analogous  to  that  of  St.  Louis  on  the  Mississippi. 

Towns  of  Santa  Cathartna. 

This  State,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  long  island  of  Santa  Catharina,  the 
Juru  Mirim  of  the  Indians,  has  benefited  more  than  any  other  region  of  Brazil  by 
the  movement  of  immigration  controlled  by  the  Government.  If  a  "  New  Ger- 
many" has  not  been  developed  in  Santa  Catharina  and  the  neighbouring  Eio 
Grande  do  Sul,  at  least  the  German  language  prevails  in  many  districts,  and 
thanks  to  the  higher  standard  of  education  this  State  exercises  an  influence  in 
public  affairs  out  of  proportion  to  its  slight  population. 

In  1849  a  Hamburg  trading  association  introduced  the  first  German  colonists, 
who  established  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Cachoeira.  The  rising  station 
took  the  name  of  Joinville,  in  honour  of  the  French  prince  to  whom  a  territory 
of  about  60,000  square  miles  had  been  ceded  as  the  dowry  of  dona  Francisca, 
sister  of  the  Emperor  of  Brazil.  The  district  soon  assumed  the  aspect  of  a 
flourishing  German  domain,  and  of  the  19,000  present  inhabitants  of  the  muni- 
cipality over  14,000  claim  German  or  Polish  descent.  Breweries,  distilleries, 
and  other  workshops  have  sprung  up  round  about  Joinville,  and  hundreds  of 
waggons  are  engaged  in  carting  to  the  port  of  S.  Francisco  the  mat^,  tobacco, 
maize,  tapioca,  butter,  and  other  produce  raised  in  the  district. 

A  carriage  road  crossing  the  Serra  do  Mar  runs  northwards  to  8.  Bento  and 
other  colonies  about  the  Parana  frontier,  and  at  Rio  Negro  this  highway  joins  the 
railroad  from  Curitiba. 

S.  Francisco,  where  is  centi'ed  all  the  local  traffic,  is  one  of  the  best  harbours 
on  the  coast.  The  channel  separating  S.  Francisco  Island  from  the  mainland  has 
a  depth  of  20  feet,  and  offers  excellent  anchorage  to  the  shipping,  which  is  here 
sheltered  from  all  winds. 

Bhanenau  on  the  Rio  Itajahy,  south-west  of  Joinville,  dates  from  1852,  when  it 
was  founded  by  the  German  speculator  from  whom  it  takes  its  name.  From  the 
first  it  had  a  hard  battle  to  fight  with  adverse  circumstances,  but  it  has  at  last 
entered  on  a  prosperous  career,  and  numerous  roads  now  radiate  in  all  directions 
through  a  rich  district  studded  with  mills,  workshops,  and  farmsteads.  Steamers 
plying  on  the  Itajahy  communicate  with  the  port  of  Nova  Treiito,  where  the 


TOrOGEAPHY  OF  SANTA  CATHAEINA. 


231 


Germans  are  in  a  majority,  although  it  takes  its  name  from  some  immigrants 
from  Trent,  who  settled  here  in  1870. 

South  of  the  Rio  Itajahy  follow  a  few  little  seaports  as  far  as  Desterro  Strait, 
with  which  begins  the  colonial  history  of  the  countrj'.     Juan  de  Solis,  who  pene- 


Fig.  100.— S.  FsAxasco  Islaitd. 
Scale  1  :  STS.OOO. 


^.■^M 


We5toFC-c...v,c^ 


4='3:5- 


Depths. 


0  to  5 
Fathoms. 


5  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 

.  9  JIUes. 


trated  into  this  magnificent  channel  in  lol5,  was  followed  ten  j-ears  later  by  Sebas- 
tian Cabot ;  but  the  capital  of  the  island,  which  afterwards  became  the  capital  of 
the  State,  was  not  founded  till  1650.  The  exile,  Yelho  Monteiro,  gave  his 
settlement  the  name  of  Nossa  Senhom  do  Desterro,  "  Our  Lady  of  Exile,"  while 
the  island  was  named  Santa  Cathariua  from  one  of  his  daughters. 


232 


AMAZOXIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Scale  1  :  540,000. 


Desleiro,  standing  on  the  nearest  point  of  the  west  coast  to  the  mainland,  made 
steady  progress  from  decade  to  decade,  without  acquiring  the  importance  that 
might  be  expected  from  its  well-sheltered  harbour,  accessible  from  the  north  to 
vessels  drawing  12  or  14  feet.  But  the  bar  at  the  southern  entrance  of  the  strait, 
here  1,150  feet  wide,  has  only  five  feet  of  water  on  the   sill.     On  the  mainland 

the   most    frequented    ports   are 
Fig.  101. -Santa  CATHAEraA  Island.  Biguassu,  near  the  mouth  of  the 

Rio  Biguassu,  and  S.  Jose,  on  a 
creek  nearly  oppo.site  Desterro. 
The  soil  of  the  island,  formerly 
covered  with  highly  productive 
coffee  plantations,  is  exhausted, 
and  the  hills  are  now  overgrown 
with  scrub. 

In  recent  years  the  plains 
watered  by  the  Rio  Tubarilo  have 
acquired  some  importance,  thanks 
to  the  coal  that  has  been  dis- 
covered on  the  slopes  of  the  Serra 
Geral.  Though  greatly  inferior 
to  English  coal,  the  beds  lie  near 
the  surface,  and  are  consequently 
easily  worked.  A  railway  66 
miles  long  has  been  constructed 
for  the  transport  of  the  mineral, 
of  which  at  least  50,000,000  tons 
are  found  in  the  district  already 
surveyed.  The  line  traverses 
the  Tubarao  valley,  and  is  carried 
over  a  coast  lagoon  at  Laraugciras 
by  a  viaduct  1,565  yards  long, 
the  most  important  work  of  the 
kind  in  South  America.  Beyond 
the  viaduct  the  line  ramities 
northwards  to  the  port  of  Im- 
hifuhi,  southwards  to  that  of  La- 
gnna,  at  the  extremity  of  a  sandy 
peninsula  limited  on  the  cast  by 
a  shallow  lagoon.  Both  ports 
are  of  diiScult  access,  and  Imbituba,  though  better  sheltered  and  deeper,  is 
threatened  by  the  dunes  moving  north  under  the  action  of  the  winds.  Owing 
to  the  disturbance  caused  by  two  different  tidal  waves,  the  ebb  and  flow  is  ex- 
tremely irregular  at  Laguna.  The  rise  at  high  water  is  scarcely  more  than  three 
feet ;  it  seems  to  depend  mainly  on  the  direction  of  the  winds,  and  it  frequently 


0lol6 

Feet. 


Depths. 


16  to  32 
Feet. 


1 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 


12  Miles. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  SANTA  CATHAEINA.  233 

happens  that  the  complete  tidal  movement  is  spread  over  a  period  of  twenty-four 
hours.  The  sandy  spit  west  of  Laguna  is  almost  entirely  covered  by  an  enormous 
tumbaqui  (kitchen  midden),  containing  a  vast  accumulation  of  shells  dating  back 
to  prehistoric  times. 

Lnges,  the  chief  place  on  the  inland  Campos,  is  mainly  a  stockbreeding  centre, 
and  cattle  are  forwarded  from  this  place,  overland,  to  Sorocaba.  The  breeders 
own  about  300,000  oxen  on  the  pastures  stretching  westwards,  in  the  directioa 
of  the  savannas  claimed  by  Argentina. 


b^^gjl^mi  i<iJJJJ6iHaK  ifit 

"^jMrfeJ 

SR^S 

SiSS^ffi3!SS 

(mi^Km^^S 

PW^f  ^^^^^^^^y^Ckyj^^^ySjytfe 

|Sfl|^j|^Kf 

J~^Ej|E^[u'  JV&^^ 

'^^S^^^Hm 

^^M 

R^^^^^^T^ 

3^„irl^!^ 

I MlilH'  .J       . 

n i!ti:i'N^^^^..i!Nltr 

^^^^m 

CHAPTER  XII. 


■DRUGUAT  BASIN  AND  ADJACENT  SEABOARD. 

State  of  San  Pedro  or  Rio  Grande  do  Sil. 

ESPITE  its  relatively  small  extent,  this  region,  named  from  an  inlet 
which  the  first  navigators  mistook,  as  they  had  mistaken  the  Bay 
of  Rio,  for  a  great  river,  is  one  of  the  best  adapted,  by  its  natural 
resources,  to  constitute  an  independent  State.  It  has  often,  in 
fact,  played  an  independent  part,  and  its  i^osilion  as  a  border 
land  towards  the  Spanish  domain  gave  it  too  much  importance  under  the 
Portuguese  rule  to  be  granted  as  a  fief,  like  so  many  other  provinces  of  Brazil. 

But,  although  it  had  consequently  always  been  governed  directly  by  the 
crown,  its  inhabitants  were  none  the  less  enthusiastic  in  hailing  the  proclamation 
of  independence.  Then  feeling  the  yoke  of  Rio  as  much  as  they  had  before 
felt  that  of  Lisbon,  they  attempted  to  set  up  for  themselves,  and  a  fierce  civil 
war  was  waged  for  nine  j'ears  (1835 — 44)  between  the  farrapos  (republicans) 
and  the  caramurus  (monarchists).  This  was  the  heroic  period  in  the  history  of 
Rio  Grande,  associated  with  the  name  of  the  great  guerilla  chief,  Garibaldi. 
It  required  all  the  resources  of  the  vast  empire  of  Brazil  to  wrest  the  little 
"  republic  "  of  Rio  Grande  from  the  band  of  adventurers  led  by  this  famous 
captain. 

Since  then  the  southern  province  has  had,  from  its  very  position,  to  bear  the 
brunt  of  the  border  warfare  carried  on  at  one  time  against  Argentina,  at  another 
against  Paraguay.  Lastl)',  since  the  proclamation  of  the  Brazilian  republic, 
Rio  Grande,  true  to  its  traditional  hatred  of  centralisation,  has  begun  a  fierce 
struggle  for  its  local  autonomy.  Here  was  struck  the  first  blow  against  the 
military  dictatorship  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  from  this  region  the  revolution 
gradually  spread  to  a  great  part  of  Brazil.  Long  after  the  surrender  of  the  rebel 
fleet,  in  the  spring  of  1894,  the  revolt  was  kept  alive  in  Rio  Grande. 


EIO  GEANDE  DO  SUL.  235 


Boundaries — Extent — S  ettlement. 


Towards  Argentina  Rio  Grande  is  bounded  by  the  natural  frontier  of  the 
Hio  Uruguay  ;  but  southwards  the  vicissitudes  of  war  have  caused  a  purely 
conventional  frontier  to  bo  adopted  towards  the  conterminous  republic  of  Uruguay. 
The  line,  which,  on  the  coast,  coincides  with  the  little  river  Chuy,  runs  inland 
across  the  Lagoa  Mirini  to  the  mouth  of  the  Jaguarao,  which  constitutes  the 
frontier  as  far  as  the  Alto  da  Mina  rivulet.  Here  begins  a  sinuous  line,  traced 
from  hill  to  hill  north-westwards  to  the  divide  between  the  two  rivers,  Ibicuy 
Grande  and  Tacuarembo,  beyond  which  the  boundary  is  formed  by  the  course  of 
the  Rio  Quaraim. 

Rio  Grande  do  Sul  thus  constitutes  a  somewhat  irregular  quadrilateral  of 
about  300  miles  on  all  sides,  with  a  superficial  area  of  over  91,000  square  miles, 
and  a  vigorous  population  (1894)  of  rather  over  1,000,000.  The  territory  has 
been  traversed  by  explorers  in  all  directions,  except  in  the  northern  campos  ;  but 
it  still  lacks  accurate  maps,  for  which  the  preliminary  surveys  have  not  even  yet 
been  undertaken. 

The  first  settlers  were  natives  of  the  Azores,  who  were  driven  from  the 
Archipelago  by  famine,  and  who  founded  the  two  cities  of  Rio  Grande  and  Porto 
Alegre  in  1737  and  1742.  German  immigrants  began  to  arrive  soon  after 
the  declaration  of  independence.  Some  settled  in  1824  on  a  domain  near 
the  spot  where  now  stands  S.  Leopoldo ;  these  were  followed  bj'-  military 
settlers,  and  towards  the  middle  of  the  century  the  German  colonists  numbered 
over  7,000. 

Even  the  European  revolutions  exercised  a  certain  influence  in  the  develop- 
ment of  Rio  Grande.  Over  1,000  of  the  so-called  Bnimmcrs,  most  of  whom 
had  taken  part  in  the  German  risings  of  the  3'car  1848,  afterwards  entered 
the  Brazilian  service,  and  were  engaged  in  the  war  against  the  dictator,  Rosas. 
Several  men  of  eminence,  members  of  this  volunteer  force,  became  leading 
citizens  of  Rio  Grande,  and  to  them  was  due  the  first  educational  movement 
to  which  this  State  is  indebted  for  the  prominent  position  it  holds  in  the 
Brazilian  union. 

Although  the  early  agricultural  colonies  have  lost  the  organisation  imposed 
on  them  by  the  central  or  provincial  government,  and  although  all  immigrants 
and  their  descendants  have  become  naturalised  Brazilians,  the  Germanic  element 
has  not  yet  been  entire!}'  assimilated.  The  national  sentiment  and  cohesion, 
fostered  bj'  a  foreign  language,  education  and  usages,  is  still  kept  alive  in  many 
districts.  But  this  "  State  within  the  State,"  constituted  by  aliens,  with  difl'ereut 
aspirations  from  those  of  the  natives,  loses  ground  in  proportion  to  the  rapid 
increase  of  other  ethnical  elements,  and  especially  of  such  as,  through  racial  and 
religious  afiinities,  are  more  readily  absorbed  in  the  dominant  Lusitano-Brazilian 
nationality. 

Numerous  Italian,  Spanish,  and  Slav  colonists  have  also  arrived,  and  in  1875  the 
Negro  element  was  estimated  at  over  90,000.     Before  the  final  abolition  of  slavery 


236  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Rio  Grande  had  liberated  more  than  half,  and  in  1885  the  anniversary  of  national 
independence  was  celebrated  by  the  emancipation  of  10,000. 

Physical  Features. 

Eio  Grande  do  Sul  comprises  four  natural  regions  clearly  indicated  by  the 
general  relief  of  the  land.  As  in  the  neighbouring  States,  a  "  Piedmont "  of 
low -lying  coastlands  stretches  along  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  and  these  coast- 
lands  are  separated  by  a  mountain  range  some  3,000  feet  high  from  the  inland 
plateau  sloping  gently  towards  the  Uruguay.  But  the  coastland  and  coast  range 
are  themselves  separated  by  a  deep  depression  in  which  the  Rio  Vacacahy,  con- 
tinued by  the  Jacuhy,  winds  to  the  east,  and  the  Ibicuy  Grande,  a  tributary  of 
the  Uruguay,  to  the  west. 

The  north-eastern  section  of  the  mountains  preserves  the  name  of  Serra  do 
Mar,  by  which  they  are  known  as  far  north  as  Rio  de  Janeiro.  But  south  of 
the  Rio  Jacuhy  the  various  sections  take  other  names,  such  as  Serra  do  Herval 
between  the  Jacuhy  and  the  Camacuam,  and  Serra  dos  Tapes  thence  to  the  Jaguarao, 
while  various  ridges  bear  other  designations.  As  in  the  north,  the  system  con- 
sists of  crj'stalline  rocks,  gneiss,  and  granites. 

In  the  transverse  depression  between  the  sea  and  the  Uruguay  is  seen  the  edge 
of  the  northern  plateau  standing  out  like  the  steep  banks  of  a  river,  and  this 
scarp,  presenting  the  aspect  of  a  mountain  on  its  outer  face,  generally  takes  the 
name  of  Serra.  It  is  decomposed  into  several  groups,  which  become  continuously 
less  precipitous  in  the  direction  of  the  west.  The  ridges  branching  off  from  the 
Serra  proper  are  known,  like  the  southern  heights  near  Uruguay,  by  the  name 
of  coxUhas,  "  knives,"  although  the  crests,  instead  of  being  sharp,  are  disposed  in 
long  gently  inclined  slopes. 

In  many  places  the  primitive  granites  underlie  layers  of  tertiary  sands ;  but 
the  relatively  recent  formations  are  chiefly  represented  by  erupted  traps,  which 
are  easily  weathered,  taking  a  brown  or  yellow  crust,  and  changing  to  that  reddish 
clay  which  covers  nearly  all  the  plains.  In  some  of  the  central  regions  traps 
occupy  most  of  the  surface,  but  they  gradually  diminish  westwards  in  the  direction 
of  the  Uruguay.  Geologists  generally  associate  with  the  presence  of  erupted 
masses  the  transformation  of  argillaceous  substances  to  agates,  chalcedony,  jaspar, 
and  amethysts,  which  occur  in  extraordinary  quantities  in  some  of  the  southern 
districts.  Besides  these  valuable  stones  Rio  Grande  also  contains  gold,  silver, 
copper,  tin,  lead,  iron,  kaolin,  and  coral. 


Coast  Lagoons. 

The  long  beach  developed  in  graceful  curves  along  the  Atlantic  coast  is 
entirely  of  marine  origin.  This  cordon  of  sands  has  been  washed  up  by  the  waves 
and  modified  with  every  tide  by  fresh  deposits  and  fresh  erosions.  Various 
phenomena  point  at  a  general  upheaval  of  the  outer  beach  itself,   which  now 


I 


EIO  GEANDE  DO  SUL— COAST  LAGOONS. 


237 


separates  from  the  sea  extensive  spaces  that  have  been  gradually  changed  to 
brackish  or  even  freshwater  lagoons.  These  lagoons,  beginning  in  the  State  of 
Santa  Catharina,  are  developed  in  a  continuous  chain,  varying  in  size  aud  form, 


Fig.  102. — LaOOA  DOS  Patos. 
Scale  1  : 2.000,000. 


52°        West  oF Greenwich 


0to6 

Feet. 


Depths. 


6  to  32 

Feet. 


32  to  160 

Feet. 


160  Feet 
and  upwards. 


,  30  Miles. 


some  completely  closed,  others  connected  by  creeks  and  communicating  with  the 
sea  by  passages  open  in  the  wet,  closed  in  the  dry  season. 

Behind   this  outer  chain  another  has    been    formed   of  still  more  irregular 
outlines,  and  this  system  is  connected  by  the  Capivary  with  an  inland  sea  about 


238 


AM^VZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


3,500  square  miles  in  extent.  The  Lagoa  dos  Patos,  as  it  is  called,  owes  its  name, 
not  to  the  patos,  or  "  ducks,"  frequenting  its  water,  but  to  the  Patos  Indians, 
who  defended  its  shores  from  the  European  invaders. 

Farther  south  stretches  another  basin,  the  Lagoa  Mirim,*  or  "  Little  Lagoon," 


Pig.  103. — Lagoa  Mtbih. 
Scale  1 :  2,300,000. 


Depths. 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


6  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  to  25 
Fathoms. 


25  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


30  Miles. 


which  has  been  so  called  only  in  a  relative  sense  as  compared  with  the  somewhat 
larger  northern  basin.  It  stretches  north-east  and  south-west  for  a  distance  of 
no  less  than  125  miles  between  Rio  Grande  and  Uruguay. 


Minm  means  "little,"  not  in  Portuguese,  but  in  the  Guaraui  Linguage. 


EIO  GEAXDE  DO  SUL— EIYEES.  239 

Rivers. 

Numerous  rivers  converge  in  the  Lagoa  dos  Patos,  which  sends  its  overflow 
through  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Atlantic.  The  chief  affluent,  known  bv  various 
numes,  is  formed  towards  the  centre  of  the  State  by  the  junction  of  the  Yacacahy 
and  Jacuhy,  the  latter  being  considered  the  main  branch.  Below  a  great  cataract 
the  river  becomes  na^"iguble,  and  rapidly  increases  in  volume  by  the  contributions 
of  the  Taquary,  Cahy,  Eio  dos  Sinos,  and  other  tributaries,  mostly  descending 
from  the  northern  uplands.  Lower  down  the  Jacuhy  develops  into  an  estuary, 
and  under  the  name  of  Guahyba,  fulls  through  a  strait  iuto  the  Lagoa  dos 
Patos. 

The  Lagoa  ilirim  is  fed  by  the  Cebolaty  from  Uruguay  and  by  the  Jaguarao 
frontier  stream,  and  discharges  its  overflow  north-eastwards  to  the  Lagoa  dos 
Patos  through  the  Sangradouro  (S.  Goncalo)  channel.  This  emissary,  which  is 
joined  by  the  Rio  Piratinim,  has  been  deepened  and  canalised,  and  is  now 
utilised  by  trading  steamers  between  the  two  lagoons.  Unfortunately  a  dan- 
gerous bar,  the  scene  of  many  shipwrecks,  obstructs  the  navigation  of  the  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul,  through  which  this  extensive  system  of  inland  waters  com- 
municates with  the  Atlantic. 

On  the  north-east  and  north-west  Rio  Grande  is  bounded  by  the  Uruguay, 
which  rises  withiu  Brazilian  territory,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  its  coui'se 
either  flows  through  or  borders  Brazilian  lands.  It  has  its  source  in  the  Scrra 
do  Mar,  within  thirty  miles  of  the  Atlantic,  and  under  various  names  traverses 
the  region  of  the  campos.  From  Eio  Grande  it  receives  the  Uruguay  Mirim, 
"  Little  Uruguay,"  and  from  Santa  Cathariua  numerous  affluents,  amongst  others, 
the  Chapeco  and  Pepiry  Guassu,  which  have  given  rise  to  so  many  discussions  on 
the  subject  of  the  Brazilo-Argentine  frontiers. 

Below  the  Pepiry  Guassu,  "  Big  Straw-Coloured  River,"  the  Uruguay  forms 
the  Salto  Grande,  "  Great  Falls,"  where  it  turns  abruptly  from  the  west  to  the 
south-west,  retaining  this  direction  throughout  the  whole  section  of  its  course 
between  the  conterminous  republics.  In  this  region  its  largest  affluent  is  the 
Ibicuy  Grande,  which  is  accessible  to  small  craft  for  some  hundred  miles.  The 
maiastream  is  also  navigable,  but  interrupted  at  intervals  by  rapids,  so  that  free 
navigation  begins  far  to  the  south  of  Brazilian  territory  below  the  rapids  at  Salto, 
a  town  in  Uruguay. 


Clim.\te. 

In  Rio  Grande,  southernmost  of  the  Brazilian  States,  the  seasons  are  as 
distinctly  marked  as  in  Europe,  and  the  range  of  temperature  between  the  hot 
summers  and  cold  winters  sometimes  exceeds  70"  Fahr.  In  January  and  February 
the  thermometer  has  recorded  100^  and  102'  Fahr.,  while  the  ground  is  covered  with 
snow  in  July.  In  the  hilly  districts  the  glass  falls  at  times  to  17"^  or  16"  Fahr.,  but 
such  extremes  are    rare,  and  the  mean  range  between  the  greatest   heat    and 


240  AilAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

greatest  cold  scarcely  exceeds  20°  Fahr.  The  most  abrupt  changes  take  place  when 
the  i/iinuano  (west  or  north-west  winds)  descend  from  the  Andes,  or  when  the 
jKunpeiro  sweeps  up  from  the  Argentine  pampas. 

The  precipitation  is  very  unequally  distributed  throughout  the  year.  Normally 
it  falls  in  winter ;  but  the  summer  rains,  though  of  shorter  duration,  are  heavier. 
Altogether  the  annual  rainfall  is  estimated  for  the  whole  region  at  about 
40  inches.* 


Flora — Fauna. 

As  in  the  neighbouring  States  as  far  as  S.  Paulo,  the  most  marked  contrasts 
in  the  vegetation  are  presented  by  the  woodlands  and  campos  ;  but  in  Rio 
Grande  the  transition  is  in  some  places  extremely  abrupt  from  the  herbaceous  to 
the  forest  zone.  Elsewhere  it  is  more  gradual,  and  in  several  districts  thickets 
of  dwarf  palms  [butia  rasteim)  are  dotted  over  the  grassy  plains.  The  primeval 
forest,  continuing  the  northern  selva,  occupies  the  Serra  do  Mar,  and  extends 
along  the  scarp  of  the  mountains  skirting  the  north  side  of  the  Jacuhy 
depression. 

In  the  north  and  north-west  the  Uruguay  flows  through  vast  wooded  tracts, 
and  here  is  found  the  greatest  variety  of  species,  as  well  as  the  richest  soil,  so 
that  the  Upper  Uruguay  valley  seems  destined  to  become  the  most  densely 
peopled  region  in  the  State.  South  of  the  Jacuhy  the  Serras  do  Herval  and 
dos  Tapes  have  also  their  primeval  forests,  but  nearly  the  whole  of  the  central 
and  western  regions  belong  to  the  campos  zone.  Southwards  these  almost  treeless 
expanses  assume  the  character  of  the  Argentine  pampas. 

In  Rio  Grande  the  palm  family  is  reduced  to  about  ten  species,  including  the 
Jeriva  {cocos  corona /n),  whose  leaves  wrapped  round  maize  cobs  are  preferred  by 
horses  to  all  other  food.  The  araucaria  cones  attract  flocks  of  parrakeets,  and 
also  serve  to  fatten  swine.  The  local  flora  also  includes  various  bamboos,  and  the 
bromeliacea  cravata  (caraguata),  which  resembles  the  pineapple.  Although  the 
valuable  jacaranda  is  absent,  the  Rio  Grande  forests  contain  over  a  hundred  species 
useful  for  building  and  cabinet-work. 

Rio  Grande,  like  Amazonia,  has  its  apes  and  vampires,  its  jaguars  and 
pumas  ("lions"),  although  these  are  becoming  rare,  its  iguanas,  turtles  and  alli- 
gators. The  forests  are  still  frequented  bj'  the  peccary,  cutia  and  tapir  ;  but  the 
viscacha  {lagostomiis  irichodadi/lns)  met  on  the  right  or  Argentine  side  of  the 
Uruguay,  is  unknown  on  the  left  bank.  The  same  river  also  forms  a  divide 
between  other  animal  species,  such  as  the  anteater  and  coati  (nasua  socialis),  which 
occur  only  on  its  east  side. 

•  Climatic  conditions  of  Eio  Grande  do  Sul  on  the  coastlands  and  in  the  interior  :  — 

Mean 
Latitude. 

Santa  Cruz  .        .        .29"  45' 

Pelotas  .         .         .31°  46' 

Rio  Grande  .         .         .32"  7' 


eraperature. 
66°  Fahr. 

Painfull. 

f 

Rainy  Days. 
107 

63°  Fahr. 
65°  Fahr. 

42  inches 
39  inches 

83 
80 

iniiabit.us:ts  of  eio  oraNDE. 


241 


Inhabitants. 

The  exploration  of  the  coast  shell-moulds  has  revealed  the  existence  of  pre- 
historic aborigines  with  a  type  analogous  to  that  of  the  Botocudos,  but  of  an 
almost  bestial  character.  A  skull  found  near  the  coast  south-east  of  Porto 
Alegre  has  heavy  superciliary  arches,  highly  projecting  lower  jaw,  and  other 


Fig-.  104. — Geeiian  CoLo>nE3  in  South  Beazii.. 

Scale  1 :  5,000,000. 


West  op  U'^eenwich 


(iermaa 
Colonies. 


0to25 
Fathnms. 


Depths. 


25  Fathoms 
aud  upwards. 

l-'5  Mdes. 


traits  betraying  an  extremely  ferocious  expression.  But  at  the  time  of  the  con- 
quest the  population  were  exclusively  of  Guarani  stock,  and  comprised  numerous 
tribes,  such  as  the  Carijos,  Patos,  Minuanos,  Tapes,  and  Charruas,  most  of  whose 
names  survive  in  the  mountains,  lakes,  and  other  geographical  features  of  the 

VOL.    XIX.  K 


242  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

land.  But  the  tribes  themselves  have  disappeared,  either  exterminated  or  absorbed 
in  the  half-caste  white  populations. 

At  most  about  1,000  full-blood  Indians,  called  Coroados  or  Bugres,  are  still 
found  settled  round  the  military  colony  of  Caseros,  in  the  north.  They  claim 
to  be  "  Christians,"  without  any  memories  of  their  ancestors,  and  living  after  the 
manner  of  the  Gauchos.  Before  the  emancipation  the  African  element  was  re- 
presented by  about  100,000  slaves.  But  the  descendants  of  these  negroes  have 
also  been  greatly  reduced,  and  partly  absorbed  in  the  general  population. 

The  same  process  of  absorption  is  extending  to  the  other  ethnical  groups. 
The  Germans,  formerly  a  sixth  or  a  seventh,  are  now  reduced  to  little  more 
than  a  tenth  of  the  inhabitants,  although  they  own  one-fourth  of  the  public 
domain,  and  monoj^olise  half  of  the  local  industries.  Kearly  all  the  workshops  and 
the  export  trade  are  in  their  hands. 

The  other  more  recent  immigrants — Italians,  Portuguese,  Gallicians — are 
collectively  ten  times  more  numerous  than  the  Germans ;  but  being  of  Latin  race 
and  speech,  they  become  assimilated  far  more  rapidly  to  the  general  population. 
Stockbreeding  and  meat-curing  being  the  chief  pursuits,  as  in  Uruguay  and  Argen- 
tina, this  general  population  itself  resembles  the  neighbouring  Gauchos  in  habits 
and  character  fur  more  than  it  resembles  the  ordinary  Brazilians.  Like  the 
Gauchos,  the  people  of  all  the  rural  districts  are  great  riders,  men  of  resolution, 
daring,  adventuresome,  full  of  resources,  cruel,  and  accustomed  to  scenes  of  blood. 
During  the  Brazilian  wars  the  Eio  Grande  horsemen  took  a  decisive  part  in  most 
of  the  conflicts. 

Till  recently  the  Germans  comprised  a  sixth  or  a  seventh  of  the  whole  popula- 
tion ;  at  present  they  are  reduced  to  one-eighth,  or  even  to  one-tenth,  if  those 
alone  be  included  who  habitually  speak  their  mother-tongue.  Nevertheless,  they 
possess  one-fourth  of  the  public  property,  while  about  half  of  the  local  industry  is 
in  their  hands.  The  German  settlers  in  the  hillj'  districts  of  the  Serra  da  Costa 
(Coast  Range)  enjoy  the  largest  share  of  national  cohesion,  but  these  are  precisely 
the  most  backward  in  every  social  respect.  They  are  not  yet  familiar  with  the 
Portuguese  language  ;  they  preserve  their  old  agricultural  methods,  and  continue 
to  dress  in  the  old-fashioned  way.  On  the  other  hand,  their  descendants  domi- 
ciled in  the  towns  are  distinguished  by  their  knowledge  of  the  current  languages,  as 
well  as  by  their  enterprising  and  industrial  spirit.  They  have  almost  a  monopoly 
of  the  factories,  workshops,  and  export  trade. 

Topography. 

Porto  Alcgre,  present  capital  of  Rio  Grande,  occupies  the  true  geographical 
centre  of  the  countr}',  being  situated  at  the  head  of  the  Guahyba  (Jacuhy)  estuary, 
converging  point  of  all  the  land  and  water  highways.  It  stands  on  a  picturesque 
headland  immediately  below  a  cluster  of  wooded  islets,  where  it  was  founded  by  a 
few  Portuguese  families  from  the  Azores  in  1742,  though  it  did  not  take  its 
present  name  till   1773.     Its  prosperity  dates  from  the  time  when  the   German 


TOPOGEAPHY   OF  EIO   GEANDE. 


2i3 


settlers  on  the  Serra  da  Costa  made  it  a  depot  for  their  agricultural  produce. 
To  this  occupation  it  has  now  added  other  industries,  such  as  cigar-making, 
brewing,  and  ship-building.  As  the  strategical  centre  of  the  southern  states, 
the  Brazilian  Government  has  made  it  the  seat  of  a  militarj'  school. 


Fig.  10.5. — PonTO  Aleoee  and  Gtjatiyba  Esttjaet. 
Scale  t :  45n,onn. 


.Vest  or  Greenwich  Sl^so 


Dtpllu 


Oto6 

Fiet. 


6  Feet, 
and  upwards. 


6  Miles. 


Porto  Alegre  may  also  be  considered  a  sort  of  literary  and  scientific  centre, 
thanks  to  its  numerous  colleges  and  periodical  publications.  A  little  to  the  west 
near  the  south  bank  of  the  Jacuhj-,  are  situated  the  S.  Jcroiii/iiio  coal  mines,  which 
have  a  yearly  output  of  about  2,000  tons.     Tliey  lie  in  a  carboniferous  zone, 

r2 


244 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


whidi  extends  north-east  and  south-west  parallel  with  the  coast  between  the 
Tuhanio  and  Jaguamo  coalfields. 

The  natural  trade  route  of  the  river  is  completed  above  Taqttary  by  a  railway, 
which  penetrates  by  the  industrial  towns  of  Rio  Pardo  and  Cachoeira  westwards 
to  the  Tbicuy  Grande  basin.  Another  line  running  northwards  to  S.  Leopoldo 
and  Nova  Ilambunjo  {Hamhurger  Berg)  connects  all  these  German  settlements  with 
their  natural  market  of  Porto  Alegre.  The  navigable  waters  of  the  lake  stretch- 
ing southwards  puts  the  capital  in  direct  communication  with  Pelotas  and  Rio 
Grniif/e,  this  waterway  being  accessible  to  craft  drawing  eight  or  nine  feet. 

But  being  prevented  by  the  dangerous  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eio  Grande 
from  developing  its  foreign  trade,  Porto  Alegre  proposes  to  seek  another  seaward 


Fig.  106. — Proposed  Canai,  feom  the  Capivaby  to  Toeees  and  Laouna. 
Scale  1 :  2,000,000. 


West  cF  (jreenwrcln  51' 


Depih^. 


0  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  to  25 
Pathoms. 


25  Fitboms 
and  upwards. 


,  30  Miles. 


outlet  by  utilising  the  chain  of  lagoons  which  extend  from  the  Lagoa  dos  Patos 
north-eastwards  to  the  Tubarao  lagoon.  The  projected  canal  is  to  run  from 
Capivary  Bay,  touching  about  midway  at  the  port  of  Santo  Bomingos  das  Torres 
on  the  Santa  Catharina  frontier.  But  Torres  itself,  being  exposed  to  every  wind, 
would  have  to  be  protected  by  costly  harbour  works,  including  long  piers  and 
breakwaters,  beyond  the  present  resources  of  the  State.  The  engineers  have  also 
proposed  to  cut  through  the  isthmus  which  shelters  the  Lagoa  dos  Patos  on  the 
east,  and  to  construct  an  artificial  harbour  at  the  extremity  of  the  cutting. 

Jagiiarao,  at  the  other  end  of  the  fluvial  basin,  abuts  on  a  high  hill  which 
commands  an  extensive  prospect.  Founded  in  1763  by  some  colonists  from 
Madeira,  Jaguarao  has  taken  an  active  part  in  all  the  local  wars  and  revolutions. 
At  present  it  trades  with  the  neighbouring  republic  through  its  suburb  of  Artigas, 


TOPOGEAPHY  OF   EIO   GEAXDE. 


245 


on  the  Uruguay  side  of  tlie  river.  But  in  this  district  the  chief  market  is  Pelotas, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio  S.  Gon9alo  near  its  mouth  in  the  Lagoa  dos  Patos. 
Of  all  Brazilian  towns  Pelotas  does  the  largest  business  in  the  came  secca  ("  dried 
meat ")  industry.     Here  are  annually  slaughtered  over  300,000  oxen  (in  1890  as 


I 


o 

(3 


many  as  400,000),  the  jerked  meat  being  exported  chieflv  to  Eio,  Bahia,  and 
Pemambuco.  This  trade  represents  an  average  annual  sum  of  about  £1,200,000, 
exclusive  of  the  offal  used  in  the  manufacture  of  soap,  candles  and  manure. 

Facing  each  other  on  the  banks  of  the  Piio  Grande  emissary  of  the  Lagoa  dos 
Patos  stand  the  two  cities  of  S.   Jose  do  Norte  and  Eio   Grande  do  Sal,  here 


21G 


AM.VZONIA  A^'D  LA  PLATA. 


"Norte"  and  "Sul"  being  misnomers  for  "East"  and  "West."  Eio  Grande, 
former  capital  of  the  proyince  named  from  it,  occupies  the  extremity  of  a  narrow 
isthmus  between  two  lagoons,  and  would  present  a  pleasant  aspect  but  for  the 
unsightly  military  structures,  dead  walls,  and  forts  by  which  it  is  disfigured. 

The  lacustrine  channel  flows  at  some  distance  from  the  peninsula,  close  to  the 
side  occupied  by  S.  Jose  do  Xorte,  where  all  the  shijjping  engaged  in  trade  has 
its  moorings.  A  more  serious  inconvenience  is  the  bar  of  shifting  sands,  which 
it  has  hitherto  been  found  impossible  to  fix  or  permanently  remove.  On  the  sill 
the  depth  varies  with  the  tides  and  storms  from  about  8  to  nearly  14  feet.      It 


Eg.  lOS.— Pelotas. 

Scale  1  :  375,000. 


52*30' 


Wen  oF  Gt-eerwicd 


52*iO- 


Depths. 


OtolS 

Feet. 


16  Feet 
and  upwards. 


.  6  Miles. 


stood  at  11  feet  in  1885,  when  a  new  channel  was  opened  farther  south  averaging 
15  feet,  but  rising  with  the  north-east  and  falling  with  the  south-east  wind. 

The  works  which  have  been  projected  to  improve  the  approaches  to  Rio  Grande 
comprise  two  parallel  piers  carried  out  to  depths  of  18  or  20  feet,  and  the  construc- 
tion or  dredging  of  a  channel  between  these  piers  1,300  feet  wide  and  26  or  27  feet 
deep.  But  pending  the  execution  of  these  harbour  woi-ks,  the  export  trade  of 
Rio  Grande,  consisting  almost  exclusively  of  provisions,  is  declining.  Commerce 
naturally  seeks  other  outlets,  which  have  at  least  the  advantage  of  avoiding  the 
dangerous  approaches  to  Rio  Grande.     The  opposite  town  of  S.  Jose  is  entirely 


TOPOGEAPHY  OF  EIO  GEAXDE. 


247 


engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  onions,  tte  only  plant  tliat  thrives  in  tlie  sandy 
soil  of  the  district. 

The  railway  connecting  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  with  Pelotas  is  continued  west- 


Tig.  109.— Eio  GaufDE  do  Sen.  axd  its  Bae. 
Scale  1  :  150,000. 


rS'J' 


Depths. 


otol6 
Feet. 


16  *n  ,S2 
Peet. 


32  Feet 
and  upwards. 

>  3  Miles. 


wards  along  the  Uruguay  frontier  to  the  town  of  JBaye.  This  place  lies  near  the 
ancient  Santa  Tec  fa  within  the  basin  of  the  Rio  Is^egro,  which  flows  almost  entirely 
in  the  territory  of  Uruguay.     The  neighbouring  hills  abound  in  lead,  copper  and 


248 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


gold,  and  at  some  points  the  railsvay  between  Pelotas  and  Bage  traverses  coal 
fields  of  bad  quality.     The  gold  mines  of  Lavras  have  been  worked  since  I8;J5. 

In  the  upper  Uruguay  basin  the  only  places  of  any  note  are  >S'.  Borja,  formerly 
a  famous  mission  founded  by  the  Jesuits  in  the  midst  of  the  Guarani  Indians  ; 
Itaquy,  nearly  opposite  the  Aguapey  confluence,  with  a  Government  arsenal  on 
the  Argentine  frontier ;  Urufjuayana,  riverside  port  of  Alegrete,  chief  town  of  the 
Ibicuy  basin.  In  the  war  with  Paraguay,  Uruguayana  was  the  scene  of  a 
memorable  event.  It  was  seized  in  1865  by  5,000  Paraguayans,  who  had  to 
capitulate  after  undergoing  a  formal  siege  by  three  of  the  allied  armies  com- 
manded by  the  Emperor  dom  Pedro  in  person.  Almost  every  town  in  Brazil  has 
a  street,  square,  or  promenade  bearing  the  name  of  Uruguayana  in  memory  of 
this  doughty  exploit. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


MATTO  GROSSO. 


ITII  ibo  exception  of  a  narrow  central  zone,  the  vast  region  of 
Matto  Grosso,  that  is,  the  "  Great  Forest,"  nearly  five  times  the 
size  of  the  British  Isles,  is  a  mere  wilderness  with  undefined 
limits,  and,  if  not  actually  unknown,  at  least  abandoned  to  the 
aborigines  and  wild  beasts.  "With  the  rest  of  Brazil  it  is  con- 
nected only  by  the  tracks  of  hunters,  or  the  course  of  the  navigable  waters  rising 
within  its  borders.  Its  very  name  has  no  distinct  geographical  meaning,  for  the 
expression  is  applied  to  many  distinct  regions,  which  belong  onh*  in  small  measure 
to  the  Amazonian  selva.  Most  of  the  territory  is  in  fact  comprised  in  the  zone 
of  uplands  which  form  the  waterparting  between  the  great  northern  and  southern 
basins,  and  which  are  overgrown  not  with  forest  trees  but  with  stunted  fcrub 
and  bush. 

Another  section  consists  of  the  partly  dried  bed  of  an  old  inland  sea,  whose 
shores  are  thinly  wooded.  The  whole  of  the  civilised  population  is  less  than  that 
of  a  single  suburb  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  in  an  area  of  some  530,000  square 
miles  the  inhabitants,  settled  and  savage,  fall  considerablj'  short  of  200,000. 
Yet  no  other  country  exceeds  certain  parts  of  the  Brazilian  wilderness  in  fertilit3% 
and  within  its  borders  there  is  certainly  ample  space  for  a  population  of  at  leust 
100,000,000. 


HisToiiic  Slrvev. 

Except  in  the  extreme  south  and  west,  Matto  Grosso  remained  unvisited  by 
the  Spanish  conquerors,  who,  after  establishing  themselves  in  Peru  and  in  the 
Plate  estuary,  made  no  serious  attempt  to  connect  these  two  sections  of  their 
prodigious  domain,  or  at  least  limited  their  efforts  in  this  direction  to  the  explora- 
tion of  the  Upper  Paraguay  and  of  the  Bolivian  plateaux. 

Hence  the  Paulist  kidnappers  were  the  first  whites  to  penetrate  into   jfatto 


250  AMAZOXTA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Grosso.  Towards  the  year  1G80  a  ccrtaia  JIanoel  de  Campos  had  already 
visited  the  Bororo  Indians  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  plateaux,  and  he  was 
followed  by  other  traders.  The  discovery  of  gold  suddenly  increased  the  number 
of  these  pioneers,  and  every  j'ear  convoj's,  sometimes  comprising  hundreds  of 
handeirantes,  set  out  for  this  "  Promised  Land,"  where,  according  to  report,  gold 
dust  was  collected  by  the  bushel.  But  no  proper  tracks  were  laid  down,  and 
the  adventurers,  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  Indians,  with  no  supplies  except 
the  products  of  the  chase  and  the  fisheries,  had  often  to  abandon  the  sick,  the 
feeble,  and  the  wounded  to  the  wild  beasts  or  to  the  wilder  natives.  At  times 
whole  convoys  disappeared,  not  a  soul  escaping,  and  no  permanent  settlements 
could  be  established  in  these  boundless  solitudes,  where  distances  were  measured, 
not  bj'  miles  or  ordinary  leagues,  but  by  the  Ivgoa  grande,  averaging  from  four 
to  five  miles. 

To  reach  the  mines  of  Cuyaba,  where  is  now  the  capital  of  the  State,  the  gold 
hunters  first  followed  the  Rio  Tiete  and  the  Parana  to  the  Pardo  confluence,  then 
ascended  the  Pardo  to  its  Anharabuhy  affluent,  thus  reaching  the  Serra  de  Santa 
Barbara  and  the  Campos  de  Vaccaria.  Thence  their  goal  was  reached  by  the 
Eios  Miranda,  Paraguay,  and  Cuyaba,  the  journey  occupying  many  long 
months. 

The  Mineiros,  rivals  of  the  Paulistas,  in  their  turn  reached  Matto  Grosso  by 
the  more  direct  route  across  Goyaz  and  by  the  valley  of  the  Rio  das  Mortes. 
But  the  mines,  as  badly  worked  as  elsewhere  in  Brazil,  gradually  ceased  to  attract 
adventurers,  and  Matto  Grosso  had  almost  been  again  forgotten,  when  the  era 
of  scientific  exploration  was  ushered  in  by  D'Orbigny,  Castelnau,  D'Alincourt, 
and  Leverger.  Then,  after  the  Paraguay  war,  various  commissions  were  succes- 
sively appointed  to  survey  this  outlying  dependenc}^  of  Brazil. 

Up  to  that  time  Matto  Grosso  had  remained  within  the  commercial  sphere  of 
the  port  of  Santos  in  the  land  of  its  first  discoverers;  but  the  traffic  on  this  long 
and  costly  route  was  of  trifling  value.  So  difiicult  were  the  communications,  that 
on  the  declaration  of  war,  it  was  found  impossible  for  troops  to  be  despatched  from 
the  seaport  directly  to  the  aid  of  the  people  of  Matto  Grosso  threatened  by 
Paraguay.  The  expeditionary  force  of  3,000  men,  which  left  Rio  de  Janeiro  in 
April,  1865,  did  not  reach  Uberaba  in  the  Upper  Parana  basin  till  the  following 
July.  Thence  it  set  out  across  the  solitudes,  losing  one-third  of  its  strength  before 
reaching  Miranda,  near  the  Paraguayan  frontier,  nearly  two  years  after  starting 
from  Rio.  Failing  to  receive  the  supplies  it  had  expected  at  the  Rio  Apa,  the 
little  band  had  to  fall  back  in  the  face  of  the  enemj"-,  and  not  more  than  700 
eventually  succeeded  in  reaching  a  place  of  safety  within  the  Brazilian  lines. 
All  the  rest  had  perished  of  fever,  cholera,  wounds,  and  hardships  of  all  kinds. 

But  the  ultimate  triumph  of  Brazil  over  Paraguay  opened  all  the  main  routes 
of  access  to  Matto  Grosso,  and  a  regular  line  of  steamers  was  established  to  ply 
between  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Cuyaba,  by  the  La  Plata,  Paraguay  and  Cuyaba 
rivers.  This  route,  however,  was  also  too  long  and  too  costlj-  for  trade  purposes, 
the  best  boats  taking  not  less  than  thirty-one  days  for  the  voyage. 


PHYSICAL  PEATUKES  OF  MATTO  GROSSO.  251 

The  alternative  fluvial  route  by  the  Amazons,  Madeira,  and  Guapore  is  even 
less  used  than  it  was  in  the  eighteenth  century,  after  the  exploration  conducted 
in  174:2  by  Manoel  de  Lima.  The  few  travellers  who  venture  to  descend  the 
Guapore  iu  boats  have  to  surmount  long  portages  before  reaching  Santo  Antonio 
at  the  head  of  the  steam  navigation  on  the  iladeii-a.  On  the  other  hand  the 
direct  route  from  Para,  by  the  Amazons,  the  Tapajoz,  and  the  Juruona,  is  too 
tedious  and  difficult  to  be  utilised  by  commerce.  It  is  used  onl_y  for  the  importa- 
tion of  the  guarana  bean  {jMuIlinia  sorbilis),  which  is  collected  by  the  Mauhe 
Indians  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons,  and  also  imported  by  the  ^Madeira  route. 
When  ground  to  a  powder,  and  mixed  with  water,  this  beau  makes  a  beverage 
preferred  by  the  people  of  Matto  Grosso  to  all  other  drinks. 

Nevertheless  Matto  Grosso  is  being  gradually  drawn  closer  to  the  rest  of 
Brazil.  A  telegraph  line  has  already  been  established  between  Rio  and  Cuyaba, 
while  the  railway  by  S.  Paulo  has  advanced  bej'ond  the  Rio  Grande,  thus 
covering  over  a  third  of  the  total  distance  between  Cuyaba  and  the  coast.* 

Extensions  of  the  existing  routes  are  being  j^lanned  in  all  directions,  and  the 
steam  trafiic  of  the  navigable  waterways  is  being  developed,  while  the  rivers 
themselves  are  being  connected  by  lateral  highways  across  the  intervening  steppes 
and  forests.  Thus  the  two  rivers,  Ivahy  and  Paranapanema,  traversing  the  States 
of  Parana  and  S.  Paulo,  are  to  be  continued  beyond  Parana  by  following  the  course 
of  the  Ivinheima,  and  of  the  Brilhante  as  far  as  the  uplands  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Miranda,  in  South  Matto  Grosso.  Such  communications,  however,  are  far  from 
sufficient  to  meet  the  requirements  of  a  large  stream  of  immigration,  whenever 
it  sets  in  the  direction  of  these  magnificent  regions  about  the  Paraguayan  and 
Amazonian  divides  and  slopes,  regions  which  have  eveiy  prospect  of  becoming  a 
great  centre  of  population  in  the  near  future. 

The  first  movement  of  colonisation  will  most  probably  be  made  by  the  southern 
route  from  the  direction  of  Paraguay  and  Argentina.  Of  the  present  scanty 
population  of  Matto  Grosso,  the  great  majority  is  concentrated  on  the  southern 
slopes.  With  the  exception  of  a  single  town  and  its  environs,  the  whole  of  the 
territory  draining  north  to  the  Amazons  still  remains  unoccupied  and  uninhabited, 
except  by  a  few  scattered  Indian  tribes. 

PHYSirAi.  Features. 

Matto  Grosso  is  one  of  the  least  hilly  regions  of  the  continent,  and  although 
the  natives  reckon  their  "  serras  "  by  the  dozen,  there  are  nowhere  any  heights 
constituting  real  mountain  ranges.  All  the  East  Brazilian  uplands  iall  gradually 
west  of  South  Goyaz,  and  the  space  between  these  highlands  and  the  Andean 
foothills  was  at  one  time  traversed  by  a  marine  strait,  separating  the  two  great 
Alpine  regions  of  East  Brazil  and  the  Cordilleras.  Fluvial  waters  now  flow  in 
this  marine  depression  which  has  been  largely  filled  by  their  alluvial  deposits. 

*  Distance  in  a  straight  line  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  to  Cuyaba,  880  miles  ;  ty  the  Buenos  Ayres  route, 
3,84U  miJei. 


252 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  TLATA 


The  divide  between  the  sources  of  the  Guapore  and  the  headwaters  of  the 
Paraguay  scarcely  exceeds  1,650  feet  in  altitude,  and  the  Brazilian  uplands  appear 
to  be  connected  wiih  those  of  the  Chiquitos  territory  only  by  a  very  narrow 
isthmus  of  ancient  rocks.     Here  is  the  true  geographical  centre  of  South  America. 

On  the  maps  a  continuous  chain  of  mountains  is  traced  between  the  Madeira 
and  Tapajoz  basins,  then  between  the  Tapajoz  and  Paraguay,  and  lastly  between 
the  Tapajoz  and  the  Araguaya.  Yet  it  is  certain  that  this  semi-circular  ridge 
has  but  a  fragmentary  existence.  The  heights  dominating  the  plains  of  the 
upper  Paraguay  and  its  affluents  are  in  reality  merely  the  escarjiments  of  a 
plateau  disposed  in  horizontal  or  very  slightly  inclined  strata,  and  eroded  by  the 
streams  now  descending  towards  the  Amazons.     The  rampart  itself  has  a  mean 


Fig.  no. — Tapajoz  and  Paeagtjay  Wateeshed. 
Scale  1  :  5,500,000. 


West  or  ureenwic^t 


1-0  .ikUcd. 


elevation  of  no  more  than  1,650  feet,  and  above  the  edge  of  the  plateau  rise  a 
{ew  isolated  crests,  attaining  here  and  there  a  height  of  some  3,000  feet. 

Thus  the  orographic  system  of  the  Matto  Grosso  watershed,  indifferentlj' 
called  "  cordilheira "  or  "  campos "  dos  Parexi,  from  the  local  Indian  tribe, 
presents  a  mountainous  aspect,  only  as  seen  from  the  south.  On  this  steep  side 
the  face  of  the  escarpments  is  carved  into  rocky  walls,  sharp  peaks,  or  needles. 
But  on  the  opposite  side,  facing  the  Tapajoz  and  Xingu  basins,  nothing  is  seen 
except  a  long  gently-inclined  slope  gradually  merging  in  the  Amazonian  plains. 

The  southern  parts  of  the  Ara.ra,  as  the  edge  of  the  plateau  is  generally  called, 
date  probably  from  paleozoic  times,  and  here  are  represented  carboniferous, 
devonian,  and  silurian  formations.  Farther  north,  in  the  zone  of  cataracts 
traversed  by  the  Madeira,  Tapajoz,  Xingu,  Tocantins,  and  their  affluents,  the 
rocks  exposed  b}'  the  erosions  of  these  streams  are  all  of  crystalline  character — 
granites,  gneiss,  porphyries,  and  quartzites. 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF  MATTO  GEOSSO.  253 

Farther  south,  between  the  sources  of  the  Paraguay  and  those  of  the  Ara- 
guaya, and  also  between  the  Paraguay  and  the  Parana,  the  uplands  have  been 
eroded  both  on  the  east  and  the  west,  so  that  in  some  places  the  intervening 
heights  assume  the  aspect  of  real  mountains,  disposed  iu  the  direction  from  north 
to  south.  Such  are  the  Serra  de  S.  Jeronymo,  and  the  ilaracaju  and  Anham- 
bahy  ranges.  Eruptive  rocks,  locally  called  basalts,  have  here  cropped  out  above 
the  prevailing  sandstones,  and  to  their  decomposition  appears  to  be  due  a  "  red 
earth  "  analogous  to  that  which  yields  the  coffee  growers  such  splendid  returns  in 
S.  Paulo. 

"Within  the  cirque-like  space  enclosed  by  the  semi-circular  range  of  heights, 
the  surface  is  broken  by  a  number  of  rocky  isolated  masses,  which  are  visible  from 
a  great  distance,  and  which  are  stratified  with  perfectly  regular  layers.  The  heights 
themselves  affect,  for  the  most  part,  geometrical  forms,  as  if  vast  slabs  of  rock 
had  scaled  off,  leaving  smooth  surfaces  like  the  sloping  sides  of  a  finished  pyramid. 
The  summits,  as  horizontal  as  if  the  crests  had  been  cut  away  by  a  sharp  instru- 
ment, correspond  to  other  summits  of  Hke  formation,  so  that  all  evidently  at  one 
time  formed  part  of  a  continuous  terrace. 

From  the  disposition  of  the  lines  of  disintegration  round  the  flanks  of  the  hills, 
a  conjecture  may  be  hazarded  as  to  the  direction  likely  to  be  followed  in  the 
process  of  destruction  still  going  on.  According  to  de  Tavmay,  who  resided 
several  years  in  the  district,  and  traversed  it  in  all  directions,  these  sandstone 
masses,  with  their  perfectly  regular  horizontal  series  of  stratification,  consist  of 
lacustrine  sedimentary  matter  sifted  and  distributed  by  the  great  freshwater  lake, 
which  formerly  covered  the  whole  region. 

The  detritus  washed  down  from  the  surrounding  slopes  and  escarpments  has 
also  had  its  share  in  modifying  the  general  aspect  of  the  land.  This  detritus, 
accumulating  in  the  form  of  talus  at  the  base  of  the  hills,  has  been  caught  up 
and  redistributed  by  the  running  waters,  in  some  places  covering  the  groimd 
with  fresh  matter  to  a  great  thickness.  Motmtain  masses  formerly  connected 
with  the  inland  plateaux  and  ranges,  now  appear  completely  isolated,  because 
their  base  is  concealed  by  the  accumulated  debris,  so  that  they  rise  abruptly 
above  the  surface  without  any  transitional  talus  formation.  These  isolated 
masses,  which  have  received  the  name  of  ifamhe,  Hke  the  great  mountain  of  the 
serra  d'Espinha^o,  near  Diamantina,  shoot  up  in  peaks  and  domes  above  the 
surrounding  woodlands,  looking  from  a  distance  like  colossal  structures  raised  by 
the  hand  of  man. 

In  the  eastern  districts  of  South  Matto  Grosso,  the  heights  belonging  to  this 
geological  system  are  disposed  in  ranges  or  grouped  in  archipelagoes,  standing 
out  above  the  sea  of  verdure.  In  the  direction  of  the  west  they  become  con- 
tinually less  elevated  and  less  numerous,  or  else  appear  completely  isolated  within 
the  circle  of  the  horizon,  though  still  extending  in  solitary  groups  aU  the  way  to 
the  right  bank  of  the  Paraguay,  and  even  reappearing  on  the  opposite  side.  As 
already  remarked  by  d'Orbigny,  the  Chiquito  heights  belong  rather  to  this 
Brazilian  sj'stcm  than  to  that  of  Bolivia. 


254  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Rivers: — The  Paraguay  System. 


The  Upper  Guapore,  the  Itenez  of  the  Bolivians,  although  comprised  within 
the  Amazons  basin,  as  an  affluent  of  the  Mamore,  belongs  specially  to  Matto  Grosso, 
for  the  town  of  this  name  has  been  founded  on  its  banks,  and  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  settled  population  of  the  State  is  centred  in  the  depression,  the  western 
section  of  which  is  traversed  by  this  river.  The  Guapore,  so  named  from  a  long 
extinct  Indian  tribe,  has  its  chief  source  in  a  coriu-a  or  grotto  on  the  edge  of  the 
Araxa  escarpment,  and  flows  at  first  in  the  direction  of  the  south  parallel  with  the 
other  streams  descending  to  the  Paraguay.  But  after  escaping  from  the  last 
hills  the  ferruginous  torrent  trends  round  to  the  west  and  north-west,  and  after 
receiving  numerous  affluents,  traverses  the  plain  in  which  is  situated  the  town  of 
Matto  Grosso,  160  miles  from  its  source.  Six  miles  lower  down  a  bridge  spans 
the  stream,  which  presents  great  difficulties  to  the  navigation,  being  much 
obstructed  with  snags  and  shifting  sandbanks. 

The  Paraguay,  either  the  "  Parrakeet  River,"  or  more  probably  the  "  River 
of  the  Payaguay  Indians,"  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  navigable  water- 
courses in  the  world.  Few  streams  have  a  more  gentle  incline  in  propor- 
tion to  the  length  of  their  course.  Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  headwaters 
which  escape  through  numerous  rapids,  and  even  cascades  from  the  hilly  districts, 
the  point  where  the  Paraguay  begins  to  flow  in  a  tranquil  stream  stands  at  an 
elevation  of  not  more  than  660  feet  above  the  sea,  from  which  it  is  still  distant 
2,500  miles.  Hence  the  mean  incline  cannot  be  more  than  about  three  or  four 
inches  per  mile.  Steamers  of  light  draught  are  thus  able  to  penetrate  from  the 
ocean  up  the  mainstream  and  its  numerous  affluents — Jauru,  Sepotuba,  Cuj'aba, 
S.  Lourenco,  Taquary — far  beyond  the  Argentine  and  Paraguay  republics  into  the 
very  heart  of  Brazil. 

Another  remarkable  phenomenon  is  the  intermingling  of  its  farthest  head- 
streams  with  those  of  the  Amazons  affluents.  The  Jauru,  former  frontier  stream 
between  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  possessions,  approaches  so  near  to  the 
Guapore  that  it  was  found  easy  to  connect  the  two  systems  by  an  artificial  canal. 
The  Aguapehy  affluent  of  the  Jauru  is  separated  from  the  Alegre,  which  joins 
the  Guapore  near  Matto  Grosso,  only  by  a  narrow  isthmus  of  slight  elevation, 
and  not  more  half  a  mile  wide.  In  1772  a  canal  was  cut  through  the  divide, 
large  enough  to  admit  a  six-oared  boat,  and  other  attempts  to  establish  a  permanent 
communication  between  the  two  waterways  have  failed  only  through  the  lack  of 
sufficient  traffic  to  support  such  works. 

Below  its  beadstreams,  the  Paraguay  flows  through  a  marshy  district  at  the 
foot  of  the  plateaai,  where  its  limpid  waters  expand  into  a  series  of  lagoons  overgrown 
with  aquatic  plants.  Here  and  there  its  course  is  confined  between  hills,  but  it 
soon  enters  the  vast  plain  which  was  formerly  a  flooded  depression,  and  still 
partly  retains  its  lacustrine  character.  During  the  floods,  when  the  Paraguay 
and  its  tributaries  rise  3-5  or  36  feet,  the  overflow  with  its  islands  and  archipela- 
goes of  floating   vegetation,  expands  to  a  temporary  sea  stretching  beyond  the 


EIYEBS  OF  MATTO  GEOSSO. 


255 


horizon,  and  continued  on  the  rising  grounds  by  the  so-called  hanhados,  or 
"  arowned  lands."  Above  these  rise  thickets  of  tall  herbs  and  shrubs,  and  in 
some  places  artificial  mounds,  where  the  natives  formerly  took  refuge  during  the 
inundations. 

Lake  Xarayes,  as  this  expanse  was  called  by  the  first  Spanish  explorers, 
stretches  for  a  length  of  about  360  miles  north  and  south  between  the  mouths  of 
the  Jauru  and  the  Fecho  dos  ilorros  hills,  and  in  some  places  has  a  width  of  2o0 
or  2G0  miles.  Although  it  is  not  permanent,  as  was  formerly  supposed,  certain 
stretches  locally  called  bahias,  the  "  bays  "  or  inlets  of  the  old  inland  sea,  are 
flooded  throughout  the  year.     Most  of   these  basins  communicate  at  all  seasons 


Fig.  111. — SOUECES   OF   THE   AjLEOEE   AXD   AoUAPAIIY. 
Scale  1  :  2.5CO.OOO. 


•'-^A^ 


60'  Wtst  op  Grecnwict. 


53- 


.  60  Miles. 


with  the  Paraguay,  either  through  lateral  creeks  or  broad  passages.  Such  are 
hikes  Ubcraba,  Gaiba,  ilandiore,  and  Caceres,  which  swarm  with  "  hundreds  of 
thousands  "  of  the  Jacare  crocodile.  Some  are  freshwater  basins  fed  exclusively  by 
the  river  ;  but  others  are  old  depressions  formerly  filled  by  the  marine  waters, 
and  still  preserving  saline  incrustations  which  give  them  a  brackish  taste. 

Towards  the  centre  of  the  great  depression  the  Paraguay  is  joined  by  the 
Cuyaba,  with  its  S.  Lourenco  tributary,  called  also  the  Rio  dos  Porrudos  from  the 
Indians  of  that  name,  who  protected  themselves  with  a  kind  of  sack  from  the  bite 
of  the  voracious  piranha  fish.  Below  the  confluence  these  waters  still  wander 
over  the  level  plains  in  a  labyrinth  of  creeks,  channels,  false  rivers,  and  lateral 
branches  all  the   way  to  the  junction  of  the  Tac^uary  and   iliranda,  dcscendiug 


25G  .  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

from  the  eastern  uplands.  In  its  upper  course  the  Taquary  is  joined  by  the 
Coxim,  described  by  all  travellers  as  one  of  the  most  romantic  streams  in  Brazil. 
The  Miranda,  itself  a  lovely  river,  is  also  joined  by  a  picturesque  affluent,  the 
Aquidauana,  or  Mondego,  which  the  Paraguayans  claimed  as  the  northern  limit  of 
their  territory.  Descending  from  the  Amambahy  heights,  it  winds  in  long  mean- 
derings  between  wooded  banks  to  its  junction  with  the  Miranda  at  the  entrance 
to  the  marshy  plains  of  Lake  Xarayes. 

From  the  western  or  Chiquito  side  the  Paraguay  receives  only  one  important 
affluent,  the  Tucabaca  or  Oliden,  which,  after  its  junction  with  the  San  Rafael, 
develops  a  chain  of  lagoons  much  obstructed  bj^  dense  masses  of  drifting  vegetation. 
The  Otuquis,  spoken  of  by  D'Orbigny  as  affording  a  convenient  navigable  route 
from  the  Argentine  plains  to  Bolivia,  was  ascended  in  1854  in  the  Wafer  Witch 
by  Page  a  distance  of  34  miles,  when  he  had  to  return,  not  for  lack  of  depth, 
but  because  he  was  unable  to  force  a  passage  through  the  dense  floating  vegetation. 
In  1886  Fernandez  reached  a  point  25  miles  farther,  when  he  also  had  to  return 
for  the  same  reason.  Were  its  discharge  regulated,  and  its  current  kept  clear  of 
aquatic  plants,  the  Otuquis  might  probably  become  an  outlet  for  the  trade  of 
Bolivia.  South  of  the  Bahia  Negra  confluence,  the  section  of  Gran  Chaco  included 
in  the  territory  of  Paragiiay  begins  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  But  on  the 
left  side,  the  Brazilian  frontier  is  not  indicated  beyond  the  confluence  of  the 
river  Apa,  155  miles  farther  south. 


Climate. 

The  inhabited  parts  of  Matto  Grosso,  lying  in  the  heart  of  the  continent  in  a 
sort  of  trough  between  the  Andean  and  Brazilian  highlands,  present  peculiar 
climatic  conditions,  characterised  especially  by  a  very  high  mean  annual  tempera- 
ture, higher  even  than  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons  under  the  equator.  At  the 
same  time  the  oscillations  of  the  thermometer  are  far  more  abrupt  than  in  other 
tropical  regions,  amounting  at  times  to  as  many  as  28°  and  even  'i'-i'^  Fahr.,  in  the 
space  of  twelve  hours.  These  sudden  changes  are  due  to  the  winds  veering  round 
from  north-west  to  south-east ;  or  in  the  reverse  direction  from  south-east  to 
north-west.  Thus  the  moist  currents  from  the  Amazonian  selva  are  often  suddenly 
replaced  in  winter  by  cold  currents  from  the  Argentine  pampas. 

On  the  uplands  the  glass  falls  at  times  to  freezing  point,  and  wayfarers  have 
often  perished  of  cold  in  crossing  the  Araxa  range.  In  March,  1822,  that  is,  at 
the  end  of  summer,  a  caravan  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  lost  over  twenty  negroes  in 
the  Rio  Manso  valley  west  of  Cuj'aba.* 

The  rainfall,  regular  in  summer  and  frequently  accompanied  by  thunderstorms, 
has  not  yet  been  accurately  gauged,  but  appears  to  average  at  least  120  inches. 


*  Meteorological  conditions  of  Cuyaba  : — 
Temperature. 


EainfaU.  Eainv  Days. 


Meau.  Max.  Jlin. 

TO'Tahi-.  10G=  Fiilir.  45^  Fahr.  4  j  inches  85 


INHABITANTS  OF  MATTO  GEOSSO.  257 

In  general  the  conditions  are  highly  unfavourable  for  Europeans,  at  least,  on  the 
low,  marshy  plains.  The  relatively  salubrious  plateaux  are  not  yet  comprised 
within  the  settled  districts,  so  that  nearly  all  strangers  have  to  face  the  dangers 
of  great  heat  and  moisture  on  the  low-hdng  jjlains.  These  regions  have  been 
visited  by  frightful  epidemics,  measles  in  the  last  century,  and  since  then  other 
scourges  such  as  small-pox  and  yellow  fever.  Hence,  despite  a  high  birth-rate, 
the  population  in  some  years  has  diminished  in  the  rural  districts.  In  Matto 
Grosso  the  great  epidemics  have  attacked  the  animals  with  as  much  intensity 
as  human  beings,  and  have  even  spread  from  the  cattle  and  poultry  to  the  deer, 
tapirs,  and  jaguars  of  the  forests  and  savannas.  In  1857  nearly  all  the  horses 
and  mules  perished  in  the  southern  districts  between  Miranda  and  Cuvaba, 
and  since  then,  the  horned  cattle,  estimated  at  from  600,000  to  1,000,000,  have 
become  half  wild  through  the  lack  of  mounted  herdsmen  to  tend  the  droves. 


Flora — Fauna. 

About  the  watersheds  of  the  great  basins  the  Amazonian  and  Argentine  vege- 
table and  animal  kingdoms  are  intermingled.  Nevertheless,  the  tropical  flora  with 
its  endless  variety  of  forms  predominates  in  all  the  wooded  regions,  that  is,  mainly 
along  the  river  banks.  Xowhere  else  have  trailing  palms  acquired  a  more 
remarkable  development.  The  urubamba  [calamus  procumbens),  a  member  of 
this  group,  grows  to  a  length  of  over  650  feet,  with  a  stem  scarcely  half  an  inch 
thick.  The  cotton  shrub  grows  wild  on  the  plains,  and  another  useful  indigenous 
plant  is  the  ipecacuanha,  locally  called  poaija.  The  American  ostrich  has  pene- 
trated from  the  campos  and  pampas  into  the  Upper  Paraguay  plains,  and  the 
low  marshy  grounds  have  favoured  the  development  of  huge  land  and  water 
boas. 


I.XHABITAXTS. 

In  Matto  Grosso  the  decrease  of  the  aborigines  has  been  more  rapid  than  the 
growth  of  their  white  successors.  The  tribes,  which  at  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans 
ranged  over  the  whole  region,  have  been  greatly  reduced,  and  vast  districts  may 
now  be  traversed  without  meeting  a  single  Indian.  Although  the  distinct  groups 
are  still  reckoned  by  the  dozen,  the  collective  population  does  not  certainly  exceed 
25,000. 

The  Parexi  or  Parecis,  about  the  headwaters  of  the  Tapajoz,  one  of  the  best- 
known  groups,  are  affiliated  by  Ehrenreich  to  the  Arawak  family,  and  by 
D'Orbigny  to  the  Pampas  Indians,  while  Martius  regards  them  as  a  distinct  race. 
Since  the  arrival  of  the  miners  they  have  entered  into  friendly  relations  with  the 
settlers  of  Portuguese  speech,  and  by  crossings  have  become  partlj'  assimilated 
to  the  Brazilians.  They  have  even  been  baptised,  and  therefore  pass  as  Christians. 
After  the  discovery  of  the  mineral  deposits  they  were  employed  as  garimpeiros  by 
the  gold  and  diamond  hunters  ;  but  at  present  they  are  sent  into  the  forest  in 

vol..  XIX.  s 


258  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

search  of  ipecacuanha  and  other  medicinal  plants.  Skilled  weavers  and  workers 
in  straw  or  fibre,  they  make  excellent  baskets,  panniers,  textile  fabrics,  hannnncks, 
and  various  other  objects,  which  they  sell  to  the  settled  populations  of  the 
plains. 

A  more  savage  people  are  the  Bororos,  who  formerly  occupied  the  Upper  Jauru 
and  Cabacal  valleys,  but  who  are  now  stationed  on  the  banks  of  the  S.  Lourenco, 
in  the  colony  of  Thereza  Christina.  These  rude  natives,  who  add  to  their  fierce 
expression  by  daubing  the  face  red  and  slitting  the  lips,  are  firm  believers  in  the 
transmigration  of  souls.  They  regard  themselves  as  the  brothers  of  the  parra- 
keets,  who  are  never  killed  ;  but  the  vultures  receive  the  souls  of  departed  negroes, 
while  great  sorcerers  pass  into  the  bodies  of  bright  coloured  fishes.  Shooting  stars 
are  supposed  to  portend  the  death  of  some  member  of  the  tribe. 

The  central  parts  of  ]Matto  Grosso  at  the  foot  of  the  plateaux  are  occupied  by 
the  Guatos,  some  of  whom  are  still  in  the  wild  state.  They  are  physically  a  fine 
race,  resembling  Europeans  more  than  the  other  aborigines.  Formerly  they  wore 
a  lip  ornament  like  that  of  the  Botocudos,  and  still  deck  themselves  with  neck- 
laces of  jaguar  and  crocodile  teeth,  but  dispense  with  all  clothing  except  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  white  settlements.  The  Guatos,  whose  uame  appears  to 
mean  "  Watermen,"  are  unrivaUed  boatmen,  passing  a  great  part  of  their  exis- 
tence on  the  lakes  and  rivers,  and  living  chiefly  on  the  jacare  crocodile  and  wild 
rice.  To  this  diet  is  attributed  the  odour  of  musk  which  they  emit.  The  Guatos 
are  so  expert  in  taming  wild  animals  and  birds  that  they  seem  to  have  the  power 
of  charming  them.  Although  nominal  Christians,  they  are  said  still  to  gather  in 
sacred  places,  especially  the  summit  of  the  Serra  de  Dourados  and  the  islands  of 
Lake  Uberaba. 

Although  of  different  speech,  the  Guanes  of  the  Taquary  and  iliranda  Valleys 
are,  perhaps,  akin  to  the  southern  Guaycurus.  At  present  they  are  little  better 
than  serfs,  employed  by  the  white  settlers  to  collect  drugs,  build  boats,  plant 
manioc,  beans,  bananas,  and  the  sugar  cane.  They  also  distil  rum,  and  weave  a 
cotton  fabric  of  such  close  texture  as  to  be  perfectly  waterproof.  In  these  pa tinoes, 
as  they  are  called,  the  warp  is  completely  concealed  by  the  weft. 

The  Guanes  no  longer  paint  their  bodies,  mutilate  their  ears  and  other  mem- 
bers ;  but  none  of  these  practices  had  fallen  into  abeyance  before  the  second  half 
of  the  present  century.  Till  recently,  the  Laianos,  a  sub-tribe  dwelling  in  the 
vicinity  of  Miranda,  covered  the  whole  body  with  white,  red,  or  black  paint- 
ings, executed  with  remarkable  delicacy.  Some  of  the  designs  represented 
various  animals,  to  which  the  artist  endeavoured  to  impart  a  fierce  look,  doubt- 
less in  order  to  terrify  the  enemy.  They  worshipped  the  constellation  of  the 
Pleiads.  The  Guane  language  is  extremely  soft,  but  without  any  energy,  and 
every  sentence  usually  terminates  in  a  prolonged  sound,  which,  to  strangers, 
resembles  a  groan.      The  Guane  is  evidently  not  the  language  of  a  free  people. 

In  the  southern  districts,  near  Paraguay,  dwell  various  tribes  who  have  received 
the  collective  name  of  Guaycuru,  a  term  said  to  mean  "  Runners."  They  are  the 
same  people  whom  the  Guarani  called  Mbaya,  "  Terrible,"  or  "  Bad,"  and  to  whom 


O 

-fl 

'A 
< 

3 

< 

o 
'/■-, 


INHABITANTS  OF  MATTO  GROSSO.  259 

the  Spaniards  gave  the  name  of  Lengoas,  "Tongues,"  from  the  distension  of  the 
lower  lip  by  the  insertion  of  a  disk,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  second  tongue. 
They  constituted  one  of  the  largest  nations  in  South  America,  and  even  still  far 
outnumber  all  other  natives  of  the  Paraguay  basin  except  the  Guarani. 

Yet  according  to  Severiano  da  Fonseca,  the  Cadiueos  or  Beaqueos,  as  they  are 
now  commonly  called,  are  already  reduced  to  no  more  than  1,600,  although  a  few 
years  after  the  declaration  of  independence  they  could  muster  as  many  as  4,000 
fighting  men.  At  that  time  they  still  tattooed  and  painted  themselves  in  vivid 
colours,  and  shaved  the  crown  of  the  head  like  the  Coroados  of  the  eastern  pro- 
vinces. The  women  use  many  words  in  conversation  which  do  not  occur  in  the 
speech  of  the  man.  This  double  language  probably  originated  in  the  custom  of 
bride  capture. 

Another  designation  of  the  Guaycurus  is  that  of  Cabalkros,  "  Cavaliers,"  which 
is  well  merited  since  the  introduction  of  the  horse  three  centuries  ago.  They 
show  as  much  skill  in  the  saddle  as  the  Argentine  Gauchos  themselves,  and 
during  their  migrations  from  one  camping-ground  to  another,  the  women  mount 
the  pack-horses  perched  on  the  loads.  The  Guaycuru  horsemen  were  long  dreaded 
for  their  method  of  attack,  resembling  that  of  the  Arab  bedouins  in  its  swift 
advance  and  retreat.  On  the  rivers  they  were  also  formidable  combatants,  using 
oars  tipped  with  spear-heads,  so  that  the  same  implement  served  to  pursue  the 
foe,  to  strike  and  retire.  Hundreds  of  Europeans  have  perished  in  tho  wars  with 
the  Guaycurus,  whose  type  has  been  greatly  modified  by  the  large  number  of 
women  captured  from  the  white  settlers  during  the  last  three  hundred  years.  At 
present  many,  especially  in  the  Corumba  and  Albuquerque  districts,  live  on 
f  riendlj-  terms  with  the  Brazilian  population,  to  which  they  are  being  gradually 
assimilated. 

In  a  quiet  self-satisfied  way  the  Guaycurus  regarded  themselves  as  the  first 
nation  in  the  world.  They  tolerated  no  intercourse  with  strangers,  except  to 
receive  their  tribute  and  recognition  of  inferiority.  All  the  other  Indians  living  in 
their  territory  had  been  reduced  to  a  state  of  servitude,  and  even  now  the  Guanes 
bend  the  neck  to  a  sort  of  slavery  under  the  whites,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  escaping 
from  a  harder  fate  as  subjects  of  their  Guaycuru  kindred. 

But  even  in  the  Guaycuru  social  system  itself,  everybody  is  not  equal.  The 
community,  constituted  by  force,  is  divided  into  three  perfectly  distinct  classes, 
th.e  joarjaa,  or  nobles,  the  plebeians,  and  the  slaves.  The  daily  life  of  every  mem- 
ber of  the  tribe  has  been  strictly  regulated  by  this  division  into  three  irreducible 
castes.  Thus  the  nobles  can  only  marry  "  ladies  of  high  birth  "  who  bear  the 
title  of  dona,  although  they  are  permitted  to  choose  concubines  from  the  lower 
castes.  The  slaves,  descendants  of  captives  in  war,  can  never  be  emancipated, 
under  any  circumstances.  Even  the  very  tents,  which  the  Guaycurus  carrj-  about 
on  their  wanderings  from  place  to  place,  are  all  arranged  in  accordance  with  the 
laws  of  precedence.  Great  homage  is  paid  to  a  noble  at  his  death  ;  in  his  grave 
are  deposited  his  bow,  arrows,  lance,  and  martial  aflornments,  and  by  his  side  ia 
killed  his  favourite  steed. 

s2 


2G0 


AMAZONIA  AKD  LA  PLATA. 


Like  that  of  Goyaz  and  Minas  Geraes,  this  Brazilian  population  of  Matte 
Grosso  consists  in  great  measure  of  Paulistas,  who,  thanks  to  their  almost  complete 
isolation,  have  better  preserved  the  old  Portuguese  usages  than  elsewhere.  The 
womeukind  are  still  carefully  secluded,  and  the  host  seldom  introduces  his  wife 
and  daughters  to  visitors,  who  on  their  part  discreetly  avoid  all  mention  of  them 
in  conversation. 


Topography. 

The  old  capital,  which  still  bears  the  name  of  the  State,  was  called  Villa  Bella 
in  the  flourishing  days  of  the  mining  industry.  In  1737  the  first  settlers  had 
formed  an  encampment  at  Porto  Alogre  some  distance  off,  and  the  river  which 
joins  the  Guapore  two  miles  above  Maito  Grosso  has  preserved  this  name  of  Alegre. 
But  the   city  properly  so-called  dates  only  from  1752.     At  one  time  it  had  a 


Fi"-.  112. — Matto  Geosso  and  the  Uppee  Gtjapoee. 
Scale  1  :  350,000. 


West    oF  Greenwich 


,  60  Miles. 


population  of  7,000,  but  it  was  ruined  by  the  abandonment  of  the  mines,  and  is 
now  one  of  the  most  wretched  villages  in  Brazil ;  it  is  also  one  of  the  worst 
situated,  and  travellers  speak  of  it  as  a  hotbed  of  fever.  Were  it  not  maintained 
by  the  Government  as  a  military  station,  it  would  soon  be  forsaken  by  its  few 
remaining  white  residents. 

S.  Lidz  do  Caceres,  formerly  Vilht  Maria,  is  better  situated  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Paraguay  above  the  Jauru  confluence,  at  the  converging  point  of  several 
natural  routes,  and  in  a  .splendid  grazing  district.  The  neighbourhood  contains 
inexhaustible  stores  of  iron  ores,  which  have  not  yet  been  worked.  An  islet  in 
the  Uberaba  lagoon  is  so  charged  with  sulphuret  of  iron  that  if  a  fire  is  kindled 
on  the  ground  the  heat  causes  the  pyrites  to  explode,  and  sets  them  flying  in  all 
directions. 

Cuyaha,  the  present  capital,  stands  on  a  plain  encircled  by  an  amphitheatre 
of  hills,  opening  in  the  direction  of  the  west.  Its  first  inhabitants,  the  Cuyaba 
Indians,  were  dispersed  by  the  gold-hunters  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  MAITO  GEOSSO. 


261 


century,  and  in  1820  this  mining  town  supplanted  Yilla  Bella  (ilatto  Grosso)  as 
the  administrative  centre.  It  owed  this  distinction  to  the  salubrity  of  its  climate, 
thanks  to  which  it  continues  to  increase,  although  it  has  scarcely  any  trade  or 
industry,  and  has  long  ceased  to  work  the  exhausted  gold  mines  of  the  district. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Cuyaba  a  few  settlements  have  sprung  up,  amongst 
others  Eosario  in  the  north,  Saiii'Antonio  in  the  south,  Pocone  on  a  lateral  affluent 
in  the  south-west,  while  the  fazeiideiros  (cattle  ranches)  are  defended  from  the 
predatory  Indians  by  a  military  colony  on  the  S.  Lourenco  in  the  south-east. 


Rg.  113. — CuTiaA  A>-D  THB  PaBAGUAT. 

J-siie  1 ;  5.5i:o.coa 


.SOUfles. 


Corumha,  fotmded  in  178S,  under  the  name  oi  Albuquerque,  a  name  since  trans- 
ferred to  a  station  established  lower  down  below  the  Rio  ilirando  confluence,  stands 
on  a  high  limestone  clifE,  dominating  the  right  bank  of  the  Paraguay  at  the  junction 
ot  the  Caceres  lagoon.  Recognising  the  importance  of  its  strategical  position,  the 
Brazihan  government  has  strongly  fortified  Corumha,  and  has  established  an  arsenal 
at  Liidano,  a  little  lower  down,  on  such  a  vast  scale,  that  after  twenty-five  years  it 
still  remains  unfinished.     Corumba  is  the  chief  port  of  southern  ilatto  Grosso,  and 


262  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

is  accessible  for  half  the  year  to  large  vessels,  which  do  a  brisk  trade  in  cattle, 
salt,  and  lime.  In  the  district  are  some  extremely  rich  iron  ores  stored  up  for 
future  use. 

In  1S76,  when  the  Brazilian  garrison  evacuated  the  city  of  Asuncion  to  fall 
back  on  Coruinba,  the  Paraguayan  sutlers  and  menials  migrated  with  the  troops, 
and  thus  suddenly  doubled  the  population  of  tha  town.  Since  then,  many  young 
Paraguayan  women  have  moved  in  the  same  direction.  They  lose  no  favourable 
opportunity  of  removing  to  Corumba,  where  the  chances  of  marriage  are  much 
greater  than  in  Paraguay  itself,  the  female  sex  being  here  greatly  in  excess  of  the 
men.  The  European  immigrants  have  also  begun  to  find  their  way  to  Corumba, 
to  which  place  the  Bolivians  of  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Sierra  forward  supplies  across 
the  wilderness. 

The  Taquary  and  the  Miranda,  which  join  the  Paraguay,  the  former  above, 
the  latter  below,  the  Albuquerque,  have  some  small  settlements,  destined  one  day 
to  become  flourishing  centres  of  population.  Herculaneo,  capital  of  the  Taquary 
district,  is  better  known  by  the  name  of  Coxim,  from  the  Rio  Coxim.  On  the 
Miranda  the  chief  places  are  Nioac  or  Leverrjem  and  Mirancki,  the  latter  dating 
from  the  year  1778.  Near  Coimbra,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Paraguay,  below 
the  Miranda  confluence,  visitors  are  shown  a  group  of  vast  irnderground  chambers, 
connected  by  narrow  galleries.  Of  the  Fort  Oliiiipo  {Borhon),  still  figuring  on  the 
maps,  nothing  remains  except  a  crumbling  ruin.  AU  the  other  military  posts 
in  the  same  unhealthy  district  have  been  abandoned  since  the  war  with  Paraguay. 

Such  were  the  stations  established  on  the  Piio  de  Assucar  and  the  Fecho  dos 
Morros,  two  little  bluifs  facing  each  other  east  and  west  on  the  banks  of  the  river. 
The  plans  prepared  by  the  engineers  for  the  fortifications  of  these  places  have,  for 
the  present,  been  suspended,  but  Brazil  has  not  withdrawn  her  claim  from  Fecho 
dos  Morros,  although,  according  to  the  indications  of  the  map,  it  lies  within  the 
Bolivian  frontier.  The  Brazilian  diplomatists  being  reluctant  to  leave  such  an 
important  strategical  post  to  the  conterminous  state,  argued  that  those  hills  on 
the  left  side  of  the  river  really  belonged  to  Brazil,  because  during  the  periodica] 
inundations  the  Paraguay  overflowing  its  banks  transforms  them  to  an  island, 
and  thus  transfers  them  to  the  opposite  side. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  CONDITION  OF  BRAZIL. 


LTHOUGII  no  accurate  returns  have  yet  been  made,  approximate 
calculations  show  that  the  population  of  Brazil  continues  to  in- 
crease at  a  rapid  rate,  having  advanced  from  about  2,000,000  in 
1776  to  seven,  perhaps  even  eight,  times  that  number  in  1894. 
Should  this  rate  of  increase  be  maintained,  long  before  the  middle 
of  the  twentieth  century  Brazil  wiU  comprise  as  many  inhabitants  as  France. 

No  attempt  at  an  ofScial  census  can  be  entirely  successful  in  Brazil,  owing  to 
the  suspicious  dread  of  all  interrogations,  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  the  ignorant 
natives  to  sign  papers.  The  printed  forms  for  the  census  of  1890,  which  has  not 
yet  been  completed  in  some  States,  comprise  a  long  list  of  inquisitorial  questions 
regarding  physical  defects,  income,  and  so  forth,  which  even  the  public  function- 
aries refuse  to  fill  in.  Everywhere  the  returns  are  known  to  be  below  the 
actual  figures ;  whole  parishes  have  escaped  altogether,  and  even  in  the  State  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro  one-third  of  the  inhabitants  appear  to  have  been  overlooked.  Two 
fresh  attempts  were  made  to  remedy  the  defect,  and  even  then  the  final  result 
(1,050,000)  was  believed  to  be  at  least  350,000  short  of  the  truth.  In  many 
instances  statisticians  prefer  rough  estimates  to  "  official "  figures,  which  are 
known  to  be  grossly  inaccurate. 

In  many  cases  the  population,  in  which  the  European  and  African  elements 
greatly  outnumber  the  aborigines,  is  very  unequally  distributed  over  the  country. 
The  immigrants  have  naturally  been  mainly  concentrated  on  the  seaboard,  where 
the  whites  have  tended  to  gravitate  towards  the  more  temperate  southern 
provinces ;  while  the  blacks,  introduced  originally  as  slaves,  are  most  numerous  in 
the  tropical  northern  States.  In  this  movement  the  boundless  regions  of  Amazonia 
and  Matto  Grosso  have  hitherto  taken  scarcely  any  share.  Hence  while  some 
of  the  more  favoured  coast  districts  are  relatively  thickly  peopled,  more  than  half 
of  the  whole  territory  has  less  than  one  person  to  four  or  five  square  miles.  In 
general,  Brazil  is  stiU  36  times  less  peopled  than  France,  and  109  times  less  than 
Belgium. 


264 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  classify  the  people  by  races,  or  sub-races, 
or  by  the  element  of  colour — white,  black,  yellow,  or  red.  Thus,  according  to 
a  local  census  of  1886,  of  1,000  inhabitants  of  >S.  Paulo  (Paulistas),  007  -n-ere 
returned  as  whites ;  ISa  aa  pardos,  "people  of  colour,"  ia  the  North  American 
sense  of  this  expression ;  104  as  pretos,  "  blacks  " ;  and  8i  as  caboclos,  of  Indian 


Fig.  114. — Density  of  the  Brazilian  Population. 

Scale  1  :  45,000,000. 


West  or  breervwich. 


Inhabitants  per  square  kilometer. 

n        H        is        a        s 

Under  one.  1  to  5.  5  to  10.  10  to  50.      50  and  upwards 

Each  square  represents  a  population  of  10.000.  •  Towns  of  over  100,000. 


1,250  Miles. 


descent.  But  such  essays  can  scarcely  be  accepted  as  even  approximately 
accurate  indications  of  the  extent  to  which  miscegenation  has  actually  taken  place. 
In  Matto  Grosso  and  the  other  inland  provinces  distinctions  are  drawn  between 
"whites"  and  "whites,"  some  (the  Portuguese)  being  hrancos  rrrdadeiros,  "true 
■whites,"  others  brancos  da  terra,  "  native  whites."  One  fact  seems  established 
in  favour   of  this  white  clement,  which   must  go  on  increasing,  thanks  to    the 


SOCIAL  CONDITION  OF  BRAZIL.  265 

steady  immigration  of  Portuguese,  Italians,  Germans,  and  other  European  im- 
migrants. It  is  noteworthy  that  many,  both  of  the  Portuguese  and  Italians, 
marry  negresscs. 

It  was  long  doubted  whether  Europeans  could  become  acclimatised  in  Brazil. 
But  experience  has  placed  the  matter  beyond  doubt,  as  far  as  regards  the  southern 
provinces  from  S.  Paulo  to  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  as  well  as  the  uplands  of  Minus 
Geraes.  Even  North  Europeans  thrive  better  in  their  new  homes  than  in  their 
native  land,  as  shown  by  the  birth-rate,  which  exceeds  the  mortality  three,  four, 
five,  or  even  six  times. 

Immigration  to  the  tropical  regions  is,  on  the  other  hand,  attended  by  great 
risks.  Nevertheless,  the  numbers  of  full-blood  whites  who  have  perpetuated  the 
race  in  the  Amazonian  States,  shows  that  here  also  they  may  become  acclimatised. 
Thus  the  coastlauds  from  Maranhao  to  Bahia  are  inhabited  by  four  millions,  of 
whom  over  one  million  are  whites,  showing  no  trace  of  mixture.  These  have 
come  chiefly  from  the  Azores,  Galicia,  and  the  banks  of  the  Minho  and  Douro  in 
Portugal.  Some  Basques,  Spaniards  and  Provencals  have  also  succeeded  in 
founding  families,  which  have  preserved  the  racial  qualities  of  strength,  activity, 
and  refinement. 

The  healthiest  districts  appear  to  be  the  Bahia  and  Minas  plateaux,  the 
Parana  campos,  and  the  elevated  plains  of  Eio  Grande  do  Sul.  A  sjiecially 
favoured  district  is  that  of  Santa  Anna  de  Contendas,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Rio 
S.  Francisco,  below  the  Rio  das  Yelhas  confluence.  Here  families  have  increased 
a  hundred-fold  since  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  many  patriarchs  have 
seen  gathered  round  their  table  hundreds  of  descendants.  In  some  years  the 
mortality  has  fallen  to  one-twentieth  of  the  births. 

TVith  good  reason  European  immigrants  dread  the  yellow  fever,  which  had 
ceased  to  ravage  Brazil  after  the  close  of  the  seventeenth,  but  again  made  its 
appearance  towards  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Since  then  the  coast 
towns,  especially  Rio  and  Santos,  have  suffered  terribly  from  its  visitations.  But 
it  appears  to  be  confined  to  the  seaboard,  and  settlers  on  the  plateaux,  beyond 
the  Serra  do  Mar,  2,800  or  3,000  feet  above  the  sea,  are  completely  exempt 
from  its  attacks.  On  the  other  hand,  cholera,  fatal  especially  to  the  negroes, 
knows  no  limitations  of  altitude  or  climate.  But  its  visits  are  rare,  and  it 
certainly  makes  less  victims  than  either  phthisis  or  beriberi.  In  the  interior 
goitre  is  prevalent,  and  on  the  seaboard  elephantiasis  and  analogous  diseases  are 
far  from  rare. 

Speaking  generally,  and  excluding  certain  notoriously  unhealthy  cities 
of  the  seaboard,  the  whites,  whether  native  born  or  immigrants  from  Europe, 
are  less  subject  to  maladies,  and  have  a  longer  average  life  than  either 
the  blacks  or  the  Indians.  AVounds  and  amputations  of  limbs  heal  far  more 
readily  under  these  climates  than  in  the  west  of  Europe.  Compared  with 
those  of  Paris,  the  hospitals  of  Pernambuco,  where,  however,  most  of  the 
patients  Hve  almost  al  fresco,  seem  to  the  doctors  places  of  miraculous  re- 
covcrv. 


266  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Efxent  Immigration. 

Since  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  European  immigration  has 
acquired  sufficient  development  to  materially  affect  the  general  growth  of  the 
population.  In  1891  the  number  of  arrivals  perhaps  equalled  the  natural  increase 
due  to  the  excess  of  births  over  the  mortality.  Before  the  proclamation  of  inde- 
pendence, the  Portuguese  alone  had  the  privilege  of  settling  in  that  part  of  the 
New  World  which  belonged  to  their  Sovereign,  and  even  for  them  the  jiermission 
was  restricted  by  all  manner  of  official  regulations.  Strangers  actuall}'  domiciled 
in  Brazil  depended  on  chance  or  on  special  favour  to  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the 
country.  They  were  mostly  shipwrecked  sailors  or  passengers,  prisoners,  and 
especially  mercenarj^  soldiers,  whom  it  would  be  difficult  to  restore  to  their  homes, 
and  who  generally  received  grants  of  land.  Nevertheless,  the  Government  also 
directly  introduced  "  Islanders,"  that  is  to  say,  natives  of  the  Azores,  when  Portu- 
guese settlers  could  not  be  procured  to  occupy  districts  possessing  a  certain  stra- 
tegic importance. 

But  systematic  colonisation  had  already  begun  in  1820,  when  King 
Joao  VI.  settled  some  Catholic  Swiss  peasants  in  the  Nova  Friburgo  district. 
Four  years  later  was  founded  the  German  colony  of  S.  Leopoldo,  which  is  still 
the  most  important  centre  of  foreign  colonisation  in  Brazil.  Private  enterprise 
supplemented  the  movement  controlled  by  the  State,  and  many  large  landowners, 
anticipating  the  abolition  of  slavery,  began  to  substitute  free  labour  for  the  blacks 
employed  on  their  plantations.  But  too  often  they  merely  replaced  one  kind  of 
servitude  for  another,  and  several  of  these  so-called  "free"  colonies  ended  in 
disaster.  In  general  the  essays  at  colonisation  may  be  said  to  have  succeeded  in 
exact  proportion  to  the  degree  of  freedom  allowed  to  the  settlers.  The  colonies 
flourished  when  the  strangers  became  freeholders  ;  they  soon  died  out  when  these 
remained  hired  labourers  or  "  tenants  at  will." 

The  natives  of  Portugal,  who,  till  about  the  j'ear  1870,  constituted  pretty  well 
two-thirds  of  all  the  arrivals,  were  absolutely  free  settlers,  coming  either  singly  or 
in  family  groups.  Having  no  objection  to  any  kind  of  work,  they  sought  employ- 
ment wherever  they  could  get  it  without  applying  to  the  Government,  to  the 
great  financial  companies,  or  to  any  of  the  syndicates  working  the  plantations. 
Proportionately  to  their  numbers  they  took  a  far  more  active  part  than  any  of  the 
other  colonists  in  the  commercial  and  industrial  life  of  Brazil,  as  artisans,  porters, 
overseers  of  slaves,  hucksters,  wholesale  dealers,  and  in  many  other  capacities. 
After  a  few  years  in  the  country,  many  amassed  sufficient  wealth  to  return  to  the 
Terrinha,  "Little  Land,"  of  their  birth,  where  they  built  themselves  stately  man- 
sions, often  on  the  very  site  of  the  ancestral  cabin. 

Notwithstanding  their  defective  character,  the  official  returns  suffice  to  show 
an  extremely  rapid  increase  of  immigration,  especially  since  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  During  the  twenty  years  from  1850  to  1870  the  annual 
average  ranged  from  7,000  to  10,000.  These  figures  were  doubled  in  the  next 
decade,  then  quintupled,  and  increased  tenfold  during  the  last  decade.     In  1891 


SOCIAL  COXDITIOX  OF  BRAZIL. 


267 


nearly  219,000  European  colonists  were  landed  at  the  three  ports  of  Rio,  Santos, 
and  Desterro,  while  others  arrived  at  Victoria,  Bahia,  Pernamhuco,  and  Para. 

In  this  movement  the  Italians  far  outnumber  all  other  nationalities.  Over 
100,000  immigrated  in  1S92,  and  at  present  they  number  at  least  600,000  in  all 
Brazil,  without  including  their  descendants.  They  are  twice,  perhaps  three  times, 
more  numerous  than  all  the  Germanic  race,  who  are  chiefly  concentrated  in  the 


Fig.  115. — Chutf  Coloxies  of  bonoBiXTS  is  Eeaztl. 
Scale  1  :  i'.OCO.COa. 


mm 

Fortngnese. 


Cearenses. 


Gennans. 


Italians 


Slara. 


States  of  Santa  Catharina  and  Piio  Grande  do  Sul.     At  present  (1894)  as  many  as 
ten  Italians  are  landed  for  every  single  German. 

The  Spaniards,  who  till  recently  scarcely  emigrated  at  all,  now  arrive  in  large 
numbers.  The  Poles  also,  often  called  "  Germans,"  because  most  of  them  are 
natives  of  the  Prussian  province  of  Posen.  supply  a  fresh  element,  with  which  are 
associated  Lithuanians  and  Russians.     Lastly  some  Orientals,  collectively  called 


268  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

"Turks,"  but  ia  realit)'  Christian  Maronites  of  Moiiiit  Lebanon  and  Syria,  have 
begun  to  find  their  way  to  Rio  de  Janeiro. 


Agriculture. 

Despite  the  recent  increase  of  agricultural  settlements,  the  extent  of  land 
under  cultivation  is  insignificant  compared  with  the  superficial  area  of  the 
countrj'.  In  many  regions  the  least  clearing  attracts  attention,  so  accustomed 
is  the  eye  to  wander  over  interminable  forests  and  savannas  on  both  sides  of  the 
track.  It  would  be  diSicult  to  obtain  accurate  statistics  on  the  subject,  because 
the  Brazilian  peasant  is  still  half  a  nomad.  There  being  no  lack  of  land, 
whenever  the  ground  seems  exhausted  he  abandons  his  holding,  and  makes  a 
fresh  clearance  in  the  woods.  The  impoverishment  of  the  soil  is  revealed  by  the 
encroachment  of  certain  plants,  such  as  the  samambaia  {poli/podium  incanum)  in 
S.  Paulo,  and  in  South  Minas  and  elsewhere  the  trisfegis  gluiinosa  or  imnicum 
meUiiis,  which  follows  the  cultivator  in  all  his  wanderings. 

Except  on  the  large  plantations  the  method  of  tillage  is  of  an  extremely 
primitive  character,  based  on  the  process  followed  by  the  Tupi  aborigines.  It 
must  be  described  rather  as  a  reckless  plundering  of  the  soil  than  an  orderly 
system  of  husbandry.  Nevertheless,  each  peasant  obtains  in  abundance  all  that  he 
requires  for  his  own  consumption — manioc,  black  beans,  rice,  maize,  bananas,  yams, 
and  sweet  potatoes.  The  standing  dish  of  all  Brazilian  tables,  the  fei/'onda,  as  it  is 
called,  comprises  the  first  three  ingredients,  to  which  is  usually  added  the  came 
secca  (jerked  beef),  imported  from  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  and  the  Argentine  regions. 

Next  to  provisions  the  most  important  product  of  the  soil  is  cofi'ee,  introduced 
from  Cayenne  in  1727.  But  this  plant,  first  grown  at  Para,  possessed  no 
economic  importance  till  the  declaration  of  independence.  Since  then  its  cultiva- 
tion has  spread  so  rapidly  that,  despite  epidemics,  financial  crises,  revolutions, 
Brazil  has  outstripped  Java,  and  all  other  coifee-growing  lands,  and  at  present 
supplies  more  than  half  of  the  world's  consumption.  It  thrives  almost  every- 
where, although  the  great  plantations  are  limited  to  the  regions  stretching  from 
Espirito  Santo  to  the  Rio  Parana,  with  Rio  de  Janeiro  as  their  centre.  About 
half  the  exported  article  is  still  forwarded  through  the  jjort  of  Rio ;  but  the 
largest  and  most  productive  plantations  are  now  found  in  the  State  of  S.  Paulo, 
where  the  best  qualitj'  is  also  grown. 

Many  of  the  planters,  especially  ia  the  States  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Minas 
Geraes,  mostly  absentees  wedded  to  the  old  ways,  were  ruined  by  the  emancipa- 
tion. But  those  of  S.  Paulo  had  prepared  for  the  crisis  by  introducing  free 
hands,  and  thus  weathered  the  storm  successful!}'.  Instead  of  being  impoverished 
they  became  more  prosperous  than  ever.  "When  the  slave  system  was  con- 
demned, but  before  its  abolition,  one  of  the  great  planters,  the  Viscount  of  Nova 
Friburgo,  exclaimed  lugubriously,  addressing  his  words  to  Java  and  the  other 
foreign  coffee-growing  lands :  "  For  you  the  future  I  all  hope  of  preserving  our 
jilantations  ends  with  to-day." 


EESOUECES  OF  BR^VZIL— AGRICULTURE.  269 

The  Brazilian  plant,  which  is  said  to  be  the  richest  in  Caffeine,  scarcely  begins 
to  yield  before  the  fourth  year,  but  gives  abundant  returns  from  the  sixth  to  the 
sixteenth  or  twentieth,  after  which  there  is  a  gradual  falling  off  to  the  thirty -fifth 
or  fortieth  year,  when  the  plantation  must  be  renewed.  Usually  it  needs  no 
manure  beyond  its  own  foliage,  and  the  weeds  raked  in  between  the  rows.  The 
intervening  ridges  may  even  be  planted  with  maize,  sweet  potatoes  and  beans. 
15  ut  frosts  are  much  dreaded,  especially  on  the  low-lying  ground,  for  once  nipped 
the  shrub  takes  two  or  three  years  to  recover.  It  has  also  its  parasitic  diseases, 
which,  however,  have  hitherto  been  less  destructive  than  in  Java.  On  all  the 
large  plantations  the  berry  is  cleansed,  dried,  sorted,  and  sacked  for  the  market 
in  vast  establishments,  employing  hundreds  of  families,  which  usually  live  in 
wretched  villages,  recalling  the  worst  days  of  the  ancien  regime. 

Since  the  abolition  of  slavery  the  total  yield  has  greatly  increased,  but  this 
increase  has  been  almost  exclusively  confined  to  the  large  estates.  In  the  "  red 
lands  "  of  S.  Paulo  some  of  these  estates  comprise  over  25,000  and  even  50,000  acres, 
and  certain  great  railway  stations  owe  their  existence  entirely  to  the  require- 
ments of  a  single  plantation.  One  of  the  domains  belonging  to  a  financial 
company  with  a  capital  (1893)  of  £-400,000,  employs  4,200  hands,  nearly  all 
Italians,  grouped  in  26  villages  and  hamlets;  in  favourable  years  this  fazenda 
may  yield  as  much  as  6,000  tons  of  coffee.  The  astounding  development  of  this 
industry,  especially  in  the  State  of  S.  Paulo,  where  a  billion  plants  are  reckoned, 
certainly  presents  a  marvellous  picture  of  agricultural  progress. 

In  Brazil,  under  the  almost  temperate  climate  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  of 
S.  Paulo,  the  coffee  shrub  needs  no  protection  from  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun, 
as  in  Venezuela  and  other  tropical  lands,  where  the  young  plant  is  sheltered  by 
the  overhanging  branches  of  the  cacao,  erythrina,  and  other  "  foster  mothers,"  as 
they  are  called.  Even  the  wild  plant  flourishes  better  beneath  the  shade  of  tall 
forest  trees  than  in  the  clearings  in  Kaifaland  and  other  hot  countries,  where  it 
is  indigenous. 

There  was  a  time  when  Brazil  also  took  the  lead  in  the  production  of  sugar. 
But  it  has  long  been  outstripped  in  this  respect  by  the  West  Indies,  and  the 
district  of  S.  Vicente,  where  the  cane  was  introduced  from  Madeira  in  the  first 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  now  produces  next  to  nothing.  At  present  the 
industry  is  represented  chiefly  in  Pernambuco,  Bahia,  and  neighbouring  provinces. 
Much  of  the  yield  is  used  in  the  preparation  of  cachaf;a,  a  brandy  which  is  found 
in  every  Brazilian  house,  but  which  is  not  much  appreciated  by  strangers. 

Cotton  is  grown  chiefly  in  Ceares  and  the  other  northern  States.  After  the 
impulse  given  to  it  during  the  war  of  Secession,  the  industry  languished,  but  has 
since  shown  symptoms  of  revival  under  the  almost  prohibitory  tariff  imposed  on 
foreign  cotton  goods.  The  tobacco  especially  of  Bahia  and  Goyaz  is  highly 
esteemed.  Over  five-sixths  of  the  leaf  is  exported  chiefly  to  Germany  and 
France,  whence  it  returns  in  the  form  of  cigars  and  cigarettes.  The  total  annual 
yield  may  be  estimated  at  from  40,000  to  50,000  tons,  valued  at  from  £1,000,000 
to  £1,200,000. 


270 


AM.VZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Cacao  thrives  in  Amazonia,  and  especially  in  the  Canavieiras  district  in  the 
State  of  Bahia,  which  yields  ahout  6,000  tons,  or  the  tenth  part  of  the  world's 
annual  production.  Although  tea  succeeds  well  on  the  S.  Paulo  and  Minas 
Geraes  plateaus,  this  shrub  is  scarcely  seen  except  in  gardens,  being  dri\en  from 
the  market  by  the  competition  of  China  and  India.  The  so-called  "  BraziHan 
tea"  is  theYerba  mate  grown  in  the  province  of  Parana,  and  exported  chiefly 


Fi-;.  lie— Chief  Forest  and  Aoeicttltueal  Peoditcts  of  Brazii,. 
Scale  1    45,000,000. 


Forests.  Sugar-caue. 


Coffee.  Hate 

(Ilex  Paragiiayensia). 


I 

I 


.  1,250  Miles. 


to  Belgium  to  the  extent  of  about  14,000  tons  a  year,  valued  at  £320,000.  The 
orange,  of  which  there  are  numerous  varieties,  some  of  prime  (juality,  grows  spon- 
taneously, needing  no  pruning  or  grafting.  The  fruit  is  largely  exported  to  La 
Plata,  and  also  used  in  Santa  Calhariua  for  the  manufacture  of  orange  wine.  Great 
hopes  are  entertained  of  the  vine,  especially  in  Minas  Geraes,  where  the  American 
stock  succeeds  admirably.  Some  growers  have  already  obtained  highly  esteemed 
wmes,  which  they  compare  to  the  tokay,  champagnes  and  clarets  of  Europe. 


■< 
■< 


EESOUECES  OF  BRAZIL— STOCK-BREEDING.  271 

Other  European  plants  have  little  economic  value,  except  in  Rio  Grande  do 
Rul.  But  even  here  wheat  has  been  attacked  by  mildew,  and  is  being  gradually 
abandoned  in  favour  of  stock-breeding.  Rice,  which  might  bo  largely  grown  on 
the  marshy  lowlands,  and  wliich  is  a  staple  article  of  diet  throughout  lirazil,  is 
almost  entirely  imported  from  Burma.  The  ant,  which  till  recently  made  all 
cultivation  impossible  in  some  districts,  and  which  was  popularly  called  "  king  of 
Brazil,"  is  no  longer  dreaded  by  the  farmer.  Certain  fonnicides  {"  ant-killers  "), 
introduced  into  the  nests,  destroy  their  inhabitants,  and  the  smoke  from  the 
explosions  may  often  be  seen  issuing  from  every  fissure  in  the  ground.  To  get 
rid  of  rats  many  gardeners  keep  a  tame  gihoia,  a  small  boa  10  or  12  feet  long, 
which  sleeps  through  the  daj"^  and  hunts  at  night. 

In  a  region  of  boundless  woodlands,  such  as  Brazil,  forest  produce  must 
always  hold  an  economic  position  of  primary  importance.  The  city  of  Para 
holds  a  monopoly  of  the  export  trade  in  rubber,  here  called  borracha,  and  in  the 
bertliolletia,  or  "  Brazil  nut,"  forwarded  chiefly  to  England  and  Russia.  Ama- 
zonia also  exports  the  guarana  bean,  and  large  quantities  of  medicinal  plants, 
while  Ceara  and  the  neighbouring  coastlands,  as  far  as  Sergipe,  supply  the  wax 
of  the  carnauba  palm.  This  palm  yields,  besides  wax,  a  wine,  a  gum  resembling 
sago,  a  sap  which  answers  as  a  substitute  for  cork,  an  edible  fruit,  and  a  fibre 
from  which  textile  fabrics  are  woven.  The  wax,  which  covers  the  leaves  in  the 
form  of  a  glutinous  powder,  and  which  is  extracted  by  heat,  is  used  in  Europe 
for  various  purposes,  such  as  the  preparation  of  tapirs  and  varnish,  and  also  for 
colouring  paper.  England  imports  the  fibre  of  the  piassava  palm  (atalea  funifera) 
for  making  brushes  and  brooms.  All  the  seaboard  States  abound  in  excellent 
timber,  cabinet  and  dye  woods.  To  one  of  these  plants,  the  echinata  ccesalpinia, 
Brazil  owes  its  name.  Another,  the  Jacaranda,  has  such  an  exquisite  grain  that 
it  has  been  named  the  pah  santo,  "  holy  wood,"  whence  is  derived  the  French 
word,  palissandre,  and  the  English  palisander,  a  somewhat  obsolete  name  for  rose- 
wood. 

Stock-Breedino — Land  Tenure. 

In  horse  and  cattle  breeding  Brazil  is  outstripped  by  Argentina,  although 
possessing  on  the  central  plateaux  and  southern  campos  a  nearly  equal  extent  of 
pastures.  The  industry,  however,  flourishes  in  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  which  supplies 
Rio  and  other  northern  cities  with  a  hardy  breed  of  small  mules,  noted  for  great 
staying  power  and  endurance.  Goyaz,  Matto  Grosso,  and  Minas  also  send  to  the 
coastlands  their  boiadas,  or  droves  of  oxen,  which  reach  their  destination  by  short 
stages,  browsing  by  the  way  on  both  sides  of  the  track. 

In  the  central  regions  these  animals  spring  from  two  ver}'  distinct  stocks, 
which  may  be  recognised  especially  by  the  length  of  the  horns,  which  in  the 
Minas  Geraes  cattle  may  attain  as  much  as  six  or  seven  feet  from  tip  to  tip.  The 
Jersey  cow,  the  Indian  zebu,  and  other  stock,  are  now  contributing  to  tlie 
improvement  of  the  native  breeds.  In  Minas  Geraes  dairy-farming  has  acquired 
a  great  development,  and  Minas  cheese  is  now  found  on  every  table. 


272  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Monarchical  traditions  have  been  perpetuated  so  far  as  regards  tlie  division 
of  the  soil.  The  great  captainries  and  crown  liefs  are  still  retained  under  other 
names,  and  the  nation  possesses  very  few  small  freeholds,  while  vast  spaces  are 
owned  by  a  small  number  of  great  lords,  to  whom  the  very  limits  of  their 
domains  are  unknown.  Some  of  these  domains,  even  in  the  more  thicklj'  peopled 
districts,  are  measured  by  the  square  league,  and  the  owners,  unable  to  find  the 
hands  needed  to  work  such  immense  territorial  estates,  still  complain  of  the  scarcity 
of  labour. 

Possiblv  the  laud  would  be  better  tilled  were  these  fertile  tracts  distributed 
amongst  numerous  small  freeholders,  instead  of  being  held  by  a  few  great  land- 
lords. After  the  abolition  of  slavery,  when  the  planters  saw  nearly  all  the  blacks 
abandoning  the  workshops  and  farmsteads,  they  brought  against  them  the  charge 
of  laziness.  But  these  slaves  of  yesterday,  tired  of  working  for  one  taskmaster, 
had  merely  withdrawn  to  the  forest  clearings,  where  they  have  settled  with  their 
families  and  a  few  domestic  animals,  and  where  they  cultivate  their  little  banana, 
bean,  or  manioc  fields,  without  neglecting  the  flower  garden.  Nevertheless,  a 
number  of  the  old  slaves  have  since  returned  to  the  plantations  to  work  as  free 
hands  on  the  spot  where  they  were  born. 

Whatever  be  said  to  the  contrarj',  it  is  these  very  blacks,  descendants  of  the 
old  slaves,  that  supply  the  gi'eatest  part  of  the  labour  in  these  agricultural  dis- 
tricts, to  which  Italian,  German,  and  other  peasants  have  not  yet  penetrated.  The 
whites  that  have  no  share  in  the  ownership  of  the  soil,  the  "  poor  whites  "  as  they 
would  be  called  in  some  of  the  Southern  States,  the  "  petits  blancs  "  of  Louisiana 
and  the  Antilles,  preferred  to  live  as  (njregudoH,  that  is,  as  parasites  on  the  seigno- 
rial  domain  ;  some  proprietors  had  hundreds  of  this  class  hanging  about  their 
fazendas.  Occasionally  they  might  render  some  little  service  to  their  host ;  if  they 
owned  a  few  head  of  cattle,  these  were  allowed  to  roam  about  with  their  master's 
herds,  and  they  freely  helped  themselves  from  the  well-stocked  granaries  whenever 
thej^  fell  short  of  the  necessary  supplies.  The  easy  and  kindly  habits  of  the 
population  harmonised  very  well  with  this  state  of  things,  all  the  more  so  that  the 
agregados,  b}'  making  the  lord  of  the  manor  godfather  to  their  children,  thus  be- 
came his  co-sponsors,  a  tie  considered  as  almost  sacred. 

But  the  relations  between  the  large  proprietors  and  the  lackland  classes  have 
been  greatly  modified  by  the  political  and  social  changes  that  have  taken  place  in 
recent  times.  Most  of  the  agregados  can  now  be  got  rid  of  by  getting  them  situa- 
tions in  the  thousand  bureaucratic  offices  of  the  State,  the  parish,  or  the  munici- 
pality. Nevertheless,  the  land  problem  remains  practically  untouched  for  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  rural  districts,  whether  blacks,  agregados,  or  foreign  settlers. 
Thanks  to  their  frugal  habits,  the  Africans  have  been  able  to  rest  satisfied  with 
their  little  patches  of  land  obtained  here  and  there  on  the  borders  of  the  great 
domains,  or  in  tracts  belonging  to  the  State.  But  the  foreign  peasantry  are  more 
exacting,  and  only  a  small  part  of  their  demands  has  been  met  by  the  lots  assigned 
to  them,  either  on  the  national  lands  or  in  the  distribution  of  the  large  private 
estates. 


EESOUECES  OF  BRAZIL— MINERALS.  27S 

Even  the  sj-stem  of  parceria,  leaseholds  or  joint  tenure,  is  looked  on 
askance  by  the  new  generation  of  settlers  from  the  Old  World,  who  had  crossed 
the  Atlantic  in  the  hope  of  becoming  independent  freeholders.  This  is  the 
great  question  for  the  immediate  future  of  Brazil.  The  cultivators  claim  the 
land  ;  they  even  seize  it  in  certain  districts,  and  cultivate  it  for  their  own 
benefit,  while  the  title-holders  seek  to  dispossess  them.  Desirous  of  continuing 
under  other  forms  the  old  system  of  bondage,  they  have  induced  the  legislature 
to  vote  the  introduction  of  coolies  on  the  plantations,  under  tlie  usual  conditions 
of  contract  labour.  But  the  ''  Celestials  "  are  still  slow  to  arrive  ;  nor  has  the 
Pekin  Government  shown  itself  ready  to  me.^t  the  views  of  the  Brazilian  planters. 
The  few  Asiatics  hitherto  introduced  will  not  suffice  to  avert  tlie  coming  storm, 
and  the  struggle  between  the  great  landowners  and  the  lackland  classes  must 
grow  to  a  head. 


Mining  Industry. 

Although  agriculture  now  takes  the  first  place  in  economic  importance,  in  the 
last  century  mining  operations  supplied  by  far  the  largest  share  of  the  foreign 
exports.  Compared  with  Mexico  and  Peru,  lands  of  silver,  Brazil  was  essentially 
the  land  of  gold.  In  the  very  first  century  of  the  occupation  goldficlds  had 
been  discovered,  especially  at  Taubate,  between  Eio  and  S.  Paulo,  and  the 
Paulistas,  in  their  onward  movement  to  the  north  and  west,  soon  came  upon  rios  de 
Oiiro,  "  gold  rivers,"  in  almost  every  part  of  the  vast  region  comprised  between 
the  Andes  and  the  Bahia  coastlands.  Most  of  these  deposits  are  now  abandoned, 
the  mines  owned  by  Portuguese  adventurers  in  Peru  being  naturally  the  first  to 
be  closed,  owing  to  the  penal  measures  taken  b}'  the  Spanish  viceroj's,  jointly 
with  the  inquisition,  against  these  intruders,  charged  with  preparing  the  conquest 
of  the  land.  Many  of  the  Portuguese  pioneers  are  said  to  have  avoided  the 
dreaded  tribunal  of  the  inquisition  by  flight,  after  first  throwing  their  treasures 
into  the  lakes  and  rivers,  and  then  blocking  the  galleries  leading  to  the  under- 
ground works.  Even  the  Goyaz  mines,  which,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  yielded 
larger  quantities  of  the  precious  metal,  are  no  longer  worked,  except  by  a  few 
searchers,  by  primitive  processes. 

Gold  also  occurs  in  Parana,  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  Santa  Catharina,  Maranhao 
and  Piauh}-,  but  is  nowhere  systematically  mined.  At  present  nearly  all  the 
metal  exported  from  Brazil  comes  from  Minas  Geraes,  the  mining  State  in  a  pre- 
eminent sense.  Towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  centurj*  a  beginning  was 
made  with  the  washing  of  the  sands  and  gravels  (^cascci/hos)  detached  from  the 
auriferous  reefs,  and  almost  everj-where  covered  with  a  ferruginous  conglomerate 
(caiiga).  In  1698  the  Ouro  Preto  mountains  were  attacked,  and  now  the  natives 
were  compelled  to  work  under  the  lash.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  ground  was 
turned  over  for  a  distance  of  280  miles,  and  a  breadth  of  140  miles  on  both  sides 
of  the  main  range,  and  in  the  valleys  draining  to  the  Rio  das  Velhas.  From 
the  route  between  Ouro  Preto  and  Sahara  is  seen  an  open  cutting  carried  to  a 
VOL.  XIX.  r 


274 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


depth  of  over  130  feet  for  several  miles  across  the  hills.  Ahove  the  mining 
village  of  Passao-om,  near  Ouro  Preto,  the  hill  has  been  carved  into  all  manner  of 
fantastic  shapes  as  if  thrown  up  by  some  volcanic  eruption. 

During  their  days  of  prosperity  the  potentates  of  Minas  Geraes  displayed  the 
vulgar  splendour  which  has  at  all  times  distinguished  upstarts  suddenly  enriched. 
They  built  themselves  palaces,  where  sumptuous  banquets  were  daily  spread 
before  friends  and  all  comers,  and  when  the  captain-general  honoured  their 
table,  he  was  usually  served  with  a  dish  of  cangita,  in  which  the  grains  of  maize 
wore  replaced  by  nuggets.  At  the  processions  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  from 
church  to  church  the  horses  were  shod  in  gold,  and  in    the  courts  pleaders  sup- 


Fig-.  117. — GOLDFTELDS  OF   CbNTKAL  BrAZTL. 
Scale  1  : 1,200.000. 


44°  10 


Wdst  Or  bretnvv  ch 


4^"o 


ported  their   clients'  cause  by  presenting  the  judges  with  bananas  stuffed  with 
gold . 

According  to  Gorceix,  Minas  Geraes  alone  yielded  between  1700  and  1888 
nearly  1,450,000  pounds  weight  of  gold,  worth  about  £74,000,000,  and  the  total 
product  of  the  whole  of  Brazil  appears  to  have  fallen  little  short  of  £120,000,000. 
At  present  the  output  is  estimated  at  from  £160,000  to  £320,000  a  year.  Most 
of  the  mining  companies  are  English,  and  their  operations  are  limited  to  the 
region  of  Minas  Geraes,  north  of  the  Queluz  knot,  between  Ouro  Preto  and 
Sahara.  They  no  longer  work  the  alluvial  deposits  of  rivers,  but  attack  the 
au  riferous  reefs  themselves,  following  up  the  lodes  for  great  distances,  and  to 
depths  of  hundreds  of  yards.     The  ores   are  conveyed  by  railways,  or  shot  down 


RESOURCES  OF  BRAZI  I-— MINERALS. 


275 


inclined  planes  to  the  crushing  machines,  where  the  triturated  masses  may  be 
washed  and  levigated  by  the  running  waters  of  rivers  and  canals.  Although  the 
works  have  been  gradually  retrenched  by  the  diminished  output,  and  by  the  in- 
creasing- price  of  labour,  the  foreign  capital  invested  in  this  industry  still  yields 
fair  returns. 

The  diamond  industry,  at  one  time  the  most  important  in  the  world,  has  been 

Fig.  IIS  — T.rMTT  OF  THE  llnrnjo  Ixtekdict  ABOtrr  Diamantina  ni  the  Eiohteejtth  Cestttkt. 

Scale  1 :  800.000. 


W-stoFG.-ee^..-.  cU 


43°:0- 


Limit  of  the  old  MlDing  iDterdict. 
__^^.^^^^^^-— ^_  18  Miles. 


suddenly  ruined  by  the  discovery  of  the  South  African  diamantiferous  fields.  In 
1733  the  Portuguese  Government  first  became  aware  of  the  existence  of  diamonds 
in  Minas  Geraes,  and  true  to  the  traditional  policy  of  regarding  Brazil  as  its 
racca  de  kite,  "milch-cow,"  it  at  once  proclaimed  itself  sole  proprietor  of  all 
the   diamond   fields.      Then   a  space  42   leagues   in   circumference  was  enclosed 

t2 


27G 


AilAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


round  Diamantina,  indicating  the  limits  of  the  interdicted  temtory.  Within 
these  Kmits  nobody  could  dig  the  foundations  of  a  house  except  in  the  presence 
of  an  inspector  and  three  other  officials. 

The  diamond  streams  were  reserved  for  certain  privileged  persons  liable  to  a 
poll-tax  on  the  number  of  hands  employed.  Later  the  deposits  were  leased  to 
farmers-general,  and  at  last  the  King  of  Portugal  had  all  the  mines  worked  on 
his   own  account.      At  jjresent   the  industry  has  been  declared  free.     The  term 


Fig.  119. — Chief  Mctes  of  Bbazcl. 
Scale  1  :  45,000.000. 


West  oFo'~eenwich 


Gold.        Diamonds.       Silver.  Copper.  Iron. 

^-^^^^— —  620  Milea. 


Coal. 


catas,  figuring  on  the  maps  in  several  parts  of  Brazil,  means  "  excavations,"  and 
has  reference  to  the  old  gold  or  diamond  diggings. 

These  gems  have  also  been  found  in  Matto  Grosso,  and  (1845)  in  the  Chapada 
Diamantina  of  western  Bahia.  But  operations  are,  for  the  most  part,  carried  on 
without  method,  and  by  primitive  processes.  The  stones  occur  in  association 
with  other  gravels,  both  in  the  conglomerates  of  paleozoic  origin,  and  in  more 
recent  rocks  derived  from  the  triturated  fragments  of  primitive  strata.     But  they 


^-a» 


» 
z 


o 


DTDUSTKIES  OF  BILVZIL.  277 

have  nowhere  been  met  in  igneous  formations.  The  output  from  the  whole 
of  Brazil  domi  to  the  present  time  is  estimated  at  12,000,000  carats,  or  nearly 
2^  tons,  valued  at  £20,000,000.  Since  the  opening  of  the  South  African  mines 
the  yield  has  rapidly  fallen  off,  from  90  pounds  in  18G7  to  40  in  1880,  and  at 
present  (1894)  to  about  20,  valued  at  £40,000.  Although  the  African  diamonds 
are  less  beautifiil,  their  total  sale  already  greatly  exceeds  that  of  the  Brazilian 
stones  for  the  whole  period  of  over  150  years  since  the  commencement  of  mininc 
operations  in  !Minas  Geraes.  Amongst  the  more  famous  stones  found  in  Brazil 
are  the  Abaete  biilliant,  of  144  carats,  and  the  " Star  of  the  South,"  which  was 
picked  up  by  a  negress  in  1853,  aud  which  before  cutting  weighed  over  254 
carats. 

Besides  diamonds,  numerous  other  gems  occur  in  Brazil,  such  as  garnets, 
topazes,  corundum,  beryls,  and  amethysts.  But  no  true  emeralds  are  found,  and 
the  "  green  stones  "  taken  for  such  were  probably  tourmalines. 

Despite  their  abundance,  few  of  the  other  metalliferous  beds  are  utilised. 
The  copper  mines  of  Eio  Grande  do  Sul  are  alone  worked,  and  a  little  iron  ore  is 
supplied  to  the  foundries  from  the  inexhaustible  deposits  of  Ipanema  in  S.  Paulo, 
and  of  the  two  iron  mountains  of  Itabira  do  Campo  and  Itabira  do  Matto 
Dentro  in  Minas  Geraes.  This  State  also  contains  lead,  and  the  coalfields  of 
Santa  Catharina  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  support  some  small  local  factories. 

At  S.  Caetano,  near  Marianna,  in  ilinas  Geraes,  occur  some  beds  of  excellent 
kaolin ;  the  lignite  of  S.  Paulo  employs  a  few  hands  ;  and  here  and  there  turf  is 
extracted  from  the  peat-beds  occupying  the  old  lacustrine  depressions.  Salt, 
vast  quantities  of  which  might  be  obtained  from  the  mines  and  saline  streams 
and  marshes,  is  stiU  imported  from  Europe,  chiefly  as  ballast  in  English  vessels. 

^^Iaxufactures — Trade. 

Nearly  all  the  manufacturing  industries  are  represented  in  Brazil,  which 
abounds  in  the  raw  materials,  such  as  metals,  timber,  gums,  dyewoods,  fibres, 
hides.  These  materials  are  now  worked  by  experts,  engineers,  distillers,  skilled 
labourers,  who  are  annually  arriving  in  increa?iuff  numbers.  These  industries 
are  encouraged  by  the  heavy  duties  imposed  on  foreign  goods,  but  the  result  is 
that  the  cost  of  production  is  much  higher  than  in  the  European  industrial 
centres,  and  this  implies  a  corresponding  loss  to  the  local  consumers.  Spinning 
and  weaving  are  the  chief  manufactures  fostered  by  the  high  protective  tarifls,  the 
abolition  or  even  reduction  of  which  would  involve  half  the  native  factories  in 
ruin. 

Other  industries  are  chiefly  those  needed  to  supply  the  towns  and  settlements 
with  primary  necessities,  such  as  bricks,  lime,  cement,  furniture,  carts,  waggons, 
besides  distilled  and  fermented  drinks.  31any  demands  are  created  by  the  rapid 
development  of  the  railways  and  other  means  of  communication.  The  state  of 
the  highways  in  former  times  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the  convoys  of 
minerals  and  other  merchandise,  usually  in  groups  of  seven  men  and  seven  pack- 


278  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

mules,  took  on  an  average  one  month  on  the  road  from  Ouro  Preto  to  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  An  English  company  having  proposed  to  construct  a  proper  road  along 
this  route,  it  was  objected  that  good  highways  would  throw  open  the  country  to 
foreign  conquest. 

Since  the  close  of  the  colonial  rule  trade  has  certainly  increased  tenfold. 
Foreign  goods  are  no  doubt  heavily  taxed,  but  at  least  they  are  not  interdicted 
as  they  were  previous  to  the  year  1808.  A  Portuguese  financial  association  long 
enjoyed  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  Brazil,  to  protect  which  it  had  to  equip 
a  fleet  of  war-ships.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  this  monopoly 
was  said  to  represent  about  £6,000,000  a  year.  But  towards  1850  the  exchanges 
rose  to  £20,000,000,  and  in  1880  they  had  exceeded  £40,000,000.  Since  then  they 
have  continued  to  increase  despite  revolutions,  civil  wars,  heavy  tariffs,  reckless 
speculation,  gambling,  and  fraudulent  transactions  of  all  kinds.  Companies  have 
been  floated  with  nominal  capitals,  which  within  a  fortnight  have  called  up  shares 
to  the  value  of  £40,000,000,  or  even  £80,000,000.  In  1891  the  various  schemes 
in  operation  represented  eleven  times  the  whole  income  of  Brazil. 

Besides  manufactured  goods  the  imports  include  many  articles  which  might 
well  be  produced  on  the  spot.  Such  are  bread-stuffs,  rice,  charqui  (jerked  beef), 
from  Uruguay  and  Argentina,  bricks,  tiles,  flags  and  the  like.  English  biscuits 
and  pale  ale,  and  sardines  from  Nantes  may  be  procured  in  the  humblest  village 
of  the  interior.  The  exports,  which  on  an  average  exceed  the  imports,  comprise 
coffee,  representing  four-fifths  or  even  more  of  the  total  value,  rubber,  sugar, 
cotton,  tobacco,  cacao,  Brazil  nuts,  mate,  gold  and  diamonds. 

Thanks  to  special  tariffs  the  United  States  takes  the  first  place  in  the  foreign 
trade  of  Brazil.  In  1892  it  imported  over  2,400,000  bags  of  coffee  from  Rio, 
while  the  rest  of  the  world  received  less  than  1,000,000  bags  from  the  same 
port.  On  the  other  hand  Santos  sends  its  coffees  chiefly  to  Europe  (Bremen, 
Havre,  Antwerp,  Trieste).  Great  Britain  ranks  next  to  the  United  States  in 
the  movement  of  exchanges,  and  takes  by  far  the  first  place  in  the  carrying 
trade.  France,  Germany  and  Italy  follow  in  the  order  named,  while  the  mother 
country  takes  only  the  fifth  place,  although  the  majority  of  the  merchants  are 
Portuguese.  Even  in  Rio  the  industrial  and  trading  classes  comprise  four  times  more 
natives  of  Portugal  than  Brazilians.  The  old  colony,  however,  still  continues  to 
be  the  best  customer  of  the  Lusitanian  wine-growers.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
rapid  development  of  foreign  relations  has  had  the  effect  of  diminishing  the  local 
coasting  trade  between  the  Brazilian  seaports.  This  result  is  due  to  the  ocean 
steam  navigation,  which,  by  regularly  calling  at  every  important  harbour  along 
the  seaboard,  has  rendered  useless  the  large  depots  of  goods  formerlj'  concentrated 
in  Rio  Janeiro  and  distributed  from  that  point  to  all  the  coast  towns. 

Communications — Railways. 

In  Brazil,  as  in  the  United  States,  the  necessities  of  trade  have  caused  the 
construction  of  railways  to  precede  that  of  carriage -roads  almost  everywhere.   "When 


COiriTTNTiCATIOXS  OF  BRAZIL.  279 

railway  enterprise  began  the  only  highways  opened  to  wheeled  traffic  were,  in 
fact,  the  fine  road  from  Rio  to  PetropoKs,  continued  through  the  Parahyba  valley 
to  Juiz  de  Fora,  and  a  few  others  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  towns.  The  so- 
called  "main  highways,"  connecting  Rio  with  ilinas  Geraes,  Groyaz,  and  ilatto 
Grosso,  are  nothing  more  than  broad  tracks,  ■winding  up  and  down  hill,  scored 
with  deep  ruts  in  the  marshy  district,  and  branching  into  lateral  by-ways  at  the 
steep  inclines.  Along  these  dusty,  muddy  or  rocky  tracks  teams  of  six,  eight,  or 
ten  pairs  of  oxen  slowly  drag  their  lumbering  and  creaking  waggons,  while 
convovs  several  hundred  yards  long  are  organised  for  the  transport  of  large  quan- 
tities of  minerals  and  general  merchandise.  Large  convoys  of  pack-animals, 
chieflv  mules,  are  also  employed  for  the  transport  of  merchandise  along  the 
wretched  tracks  across  the  swampy  and  mountainous  districts,  which  are  inacces- 
sible to  wheeled  traffic.  These  convoys  are  usually  headed  by  the  so-called  ma- 
dn'n/ia,  an  old  horse  who  carries  no  load,  but  wears  an  arrangement  of  tinkling 
bells,  and  is  also  often  gaily  decked  with  feathers  and  strips  of  coloured  cloth. 

In  1856  the  first  railway  was  opened  from  Rio  to  the  foot  of  the  coast  range 
in  the  direction  of  Petropolis.  Two  years  later  followed  the  line  also  from  Rio 
across  the  marshy  and  wooded  plains  towards  the  upper  Parahyba  valley,  but 
stopping  short  at  Belem  at  the  foot  of  the  Serra  do  Mar.  Eventually  the 
mountain  barrier  was  overcome  by  steep  gradients  and  sixteen  tunnels,  and  from 
this  trunk  line  between  Rio  and  the  Parahyba  basin  other  branches  ramified  in 
various  directions. 

The  Serra  do  ITar  has  been  surmounted  altogether  at  five  different  points,  of 
which  three  are  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital.  The  Serra  de  ilantiqueira  and  the 
Serra  do  Espinhaco  have  also  been  crossed,  and  nothing  now  remains  except  to 
extend  the  system  over  the  gently-inclined  slopes  of  the  inland  plateaux.  The 
highest  point  reached  by  the  engineers  is  at  a  cutting  4,47-5  feet  above  sea-level 
on  the  Ouro  Preto  branch.  Although  the  locomotive  has  scarcely  yet  reached  the 
region  of  the  great  rivers,  some  imposing  viaducts  have  already  been  constructed, 
notably  the  bridge  spanning  the  Paraguassu  between  Cachoeira  and  S.  Felix,  that 
of  the  Rio  Grande  on  the  Uberaba  line,  and  the  viaduct  over  half  a  mile  long  in 
the  Tubarao  coal-mining  district. 

Meanwhile  only  two  systems  properly  so-called  have  yet  been  developed,  one 
with  its  seaward  terminus  at  the  capital,  the  other  radiating  from  Santos.  These 
are,  however,  themselves  connected  by  a  line  370  miles  long  ascending  the  Parahyba 
valley  and  descending  to  S.  Patilo.  The  Rio  network  penetrates  far  into  Minas 
Geraes,  and  yearly  advances  one  or  two  stages  into  the  Rio  das  Telhas  valley  at 
the  head  of  the  navigation  in  the  S.  Francisco  basin. 

StiU  more  rapid  progress  has  been  made  in  the  State  of  S.  Paolo,  where  the 
lines  ramifvin?  through  the  coffee  region  have  already  reached  the  navigable  Rios 
Grande,  Pardo,  Mogy  Guassu,  Tiete,  and  Piracicaba.  Elsewhere  there  are  only 
a  few  isolated  Knes,  or  local  systems,  such  as  those  of  Recife  and  Bahia  Bay. 

A  great  trunk  line,  such  as  might  give  unity  to  all  these  isolated  sections,  is 
an  undertaking  still  beyond  fhe  resources  of  Brazilian  finance.     The  lines  most 


280 


AALiZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


urgently  needed,  at  least  for  strategical  purposes,  and  for  cementing  tlie  vast  out- 
lying provinces  in  a  single  political  system  with  those  of  the  seaboard,  are  the 
routes  projected  to  run  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Minas  Geraes  to  the  Matte 
Grosso  regions,  and  from  the  State  of  S.  Paulo  to  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  Republic.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  such  connections,  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  is 
at  present  in  economic  dependence  on  the  States  of  the  Plate  River  so  far 
as  regards  its  means  of  communication,  while  most  of  the  Far  West  remains 


Fig.  120  —Railways  of  Brazil. 

Scale  1  :  45,000,000. 


West  or  Greenwich 


1,260  Miles. 


practically  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  commonwealth.  In  respect  of  its 
relations  with  Europe,  Brazil  also  greatl)^  needs  a  continuous  coast  line  to  run 
from  Campos  to  Pernamhuco,  the  first  port  on  the  seaboard  touched  by  the 
transatlantic  liners. 

No  uniform  plan  has  been  followed  in  the  development  of  the  Brazilian  rail- 
ways, and  in  some  districts,  notably  on  the  Minas  Geraes  trunk  line,  a  broad  is 
continued  by  a  narrow  gauge.  On  most  of  the  new  lines  also  the  normal  gauge 
scarcely  exceeds  40  inches.     A  few  of  the  railways  are  State  propertj',  but  the 


RAILWAYS  OF  BRAZIL. 


281 


majority  belong  to  Brazilian  or  foreign  companies,  some  of  which  have  obtained 
grants  of  land  along  the  lines,  besides  guaranteed  interest  on  the  outlay  and  other 
subsidies  securing  them  from  any  pecuuiary  loss. 

They  have  moreover  stipulated  that  no  rival  companies  shall  be  allowed  to 
construct  any  parallel  or  converging  lines  within  a  determined  zone.  Thus  are 
o-radually  being  created  exclusive  monopolies,  such  as  that  of  the  railway  between 
Santos  and  Jundiahy,  which,  although  itself  inadequate  to  meet  the  growing  com- 
mercial requirements  of  this  region,  claims  the  preposterous  right  of  preventing 
the  producers  from  forwarding  their  merchandise  by  any  other  routes.  The  case 
is  somewhat  analogous  to  that  of  certain  English  railway  companies,  which,  to 
secure  the  traffic,  forward  foreign  imported  goods  at  lower  rates  than  British 
produce.     In  the  more  remote  districts,  some  of  the  Brazilian  lines,  being  masters 


Fig.  121. — Kio,  lIctA.9  A>i)  S.  Paui.0  Kailwat  Sysif.ms. 
Scale  1 :  10,000,000. 


.250  Miles. 


of  the  situation,  are  pursuing  a  suicidal  policy,  as  so  often  results  from  the  enjoy- 
ment of  undue  privilege.  The  traffic  is  often  cut  down  to  a  single  train  once  a 
week  between  two  derelict  stations,  that  being  sufficient  according  to  the  stipulated 
conditions  of  the  concession,  to  entitle  the  proprietors  at  the  end  of  the  year  to 
draw  their  dividends,  dulv  discharged  bv  the  State  treasury.  Thev  thus  not  only 
stand  in  their  own  light,  but  they  block  the  way  to  the  proper  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  laud. 

Collectively  the  Brazilian  railways  completed  in  1893  had  a  total  length  of 
about  6,800  miles.  When  they  have  acquired  their  full  development  they  will 
afford  the  most  direct  route  to  Europe,  not  only  for  the  inland  regions  of  the 
Republic  itself,  but  also  for  Paraguay,  the  northern  provinces  of  Argentina,  and 
even  a  part  of  Chili  itself. 


282 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Navigable  Water^^ays. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  absence  of  railways,  except  in  the  vicinity  of  Para,  the 
Amazonian  region  depends  entirely  on  its  steamers  to  keep  up  its  relations  with 
the  rest  of  the  world.  An  English  company,  subsidised  b}'  the  Brazilian  Govern- 
ment, maintains  a  flotilla  which  plies  on  the  Amazons  between  Para  and  Iquitos 
in  Peru  ;  boats  in  connection  with  the  main  line  also  ascend  the  Jutahy,  the  Jurua, 
the  Purus,  and  its  Aquiri  affluent  in  the  heart  of  the  rubber  region.     They  also 

Fig.   122.— Navigable  Wateewats  of  Brazil. 

Scale  1  :  45.000,000. 


Ship  Navijjation. 


Boat  Navigation. 
1,250  Miles. 


visit  the  riverside  ports  of  the  Rio  Negro,   Madeira,  Tapajoz,  and  Xingu,  and 
ascend  the  Tocantins  as  far  as  the  cataracts. 

In  the  rest  of  Brazil  fluvial  na^^gation  is  of  secondary  importance.  Even  that 
of  the  S.  Francisco  is  interrupted  by  the  great  falls,  which  have  not  yet  been 
turned  by  a  canal  to  connect  the  lower  and  upper  navigable  reaches.  But  on  the 
seaboard,  lines  of  ocean  steamers,  rapidly  replacing  sailing  vessels,  keep  open  the 


STATE  OF  EDUCATION,  BRAZIL.  283 

communications  with  all  the  larg«  seaports,  such  as  Para,  S.  Luiz  de  Maranhao, 
and  Fortaleza, Recife  (Pernambuco) ,  Maceio,  Bahia,  Tictoria, Rio,  Santos,  Paranagua, 
Desterro,  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul.  As  many  as  seventeen  companies,  nearly  all 
English,  are  engaged  in  this  service,  although  in  virtue  of  a  recent  Act,  vessels 
flying  the  national  flag  are  alone  authorised  to  engage  in  the  coast  traffic.  The 
majority  of  the  crews  are  also  requii-ed  to  be  of  Brazilian  nationality,  a  condition 
which  could  not  be  complied  with  but  for  the  facilities  afforded  to  foreign  sailors 
of  becoming  naturalised  citizens. 

In  ordinary  times  about  ten  Atlantic  liners  arrive  every  week  in  the  Brazilian 
seaports.  The  voyage  from  Lisbon  to  Pernambuco  usually  takes  eleven  days ; 
but  the  Atlantic  at  its  narrowest  part,  between  the  African  and  South  American 
continents,  could  be  crossed  in  two  days  and  a  half  by  a  fast  sailer,  such  as  those 
engaged  in  the  service  between  Liverpool  and  New  York.  Direct  telegraphic 
communication  is  maintained  by  submarine  cables  between  Pernambuco,  Europe, 
and  the  United  States.  A  Hue  3,7'20  miles  long  skirts  the  seaboard  from  the 
Amazons  to  the  Plate  estuary. 


Euuc.\Tiox — Religiox. 

Public  instruction  could  scarcely  make  much  progress  in  a  country  in  which 
the  great  majority  of  the  labourers  have,  till  recently,  been  slaves.  Nevertheless 
some  schools  and  colleges  had  already  been  founded  bv  the  Jesuit  missionaries 
under  the  colonial  administration,  and  during  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  ilarquis  de  Pombal  had  caused  "royal"  educational  establishments 
to  be  opened.     But  the  great  mass  of  the  people  still  remained  unlettered. 

In  1834,  seven  years  after  the  promulgation  of  the  first  law  regarding  public 
instruction,  in  the  whole  province  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  there  were  only  30  schools, 
attended  by  1,369  of  both  sexes.  Since  then  a  great  improvement  has  taken 
place,  although  recent  statistics  show  that  even  in  the  most  advanced  provinces 
a  great  part  of  the  young  are  still  receiving  no  instruction.  In  1872  about  23 
per  cent,  of  the  males  and  13  of  the  females  could  at  least  read,  while  one  negro 
in  1,000  knew  the  alphabet.  Twenty  years  later  it  was  estimated  that  over 
three-fourths  of  the  whole  population  of  both  sexes,  whites,  blacks,  and  coloured, 
were  still  ignorant  of  the  rudiments  of  knowledge.  Many  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion, however,  are  self-taught.  In  the  central  States  of  Minas  Geraes,  Goyaz,  and 
Matto  Grosso,  most  of  the  curandeiros  ("  healers,"  doctors)  have  qualified  them- 
selves by  the  study  of  medical  works  without  any  instruction,  and  these  are 
often  remarkably  successful  in  the  treatment  of  their  patients.  The  negroes, 
who  are  stated  to  excel  the  whites  in  the  musical  faculty,  have  grouped  themselves 
in  musical  clubs,  numbering  many  thousands. 

The  high  schools  are  supported  by  the  State,  always  excepting  various  separate 
establishments  founded  by  the  Jesuits  at  a  distance  from  the  large  cities,  such  as 
that  of  Itu  in  the  State  of  S.  Paulo,  and  the  college  of  Cara^a  in  Minas  Geraes. 
In  Rio  are  centred  most  of  the  higher  faculties — College  of  Phvsicians,   School 


28i  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

of  Pharmacy,  Normal  School,  College  of  the  Fine  Arts,  Conservatoire  of  Music, 
Lyceum  of  the  trades  and  crafts,  military  and  naval  schools,  without,  however, 
forming  a  university  body.  Pernambuco,  Bahia,  S.  Paulo,  and  Ouro  Preto  have 
also  their  medical,  law,  and  mining  colleges.  In  all  these  institutions  French 
is,  to  a  large  extent,  the  vehicle  of  instruction.  In  the  public  libraries,  also, 
the  demand  for  French  was,  till  recently,  greater  than  for  Portuguese  works. 

Printing  was  introduced  in  1744,  but  the  first  press  lasted  only  three  years, 
having  been  destroyed  by  order  of  the  central  government.  Then  the  country 
remained  without  a  printing  office  till  1808,  when  the  fugitive  King  of  Portugal 
introduced  another  press  in  order  to  publish  his  edicts.  Newspapers  had  a  hard 
struggle  till  the  period  of  independence,  and  the  history  of  their  first  years  is  a 
dismal  record  of  banishments,  imprisonments,  and  even  executions  of  their 
editors.  After  that  the  niunber  of  periodicals  increased  steadily  from  31  in 
1828,  to  271  in  1876  ;  during  the  next  decade  they  had  more  than  doubled. 

Formerly  the  Church  was  all-powerful  in  Brazil,  where  the  Inquisition,  intro- 
duced in  1702,  persecuted  heretics  with  a  blind  rage.  Yet  in  most  cases  heresy 
consisted,  not  in  the  profession  of  heterodox  doctrines,  but  in  the  strain  of  Jewish 
blood  in  the  veins  of  the  victims.  After  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the 
"  Roman  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  "  maintained  its  ascendency,  and  the 
j)ublic  exercise  of  all  other  religions  was  severely  interdicted. 

But  the  revolution  which  overthrew  the  empire  also  separated  Church  and 
State,  while  continuing  their  incomes  to  priests  on  duty.  Nevertheless,  there 
have  been  frequent  collisions  between  the  two  powers,  and  even  in  1892  the  legal 
suppression  of  the  crucifix  in  the  law  courts  gave  rise  to  fierce  demonstrations 
against  the  "  freethinkers." 

The  vast  majority  of  the  population  professes  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and 
in  the  returns  for  Rio  de  Janeiro  in  1892  less  than  one  per  cent,  .declared 
themselves  of  a  different  or  of  no  religion.  But  indifference  in  religious  matters 
is  spreading,  and  despite  the  thunders  of  preachers,  freemasonry  is  acquiring 
multitudes  of  adherents  in  all  the  large  cities.  The  clergy  finds  it  difficult  to 
obtain  sufficient  recruits  from  the  native  white  and  black  populations,  and  has 
to  be  complemented  every  year  by  foreign  priests,  nearly  all  Italians. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Brazilians  display  great  public  spirit  in  the  organisa- 
tion of  their  charitable  institutions.  As  in  England,  their  hospitals  and  asylums 
are  independent  of  the  State,  and  supported  by  voluntary  contributions.  An 
appeal  "  in  the  name  of  all  our  suffering  brethren "  never  fails  to  produce 
subscriptions  sufficient  to  provide  amply  for  all  the  hospitals  throughout  the 
Republic. 

The  outward  forms  of  the  irmandades  ("brotherhoods")  are  still  religious, 
and  at  the  official  gatherings  the  "  brethren  "  wear  the  monkish  habit  as  of  old. 
But  each  association  is  organised  in  its  own  way,  and  its  operations  are 
carried  on  altogether  independently  both  of  Church  and  State.  In  Rio  these 
benevolent  societies  administer  a  collective  revenue  of  several  hundred  thousand 
pounds. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  BRAZIL.  285 

GOVF.KNMEXT    .VXD    ADMINISTRATION. 

In  accordance  -with  the  stereotyped  formulas  of  modern  constitutions, 
all  BraziKans  arc  recognised  as  equal  before  the  law.  The  right  of  association, 
full  freedom  of  speech,  and  of  the  press,  are  also  recognised,  except  in  the  case 
of  anonymous  publications.  Letters  passing  through  the  post  are  inviolable, 
and  all  professions  are  open  to  all  citizens.  The  Republic  ignores  the  old 
privileges  of  nobility,  suppresses  all  orders  and  honours  instituted  by  the 
monarchy,  and  abolishes  all  aristocratic  distinctions.  Yet  in  few  countries  are 
barons,  viscounts,  and  marquises  more  plentiful,  not  to  speak  of  councillors  and 
doctors.  The  old  regime  lavished  honours  on  staunch  supporters,  and,  as  is  said, 
still  more  on  reconcilable  opponents  ;  and,  since  the  fall  of  the  empire,  both 
classes  have  preserved,  if  not  their  allegiance  to  the  exiled  princes,  at  least  the 
high-sounding  titles  which  they  owed  to  the  imperial  favour 

Besides  all  natives,  citizenship  is  extended  to  all  the  children  of  Brazilians, 
to  the  illegitimate  children  of  Braziliun  mothers  born  abroad  on  taking  domicile 
in  the  Republic  ;  moreover,  to  foreigners  owning  land  in  the  country,  or  marrying 
Brazilian  wives,  or  having  children  in  Brazil,  unless  the}-  formally  declare 
themselves  of  another  nationality. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  revolution  was  to  extend  citizenship  to  all  children 
of  foreign  residents  who  for  the  space  of  six  months  should  omit  to  claim  their 
original  nationality  in  distinct  terms.  Thus  was  solved  the  question  affecting 
immigrants,  which  had  been  for  so  many  years  a  bone  of  contention  between 
political  parties.  Nothing,  in  fact,  could  be  more  unreasonable  and  inconsistent 
than  the  treatment  of  foreign  settlers  since  the  middle  of  the  century.  They  were 
urgently  invited  to  come  over  ;  they  received  a  free  passage,  allotments  of  land, 
at  times  even  advances  in  monej'  and  live-stock  ;  but  they  were  denied  citizr^nship, 
and  treated  almost  as  outcasts.  Before  1863  marriage  was  interdicted  to  them, 
and  in  1881,  not  one  had  yet  obtained  a  seat  in  the  provincial  assemblies,  not  even 
in  that  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  whose  trade  and  industries  the}'  controlled. 

The  electorate,  both  for  the  several  States  and  for  the  Republic,  comprises 
all  citizens  twent}--one  years  old  who  are  not  mendicants,  illiterate,  or  engaged 
in  pursuits  incompatible  with  freedom  of  opinion.  Thus  are  excluded  all 
soldiers,  except  the  military  students  in  the  higher  schools,  and  all  members 
of  religious  communities  bound  by  the  vow  of  obedience.  All  pleading  religious 
scruples  as  a  ground  of  exemption  from  the  discharge  of  duties  imposed  by  law 
on  other  citizens  declare  themselves  ijjso  facto  barred  from  civic  rights. 

Despite  the  primary  importance  attached  by  the  constitution  to  the  exercise 
of  the  suffrage,  official  source  of  all  public  authority,  the  privilege  appears  to  be 
little  appreciated,  and  absence  from  the  voting  booths  is  almost  universal.  Even 
in  the  capital  nearly  100,000  electors  have  been  known  to  abstain  from  voting. 

When  the  Federal  Republic  was  proclaimed,  the  nation  was  not  consulted  as  to 
the  political  groups  which  should  constitute  the  federation.  The  names  of  the 
administrative  divisions  under  the  empire  were  merely  changed;  and  from  "pro- 


286 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


vinces  "  they  became  "  States,"  although  these  divisions  were  singularlj'  defective 
in  every  respect,  in  no  way  corresponding  to  such  as  would  be  formed,  had  the 
people  themselves  been  consulted.  Apart  from  Amazonia  and  Matte  Grosso,  which 
are  in  reality  not  States  so  much  as  territories  awaiting  future  settlement,  the 
vast  region  of  Bahia  has  for  neighbours  the  two  former  provinces  of  Alagoas  and 
Sergipe,  one  seven  the  other  eleven  times  smaller.      It  may,  however,  be  presumed 


Fig.   123. — Political  Divisions  of  Brazil. 

Scale  1  :  15.000,000. 


^        \      ■^'^    i' '        W;  G  U    I  A  N    .  S    ; 

/  '^  >  /I  /-— ■ 

Of  •  ^,       - 


Arpazonss 


PERU 


Mafto       Grosso 


BOLIVIA 


)  %L  /Y^!^ 


r  < .-•->--- 

.•'      ARGENTINA     / %„  Grande 
do  Sul 


/,„_S30  Paulo 


West  or  ureenw.ch 


40" 


C3 

Contested  Territories. 


Fefleral  Territoriefi. 
1,'2S0  Mileo. 


that  the  fluctuating    and   ill-defined    frontiers  of  so   many   conterminous  States 
may  still  be  rectified,  in  accordance  with  the  phj'sical  and  social  conditions. 

Possibly  new  groups  will  be  constituted,  which  maj'  have  the  effect  of  shifting 
the  present  political  equilibrium.  But  meantime  it  seems  surprising  that,  in  a 
nation  connected  by  federal  ties,  the  old  royal  decrees,  rather  than  the  wishes  and 
interests  of  the  people,  are  consulted  in  distributing  the  inhabitants  of  the  Republic 
in  distinct  and  autonomous  political  divisions. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  BEAZIL.  287 

Each  of  the  twenty  States  has  its  two  chambers  and  its  president ;  and  each 
passes  special  laws  subordinate  to  the  general  principles  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States  of  Brazil.  All  lands  and  mines  not  yet  disposed  of  belong  to  the 
nation,  those  only  excepted  which  may  seem  indispensable  to  the  Union  for  frontit-r 
defence,  or  for  the  construction  of  strategical  routes  and  railways  of  general 
interest.  Two  conterminous  States  may  conclude  special  conventions  between 
themselves,  provided  they  involve  no  political  element.  But  they  cannot  declare 
war  against  other  States,  nor  refuse  to  accept  as  legal  tender  the  metal  or  paper 
currency  recognised  by  the  Union,  nor  reject  any  legislative,  administrative,  or 
judiciary  measures  proclaimed  by  the  Federal  Eepublic.  In  respect  of  foreign 
matters  the  twenty  States  act  in  concert  and  have  no  individual  political  status. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies,  which  assembles  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  pending  the 
foundation  of  a  future  federal  capital  on  the  Goyaz  plateaus,  consists  of  popular 
representatives,  elected  in  the  proportion  of  at  least  four  members  for  each  State 
and  for  the  neutral  municipality  of  the  republic ;  and  in  the  general  proportion  of 
one  to  every  70,000  of  the  inhabitants.  As  in  the  United  States  of  North  America, 
which  have  served  as  a  model  for  the  Brazilian  legislators,  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  corresponds  numerically  to  the  strength  of  the  several  States  measured  by 
the  test  of  population,  whereas  the  Senate  represents  the  States  as  equals  by 
right,  irrespective  of  the  number  of  their  inhabitants.  The  Senate  accordingly 
consists  of  63  members,  that  is  to  say,  three  for  each  State  and  for  the  neutral 
municipality.  As  in  the  northern  Republic,  the  members  of  the  Senate  retire  by 
rotation.  Its  legal  duration  being  for  nine  years,  one-third  are  replaced  hj  new 
members  after  three  years,  and  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  year  fresh  elections  take 
place  for  the  second  third  of  the  Senators. 

Although  the  president  and  vice-president  were  raised  to  power  in  virtue  of 
a  military  revolution,  the  constitution  provides  an  elective  and  popular  origin  for 
the  two  chiefs  of  the  executive.  Both  are  nominated  by  direct  suffrage,  and  by 
an  absolute  majority  of  votes  ;  but  failing  such  a  majority,  congress  decides. 
Four  years  is  the  period  fixed  for  the  exercise  of  the  presidential  power,  which 
cannot  be  held  by  the  same  person  twice  consecutively.  The  president  appoints 
and  dismisses  the  Ministers  of  State  at  pleasure ;  he  commands  the  land  and  sea 
forces,  and  appoints  the  heads  of  the  civil  departments  dependent  on  the  federation, 
the  members  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Justice,  the  ambassadors  and  consuls- 
declares  war  and  concludes  peace.  He  approves  and  publishes  the  laws  passed 
by  congress ;  but  he  possesses  the  right  of  veto,  sending  back  questions  •  to  be 
again  discussed  by  the  chambers,  and  decided  not  by  a  bare  majority,  but  b}'  a 
substantial  majority  of  two-thirds.  The  Senate  on  its  part  enjoys  the  almost 
delusive  privilege  of  trying  the  president  if  impeached  by  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies.  In  point  of  fact  the  head  of  the  Republic  is  armed  with  monarchical 
powers  far  greater  than  those  cldraed  by  the  emperor.  Thus  the  Judiciary  body, 
which  by  a  legal  fiction  is  held  to  enjoy  an  influence  equal  to  that  of  the  legis- 
lative and  executive  bodies,  is  in  reality  in  the  hands  of  the  president,  who  names 
all  its  members. 


288  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  Auguste  Comte's  positive  school  had  much  to  do  with 
the  revolution  which  overthrew  the  einjHre.  His  teachings  had  made  great 
progress,  especially  in  the  military  institutions,  and  to  the  zeal  of  certain 
positivists  engaged  in  the  revolutionary  movement  must  be  attributed  several 
decrees  issued  during  the  first  weeks  of  the  Republic.  Sucb  were  the  separation 
of  Church  and  State ;  the  institution  of  the  national  feast  of  July  I4th  coinciding 
with  that  of  the  French  Republic  ;  the  adoption  of  the  mottos  "  Order  and 
Progress  "  for  the  national  flag,  "Safety  and  Fraternity  "  in  official  correspon- 
dence. 

But  political  morals  are  unaffected  by  such  empty  formulas.  The  Brazilian 
constitution  may  model  itself  almost  slavishly  on  that  of  the  North  American 
Union  ;  but  it  will  fail  to  infuse  the  Anglo-Saxon  spirit  into  the  Brazilian 
populations.  Each  article  of  its  "  magna  charta "  will  still  be  interpreted  in 
accordance  with  the  habits  of  thought,  the  traditions,  usages,  and  passions  of  the 
half-caste  Portuguese  inhabitants  of  South  America. 

Thus  it  has  happened  that  the  royal  powers  granted  to  the  pi-esident  of  the 
United  States,  and  consequently  to  the  head  of  the  Brazilian  Republic,  have 
rapidly  led  in  the  latter  State  to  a  pure  dictatorship.  From  the  very  first, 
however,  the  outcome  of  the  revolution  was  of  its  essence  a  military  autocracy. 
The  army  had  long  grumbled  at  being  kept  aloof,  and  when  the  enfeebled 
emperor  ceased  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  administration,  the  deeply  mistrusted 
military  commanders  were  studiously  removed  to  great  distances,  and  virtually 
banished  even  to  insalubrious  regions,  such  as  Upper  Amazonia  and  Matto  Grosso. 
Nevertheless,  the  armj',  elated  at  its  triumphs  over  Paraguay,  had  long  resented 
its  subordinate  position,  and  now  clamoured  for  the  first  place  in  the  manage- 
4^ent  of  affairs.  The  few  men  who  controlled  the  republican  movement,  taking 
advantage  of  this  feeling,  offered  power  to  the  military  leaders  in  exchange  for 
the  name  of  "  Republic,"  and  the  revolution,  more  apparent  than  real,  was  effected 
without  bloodshed  as  a  simple  "  transformation  scene." 

Since  the  end  of  the  empire,  Brazil  has  been  ruled  by  soldiers,  and  in  1893 
more  than  half  of  the  provincial  governors  were  army  men.  But  the  navy,  which 
had  also  a  share  in  the  glory  of  the  Paraguay  War,  especially  in  forcing  the  pas- 
sage of  the  rivers,  now  found  itself  neglected  in  the  distribution  of  power.  To  the 
consequent  rivalry  between  the  military  and  naval  forces,  diversely  influenced  by 
the  pressure  of  the  civil  element,  must  be  attributed  the  sequence  of  events  which 
were  brought  to  a  temporary  close  by  the  colla^jse  of  the  revolt  in  the  spring  of 
1894. 

At  the  same  time  the  army  is  not  a  force  constituted  by  the  exercise  of  any 
le"-itimate  national  function.  Although  there  exists  a  law  of  conscription  by  lots, 
the  regiments  arc  recruited  by  voluntary  engagements  legally  limited  to  a  period 
of  six  months,  during  which  the  men  are  in  the  pay  of  the  State.  Most  of  the 
rank  and  file  are  men  of  colour,  while  the  ofiicers  are  mainly  whites,  or 
regarded  as  such.  During  the  Paraguay  War,  Brazil  had  as  many  as  70,000 
soldiers,  including  the  mobilised  national  guards,  the  police,  and  frontier  garri- 


ADMINISTBATION  OF  BRAZIL. 


289 


sons.  Since  tlien  tte  effective  has  varied  from  15,000  to  20,000,  capable,  in 
time  of  war,  of  being  rapidly  raised  to  30,000.  The  national  guard,  which  has 
a  purely  fictitious  existence,  nominally  comprises  a  million  or  so  of  citizens. 

Up  to  the  recent  outbreak  the  navy  had  been  maintained  at  a  considerable 
strength.  Under  the  empire  most  of  the  vessels  were  commanded  and  manned  bv 
English,  Americans,  and  other  strangers.  At  present  recruits  for  this  service  are 
raised  in  Brazil,  although  the  vessels  are  still,  for  the  most  part,  built  in  Europe. 
Ships  of  small  size  alone  are  launched  in  the  various  government  dockyards  at 
Rio,  Bahia,  Pernambuco,  Maranhao,  and  Ladario,  near  Corumba. 

The  struggle  with  Paraguay  cost  BrazQ  £60,000,000,  a  sura  which  about 
represents  the  present  amount  of  the  national  debt.  The  interest  on  foreign  loans 
is  payable  in  gold,  and  Brazil  has  hitherto  punctually  met  all  its  engagements, 

Fii'.  124. — Fat.ace  oy  Fiscal  Islai.tj — CrSTOjr  HorsE.  Bat  of  Rio. 


although  the  annual  budget  usually  shows  a  deficit.  Most  of  the  revenue  is 
derived  from  customs,  which  increase  by  60  per  cent,  the  mean  value  of  the 
imports.     The  expenditure  is  chiefly  devoted  to  the  army  and  navy. 

Thanks  to  a  recent  fiscal  arrangement,  by  which  a  share  of  the  customs  is 
apportioned  to  the  several  States,  several  of  these  are  in  a  flourishing  financial 
position.  Thus  the  receipts  of  ilinas  Geraes  have  increased  threefold  during  the 
last  twenty  years,  while  the  expenditure  has  advanced  at  a  much  slower  rate. 
Similar  relations  prevail  in  Bio  de  Janeiro,  and  even  in  the  almost  uninhabited 
State  of  Amazonia,  which  has  no  debt,  and  a  considerable  yearly  excess  of  income 
over  outlay. 

Other  States  are  less  prosperous,  and  Goyaz,  Piauhy,  and  Parahyba  are  unable 
to  balance  their  accounts  without  aid  from  Congress.  But  nearl}-  all  depend  for  a 
part  of  their  income  on  the  love  of   gambling  which  pervades  Brazilian  society. 

VfiL.    XIX.  u 


290 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


The  drawing  of  State  lotteries  is  a  matter  of  personal  interest  for  millions  of  the 
natives.  In  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  the  other  large  cities  kiosks  are  erected  at  every 
street  corner  for  the  sale  of  tickets. 

The  smallest  of  the  administrative  divisions  has  preserved  its  religious  designa- 
tion, y'/vr/Mf^/rt,  which  originally  meant  a  parish,  or  "  gatheriag  of  the  faithful." 
In  1887  the  whole  empire  comprised  1,886  of  these  freguezias,  some  forming 
merely  a  town  ward  or  district,  others  embracing  territories  of  vast  extent.     On 


rig.  125. — Municipalities  of  the  State  of  Eio  de  Janeieo. 
Scale  1  :  4,000,000. 


25' 


)^^-V 


Kapenjna 
•''"■  '\ 

WlonVe  Verde  .•     \ 

J     "'       *  .'  .  ,         - 

5  Antonio  de  PaSua"   ;■      .  \  __     ;.    Sp^XS^ 

(  ...  -V      ;i).rideli3    /  M 

^^^_^tSiii;ar^  ..-.Campos,-       V 

_  ,.  •Sumidounv-'  •     .'■-        ..--i.w--^--' 


44° 


West    or  breenwich 


41" 


MuBicipul  Capital. 


District  Capital. 
.  60  Miles. 


an  average  they  occupy  a  superficial  area  of  1,700  square  miles,  or  two-thirds  of  a 
French  department. 

From  the  religious  standpoint,  Brazil  is  divided  into  twelve  dioceses,  two 
archbishoprics  (Bahia  and  Rio  de  Janeiro),  19  vicariates  general,  and  233  ecclesi- 
astical comarcas.  In  the  civil  administration  one  or  more  freguezias  are  grouped 
in  termos,  which  coincide,  for  the  most  part,  with  the  municipios.  Nevertheless, 
some  of  the  termos  are  themselves  divided  into  "  municipalities,"  a  division  which, 
despite  its  great  extent,  answers  best  to  the  French  commune. 

In  the  ofiicial  statistics  the  population  is  enumerated  by  municipalities. 
Hence  the  populations  of  towns  figuring  in  most  geographical  works  are  often 
distributed  over  vast  spaces  several  thousand  square  miles  in  extent.  The  inha- 
bitants grouped  in  the  central  nucleus,  ofiiciuUy  called  cklade,  "  city,"  or  vilhi 


ADinXISTEATION  OF  BEAZIL, 


291 


"town,"  are  often  less  than  a  tenth  of  the  number  given  for  the  whole  municipio. 
Hence  travellers  arriving  at  a  "  city  "  with  a  reputed  population  of  10,000  or 
20,000  find  themselves  sometimes  landed  in  a  wretched  village,  where  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  procure  "  accommodation  for  man  and  beast." 

In  1877  Brazil  comprised  altogether  as  many  as  910  municipalities,  of  which 
258  were  classed  as  cities  and  652  as  towns.  A  group  of  municipalities  consti- 
tutes a  comarca,  which  is  defined  to  be  an  area  of  territory  subject  to  the  juris- 
diction of  a  Juiz  de  Direito,  and  which  is  divided  into  a  number  of  freguezias. 
Hence  some  of  the  comarcas,  especially  in  the  less  thickly  peopled  regions,  cover  a 
space  of  thousands  of  square  miles. 

Other  divisions  prevail  in  the  military  and  naval  administrative  departments, 
while  for  trade  purposes  and  the  collection  of  customs  Brazil  is  grouped  in 
five  prefectures — two  fluvial  (Amazons  and  Matto  Grosso),  and  three  maritime, 
those  of  the  north,  centre,  and  south. 

In  the  appendix  is  a  table  of  the  twenty  States,  with  approximate  areas  and 
populations. 


u2 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Paraguay. 


F  the  South  American  States,  Bolivia  and  Paraguay  alone  have  no 
seaward  outlet  through  their  own  territory.  But,  alike  in  ihis, 
these  Hispano- American  Rejjublics  diifer  greatly  in  many  other 
respects.  One  occupies  the  summit  and  steep  scarps  of  a  plateau 
12,000  or  13,000  feet  above  the  sea;  the  other,  comprised  like  a 
"  Mesopotamia  "  between  two  large  rivers,  is  a  region  of  plains  and  low  hiUs,  of 
marshes  and  woodlands. 

But  the  two  countries  present  certain  analogies  in  their  historic  evolution.  In 
botji  regions  the  nation  was  developed  in  seclusion  from  the  outer  world,  the  Boli- 
vian on  the  islands  and  around  the  shores  of  Lake  Titicaca,  the  Paraguayan  in 
the  clearings  of  the  great  sub-tropical  woodlands.  Their  growth  has  been  com- 
pared to  that  of  the  pulp  round  the  hard  nucleus  of  stone  fruit.  Thus  may  be 
explained  the  fact  that  Bolivia  lost  the  strip  of  territory  on  the  oceanic  slope  of 
the  Andes  which  her  neighbours  of  the  Pacific  seaboard  had  at  first  left  in  her 
possession.  This  territory  did  not  belong  naturally  to  the  State,  but  was  a  sort  of 
dependency  assigned  to  it  by  a  purely  conventional  arrangement,  and  of  whicb  it 
was  deprived  by  a  fresh  convention  when  the  original  conditions  were  changed. 
Paraguay  also  still  remains  confined  to  her  forest  glades,  the  population,  enjoying 
the  advantages  of  a  seaward  outlet,  having  naturally  gra\'ilated  towards  other 
centres  of  attraction. 

A  chief  factor  in  the  historic  evolution  of  Paraguay  was  the  ascendancy  of  the 
Jesuits,  who,  however,  were  absolute  masters  only  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
country.  Their  dream  of  universal  empire  could  never  be  aught  but  an  utopia  in 
the  Old  World,  where  they  had  to  struggle  with  an  innovating  spirit,  diametri- 
cally opposed  to  their  ideal.  Yet  even  here  they  did  not  despair  of  success,  and 
there  were  times  when  they  might  seem  on  the  eve  of  acquiring  the  control  of  the 
destinies  of  Europe,  and  of  bending  mankind  to  the  yoke  which  they  had  framed. 
But  having  failed  before  the  ferment  of  free  thought  in  Europe,  they  might 


H15T0EY  OF  PARAGUAY.  293 

8  ill  hope  to  mould  at  pleasure  the  docile  savages  of  South  America,  and  in  the 
seclusion  of  that  region,  far  from  the  jealous  gaze  of  a  perverted  society,  consti- 
tute a  new  world  obedient  to  the  disciplinary  laws  introduced  by  them.  The 
scheme  embraced  the  whole  continent.  Stationed  at  first  in  their  college  of  S. 
Paulo  on  the  edge  of  the  Brazilian  plateau,  and  constantly  recruited  by  zealous 
missionaries  drawn  from  all  Christendom,  they  gradually  subdued  the  vast  inland 
regions  as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  Andes  and  the  entrance  to  the  Amazonian 
plains. 

Historic  Retrospect. 

But  the  Jesuits  had  not  arrived  alone  in  these  new  lands,  and  they  soon  found 
their  work  hampered  by  the  presence  of  restless  and  unsympathetic  white  neigh- 
bours. The  Portuguese  adventurers,  the  first  to  arrive,  aspired  to  other  things 
besides  creating  model  empires,  and  thought  of  little  except  enriching  themselves 
bv  the  capture  of  slaves  and  the  quest  of  gold.  Hence  endless  conflicts  with  the 
"  Fathers,"  who  were  gradually  pressed  back  to  that  part  of  the  continent  of  which 
the  Paraguayan  republic  now  occupies  the  centre.  Here  they  at  last  found  the 
material  suitable  for  their  purpose,  meek  and  pious  neophytes,  whose  daily  existence 
mio-ht  be  re<nilated  bv  the  sound  of  the  church  bells.     The  whole  nation  was 

CO- 

transformed  to  a  devout  flock,  telling  their  beads  and  bending  in  worship  before 
the  altar. 

But  the  modem  spirit  continued  to  dog  their  steps,  and  they  were  fain  to 
abandon  these  Paraguay  missions,  as  they  had  to  fly  from  those  of  Guayra. 
^Nevertheless  their  impress  was  left  on  the  nation  whom  they  had  reduced,  and 
even  on  the  surrounding  populations  who  had  not  been  brought  directly  under 
their  swav.  By  constituting  these  sequestered  communities,  cut  off  from  all 
intercourse  with  a  profane  world,  they  had  roused  a  feeling  of  antagonism,  which 
led  to  the  inevitable  conflict.  A  section  of  mankind  cannot  keep  aloof  from  their 
kindred,  and  the  wider  the  gap  produced  by  education  and  pursuits,  the  more 
unavoidable  becomes  the  clash. 

A  recent  illustration  of  this  truth  is  supplied  by  the  historj-  of  the  Xcrth 
American  Mormons,  who  fell  back  from  wilderness  to  wilderness  before  the  steady 
advance  of  the  backwood  settlers  ia  the  Far  West.  At  last  they  established  them- 
selves iu  a  basin  enclosed  by  lofty  mountains,  and  defended  from  invasion  by 
saline  tracts,  rusrsed  eorares  and  waterless  ravines.  Here  the  "  Latter-Dav  Saints" 
thought  themselves  secure,  and  here,  like  the  Jesuits,  they  realised  that  vision  of 
their  dreams,  a  perfect  community  modelled  on  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  But  one 
day  their  implacable  enemies,  the  "  Gentiles,"  burst  upon  their  seclusion,  tore  their 
laws  to  shreds,  and  profaned  their  temples. 

Even  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  the  Spanish  colony  of  Paraguay  kept 
apart  from  the  Buenos  Ayres  government,  of  which  it  was  an  oflBcial  dependency. 
Hence  when  the  Hispano -American  provinces  separated  from  the  mother-country, 
the  city  of  Asuncion,  which  had  already  revolted  in  1811,  refused  to  group  itself 
with  the  other  Argentine  colonies  vinder  the  hegemony  of  the  former  capital. 


294  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

After  some  years  of  agitation,  during  which  its  independence  had  never  been 
threatened,  Paraguay  submitted  to  the  dictatorship  of  a  master,  who  succeeded  in 
closing  the  land  as  hermetically  as  China  and  Japan  were  at  that  time  closed  to  the 
"western  devils."  Under  this  ruler,  Caspar  Francia,  Paraguay  continued  for  twenty- 
six  years  (1814 — 40)  to  be  inaccessible  to  the  outer  world.  This  strange  personality, 
born  of  a  French  father  and  half-caste  Creole  mother,  taking  Robespierre  as  his 
model,  a  theologian  and  jurist  by  education,  never  allowed  himself  to  be  for  a  moment 
turned  aside  from  the  line  of  conduct  which  he  had  proposed  to  follow.  An  ardent 
but  exclusive  patriot,  he  isolated  Paraguay  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  He  wished 
his  people  to  live  in  peace,  and  to  progress  materially  in  absolute  ignorance  of 
foreign  revolutions.  Desjjite  his  earnest  desire  to  see  the  Hispano-American  com- 
munities freed  from  the  Spanish  yoke,  he  permitted  no  Paraguayan  to  take  part  in 
the  war  of  emancipation,  and  refused  to  send  envoys  to  the  various  congresses 
which  assembled  during  the  fifteen  years  of  the  struggle.  Absolutely  disinterested, 
he  sought  only  the  advancement  of  the  common  weal,  and  established  a  strict 
monopoly  for  the  sale  of  mate,  lumber,  and  all  other  produce. 

Indifferent  to  all  relations  with  foreign  powers,  he  broke  even  with  the  Holy 
See,  declared  himself  head  of  the  Paraguayan  Church,  aboHshed  what  remained  of 
the  Inquisition,  suppressed  the  four  surviving  convents,  modified  at  his  pleasure  the 
ecclesiastical  hierarchy  and  even  the  liturgy,  and  appointed  the  parochial  clergy. 
Hostile  to  the  Jesuits,  he  nevertheless  continued  their  policy,  establishing  a  kind 
of  theocratic  system  in  which  he  was  at  once  temporal  and  spiritual  dictator,  and 
certainly  no  ruler  was  ever  better  obeyed.  Such  was  the  terror,  mingled  with 
admiration,  inspired  by  the  aged  recluse,  friendless  and  unloved,  whose  "  ear  was 
at  evory  wall,"  that  no  Paraguayan  would  have  dared  to  utter  his  name,  or  refer 
to  him  except  as  el  Supremo,  or  even  el  Perpetuo,  as  if  he  had  already  attained 
immortality.  After  his  death  he  was  el  Difnnto,  "  the  Departed,"  in  a  pre-eminent 
sense,  and  it  was  long  before  the  public  ventured  to  speak  of  the  august  person- 
age ;  at  mention  of  his  name  everyone  turned  instinctively  aside,  as  if  still  fearing 
the  presence  of  some  secret  spj-  or  informer. 

The  dictator  was  followed  by  others — Lopez  the  Elder,  and  his  son,  Francisco 
Solano.  But  times  had  changed ;  the  population  had  increased  with  unheard-of 
rapidity  ;  beyond  the  Parana  the  two  Argentine  provinces  of  Corrientes  and  Entre- 
liios  had  been  settled,  and  were  now  in  direct  relation  with  the  European  world. 
It  was  no  longer  possible  for  the  two  conterminous  States  of  Paraguay  and 
Argentina  to  avoid  friendly  or  hostile  contact. 

Instead  of  remaining  in  her  primitive  isolation,  Paraguay  now  needed  a  sea- 
ward outlet,  to  be  obtained  "  by  fair  or  foul  means."  Forming  an  alliance  with 
Uruguay,  which,  being  hemmed  in  between  Brazil  and  Argentina,  had  identical 
interests,  the  president  of  Paraguay  thought  himself  strong  enough  to  try  issues 
with  his  two  powerful  neighbours.  He  had  the  advantage  over  them  of  a  well- 
organised  army,  amply  lurnished  arsenals,  and  flourishing  finances  free  of  all 
public  debt.  Brazil  and  Argentina  were  invaded,  but  he  was  unable  to  reach  the 
sea  in  time  to  help  the  Uruguayans,  who,  as  the  result  of  an  internal  rcvolutiui), 


mSTOET  OF  PAEAGUAY.  295 

suddenly  changed  sides  and  took  part  with  the  Argento-Brazilians  in  repelling 
the  Paraguayan  invasion.  The  little  Republic,  encircled  by  the  two  rivers,  Parana 
and  Paraguay,  as  by  a  deep  moat,  held  out  for  over  five  years  against  the  allies. 
iJuring  this  disastrous  war,  one  of  the  most  terrible  on  record,  Paraguay  sacrificed 
all  her  able-bodied  men.  Retreating  inch  by  inch  from  one  entrenched  camp  to 
another,  from  Humaita  to  Aquidaban,  the  heroic  army,  reduced  in  numbers,  but 
animated  by  a  patriotism  of  which  the  modern  world  offers  no  second  example, 
still  defied  the  enemy  bj-  whom  it  was  vastly  outnumbered.  On  the  battlefields 
the  allies  found  little  but  dead  bodies  ;  nor  all  of  these,  for  many,  fighting  lassoed 
round  the  waist  by  cords  attached  to  the  saddle-bow,  were  borne  dead  or  dying 
from  the  field  by  their  mounts.  Prisoners  tore  the  bandages  from  their  wounds ; 
the  vanquished  preferred  death  to  bondage ;  the  whole  nation  wished  to  perish,  as 
Kumantium  had  perished. 

At  last  the  manhood  of  the  nation  had  almost  entirely  disappeared  by  war, 
famine,  and  cholera.  iN^one  survived  except  invalids,  the  infirm,  the  women  and 
children.  Entrapped  in  a  mountain  gorge,  the  last  heroic  band  fell  with  the 
dictator. 

For  many  centuries,  during  which  nevertheless  so  much  frightful  carnage  had 
been  witnessed,  humanity  had  not  suffered  from  such  a  terrible  struggle,  attended 
bv  such  atrocious  havoc  and  ruin.  The  utter  destruction  of  this  people,  one  of  the 
best  and  kindliest  recorded  in  history,  was  primari'y  due  to  the  enforced  isolation 
in  which  the  Paraguayan  nation  had  been  kept  from  the  very  fii-st,  and  to  the 
doctrine  of  collective  and  absolute  submission  with  which  it  had  been  imbued  by 
its  spiritual  and  temporal  rulers. 

BouxDARTEs — Extent — ^PoprLixiox. 

The  present  frontiers  of  Paraguay  have  been  dictated  by  the  conquerors. 
The  eastern  section,  which  constitutes  Paraguay  proper,  is  strictly  limited  by 
natural  boundaries.  Here  the  Rio  Apa,  constantly  claimed  before  the  war  by  the 
Brazilians  as  their  frontier,  now  separates  Paraguay  from  ilatto  Grosso.  The 
great  bend  of  the  Parana  above  the  Paraguay  confluence  encloses  the  republic  on 
its  east  and  south  sides. 

West  of  the  Paraguay  the  whole  of  the  Gran  Chaco  solitudes  had  been 
claimed  by  Argentina,  which,  having  appropriated  the  territory  of  the  Cis- 
Parana  missions,  now  also  wished  to  annex  the  Cis-Paraguayan  section  of  the 
wilderness.  But  Brazil,  whose  obvious  interest  it  now  is  to  maintain  an  indepen- 
dent Paraguay  as  a  "  btiffer  State  "  against  her  powerful  neighbours,  failed  to 
support  the  claims  of  Argentina,  and  the  question,  on  being  referred  to  the 
arbitration  of  the  United  States,  was  decided  in  favour  of  Paraguay.  The  Rio 
Pilcomayo  thus  became  the  parting  Kne,  and  all  the  inter-fluvial  territory  between 
the  Paraguay  and  the  Parana  was  declared  Paraguayan  domain. 

Thanks  to  this  addition  Paraguay  no  longer  remains  the  smallest  of  the  South 
American  republics.     But  although  larger  in  extent,  she  is  greatly  inferior  in 


290 


AMAZOiSTA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


population  to  Uruguay,  having  (1893)  not  more  than  530,000  inhahitants 
scattered  over  an  area  of  nearly  100,000  square  miles.  Most  of  this  region  is,  in 
fact,  an  uninhabited  wilderness,  and  the  settled  part  is  confined  to  a  narrow 
enclave  on  the  river  between  the  desert  and  the  forest.  Asuncion,  the  capital, 
is  enclosed  by  a  semi-oval  tract  of  cultivated  land  some  2,000  square  miles  in 
extent,  and  to  this  tract  the  true  Paraguay  is  at  present  mainly  limited.  A  small 
town  and  a  few  forest  clearings  are  the  only  traces  of  man  on  the  banks  of  the 

Fig.  126. — FoKMEE  LunTS  Claimed  and  Peesent  Limtts  of  Paeaouay. 
Scale  1  :   14,000,000. 


Territory  formerly  claimed. 


Preeent  Territory. 
310  Miles. 


Parana.  And  this  narrow  domain  enjoys  little  more  than  a  nominal  indepen- 
dence. In  case  of  rupture  with  any  of  her  powerful  neighbours,  Paraguay  would 
be  utterly  helpless  in  the  presence  of  her  former  conquerors. 


Pkogress  of  Discovery. 

From  the  early  days  of  the  Spanish  occupation  Paraguay  had  attracted 
explorers,  and  the  foundation  of  the  city  of  Asuncion  is  even  anterior  to  the 
definite  settlement  of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  colony  of  Paraguay  had  already  been 
constituted  in  153G,  under  Juan  de  Ayolas,  and  nearly  the  whole  space  at  present 


GEOGRAPHICAL  EESEAECH,  PARAGUAY.  297 

occupied  by  the  Argentine  Republic,  Tucuman,  Cordoba,  Buenos  Ayres,  was 
governed  from  Asuncion.  The  navigable  waters  were  surveyed  as  far  as  ilatto 
Grosso,  and  the  mainstream  was  brought  into  connection  with  the  Andean  valleys 
by  routes  traced  across  the  plains  of  Bolivia. 

But,  beyond  the  names  of  the  regions  traversed,  and  the  most  summary 
reports  on  the  general  relief  of  the  land,  Spain  communicated  nothing  to  Europe 
on  the  subject  of  her  possessions  in  the  centre  of  the  continent.  All  that  was 
known  came  from  the  Franciscan  and  Jestiit  missionaries,  who  lived  in  the  midst 
of  the  aborigines.  The  true  character  of  the  country  was  not  revealed  till  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  thanks  to  the  explorations  of  Azara,  who  spent  twenty 
years  visiting  every  part  of  the  Plate  river  and  its  affluents.  Towards  1821 
Aime  Bonpland,  carried  off  by  the  soldiers  of  Francia,  was  compelled,  much 
against  his  will,  to  continue  for  nine  years  his  botanical  researches,  completed 
since  the  war  by  Balansa.  Rengger  and  Longchamp  were  also  forcibly  detained 
for  several  years  in  Paraguay,  which  benefited  by  their  studies.  Later  a  few 
sailors  and  diplomatists  received  permission  to  ascend  and  descend  the  course  of 
the  Paraguay,  and  the  results  of  their  explorations  have  also  been  published. 

Leverger,  a  Frenchman  who  became  a  naturalised  Brazilian  under  the  name 
of  Baron  de  Melgaco,  began  his  survey  of  the  river  in  1S46,  and  prepared  charts 
of  its  valley  from  its  sources  to  the  Parana  confluence.  In  18-53  the  United 
States  obtained  permission  for  the  Water  Witch,  under  Thomas  Page,  to  ascend 
the  river  and  its  Bermejo,  Pilcomayo,  and  Otuquis  affluents.  Six  years  afterwards 
Mouchez  also  ascended  the  Paraguay  during  his  great  voyage  of  circumnavigation 
round  the  eastern  part  of  the  continent. 

But  the  main  problem  of  a  practicable  waterway  by  the  Pilcomayo  between 
Paraguay  and  Bolivia  remained  unsolved,  and  even  now  is  but  half  solved.  The 
journey  is  known  to  be  possible,  though  beset  with  great  difficulties  and  dangers. 
Xot  one  of  the  ntimerous  expeditions  sent  to  explore  the  Pilcomayo  has  been 
entirely  successful;  but  they  have  established  the  fact  that,  without  extensive 
hydraulic  works,  this  river  can  be  of  little  service  in  facilitating  the  communica- 
tion  between  the  Plate  estuary  and  the  Andes. 

Nevertheless  intercourse  between  the  surrounding  peoples  cannot  fail, 
sooner  or  later,  to  be  developed  and  facilitated  across  these  low-lying  watery 
plains.  Progress  is  already  being  made  from  three  different  directions — 
from  Bolivia  by  the  settlement  of  the  upland  valleys  ;  from  Argentina  by 
the  gradual  extension  of  tillage  over  the  plains  of  Gran  Chaco  ;  lastly  from 
Paraguay  by  the  ever-advancing  camping  grounds  of  the  woodman  and  the 
establishment  of  cattle  runs  on  the  open  steppe  lands.  Although  published 
in  fragments  and  difficult  to  harmonise,  the  itineraries  of  explorers  are 
nevertheless  valuable  documents  already  available  for  the  future  map  of  the 
Republic.  At  present  little  has  appeared  except  the  survey  of  the  main  stream 
of  the  Jujuy  and  of  the  other  rivers  explored  by  Bourgade,  together  with  the 
official  surveys  of  the  northern  frontier.  Bourgade's  map  of  Paraguay  is  certainly 
by  far  the  best  as  well  as  the  largest  hitherto  published.     It  is  based  on  his  own 


298  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

observations  made  in  the  years  1887-88,  on  the  hitherto  unpublished  documenfs 
of  the  Boundary  Commission  of  1871-73,  and  on  the  maps  prepared  by  Mouchez 
and  Toeppon.  An  excellent  reprint  of  this  map  accompanies  Mr.  E.  G.  Eaveu- 
stein's  English  edition  of  Bourgade's  work  on  Paraguay.* 


Physical  Features. 

Paraguay,  forming  geographically  a  southern  extension  of  Matto  Grosso,  is 
traversed  by  a  chain  of  heights  which  continue  southwards  to  the  watershed  of 
the  Parexi  plateau.  About  the  sources  of  the  Apa,  this  divide  between  the  Para- 
guay and  Parana  affluents  is  commonly  known  as  the  Sierra  Amambay.  One  of 
its  ridges,  which,  by  arresting  the  Parana  waters,  gives  rise  to  the  Guayra  Falls, 
takes  the  name  of  the  Sierra  Mbaracayu  (Maracaju).  These  crests,  forming  the 
political  frontier  towards  Brazil,  are  nowhere  high  enough  to  prevent  hunters  and 
yerhateros  (yerba  mate  gatherers)  from  passing  from  one  slope  to  the  other.  They 
■were  crossed  by  Sandalio  Sosa  and  by  Bourgade  to  the  east  of  the  sources  of  the 
Jujuy,  and  although  not  yet  measured,  the  summits  of  the  Amambay  and  Maracaju 
ridges  would  appear  to  fall  below  3,500  feet.  The  expression  Cordillera  de  los 
Moiifcs,  that  is,  "  Forest  Range,"  locally  applied  to  them,  shows  that  the  chief 
obstacle  to  the  exploration  of  the  country  is  due  not  so  much  to  these  ridges  them- 
selves as  to  the  dense  tangle  of  vegetation  covering  their  slopes. 

South  of  the  Maracaju  bifurcation  the  divide  is  continued  in  the  interior,  not 
by  a  regular  chain,  but  by  a  succession  of  heights  and  rising-grounds,  hyperboli- 
Ciilly  called  "  sierras  "  and  "  Cordilleras."  Here  and  there  the  horizon  is  limited 
or  indicated  by  a  few  lomas  ("hills"),  or  r.erritos,  isolated  eminences,  and  a  last 
ridge  striking  across  the  bed  of  the  Parana  forms  the  Apipe  rapids  below  Villa 
Encarnacion.  But  the  whole  region  between  the  parallel  of  the  Guayra  Falls  on 
the  Parana  and  San  Pedro  on  the  Paraguay  (24°  S.  latitude)  continues  to  incline 
gently  in  the  direction  of  the  south.  Towards  the  south-west  corner  near  the 
confluence  of  the  two  mainstreams  the  elevated  plateau  falls  abruptly  in  cliffs 
and  bluffs  limited  by  the  shores  of  an  ancient  sea,  which  is  now  represented  by 
lagoons,  morasses,  and  grassy  tracts  scarcely  rising  above  the  fluvial  level. 

Sandstones  prevail  in  most  of  the  hilly  ranges,  while  the  plains  are  formed  of 
argillaceous  beds  and  sandy  stones  belonging  to  the  tertiary  epoch.  In  s)me 
districts  are  scon  volcanic  cones,  such  as  the  Cerro  Tacumbu  just  below  Asuncion, 
and  farther  east  the  Sierra  d'Acay  (2,000  feet)  near  the  sources  of  the  Mbuarapey 
affluent  of  the  Tibicuary.  Earthquakes  are  often  felt,  and  numerous  mineral 
springs  rise  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Vast  spaces  are  covered  with  a  red  earth,  which  in  some  places  is  several 
yards  thick,  and  which  is  deeply  ravined  near  the  running  waters.  Some  of  the 
fertile  tracts  about  Asuncion  belong  to  this  formation,  ■which  contains  numerous 
well-preserved  shells  constantly  washed  up  by  the  rains.     As  in  S.  Paulo,  this  red 

•  rnrafliiaii,  the  Land  and  People,  ^c,  by  Dr.  E.  Je  Bourgado  La  DarJyc,  Euglisli  Editiou,  edited  by 
L.  G.  Kaveubteiu,  1S02. 


TvIVEES  OF  PAEAGrAT.  299 

soil  is  extremely  rich,  and  grows  excellent  tobacco.  The  black  alluvia  deposited 
by  the  inundations  are  also  very  fertile  in  some  favoured  districts  ;  but  in  many 
places  they  consist  of  argillaceous  layers,  which  when  dry  become  very  hard, 
forming  a  sub-soil  impenetrable  to  the  plough.  Elsewhere  the  surface  is  strewn 
with  a  fine  sand  derived  from  the  decomposition  of  quartzose  rocks,  and  producing 
nothing  but  tufts  of  scanty  grasses.  In  the  hills  all  minerals,  except  iron  and 
salt,  are  rare. 

ElVERS. 

The  Parana  belongs  to  the  republic  only  on  its  right  bank  between  the 
Guayra  Falls  and  its  confluence  with  the  Paraguay,  which  in  its  lower  course 
traverses  the  State  to  which  it  gives  its  name.  The  Paraguay  flows  in  a  sluggish 
sinuous  stream  about  1,000  feet  broad  in  the  normal  direction  from  north  to  south. 
During  the  summer  floods  it  rises  over  20  feet  above  the  Parana  confluence,  and 
at  this  period  the  flood  waters  cover  the  plains  on  both  sides,  stemming  the  current 
of  the  affluents,  but  developing  no  great  lakes  like  those  of  ilatto  Grosso,  ex- 
cept in  the  low-lying  tracts  above  the  confluence.  It  receives  far  more  copious 
contributions  from  the  east  than  from  the  west,  a  fact  partly  due  to  the  extremely 
slight  incline  in  Gran  Chaco,  where  the  flood  waters  spread  out  in  vast  shallow 
basins,  and  are  thus  exposed  to  immense  loss  by  evaporation. 

South  of  the  Apa,  forming  the  frontier  towards  Brazil,  the  Paraguay  is 
joined  on  its  left  bank  by  the  picturesque  Aquidaban,  and  lower  down  by  the 
Ipane  and  the  Jujuy,  the  last  mentioned  being  navigable  by  boats  throughout 
most  of  its  course,  which  is  interrupted  only  by  a  single  cataract  below  the  superb 
cascade  discovered  by  the  Yerbateros  in  1879.  In  the  southern  parts  of  Paraguay 
the  largest  eastern  affluent  is  the  Tibicuary,  which  winds  in  enormous  bends 
through  marshy  plains,  formerly  a  lacustrine  basin,  still  represented  by  the  exten- 
sive freshjvater  Ipoa  lagoon  below  Asuncion. 

On  the  right  (west)  side,  the  chief  affluent  is  the  Pilcomayo  (Piscu-ilayu, 
"  Bird-River "),  which  so  many  modem  travellers  have  vainly  attempted  to 
thoroughly  explore,  although  ascended  in  1721,  a  great  distance  above  the 
confluence  ("364  leagues"?)  by  the  Jesuit  Gabriel  Patino  with  a  party  of 
seventy  priests,  Spanish  soldiers  and  Guarani  Indians.  But  Patino,  attacked  by 
the  fierce  Toba  nation,  was  compelled  to  return  before  reaching  Bolivia.  Twenty 
years  afterwards  Castauares,  also  a  Jesuit,  navigated  the  stream  for  83  days 
without  penetrating  to  Boli\-ia,  and,  during  a  second  expedition,  he  was  mtirdered 
by  the  Indians. 

Then  followed  after  a  long  interval  the  Bolivian  expedition  under  General 
Margariuos,  which  failed  to  get  much  below  las  Juntas,  that  is,  the  "  Junction  " 
of  the  two  main  head  streams.  The  next  year  another  party  pushed  farther 
down,  but  the  current  becoming  shallower  instead  of  deeper,  the  boats  had  to  be 
abandoned,  and  the  explorers  retraced  their  steps  from  a  point  at  an  unknown 
distance  above  the  Paraguay  confluence. 


300 


AMAZONIA  AND  L.^  PLATA. 


In  1882,  Crevaux,  after  his  brilliant  discoveries  in  Guiana,  attempted  to 
descend  the  Pilcomayo  ;  but  about  midway  he  was  massacred  with  nearly  all  his 
party  by  the  formidable  Tobas,  who  in  the  eighteenth  century  had  driven  back 
Patino  and  killed  Castanares.  Crevaux  was  followed  by  Fontana,  who  survej'cd 
the  middle  course  of  the  river  in  the  Toba  territory;  Feilberg,  who  ascended  160 
miles  to  the  rapids,  which  he  was  unable  to  surmount ;  Thouar  and  Campos,  who 
descended  beyond  the  point  reached  by  Crevaux,  and  then  reached  the  Paraguay 
by  an  overland  route  across  the  j)lams  ;  John  Page,  sou  of  the  explorer  of  the 
Paraguay,  who  died  in  1890,  worn  out  by  nine  months  of  siu'veys  on  the  Pilco- 


Fig.  127. — The  PiLCOiLiTO. 

Scale  1  :  4,000,000. 


Vrest  oFbfeenwic^i 


94  Miles. 


mayo ;  lastly,  Olaf  Storm,  who  in  the  same  year  overcame  the  rapids  and  then 
went  astray  in  a  sea  of  floating  vegetation. 

On  the  Bolivian  frontier,  as  well  as  in  its  lower  reaches,  the  Pilcomayo  is 
navigable  by  river  craft  of  considerable  size ;  but  towards  its  middle  course  it 
spreads  over  a  level  plain,  where  the  current  is  too  feeble  to  excavate  a  deep  or 
permanent  channel.  In  1844  the  Margarifios  expedition  was  arrested  in  a  sandy 
plain  where  the  stream,  dammed  up  by  a  barrier  of  snags,  ramified  into  about 
sixty  branches  with  scarcely  perceptible  current,  and  even  disappearing  in  the 
ground.  During  the  floods  the  whole  of  the  region  is  a  vast  lamdo,  "  drowned 
land,"  "  slough,"  choked  with  islets  of  floating  plants.     Lower  down  the  incline 


EIVEBS  OP  PARAGUAY. 


301 


becomes  more  decided,  and  the  water  flows,  not  in  a  rocky  bed,  but  over  layers 
of  tosca,  an  extremely  tenacious  white  clay,  probably  saline,  for  the  Pilcomayo 
discharges  brackish  waters  into  the  Paraguay. 

It  was  long  supposed  that  its  mouths  had  frequently  shifted  ;  but  lateral 
channels,  false  rivers  and  creeks  may  possibly  have  wrongly  been  taken  for 
branches  of  the  Pilcomayo.  The  present  mouth  joins  the  Paraguay  three  miles 
below  Asuncion,  opposite  the  Lambare  bluff.     But  in  1721  the  chief  branch  was 


Fig.  128  — View  taken  on  the  Pilcomayo. 


stated  to  be  "nine  leagues,"  or  about  26  miles  away.  The  Kio  Oonfuso,  which 
reaches  the  Paraguay  22  miles  above  Asuncion,  is  a  different  river,  and  not  an  arm 
of  the  Pilcomayo,  as  shown  by  its  much  more  saline  water.  But  when  in  flood 
the  two  streams  may  perhaps  communicate  through  the  intervening  bafiados.  On 
the  other  hand  the  Araguay-Guazu,  explored  in  1886  by  Fernandez  for  440  miles 
from  its  confluence  with  the  Paraguay,  probably  branches  off  from  the  Pilcomayo 
about  the  middle  part  of  its  course.     Both  streams  resemble  each  other  in  their 


302  AlIAZONTA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

general  aspect,  temperature  and  slight  degree  of  salinity,  and  the  term  Araguay 
(Araaquay)  has  been  applied  by  the  natives  to  the  Pilcomayo  properly  so  called. 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  thePilcomayoisnot  in  its  present  condition  navi- 
gable, and  that  it  is  consequently  useless  as  a  commercial  highway  between  Bolivia 
and  Paraguay.  But  some  engineers  have  suggested  that  it  might  be  made  avail- 
able by  canalisation.  Such  an  idea  is  pronounced  visionary  by  Bourgade,  who 
points  out  that  it  would  involve  an  outlay  only  to  be  incurred  in  densely  peopled 
regions,  or  on  great  international  highways  such  as  the  Suez  Canal.  The  cost 
would  be  enormous,  without  any  prospect  of  adequate  returns  on  the  outlay.  The 
population  is  too  scanty  in  both  regions  to  hope  for  any  great  development  of 
traffic  ;  nor  are  the  surrounding  districts  suitable  for  settlement,  as  they  consist 
for  the  most  part  of  saline  sandy  wastes  and  marshy  clays,  imfit  either  for  tillage, 
stockbreeding,  or  the  permanent  residence  of  the  white  race. 

In  its  lower  course  below  the  Tibicuarj^,  the  Paraguay  is  joined  on  its  right 
bank  by  the  Argentine  Hio  Bermejo,  whose  red  current  flows  a  long  way  side  by 
side  without  mingling  with  the  whitish  waters  of  the  main  stream.  Beyond 
the  confluence  the  Paraguay  develops  two  great  bends,  one  of  which  washes  cliffs 
20  feet  high,  where  till  recently  stood  the  formidable  Paraguayan  stronghold 
of  Humaita.  A  little  farther  on  it  joins  the  Parana  through  the  Tres  Bocas, 
three  shifting  channels  of  unequal  volume.  The  tract,  over  125  miles  wide, 
which  stretched  along  both  sides  of  the  Parana  about  the  confluence,  and  which 
is  still  studded  with  shallow  marsh  waters,  was  certainly  at  one  time  the  bed  of 
an  inland  sea,  where  the  two  great  rivers  converged. 

This  basin  had  a  double  discharge  through  the  Lower  Parana  and  the 
Uruguay  southwards  to  the  Plate  estuary.  After  the  disappearance  of  the  in- 
land sea,  the  rivers  long  continued  to  wander  over  the  plains  in  search  of  a  decided 
channel.  Even  still  certain  marshy  tracts  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Paraguaj-an 
Mesopotamia  have  the  meandering  aspect  of  rivers  that  have  overflowed  their 
banks. 


Climate. 

The  almost  uninhabited  northern  part  of  Paraguay  is  traversed  by  the  tropic 
of  Capricorn,  so  that  the  more  settled  southern  districts  lie  entirely  in  the  tem- 
perate zone  with  its  alternating  seasons,  as  in  West  Europe.  Nevertheless,  the 
natives  scarcely  recognise  any  contrasts  except  those  of  winter  and  summer.  The 
transition  is  sudden,  and  the  spring  season  is  all  the  less  noticed  that  most  of  the 
trees  preserve  their  foliage  throughout  the  winter.  Drought  far  more  than  cold 
causes  them  to  shed  their  leaves,  and  oranges,  the  characteristic  fruit  of  the  Para- 
guay gardens,  ripen  in  winter. 

The  temperature  ranges  from  torrid  heats  to  the  freezing  point,  and  the  grass 
sparkles  with  hoar  frost,  especially  in  the  southern  savannas  exposed  to  intense 
nocturnal  radiation.  But  these  frosts  do  little  harm  except  to  the  sugar-canes, 
whose  tissues  are  disturbed  by  the  sudden  thaw  at  sunrise. 


CLIMATE  AND  FLOEA  OF  PAEAGUAT.  803 

Like  the  temperature,  the  winds,  which  generally  follow  the  course  of  the 
river  either  from  north  to  south,  or  from  south  to  north,  are  also  subject  to  abrupt 
changes,  which  are  much  felt,  especially  by  immigrants.  The  most  dominant 
wind  is  a  kind  of  sirocco  from  ilatto  Grosso,  which  ia  summer  makes  the  atmo- 
sphere almost  stiiling,  even  at  night.  On  the  other  hand  the  southern  wind,  at 
times  confounded  with  the  pampero,  causes  lung  complaints,  arrests  the  vege- 
tation, and  occasionally  even  destroys  the  crops.  The  pleasant  easterly  breezes, 
which  temper  both  the  hot  and  cold  weather,  are  unfortunately  of  rare  occurrence. 
The  rains,  far  more  copious  in  the  east  than  on  the  western  plains,  fall  usually 
at  the  equinoxes,  and  are  frequently  accompanied  by  thunderstorms  and  gales, 
called  rcii  fan-ones.  On  the  whole  the  country  suffers  more  from  drought  than 
from  excessive  moisture.* 

Dr.  Bourgade,  who  made  a  special  study  of  the  climatic  conditions,  considers 
Paraguay  to  be  a  perfectly  salubrious  region,  and  well  suited  for  European  settle- 
ment. A  perpetual  spring  prevails  for  nine  months  in  the  year,  and  although  the 
other  three  months  are  undeniably  hot,  the  heat  is  less  scorching  than  it  is  in 
ITatto  Grosso,  Venezuela,  and  many  other  parts  of  South  America.  Even  in  tlie 
hot  season  scarcely  a  week  passes  without  heavy  rains,  which  have  the  effect  of 
refreshing  the  atmosphere  and  lowering  the  temperature. 

Except  small-pox,  on  the  decrease  since  the  introduction  of  vaccination,  there 
are  no  epidemics,  and  very  little  malaria  beyond  the  thinly  peopled  eastern  dis- 
tricts, which  are  subject  to  an  intermittent  fever  locally  called  chucho.  Endemics 
also  are  rare,  but  rheumatic  affections,  antemia,  and  other  disorders  of  the  blood,  due 
to  defective  sanitary  arrangements,  are  common  enough.  In  a  word,  this  authority 
holds  that  "  Paraguay  offers  a  promising  field  for  immigration,  the  climate  being 
both  temperate  and  healthy,  a  combination  that  is  not  always  found."  t 


Flora — Fauna. 

Paraguay  belongs  rather  to  the  Brazilian  than  to  the  Argentine  botanical 
zone,  and  its  rivers  are  bordered  by  leafy  forests  resembling  the  mafias  of  Brazil. 
The  trees,  which  present  a  great  variety  of  forms,  have  for  the  most  part  an 
extremely  close  texture  ;  hence  they  do  not  naturally  float,  and  to  form  rafts 
they  have  to  be  made  buoyant  by  means  of  reeds  and  wood  with  thick  sap.  They 
are  also  hard  to  burn,  but  yield  an  excellent  charcoal.  In  an  industrial  region 
they  would  supply  admirable  building  material,  cabinet  and  dvewoods.  The 
caraguata,  a  species  of  bromeliacea,  yields  a  far  finer  and  stronger  thread  than 
that  of  hemp.     The  caranday   and  other  palms  intermingle  with  the  araucaria, 

*  Meteorological  conditions  of  Asuncion : — 

Temperature. 

Lat.  Altitade.  ^^  " .       Eainy  Days.         BainfeU. 

Min.  Mean.  Max. 

25°  16"  330  feet  14=  Fahr.  76"  101=  79  CC  inches 

t  Op.  cit.,  p.  73. 


304 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


which  in  some  districts  is  an  exotic  introduced  by  the  Jesuits — hence  its  name, 
arbol  de  las  Misiones,  "  Mission  tree." 

To  the  arborescent  flora  of  spontaneous  growth  the  people  are  indebted  for 
the  staple  of  their  export  trade,  yerba  mate.  Besides  the  forests,  which  cover 
the  greater  part  of  the  region  east  of  the  Paraguay,  stretches  of  savannas  occur 


Fig.  129. — FoEEBT  AND  CiMPoa  Reoions. 

Scale  1  :  7,50(1,000. 


186  Miles. 


here  and  there,  nearly  all  occupied  by  waving  seas  of  the  maccga  grass,  which 
grows  to  the  height  of  a  man.  The  hard  stalk  and  sharp  blades  of  this  plant 
make  travelling  extremely  difficult,  and  even  dangerous. 

Like   the  flora,  the  fauna  belongs  to   the  Brazilian  zone.       There   are  three 
.species    of    monkeys,    blood-sucking    vampires,    jaguars,    pumas,    tapirs,    besides 


FAUNA  OF  PARAGUAY.  305 

the  capyvara,  boa,  crocodile,  termites,  ants,  and  their  enemy,  the  tamanoir. 
The  uandu  ostrich  frequents  the  campos,  though  in  far  fewer  numbers  than  in 
Argentina.  For  certain  species  the  Paraguay  river  forms  a  divide,  and  the  faunas 
on  either  side  present  a  great  contrast,  especially  since  the  left  bank  has  been 
settled  by  the  white  colonists,  who  seldom  venture  to  enter  the  Chaco  region  on 
the  opposite  side.  According  to  Garcilaso  de  la  Tega,  Chaco  means  "  hunting- 
ground,"  and  these  plains  are  still  roamed  by  multitudes  of  animals  pursued  by 
the  wild  Indians. 

Of  the  carnivora  by  far  the  most  formidable  is  the  jaguar,  which  is  said  to  be 
strong  enough  to  carry  off  an  ox  or  a  horse.  It  avoids  the  haunts  of  men,  and, 
despite  the  statements  of  some  travellers  to  the  contrary,  will  scarcely  ever  attack 
human  beings.  "  Many  a  time,"  writes  Bourgade,  "  I  and  my  companions  met 
one  in  the  underwood,  and  it  never  failed  to  give  a  savage  growl  and  to  boimd 
rapidly  away ;  and  often,  as  a  group  of  them  have  collected  round  my  encamp- 
ment, I  do  not  think  they  have  ever  approached  within  twenty  yards  of  it — in 
fact,  we  became  so  accustomed  to  them  that,  when  we  were  tired,  we  would  let  our 
fires  go  out,  and  ourselves  fall  o£E  to  sleep  without  the  precaution  of  providing  a 
sentinel.  Ever  and  again  we  might  be  aroused  by  the  cracking  noise  of  a  branch 
giving  way  under  the  weight  of  the  brute,  and  on  looking  out  we  could  see  its 
eyes  flashing  in  the  darkness ;  but  there  was  no  fear  of  an  attack."  * 

Another  less  known  beast  of  prey  is  the  aguara-guazu  (Cants  Asarce),  a  species 
of  wild  dog  sometimes  over  30  inches  long,  with  tawny  hair  and  a  black  stripe 
down  the  back,  very  long  legs,  pointed  nose,  long  bushy  tail  like  that  of  the  fox. 
It  haunts  swampy  districts  and  hunts  at  night,  making  a  peculiar  hoarse  bark 
which  can  be  heard  a  great  distance  off.  The  natives  assert  that  it  will  not 
hesitate  to  attack  the  jaguar,  often  with  success. 

Game  still  abounds  almost  everywhere,  and  according  to  Bourgade  it  would 
be  scarcely  possible  to  find  another  region  where  the  sportsman  could  find  more 
scope  for  his  pursuits,  so  great  is  the  variety  of  large  and  small  animals,  such  as 
tapirs,  crocodiles,  peccaries,  deer,  antelopes,  and  many  species  of  birds.  "  Could 
Europeans  only  know  what  is  offered  them  in  Paraguay,  they  would  not  be  long 
in  resorting  to  it  as  eagerly  as  they  now  make  their  way  to  Scotland  or  the 
Caucasus."  t 


Inhabitaxts — The  GuARA^^. 

In  Paraguay  the  great  bulk  of  the  aborigines  were  of  Guarani  stock,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  towns  and  settled  districts  are  still  mainly  Guarani  half-breeds. 
Even  before  the  arrival  of  the  Jesuits  their  civilisation  must  have  given  them  a 
certain  ascendancy,  for  the  Guarani  language  was  sufficiently  diffused  to  be 
adopted  as  the  lengua  geral,  or  common  speech  amongst  the  heterogeneous  popu- 
lations between  the  Oyapok  and  Paraguay  rivers.     The  "  general  language  "  had 

•   Paraguay,  the  Land  and  People,  ^c,  p.  64. 
t  lb.  p.  68. 
VOL.    XIX.  X 


a06  AMAZOXIA  AXD  LA  PLATA. 

its  origin,  not  in  tlie  Jesuit  establishment  of  Porto  Seguro,  as  stated  by  Martins, 
but  in  the  native  market-places,  whence  it  spread  from  tribe  to  tribe. 

In  the  eastern  forests  there  still  survive  a  few  peaceful  groups  of  Coaguas 
(Coj'agua)  and  other  Indians,  who  keep  aloof,  aJ  though  conscious  of  their  kinship 
with  the  other  Guarani,  whose  religioup  ceremonies,  bequeathed  by  the  Jesuits,  they 
imitate  in  a  rude  way.  To  the  same  stock  belong  the  Apitares  ("  Inland  People") 
a  nation  of  potters  and  weavers,  who  occupy  the  territory  between  the  sources  of 
the  Jujuy  and  the  Guayra  Falls. 

The  Guarani  are  amongst  those  aborigines  of  America  who  approach  nearest 
to  the  Mongolic  type.  Nearly  all  of  short  stature,  averaging  about  4  feet  2  or 
3  inches,  stout  and  thick  set,  with  broad  chest  and  shoulders,  and  yellow-brown 
complexion,  they  have  a  round  face  with  low  narrow  brow,  slightly  oblique  eyes 
and  coarse  black  hair. 

On  the  Paraguay  above  Asuncion  dwelt  the  Payaguas,  a  vigorous  race  of 
fishers,  taller  than  the  Guarani,  with  narrower  features  and  more  delicate  frames. 
Most  of  them  perished  in  the  incessant  wars  with  the  Spaniards,  and  the  few 
survivors  were  removed  to  Asuncion,  where,  before  the  war,  they  still  numbered 
about  500  ;  but  nearly  all  fell  in  the  various  battles,  and  in  1878  only  17  remained 
of  the  whole  tribe.  They  were  excellent  craftsmen  and  even  artists,  designing 
elegant  arabesques  and  fictile  vases,  modelling  in  clay  or  carving  in  wood 
statuettes  with  extremely  life-like  expression.  The  Payaguay  language,  which 
differed  fundamentally  from  the  Guarani,  was  so  difficult  to  pronounce,  that  no 
Paraguayan  could  ever  learn  it.  Certain  words  resembled  deep  sighs  far  more 
than  the  sounds  of  articulate  speech. 

The  Lenguas  and  the  Mbayas,  members  of  the  Guaycuru  family,  have  not 
entirely  disappeared,  a  few  still  surviving  in  Chaco,  opposite  Villa  Concepcion. 
In  the  same  district,  but  a  little  farther  north,  facing  the  Apa  confluence,  live 
the  Angaites,  who  still  number  about  1,500.  They  are  a  remnant  of  the  warlike 
tribes,  who  in  the  early  days  of  the  settlement  surrounded  and  massacred  Ayolas's 
little  armed  band. 


The  Abipons  and  Tobas. 

Few  also  survive  of  the  famous  Abipon  nation,  who  down  to  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  still  occupied  a  vast  territory  in  the  south  of  the  present 
Paraguay  and  beyond  the  Parana,  as  well  as  in  Gran  Chaco.  Although  never  very 
numerous,  at  no  time  mustering  1,000  fighting  men,  they  were  much  dreaded  by 
the  settlers,  especially  when  they  had  learnt  towards  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  to  train  and  mount  the  horses  introduced  by  the  Spaniards  into 
the  pampas  region.  In  about  fifty  years  the  Abipons  with  their  Mocovi  allies 
were  stated  to  have  captured  about  100,000  horses  from  the  whites.  "The  land 
is  ours,"  they  said,  "  and  all  that  it  produces  belongs  to  us." 

These  terrible  warriors  had  no  chiefs,  properly  so  called  ;  the  leader  in  their 


3 
Z 

T. 


< 
25 


3 


INHABITANTS  OP  PARAGUAY.  307 

predatory  expeditions  was  an  equal,  whose  strength,  skill  or  energy  inspired  con- 
fidence, but  who  after  the  battle  enjoyed  no  further  privilege.  They  hunted  the 
jaguar  and  eat  its  flesh  in  order  to  assimilate  its  strength,  and  for  analogous 
reasons  despised  the  flesh  of  peaceful  animals.  They  were  firm  believers  in  metem- 
psychosis, supposing  that  cowards  and  bad  people  passed  into  the  bodies  of 
noxious  reptiles,  while  they  themselves  became  the  associates  of  the  teal  who 
hovered  in  flocks  above  the  lagoons.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  they  became  Christians,  but  since  then  they  have  ceased  to  exist  as  a 
separate  nation,  being  either  merged  in  the  surroimding  populations,  or  swept 
away  by  epidemics. 

The  Tobas,  old  allies  and  perhaps  kinsmen  of  the  Abipons,  not  only  still 
survive  but  even  maintain  their  independence  as  a  powerful  and  aggressive 
nation.  They  have  often  attacked  the  Paraguayan  and  Argentine  settlements  in 
Chaco,  and  the  disastrous  end  of  more  than  one  expedition  to  the  Pilcomaj"0 
valley  shows  how  dangerous  it  is  to  enter  their  territory.  They  roam  both  sides 
of  that  river  far  to  the  north  and  south,  and  they  have  been  met  in  the  whole 
region  from  the  banks  of  the  Paraguay  westwards  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes. 
They  are  a  tall  race,  from  5  feet  6  inches  to  6  feet  high,  with  thick  skin  "  like 
an  ox-hide,"  so  that  they  can  walk  even  on  thorny  ground  without  sandals. 
From  the  marshy  nature  of  the  land  they  have  acqiiired  the  curious  habit  of 
always,  even  on  dry  ground,  raising  the  foot  at  every  step  vertically  to  the 
level  of  the  knee.  In  the  central  regions  they  still  insert  wooden  discs  in  the 
ear-lobe,  whence  the  term  Oregudos  and  Ore/ones,  "  big-eared,"  applied  to  them 
as  well  as  to  others  in  Amazonia  by  the  Spaniards.  The  women  tattoo  them- 
selves with  straight  and  circular  Knes  in  blue  and  red,  and  apparently  also 
dve  the  hair,  which  passes  from  the  normal  black  to  a  chestnut,  and  even  a 
yellow  shade. 

The  Tobas  cultivate  no  land,  lead  the  nomad  life  of  hunters  and  fishers,  are 
much  given  to  drunken  orgies,  and  from  childhood  upwards  are  habituated  to 
scenes  of  bloodshed.  Through  filial  pity  the  children  often  despatch  their  sick 
parents,  and  after  the  battle  the  warriors  bring  the  mangled  remains  of  the  slain 
to  their  women,  reserving  the  head  and  hair  for  themselves. 

When  a  woman  dies  mother  and  infant  are  buried  together.  On  reaching 
the  age  of  puberty,  girls  are  secluded  for  a  few  days,  and  then  entertained  with 
a  great  feast,  accompanied  by  much  singing,  music  and  dancing.  Amongst  the 
Tobas  the  marriage  rite  is  extremely  simple.  The  suitor  accepted  by  the  young 
woman's  father  goes  off  to  the  hunt,  kills  some  large  game,  and  lays  it  at  the 
feet  of  bis  betrothed,  as  a  proof  of  his  strength,  courage,  and  power  to  support 
a  wife  and  family.  Married  folks  sleep  with  their  feet  turned  to  the  east,  in 
order  that  the  sun  may  shine  on  their  soles  and  teach  them  to  walk  in  the 
right  path,  for  the  day-god  diffuses  aU  virtue  through  his  rays.  The  Tobas  are 
strict  monogamists,  the  women  being  of  an  extremely  jealous  temperament  and 
admitting  no  partner  in  the  domestic  circle.  At  the  least  sign  of  rivalry  the 
matter  is  settled  by  a  duel,  which  often  ends  fatally.     Stripped  to  the  waist,  the 


808  AAIAZOXIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

loins  girdled  mth  a  jaguar  skin,  the  two  furies  arm  themselves  with  a  sharp  bone 
or  some  other  cutting  implement,  which  they  seek  to  plant  in  the  breast  or 
body  of  their  antagonist,  the  men  assisting  with  imperturbable  gravity  at  the 
deadlj'  combat. 

Among  these  Toba  Indians  are  m'any  Hispano- American  refugees,  who  have 
made  their  escape  from  Paraguay,  Corrientes,  and  Santiago.  But  they  are  not 
easily  detected,  except  by  the  hair  on  their  face.  "  Men  who  have  but  a  little 
white  blood  in  their  veins,  and  only  a  few  points  of  the  European  type,  become 
still  less  distinguishable  in  the  costume  of  Adam  before  the  Fall  and  after  j^ears 
of  an  Indian  life.  A  youth,  however,  who  had  been  stolen  when  a  child,  had 
retained  his  natural  light-brown  hair,  and  his  face  left  no  room  for  doubt  as  to 
his  parentage.  Another  Christian  was  a  chief.  He  was  a  certain  Vincenzino, 
formerly  the  manager  of  an  estancia  at  Santiago,  where  he  was  well  known. 
He  was  a  fine  tall  man,  sunburnt,  and  with  a  short  grizzled  beard.  He  uttered 
very  few  words,  and  aifected  to  be  unable  to  express  himself  in  Castilian.  This 
was  an  artifice  to  avoid  rousing  the  suspicion  of  the  Indians,  by  whom  Indianized 
Christians  are  forbidden  to  speak  in  an  enemy's  language  that  is  not  understood 
by  themselves.  Such  Christians,  therefore,  remain  mute  and  motionless  as 
statues. 

"  Fortune  for  a  long  time  has  favoured  the  Tobas,  who  occupj- the  best  lands  on 
the  banks  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay,  being  about  sixty  leagues,  or,  if  measured 
by  the  windings  of  the  river,  a  hundred.  By  secret  trading  with  Corrientes 
and  the  Paraguayan  Pepublic,  the}'  have  provided  themselves  with  firearms. 
Moreover,  being  farthest  from  the  continually  advancing  Christian  frontier,  they 
receive  a  considerable  contingent  of  the  convicts,  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken. 
In  this  way  the  Vilelas  and  the  Chiulipos  have  become  mixed  with  them,  and  the 
case  will  be  the  same  with  the  Mocovitos,  who  live  in  the  south-west,  along  the 
frontiers  of  Santa  Fe  and  Santiago,  and  whose  language  is  not  dissimilar,  many 
words  being  identical.''  * 

But  these  Gran  Chaco  Indians  are  not  men  of  many  words,  and  Mr.  Knight 
witnessed  a  scene  on  the  banks  of  the  Paraguay,  which  was  highly  characteristic 
of  their  taciturn  disposition.  "  We  saw  four  Indians  come  stealthily  down  to  the 
bank,  armed  with  long  lances.  Then,  lying  down  among  the  reeds,  they  gazed 
silently  into  the  water  till  they  saw  some  big  fish  pass  by,  when,  with  wonderful 
skill,  they  speared  them  one  after  the  other,  and  threw  them  on  the  bank.  Next 
they  lit  a  fire,  roasted  the  fish  they  had  caught,  and  devoured  them.  This  done, 
they  picked  up  their  weapons,  and  crept  back  into  the  woods  as  noiselessly  and 
stealthily  as  they  had  come.  The  whole  time — some  three  hours — that  they 
were  on  the  river-bank,  not  one  of  these  men  spoke  a  word  ;  they  gave  the 
necessary  directions  to  each  other  by  slight  inclinations  of  the  head  only.  As 
BOon  as  they  had  gone,  the  kites  and  vultures  that  had  been  waiting  patiently 
around  came  down  and  finished  the  remains  of  the  fish."t 

*  Pelleschi,  JSight  Months  on  the  Gran  Chaco,  p.  27. 
t  Cruise  of  the  Falcon,  II.,  p.  102. 


THE  RIEAGUAY  MISSIONS.  309 

The  Paraguay  Missions. 

In  the  reduction  of  the  Paraguay  and  Chaco  Indians  the  chief  instruments 
had  been  the  Jesuits,  who  devoted  themselves  to  this  work  for  two  centuries,  in 
the  face  of  tremendous  obstacles,  which  at  last  became  insurmountable.  Of  these 
difficulties  the  most  formidable  were  not  hunger,  thirst,  famine,  epidemics,  or 
the  savage  aborigines,  but  their  own  kindred,  the  white  settlers,  soldiers,  civilians, 
rival  religious  and  secular  missionaries.  They  aimed  at  constituting  theocratic 
communities  amongst  the  aborigines,  who  were  regarded  by  the  white  adventurers 
as  mere  game  and  legitimate  prey,  although  to  be  sure.  Pope  Paul  III.  had,  in 
1537,  officially  declared  that  the  Indians  were  "  real  human  beings,  capable  of 
understanding  the  Catholic  faith  and  of  receiving  the  sacraments." 

Nevertheless,  in  most  of  the  churches  they  were  denied  the  communion  on 
the  ground  of  inherent  stupidity,  ignorance  and  depravity.  The  kidnappers 
organised  themselves  in  bands  to  capture  whole  tribes,  killing  the  aged  and 
infirm,  and  driving  the  able-bodied  men  before  them  at  the  point  of  the  lance 
like  droves  of  cattle.  Hence  the  Jesuits  who  grouped  the  natives  in  orderly 
communities,  were  regarded  as  usurpers  of  the  pubHc  property,  and  every  effort 
was  made  to  deprive  them  of  this  human  live-stock.  They  were  also  detested  as 
"aliens,"  a  charge  to  which  their  very  organisation  exposed  them,  for  their 
country  was  the  Catholic,  that  is,  the  "  Universal "  church.  Whatever  their 
accidental  nationality,  whether  Spaniards  or  Portuguese,  French  or  Italians, 
Germans  or  Slavs,  thej'  recognised  none  of  the  political  divisions  introduced  into 
the  Xew  World ;  and  to  them  it  mattered  little  whether  their  Indian  congrega- 
tions were  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  "  ilost  Christian  King,"  or  to  "  His 
Most  Faithful  Majesty." 

In  many  local  insurrections  they  had  also  to  suffer  from  the  jealousy  of  other 
religious  orders,  Dominicans,  Franciscans,  Merceiiarios  or  "  Brothers  of  Mercy," 
and  in  the  towns  they  were  expelled  from  their  churches,  while  their  congrega- 
tions were  reduced  to  servitude.  Then,  after  succeeding,  in  the  teeth  of  these 
persecutions,  in  founding  their  theocracy,  their  neophytes  were  reported  to  have 
brought  them  great  quantities  of  gold,  and  a  yell  of  hatred  was  raised  on  all 
sides  against  them.  But  the  Jesuits  had  amassed  no  gold,  and  although  thej' 
possessed  substantial  wealth  in  their  plantations  and  live-stock,  it  had  no  value 
unless  maintained  b}'  continuous  labour. 

After  their  arrival  at  Bahia  in  1549  their  missions  were  gradually  spread 
southwards  to  Porto  Seguro,  to  Piratininga  and  S.  Paulo.  But  the  great  field 
of  their  operations  lay  farther  inland,  along  both  banks  of  the  Upper  Parana, 
about  the  presumed  frontiers  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  domains.  In  this 
secluded  region  they  succeeded  in  civUising  over  100,000  natives ;  but  the  kid- 
nappers were  still  on  their  track,  and  in  the  three  years,  from  1628  to  1631,  the 
Paulistas,  themselves  nearly  all  Indians  on  the  mother's  side,  were  reported  to 
have  captured  60,000  within  the  territory  of  the  missions.  Then  the  directors 
of  the  Guavra  reductions  saw  that  they  would  have  to  migrate  still  to  the  west,  in 


310 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


order  to  place  more  extenslye  woodlands  and  more  numerous  cataracts  between 
themselves  and  their  relentless  persecutors.  But  in  the  terrible  exodus  they  lost 
more  than  half  of  their  devoted  adherents  by  epidemics,  disasters,  and  hardships 
of  all  kinds. 

Nevertheless,  they  succeeded  in  gaining  a  refuge  in  the  imknown  lands  on  the 
banks  of  the  Uruguay,  and  of  the  Lower  Parana,  remote  from  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  settlements.  Here,  and  still  farther  west  on  the  present  Bolivian 
plains,  where  dwelt  the  Mojos  and  the  Chiquitos,  the  Fathers  had  at  last  the  joy 


Fig.  130. — Jesott  Missions. 
Scale  1  :  13,000,000. 


.  310  Miles. 


of  realising  on  earth  that  "  Kingdom  of  God  amongst  Men,"  for  which  they  had 
struggled  so  hard  and  endured  so  much. 

The  term  "  reductions  "  given  by  them  to  their  Indian  stations  explains  the 
object  they  had  in  view.  They  wished  to  "  reduce  "  the  natives,  to  withdraw  them 
from  the  influence  of  free  nature,  to  regulate  their  lives  by  rites  and  ordinances- 
To  secure  their  goodwill  they  shrank  from  no  expedients,  not  even  from  the 
allurements  of  a  generous  diet.  They  were  wont  to  say  that  the  preachings  of 
St.  Paul  reached  the  ear  of  the  heathen  through  the  mouth.  The  natives  were 
beguiled  also  by  music  and  the  pomp  of  ceremony.     When  descending  the  streams 


THE  PAEAGUAY  MISSIONS.  811 

in  their  canoes,  or  forcing  a  path  through  the  forest,  the  Fathers  intoned  hymns, 
while  the  savages  emerged  from  the  recesses  to  listen  to  their  homilies.  During 
the  processions  the  ground  was  strewn  with  bright  flowers  and  sweet- smelling 
herbs,  and  birds  held  by  a  string  fluttered  around  the  triumphal  arches.  As  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  was  borne  aloft,  the  natives  presented  the  produce  of  the  chase 
and  the  fruits  of  their  gardens ;  musicians  accompanied  the  cortege,  and  the  day 
concluded  with  a  display  of  fireworks. 

Such  appeals  to  the  untutored  savage  mind  were  irresistible,  and  even  the 
most  refractory  were  at  last  drawn  within  the  fold.  Between  1610  and  17G8 
over  700,000  were  baptized,  and  in  1730  the  reductions,  some  30  in  number,  had 
a  collective  population  of  more  than  133,000  converts.  These  statistics  were 
carefully  kept,  for  the  missionaries  had  to  pay  the  king  a  dollar  a  head,  receiving 
in  return  a  free  hand  in  their  government  of  the  congregations. 

Once  bent  to  the  yoke,  the  catechumens  strictly  followed  the  prescribed  rules. 
At  dawn  the  children  trooped  to  the  church  for  the  exercises  of  song  and  prayer, 
while  the  whole  community  assisted  at  mass.  In  the  evening  the  children 
returned  for  instruction  in  the  catechism,  after  which  all  took  part  in  prayer,  the 
day  ending  with  the  recitation  of  the  rosary.  On  Sunday  the  ceremonies 
were  redoubled,  and  those  of  the  faithful  gifted  with  a  good  memory  were 
expected  to  repeat  the  sermons  by  heart.  All  work  was  strictly  regulated ; 
each  family  received  its  plot  of  land,  with  the  necessary  allowance  of  seed- 
corn,  and  oxen  to  plough  the  field.  But  it  was  at  the  same  time  responsible 
for  the  good  condition  of  the  animals  and  of  the  crops,  of  which  it  enjoyed  only 
the  usufruct. 

The  part  of  the  territory  cultivated  in  common  was  the  Tiipambae,  "  Property 
of  God,"  the  harvest  being  stored  against  bad  years,  and  for  the  support  of  the 
feeble,  orphans,  and  artisans.  The  excess  was  transported  to  Buenos  Ayres 
by  the  rivers,  and  exchanged  for  sumptuous  objects  introduced  from  Europe  for 
the  adornment  of  the  churches.  Round  the  central  square  were  disposed  the 
workshops  of  the  craftsmen — carpenters,  masons,  locksmiths,  weavers,  metal- 
lurgists, flute  and  fiddle-makers,  sculptors,  architects,  gilders,  carvers,  and  even 
painters — who  were  taught  to  look  on  their  work  as  an  act  of  faith,  and  to  make 
the  embellishment  of  the  churches  a  labour  of  love.  All  shortcomings  noticed 
by  the  overseers,  reported  by  the  faithful,  revealed  in  the  confessional  or  by 
public  avowal,  involved  corporal  chastisement.  The  penitent  had  to  appear  in 
church  before  the  congregation,  and  submit  to  the  stripes,  while  thanking  God 
and  the  good  fathers  for  the  correction. 

In  this  "  model  republic,"  sustained  by  a  hateful  system  of  espionage  pervading 
all  classes,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  the  rule  of  the  priests  was  absolute. 
Yet  the}'  hesitated  to  place  arms  in  the  hands  of  their  subjects,  even  to  defend 
the  missions.  Nevertheless,  they  were  several  times  driven  by  urgent  necessity 
to  take  action  against  the  Paulistas.  Between  1G38  and  1661  they  gained  four 
victories  over  the  aggressors  ;  but  after  each  triumph  they  disarmed  the  people 
through  fear  of  the  influence  acquired  by  the  chiefs,   whom  success  had  made 


312  AMAZONIA  AXD  LA  PLATA. 

popular.     When  the  order  was  suppressed,  the  Jesuits  made  no  resistance,  and 
their  expulsion  was  unattended  by  bloodshed. 

The  reductions  possessing  no  initiative  or  any  vital  force,  these  emasculated 
communities  melted  away  as  soon  as  the  controlling  power  was  removed.  Efforts 
were  made  to  keep  them  together  in  some  places  by  other  missionaries,  in  others 
by  the  civil  authorities;  but  all  in  vain,  and  in  1801  not  more  than  14,000 
Indians  remained  in  the  territories  of  the  missions.  Most  of  the  congregations 
had  dispersed  among  the  surrounding  forests,  while  bands  of  brigands  from 
Uruguay  invaded  the  villages,  despoiled  the  churches,  and  carried  off  the  cattle. 
Then  white  traders  and  settlers  were  introduced,  and  in  1814  about  1,000 
strangers  from  Argentina  and  Uruguay  had  merged  in  a  general  population  with 
the  8,000  Indians  still  remaining  in  the  district.  Lastly,  in  1848,  a  presidential 
edict  declared  the  surrounding  aborigines  of  the  reductions  "  citizens  of  the 
EepubHc."  At  present  all  traces  have  disappeared  of  the  organisation  established 
by  the  Jesuits,  and  the  still  existing  stations  differ  in  no  respects  from  the  other 
Paraguayan  villages. 


The  Paraguayans. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  towns  have  been  strongly  Hispanified,  and  can  scarcely 
be  distinguished  from  other  mixed  descendants  of  Spaniards  and  Guarani  natives. 
They  speak  both  languages,  and  some  of  the  periodicals  contain  articles  and  poems 
in  the  lengua  geral. 

From  the  very  first  the  Basque  people  seem  to  have  taken  a  large  share 
in  the  colonisation  of  Paraguay.  Irala,  who  was  governor  of  the  country  both 
before  and  after  the  rule  of  Alvarez  Nufiez,  belonged  to  the  Euskarian  nationality. 
Palgrave  assigns  such  a  large  proportion  to  the  Basque  element,  that  he  goes  so 
far  as  to  call  the  Paraguay  people  "  Vasco-Guarani,"  instead  of  "  Hispano- 
Guarani."  According  to  this  writer  the  persons  with  light  hair  frequently  met 
in  Paraguay  are  descendants  ofthose  light-haired  Basques,  who  are  still  constantly 
met  in  the  Western  Pyrenees.* 

On  the  other  hand,  Martin  de  Moussy  believes  that  the  tall  and  fair- 
complexioned  Hispano-Guarani,  who  constitute  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
Paraguayan  population,  recall  the  type  of  the  German  soldiers  who  entered  the 
country  with  Schmidel  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.  In  support  of  this  view  it 
is  stated  that  the  blonde  Paraguay  women  have  a  Teutonic  physiognomy. 
Their  hair  is  described  as  really  light,  like  that  of  the  North  European  women, 
not  of  that  Spanish  flame  colour,  which  approaches  a  red  or  ruddy  hue,  and  which 
is  met  in  all  the  other  Argentine  regions. 

But,  whatever  their  origin,  the  Paraguayans  are  distinguished  above  all  other 
civilised  peoples  for  their  extremely  docile  disposition.  Brutal  orders  issued  by 
brutal  taskmasters  are  meekly  obeyed  without  a  word  of  protest,  and,  after  sub- 

•   XTlysses,  or  Scenes  and  Studies  in  Many  Lands. 


THE  PAEAGUAYANS. 


818 


mitting  to  a  war  of  extermination  imposed  on  them  by  a  bloodthirsty  tyrant,  the 
survivors  maintain  a  passive  attitude  while  being  deprived  of  their  very  lands 
by  leg;il  chicanery.  The  national  diet,  so  different  from  that  of  the  Am-entines, 
must  certainly  contribute  in  some  measure  to  give  the  Parao-uay  people  such  a 
meek,  almost  cringing,  temperament.  Many  never  touch  meat,  manoic  and 
oranges  constituting  their  chief  food.  The  wife,  who  works  the  field,  also  controls 
the  household.  Hers  is  the  ruling  spirit,  and  when  the  temporary  unions  are 
dissolved,  the  children  always  follow  the  mother.     Such  unions  are  for  the  most 

Fig.  131. — Old  Jesuit  Chuech  at  Pibayv. 


part  deprived  of  legal  or  religious  sanction,  a  strange  reaction  from  tte  severe 
discipline  of  the  reductions,  where  the  least  levity  was  punished  by  heavy 
penalties. 


Topography. 

In  Paraguay  scarcely  any  centres  of  population  deserve  the  name  of  towns,  and 
the  right  (Paraguayan)  side  of  the  Parana  is  almost  uninhabited.  Little  is  seen 
except  a  few  ranchos  in  the  forest  glades  frequented  mainly  by  the  mate  gatherers. 
Such  are  Goycocheas,  at  the  head  of  the  steam  navigation,  and  lower  down  Taciirii 
Pkcu,  future  terminus  of  a  railway,  which  is  to  reach  the  Parana  about  18  miles 
above  the  confluence  of  the  Brazilian  Iguazu.     Then  follows  Guayarros,  formerly 


814 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  TLATA. 


Villa  Azara,  so  named  from  llie  naturalist  who  resided  here  in  1788  to  studj'  the 
surrounding  flora  and  fauna. 

Encarxacion. 

Farther  down  camping-grounds  become  more  numerous,  and  here  the  impor- 
tant village  of  Itapita,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Encarnacion,  given  to  it  by 
the  Jesuits,  marks  the  point  where  the  Parana  begins  to  flow  due  east  and  west. 
For  200  years  Encarnacion  has  commanded  the  passage  of  the  river  between  Para- 
guay and  the  Argentine  province  of  Corrientes.  The  Jesuits  had  made  it  the 
headquarters  of  their  southern   missions,   and  later,   under    the   dictatorship   of 


Fig.  132. — Encaknacton. 
Scale  1 :  700,000. 


t^  ■»  ....       ■  •»  .  • 

,.'.   ."■    .fl    ..    , 


56-.0- 


West  or  (jreenv\ 


12  Uiles. 


Francla,  it  was  made  an  outlet  for  the  foreign  trade  of  Paraguay.  Hither  the 
Guarani  brought  their  convoys  of  mules,  their  tobacco  and  mate,  in  exchange  for 
the  coffee,  sugar,  and  European  goods  imported  by  the  Brazilian  traders  from  Rio- 
Grande.  All  transactions  were  carried  on  by  the  barter  system,  the  dictator 
having  forbidden  the  exportation  of  gold  and  silver  specie. 

At  present  much  of  the  traiBc  of  Encarnacion  has  been  diverted  elsewhere  by 
the  steamers  plying  on  the  Paraguay  and  Parana  rivers.  But  this  place  is  intended 
to  be  the  terminus  of  the  proposed  railways  that  are  to  traverse  part  of  the  mate- 
growing  country.  On  the  opposite  or  Corrientes  side  stands  the  Argentine  town 
of  Posadas,  which  is  also  to  be  a  railway  terminus  for  a  line  running  through 
Monte  Caseros  to  the  Lower  Uruguay. 


TOrOGEAPHT  OF  PAEAGUAY.  315 

Encamacion  lies  beyond  the  zone  where  mate  flourishes ;  but  the  old  missions 
situated  a  little  farther  north  in  the  hiUy  districts  watered  by  several  small 
affluents  of  the  Parana,  still  possess  some  extensive  yerbales,  "  yerba  mate  thickets." 
The  native  populations,  which  formerly  constituted  the  congregations  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, have  remained  in  the  country,  although  in  greatly  reduced  numbers. 
Here  are  also  the  old  stations — Trinidad,  Jesus,  San  Pedro,  Santiago,  Santa  Rosa, 
Santa  Maria,  San  If/nacio  Guazit — consisting  of  low  huts  above  which  rise  the 
remains  of  solid  structures  and  heavy  churches. 

S.v^-TA  Rosa — Coxcepcion. 

Santa  Eosa,  wealthiest  of  these  missions,  consecrated  to  the  patron  saint  of 
the  Guarani,  was  annually  visited  by  thousands  of  pilgrims,  who  never  approached 
her  shrine  empty-handed.  Hence  the  church,  which  still  exists,  was  extremely 
rich  in  gold  and  silver  objects ;  it  was  enclosed  by  a  ditch  to  defend  it  from 
marauders.  Between  Santa  Maria  and  Santa  Rosa  the  plantation  of  Cerrifo 
recalls  the  sojourn  of  Aime  Bonpland,  who  was  here  interned  for  nine  years  by 
the  dictator,  Francia. 

Below  Encamacion  follow  San  Juan,  another  old  mission,  and  the  villages  of 
Carmen  and  San  Cosme  just  above  the  Apipe  rapids.  Beyond  this  point  the  navi- 
gation is  open  all  the  way  to  the  Paraguay  confluence  above  Corrientes. 

Concepcion,  below  the  ruins  of  San  Salcador  on  the  Paraguay,  was  formerly  one 
of  the  great  depots  of  the  mate  trade.  Lower  down  follows  the  pleasant  little 
town  of  San  Pedro,  on  the  Rio  Jujuy,  a  short  distance  above  its  junction  with  the 
main  stream.  Farther  south  Villa  Hayes,  so  named  in  honour  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  who  in  1879  awarded  North  Chaco  to  Paraguay,  stands  on  the 
right  bank  at  the  confluence  of  the  Rio  Confuso. 

Asuncion. 

Asuncion,  capital  of  the  Republic,  is  finely  situated  on  a  terrace  rising  some 
50  feet  above  the  left  bank  of  the  Paraguay  a  short  distance  below  Villa  Hayes. 
Like  nearly  all  American  towns  of  Spanish  origin,  it  has  been  laid  out  on  the  chess- 
board plan,  and  its  dusty  streets  are  continued  beyond  the  houses  far  into  the 
country.  Although  steadily  recovering  from  the  effects  of  the  war,  the  thorough- 
fares removed  from  the  centre  are  still  grass-grown,  and  the  palaces,  wliich  were 
to  make  Asuncion  the  most  stunptuous  city  in  South  America,  were  till  recently 
faUing  to  ruins.  Since  their  restoration  they  contribute  to  give  the  place  a  stately 
aspect,  at  least  by  contrast  with  the  towns  of  Matto  Grosso.  The  arsenal,  fotinded 
before  the  war,  contains  dockyards  where  several  steamers  have  been  built. 

As  far  as  this  point  the  Paraguay  is  accessible  to  large  vessels  from  Monte 
Video  and  Buenos  Ayres;  but  higher  up  it  is  navigable  only  by  small  craft. 
Asuncion,  which  is  traversed  by  several  tramways,  is  little  more  than  a  trading 
station,  with  no  local  industries  beyond  a  little  goldsmiths'  work. 


31G 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Villa  Eica — San  Bernardino. 

Asuncion  is  connected  by  the  only  railway  (1894)  in  Paraguay  with  ViHa 
Rica,  originally  a  Jesuit  foundation,  which  lies  on  the  last  slopes  of  the  central 
Cordillera  in  an  extremely  fertile  district  watered  by  the  "great"  and  "little" 
Tibicuary.  Small  steam  launches  ascend  the  Tibicuary  to  Villa  Rica,  which  is 
destined  to  become  the  central  point  of  the  future  railway  system  of  Paraguay. 
From  the  Asuncion  line  will  soon  run  two  branches  to  the  Parana,  one  through 
the  Monday  Valley  eastwards  in  the  direction  of  Tacuru-Pucu,  the  other  southwards 
to  Encarnacion. 

The  Asuncion  railway  runs  south-eastwards  through  a  succession  of  orange 


Fig.  133.— AsTjxciON. 
Scale  1  ;  45.000. 


.  6  Miles. 


groves  and  banana  plantations,  interspersed  with  farmsteads  and  country  seats. 
In  this  cultivated  district  one  of  the  stations  on  the  line  is  the  pleasant  little 
town  of  Ltique,  which  was  for  a  short  time  capital  of  the  State  towards  the  close 
of  the  war,  when  Lopez  ordered  the  evacuation  of  Asuncion.  Farther  on,  the 
railway,  skirting  the  west  side  of  the  charming  Lake  Ipacaray,  passes  along  the 
foot  of  the  Cerro  Leon  eminence,  where  Lopez  established  the  headquarters  of 
the  Paraguayan  army  at  the  beginning  of  the  contest.  In  this  lacustrine  valley 
the  chief  stations  are  Aregua,  Itagua,  and  Piraiju,  all  mere  rural  hamlets. 

Then  follows  the  more  important  town  of  Paraguari,  famed  for  its  tobacco, 
which  is  exported  even  to  the  European  markets.  In  the  viciuitj^  is  an  imposing 
bluff  pierced  with  caverns,  where  the  Apostle  St.  Thomas  is  fabled  to  have  resided 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  PAEAGUAY. 


317 


and  preached  the  gospel  to  the  Guarani  nation.  The  legend  is  probably  of  Jesuit 
origin,  for  Paraguari  was  one  of  the  missions  founded  by  the  Company  of  Jesus, 
which  here  possessed  immense  herds  of  cattle.  At  present  the  district,  which  is 
studded  with  numerous  villages  and  farmsteads,  occupies  itself  mainly  with 
tillage ;  its  inhabitants  have  even  developed  some  local  industries,  such  as  the 
fabrication  of  oils,  sugar- making,  and  the  preparation  of  starch.     The  women  in 

Fig.  134. — AsTJsaON — Steeei  View. 


several  of  the  villages  are  skilful  lace-makers ;  the  people  of  Ita  manufacture 
earthenware,  which  is  forwarded  to  the  Buenos  Ayres  market,  and  those  of 
Yaguaron  extract  the  essence  of  orange  flowers. 

San  Bernardino,  the  most  important  colony  founded  by  the  Government,  has 
been  established  in  the  district  north  of  the  lake,  on  the  slopes  and  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Cordillera  de  Altos.  Most  of  the  settlers,  who  are  of  German  origin,  devote 
themselves  to  stock-breeding,  brewing,  and  dairy-farming,  making  cheese,  and 


318 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


forwardiug  milk  and  other  produce  to  the  nearest  railway  station  for  Asuncion. 
Nevertheless,  a  large  number  of  the  iirst  arrivals  at  San  Bernardino  have 
abandoned  their  holdings  owing  chiefly  to  the  lack  of  easy  communications. 
They  have,  however,  been  replaced  bj^  others,  and  the  little  settlement  is  gradu- 
ally growing  into  a  flourishing  rural  town. 

Amongst  the  immigrants  preparing  to  colonise  the  unoccupied  lands  of 
Paraguaj-,  mention  is  made  of  some  Australians,  to  whom  the  Government  has 
granted  a  tract  230  square  miles  in  extent  on  the  banks  of  the  Tibicuary.  The 
Association  which  has  received  the  concession  is  required  to  introduce  before  the 


Fig.  ISo.— Feom  AstmaoN  to  XtVLi.  Eica. 

Scale  1  :  1.250,000. 


.  25  Miles. 


end  of  the  year  1894  several  hundred  Australian  families,  who  are  to  share  the 
yearly  produce  of  the  communitj^  and  who  will  enjoy  self-government  to  the 
extent  of  electing  the  directors  of  the  commime  by  a  majority  of  all  adult  male 
and  female  votes.  The  reminiscences  of  the  old  Paraguay  missions  would  appear 
to  have  influenced  this  scheme  of  organisation,  which  so  far  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  attended  by  much  success. 


LaMB.4RE AXGOSTIRA PiLAK, 

Travellers  descending  the  Paraguay  from  Asuncion  soon  lose  sight  of  the  city 
behind  the  Lamhare  bluff,  which  rises  about  330  feet  above  the  right  bank  of  the 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  PARAGUAY. 


819 


river,  and  which  is  said  to  take  its  name  from  a  native  chief,  who  held  out  stoutly 
against  the  Spanish  invaders  in  1528.  According  to  the  tradition,  Sebastian 
Cabot,  who  was  in  command,  did  not  venture  to  advance  beyond  this  point, 
although  he  had  repulsed  the  Indians.  A  few  hills,  which,  like  Lambare,  contain 
deposits  of  salt,  follow  along  the  left  bank,  enclosing  the  pleasant  little  riverside 
port  of  Villeta  with  its  palm  and  orange  groves. 

The  heights  terminate  southwards  in  a  headland,  where  the  stream  contracts, 
at  the  famous  Aiujostura  "Narrows,"   to  a  breadth  of  not  more  than  205  feet. 


Fig.  136. — South-TTest  Pakaouat. 
Scale  1  :  2,400,000. 


'ajtQueradeLoreio 


58'40- 


West  or  GreenwicVi 


56'4n' 


ICO  Miles. 


Here  also  the  Indians  made  a  stand  against  the  Spaniards,  and  three  centuries 
afterwards  the  Paraguayans  attempted  to  arrest  the  advances  of  the  allies  by  the 
formidable  lines  erected  at  the  same  spot  by  the  English  engineer  Thompson. 
But  the  Brazilian  army,  at  the  risk  of  being  overtaken  and  drowned  by  a  sudden 
rise  of  the  Paraguaj%  turned  the  position  by  passing  westwards  through  the  Chaco 
solitudes,  and  reappearing  on  the  banks  of  the  river  above  the  Narrows. 

Below  this  defile  almost  the  only  places  of  note  are  the  villages  of  Oliva 
and  Villa  Franca  on  sUght  rising  grounds  above  the  Tibicuary  confluence.  Villa 
del  Pilar,  usually  called  Nembucu,  might  seem  to  occupy  an  excellent  position 


320 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


between  the  Tibicuary  and  the  Bermejo  confluences  at  the  converging  point  of 
the  two  great  natural  highways.  But  such  advantages  are  of  small  account  in 
an  almost  uninhabited  swampy  region.  The  Eio  Nembucu,  which  joins  the 
Paraguay  at  Villa  del  Pilar,  carries  off  some  of  the  drainage  of  the  marshy  tract 
occupying  the  south-western  corner  of  the  Eepublic  enclosed  between  the  two 
main  streams.  It  was  evidently  one  of  the  old  beds  of  the  Parana,  and  whenever 
the  time  comes  to  drain  this  district  a  canal  will  have  to  be  cut  in  the  direction 
of  this  natural  waterway.  During  the  dictatorship  Pilar  was  for  a  time  thrown 
open  to  foreign  trade,  and  numerous  settlers  from  Corrientes  have  established 


Fig.  137.— HuMAiTA. 

ScaJe  1  :  120,000. 


•  ■  "^ •■:■.•';■'  ':•■ 


*     Tuyucue    ■ 


58'34' 


V^est  o'  breenwic^i 


58'g8' 


.  21  Miles. 


themselves  in  this  place,  which  faces  the  Argentine  town  of  Puerto  Bermejo  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Paraguay. 


HUMAITA IxAPIRtr. 

A  few  crumbling  ruins  on  the  cliffs  dominating  the  Humaita  bend  midway 
between  the  Bermejo  and  Parana  confluences  recall  the  stand  made  at  this  point 
for  two  years  (1866—68)  against  the  land  and  river  forces  of  the  allies.  The 
whole  space  between  the  stronghold  and  the  mouth  of  the  Parana  ran  with  blood, 
and  the  capture  of  Itapiru  at  the  confluence  cost  the  Brazilians  a  sangiiinary 
engagement.  Higher  up  the  batteries  of  Curuzii  on  the  left  bank  long  arrested 
the  Brazilian  fleet,  and  the  allies  attempted  in  vain  to  storm  the  forts  of  Curu- 
paiti,  which,  when  half-dismantled,  were  afterwards  passed  by  the  hostile  fleet. 


< 

13 


r. 

5 


*'j!^- 
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< 


% 


\\  "ifl'l 


i 


MATERIAL  COXDITION  OP  PARAGUAY.  821 

In  the  interior  Tinjtifi  and  Tui/ucue,  guarding  the  passes  of  the  great  edcro 
Bellaco  morass,  were  also  the  scene  of  fierce  combats,  and  after  the  stru"-£rle.  an 
invasion  of  cholera  turned  the  whole  rejiiiin  into  a  vast  necropolis. 

The  fortress  of  Humaita  itself  was  not  actually  taken  by  assault ;  but  the 
summer  floods  having  risen  to  an  unwonted  height,  the  strong  iron  cable  barring 
the  passage  was  submerged  to  a  depth  of  over  IG  feet,  and  four  of  the  seven 
Brazilian  ironclads  took  advantage  of  a  foggy  starless  night  to  gain  the  upper 
reaches.  The  defenders  of  Humaita,  taken  between  two  fires,  on  the  one  hand  by 
the  warships,  on  the  other  by  the  troops  lining  a  rampart  of  circumvallation 
drawn  from  Itapiru  on  the  Parana  to  Tui/i  on  the  Paraguay,  a  distance  of  24 
miles,  had  to  evacuate  the  stronghold  and  fall  back  on  other  lines  of  defence 
farther  north. 

A  few  military  posts,  erected  on  piles  or  on  artificial  mounds,  formerly  guarded 
the  confluence  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay ;  but  no  town  or  village  was  ever 
fomided  in  this  rairj  district.  According  to  Felix  de  Azara  the  Paraguay 
discharges  at  low  water  a  volume  of  not  more  than  7,000  or  8,000  cubic  feet  per 
second. 


Material  and  Social  Condition  of  Paraguay. 

The  first  census  of  Paraguay'  dates  from  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
■when,  according  to  Azara,  the  whole  pojDulation  of  the  province,  including  the 
Indians,  numbered  97,480.  Between  that  time  and  the  great  war  profound  peace 
prevailed,  even  during  the  political  changes  caused  by  the  movement  of  indepen- 
dence, and  if  a  document  issued  by  the  dictator,  Solano  Lopez,  can  be  trusted, 
the  Paraguayans  had  increased  to  1,337,439  in  1867.  But  the  details  were  ne\er 
published,  and  many  doubted  the  possibility  of  such  an  increase  in  the  absence 
of  any  great  access  of  immigrants.  Yet  with  fewer  numbers  it  is  diSicult  to 
understand  how  the  nation  could  have  maintained  such  a  stupendous  struggle 
for  five  years  against  her  three  powerful  neighbours.  From  the  first  an  active 
force  of  50,000  men  was  organised,  besides  a  strong  reserve  and  several  thousands 
engaged  in  the  arsenals  constructing  floating  batteries  and  steamers,  in  repair- 
ing damages,  casting  guns,  manufacturing  small  arms,  munitions  of  war,  and 
imiforms,  for  Paraguay  was  completely  isolated  and  could  import  no  supplies 
from  abroad. 

In  1887,  eighteen  years  after  the  war,  a  fresh  census  was  taken,  showing  a 
population  of  only  239,774,  according  to  which  over  a  million,  or  four-fifths  of 
the  whole  nation,  must  have  perished  in  the  war.  In  1890  the  civilised 
Paraguayans  were  estimated  at  500,000,  and  the  unreduced  Indians  of  Chaco 
between  the  Pilcomayo  and  the  Paraguay,  at  30,000.  In  recent  years  immi- 
gration has  contributed  to  the  re-peopling  of  the  land,  and  the  incomplete 
returns  for  1887  comprised  nearly  8,000  strangers.  Since  then  the  J'early 
arrivals  have  been  about  a  thousand,  and  in  1890  as  many  as  2,395,  mostly  from 
Argentina. 

^■0I,.  XIX.  Y 


322  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Thanks  to  tlie  facilities  of  communication,  tlie  Argentine  provinces  naturally 
supply  the  largest  number  of  immigrants.  But  some  Brazilians  have  also  found 
their  way  into  the  country,  descending  from  the  uplands  by  the  Iguazu  Valley. 
Amongst  the  strangers  are  a  few  representatives  of  almost  every  country  in  the 
New  World  and  Europe,  more  especially  Italians.  It  is  noteworthy  that,  accord- 
ing to  some  partial  returns,  civil  registrations,  and  baptismal  entries,  more  females 
are  born  than  males.  This  phenomenon,  which  has  been  also  observed  in 
Japan,  is  extremely  rare  in  countries  where  accurate  statistics  are  published. 
Nevertheless,  the  fact  had  already  been  noted  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century 
by  Azara,  who  even  determined  the  proportion  of  the  sexes  :  fourteen  females  to 
thirteen  males.  Most  other  travellers  who  have  visited  Paraguay  have  made 
analogous  observations,  and  De  Bourgade,  amongst  others,  refers  to  the  baptismal 
registers  of  Asuncion  for  1887  as  showing  that  the  percentage  was  47'6  for  boys 
and  52'4  for  girls.  "  In  the  rural  districts  it  appears  that  the  disproportion  is 
larger,  and  that  the  entries  for  girls  are  9'28  per  cent  above  those  for  boys. 
The  disproportion  is  anomalous  ;  it  stands  out  in  contrast  with  the  returns  of  the 
Argentine  Republic,  which  show  the  birth  of  more  boys  than  girls."  * 


Mate  Culture. 

Industries  of  all  kinds,  including  even  agriculture,  are  still  in  a  rudimentary 
state,  and  at  present  the  most  profitable  occupation  is  the  collection  of  forest 
products,  such  as  lumber  in  Chaco,  and  yerba  mate  in  the  eastern  wood- 
lands. Paraguay  is  usually  supposed  to  have  a  monopoly  of  .mate  {ilex  pai-aguari- 
ensis),  although  it  also  thrives  in  the  Southern  States  of  Brazil,  where  it  even  sup- 
ports a  considerable  export  trade.  But  that  of  Matto  Grosso  passes  through 
Paraguay,  and  is  sold  in  the  markets  as  Paraguayan  in  order  to  enhance  its 
value. 

It  was  in  the  territory  of  the  missions  that  the  Jesuits  became  acquainted  with 
the  use  of  this  beverage,  the  taste  for  which,  thanks  to  their  reports,  was  intro- 
duced into  the  southern  part  of  the  Continent.  The  caa  of  the  Guarani,  that  is, 
the  "  plant "  in  a  pre-eminent  sense,  has  been  translated  by  the  Spanish  yerba, 
"  herb,"  though  it  is  not  a  herb,  but  a  shrub,  and  even  a  tree,  about  the  size  of 
the  orange,  but  on  the  banks  of  the  Ygatimi,  a  Parana  affluent,  growing  to  a  height 
of  25  or  26  feet  with  a  girth  of  about  40  inches.  Bonpland  speaks  of  three  varieties 
in  Paraguay,  differing  little  from  each  other,  and  resembling  the  congoii/ia.^  of  the 
Brazilian  plateaux.  Its  range  comprises  the  whole  space  stretching  fi>om  the 
south  of  Minas  Geraes  to  the  frontiers  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  and  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Paraguay  river.  It  is  also  said  to  have  been  met  beyond  Chaco  in  the 
southern  parts  of  Argentina,  but  the  best  quality  is  that  of  Paraguay,  and  especi- 
ally that  collected  in  the  forests  of  the  Rio  Maracaju.  Under  the  Jesuits  each 
mission  had  its  cultivated  yerbal  yielding  the  caa  mini,  superior  in  flavoiu*  to  the 

*  Paraguay,  p.  107. 


RESOURCES  OP  PAEAQUAY. 


823 


caa  nana.  But  there  are  no  longer  any  plantations,  but  only  thickets  of  the  wild 
plant,  which  is  often  recklessly  cut  down  in  order  the  more  easily  to  gather  tlie 
leaves.  The  ijcrbatcros,  who  have  to  make  long  journeys  to  these  grounds,  first 
dry  the  foliage  and  tender  branchlets  over  a  slow  fire,  and  then  reduce  them  to  a 
powder  when  they  are  ready  for  the  market.  The  decoction  appears  to  act  both 
as  a  stimulant  and  as  a  substitute  for  food,  by  retarding  the  progress  of  digestion. 
About  half  the  yearly  crop  is  required  for  the  local  consumption,  the  rest  being 
exported. 

It  is  even  claimed  for  mate  that  it  stimulates  the  physical  and  mental  powers, 
without  any  waste  to  the  system.  And  herein,  remarks  De  Bourgade,  lies  the 
secret  of  the  preference  shown  by  Americans  for  this  beverage.  It  is  not  from 
any  scientific  theories,  but  from  practical  experience,  that  they  have  been  convinced 


Fig'.  13S. — Teeba  MATfi  REaioNs  of  Paeaguat  kwd  Bkazhi. 

Scale  1  :  14,000,000. 


West  or  Lreenwyich 


Verba  MaW. 


.  310  Milea. 


of  its  immense  superiority  over  tea  and  coffee.  Coca  also  is  just  as  available  to 
them  as  the  ilex;  but  while  the  latter  has  become  as  indispensable  as  manioc 
itself,  coca  has  been  rejected,  and  is  now  consumed  only  by  a  few  Indian  tribes 
and  some  residents  in  the  mountain  districts. 

Such  a  practical  verdict  in  its  favour  proclaims  its  excellency  ;  it  is  a  popular, 
as  distinguished  from  a  scientific,  tribute  to  its  virtues,  and  may  well  provoke  the 
inquiry  why  the  Old  World  has  remained  indifferent,  continuing  to  import  tea 
from  China  and  India,  and  coffee  from  Arabia  and  the  Colonies,  but  neglecting 
the  yerba  mate  of  South  America  ?  Yet  the  supply  is  adequate  to  all  possible 
demands ;  subject,  however,  at  present,  it  must  bo  owned,  to  the  disadvantage 
that  the  yerba  is  under  no  well-organised  system  of  cultivation.* 


*  Taraijuny,  p.  21. 


324  AMAZOXIA..  AND  LA  PLATA. 


The  Orange  and  Other  Agricultural  Resources. 

Next  in  importance  to  mate  is  the  npppii,  or  native  orange,  which  De  Bourgade 
believes  to  be  indigenous,  and  which  is  distinguished  by  a  peculiar  acid  taste.  Like 
mate  it  grows  wild  in  the  forests,  while  the  different  varieties  of  the  European 
orange  introduced  by  the  settlers  also  thrive  well.  Every  village,  almost  every 
house,  has  its  orange  grove,  and  during  the  floods  millions  of  the  golden  fruit  are 
sometimes  swept  down  with  the  stream.  The  oranges,  exported  almost  exclusively 
from  the  riverside  ports  of  Asuncion  and  Yilleta,  represent  but  a  fraction  of 
the  annual  yield,  most  of  which  perishes  through  lack  of  communications  to 
develop  the  industry. 

Nevertheless  the  official  returns  show  that  over  50  million  oranges  annually 
pass  through  the  chief  ports  of  Paraguay,  and  this  would  be  nearly  doubled  if 
those  were  included  which  are  disposed  of  from  the  small  villages  and  estancias, 
■where  no  control  is  exercised  by  the  custom  house  officers.  To  reckon  up  the 
number  of  oranges  that  are  consumed  in  the  country,  so  as  to  include  those  that 
rot  on  the  trees  or  that  are  devoured  by  birds,  monkej-s,  and  other  animals,  would 
be  about  as  difficult  as  to  count  the  grains  of  sand  on  the  sea-shore.  Hardly  a 
Paraguayan  could  be  found  who  does  not  consume  from  20  to  30  oranges  a  day, 
and  yet  there  is  no  sign  of  diminution  of  the  golden  crop.  What  it  would  be  if 
cultivated  systematically  only  imagination  can  conceive.  But  it  is  by  no  means 
to  the  fruit  that  the  produce  of  the  orange  must  be  limited.  Every  part  of  the 
tree  has  its  special  use ;  the  blossom  can  be  distilled,  essential  oil  may  be  extracted 
from  the  leaf,  and  the  trunk  is  not  to  be  despised  as  wood. 

The  bitter  orange,  also,  is  by  no  means  an  improfitable  fruit.  It  is  not  edible, 
but  it  yields  several  useful  products.  Besides  the  oxalic  and  citric  acids,  and 
their  compounds,  which  are  extracted  from  its  pulp,  the  peel  furnishes  several 
medicinal  syrups,  and  it  is  also  a  main  ingredient  in  Curacao.  The  peel  delivered 
at  the  port  of  Asuncion  fetches  twenty-five  shillings  per  100  lbs.,  and  a  brisk  trade 
has  already  been  developed.  If,  instead  of  sending  the  bitter  orange-peel  to  distant 
markets,  it  should  be  desired  to  utilise  it  on  the  spot,  there  would  be  required 
only  a  very  simple  apparatus  to  produce  the  compound  known  to  druggists  as  the 
"  Essence  of  Portugal,"  which  uniformly  commands  a  high  price.  This  has  not 
yet  been  made  anywhere  in  Paraguay.* 

Not  more  than  105,000  acres,  or  about  the  four-hundredth  part  of  the  whole 
territory,  has  been  brought  under  cultivation.  The  women,  who  do  nearly  aU 
the  field-work,  chiefly  occupy  themselves  with  maize,  the  consumption  of  manioc 
diminishing  according  as  the  supply  of  bread  stuffs  increases.  Wheat  and  rice  are 
also  grown,  but  in  insufficient  quantities  for  the  local  demand.  Although  the  vine 
is  seen  trailing  round  the  verandahs,  there  are  no  vineyards  properly  so-called. 
Every  peasant  has  his  little  sugar-cane  brake,  but  utilises  it  only  for  the  preparation 
of  a  coarse  unrefined  sugar,  or  a  very  iiripure  kind  of  rum.  Both  coffee  and  ground- 

•  rarayuaij,  p.  227. 


n 


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33 

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z 
o 


EESOUECES  OF  PARAGUAY.  325 

nuts  give  good  results,  but  capitalists  have  hitherto  chiefly  favoured  tobacco, 
which  is  generally  regarded  of  analogous  flavour,  but  superior  in  quality,  to  that 
of  Havana.  Perhaps  nowhere  else  are  cigars  so  universally  consumed,  the  pro- 
portion being  about  24  lbs.  per  head  of  the  population,  or  twelve  times  more  than 
in  France.  Possibly  this  enormous  use  of  tobacco  may  partly  explain  the  infinite 
patience  or  apathy  of  the  Guaraui  under  all  trials. 

A  decisive  proof  of  the  excellence  of  the  Paraguay  leaf  is  afforded  by  the 
esteem  in  which  it  is  held  by  the  Argentine  people,  probably,  next  to  the 
Paraguayans  themselves,  the  greatest  smokers  in  the  world.  But  hitherto  no 
justice  has  been  done  to  the  fine  qualities  of  this  tobacco  by  the  o-rowers  and 
cigar-manufacturers  at  Asuncion.  Everything  in  the  way  of  preparation,  which 
ought  to  be  done  with  the  most  scrupulous  care,  such  as  the  gathering  and  the 
drying  of  the  leaves,  is  got  through  in  the  most  primitive  and  careless  manner. 
Great  improvements  must  be  introduced  into  these  processes  before  there  can  be 
any  question  of  introducing  the  Paraguay  tobacco  into  the  European  markets. 
De  Bourgade  states  positively  that  the  quality  of  the  natural  leaf  grown  on  the 
red  soil  in  manj'  districts  of  Paraguay  "  equals  that  of  the  finest  Havana 
growths." 

Of  the  live-stock,  estimated  at  2,000,000  before  the  war,  no  more  than  15,000 
head  of  cattle  survived  the  universal  waste  of  the  land.  The  loss  is  now  beino- 
made  good  by  importations  from  Corrientes  and  Matto  Grosso ;  but  the  animals 
run  half-wild,  and  excejjt  in  the  German  colony  of  San  Bernardino,  near  Asun- 
cion, no  use  is  made  of  the  milk,  either  directly  or  in  the  jDreparation  of  butter  or 
cheese.  A  few  horses  are  also  bred,  but  scarcel}'  any  sheep,  goats,  or  pigs.  Sheep 
farming  is  said  to  be  impossible  owing  to  the  presence  of  a  poisonous  plant  called 
mio-mio,  while  the  mal  de  cadeira,  an  infectious  disease,  rajjidly  kills  off  horses, 
mules,  and  asses  in  the  Paraguaj'an  part  of  Gran  CLaco. 


Land  Tenure. 

Under  the  Jesuit  system  the  land  was  held  to  belong  to  all,  while  its  products 
were  partly  distributed  to  the  community.  Later,  the  dictators,  as  representa- 
tives of  the  State,  became  the  true  owners  of  the  soil,  although  each  peasant  had 
his  cabin  and  holding.  After  the  war,  nearly  the  whole  territory  having  been 
depopulated,  the  land  again  reverted  to  the  State,  which  put  it  up  to  sale  at  so 
nmch  the  square  league,  according  to  its  quality  and  proximity  to  the  markets. 
Argentine,  English,  and  North  American  speculators  immediately  rushed  in,  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  were  bought  up  by  syndicates  to  be  re- sold  at  ten 
and  tnenty  times  their  value.  One  capitalist  alone  acquired  some  thousand  square 
miles,  and  in  these  transactions  no  regard  was  paid  to  little  holdings  that  had 
been  cultivated  for  generations  by  Guaiani  families,  which  had  never  needed  any 
title  deeds  to  protect  their  rights.  In  a  few  years  the  vast  solitudes  were 
assigned  to  absentee  proprietors,  and  heaceforth  no  Paraguayan  peasant  could  hoe 


826  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

a  yard   of  bis  native  land    without  paying  a  rent   to  New  York,    London,  or 
Amsterdam  bankers. 


IXDTJSTKIES — CoM.MUMCATIOXS. 

Although  there  are  no  local  industries  beyond  a  few  distilleries,  brick  and 
soap  works  and  flour  mills,  the  Guarani  are  excellent  craftsmen,  and  under  the 
Jesuits  displayed  great  skill  in  many  trades.  The  women  still  weave  all  kinds  of 
textiles,  amongst  others  the  mndiiti,  "  spiders'  webs,"  of  extremely  delicate  texture. 

Before  Argentina  had  begun  its  railway  system,  Paraguay  already  possessed 
a  line  running  from  Asuncion  to  Paraguari,  since  extended  to  Villa  Rica,  and  the 
country  was  also  traversed  by  roads  accessible  to  wheeled  traffic.  One  of  these 
roads  skirted  the  left  bank  of  the  Paraguay ;  another  reached  the  Parana  at 
Encarnacion,  while  others  radiated  from  Villa  liica.  After  the  war  all  these 
roads  disappeared  beneath  the  swamps  and  quagmires ;  but  they  have  since  been 
repaired  and  other  tracks  have  been  opened  between  the  Yerbales  and  the  river- 
side ports.  Small  steamers  ply  on  some  of  the  affluents,  while  large  vessels 
ascend  the  Parana  from  Buenos  Aja-cs  to  Encarnacion.  The  trafiic  is  still  more 
active  on  the  Paraguay,  nearly  the  whole  trade  of  the  Republic  being  centred  in 
Asuncion. 

The  telegraphic  and  postal  services  have  been  greatly  developed,  especially 
since  Paraguay  has  joined  the  Postal  Union.  The  schools  have  also  been  re-opencd, 
and  in  1891  nearly  20,000  children  were  receiving  an  elementary  education.  The 
country  is  thus  gradually  recovering  from  the  drastic  "  reforms  "  which  closed 
the  churches,  suppressed  the  marriage  rites  and  legal  unions,  and  swept  away  all 
jniblic  institutions.  Before  the  period  of  indeijendence  education  was  entirely 
controlled  by  the  priests,  and  in  those  days  most  of  the  children,  if  unable  to  read, 
could  at  least  say  their  prayers.  They  also  delighted  in  singing  the  church 
hymns,  for  the  Guarani  people  have  a  distinct  talent  for  music.  But  most  of  the 
ecclesiastics  having  been  deposed  or  banished  by  the  dictator  Francia,  the  system 
of  public  instruction  was  greatly  modified,  and  transformed  to  an  almost  military 
education.  In  all  the  villages  the  children  were  assembled  by  the  beat  of  the 
drum,  and  under  pain  of  reprimand  or  punishment  the  local  magistrate  was  bound 
to  see  that  all  the  boys  followed  the  prescribed  course  of  instruction.  Thus, 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  nearly  all  Paraguayans  had  learned  to  read  and 
write.  But  it  was  all  done  under  compulsion,  for  they  took  no  pleasure,  as  a  rule, 
in  these  accomplishments. 

Printing  presses  were  also  rare,  although  some  had  already  been  introduced  by 
the  Jesuits.  But  after  their  time  no  printing  office  was  opened  till  the  year  1844. 
The  head  of  the  Administration  issued  his  orders  verbally,  well  knowing  that  they 
would  be  implicitly  obeyed.  Later,  when  the  official  journal  began  to  appear, 
the  representatives  of  authority  assembled  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  villages,  and 
solemnly  read  out  the  decrees  of  the  Government,  which  were  listened  to  with 
religious  silence. 


ADMIN'iSTEATlON  OE  PAEAGUAY.  827 

Government. 

The  present  Constitution,  dating  from  the  close  of  the  war,  has  heen  modirlh-d 
on  that  of  the  neighbouring  States,  and  like  them,  Paraguay  possesses  the  legis- 
lative, executive,  and  judiciarj'  powers.  The  communal  group  consists  of  the 
partidos,  administrative  and  judiciary  units  connected  directly  with  the  central 
power  by  elected  magistrates.  Foreigners  have  the  right  to  vote  at  the  muni- 
cipal elections,  and  are  even  themselves  eligible.  A  jefe  politico  represents  the 
executive  in  each  commune,  to  which  the  Minister  of  Justice  appoints  a  stipendiary 
magistrate. 

Two  Chambers,  directly  elected  by  universal  suffrage,  discuss  all  questions 
except  the  Budget,  which  is  reserved  absolutely  to  the  lower  House.  The  Presi- 
dent, elected  like  the  deputies  for  four  years,  controls  the  executive,  and  chooses 
five  ministers  responsible  to  the  Chambers.  Catholicism  remains  as  formerly  the 
State  religion,  but  liberty  of  worship  is  recognised.  The  free  navigation  of  the 
rivers,  one  of  the  main  causes  of  the  war,  was  a  necessary  result  of  the  triumph  of 
the  allies.  Henceforth  the  Paraguay  and  the  Parana  are  open  to  the  vessels  of 
Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Republic.  Foreigners  also  are  allowed  free  access  to 
the  State  from  all  points  of  the  frontier,  without  being  furnished  with  passports,  a 
necessary  condition  under  the  old  exclusive  system. 

The  country  has  not  recovered  its  financial  equilibrium  upset  by  the  war,  and 
the  annual  Budget  continues  to  show  a  hea^y  deficit,  nearly  £105,000  in  1891.  In 
1892  the  external  debt,  including  the  consolidated  English  debt,  stood  at  about 
£5,000,000,  and  in  that  year  the  Government  failed  to  pay  the  interest  on  the 
English  debt,  which  amounted  to  over  £830,000.  But  the  financial  position  is 
likely  to  improve  with  the  development  of  trade,  about  five-sixths  of  the  revenue 
being  derived  from  the  Customs. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  after  the  war,  when  the  State  was  hopelessly 
bankrupt,  without  resources  or  credit,  England  was  the  only  country  that  could 
be  induced  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Paraguay.  The  London  capitalists  twice  made 
advances  amounting  collectively  to  a  sum  of  £1,438,500 ;  but  through  one  of 
those  financial  mysteries,  of  which  the  history  of  the  Hispano-American  Republics 
offers  so  many  examples,  not  even  a  seventh  part  of  the  loan,  £200,000  at  most, 
found  its  way  to  the  State  treasury.  Negotiations  were  opened  with  a  view  to 
diminish  this  enormous  capital,  and  the  bankers  consented  to  a  heavy  reduction, 
in  exchange  for  a  tract  of  "  five  hundred  square  leagues,"  or  about  750,000  acres. 
Later  the  Paraguaj'  Government  sold,  always  to  English  speculators,  the  Asuncion- 
Yilla  Rica  Railway.  By  this  arrangement,  followed  by  a  development  of  coloni- 
sation and  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  value  of  the  soil,  it  was  found  possible 
to  negotiate  the  sale  of  vast  tracts  of  arable  land,  greatly  to  the  benefit  of  the 
public  finances. 

Commenting  on  these  transactions,  De  Bourgade  remarks  that  "  no  European 
stock-market  to  the  same  degree  as  Limdon  has  appreciated  the  vast  resources 
and  future  development  of   the  States  of   America.     There  may  be  some  initial 


328 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


difficulty  to  overcome,  or  some  crisis  to  survive ;  but  England  has  ever  been 
reo'ardless  of  a  risk  that  is  temporary,  and  prepared  to  await  a  recompense  that 
may  tarry,  but  appears  to  be  sure.  Almost  all  the  smaller  American  States  are 
in  her  debt ;  almost  all,  at  some  time  or  other,  have  failed  to  meet  their  obliga- 
tions ;  but  there  is  not  one  of  them  that  has  not  paid  large  interest  to  its  patient 
creditor.  No  other  European  market  has  so  accurate  an  appreciation  of  the 
capabilities  of  America,  and  it  is  this  which  gives  England  so  powerful  a  hold 
in  the  New  World,  where  she  disposes  of  large  consignments  of  her  products."* 

Paraguay  comprises  23  electoral  districts,  of  which  three  for  the  capital, 
nominating  four  deputies  and  three  senators  ;  the  rural  districts  elect  32  deputies 
and  16  senators,  while  Chaoo  forms  a  special  division. 

*  Faraguaij,  p.  S3. 


CHAPTER  XVr. 

Uruguay. 

RUGUAY,  smallest  of  the  South  Americau  Republics,  often  takes 
the  name  of  "  Banda  Oriental,"  which  indicates  its  former  state 
of  political  dependence  on  Argentina.  Of  itself  the  expression  has 
no  meaning  except  as  used  by  the  people  of  the  "  Banda  Occi- 
dentale,"  that  is  to  say,  the  inhabitants  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  the 
Argentine  "  Mesopotamia."  Under  the  colonial  rule  this  territory'  formed  part 
of  the  Spanish  possessions,  and  even  after  the  separation  it  continued  to  constitute 
a  province  of  the  Argentine  Confederation  till  the  year  1815. 

But  the  Portuguese  and  their  Brazilian  heirs  also  regarded  this  peninsular 
region,  bounded  by  the  ocean,  the  Plate  estuarj'  and  the  Rio  Uruguay,  as  the 
natural  complement  to  their  vast  domain.  Hence  the  post  of  Colonia,  facing 
Buenos  Ayres,  was  hotly  contested  by  them  at  the  end  of  the  saventeenth  and 
during  the  following  century,  and  it  was  to  outflank  the  Portuguese  that  the 
Spaniards  founded  in  1724  the  town  of  Monte  Video,  which  has  since  become  the 
capital  of  Uruguay. 

But  in  1821  the  Brazilians,  taking  advantage  of  the  internal  dissensions 
of  the  Platean  Republic,  succeeded  in  annexing  Uruguay,  constituting  it  the 
Cisplatine  province,  and  for  six  3-ears  they  remained  masters  of  the  whole  sea- 
board between  the  Amazons  and  Plate  estuaries.  Then  for  another  period  of 
three  3'ears  Uruguay  formed  part  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  after  which 
followed  the  "  great  war,"  which  lasted  sixteen  years,  from  1836  to  18-j2,  and 
which  left  the  country  a  vast  solitude. 

During  the  war  wdth  Paraguay  the  little  Republic  retained  only  a  nominal 
autonomy,  for  it  had  to  accept  the  President  imposed  upon  the  country  by  the 
Brazilians.  Even  now  its  independence  is  entirely  due  to  the  rivalry  of  its  two 
powerful  neighbours.  Yet,  despite  its  unstable  political  position,  it  has  made 
considerable  progress  since  the  great  war.  During  the  nineteenth  century  the 
population  has  increased  more  than  tenfold,  and  trade  has  even  made  still  more 


330  AMLAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

rapid  progress,  for  few  countries  enjoy  a  more  favourable  commercial  position, 
combined  with  all  the  advantages  of  a  good  climate  and  fertile  soil. 

Bounded  north  by  the  little  Rio  Chuy,  the  Lagoa  Mirim  and  the  Rios 
Jaguarao  and  Quaraim,  and  elsewhere  by  the  Uruguay  river,  the  Plate  estuarj',  and 
the  Atlantic,  Uruguay  comprises  a  total  area  of  over  72,000  square  miles,  with  a 
population  (1893)  of  750,000. 

Physical  Features. 

The  heights  traversing  Uruguay,  which  nowhere  exceed  2,000  feet,  belong  to 
the  same  mountainous  system  as  those  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul.  The  ridges  take 
the  same  name  of  cuchillas,  or  "  knives,"  although  presenting  no  sharp  crests, 
but  only  long,  gently  sloping  summits.  Most  of  the  surface  is  broken  by  these 
undulations,  which  are  decomposed  into  hundreds  of  distinct  masses  between  the 
intervening  rivers  and  rivulets.  Campos  and  irregular  plains  stretch  along  the 
foot  of  these  hills,  which  seem  high  only  by  contrast,  and  whose  bare  upper  slopes 
rise  above  the  zone  of  vegetation. 

Some  of  the  ridges  acquire  a  great  development  between  the  river  basins. 
Such  are  the  CuchiUa  de  Haedo,  stretching  south-westwards  in  the  direction  of 
Paysandu,  and  the  Cuchilla  Grande,  which  is  disposed  north  and  south,  gradually 
diminishing  in  height,  and  projecting  a  few  rocky  headlands  seawards.  Between 
Monte  Video  and  Maldonado  the  last  spur  takes  the  name  of  Sierra  de  las 
Animas. 

In  the  north  the  prevailing  rocks  are  granites  and  gneiss,  with  erupted  matter 
spread  over  the  other  formations.  Here  occur  the  auriferous  deposits,  lead, 
copper,  agates,  and  amethysts.  All  the  gravels  known  as  jneclra  china,  "  China 
stone,"  on  the  banks  of  the  Uruguay,  are  organic  substances  transformed  to 
silica,  often  containing  drops  of  water,  and  sometimes  preserving  their  primitive 
colour.  Here  are  also  found  the  so-called  cocos  de  mina,  hollow  nodules,  or  clusters, 
of  crystals,  which  sometimes  explode  ;  then  the  natives  say  that  these  "  mineral 
coconuts "  have  arrived  at  maturity.  The  surface  of  the  plains  consists  of 
argillaceous  beds,  which  change  to  mire  in  rainy  weather,  and  which  abound  in 
the  remains  of  megatheriums  and  other  extinct  animals. 

Rivers. 

The  Uruguay,  which  gives  its  name  to  the  Republic,  is  alreadj'  a  copious  stream 
at  Salto,  where  it  develops  a  cascade  which  arrests  the  steam  navigation  except 
during  heavy  floods. 

"  Of  course  the  aspect  of  the  falls  must  vary  considerably  with  the  volume  of 
water  in  this  singularly  capricious  river,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
title  of  Grand  Leap  [Salto  Grande)  given  them  is  a  piece  of  Castilian  grandilo- 
quence, and  that  they  are  never  much  more  than  rapids  on  a  very  great  scale, 
though  as  such  none  the  less  obstructive  to  navigation.     A  wilderness  of  shallow, 


EIVEES  OF  URUGUAY.  881 

troubled  waters  was  tlie  general  impression  at  once  conveyed.  The  miglity  river, 
vexed  and  hindered  in  its  progress  by  a  long  succession  of  step-like  reefs,  had 
spread  itself  out  over  an  immense  area,  breaking  its  way  in  lines  of  foam  through 
the  narrow  channels  worn  by  its  action,  and  eddying  in  the  deeper  places  with  a 
force  that  made  the  water  appear  to  be  seething  upwards  from  concealed  cauldrons. 
The  great  slabs  of  dark,  slimy  rock  which  remained  uncovered  in  the  midst,  or 
were  simplj-  trickled  over  by  the  surging  flood,  literally  swarmed  with  water- 
fowl, drawn  to  the  spot  by  the  fish  that  lay  temptingly  in  view  in  the  shoal  water 
all  round.  The  entire  long-billed  tribe — ci'anes,  and  herons,  and  storks  of  every 
variety — stood  there  in  serried  files,  watching  their  chance  with  a  terrible  ear- 
nestness, undistracted  by  the  myriads  of  restless  gulls  which  circled  above  them, 
uttering  their  plaintive,  wearisome  cry."  * 

Even  lower  down  the  current  is  obstructed  by  the  so-called  Corra/itos, 
"little  corals,"  reefs  dangerous  to  large  vessels,  and  during  low  water  there  is  a 
depth  of  only  10  feet  at  the  Hervidero.  Farther  south  the  river  preserves  the 
picturesque  asjject  of  its  high  banks,  its  wooded  hills,  abrupt  windings,  and 
shifting  scenery.  Below  Paysandu,  where  it  is  only  700  yards  wide,  it  begins 
to  assume  the  aspect  of  a  broad  estuary,  with  low  marshy  banks  on  the  west 
(Argentine)  side,  terraced  cliffs  and  hills  of  divers  forms  on  the  east  side. 

It  is  evident  from  these  contrasts  that  at  some  former  epoch  the  Uruguay 
flowed  through  the  level  plain  to  its  junction  with  the  Parana;  then  at  a  later 
period  it  gradually  shifted  its  bed  in  the  direction  of  the  east,  ceaselessly  eating  ' 
away  the  scarps  of  the  clifi's,  and  distributing  the  debris  along  its  right  bank. 
Thus  the  Uruguay  is  another  illustration  of  the  phenomenon  of  normal  erosion, 
which  in  accordance  with  the  "  law  of  Baer,"  causes  the  rivers  of  the  southera 
hemisphere  to  encroach  on  their  left  bank,  whereas  in  the  northern  hemisphere 
the  tendency  is  to  gain  on  their  right  bank. 

The  basin  of  the  Pao  Xegro,  by  far  the  largest  of  the  Uruguay  affluents,  com- 
prises about  half  of  the  territory  of  the  Republic.  It  takes  its  name,  not  from  the 
colour  of  its  water,  but  from  the  sharpness  with  which  its  clear,  limpid  stream 
reflects  every  flitting  shadow.  After  receiving  the  Tacuarembo  and  the  Yi,  the 
Rio  Negro  flows  normally  north-east  and  south-west ;  but  before  reaching  the 
main  stream  it  suddenly  turns  south,  thus  enclosing  with  the  Uruguay  the  long 
peninsular  tract  known  as  the  Rincon  de  las  Gallinas,  "  Poultry  Yard."  This 
natural  enclosure  served  from  the  early  days  of  the  colonisation  as  a  convenient 
place  for  herding  cattle. 

Below  the  Rio  Negro  confluence  the  Uruguaj'  expands  to  the  proportions  of  a 
broad  lake  with  scarcely  perceptible  current,  and  even  at  Higueritas,  its  narrowest 
point,  maintaining  a  width  of  considerably  over  a  mile.  Above  the  island  of 
Slartin  Garcia  the  Parana  mingles  its  waters  with  those  of  the  Uruguay  at  the 
head  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  estuary.  Sooner  or  later  this  estuary  must  be  tilled 
in  by  the  sediment  deposited  on  its  bed  by  the  converging  streams,  and  then  the 

*  RuinboU,  T/ic  Great  Silver  Ekcr,  p.  238. 


832 


A3IAZ0XIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Uruguay  will  be  transformed  to  an  affluent  of  the  Parana.  Meanwhile  it  main- 
tains a  semi-iudependent  existence,  and  in  former  geological  times  it  was  an 
entirely  distinct  watercourse. 

Besides  the  Uruguay  the  Republic  has  no  running  waters  except  a  few  small 
coast  streams,  and  those  rivers  which  discharge  into  the  Lagoa  ilirim  and  the  S. 
Gon9alo,  and  which  consequently  belong  to  the  basin  of  the  Brazilian  Rio  Grande. 


Fig.  139.— La  Plata  Esttjaet. 
Scale  1  :  3  500,000. 


0  to6 
Feet. 


6*n  16 
ieet. 


Depths. 


IS  to  32 
feet. 


32  to  64 
Feet. 


64  to  80 
Feet. 


PO  Feet 
and  upwards. 


.  no  Miles. 


All  these  rivers — Cebollati,  Tacuari,  and  Yaguaron  (Jaguarao) — have  their  lower 
course  fringed  by  marshes  into  which  they  overflow  during  the  wet  season. 


Climate. 

Being  almost  surrounded  by  water,  Uruguay  cnjo3-s  a  marine  climate,  at  least 
compared  with  that  of  the  pampas  regions.     iS'^evertheless   there  is  still  a  great 


CLIMATE  OF  URUGUAY.  333 

range  of  temperature,  which  at  Monte  Video  oscillates  as  much  as  72"  or  73° 
Fahr.  This  city,  lying  under  a  latitude  corresponding  in  the  southern  to  that  of 
Algiers  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  presents  the  normal  alternation  of  the  four 
seasons,  although  winter  is  so  mild  that  practicall}'  the  inhabitants  distinguish 
only  between  the  warm  period,  from  October  to  April,  and  the  cool  period  for  the 
rest  of  the  year.  Owing  to  exceptional  radiation  in  a  clear  sky  the  glass  falls 
now  and  then  below  freezing  point ;  but  as  a  rule  July,  the  coldest  month,  corre- 
sponds to  April  in  Paris. 

In  the  interior  the  summer  heats  seem  at  times  almost  unbearable,  but  this 
is  duo  to  the  conilagrations  in  the  bush  country,  spreading  a  mantle  of  dense 
smoke  far  and  wide.  The  most  unpleasant  feature  of  the  climate  is  the  great 
difference  between  the  cold  mornings  and  the  warm  mid-day  heats,  a  difference 
which  usually  does  not  exceed  10°  Fahr.,  but  which  sometimes  rises  to  28°  and 
even  32°  in  a  space  of  eight  hours.  Such  discrepancies,  which  are  very  trying  to 
strangers,  occur  especially  in  spring  (September  and  October),  when  the  biting 
winds  most  prevail. 

In  the  Uruguay  valley  the  atmospheric  currents  usually  set  in  the  direction  cf 
the  river,  either  north  and  south  or  south  and  north.  But  on  the  seaboard  the 
normal  south-east  trades  blow  steadily  throughout  the  summer  season.  They 
prevail  also  in  the  cool  season,  but  are  then  frequently  interrupted  either  by 
northern  breezes  or  by  the  pampero,  which  comes  from  the  south-west.  Although 
the  most  dangerous,  this  pampero  is  also  the  great  purifier,  sweeping  all  vapours, 
fogs,  and  particles  of  dust  from  the  atmosphere,  drying  the  saturated  ground,  and 
by  the  accompanying  slight  frosts  destroj-ing  myriads  of  insects  injurious  tt)  the 
vegetation. 

But  there  is  also  a  wet,  or  "  dirty  "  pampero  {pampero  sucio),  which  is  often 
accompanied  by  tremendous  downpours,  especially  when  it  blows  from  the  north 
in  the  summer  season.  "  The  sheets  of  water  that  come  down  perfectly  straight 
all  through  the  day  and  night  without  a  break,  are  accompanied  by  equally  con- 
tinuous thunder  and  lightning,  which  seem  to  work  their  way  right  round  the 
heavens,  and  to  box  the  entire  compass.  The  thunder  is  one  unceasing  muffled 
roll,  out  of  which  burst  sudden  fierce  claps  of  deafening  violence  ;  the  lightning 
playing  meanwhile  almost  uninterruptedly  at  every  point  of  the  horizon,  and  leap- 
ing forth  now  and  then  into  a  great  scorching  flame,  which  for  a  moment  lights  up 
the  whole  world  with  a  lurid  blue  and  yellow.  The  darkness,  too,  is  very  striking, 
and  almost  equals  that  of  a  dense  London  fog  ;  while  the  heat  seems  to  increase 
rather  than  to  yield  to  the  storm,  and  one  sits  as  in  a  prolonged  vapour-bath,  with 
the  most  trying  sense  of  physical  prostration  and  depression  of  spirits.  These 
storms,  in  fact,  do  not  in  the  least  clear  the  atmosphere,  and  relief  only  comes 
when  the  wind  veers  round  to  the  south-east,  and  brings  with  it  a  renewed  feeling 
of  vigour  and  elasticity,  as  marked  as  were  the  languor  and  dejection  before."  * 

There  is  no  well-marked  rainy  season,  and  the  precipitation  is  very  unequally 

*  Sir  Horace  KumbulJ,  The  Great  Silver  liiicr,  p.  130. 


334  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

distributed  from  year  to  year.  But  the  yearly  average  exceeds  40  inches,  although 
rainy  days  are  far  fewer  than  in  "West  Europe.  On  the  seaboard  the  rains  are 
attended  by  fierce  gales  and  occasionally  change  to  hail.* 


Flora  and  Fauna. 

Uruguay  can  no  longer  boast  of  the  rich  flora  which  still  survives  in  South 
Brazil,  at  least  as  far  as  the  Jacuhy  valley.  Wild  palms,  especially  the  yata'i 
{cocos  yata'i),  may  still  be  seen  on  the  banks  and  islands  of  the  Uruguay  in  associa- 
tion with  the  taquara,  or  Brazilian  bamboo,  but  they  no  longer  range  farther 
south  than  the  Rincon  de  las  Gallinas.  "Woodlands  have  become  rare  in  the 
interior ;  nor  do  they  now  present  that  marvellous  variety  of  forms  which  is 
observed  in  the  Brazilian  sclvas  and  mattas.  Even  the  araucaria  of  the  Campos  has 
disappeared,  and  southwards  stretch  ojien,  treeless  plains,  with  here  and  there  a 
solitary  ombu,  the  characteristic  tree  of  the  Plateau  pampas. 

In  its  fauna  also,  Uruguaj^  belongs  rather  to  the  Argentine  than  to  the  Brnzi- 
lian  zone.  The  howling  monkey,  still  heard  in  the  northern  forests,  has  disap- 
peared from  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Uruguay,  as  the  Cayman  has  from  the 
estuaries.  But  the  rattle-snake  is  still  met  in  the  rocky  glens  of  Minas  and 
jNIaldonado.  The  ostrich,  seldom  seen  in  the  wild  state,  has  been  domesticated 
since  1874,  and  is  now  bred  in  numerous  farms.  The  Plateau  waters  abound  in 
fish  to  such  an  extent  that  during  the  nine  years'  blockade  of  Monte  Yideo  from 
1843  to  1851  the  inhabitants  drew  their  chief  supply  of  food  from  this  source.  In 
the  Maldonado  district  there  is  a  land  crab  analogous  to  the  Caiieer  ruricola  of 
Jamaica,  which  is  of  burrowing  habits ;  it  digs  itself  holes  in  the  dry  sand  far 
from  the  sea-shore  and  the  banks  of  the  lagoons. 


Inhabitants. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery,  Uruguay  was  roamed  by  numerous  Indian 
tribes,  whom  the  Spaniards  began  forthwith  to  reduce  and  enslave.  They  were 
successful  with  certain  groups,  probably  of  Guarani  stock,  who  occupied  the  left 
bank  of  the  Uruguay  and  its  islands.  The  Yaros,  Bobans  and  Chanas,  who  sub- 
mitted to  the  invaders,  soon  disappeared,  either  by  absorption,  or  in  the  struggle 
with  the  Charruas,  who  had  maintained  their  independence. 

These  were  physically  a  magnificent  race,  taller  than  the  Europeans,  stout, 
vigorous  and  agile,  of  sober  habits,  noted  for  their  sharp  sense  of  hearing,  always 
grave  and  collected,  "  never  complaining  even  when  being  killed."  They  were 
also  a  valiant  people,  whom  the  Spaniards  had  to  conquer  inch  by  inch.  At  first 
they  fought  with  club  and  arrow,  but  after  the   introduction  of  the  horse,  they 

*  Meteorological  conditions  of  Monte  Video : — 

Temperature.  Kainy 

liatittide.  ~~-  ~^  Days.  Eainfall. 

Max.  Mpftn.  Min. 

■ii' H' S.  1U6   Fahr.  (32°  Falir.  o2"  Fuhr.  36  40  iuuhes. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  UEUGUAT.  335 

leamt  the  use  of  speir  and  lasso,  like  their  Pampas  neighbours.  Towards  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Charruaa  had  been  driven  north  of  the  Rio 
Xegro,  where  they  were  joined  by  the  ilinuans  from  the  Parana.  "The  Char- 
ruas,"  wrote  Azara,  "  muster  only  400  warriors,  but  they  have  cost  the  Spaniards 
more  blood  than  the  numerous  armies  of  the  Inca  and  of  Montezuma."  They 
were  finallv  reduced  in  1831,  when  some  were  sold  to  an  itinerant  showman,  the 
last  of  these  dying  in  a  Paris  hospital;  but  there  is  no  doubt  a  strain  of  Charrua 
blood  in  the  veins  of  the  present  mixed  Uruguayans,  who  are  physically  amongst 
the  finest  of  the  Hispano- American  populations. 

Topography. 

The  right  bank  of  the  Uruguay  is  thinly  peopled  above  the  town  of  Salto, 
which  takes  its  name  from  the  neighbouring  "  Falls."  Salto,  third  city  of  the 
Republic  in  population,  though  dating  only  from  the  year  1817,  is  picturesquely 
situated  on  the  slopes  of  several  hills  at  the  point  where  the  steam  navigation  is 
arrested,  except  when  the  river  is  in  flood.  It  practically  forms  a  single  city 
with  Concordia  on  the  opposite  (Argentine)  side.  Southwards  opens  the  valley  of 
the  River  Davman,  which  is  named  from  one  of  the  numerous  English  proprietors 
whose  plantations  line  its  banks. 

Patsaxdtj — Fr.\t  Bentos — RmiRA. 

Paymndu,  founded  in  1772  by  the  "  pere "  Sandu,  occupies  a  position  ana- 
logous to  that  of  Salto,  on  a  high  cliff  at  the  issue  of  a  river  valley  nearly 
opposite  Colon  on  the  Argentine  side.  It  ranks  next  to  ilonte  Video  in  population, 
and  since  its  destruction  by  a  Brazilian  fleet  in  1864,  has  taken  a  large  share  in 
the  preserved  meat  business,  whose  chief  centre  is  at  Fray  Beiitos,  officially  called 
Independencia,  some  distance  lower  down.  In  1863,  this  place  was  merely  a  chapel 
surrounded  by  a  few  huts,  when  the  district  was  chosen  by  a  far-seeing  speculator 
as  a  suitable  site  for  the  establishment  of  a  factory  for  the  preparation  of 
"  Liebig's  Extract."  The  factory,  itself  a  small  towTi,  gives  employment  to  about 
2,000  hands,  and  during  the  busy  season,  the  cattle  from  the  Upper  Uruguay,  the 
Parana,  the  Gualeguaychu,  and  the  Rio  Xegro  are  here  "  treated  "  at  the  rate  of 
about  1,000  a  day.  Thanks  to  this  industry,  Fray  Bentos  has  become  the  third, 
and  in  some  years  the  second  port  of  the  Republic.  "  The  nature  of  the  opera- 
tions carried  on  here  is  clearly  enough  revealed  by  the  whiffs  that  come  borne  to 
us  on  the  night  breeze.  Once  more,  to  borrow  the  vigorous  and  terrible  words 
used  by  Yicuiia  ilackenna  in  speaking  of  it  tmder  the  rule  of  Rosas,  this  country 
is  literally  a  huge  slaughter-shed,  making  the  air  hot  and  heavy  with  the  smell 
of  blood,  and  men  callously  unconcerned  at  its  sight.  A  profitable  trade  and 
occupation  for  a  nation  doubtless,  but  one  that  keeps  alive  in  it  those  inborn  human 
instincts  of  cruelty  and  savagery,  which  in  our  older  civilisation  have  long  been 
curbed  and  softened  down.     One  of  the  ugliest  traits  of  the  uneducated  native  of 


336  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

these  countries  is  his  perfect  indifference  to  the  sufferings  of  the  brute  creation  ; 
his  comparative  disregard  of  human  life  is,  with  such  a  training,  not  unintelli- 
gible." * 

Rivera,  at  the  source  of  the  Cufiapiru,  one  of  the  chief  affluents  of  the  Eio 
Negro,  forms  almost  a  single  town  with  the  neighbouring  Santa  Anna  de  Livni- 
mento  on  the  Brazilian  side.  For  a  time  Rivera  was  a  great  centre  of  the  gold 
industry,  and  considerable  quantities  appear  to  have  been  collected  in  the 
Cunapiru  and  surrounding  valleys.  Yet  a  French  company  had  to  cease  opera- 
tions after  losing  millions  of  money  in  this  "  Eldorado." 

DURAZNO COLONIA — SaN    JoSE. 

JtiiriizHO,  on  the  River  Yi,  midway  between  Tacuarcmbo  (formerly  Ban  Frnc- 
ti(i).so)  and  Monte  Video,  has  been  transformed  from  a  military  colony  to  an  agri- 
cultural market.  Some  Indians,  expelled  by  the  Brazilian  settlers  in  the  territory 
of  the  missions,  were  settled  at  Durazno  in  1828,  but  instead  of  allowing  them  to 
cultivate  their  land  in  peace,  the  authorities  enrolled  them  as  soldiers,  and  all 
perished  in  the  civil  wars.  Soriano,  near  the  head  of  the  Uruguay  estuar}',  dates 
from  the  year  1624,  and  here  is  still  seen  the  chapel  built  by  Bernardo  de  Guzman 
for  the  Ghana  Indians,  who  had  appealed  to  the  Spaniards  for  protection  against 
the  Charruas.  No  trace  remains  of  another  station  which  was  founded  by 
Sebastian  Cabot,  a  few  miles  farther  down,  near  the  present  village  of  San  Sahridor. 

Farther  down  follow  Higueritas  {Nueva  Palmini)  and  Carmelo  {Las  Vacas)  at  a 
point  on  the  estuary  where  it  narrows  from  six  miles  to  little  over  one  mile,  forming 
an  excellent  harbour  about  the  Parana  confluence.  At  the  extremity  of  a 
headland  below  the  island  of  Martin  Garcia,  stands  the  famous  station  of  Colonia 
del  Sacramento,  opposite  Buenos  Ayres.  Soon  after  its  foundation  in  1679,  Colonia, 
which  has  the  best  anchorage  in  the  Plate  estuary  below  Higueritas,  was  seized 
bv  the  Portuguese  Manoel  Lobo,  and  by  him  for  a  time  transformed  to  a  nest  of 
smugglers.  On  the  banks  of  the  neighbouring  little  Rio  Martin  Chico,  the  illus- 
trious navigator  Solis  was  killed  by  the  Charruas. 

San  Jose,  on  the  river  of  like  name,  north-west  of  Monte  Video,  was  founded  at 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  by  some  settlers  from  the  north  of  Sjjain. 
During  the  war  with  Brazil  (1825),  the  Republicans  had  made  it  their  capital,  and 
since  then  it  has  shared  in  all  the  local  troubles.  Nevertheless,  it  has  steadily 
prospered,  like  the  neighbouring  Florida  on  the  Arroyo  Pintado,  which  is  spanned 
by  a  fine  viaduct  on  the  northern  railway.  The  village  of  Itiiaaiiir/o  on  the  Rio 
Santa  Lucia  in  the  same  district,  recalls  the  decisive  victory  of  the  Argentines 
over  the  Brazilians  in  1827. 

Monte  Video. 

Moiiie  Video,  capital  of  Uruguay,  dates  only  from  the  early  part  of  the 
eigliteenth  century,  when  Zabala,  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  founded  it  as  a 

*  Eumbold,  p.  153. 


TOrOGEAPIIY  OF  URUGUAY. 


887 


militarj''  post  to  cut  out  the  Portuguese,  wlio  were  threatening  to  seize  the  east 
bank  of  the  estuary.  The  first  colonists  arrived  from  Galicia  and  the  Canaries 
in  172<),  and  grouped  themselves  round  the  little  fort.  Then  the  abolition  of  the 
commercial  monopolj-  of  Cadiz,  in  1778,  followed  by  the  opening  of  the  port  of 
Monte  Video  to  free  trade,  at  once  attracted  numerous  settlers,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  century  the  new  seaport  already  took  the  first  place  amongst  the  maritime 
cities  of  South  America.      At  that  time  its  exchanges  were  valued  at  £1,400,000. 


Fia;.  140. — Montevideo. 
Scale  I  :  100,000. 


56-I5' 


West  or  Greenwich 


SS'itr 


0to6 
Feet. 


Depths. 


6toI6 
Feet. 


IftFeet 
and  npwarda. 

25  Milea. 


Then  followed  the  turbulent  days  of  the  Revolution  and  Independence,  in 
which  Monte  Video  suffered  more  than  any  other  place  in  Plate  regions.  For 
nine  j-ears  (1842-51),  the  Colorados  or  "  Reds,"  with  Garibaldi's  Italians  and  the 
French  Basques,  valiantly  defended  this  "  New  Troy,"  against  Rosas'  Lieutenant, 
Oribe.  After  the  disaster  of  Monte  Caseros,  the  Plateans  were  compelled  to 
raise  the  siege  and  proclaim  the  free  navigation  of  the  rivers,  for  which  the 
capital  of  Uruguay  was  contending  against  Buenos  Ayres. 

Since  this  triumph  Monte  Video  has  continued  to  expand,  and  is  now  believed 

VOL.    XIX.  z 


888  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

to  rank  for  population  as  the  fourth  citj-  of  South  America.  It  is  well  situated 
on  an  elevated  headland  which  projects  westwards,  while  to  the  north  the  shore- 
line develops  a  serai-circular  curve  round  to  the  Cerro,  or  "  Eminence  "  in  a  pre- 
eminent sense,  which  rises  486  feet  opposite  the  capital  at  the  entrance  to  the 
harbour.  Rising  in  amphitheatrical  form  on  the  slopes  of  the  peninsula,  Monte 
Video  presents  a  pleasant  seaward  aspect,  while  its  terraced  houses  command  a 
wide  prospect  of  the  harbour,  semi- circular  bay,  and  distant  roadstead.  The  lower 
parts,  till  recently  encumbered  by  the  remains  of  the  Spanish  fortifications,  are 
DOW  occupied  by  several  fine  buildings,  such  as  the  exchange,  banks,  and  theatres. 
Amongst  the  learned  institutions  a  foremost  place  is  taken  by  the  Universitj', 
■which  is  well  attended,  especially  by  students  of  law,  future  politicians  and  legis- 
lators of  the  Republic. 

"  A  walk  through  the  streets  and  squares  of  the  capital  of  Uruguay  soon  showed 
us  how  very  different  were  these  people  that  we  were  now  among  from  the 
Brazilians  in  every  resjject.  No  two  cities  could  be  less  alike  than  these  two 
capitals  of  neighbouring  States.  Not  here  the  lofty  houses  of  Rio,  but  clean 
streets  of  one- storied  glaring  white  houses,  built  in  the  style  of  a  Pompeian  dwell- 
ing. A  square,  flat-roofed  building,  with  an  open  courtyard  or  patio,  in  the 
centre,  on  to  which  all  the  rooms  open  ;  a  fountain  and  a  flower-garden  in  the 
patio  ;  towards  the  street  the  windows,  if  any,  small  and  heavQy  barred  with  iron 
— such  is  the  residence  of  a  South  American  Spaniard,  a  retiring  sort  of  dwell- 
ing, shutting  itself  jealously  from  the  outer  world  with  a  Mussulman-like  love  of 
seclusion.  The  populace,  too,  how  different  from  that  of  a  Brazilian  city  !  no 
negroes  here,  and  no  ugly-looking  Portuguese ;  but  handsome  and  dignified 
Spaniards,  with  a  good  deal  of  Indian  blood  in  the  veins  of  the  lower  orders  of 
them.  Cleanest  of  cities  is  Monte  Video,  with  straight  streets  cutting  each  other 
at  right  angles  in  the  American  chess-board  fashion." — [Rumhold.) 

Since  the  last  centuiy  the  harbour  has  greatly  shoaled,  and  is  now  accessible 
only  to  vessels  drawing  10  or  12  feet,  so  that  the  transatlantic  liners  have  to  ride 
at  anchor  in  the  exposed  roadstead.  But  several  improvements  have  been  effected, 
including  breakwaters,  wharves,  repairing  docks,  and  the  removal  of  the 
quarantine  station  from  Ratas  Island  in  the  harbour  to  Flores  Island  some  12 
miles  farther  east.  But  the  surf  still  rolls  in  from  the  south,  and  will  continue 
to  do  so  till  the  money  can  be  found  to  construct  another  breakwater  farther 
seawards. 

But  despite  all  the  difficult  and  even  dangerous  approaches,  trade  stUl  con- 
tinues to  gravitate  towards  Monte  Video,  whose  geographical  position  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Platean  regions  presents  many  advantages.  As  many  as  twenty 
lines  of  steamships  touch  at  this  port,  where  large  repairing  docks  have  been 
constructed  at  the  foot  of  the  Cerro.  It  has  been  proposed  to  create  a  great 
harbour  in  deep  water  by  enclosing  the  Bay  of  Buceo  some  six  miles  east  of  Monte 
Video,  although  this  inlet  lies  beyond  the  roadstead.  But  the  plans  of  the  English 
engineer  have  been  found  too  costly  to  be  entertained  for  the  present.  The 
project   is    also  vehemently  opposed    by  the    merchants   who   are  interested   in 


TOPOGEAPHT  OF  URUGUAY.  839 

keeping   tlio  centre  of  trade  in  its  present  position  at  the    extremity  of    the 
peninsula.* 

The  local  industries  comprise  vast  safaderos,  "  meat  factories,"  on  the  sloijes  of 
the  Cerro.  Most  of  the  factories  belong  to  foreigners,  and  even  the  nursery 
grounds  are  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  the  French  Basques.  On  holidays,  crowds 
resort  to  Paso  Jloliiio,  Union,  Cerrito  and  other  suburban  retreats,  and  in  summer 
Plaija  Ramirez  and  Pocitos  on  the  Atlantic  are  much  frequented  by  bathers.  The 
railways  radiating  in  various  directions  enable  the  better  classes  to  reside  at 
Piedras,  Canelones,  Sauce,  Pando,  at  some  distance  from  the  capital.  Good  water 
is  drawn  from  the  Rio  de  Santa  Lucia,  32  miles  to  the  north,  with  a  large  reser- 
voir at  Piedras  100  feet  above  the  level  of  Central  Square. 


Maldonado — Melo — Artigas. 

Maldonado,  on  a  semi-circular  bay,  resembling  that  of  Monte  Yideo,  and 
sheltered  from  the  east  by  the  southernmost  headland  of  Uruguay,  offers  better 
anchorage  than  the  capital,  but  it  is  too  far  removed  from  the  entrance  to  the 
I'late  estuary,  and  is  consequently  little  frequented  by  shipping,  except  when  one 
of  the  chronic  revolutions  endangers  the  approaches  to  Monte  Video.  Gold- 
hunters  often  land  at  Maldonado,  the  nearest  port  to  the  auriferous  district  of 
Minas,  where,  however,  few  fortunes  have  been  made. 

On  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  north  of  Maldonado,  the  chief  places  are  Poc/ia, 
near  the  coast,  Treiiita  y  Tres,  so  named  from  a  band  of  "  thirty-three  " 
heroes  in  the  Brazilian  war  of  1825  ;  Nico  Perez,  terminal  station  (1893)  of  the 
railway  which  is  ultimatelj'  to  connect  Monte  Video  directly  with  Eio  Grande  do 
Sul ;  Melo  (Cerro  Largo),  with  lead,  copper,  and  coal  mines,  besides  fine  granites 
and  porphyries ;  lastly,  Artigas,  facing  the  Brazilian  town  of  Jaguarao,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Rio  Jaguarao. 


Social  and  Material  Condition  of  Uuuguay. 

Despite  foreign  and  domestic  wars,  revolutions,  and  political  troubles  of  all 
sorts,  the  population  of  Uruguay  has  steadily  increased  since  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  having  advanced  from  30,000  in  1796  to  nearly  702,000  in 
1891.  This  increase  in  due  in  about  even  proportions  to  the  natural  excess  of 
births  over  deaths  and  to  immigration,  although  many  of  the  arrivals  from  Europe 
pass  on  to  Argentina  after  a  short  stay  in  the  country.  As  in  Brazil  and 
Argentina,  the  great  majority  of  the  immigrants  are  Italians,  who  at  present 
represent  about  one-seventh  of  all  the  inhabitants.  Another  important  element 
are  the  Basques,  who  probably  constitute  over  one-half  of  the  100,000  French  and 
Spaniards  now  (1894)  settled  in  Uruguay. 

*  Knight,  Cruiic  of  the  Falcon,  I.,  p.  106. 

z  2 


340  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Agriculture. 

Agriculture  and  pasturage  constitute  the  main  sources  of  wealth,  and  ■with  the 
increase  of  population  cultivated  land  continues  to  encroach  on  the  grazing- 
grounds.  In  1891  about  1,200,000  acres  were  estimated  to  be  under  wheat, 
maize,  and  other  crops,  the  yield  of  which  already  exceeds  the  local  demand. 
The  vine,  unfortunately  already  attacked  by  phylloxera,  flourishes,  especially  in 
the  Salto  district. 

Of  the  live-stock,  sheep  alone  have  increased  in  recent  years ;  both  horses  and 
horned  cattle,  though  still  relatively  very  numerous,  having  greatly  fallen  off 
durins  the    last  decade.      Mulhall    estimates  the    annual    returns    from   stock- 

o 

breeding  at  about  £7,500,000,  and  from  husbandry  at  £2,500,000,  most  of  this 
wealth  being  owned  by  strangers.  Landed  property  is  burdened  with  heavy 
mortgages,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  £4,000,000  in  1893.  In  the  territory 
of  the  Republic  are  comprised  20,000  urban  and  25,000  rural  estates  exceeding 
£120  in  value,  and  consequently  subject  to  the  impost.  It  thus  appears  that 
nearly  one-half  of  all  the  heads  of  families  in  the  State  are  freeholders.  Accord- 
ing to  the  returns  of  the  national  wealth,  more  than  half  of  the  public  domain 
belongs  to  foreigners,  mostly  Basques  and  Italians  ;  but  towards  the  frontiers  of 
Rio  Grande  the  richest  landowners  are  Brazilians.  In  Monte  Video  itself  two- 
thirds  of  the  real  estate  is  in  the  hands  of  immigrants  from  Europe. 

The  Meat-Pack  ing  Industry. 

As  in  Argentina  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  but  even  to  a  relatively  greater 
extent,  various  preparations  of  meat  form  the  staple  industry.  Till  recently  the 
animals  ran  free  on  the  pastures,  and  the  heaviest  work  of  the  esfancias  was 
connected  with  their  capture,  branding  and  sorting  for  sale,  the  shambles,  or  stock. 
But  these  antiquated  methods  now  survive  only  in  the  northern  provinces.  In 
the  south,  where  the  land  has  risen  greatly  in  value,  the  cattle  are  no  longer 
allowed  to  run  free,  but  are  confined  to  enclosures,  and  more  carefully  tended. 
About  a  million  are  slaughtered  every  year,  partly  for  the  local  demand,  which 
may  be  estimated  at  about  one  per  head  of  the  population,  partly  for  treatment  in 
the  saladeros. 

None  of  the  various  attempts  to  export  the  meat  in  a  frozen  state  have  proved 
quite  successful,  the  process  being  attended  by  a  loss  of  flavour.  Hence  a  general 
return  has  been  made  to  the  old  methods  of  tinning  and  jerking,  though  the 
work  is  carried  on  with  greatly  improved  appliances,  and  La  a  much  more 
methodic  manner.  In  the  large  saladeros  there  is  no  waste,  everything — hides, 
suet,  bones,  offal — being  utilised,  and  much  of  the  refuse  converted  into  valuable 
fertilisers. 

Trade — Communications — Education. 
Of  the   foreign    trade,    which  continues  to   increase   from  decade   to  decade, 
about  four-fifths  consist  of  the  products  of  the  saladeros  and  of  the  cattle-farms. 


TRADE  OF  UEUGUAT. 


341 


Uruguay's  chief  customer  is  Great  Britain,  followed  by  France,  Brazil,  Belgium, 
and  the  United  States,  in  the  order  named.  Over  two-thirds  of  the  traffic  and 
nearly  three-fourths  of  the  navigation  are  centred  in  Monte  Video. 


/ 


The  railway  system,  of  which  the  first  section  was  opened  in  1869,  is  slill  far 
from  being  developed,  even  in  the  Monte  Video  district,  although  it  already  reaches 
the  Brazilian  frontier.  Xo  trunk-line  has  yet  been  constructed  to  connect  the 
banks  of  the  Uruguay  with  the  Atlantic  coast  or  with  the  Laguna  ilirim.     On  the 


842 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


other  hand,  both  the  telegraph  and  postal  services  are  efficiently  conducted,  and 
Uruguay,  judged  by  the  test  of  its  public  correspondence,  takes  a  higher  place, 
not  only  than  Brazil  and  Argentina,  but  even  than  several  European  states. 

The  same  remark  applies  to  the  public   instruction,  nearly  one-tenth  of  the 
population  attending  the  national  and  private  schools.      The  bulk  of  the  people 


Fig.  142. — PoLincAi,  Divisioiis  of  Ubuouat. 

.So  lie  1  :  5  nofi.imo. 


125  Miles. 


are  Roman  Catholics,  but  freedom  of  worship  is  absolute  in  theory  and  practice. 
At  the  census  of  Monte  Video  in  1889  over  3,500  declared  themselves  "  Free- 
thinkers," while  nearly  7,000  were  returned  as  of  "  no  religion." 


Government. 

The  Constitution  conforms  to  the  usual  Hispano-American  type — universal 
sufirage,   two  chambers,   und  presidential  functions.      But,  as  in   so  many  other 


GOVEENMEXT  OF  URUGUAY.  343 

Central  and  South  American  States,  the  charter  of  rights  is  a  document  for  the 
most  part  pigeon-holed,  while  the  country  is  torn  by  rival  factions  resorting,  not 
to  constitutional  methods,  but  to  force,  intrigue,  bribery,  at  times  even  foreign  aid, 
in  support  of  their  claims.  Frequently  the  public  revenues  have  been  employed 
for  party  purposes  rather  than  for  the  public  good,  while  future  receipts  have 
been  discounted  by  burdensome  loans,  the  interest  on  ■which  has  remained  unpaid. 
Between  1880  and  1890  the  yearly  revenue  has  averaged  £2,300,000  and  the 
expenditure  £3,500,000,  about  half  of  the  former  being  derived  from  Customs. 
The  army,  which  costs  from  £600,000  to  £800,000,  comprises  about  4,000  of  all 
arms. 

TJruguay  is  administratively  divided  into  nineteen  departments,  which  with 
their  areas  and  populations  are  tabulated  in  the  appendix. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


Argentina. 


'OTH  in  extent  and  population  the  Argentine  Republic  ranks  amongst 
the  foremost  states  of  South  America.  It  is  surpassed  by  Brazil 
alone  in  superficial  area,  and  by  Brazil,  if  not  also  by  Colombia  in 
the  number  of  its  inhabitants.  But  Colombia  must  in  this  respect 
soon  be  distanced,  thanks  to  the  stream   of   immigration  settling 


towards  the  Platean  regions.      In  1893  the  population  appears  to  have  exceeded 
4,000,000  in  an  area  of  about  1,125,000  square  miles. 

In  all  attempts  to  forecast  the  probable  destinies  of  the  Argentine  region, 
the  chief  geographical  factor  to  be  considered  is  its  relative  proximity  to  the 
European  world.  Despite  the  appearances  and  despite  the  evidence  afforded  by 
the  maps,  the  shores  of  the  Plate  estuary  lie,  for  all  practical  purposes,  nearer  to 
Europe  than  the  northern  seaboard,  which  de  facto  is  situated  half  as  near  again 
to  that  Continent,  for  the  Plate  estuary  beyond  all  doubt  exercises  a  greater 
attraction  on  the  European  populations,  and  has  consequently  hitherto  received 
the  larger  share  of  their  trade,  capital,  and  emigrants.  In  such  international 
movements  mere  distance,  so  largely  neutralised  by  rapid  steam  navigation,  is  far 
less  important  than  remoteness  from  the  equator,  similar  conditions  of  climate, 
vegetation,  and  social  habits,  in  all  which  respects  the  Argentine  lands  contrast 
favourably  with  Amazonia  and  most  parts  of  the  Brazilian  seaboard. 


Progress  of  Discovery. 

This  southern  section  of  the  Continent  remained  unvisited  by  Europeans  for 
seventeen  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  New  World  by  Columbus.  In  1509, 
Vicente  Pinzon  and  Diaz  de  Solis  entered  the  Plate  estuary,  and  in  1520,  Magel- 
lan, accompanied  by  Pigafetta,  historian  of  the  circumnavigation,  passed  through 
the  strait  between  the  mainland  and  Fuegia,  which  bears  his  name.     The  estuary 


BUENOS  AYRES,  LA    L 


0  TO  ie  feet 


lon; 


^  AND  THE   ESTUARY. 


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X 


bghthouse        /Martin  Garcui 


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anco 


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/flfomo^ 


IfLop^ 


•  ic'  Vpwardja 


EXPLOEATION  OF  AEGEXTINA.  345 

and  the  strait  sufficed  to  enable  cartographers  to  figure  with  tolerable  accuracy  the 
true  form  of  the  east  coast  of  the  Continent.  But  the  bleak  shores  of  Fuegia  and 
Patagonia  were  too  forbidding  to  attract  explorers  to  the  interior  of  those  regions 
at  a  time  when  so  much  remained  to  be  done  in  more  promising  lands. 

Hence  researches  were  confined  to  the  inlets,  sounds,  and  straits  in  the  hope  of 
finding  some  through  passage  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Thus  Francisco  de  Hoces 
penetrated  in  1527  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  "  Land's  End,"  but  no  colony  was 
founded  in  these  regions,  while  the  Spaniards  were  endeavouring  to  secure  firm 
footing  in  the  land  watered  by  the  river  which  at  that  time  bore  the  name  of  Rio 
de  Solisfrom  its  discoverer.  Diaz  de  SoUs  had  returned  to  these  waters  in  1516, 
but  only  to  fall  in  a  fray  with  the  natives  on  the  banks  of  a  coast  stream  in  the 
Bauda  Oriental.  In  1538  Sebastian  Cabot  pushed  much  farther  inland,  penetrating 
to  Paraguav,  and  erecting  a  fort  at  the  confluence  of  the  Parana  with  the  Curca- 
raua  on  the  spot  where  now  stands  the  town  of  Gaboto,  so  called  from  the  Italian 
form  of  his  name. 

Cabot  was  the  first  to  perceive  that  the  estuary  of  Solis  and  one  of  the  great 
rivers  discharging  into  it  might  become  an  excellent  highway  of  access  to  the 
regions  of  Plata,  "  Silver,"  that  is  to  Boli^-ia  and  Peru.  Hence  the  curious  mis- 
nomer of  "Argentina"  or  "  La  Plata  "  applied  to  a  region  not  by  any  means  noted 
for  the  importance  of  its  silver  mines.  The  Peruvian  and  the  Bolivian  Andes 
are  the  true  Argenfiiia. 

But  the  colony  founded  by  Cabot  could  not  be  maintained,  and  a  few  years 
afterwards  the  Spaniard,  Mendoza,  settled  on  the  south  side  of  the  estuary,  on  the 
spot  where  now  stands  Buenos  Ayres.  Compelled  by  the  Indians  to  abandon  the 
settlement,  he  withdrew  with  his  little  party  to  the  fortalice  of  Carcaraua,  whence 
his  lieutenants  made  numerous  excursions  in  the  surrounding  districts.  Ayolas, 
one  of  these  pioneers,  founded  the  station  of  Asuncion  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Paraguay,  which  afterwards  became  the  capital  of  the  Republic. 

Then  he  ascended  the  river  as  far  as  Matto  Grosso,  and  advancing  boldly  into 
the  savannas  of  the  plains,  the  yungas  of  the  foothills,  and  the  Andean  forests,  he 
at  last  reached  Peru  in  15o7.  Ayolas  was  thus  the  first  of  all  the  conquerors  to 
cross  the  Continent  from  sea  to  sea.  He  was  followed  seven  years  afterwards  by 
Irala,  who  performed  the  same  feat,  and  henceforth  Spain  held  the  Lines  of  com- 
mimication  between  the  eastern  and  western  sections  of  her  vast  South  American 
domain.  In  1542,  a  no  less  daring  expedition  was  carried  out  by  Alvar  Nunez, 
who  made  his  way  from  the  coast  of  Brazil  by  the  rivers  and  portages  directly  to 
Paraguay. 

In  1575,  Juan  de  Garay  recovered  Buenos  Aj-res,  where  he  succeeded  in 
maintaining  himself  and  developing  the  settlement.  The  true  contour  lines  of  the 
Magellanic  coasts  were  determined  in  1579  by  the  pilot  Sarmiento,  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  mariners  on  record,  and  during  the  two  following  centuries  the 
whole  region  was  explored  between  the  Plate  basin  and  the  rampart  of  the  Andes. 
But  in  the  extreme  north  and  south  the  savage  aborigines  arrested,  and  frequently 
drove  back,  explorers  and   settlers.     On  the  one  hand  the  Abipons,  Mocovi,  and 


340  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Guaycurus  of  Gran  Chaco,  on  the  other  the  Pampas  tribes  of  Patagonia,  valiantly 
maintained  their  independence  against  the  white  invaders. 

The  Jesuit,  Falkner,  after  residing  several  years  amongst  the  Patagonians  at 
the  foot  of  the  Sierra  del  Vulcan,  first  described  the  interior  of  the  country  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Pampas  region.  His  work,  followed  in  1772  by  the  writings 
of  Cook's  companion,  Forster,  again  aroused  the  attention  of  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment, and  caused  a  revival  ofthe  explorations  which  had  been  suspended  fornearly 
two  centuries. 

In  1778,  four  years  after  the  appearance  of  Falkner's  work,  Juan  de  la 
Piedra  visited  the  stormy  gulf  of  San  Matias,  called  also  Bahia  sin  Fondo, 
"  Fathomless  Baj-,"  and  here  discovered  the  spacious  haven  of  San  Jose.  Between 
1779  and  1784,  the  brothers  Viedma,  followed  a  few  years  afterwards  by  Malaspina, 
coasted  all  the  inlets  along  the  southern  seaboard  ;  but  their  reports  were  consigned 
to  the  royal  archives  and  forgotten.  These  coast  surveys  were  supplemented  by 
excursions  into  the  interior,  and  in  1782  Villarino  even  ascended  the  course  of 
the  Rio  Negro  as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  Andes.  In  the  same  year  Antonio  de 
Viedma  discovered  the  lake  which  bears  his  name. 


Geographical  Research. 

The  scientific  study  of  the  Platean  regions  was  ushered  in  by  Felix  de  Azara, 
who  had  been  officially  commissioned  to  determine  the  Hispano-Portuguese  frontiers 
on  the  Uruguay,  Parana,  and  Paraguay  rivers ;  but  far  from  confining  himself 
to  geodetic  surveys,  Azara  also  studied  the  physical  features  and  natural  history 
of  these  regions.  De  Souillac  and  de  la  Cruz,  other  oflScers  in  the  Spanish 
service,  crossed  the  passes  of  the  Cordilleras,  and  fixed  their  position. 

But  the  war  of  independence  was  now  imminent,  and  henceforth  neither  the 
Spaniards  nor  their  emancipated  descendants  in  the  New  World  continued  to  take 
a  serious  part  in  geographical  exploration.  Thanks,  however,  to  the  abolition  of  the 
exclusive  Colonial  regime,  foreigners  were  now  able  to  co-operate  with  the  natives 
in  this  work.  Thus  D'Orbigny,  after  taking  up  his  residence  at  Carmen  de  Pata- 
gones  in  1826,  passed  into  Corrientes  to  prosecute  his  researches  on  the  American 
aborigines  embodied  in  his  classical  work,  "L'Homme  Americain."  Then  followed 
in  1833  the  memorable  expedition  of  the  Beagle  and  Adventure,  described  by 
Darwin  in  the  "Voyage  of  the  Beagle,"  an  epoch-making  work  in  the  history  of 
the  natural  sciences.  Dalton  Hooker,  another  English  zoologist,  who  accompanied 
the  Erebus  and  Terror  expedition,  studied  the  natural  history  of  Fuegia,  and 
described  the  "  Antarctic  Flora." 

The  geography  of  Argentina  proper  is  now  known  in  all  its  main  features, 
and  nothing  now  remains  except  to  fill  in  the  details.  This  coniplcmentarj'  work 
is  in  daily  progress,  thanks  to  the  miners  exploring  the  treasures  of  the  moun- 
tains, the  engineers  engaged  in  laying  down  railway  routes  and  regulating  water- 
courses, the  hind  surveyors  commissioned  to  measure  and  apportion  the  public 
domain. 


z 
<: 


EXPLORATION  OF  AEGEXTINA.  347 

But  along  the  frontiers  there  still  remain  almost  unknown  tracts,  either  held 
by  hostile  Indians,  or  too  difficult  and  dangerous  to  traverse.  Thus  the  Chaco 
region,  occupied  by  the  fierce  Tobas,  still  contains  some  spaces,  either  untraversed 
or  crossed  by  itineraries,  which  have  not  yet  been  harmonised  at  all  points.  In 
the  north-western  highlands,  with  their  snowy  peaks,  the  network  of  passes  pre- 
sents doubts,  which  have  not  been  solved  in  the  same  way  by  all  cartographers. 
Lastly,  the  study  of  the  triangular  Patagonian  region  has  cost  great  labour,  while 
the  section  of  the  Andes  separating  the  Atlantic  slope  from  the  western  fiords 
remains  to  a  great  extent  still  unknown. 

Patagonia  itself  has  been  visited  and  explored  by  numerous  travellers,  natura- 
lists, and  geologists,  mostly  following  in  the  track  of  the  old  missionaries,  who 
crossed  from  the  Chilian  heights  to  the  Argentine  plains.  Punta  Arenas,  the 
Chilian  station  on  ilagellan  Strait,  has  also  been  a  starting-point  for  various 
excursions  to  the  interior,  while  other  explorers  have  penetrated  inland  from  the 
various  agricultural,  pastoral,  and  military  settlements  along  the  eastern  seaboard. 
Patagonia  has  thus  been  completely  assimilated  to  the  rest  of  Argentina  by  the 
labours  of  Descalzi,  Cox,  Gardiner,  iloreno,  ilusters,  Ramon  Lista,  Moyano, 
Fontana,  Eogers,  Popper,  Vinciguerra,  Ameghino,  Eoncagli,  Burmeister,  and 
many  others,  as  well  as  by  the  military  expeditions  sent  against  the  aborigines. 
Paleontologists  and  g-eologists  also  are  svstematicallv  studving  the  land  in  the 
interests  of  the  La  Plata  Museum,  and  other  collections ;  stockbreeders  are 
examining  the  grassy  bottom  lands,  and  prospectors  are  exploring  the  mineral 
deposits  of  the  coimtry,  and  thus  the  era  of  accurate  geographical  research  has 
begun  for  Patagonia,  as  well  as  for  the  rest  of  Argentina. 

Subjoined  is  a  chronological  table  of  the  chief  explorations  in  Patagonia  since 
the  war  of  independence  : — 

1827.  Stokes  (Santa  Cruz). 

1832    et  teq.  Fitzroy  and  Darwin  (Santa  Cmz,  Chabut,  Bio  Xegro  and  Sierra  Ventana). 

1833.  Descalzi  (Rio  Xegro). 

1854    et  seq.  Jones  (Chntnt). 

1856.  Fonck,  Hess  (Xahnel-Hoapi). 

1857.  Bravard  (Sierra  Ventana). 

1862    et  seq.  GniUermo  Cox  (Andean  Passes). 

1867.  Gardiner  (.Santa  Croz,  Lake  Argentina). 

1S69.  Masters  (foot  of  the  Andes,  Rio  Xegio). 

1872.  Guerrico  (Rio  Negro). 

1874    et  seq.  Moreno  (Rio  Kegro.  Santa  Cmz,  Chubut,  Lake  Argentina,  etc.). 

1876    et  seq.  Moyano  (Rio  CMco,  Lake  Buenos  Ayres,  Chubut). 

1877.  Rogers  and  Ibar  (Lake  Argentina,  Andean  Passes).    Beerhohn  (San  Jalian,  Gallegos). 

1878  et  uq.  Ramon  Lista. 

1879  <<  »«j. 'Wysoski  (Chubut.  Rio  XegTO'.     Lorentz  (Neuquen). 

1882.  Roncagli  (Gallegos,  Santa  Cruz). 

1883.  Rohde"(Xahuel-Haapi,  Pa^  of  Bariloche).     ZebaHos  (Rio  Colorado,  Rio  Negro). 

1885  et  scq.  Fontana  (Upper  Chubut). 

1886  et  seq.  Cirlos  Burmeister  (Chubut,  Santa  Cruz).    Popper  (Fuegia). 
1887.  Asahel  BeU  (Upper  Chubut). 

1891.  Siemiradzki  (Colorado,  Negro,  Limay.  Nahuel-Huapi).    Bodenbender  (Neuquen). 

1892.  Machon  and  Eoth  (Andean  Valleys,  Senguel,  Chubut). 

The  abundant  materials  already  collected  on  the  relief  and  geology  of  Argen- 
tina, as  well  as  on  its  natural  history   and  inhabitants,   have  been  embodied  in 


348 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


several  valuable  works,  such  as  those  of  Hermann  Burraeister  and  llartin  de 
Moussy.  A  common  direction  is  also  given  to  individual  studies  by  such  estab- 
lishments as  the  Buenos  Ayres  Institute,  the  La  Plata  Museum,  and  the  University 
of  Cordoba. 

Nevertheless,  the  Argentine  Republic  still  lacks  a  good  topographical  map 
analogous  to  those  of  West  Europe,  the  United  States,  Mexico,  and  parts  of 
Brazil.     In  1882  the  Buenos  Ayres  Geographical  Society  resolved  to    prepare  a 


Fig.  143. — Chief  EotJTEs  of  Exploeees  in  Patagonia. 
Scale  1  :  20,000,000. 


WesloPG 


.  310  Jlilta. 


gnneral  atlas  of  the  Republic  in  states  and  territories.  This  atlas  has  been  oom- 
plotod,  but  only  a  few  of  the  maps  are  based  on  direct  surveys.  In  1889  the 
Argentine  Government  exhibited  at  Paris  a  relief  of  the  whole  territory  to  the 
scale  of  3-^-j5-Vo"Tr'  ^'^•^  ^^^  materials  collected  for  this  work  have  since  been 
utilised  for  the  construction  of  a  map  to  the  scale  of  Tir'oojy'oiT-  '^^®  Astronomic 
Observatory  of  Cordoba,  whose  positions  have  been  carefully  determined,*  has  been 


*  South  Lat.,  31° 


BOUXDABIES  OF  AEGENTINA.  349 

taken  as  the  starting-point  of  Argentine  topography.  Geodetic  surveys  have 
also  been  aided  by  the  accurate  determination  of  several  other  places,  such  as 
Eosario,  Eio  Cuarto,  Mendoza,  Santa  Fe,  La  Paz,  Goya,  Corrienies,  San  Luiz,  Villa 
Mercedes,  Villa  Maria,  Tucuman,  Salta,  San  Juan.  From  year  to  year  fresh 
studies  will  enable  the  geographer  to  fill  in  the  details,  and  to  embody  in  a  single 
map  the  numerous  local  documents  possessed  by  everv  province  and  citv  of 
Argentina.  But  in  the  more  remote  districts  how  many  obscure  problems 
still  remain  unsolved  !  A  case  in  point  is  the  position  of  Tarija,  which,  since 
the  time  of  d'Orbigny  (1839),  has  been  variously  fixed  on  the  maps  with 
differences  of  as  much  as  48  minutes  of  latitude,  and  one  degree  45  minutes  of 
long'itude. 


BorxDAKiEs — Froxtler  QuEsnoxs. 

In  the  absence  of  accurate  maps  the  boundaries  have  not  yet  been  everywhere 
determined,  either  between  the  several  provinces,  or  between  the  Republic  and  her 
neighbours.  Even  in  the  estuary  the  islet  of  Martin  Garcia,  whose  position 
between  the  Parana  and  Uruguay  confluence  gives  it  great  strategic  importance, 
has  been  assigned  to  Argentina,  although  it  belongs  geographically  to  Uruguay. 
Hence  the  possession  of  this  narrow  rock,  of  no  agricultural  or  industrial  value, 
has  often  been  hotly  contested  by  the  rival  States. 

Towards  the  Paraguay  the  frontier  question  has  been  settled  by  force,  and 
here  Argentina  has  acquired  the  territory  of  the  "Missions,"  which  forms  an 
enclave  between  the  Parana  and  the  Uruguay.  She  also  claims  the  other  Jesuit 
Missions,  which  have  been  annexed  to  the  Brazilian  State  of  Santa  Catharina, 
and  which  comprise  a  strip  of  about  12,000  square  miles  in  extent.  West  of  the 
Paraguay,  the  part  of  Chaco  lying  beyond  the  Pilcomayo  was  awarded  to  the 
Paraguayans  by  a  decision  of  1875.  But  in  the  extreme  north  the  Argentine 
maps  still  trace  as  the  legal  boundary  the  northern  frontier  of  the  province  of 
Tarija,  which  had  been  attached  by  a  royal  decree  to  the  administration  of  the 
Argentine  town  of  Salta,  but  which  had  "  opted ''  in  1625  for  annexation  to 
Bolivia. 

In  the  west  the  frontier  towards  Chili  has  been  settled  in  a  general  way 
bv  the  treaty  of  1881,  according  to  which  "  the  dividing  line  is  drawn  across 
the  highest  summits  indicating  the  watershed."  This  clause  involves  a 
certain  contradiction,  for  such  a  line  does  not  coincide  exactly  with  the  sinu- 
osities of  the  waterparting.  Differences  of  opinion  must  therefore  inevitably 
arise,  especially  when  the  Kmits  in  the  Patagonian  Andes  come  to  be  settled, 
for  here  the  cordiUeras  are  interrupted  by  numerous  gaps,  and  are  even 
turned  by  the  labyrinth  of  fiords  which  penetrate  into  the  eastern  plains.  But 
provision  is  made  in  the  treaty  for  the  settlement  of  aU  such  disputed  points  by 
arbitration. 

In  Fuegia  the  frontier  arrangement  leaves  no  question  open  to  doubt.  Hence 
there  seem  no  pretexts  left  for  the  angry  discussions  which,  nevertheless,  break 


350 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


out  from  time  to  time  iu  the   respective   presses  and  parliaments.      Relying  on 
their  successful  wars,   and  on  their  military  organisation,  modelled  on   that  of 


Fig.   HI.— Mabtin  Gakoia. 
Scale  1  :  20,000. 


•''-■  West  oF  Greenwich 


V,-|5' 


OtolO 
I'eet. 


Depths. 


10  to  20 
Feet. 


20  Feet 
and  upwards. 

X  MUe. 


Germany,  the  Chilians  believe  themselves  invincible,  while  the  Argentines,  own- 
ing a  larger,  if  not  a  richer,  domain,  are  not  disposed  to  take  a  second  place 
amongst  the  Scanish  Republics  of  South  America. 


THE  AEGEN-TDTE  PEOPLE.  351 

Akgextixa  and  the  Argentines. 

But  compared  with  that  of  Chili,  the  power  of  Argentina  is  greatly  impaired 
by  the  lack  of  politic;J  unity.  Except  in  the  war  caused  by  Balmaccda's  dictator- 
ship, Chili,  although  divided  into  two  hostile  classes,  has  hitherto  preserved  at 
least  an  outward  semblance  of  domestic  harmonv*.  But  Argentina  has  been  the 
scene  of  countless  local  revolutions,  and  occasionally  even  of  sanguinary  wars 
embracing  the  whole  of  the  Republic.  Since  the  close  of  the  colonial  ride,  the 
Argentines  have  lived  in  a  chronic  state  of  civU  strife,  relieved  only  by  intervals 
of  peace  or  armistices. 

This  combative  spirit  and  indifference  to  scenes  of  bloodshed  mav  perhaps,  to 
a  small  extent,  be  due  to  heredity,  or  to  the  carnivorous  habits  of  the  people.  But 
the  chief  cause  of  the  lack  of  political  stability  must  be  sought  in  the  persistence 
of  the  struggle  between  two  opposite  principles,  that  of  local  self-government 
and  an  agressive  centralisation  inherited  from  the  old  monarchical  system.  And 
after  all,  it  may  be  asked,  is  the  difference  so  great  between  the  revolutionary 
outbreaks  of  Argentina  and  the  formidable  state  of  armed  peace  under  which 
old  Europe  threatens  to  break  down  ? 

An  apt  illustration  of  the  friction  constantly  arising  between  the  local  and 
federal  Governments  is  afforded  by  the  course  of  recent  events  in  Buenos  Ayres, 
which  had  long  been  the  capital  both  of  the  province  of  that  name  and  of  the 
Argentine  Republic.  "  Until  1880  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres  dominated  the 
Argentine  Republic.  In  wealth  and  population  she  outweighed  the  other  pro- 
vinces, although  in  area  they  vastly  exceeded  hers  in  size.  But  with  the  growth 
of  the  provinces  the  domination  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  threatened.  This  was  too 
much  for  her  pride,  and  the  provincial  government,  being  no  longer  able  to  rule, 
detennined  in  1880  to  secede  from  the  Confederation.  The  provincial  leaders 
were  eager  enough  for  independence,  but  the  people  were  onlj-  half-hearted  about 
it.  They  were  more  intent  upon  their  crops,  their  business,  and  their  profits, 
than  upon  the  political  status  of  their  province.  The  result  was  that,  after  a 
short,  hollow  struggle,  the  revolt  collapsed,  and  the  provincial  government  had  to 
take  up  a  subordinate  position. 

"  But  this  was  not  quite  all.  The  provincial  government  had  hitherto  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  raising  troops  of  their  own.  Had  it  not  been  for  this,  the  attempt 
to  secede  could  never  have  been  made.  The  national  government  now  withdi-ew 
from  the  provincial  government  this  pri\ilege,  and  the  provincial  government 
were,  moreover,  given  to  understand  that  there  was  no  longer  any  room  for  them 
in  the  city  of  Buenos  Avres.  This  was  the  reason  of  the  rise  of  the  new  pro- 
vincial capital  of  La  Plata.  The  fiat  of  the  provincial  government  went  forth, 
a  site  was  chosen,  and,  thirty  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres,  in  three  years,  out  of 
the  bare  plain,  the  new  capital  of  the  province  arose.  Nothing  could  be  more 
striking  than  to  see,  side  by  side,  the  grand  new  station  rearing  itself  loftily 
alongside  the  little  wooden  shed  which  was  still  doing  duty  until  the  new 
station  should  be  finished."  * 

•  Dr.  E.  K.  Pearce  Edgcnmbe,  Zephyrtu,  p.  191. 


352  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

The  Argentines  have  the  ready  wit  and  marvellously  receptive  intelligence  of 
the  Spaniards.  They  are  bold  and  daring,  and,  compared  with  their  Brazilian 
neighbours,  have  a  more  resolute  character,  a  more  decided  will,  proceeding  more 
promptly  and  vigorously  to  action.  They  also  yield  to  intense  feelings  of 
enthusiasm  under  the  impulse  of  generous  ideas,  and  few  national  displays  could 
compare  in  grandeui  and  exuberant  rejoicings  to  the  demonstration  caused  by  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  Brazil.  All  were  overjoyed  at  the  disappearance  of  this 
foul  spot  from  American  history,  and  they  felt  themselves  brothers  of  those 
Brazilians  whom  they  were  hitherto  wont  to  speak  of  as  "hereditary  foes." 

In  their  ambition  to  do  "  big  things  "  they  have,  in  prosperous  times,  really 
developed  their  material  resources  with  a  fiery  energy  which  has  dazzled  the 
North  Americans  themselves.  Towns  sprang  up  in  the  wilderness,  and  the 
camping-grounds,  one  day  occupied  by  savages,  were  the  next  importing  steam 
engines,  starting  telephones  and  newspapers. 

But  the  evil  days  have  returned.  The  great  undertakings  floated  with  foreign 
capital  with  no  thought  of  the  future  have  not  all  succeeded,  while  those  that 
have  yielded  returns  have  chiefly  benefited  the  speculators  and  large  landowners. 
The  rapid  enrichment  of  a  few,  and  the  ruin  of  others,  resulted  in  general  demoral- 
isation, and  while  capitalists  were  gambling  with  the  public  funds  the  politicians 
were  scrambling  for  ofiice. 

Then  came  the  sudden  crash,  when  nearly  all  serious  undertakings  were 
arrested  by  failures,  more  or  less  disguised  by  financial  jugglery.  Once  again 
it  was  seen  how  unstable  is  the  equilibrium  of  a  land  in  which  the  common  weal 
does  not  rest  on  the  labour  of  a  free  peasantry,  and  where  industrial  progress  is 
due,  not  to  local  enterprise,  but  to  foreign  speculation. 

Nevertheless  the  natural  resources  of  the  country  are  so  great  that  financial 
crises,  however  long  and  disastrous  they  may  be,  may  retard,  but  cannot  perma- 
nently arrest  the  progress  of  Argentina.  In  spite  of  everything  the  population 
continues  to  increase,  the  tide  of  immigration  has  again  set  in  this  direction,  the 
area  of  land  brought  into  use  is  daily  extended,  and  enterprise  has  begun  to 
penetrate  into  the  two  sections  of  the  Republic  which  hold  the  greatest  treasures  in 
reserve.  These  are  in  the  north-west  the  territory  of  the  Missions,  and  in  the 
west  the  Andean  uplands  about  the  sources  of  the  Colorado  and  Rio  Negro. 
There  is  room  for  millions  of  settlers  in  these  regions,  favoured  as  thej'  are  by  a 
fertile  soil,  pure  air,  and  a  delightful  climate,  entirely  suitable  for  the  constitution 
of  immigrants  from  Europe. 


Physical  Features. 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  the  surface  of  the  land  is  found  to  have  a  slight  general 
incline  from  the  Andes  to  the  Atlantic.  But  this  uniformity  is  broken  at  various 
points  by  rising  grounds  and  rugosities,  and  in  Patagonia  even  by  some  isolated 
mountain  masses  rising  at  some  distance  from  the  Andes. 

The  Andean  system,  which  occupies  such  a  broad  stretch  of  territory  in  Bolivia 


THE  AEGENTINE  UPLANDS. 


353 


and  North  Chili,  extends  also  into  north-west  Argentina  between  the  Pilcomayo, 
Bermejo,  aud  Juramento  slopes.  Above  the  huge  pedestal,  standing  at  a  mean 
altitude  of  14,500  feet,  rises  a  regular  line  of  peaks  iu  the  direction  from  north  to 


Fig.  14.5. — Netasos  Plateau,  Nobth-West  Argentina. 

Scale  1  :  3.500,000. 


~,      ■  ' '/0'////'//AY////y///// 


West  or  bf'een^vich  55* 


Ueights. 


ivV 


0  to  3,300 
Feet. 


3.300  to  18,000 
Feet. 


13,000  to  18  000 
Feet. 


18,000  Feet 
and  upward^). 


60  MUes. 


south  exceeding  11,600  feet,  and  covered  with  snow  throughout  the  year.  The 
Cerro  de  las  Granadas,  one  of  these  superb  peaks,  towers  above  the  dreary  soli- 
tudes of  the  puna  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  Argentine  frontier. 

VOL.  XIX.  \  \ 


354  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Interrupted  southwards  by  the  deep  gorge  of  the  Rio  do  las  Burras  the 
plateau  falls  to  less  than  13,000  feet,  but  farther  on  again  rises  to  great  altitudes 
in  the  JS/'erados  or  snowy  crests  of  Pasto  Grande,  Acay,  Cachi,  and  others.  Even 
farther  east,  the  plateau,  although  deeply  ravined  and  carved  into  promontories 
and  isolated  ridges,  still  presents  several  summits  over  10,500  feet  high,  and  snow- 
clad  for  a  part  of  the  year.  In  the  sierra  which  skirts  the  west  side  of  the  Jujuy 
valley  the  Nevado  de  Chafii  and  the  Tres  Cruces  attain  an  elevation  of  over  18,000 
feet.  North  of  Jujuy  the  Zenta  range,  projecting  like  a  long  promontory  beyond 
the  plateau,  is  crossed  at  the  Zenta  pass  by  the  route  from  Oran  to  Humahuaca  at 
an  elevation  of  14,780  feet,  while  other  summits  in  the  same  range  rise  to  16,400 
feet.  Yet  the  snow  which  sometimes  falls  melts  almost  immediately.  In  this  dry 
climate,  and  under  this  latitude  (24°  S.),  the  lower  limit  of  the  snow  Kne  would  pro- 
bably lie  between  18,000  and  20,000  feet. 

All  these  highlands  and  plateau  escarpments  preserve  traces  of  the  ice-cap  which 
formerly  descended  far  into  the  plains.  The  whole  region  had  certainly  its  glacial 
epoch,  perhaps,  even  successive  periods  of  glaciation.  Everywhere  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  is  flanked  by  terraces  a  few  hundred  yards  high,  where  gravels  are 
intermingled  with  layers  of  sand.  These  and  other  analogous  phenomena  can 
scarcely  be  explained  by  the  simple  action  of  water  and  the  deposit  of  alluvial 
matter. 


ACONQUIJA    AND    FaMATIXA    UpLANDS. 

West  of  Salta  the  chain  of  mountains  skirting  the  plateau  recedes  continually 
westwards,  diminishing  in  breadth  as  well  as  in  height  in  the  direction  of  the  south. 
Here  the  system  has  been  deeply  scored  by  running  waters.  One  lofty  ridge  has 
even  been  completely  detached  from  the  Andean  uplands  by  arid  spaces,  gradually 
worn  down  to  their  present  level  by  glaciation  and  erosion.  The  Sierra  d'Acon- 
quija,  as  this  isolated  range  is  called,  stretches  in  a  sinuous  line  from  north  to 
south,  west  of  the  Tucuman  plains.  Including  its  extreme  offshoots  it  has  a  total 
length  of  no  less  than  280  mQes  between  the  great  bend  of  the  Juramento  and  the 
headwaters  of  the  Rioja.  But  the  Aconquija  proper,  which  is  disposed  in  the 
direction  from  north-east  to  south-west,  is  scarcely  more  than  30  miles  long.  It 
falls  very  abruptly  on  its  west  side  facing  the  Andes,  but  slopes  more  gently  east- 
wards, where  it  is  flanked  by  foothills  which  are  wooded  here  and  there.  From  the 
Clavijo,  as  the  central  mass  is  called,  the  spurs  branch  off  in  various  directions — 
in  the  north,  the  Cumbres  de  Calchaqui  ;  in  the  west,  the  Sierra  del  Atajo  ;  in  the 
south,  the  Ambato  range;  in  the  south-east,  the  Altos,  continued  by  the  Ancaste 
mountains.  In  the  winter  of  1893,  the  geologist,  Rodolfo  Hauthal,  scaled  for  the 
first  time  the  culminating  peak  of  the  Aconquija  system,  which  he  calculated  to  be 
17,720  feet  high.  Before  attacking  the  dominating  cone  he  had  passed  two  days 
at  an  altitude  of  14,760  feet,  in  a  fissure  of  the  rocks  under  shelter  from  a  furious 
gale.  Although  situated  in  the  temperate  zone,  Aconquija  has  no  glaciers,  though 
clear  traces  survive  of  former  crystalline   streams.     At  a  height  of  15,420  feet, 


THE  AEGEXTINE  UPLANDS.  355 

Hauthal  discovered  two  lakes,  evidently  of  glacial  origin,  dammed  up  by  a  barrier 
of  frontal  moraines. 

The  Xevado  de  Famatina,  whicli  rises  over  125  miles  to  the  south-west  of 
Aconquija,  resembles  this  mass  in  its  imposing  aspect,  especially  when  seen  from 
its  southern  slopes.  But,  unlike  Aconquija,  it  is  not  completely  detached  from 
the  Andean  plateau,  with  which  it  is  stUI  connected  by  a  ridge  of  heights  disposed 
in  a  line  with  the  main  axis  of  the  system.  According  to  Xaranjo,  by  whom  it 
has  been  ascended,  Famatina  overtops  Aconquija,  being  20,680  feet  high,  and  even 
appearing  much  higher  relatively  to  the  surrounding  plains,  which  here  fall  to 
from  3,000  to  4,500  feet  above  sea-level. 

Granites  and  porphyries  form  the  framework  of  the  range,  the  lateral  rocks 
consisting  of  white,  red,  and  black  metamorphic  schists.  In  the  direction  of  the 
south  it  is  continued  by  a  chain,  which  gradually  diminishes  in  height,  and  at 
lust  merges  in  the  region  of  saline  depressions.  This  chain  mav  be  regarded  as 
belonging  to  the  same  system  of  low  ridges  and  hills  which  follow  in  lines  parallel 
with  the  main  crests  of  the  Cordilleras.  Such  are  the  Sierra  de  Chaves,  and  the 
equally  isolated  Pie  de  Palo,  east  of  the  city  of  San  Juan. 

Eastern  and  "Western  Cordilleras. 

"West  of  the  Nevado  de  Famatina  the  contracted  Andean  plateau  is  decom- 
posed into  two  parallel  Cordilleras  of  about  equal  height,  but  contrasting  in  the 
character  of  their  rocks.  The  western  Cordillera  forms  the  water-parting  of  the 
two  slopes,  as  well  as  the  political  frontier  between  Chili  and  Argentina.  The 
eastern,  lying  entirely  within  the  Argentine  State,  is  carved  into  fragments  by 
the  torrents  piercing  it  at  intervals,  and  carrying  the  detritus  down  to  the  plains. 
While  the  former,  of  much  more  recent  origin,  consists  of  mesozoic  formations 
with  later  eruptive  rocks  cropping  out  here  and  there,  the  "  ante-cordiUera,"  or 
"pre-cordillera,"  as  the  eastern  range  is  called,  is  formed  of  granites,  porphyries, 
and  paleozoic  strata. 

This  outer  chain  was  evidently  the  original  backbone,  and  its  decomposition 
had  already  set  in  before  the  Argento-Chilian  frontier-range  appeared  above  the 
surface.  The  whole  of  these  uplands  presents  a  certain  resemblance  to  the  equa- 
torial Andes,  which  are  similarly  divided  into  two  parallel  chains,  the  western 
nearly  continuous,  the  eastern  broken  into  seven  sections  by  the  headstreams  of 
the  Amazons,  and  regarded  by  TThvmper  less  as  a  mountain  range  than  a  succes- 
sion of  groups  without  natural  cohesion. 

At  the  point  where  Famatina  is  rooted  in  the  plateau,  the  two  Cordilleras  are 
not  yet  developed  into  distinct  chains.  Here  the  snowy  peaks  of  Bonete,  ^  eladero, 
and  la  Gallina  Muerta  rise  in  isolated  grandeur  to  the  relative  heights  of  from 
3,500  to  5,000  feet  above  the  broad  pedestal  between  the  Chilian  and  Argentine 
slopes.  This  elevated  plain  stands  itself  at  a  mean  altitude  of  from  13,000  to 
14,500  feet  above  sea-level,  and  stretches  away  in  gentle  undulations  beyond  the 
horizon.     On  these  bleak  expanses  the  wind  often  blows  with  great  fury,  and  is 

A  A  2 


356  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

accompanied  bj'  blinding  snowstorms.  In  this  region  of  the  puna,  the  tracks 
followed  by  the  muleteers  across  the  plateau,  between  the  upland  valleys  of  the 
Piioja  and  Copiapo,  take  the  name  of  pircas. 

In  that  part  of  the  plateau  which  bears  the  lofty  peak  of  Bonete,  the  eastern 
Cordillera  is  carved  into  four  distinct  sections  by  the  streams  belonging  to  the 
Argentine  drainage  area.  The  first  section,  with  some  crests  exceeding  1,600 
feet,  is  separated  from  the  Argento-Chilian  Cordillera  by  the  deep  valley  of  the 
Rio  Blanco,  one  of  the  main  branches  of  the  Eio  de  Jachal.  The  second,  lying 
nearer  to  the  frontier,  develops  the  pico  del  Salto,  and  numerous  other  summits 
over  18,000  feet  high.  The  third  fragment  of  the  eastern  Cordillera  broadens  out 
into  a  huge  mountain  mass  with  peaks,  such  as  Mainrique  and  Totora,  also 
exceeding  18,000  feet,  lower  limit  of  the  snowline.  Lastly  the  fourth  section, 
known  as  the  Cordillera  del  Tigre  (16,400  feet),  is  connected  with  mighty  Acon- 
cagua, towering  above  the  valley  traversed  by  the  main  route,  which  leads  over 
the  Cumbre  pass  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Santiago  de  Chili. 

All  the  tracks  crossing  the  Andes  between  the  Cumbre  and  the  pircas  of 
Copiapo,  follow  the  course  of  the  river  vallej's  to  turn  the  transverse  barriers  of 
the  eastern  Cordillera.  But  these  tracks  are  little  used,  except  for  the  importation 
of  Argentine  mules  into  Chili.  But  in  1817  a  whole  army  of  San  Martin's 
republican  forces  advanced  against  the  Sj)aniards  over  the  pass  of  los  Patos  or 
Valle  Hermoso,  which  stands  at  an  altitude  of  12,700  feet  between  Aconcagua 
and  Ramada.  Other  breaches  in  the  range  followed  by  the  muleteers  exceed 
14,750  feet,  amongst  others  that  of  Agua  Negra,  or  la  Laguna  (15,190),  on  the 
direct  route  between  Jachal  and  Coquimbo. 


The  Little  Cordillera — Overo  axd  other  Yoi.c.^noes. 

Besides  the  eastern  and  western  Cordilleras  with  their  snowy  peaks,  Argentina, 
like  Chili,  has  its  chain  of  foothills,  its  "  little  Cordillera,"  running  parallel  with 
the  axis  of  the  Andes  proper,  and  interrupted  at  intervals  by  deep  river  valleys. 
West  of  the  plain  occupied  by  the  two  cities  of  San  Juan  and  Mendoza,  these 
foothills  develop  the  imposing  Paramillo  group,  which  in  the  Cerro  Pelado  attains 
a  height  of  11,280  feet.  Although  now  free  from  snow,  these  mountains  had  at 
one  time  their  glaciers,  traces  of  which  are  still  seen  on  the  plain  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Mendoza.  Here  the  so-called  cerri/Ios,  little  knolls  with  rounded 
crests,  are  evidently  the  remains  of  frontal  and  other  moraines.  They  are  disposed 
in  ridges  ranging  from  150  to  300  feet  in  height,  and  consisting  of  trachytic 
blocks,  angular  or  slightly  rounded  boulders  brought  down  by  the  glaciers  to  the 
base  of  the  foothills. 

The  depression  in  the  Cordillera  followed  by  the  Cumbre  route,  and  by  the  line 
of  the  future  trans- Andean  railway,  coincides  very  closely  with  a  natural  division 
of  the  orographic  system.  A  little  south  of  the  snowy  Tupungato  giant  (20,286 
feet),  itself  of  eruptive  origin,  rise  the  craters  of  numerous  volcanoes,  some  extinct, 
some  still  active.      Here  also  the  Argentino-Chilian  Cordillera  breaks  into  two 


a 

K 

o 


n 


O 
>- 

o 

> 

o 


THE  ARGENTINE  UPLANDS.  357 

parallel  ranges,  the  eastern  Ij'ing  entirely  within  Argentine  territory,  and  on  an 
average  about  5,000  feet  lower  than  the  western. 

The  extinct  Overo  volcano  (Io,5-j0  feet),  which  connects  this  eastern  rido'C  with 
the  loftier  range,  not  far  from  Mount  Maipo  (17,G70),  is  encircled  by  one  of  those 
glaciers,  which  afford  the  best  opportunity  for  studying  the  formation  of  the 
nieve penitente,  "penitent  snow,"  "so  called  from  the  eccentric  resemblance  to  cowled 
'  friars  penitent,'  affected  hy  the  frozen  masses  under  the  action  of  sun  and  wind. 
The  crystalline  parts,  which  resist  evaporation  and  the  melting  process,  ramify 
in  the  strangest  fashion,  in  manj"^  places  leaving  the  black  ground  exposed 
between  the  fantastic  blocks  of  ice,  which  sometimes  stand  five  or  six  feet  high."* 


MaLARGUE    and    the    SoiTHEKN"    CoRDILLERAS. 

South  of  Overo  the  Argentine  chain  is  interrupted  by  the  valley  of  the  Eio  del 
Diamante,  beyond  which  rise  other  crests  disposed  in  lines  parallel  with  the  main 
range.  A  breach  in  which  rises  the  Rio  Atuel  leads  to  the  Planch  on  pass 
(9,920  feet),  one  of  the  most  frequented  in  the  Argentino-Chilian  Andes. 

Farther  south  the  orographic  sj'stem  broadens  out.  Here  the  Argentine  chain 
of  the  Malargue  (ilalalhue)  volcanoes,  which  contrasts  with  the  Jurassic  forma- 
tions of  the  main  range,  is  developed  to  the  east  of  the  deep  longitudinal  valley 
of  the  Eio  Grande  or  Upper  Colorado. 

Some  GO  miles  farther  east,  beyond  a  closed  lacustrine  basin  remnant  of  a 
former  inland  sea,  rises  the  lofty  Nevado  de  San  Rafael  (16,190  feet),  an  almost 
isolated  fragment  of  mountain  masses  which  appear  to  have  formerlv  been  far 
more  extensive  than  at  present.  Farther  south  the  Cerro  Payen,  undoubtedly  of 
igneous  origin,  dominates  the  valley  where  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Rio  de  las 
Barrancas  imite  to  form  the  Colorado.  Near  the  Buta-co  pass,  which  crosses  the 
Malargue  chain  at  a  height  of  4,980  feet,  is  seen  the  Cura  Cokalio,  or  "  divine 
stone  "  of  the  Araucanians,  a  huge  sandstone  mass,  which  has  fallen  across  the 
track  from  a  neighbourins:  clilf . 

According  to  Host,  the  Chos  malal  or  Bum  mahuida,  in  the  eastern  pre- 
Cordillera,  has  an  altitude  of  no  less  than  16,400  feet.  It  is  an  extinct  volcano 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  ashes,  scorise,  and  lava  streams.  The  whole  of  the 
eastern  Cordillera  in  this  region  is  believed  to  consist  of  these  igneous  rocks,  which 
were  ejected  at  two  different  epochs,  the  first  represented  by  black  trachytes,  the 
second  by  basalts.  A  sill  7,610  feet  high  separates  the  volcano  from  the  western 
Cordillera,  and  forms  a  divide  between  the  waters  flowing  in  one  direction  towards 
the  Colorado,  in  another  to  the  Rio  Negro  through  its  Xeuquen  afiluent.  The 
Andes  have  few  more  romantic  sites  than  this  pass  in  the  "  Argentine  Switzer- 
land," which  commands  a  wide  prospect  of  pastures  and  woodlands,  bounded  north- 
east by  the  gigantic  Cerro  Payen,  north-west  by  the  Campanario  cone,  with  its 
crown  of  picturesque  rocks  affecting  the  form  of  ruined  towers.     Southwards  the 

•  Vol.  XVUI.,  p.  416. 


358 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


view  extends  over  a  chaos  of  mountains,  which  beyond  Lake  Tromen  fill  the  space 
between  the  frontier  range  and  the  course  of  the  Rio  Neuquen.  Even  east  of  this 
river  other  heights  are  seen  falling  in  the  direction  of  the  rockj'  Patagonian 
pampas. 

East  of  the  Lonquimai,  Llaima,  Rifiihue,  and  Quetrupillan  volcanoes,  which 
follow  southwards  along  or  near  the  main  crest,  the  Argentine  Cordillera  resumes 


Fig.  146. — San  Rafael  Neyado. 
Scale  1  :  2,000,000. 


.  30  Miles. 


its  normal  trend  at  an  altitude  sufficient  for  the  summits  to  put  on  a  snowy  mantle 
in  winter.  The  Chapel-co  rises  to  a  height  of  8,000  feet,  and  the  section  of  the 
system  bearing  the  name  of  Cordillera  de  los  Cipreses  maintains  an  elevation  of 
6,550  feet. 

But  this  section  is  broken  by  deep  gaps,  one  of  which,  about  the  intermingled 
sources  of  the  Chilian  Biobio  and  Patagonian  Limay,  falls  to  little  over  3,000  feet, 
and  is  accessible  to  wheeled  traffic  from  the  west.     Farther  south  a  gentle  sloping 


TEffi  ARGENTINE  UPLANDS. 


869 


hill  separates  an  affluent  of  the  Rio  Limay  from  the  Chilian  lake  Picaullu  (Lacar, 
Lajar),  which  stands  ahout  2,400  feet  above  the  sea,  while  the  boquete  de  Perez 
Rosalez,  a  third  pass  at  the  western  extremity  of  Lake  Nahuel-Kuapi,  falls  below 
2,800  feet. 

A  second  Argentine  Cordillera,  developed  to  the  east  of  the  first,  is  less  ravined, 
but  also  less  elevated,  though  the  peaks  in  the  Sierras  de  Catalin  and  de  las  Angos- 

Fig.  147. — NAHtTKL-HnAiPi  and  NEIQHBOUMSQ  MoUHTAEfa. 
Scale  1  :  1,200,000. 


40J ^^-^^^-OiPi^fl^^^iPi^tB"^-^',:,: 


.^^• 


■■\y^". 


r  jC  h  aicabi*co  vieip 


if% 


West  oF  Gi-eenj.icti 


18  Miles. 


turas  rise  to  5,000  feet.  This  section  of  the  Argentine  orographic  system  had 
also  at  one  time  its  active  volcanoes,  like  the  frontier  Cordillera  farther  west.  The 
Alumine,  Mesa,  and  Chapel-co  heights  are  all  cones  of  Andesite,  while  scores  of 
other  peaks  flank  both  sides  of  the  Rio  Collon-cura.  Their  extinct  craters  are 
now  clothed  with  beech  and  myrtle  groves ;  but  a  cone  near  the  sources  of  the 
Biobio  has  laid  all  the   surrounding  districts  under  ashes.       Here  the   traces   of 


360  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

former  eruptions  and  of  ancient  glaciers  are  found  superimposed.  Below  the 
igneous  scoriae  stretch  beds  of  glacial  mud. 

South  of  Tronador,  with  its  "  thundering  "  avalanches,  towering  between  the 
Nahuel-Huapi  basin  and  the  Chilian  slope,  the  Cordilleras  fall  so  low  that,  according 
to  Rohde,  the  traveller  may  pass  from  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Limay  to  the  deep 
Reloncavi  fiord  without  crossing  any  range  properly  so  called,  but  only  some  low 
plateaux  intersected  by  gorges  and  valleys.  At  this  point,  which  is  perhaps  the 
old  Bariloche  route  followed  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  the  only  obstacle  to  pro- 
gress is  the  exuberant  vegetation.  The  track  descends  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  along 
the  course  of  the  Rio  Puelo,  which  is  flanked  on  the  north  by  Mount  Ballena 
(4,886  feet),  on  the  south  by  Mount  Castillo  (4,930  feet). 

Farther  on,  along  the  deep  channels  separating  the  mainland  from  Chiloe  and 
the  Magellanic  archipelagoes,  the  frontier  range  has  been  scarcely  studied  except 
from  a  distance.  Here  rise  some  extinct  and  active  volcanoes,  such  as  Tate  or 
Yebcan,  Minchin  mahuida,  Corcovado,  and  Mellimoya,  ranging  in  height  from 
5,200  to  7,900  feet.  From  the  few  excursions  that  have  been  made  to  the  interior, 
it  may  be  inferred  that  the  Cordillera  is  decomposed  in  distinct  masses  by  the 
deep  gorges  of  the  rivers  rising  on  the  Patagonian  plateaux  east  of  the  mountains. 
The  Rio  Palena,  which  flows  south  of  Mount  Corcovado,  and  which,  according  to 
the  legend,  should  give  access  to  the  marvellous  city  of  the  "  Csesars,"  the  South 
American  Eldorado,  winds  through  one  of  these  gorges,  while  others  are  traversed 
farther  south  by  the  Rios  Corcovado,  Aysen,  and  Huemules. 

In  this  region  the  Andes  are,  so  to  say,  broken  into  a  land  archipelago,  ana- 
logous to  that  developed  in  the  neighbouring  waters.  The  Cordillera  reappears 
across  the  Taytao  peninsula,  where  rises  the  superb  crest  of  San  Valentino,  which 
towers  to  a  height  of  12,720  feet.  Under  the  same  latitude  in  the  lateral  Argen- 
tine Cordillera,  Moyano  measured  the  Zeballos  peak  (5,500  feet),  and  determined 
the  existence  of  another  chain,  which  towards  the  source  of  the  Deseado  branches 
off  from  the  Andes  in  the  direction  of  the  south-east,  terminating  in  the  headland 
of  Cape  Blanco  south  of  San  Jorge  Bay. 

The  actual  height  of  this  transverse  range  has  not  yet  been  ascertained,  but 
according  to  native  report  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  cross,  owing  to  its  rugged 
character,  rocks,  precipices,  and  general  absence  of  water.  Hence,  in  order  to 
pass  from  one  point  to  the  other  of  the  seaboard,  the  Indians  pass  round  to  the 
west,  traversing  the  more  practicable  region  of  grass  lands. 


The  Magellanic  Mountains. 

In  the  ilagellanic  region  the  contracted  extremity  of  the  Continent  presents 
nothing  but  a  narrow  strip  of  plains  between  the  Andes  and  the  Atlantic,  from 
which  are  visible  the  summits  rising  above  the  Pacific.  But  in  this  terminal 
peninsula  the  parallel  zones  of  mountain  ranges  are  disposed  side  by  side  with 
surprising  regularity.  The  Cordillera  proper,  above  which  rises  the  siiperb 
tower-shaped  Chalten  or  Fitzroy  (6,890  feet),  follows  almost  exactly  the  direction 


THE  AEGENTINE  UPLAXD.  861 

of  tbe  meridian  as  far  as  the  break  ■which  gives  access  to  the  waters  of  the  great 
Magellanic  tiords. 

To  this  ran»e  follows  eastwards  a  pre-Cordillera,  to  which  Moyano  has  given 
the  name  of  CordiUera  de  los  Baguales  {"  Wild  Horses"),  and  which  stretches 
some  hundred  miles  north  and  south,  without  greatly  deviating  from  the  meri- 
dional direction.  Mounts  Stokes  and  Payne  belong  to  this  system,  whose  crests 
ran^e  from  5,000  to  6,500  feet.  A  third  less  uniform  and  less  elevated  chain 
(5,0u0  feet)  falls  below  the  snow  line,  but  exceeds  the  others  in  picturesque 
scenery,  thanks  to  the  fantastic  forms  of  its  erupted  rocks,  towers,  obelisks,  temples, 
and  the  like.  Above  this  range  rise  the  true  Mount  Chalten  and  other  active 
or  extinct  volcanoes,  and  to  the  same  igneous  system  belongs  the  Cordillera  de 
Latorre,  with  several  conspicuous  peaks — Tres  Sabios  ("  Three  Sages"),  Philippi, 
Gay,  Domeyko — and  with  one  crater  apparently  of  quite  recent  origin. 

On  the  surface  of  the  region  sloping  in  the  direction  of  the  Atlantic  there 
stretches  a  great  sheet  of  scorise  and  other  erupted  matter,  which  is  pierced  at 
intervals  by  old  volcanic  cones,  some  isolated,  some  developing  continuous  chains. 
Here  the  estuary  of  the  Santa  Cruz  River  is  indicated  from  a  distance  by  the 
conspicuous  landmark  of  Mount  Leon,  a  limestone  crag  about  1,000  feet  high. 
This  solitary  eminence  is  pierced  by  caverns,  the  resort  of  pumas,  while  the 
condor  builds  its  nest  on  its  rocky  ledges. 

South  of  the  Andes  proper,  the  coast  is  indented  by  a  thousand  inlets  of  all 
kinds,  and  here  the  summits  assume  an  insular  aspect,  thanks  to  the  surrounding 
bays,  straits  and  lakes.  Between  Skyring  ^ater  and  the  great  bend  of  Magellan 
Strait,  the  orographic  system  is  reduced  to  a  single  ridge  only  a  few  yards  high. 
But  it  again  rises  in  the  imposing  headland  of  Cape  Froward,  and,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  strait,  in  the  superb  Mounts  Sarmiento,  Darwin,  and  Fran9ais,  with 
their  girdle  of  glaciers.  Farther  on  the  system  develops  a  vast  curve  in  the 
direction  from  west  to  east,  terminating  in  Staten  Island  with  summits  some 
3,000  feet  high.  This  Argentine  island  forms  the  terminal  rock  in  the  long  semi- 
circular range  of  the  Andean  Mountains,  which  begin  with  the  island  of  Trinidad 
in  the  Caribbean  Sea. 

Staten  Island,  the  Dutch  Staatenland,  and  the  Spanish  Sierra  de  los  Estados, 
faces  the  south-eastern  extremity  of  Fuegia,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  Le 
Maire  strait,  averaging  from  15  to  18  miles  in  width.  It  extends  a  distance  of 
44  miles  in  the  direction  from  south-west  to  north-east ;  but  its  shores  are  so 
indented  with  bays  and  inlets  that  it  is  nowhere  more  than  12  mQes  wide,  the 
mean  being  somewhat  less  than  5  miles.  To  the  gaze  of  passing  seafarers  the 
whole  land,  which  has  an  area  of  about  200  square  miles,  presents  nothing  but 
a  chaos  of  cliffs  and  sharp  peaks  clad  with  a  perpetual  snowy  mantle.  It 
terminates  westwards  in  Cape  Barthelemy  and  South  Cape,  whose  projecting 
headlands  enclose  FrankHn  Bay.  On  the  north  side  are  developed  the  spacious 
Flinders  Bay,  and  the  two  ports  Hopner  and  Parry,  which  are  followed  eastwards 
by  two  other  deep  fiord-like  inlets,  Port  Cook  and  Havre  Saint-Jean,  near  Cape 
St  Jean,  the  terminal  headland  towards  the  east.     On  the  south  side  are  Blossom 


862 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Bay,  Port  Vancouver  and,  near  the  Dainpier  islets,  the  spacious  York  Bay  about 
midway  between  the  east  and  west  points. 

Staten  Island,  which  was  discovered  in  1616  by  the  Dutch  expedition  of  Le 
Maire  and  Schouten,  was  never  occupied  by  any  European  power,  and  is,  in  fact, 
uninhabitable.  At  least,  no  permanent  settlements  could  be  advantageously 
formed  in  such  an  inhospitable  region.  At  presents  it  depends  politically  on  the 
Argentine  Government  of  Tierra  del  Fuego. 

RioJA,  Sax  Luis,  and  Cordoba  Uplands. 

Other  mountain  masses,  at  present  separated  from  the  Andes,  but  which 
probablj'  at  one  time  formed  part  of  the  system,  are  found   scattered  in  isolated 


Fig.  148. — SrEEEA  DE  San  Luis. 
Scale  I  :  1,000,000. 


We^l    or   tjrcfn.victi 


18  Miles. 


groups  over  the  boundless  plains  of  Argentina.  A  first  group,  the  Sierra  de  los 
Llanos,  rises  above  the  saline  and  arid  low-lying  tracts  midway  between  the 
E,ioja  and  San  Luis.  This  much-weathered  sierra  presents  no  distinct  peaks 
rising  boldly  above  its  long  rounded  crests  of  crystalline  and  nietamorphic 
formations,  which  scarcely  anywhere  rise  much  above  3,000  feet. 

Farther  north  the  Sierra  Brava,  which  falls  even  below  3,000  feet,  presents  an 
analogous  aspect,  and  doubtless  belongs  to  the  same  orographic  system — a  mere 
islet,  like  the  Sierra  de  los  Llanos,  in  the  ancient  inland  sea. 

The  Central  system,  which  extends  for  a  distance  of  over  300  miles,  parallel 
with    the  great  Cordillera,  consists  of  several  distinct  chains,  all  disposed  in  the 


THE  ARGENTINE  UPLAND.  863 

same  normal  direction,  and  all  standing  on  the  same  pedestal  1,500  feet  above  the 
plains.  In  general  these  crystalline  mountains  present,  like  the  Andes,  their 
steep  face  towards  the  west,  and  slope  gently  eastwards  down  to  the  pampas. 

A  first  ridge,  traversed  by  the  streams  descending  from  the  central  system, 
generally  falls  below  3,000  feet  except  at  a  few  rare  points,  and  culminates  in 
the  Cuinbre  de  la  Cal  (5,150  feet)  north-west  of  Cordoba.  But  the  central  chain 
attains  in  the  Champaqui  peak  a  height  of  over  7,550  feet.  In  the  north-west 
the  system  merges  in  a  plateau  crossed  by  a  line  of  volcanoes  running  east  and 
west,  and  terminating  abruptly  in  the  trachytic  Cerro  de  Yerba  Buena,  which 
rises  5,400  feet  above  the  western  plains.  It  has  no  apparent  crater,  nor  has  it 
emitted  lavas  or  vapours  in  the  memory  of  man ;  but  slight  earthquakes  are 
occasionally  felt  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  underground  rumblings  are  also  said 
to  be  heard  at  the  foot  of  these  mountains. 

The  Sierra  de  San  Luiz,  or  de  la  Punta,  from  its  south-western  spur,  may  be 
regarded  as  forming  part  of  the  Central  or  Cordoba  system,  which  dies  out 
northwards  in  the  saline  depressions.  On  their  western  and  northern  sides  the 
San  Luis  heights  present  the  aspect  of  bold  mountain  masses ;  but  these  escarp- 
ments merely  serve  to  mask  a  hummocky  plateau,  which  in  many  places  assumes 
the  character  of  a  simple  tableland.  Amongst  the  highest  peaks  of  the  escarp- 
ments are  Monigote  (6,430  feet),  and  the  Gigautillo,  "  Little  Giant,"  which  faces 
the  Gigante,  "  Giant,"  of  the  Andes  system  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  deep 
Canada  depression. 

The  gneiss  rocks  of  this  sierra  are  distinguished  from  those  of  the  Cordoba 
system  by  their  extreme  richness  in  quartz  and  mica.  East  of  Monigote  a  short 
chain  of  volcanic  heights,  disposed  transversely  to  the  longitudinal  axis,  rises  in 
the  Tomolasta  to  an  altitude  of  6,850  feet,  culminating  point  of  the  plateau  and 
of  the  whole  group.  From  its  auriferous  deposits  this  mountain  has  received  the 
name  of  Cerro  de  las  Minas. 


The  Tandil  and  Ventana  Heights. 

Between  the  Parana  and  the  Uruguay  the  surface  is  broken  only  by  slight 
rising  grounds,  or  by  fluvial  cliffs ;  but  in  the  territory  of  the  Missions,  which 
stretches  eastwards  into  the  Brazilian  State  of  Santa  Catharina,  the  campos 
plains  are  traversed  by  a  ridge  with  crests  of  from  1,000  to  1,300  feet. 

Distinct  chains  also  rise  east  of  the  Patagonian  Andes  in  the  province  of 
Buenos  Ayres  and  in  the  southern  territories.  A  first  line  of  crests  runs  north- 
west and  south-east  parallel  with  the  Lower  Parana,  terminating  at  the  head- 
land of  Cape  Corrientes.  In  the  Sierra  de  Tandil  this  system  rises  to  a  height 
of  1,100  feet,  and  farther  on  in  the  direction  of  the  south-east  the  Sierra  del 
Vulcan  has  an  altitude  of  930  feet.  Like  the  other  heights  of  the  surrounding 
region  the  Sierra  del  Vulcan  consists  of  granites,  gneiss,  and  archaic  rocks.  But 
there  are  no  recent  lavas,  as  might  be  supposed  from  the  name  of  the  range.  But 
this  term  "  Vulcan  "  is  not  a  Spanish,  but  a  local   Indian  word,  which  would 


864 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


appear  to  have  tte  meaning  of  breach  or  (jnp,  in  reference  to  the  broad    opening 
that  occurs  between  the  Sierra  del  Vulcan  and  the  Sierra  de  Tandil. 

Farther  south  the  various  groups  rising  north  of  Bahia  Blanca,  and  commonly 
called  the  Ventana  Mountains,  comprise  several  parallel  ridges  disposed  in  a  direc- 
tion parallel  to  th;it  of  Tandil.  In  the  Ventana  range  proper  the  highest  summits 
exceed  3,800  feet ;  but  they  would  appear  to  have  formerly  attained  a  far  greater 
elevation.  Consisting  of  whitish  quartzites,  in  many  places  streaked  with  red 
ferruginous  oxides,  these  mountains  date  from  the  oldest  geological  epochs.  They 
existed  lou"  before  the  appearance  of  the  Andes,  and  were  probably  at  one  time 


Fig.  149. — Southern  Podit  of  La  Ventana. 
Scale  1  :  650,000. 


"K^r  ^  ^.-^ 


v1>     ' 


West  op  Greenwich 


52- 


61 '4'^. 


amongst  the  loftiest  highlands  on  the  Southern  Continent.  They  are,  therefore, 
to  be  regarded  as  mere  fragments  of  enormous  masses  which  have  been  almost 
entirely  disintegrated  by  weathering.  The  valley  of  the  little  Rio  Sauce  Grande, 
which  flows  between  the  Ventana  and  the  Pillahuinco  ranges,  was  formerly  a 
glacial  stream.  Even  still  the  Ventana  receives  a  little  snow  every  winter.  Its 
name,  meaning  "Window,"  has  reference  to  an  opening  near  the  summit,  through 
which  a  peep  may  be  bad  of  the  blue  sky.  The  slopes  of  the  sierra  are  nowhere 
thickly  wooded,  and  in  many  places  appear  quite  bare  and  destitute  of  all 
vegetation. 


THE  PATAGONIAN  STEPPE.  3G5 

The  Patagoxian  Steppe  Lands. 

The   interior  of   the  Patagonian  districts  watered  bj'  the  Rios  Colorado  and 

Kegro  bristles  with  rocky  crests,  pink  porphyries,  aud  granites,  which  look  in  the 
morning  siin  like  lightly-tiuted  vapours.  These  various  groups,  known  by  the 
general  name  of  mahuida,  that  is,  "  mountains"  in  the  native  language,  have  an 
average  height  of  from  1,300  to  1,650  feet,  and  are  nearly  all  disposed  north- 
west and  south-east,  like  the  chains  of  hills  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Bahia 
Blanca. 

Between  the  ridges  the  ground  is  strewn  with  rolled  pebbles,  granites,  gneiss, 
porphyries  disposed  in  horizontal  layers  alternating  with  the  dunes.  These  beds 
of  rolled  gravels  cover  all  the  tertiary  plains  which  constitute  the  whole  of  the 
Patagonian  plateau  east  of  the  Andes,  aud  which  contain  a  superabundance  of 
fossil  remains.  This  prodigious  mass  of  Patagonian  gravels  was  calculated  by 
Darwin  to  extend  for  about  600  miles  north  and  south,  with  a  mean  breadth  of 
200  miles,  and  a  depth  of  50  feet.  Whole  mountain  ranges  must  have  been 
triturated  to  yield  such  gravel  beds  as  these ;  and  to  the  Patagonian  deposits  must 
be  added  the  detritus  of  like  nature  at  present  covering  the  marine  bed  itself. 
Such  are  the  rolled  porphyries  which  the  soundings  have  fished  np  in  the  waters 
of  the  Falkland  Islands,  far  from  any  insular  masses  containing  analogous  rocks. 

These  pebbles  are  evidently  derived  from  the  Andes  and  the  older  mountains, 
which  formerly  rose  above  the  central  aud  eastern  plains,  and  of  which  nothing 
now  remains  except  the  nuclei.  Glacial  moraines  have  undoubtedly  supplied  the 
raw  material,  which  has  been  distributed  by  the  marine  waters  in  horizontal  or 
very  slightly  inclined  beds.  Then  followed  the  phenomenon  of  emersion,  due 
either  to  an  upheaval  of  the  land,  or  to  a  subsidence  of  the  sea.  Thus  the  old 
shingly  beach  became  the  dry  gravel  pits  of  Patagonia,  in  which  are  found  pro- 
digious qiiantities  of  those  gigantic  oysters,  15  to  20  inches  round,  which  are  so 
wide!}'  diffused  throughout  the  soil  of  Patagonia.  Near  Possession  Bay,  at  the 
Atlantic  entrance  of  Magellan  Strait,  de  Pourtales  discovered  a  lagoon  standing 
160  feet  above  sea  level,  and  containing  shells  absolutely  identical  with  those  of 
the  neighbouring  waters. 

Hence  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  general  movement  of 
upheaval  along  the  Patagonian  seaboard.  But  geologists  have  not  yet  determined 
its  true  character,  and  while  some  suppose  that  it  took  place  in  a  succession  of 
sudden  upward  thrusts,  corresponding  to  the  several  raised  terraces,  others  with 
more  probability  suggest  that  it  was,  on  the  contrary,  a  slow  movement  produced 
in  a  series  of  rhythmical  undulations. 

During  the  contemporary  period  other  formations  have  been  superimposed  on 
the  Patagonian  gravel  beds,  and  on  the  argillaceous  clays  of  Central  Argentina. 
Over  vast  spaces  the  ground  is  now  covered  with  sands,  which  form  dunes 
analogous  to  those  developed  on  many  coastlands  under  the  influence  of  the  winds 
setting  from  the  high  seas.  But  in  the  Platean  regions  these  shifting  dunes  are 
not  of  marine  origin ;  they  are,  on  the  contrary,  derived  from  the  region  of  foot- 


866  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

hills,  where  have  been  accumulated    prodigious  quantities  of   debris  from   the 
moraines  left  by  the  old  glaciers  at  the  entrance  of  the  plains. 

The  finer  particles,  raised  by  the  winds  in  clouds  of  dust,  are  wafted  to  great 
distances  and  strewn  over  the  surface  in  layers  of  sand  analogous  to  the  "yellow 
earth  "  of  Central  China.  But  the  coarser  sands  form  veritable  dunes,  "  land 
waves,"  so  to  say,  heaving  and  falling  under  the  pressure  of  the  aerial  currents. 
In  the  region  of  the  Colorado  and  Rio  Negro  especially  these  formations  occupy 
vast  spaces,  stretching  nearly  across  the  whole  width  of  the  Continent.  Acting 
in  the  same  way  as  the  dunes  of  oceanic  origin,  they  are  arrested  under  the 
influence  of  the  rains,  and  resume  their  slow  forward  movement  during  the  dry 
periods.  They  are  often  solidified  and  transformed  to  hills  gradually  covered 
with  a  vegetable  humus  by  the  binding  action  of  plants  with  long  trailing 
rootlets  and  branches.  Certain  sjjecies  of  trees  with  strong  roots,  such  as  the 
algarrobos,  continue  to  thrive  in  the  midst  of  the  moving  sands  by  which  they 
have  been  overtaken. 

The  eruptive  craters  of  the  Andes  also  contribute  to  change  the  aspect  of  the 
Patagonian  lands.  The  whole  of  the  Eios  Chubut  and  Santa  Cruz  basins  have 
been  covered  with  ashes  of  diverse  colours,  which  are  deposited  in  regular  layers, 
and  which  are  evidently  erupted  matter  ejected  by  the  volcanoes  of  the  Cordilleras, 
and  wafted  to  great  distances  by  the  western  and  north-western  winds. 

In  1886  a  great  shower  of  such  volcanic  dust  rained  over  the  whole  of  the 
Santa  Cruz  valley,  on  the  surrounding  heights,  and  even  reached  Punta  Arenas. 
In  some  districts  travellers  found  it  difiicult  to  breathe,  and  could  scarcely  discern 
objects  ten  yards  off.  Many  animals  perished  for  want  of  water  and  fodder, 
springs  and  pasturage  having  disappeared  beneath  the  layer  of  ashes.  For  a  time 
the  Santa  Cruz  itself  ceased  to  flow,  and  then  suddenly  rose  to  a  great  height, 
doubtless  having  burst  the  temporary  dam  formed  b}'  the  volcanic  debris.  In 
189-3  the  Chilian  volcano,  Calbuco,  supposed  to  be  extinct,  ejected  scoriai  as  fur 
as  the  mouth  of  the  Chubut  and  Nuevo  Bay.  So  rapidly  had  the  clouds  of  ashes 
traversed  the  vast  distance  that  they  fell  while  still  warm,  covering  the  navigation 
as  if  with  a  mantle  of  snow. 

Despite  their  general!}'  dreary  and  monotonous  aspect,  the  Patagonian  steppe 
lands  seem  to  produce  a  strange,  fascinating  impi-ession  on  all  observers.  "  In 
calling  up  the  images  of  the  past,"  writes  Charles  Darwin,  "  I  find  the  plains  of 
Patagonia  frequently  cross  before  my  eyes ;  yet  these  plains  are  pronounced  by 
all  to  be  most  wretched  and  useless.  They  are  characterized  only  by  negative 
possessions  ;  without  habitations,  without  water,  without  trees,  without  mountains, 
they  support  only  a  few  dwapf  plants.  Why  then — and  the  case  is  not  peculiar 
to  myself — have  these  arid  wastes  taken  so  firm  possession  of  m}'  mind  ?  Why 
have  not  the  still  more  level,  the  greener,  and  more  fertile  pampas,  which  are 
serviceable  to  mankind,  produced  an  equal  impression  ? 

"  I  can  scarcely  analyse  these  feelings,  but  it  must  be  partly  owing  to  the  free 
scope  given  to  the  imagination.  The  plains  of  Patagonia  are  boundless,  for  they 
are  scarcely  practicable,   and  hence  unknown.      They  bear  the   stamp  of  having 


THE  PATAGONIAN  STEPPE.  3G7 

lasted  for  ages,  and  there  appears  no  limit  to  their  duration  through  future  time. 
Jf,  as  the  ancients  supposed,  the  flat  earth  was  surrounded  by  an  impassable 
breadth  of  water,  or  by  deserts  heated  to  an  intolerable  excess,  who  would  not 
look  at  these  last  boundaries  to  man's  knowledge  with  deep  but  ill-defiued 
sensations  ?  "  * 

Since  Darwin's  time,  however,  "these  desolate  regions  have  ceased  to  be 
impracticable,  and  although  still  uninhabited  and  uninhabitable,  except  to  a  few 
nomads,  they  are  no  longer  unknown.  During  the  last  twenty  years  the  country 
has  been  crossed  in  various  directions,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Andes,  and  from 
the  Eio  Xegro  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  has  been  found  all  barren.  The 
mysterious  illusive  city,  peopled  by  whites,  which  was  long  believed  to  exist  in 
the  unknown  interior,  in  a  valley  called  Trapalanda,  is  to  moderns  a  myth,  a 
mirage  of  the  mind,  as  little  to  the  traveller's  imagination  as  the  glittering  capital 
of  Great  Manoa,  which  Alonzo  Pizarro  and  his  false  friend,  Orellana,  failed  to 
discover.  The  traveller  of  to-day  expects  to  see  nothing  more  exciting  than  a 
soHtary  huanaco  keeping  watch  on  a  hill-top,  and  a  few  grey-plumaged  rheas 
flying  from  him,  and  possibly  a  band  of  long-haired  roving  savages,  with  their 
faces  painted  black  and  red. 

"Yet,  in  spite  of  accurate  knowledge,  the  old  charm  still  exists  in  all  its 
freshness ;  and  after  all  the  discomforts  and  sufferings  endured  in  a  desert  cursed 
with  eternal  barrenness,  the  returned  traveller  finds  in  after  years  that  it  still 
keeps  its  hold  on  him,  that  it  shines  brighter  in  memory  and  is  dearer  to  him 
than  any  other  region  he  may  have  visited.  In  Patagonia  the  monotony  of  the 
plains,  or  expanse  of  low  hills,  the  universal  unrelieved  greyness  of  everything, 
and  the  absence  of  animal  forms  and  objects  new  to  the  eye,  leave  the  mind  open 
and  free  to  receive  an  impression  of  visible  nature  as  a  whole.  One  gazes  oii 
the  prospect  as  on  the  sea,  for  it  stretches  away,  sea-like,  without  change,  into 
infinitude ;  but  without  the  sparkle  of  water,  the  changes  of  hue  which  shadows 
and  sunlight  and  nearness  and  distance  give,  and  motions  of  waves  and  white 
flashes  of  foam.  It  has  a  look  of  antiquity,  of  desolation,  of  eternal  peace,  of 
a  desert  that  has  been  a  desert  from  of  old,  and  will  continue  a  desert  for 
ever."  t 

The  Pampas. 

Absolutely  level  plains  occur  only  in  Argentina  proper  north  of  the  Eio 
Colorado.  These  horizontal  spaces  stand  at  different  heights  above  the  Plate 
estuary,  and  also  present  other  contrasts  due  to  the  varying  nature  of  soil  and 
climate.  The  northern  region,  comprised  between  the  foothills  and  the  course  of 
the  Paraguay-Parana,  constitutes  the  so-called  Chaco  (Gran  Chaco),  which  owes 
Its  peculiar  aspect  to  its  vegetation  of  thorny  scrub,  palm  groves,  and  open  or  leafy 
woodlands. 

Other  inland  plains,  lying  farther  south  on  both  sides  of  the  Cordoba  heights, 

Voyage  of  the  Eeagle.  t  Idle  Daye  in  Patagonia. 


3G8  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

are,  on  the  contrary,  completely  bare,  and  studded  with  saline  basins  glittering 
in  the  solar  rays.  Lastly,  the  savannas,  which  stretch  from  the  Cordoba  uplands 
to  the  lower  Parana,  and  from  the  Plate  estuary  to  the  Patagonian  foothills,  take 
the  name  of  pampas,  a  Quichua  word  applied  on  the  Peruvian  and  Bolivian 
plateaux  to  level  spaces,  terraces,  or  bottom  lands.  Farther  south,  in  Patagonia 
proper,  the  grassy  pampas  gradually  merge  in  a  stony  steppe  covered  with 
scrub  or  bush. 

Of  all  the  Argentine  regions  the  pampas  have  been  most  frequently  described, 
because  they  begin  on  the  very  outskirts  of  the  large  cities — Buenos  Ayres, 
Rosario,  Santa  F^ — and  have  thus  to  be  traversed  to  reach  the  provinces  of  the 
Far  West.  They  are  not  uniformly  level,  as  might  be  sujjposed,  but  consist, 
in  reality,  of  a  gently  inclined  terrace  falling  from  3,000  to  tiOO  or  700  feet 
between  the  foot  of  the  Cordoba  hiUs  and  the  Bio  Salado  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  a 
low-lying  plain  falling  from  250  to  120  feet,  which  develops  a  semi-circular  zone 
along  the  Parana  and  the  Plate  estuary,  as  far  as  the  Atlantic. 

The  more  elevated  terrace  constitutes  the  steppe  proper,  the  central  pampa, 
which  always  stands  above  the  level  of  the  great  inundations,  whereas  the  low- 
lying  plain  was  formerly  laid  under  water  by  the  rivers  in  flood.  This  region 
must  be  regarded  as  an  alluvial  tract  deposited  by  the  broad  moving  sea  of  the 
Parana,  and  gradually  dried  by  the  layers  of  fine  loess  analogous  to  the  yellow 
earth  of  China,  strewn  over  the  surface  by  the  west  winds.  No  stones  are  found 
intermingled  with  these  upper  beds  of  the  pampas.  The  rocky  foundation  on 
which  they  rest  consists  of  a  very  fine-grained  sandstone  of  miocene  origin,  like 
the  tertiary  beds  of  Patagonia. 

The  general  aspect  of  the  pampas  changes  continually,  not  only  vrith  the  seasons, 
but  even  with  the  time  of  day.  Their  appearance  at  sunrise  in  the  summer  months  is 
pictured  by  Rumbold  as  indescribably  beautiful.  "  No  words  can  convey  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  beauty  and  freshness  of  the  prairie  at  this  early  hour.  The  j'oung 
sun,  but  just  risen  like  ourselves,  floods  the  low  and  perfectly  level  horizon  with  a 
flush  of  pink  and  yellow  light.  At  once  you  reaKse  the  full  force  of  the  well- 
known  hackneyed  image  which  compares  the  boundless  expanse  of  plain  to  an 
ocean  solitude,  for  the  effect  is  truly  that  of  sunrise  out  upon  the  face  of  the 
waste  of  waters.  The  fiery  disc  emerges  out  of  what  seems  a  sea  of  verdure,  all 
burned  and  brown  though  everything  be  in  reality,  and  in  its  slanting  rays  the 
tip  of  each  blade  of  grass,  the  giant  thistles  with  their  rose-purple  crowns,  the 
graceful  floss-like  panicles  of  the  pampa  grass  (pq/a  cortadera),  just  touched  by 
the  breeze  and  all  glittering  with  dew,  undulate  before  the  eye,  like  the 
successive  sparkling  lines  that  mark  the  lazy  roU  of  the  deep  in  the  dawn  of  a 
tropical  calm. 

"  The  sky  above,  of  a  most  lovely  pale  azure  and  of  wonderful  transparency, 
has  not  yet  deepened  into  that  almost  painful  hue  of  crude  cobalt  it  acquires 
in  the  full  blaze  of  noontide.  In  the  wdfet  the  vapours  of  night  have  not 
entirely  rolled  away,  while  down  in  the  dips  and  dejjressions  of  the  ground — 
canadas,  as  they  call  them  here — and  over  the  reed-fenced  lagunas,  a  thin  blue  mist 


THE  AEGENTIXE  P.V3IPAS.  869 

still  lingers  and  mingles  deliciously  with  the  various  subdued  tints  of  brown  and 
green  around. 

"This  tender  tonaHty  lasts  but  a  very  short  time,  the  sun  shooting  up- 
wards with  a  speed  and  force  that  at  once  completeh'  transforms  the  picture ; 
the  scorching  agencies  of  light  revealing  it  in  its  true  parched  colours  and 
reducing  it  to  a  burning  arch  above,  and  a  scorching  and  featureless  flat  below. 
The  fresh,  rippling  ocean  turns  into  a  weary  wilderness,  staring  up  at  a  breathless, 
pitiless  sky."  * 

Xor  are  the  pampas  regions  so  destitute  of  animal  life  and  motion  as  is  commonly 
supposed.  The  same  observer  speaks  of  the  stir  of  bird  and  insect  life  that 
accompanies  the  waking  up  of  the  great  plain  at  dawn.  "  The  air  is  full  of 
buzzing  and  chirping  and  of  the  flutter  of  wings.  So  thickly  is  the  pampa 
peopled  with  birds  that  it  quite  produces  the  effect  of  an  open-air  aviary.  Brilliant 
little  creatures  w^th  red  or  yellow  breast-s,  sorsals  and  cardinals,  magpies  and 
oven-birds  dart  in  and  out  of  the  grass  and  bushes  in  every  direction,  while  in 
the  higher  regions  numerous  hawks  and  kites  hover  ominously  over  these  tempting 
preserves. 

"  All  the  feathered  tribe  are  singularly  fearless  and  unconcerned  at  one's 
approach,  the  only  exception  being  the  well-known  abomination  of  the  sportsman 
in  the  pampa,  the  spur-winged  plover.  This  insufferable  creature,  who,  as 
Darwin  somewhere  says  of  him,  appears  to  hate  mankind,  swarms  all  over  the 
prairie,  and  pursues  one  with  a  loud  and  discordant  cry,  which  is  exactly 
rendered  by  his  common  name  of  teni-tero.  He  is  really  a  very  handsome  bird, 
with  glossy  black  and  lavender  plumage  tipped  with  green  and  purple,  but,  like 
much  lovelier  beings  one  has  occasionally  met  with,  his  beauty  is  quite  marred 
by  his  harsh,  unmusical  voice  and  forward  ways.  He  is  both  the  spy  and  the 
scold  of  the  pampa.  Being  too  worthless  in  himself  to  stand  in  danger  of 
being  shot,  his  one  idea  seems  to  be  to  spoil  sport.  As  soon  as  he  gets  sight  of 
.  you,  he  sets  up  his  shrill  wearj-ing  note  and  follows  you  pertinaciously  about,  of 
course  warning  all  the  game  around  of  your  approach."  t 

A  still  greater  pest  is  the  licho  Colorado,  a  villainous  little  bright  red  insect, 
no  bigger  than  a  pip's  head,  whose  bite  causes  an  intolerable  irritation,  which 
lasts  for  days  together.  But  with  the  exception  of  these  plaguy  little  creatures 
and  of  the  clouds  of  mosquitoes  swarming  about  all  the  lagoons,  the  pampas 
regions  are  singularly  free  from  noxious  vermin  of  all  kinds.  The  only  really 
venomous  animals  appear  to  be  the  dreaded  tarantula  and  the  still  more  dreaded 
vibora  de  la  criiz,  a  deadly  species  of  viper. 

On  the  other  hand,  game  abounds  to  an  extraordinary  extent  in  some  districts 
verging  on  the  forest  zone.  Even  in  the  "  campo,"  as  the  steppe  lands  are  called 
in  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  some  good  shooting  is  still  afforded  by  such 
aquatic  birds  as  the  swan,  goose,  flamingo,  duck,  grebe,  and  water-hen,  besides 
deer,  the  Patagonian  hare,  snipe,  and  partridge.      The  partridge  is  somewhat 

•  ITie  Great  Siher  Sher,  p.  273.  t  Tlie  Great  Silver  Hirer,  p.  275. 

VOL.  XIX.  I!  B 


870  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

larger  than  its  English  congener,  but  not  to  he  compared  to  it  in  flavour,  the  flesh 
being  white  and  rather  tasteless. 

Most  of  the  land  about  Buenos  Ayres  consists  of  an  extremely  rich  alluvium, 
where  the  alfalfa  clover  and  some  other  herbaceous  plants  grow  with  amazing 
rapidity.  In  some  districts  Dr.  Edgcumbe  speaks  of  five  crops  of  clover  being 
raised  in  a  single  year.*     Wheat  also  thrives  well,  and  yields  excellent  returns. 


HVDEOGRAPHY    OF    ARGENTINA. 

The  La  Plata  fluvial  system,  next  to  that  of  the  Amazons  the  largest  in  the 
New  World,  belongs  at  once  to  BoKvia,  Brazil,  Paraguay,  Uruguay,  and  to  the 
Republic  which,  from  the  estuary,  takes  its  names  of  La  Plata  and  Argentina. 
This  State  comprises  about  one  half  of  the  whole  basin,  although  by  far  the  largest 
part  of  the  Kquid  mass  is  supplied  by  the  conterminous  territories.  At  the  con- 
fluence of  the  two  great  rivers,  Paraguay  and  Parana,  where  the  united  waters 
enter  a  region  belonging  entirely  to  Argentina,  the  discharge  is  actually  greater 
than  at  tbe  head  of  the  estuary.  Below  the  confluence  the  contributions  of  the 
feeble  Argentine  afliuents  are  insuflacient  to  make  good  the  loss  by  evaporation. 


The  Rio  Bermejo. 

At  the  Tres  Bocas,  name  of  the  inland  delta  formed  about  the  confluence,  the 
Rio  Bermejo  (Vermejo,  "  Red  "  ),  largest  of  the  Argentine  tributaries,  has  already 
joined  the  Paraguay  branch.  This  river,  which  flows  parallel  to  the  Pilcomayo 
farther  north,  has  its  source  in  the  Andes,  east  of  the  Jujuy  plateau.  One  of  its 
main  branches,  the  Bermejo  proper,  is  joined  below  Oran  by  the  San  Francisco, 
a  stream  of  equal  volume,  which  collects  the  surface  waters  of  the  province  of 
Jujuy.  Above  the  confluence — Las  Juntas,  as  the  Spaniards  call  it — both  branches 
are  alike  navigable ;  but  farther  down  so  many  difliculties,  and  even  dangers,  are 
presented  by  shoals,  quicksands,  and  armed  natives,  that  no  regular  service  has 
yet  been  established  on  the  lower  reaches.  The  flat-bottomed  boats,  which  carry 
on  a  little  trade,  take  whole  months  to  ascend  and  descenfl  the  Bermejo,  and 
cannot  pretend  to  compete  with  the  railway,  which  now  penetrates  from  Buenos 
Ayres  into  the  Jujuj^  district. 

In  the  region  of  its  lower  course  the  incline  is  so  slight  that  the  sluggish 
current  of  the  Bermejo  ramifies  right  and  left  into  numerous  lateral  branches  and 
shallow  basins,  where  much  of  the  water  is  lost  by  evaporation.  Nearly  all  the 
old  forests  have  disappeared,  killed  by  the  superabundance  of  flood  waters.  About 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Bermejo  shifted  its  bed  some  twelve 
miles  northwards  to  the  parallel  Rio  Teuco  or  Teuchtach,  and  since  tlien  the 
lateral  inundations  have  diminished  on  both  sides,  the  stagnant  backwaters  have 
been  gradually  filled  by  alluvial  suatter,  and  the  old  bed  of  the  Bermejo  is  now 

*  Zephyrus,  p.  196. 


EIVEBS  OF  AEGENTINA. 


871 


nearly  dry,  except  in  the  lower  reaches,  which  have  become  brackish.  It  takes 
its  name  from  the  reddish  colour  of  the  stream,  which  throughout  its  lower  course 
is  obstructed  at  intervals  by  banks  of  a  white  clay,  like  those  of  the  Pilcomayo, 
which  it  so  greatly  resembles  in  its  general  regime.     Including  the  windings  it 


Fig.  150.— Tees  Bocas  is  1860. 
Scale  1 :  500,000. 


56'-3 


^^est    o"  Green^.'cK  - 


58'20- 


12  HOes. 


has  a  total  length  of  over  1,300  miles,  of  which  nearly  850  are  navigable  for  six 
months  in  the  year. 


The  Rio  del  Juramexto. 

The  Eio  del  Juramento  has  its  farthest  sources  in  the  Nevados  of  Cachi,  west 
of  the  Salta  uplands.  Forcing  its  way  in  abrupt  windings  through  the  barrier  of 
the  sierras,  it  is  known  by  various  names  along  its  irregular  upper  course,  first 
Guachipas,  then  Rio  del  Pasaje  at  the  point  where  it  is  crossed  by  the  highway 

B  B  2 


372  AMA7.0XIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

between  Tucuman  and  Salta,  and  farther  dowTi  Juraraento,  or  "  Oath,"  in  memory 
of  the  solemn  vow  taken  by  Belgrano's  army  on  its  march  to  Peru  to  achieve  tic 
independence  of  the  American  natives. 

On  issuing  from  the  mountains  the  Juramento  traverses  Gran  Chaco  first 
in  a  southerly  direction,  and  then  from  north-west  to  south-east.  But  here  it 
flows  with  a  scarcely  perceptible  current,  and  under  the  latitude  of  Tucuman, 
expands  into  baTtadas,  half-flooded  morasses  and  fluvial  channels,  with  uncertain 
flow  and  half  choked  by  aquatic  plants.  Beyond  Santiago  del  Estero  where 
the  sluggish  waters  converge  in  a  single  channel,  it  again  spreads  out  in 
fihallow  basins,  which  during  the  inundations  overflow  far  and  wide  along  both 
banks. 

At  this  period  the  water  is  fresh ;  but  during  the  dry  season  it  becomes  slightly 
saline,  so  that  the  lower  course  takes  the  name  of  Rio  Salado,  "  Salt  River."  The 
surveys  made  by  Page  with  the  Water  Witch  in  1855,  and  since  then  by  many 
others,  clearly  show  that  the  Juramento  is  navigable  wherever  it  flows  in  a  single 
continuous  stream,  and  that  it  would  be  easy  to  cut  a  canal  through  the  baiiadas. 
But  the  settlers  prefer  forwarding  their  produce  by  the  railway  crossing  the  plain 
from  Eosario  directly  to  Tucuman. 


The  Rio  Dulce. — Mar  Chiquita. 

"With  one  exception  all  the  pampas  rivers  south  of  the  Rio  Juramento  fail  to 
reach  the  Parana,  although  the  direction  of  their  valleys  shows  that  they  belong 
to  that  basin,  and  were,  in  fact,  formerly  perennial  afiluents  of  that  watercourse. 
Such  is  the  Rio  Dulce,  which  flows  from  the  Salta  uplands  in  a  southerly  direction, 
and  after  receiving  on  its  right  bank  numerous  torrents  from  the  Sierra  d'Acon- 
quija,  describes  a  great  bend  south-eastwards  round  the  Sierra  de  Guazayan, 
parallel  with  the  Juramento.  But  north  of  the  northern  spurs  of  the  Cordoba 
Mountains  the  Rio  Dulce,  already  brackish,  despite  its  name,  begins  to  ramify  and 
wander  aimlessly  over  the  almost  uninhabited  plains,  where  at  least  six  channels 
have  been  traced,  which  are  still  flooded  during  the  inundations.  Before  1825, 
the  eastern  or  main  branch  watered  the  plantations  of  Lore  to,  Atamisqui,  and 
Salavina  ;  but  it  was  deflected  by  some  obstruction  westwards  to  the  chain  of 
Saladillo  lagoons,  which  are  so  saturated  with  salt  that  the  water  is  as  buoyant  as 
that  of  the  Dead  Sea,  or  of  Lake  Urmiah. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  vast  saline  depressions  stretching  south-west- 
wards between  the  Sierras  de  Cordoba  and  de  los  Llanos  formerly  received  the 
waters  of  the  Rio  Dulce  ;  but  at  present  the  Saladillo  is  rejected  eastwards  to  the 
channel  occupied  before  1825,  beyond  which  it  gradually  runs  out  in  the  Porongos 
marsh  or  lagoon.  This  basin  terminates  southwards  in  a  real  lake,  the  Mar 
Chiquita,  "  Little  Sea,"  which  shifts  its  contour  lines  according  to  the  quantity  of 
water  discharged  by  its  affluent.  Its  bed,  formed  of  a  hard  clay,  is  flooded  in 
some  places  to  a  depth  of  110  feet. 


ElVEES  OF  AEGEXTIXA.  373 

The  Rios  Primero,  Seguxdo,  Tercero,  Ciarto,  and  Qcixto. 

The  streams  descending  from  the  Cordoba  heights  eastwards  to  the  pampas, 
have  been  numbered  rather  than  named  in  their  order  from  north  to  south.  The 
Rio  Primero,  "  First,"  transformed  by  a  reservoir  to  a  lake  above  Cordoba,  almost 
runs  dry  on  entering  the  pampa,  although  after  heavy  rains  its  yellowish  waters 
reach  the  Mar  Chiquita.  The  Rio  Segimdo,  "  Second,"  which  follows  a  parallel 
course  farther  south,  also  disappears  in  shallow  depressions,  which  evaporate  in  the 
sun. 

But  the  more  copious  Rio  Tercero,  "  Third,"  maintains  its  current  across  the 
pampa,  although  gradually  changing  from  a  fresh  water  to  a  saline  stream. 
Towards  the  middle  of  its  course  it  receives  the  salt  water  of  the  Saladillo,  which 
appears  to  be  fed  by  the  infiltrarions  from  the  irrigation  canals  derived  from  the 
Rio  Cuarto,  "  Fourth."  Before  reaching  the  Parana,  the  Tercero,  here  called  the 
Carcaraua,  or  Carcaraiial,  from  an  extinct  Guarani  tribe  met  by  Cabot,  is  joined 
by  the  Arroyo  de  las  Tortugas,  "  Turtle  Creek,"  which  was  perhaps  at  one  time 
the  outlet  of  the  Mar  Chiquita.  The  Carcaraua  is  accessible  only  to  boats  drawing 
two  or  three  feet. 

The  Rio  Quinto,  "  Fifth,"  rises  not  in  the  Cordoba  uplands,  but  farther  west 
in  the  Sierra  de  San  Luis,  and  the  streams  descending  from  the  Cordoba  slopes 
fail  to  reach  its  banks.  After  a  south-easterly  course  of  300  miles  it  runs  out  in 
the  Amarga,  or  "  Bitter  "  lagoon,  in  a  region  of  swamps  and  quagmires  extremely 
dangerous  to  wayfarers.  These  guadaks,  as  they  are  called,  long  afforded  a  refuse 
to  the  Ranquele  Indians  against  the  white  invaders. 

Eastern  Afflvexis  of  the  Parana. — Lake  Ibera. 

On  its  left  bank  the  Parana  receives  the  contributions  only  of  a  few  small 
affluents.  In  this  Argentine  "  Mesopotamia,"  the  surface  is  also  so  level  that  the 
waters  expand  in  swamps  and  lagoons,  such  as  the  Lake  Ibera,  "  Brightwater," 
which,  perhaps,  indicates  the  former  channel  of  the  Parana,  wheii  it  flowed  parallel 
with  the  Uruguay. 

In  this  part  of  the  region  comprised  between  the  two  main  streams  the  surface 
stands  almost  at  a  dead  level  Hence  it  was  found  possible  to  attempt  to  partly 
drain  the  Ibera  lagoon  at  two  different  points.  At  the  head  of  the  basin  trenches 
were  excavated  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  off  the  overflow  to  the  upper  Parana, 
while  lower  down  the  rivers  Batel  and  Corrientes  were  deepened  and  canalised, 
and  thus  made  to  receive  a  portion  of  the  discharge  through  some  sluggish 
channels.  The  Ibera  lagoon  has  a  total  length  of  over  24  miles,  with  flat 
imcertain  margin  on  the  west  side,  but  sharply  limited  on  the  east  side  by  steep 
banks  and  hillocks,  which  rise  to  heights  of  from  30  to  50  feet  above  the  surface 
of  the  lake.  The  whole  basin  is  disposed  in  a  succession  of  esteros,  most  of  which 
are  overgrown  with  forests  of  reeds,  while  others  are  deep  enough  to  be  navigated 
by  small   craft.      But   few  boatmen  venture   to  ply  on  these  waters,  which   are 


374  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

infested  by  prodigious  clouds  of  midges.      These  lagoons  of  the  Corrientes  region 
are  reported  to  hif\'e  encroached,  in  recent  years,  on  the  surrounding  lands. 

South  of  the  Rio  Corrientes,  which  partly  drains  Ibera,  follow  a  few  other  tribu- 
taries, which,  however,  are  insufficient  to  compensate  for  the  loss  by  evaporation. 
The  Gualeguay,  largest  of  these  tributaries  in  the  pro\-ince  of  Entre-Rios,  winds 
in  a  sluggish  course  of  about  250  miles  parallel  with  the  lower  Uruguay.  It  dis- 
charges, not  into  the  Parana  direct,  but  into  the  Pavon,  one  of  those  lateral  channels 
which  are  alternately  flushed  and  abandoned  by  the  main  stream. 

Between  the  Tres  Bocas  and  Plate  deltas,  the  Parana  is  increased  in  width 
tenfold  by  numerous  other  affluents  winding  through  the  vast  fluvial  depression. 
Even  those  pampa  streams,  which  at  present  lie  quite  beyond  the  labyrinth  of 
Parana  waters,  formerly  belonged  to  the  system.  Such  are  in  the  province  of 
Santa  Fe,  the  Saladillo  Dulce  and  the  Saladillo  Amargo,  "  Sweet"  and  "Bitter" 
Saladillo,  both  of  which  have  a  coui'se  of  about  250  miles. 


The  Parana  Delta. 

The  Parana  delta,  properly  so-called,  begins  below  the  Diamante  bluff,  at  the 
point  where  the  river  trends  round  to  the  south-east  in  the  direction  of  the  Plate 
estuary.  This  point  marks  the  former  head  of  the  marine  gulf  at  a  time  when 
it  penetrated  370  miles  into  the  interior  of  the  Continent.  All  the  upper  part  of 
this  vast  inlet  has  been  silted  up  by  the  alluvial  deposits  for  a  distance  of  230 
miles,  and  the  elongated  islands  occupying  the  wide  zone  of  unstable  ground 
between  the  lateral  cliffs  have  all  been  formed  by  these  siltings. 

In  this  vast  deltaic  region  the  main  channel  of  the  Parana  hugs  the  right 
(pampa)  bank  nearly  to  the  town  of  San  Pedro,  where  nearly  the  whole  fluvial 
mass  is  collected  in  a  single  channel,  which  contracts  at  one  point  to  less  than 
700  yards,  with  a  depth  of  about  160  feet.  The  lateral  channels  skirtingthe  shores 
of  Entre-Rios  take  various  names,  such  as  Victoria,  Paranacito,  Pavon,  Ibicuy. 
But  during  great  inundations,  such  as  those  of  1858  and  1868,  all  are  merged  in 
a  single  sheet  of  water  flooding  the  whole  of  the  ancient  marine  inlet,  and  even 
submerging  the  intervening  islands.  At  such  time  steamers  ply  between  Victoria 
and  Rosario,  right  across  the  temporarily  restored  estuary,  which  is  here  nearly 
40  miles  wide. 

Below  San  Pedro  the  Parana  Guazu,  "  Great  Parana,"  crosses  from  the  western 
to  the  eastern  (Entre-Rios)  side,  throwing  off  in  the  direction  of  Buenos  Ayres 
the  Baradero,  a  small  branch,  which  is  usually  followed  by  light  craft  to  avoid  the 
winds  and  swell  of  the  main  channel.  Another  branch,  the  Rio  de  las  Pahnas 
bifurcates  from  the  Parana  Guazu,  and  although  less  copious,  maintains  a  uniform 
width  all  the  way  to  the  estuary,  whereas  the  Guazu  ramifies  into  numerous 
lateral  creeks,  some  of  which  even  trend  north  and  north-east  to  the  Uruguay. 

The  chief  mouth,  about  880  yards  wide,  opens  north  of  the  delta,  not  in  a  line 
with  the  axis  of  the  Plate  estuary,  but  more  to  the  north  in  that  part  of  the 
inlet  where  the  Uruguay  debouches  just  below  the  Higuerites  Strait.     The  front 


EIYEES  OF  AEGEXTINA. 


375 


of  the  delta  on  both  rivers  develops  a  total  length  of  38  miles  in  a  bee  line,  and 
in  1860  was  intersected  by  eleven   branches.     But  the  number  of  these  fluvial 


Fig.  151. — Paxjjia-TJeuouat  Delta. 
Scalel:  3,500.000. 


60'  VVestort'reenwic)! 


Zooe  of  InnxidatioxL 


mouths  varies  with  the  discharge  and  with  the  progress  of  the  delta  down  the 
estuary. 

Both  ia  the  Parana  and  the  Uruguay  the  tides  ascend  to  a  distance  of  over 
90  miles.  But  at  low  water  the  two  rivers  present  a  great  contrast,  for  the  Parana 
still  remaius  a  great  and  majestic  stream,  with  a  volume  even  at  its  lowest  level 


376  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

equal  to  the  average  discharge  of  the  Mississippi,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  times 
greater  than  that  of  the  Seine  at  Rouen.  But  the  Uruguay  shows  great  devia- 
tions, being  nearly  equal  to  the  Parana  when  in  flood,  whereas  during  the  dry 
season  it  is  reduced  to  quite  a  secondary  stream  with  not  more  than  one  sixtieth 
part  of  its  volume  at  high  water.*  Such  oscillations  in  the  volimie  of  its  waters 
are  explained  hy  the  uniform  character  of  the  climate  in  the  region  traversed  by 
the  Upper  and  Middle  Uruguay,  and  by  the  lack  of  lateral  reservoirs,  by  which 
the  discharge  might  be  regulated. 

To  the  volume  of  water  contained  in  the  beds  of  the  Parana  and  Uruguay 
must  be  added  the  subterranean  channels,  which  flow  with  a  sluggish  current 
]below  the  surface,  and  which  are  also  due  to  the  rains  that  fall  in  the  fluvial  basin. 
Below  the  upper  layers  there  stretches  a  bed  of  saturated  sands  intermingled  with 
a  sheet  of  fresh  water,  and  containing  small  fluviatile  shells.  This  underground 
basin,  which  has  been  discovered  by  soundings  in  the  sub-soil  of  Buenos  Ayres 
at  a  depth  of  at  least  75  or  80  feet,  is  in  direct  communication  with  the  section 
of  the  Parana  between  E,osario  and  San  Pedro.  It  is  replenished  not  only  by 
direct  contributions  from  the  main  stream,  but  also  by  continuous  underground 
infiltrations ;  hence  it  may  be  regarded  as  practically  inexhaustible. t 

The  Plate  Estuary. 

The  visible  Parana-Uruguay  delta  is  continued  by  a  submarine  delta,  which 
must  gradually  rise  above  the  surface,  if  the  relative  levels  of  land  and  sea  are 
maintained  in  these  waters.  Sandbanks  separated  by  deep  troughs  are  advancing 
beyond  the  alluvial  islands,  and  slowly  connecting  Martin  Garcia  with  the  main- 
land. The  fluvial  sediment,  which  has  already  absorbed  so  much  of  the  old  marine 
inlet,  is  steadily  encroaching  on  the  Plate  estuary. 

Both  the  Parana  and  the  Uruguay  are  ceaselessly  washing  down  alluvial 
matter,  which  is  deposited  in  sandbanks,  and  which  at  low  water  transforms  the 
whole  estuary  to  a  labyrinth  of  channels,  where  the  shipping  has  already  to  thread 
its  way  cautiously.  The  mean  depth  of  the  estuary  measured  between  Monte 
Video  and  Punta  de  las  Piedras,  is  only  13  or  14  feet,  and  it  must  have  greatly 
diminished  even  within  a  comparatively  recent  geological  epoch,  for  large 
whales  were  formerly  stranded  above  Buenos  Ayres,  where  the  water  is  now  too 
shallow  to  give  them  access.  Before  the  recent  dredgings  and  other  harbour 
works,  all  vessels  had  to  ride  at  anchor  far  from  the  shore,  passengers  and  goods 
being  landed  in  flat-bottomed  barges,  and  during  fine  weather  in  carts  drawn 

*  Comparative  table  of  the  Parana  and  Uruguay,  according  to  Aguirre,  Revy,  and  Bateman : — 

Parana.  Ubuouay. 

Extent  of  catchment  basin         .         .     1,150,000  sq.  miles  155,000  sq.  mUes 

Extreme  length         ....  2,900  nules  920  miles 

Minimum  discharge  per  second         .  73,000  cubic  feet  19,500  cubic  feet 

Mean  „  „  .        393,000      ,,       „  1-11,000       „      ,, 

Maximum        „  „  .     1,650,000      „       „  495,000       „      „ 

Proportion  of  sediment  in  both  rivers  : — toooo- 

t  Eniilio  Godoy,  Bolctin  del  Instituto  Gcografico  Argentino,  Vol.  V.,  1S84. 


EITEES  OF  AEGENTIXA. 


877 


over  the  hard  bed  of  the  estuary  through  the  water  reaching  up  to  their  axles. 
The  superficial  area  of  the  estuary  proper,  vrhich  at  the  entrance  is  60  miles  wide, 
is  estimated  at  about  5,000  square  miles. 

Still  more  extensive  is  the  outer  gulf,  which  is  limited  on  the  north  side  by 
Cape  Maldonado,  and  on  the  south  by  Cape  San  Antonio.  From  the  observations 
on  the  marine  temperature  made  by  the  Gazelle,  it  would  appear  that  the  Platean 

Fig.  152. — isGiDmjfB  Scen'eet. — VrEW  takejt  opposite  the  Collos-Cbea. 


waters  penetrate  in  the  direction  of  the  south  as  far  as  Cape  Corrientes.  Here 
they  merge  in  two  other  liquid  masses,  one  coming  from  the  tropical  regions,  the 
other  setting  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  round  Cape  Horn. 

Despite  buoys  and  lighthouses,  the  funnel-shaped  Plate  Estuary  continues  to 
be  extremely  dangerous  to  shipping.  The  short,  chopping  seas  charged  with 
sands,  the  swift  and  shifting  currents,  the  fierce  squalls  succeeding  each  other  at 


878  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

sudden  intervals,  greatly  imperil  the  navigation ;  even  large  vessels  often  drag 
their  anchors,  break  from  their  moorings,  and  run  aground  on  the  sandbanks,  or 
on  some  of  the  islands  in  process  of  formation. 


The  Closed  Basixs  of  Argentina. 

Between  the  Juramento-Salado  and  the  Rio  Colorado  on  the  Patagonian 
fi'ontier,  none  of  the  rivers  rising  between  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes  and 
the  Sierra  de  Cordoba  reach  the  Atlantic  through  the  Plate  estuary.  The  closed 
basins,  which  are  comprised  within  this  north-western  region  of  Argentina,  and 
which  are  nearly  all  disposed  in  the  direction  from  north  to  south  parallel  with 
the  Cordillera  itself,  appear  to  be  of  glacial  origin.  Their  beds  are  strewn  with 
angular  boulders,  which  have  not  been  transported  to  any  great  distances,  but 
which  have  been  slightly  worn  by  the  action  of  winds  and  sands. 

"Within  a  recent  geological  period  all  the  running  waters  descending  from 
the  Andes  west  and  south  of  Aconquija  heights  must  have  reached  the  Atlantic 
through  the  Colorado,  whose  basin  was  formerly  far  more  extensive  than  at 
present.  The  northernmost  streams  of  this  now  half-dried  basin  are  all  now 
reduced  to  small  dimensions.  Thus  the  Chaschuil,  with  its  Fiambala  branch  and 
other  affluents,  shrinks  to  half  its  size  in  a  saline  sandy  depression  of  lacustrine 
origin,  beyond  which  it  penetrates  through  a  defile  into  the  plains  of  the  Rio 
Rioja,  where  its  current  is  completely  exhausted.  From  this  point  to  the  junction 
with  the  San  Juan  the  distance  in  a  straight  Kne  is  about  280  miles  from  north 
to  south. 

The  Rio  Yermejo  (de  la  Rioja)  and  the  Jachal,  which  descend  to  the  west  of 
the  Famatina  heights,  also  receive  lateral  contributions  from  the  snowy  Cordillera, 
by  which  their  current  is  maintained  for  a  greater  distance  than  that  of  the  eastern 
rivers.  But  owing  to  the  irrigation  canals  derived  from  both  banks  they  do  not 
always  reach  their  confluence.  Hence  their  lower  course,  the  Rio  Zanjon, 
alternately  increases  and  decreases  with  the  seasons,  without  ever  reaching 
the  marshy  basin  in  which  it  might  effect  a  junction  with  the  San  Juan. 

This  latter  watercourse,  with  its  widely  ramifying  headwaters,  issues  as  a 
foaming  torrent  from  the  mountains,  but  is  immediately  captured  by  numerous 
irrigation  rills  winding  in  all  directions  over  the  plains.  Nevertheless,  sufficient 
water  remains  in  the  main  channel  to  form  a  little  navigable  stream,  which  is 
joined  lower  dowTi  by  the  drainage  of  the  irrigated  lands,  and  which  discharges 
into  the  marshy  Huanacache  lagoons.  The  same  depression  also  receives  the  Rio 
de  Mendoza  descending  from  the  Cumbre  and  fed  by  the  snows  of  Aconcagua  and 
Tupungato. 


Lake  Bebedero. — Rios  Salado  and  Atuel. 

The  overflow  of  these  saline  lagoons  is  carried  off  by  the  Desaguadcro,  which 
is  nearly  dry  for  a  part  of  the  year,  and  which  flows  south-east,  throwing  oif  a 


THE  CLOSED  BASINS  OF  AKOENTINA. 


379 


lateral  branch  to  Lake  Bebedero.  This  basin,  former  recipient  of  a  krgo  northern 
affluent  from  Aconcagua,  expands  and  shrinks  with  the  seasons,  at  times  a  mere 
saline  pool,  at  times  overflowing  far  and  wide  into  the  surrounding  bafiudos.  In 
dry  years  the  Bebedero  deposits  layers  of  salt  around  its  margin,  and  it  appears 


Kg.  153. — Eios  Bebedeeo  and  CaRjlda. 

ScJe  1 :  700,000. 


West  or  Greenwich 


12  Miles. 


from  other  indications  to  be  in  process  of  desiccation.  It  will  doubtless  bo 
ultimately  transformed  to  a  saline  depression,  like  those  situated  farther  north 
along  the  course  of  the  catiada  or  channel  of  its  former  affluent  from  Aconcagua. 

Beyond  the  Bebedero,   that  is,    the  "Drinker,"    in  reference  to  the  water- 
courses absorbed  in  its  basin,  a  branch  of  the  Desaguadero,  swollen  by  the  Rio 


380 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Tunuyan,  continues  to  flow  southwards.  But  the  sluggish  current  is  frequently 
dammod  and  even  displaced  by  the  shifting  sands  and  high  dunes  drifting  hefore 
the  wind  on  these  nearly  horizontal  plains.      The  river,   which  here   takes  the 


Fig.  154. — Ajjcient  Basis  of  the  Colobado. 
Scale  1  :  13,000,000. 


West  or  breenwich 


Oto5 
Fathoras. 


Depths. 


,5  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  to  26 
Fathoms. 


25  Fathoms 
and  upwiiTds. 


_3II)  Miles. 


fully  justified  name  of  Salado,  wanders,  so  to  say,  under  the  action  of  the  aerial 
currents. 

The  Diamante,    one  of  its  affluents,    which    is  stated  to  be  to    some    extent 
navigable,  has  also  shifted   its  channel  under  the   same   influences.      Formerly 


LAKES  AND  EITEES  OF  PATAOONTA. 


881 


it  was  a  tributary  to  the  Rio  Atuel,  which  flows  more  to  the  south.  But  having 
been  deflected  eastwards  by  moving  sandhills  it  now  flows  in  the  direction  of 
the  Salado.  Thus  is  formed  a  large  triangular  space,  whose  sides  are  represented 
by  the  three  rivers  Diamante,  Salado,  and  Atuel. 

Below  the  last  named,  which  descends  from  the  snowy  Cordilleras,  the  Salado, 
gradually  losing  in  volume  and  rambling  with  uncertain  flow  over  the  level 
plains,  is  at  last  arrested  by  a  chain  of  dunes.  Here  it  expands  into  the  broad 
but    shallow    Urre-Lafquen    basin, 

called  also  Laguna  Amarga,  from  Fig.  155.— Uree-Lafqubn. 

its  "  bitter  "  waters,  which,  despite  s«aie  > :  i,8oo,ooo. 

their  saline  character,  abound  in  fish. 

Beyond  this  basin  the  Cura-co,  or 
channel,  may  still  be  distinguished 
through  which  the  Salado  formerly 
reached  the  Rio  Colorado.  It  might 
almost  seem  as  if  the  current  had  at 
one  time  been  diverted  from  the 
Colorado  eastwards  to  the  broad 
estuary  of  Bahia  Blanca  on  the 
Atlantic,  which  presents  the  aspect 
of  a  fluvial  mouth,  and  which  has 
the  appearance  of  being  connected 
with  the  Urre-Lafquen  depression 
bv  a  chain  of  lagoons,  morasses,  and 
dried  lacustrine  basins. 


The  Eio  Colorado. 

In  any  case  the  Colorado  is  now 
completely  separated  from  the  whole 
of  its  northern  basin,  which  is  seven 
or  eight  times  more  extensive  than 
the  region  to  which  it  is  now 
confined.     Beyond  the  Cordilleras, 

where    are    formed    its    two   main 'S  iuies. 

upper    branches,    the    Rio    Grande 

and  the  Rio  de  Barrancas,  its  course  presents  a  remarkably  uniform  character. 
After  issuing  from  the  mountains  it  is  joined  by  no  more  affluents  on  either  side, 
and  flows  in  the  direction  from  north-west  to  south-east  in  a  deeply  eroded 
rocky  channel. 

Although  traversing  an  arid  region,  where  at  times  no  rain  falls  for  years 
together,  the  Colorado  never  runs  dry.  During  the  period  of  melting  snows  it 
forms  a  majestic  watercourse,  at  once  deep  and  rapid,  with  a  breadth  of  from 
1,000  to  1,300  feet.     But  in  the  winter  season  it  dwindles  to  a  shallow  stream 


382 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


easily  forded.  At  tkis  time  the  Chilian  cattle-dealers,  who  follow  its  rectilinear 
valley,  often  utilise  the  portion  of  its  sandy  bed  left  dry  by  the  subsiding 
current.     The  Colorado,  or    "  Red,"    so  named   from  the  argillaceous  sediment 


Kg.    156. — LOWEE  COLOEADO  iND   Rio  Neoeo. 
Scale  1  :  3,000,000. 


OtolO 
Fathoms. 


Depths. 


10  to  25 

Fathoms. 


25  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


75  Miles. 


contained  in  its  waters,  not  only  reaches  the  sea  throughout  the  year,  but  even 
forms  a  delta  with  two  branches,  both  of  which  are  navigable  by  small  craft. 


The  Rio  Negro. 

The  Rio  Negro,  largest  of  all  the  Patagonian  watercourses  and  natural 
parting-line  between  two  distinct  floras  and  faunas,  runs  parallel  ''h  the 
Colorado  throughout  the  whole  of  its  eastern  section,  where  it  n  es  no 
tributaries  from  any  quarter.     But  its  upper  basin  comprises  a  mountainous  region 


03 

"A 


.J 


LAKES  AND  ETTEBS  OF  PATAGONIA.  388 

far  more  extensive  than  that  of  the  Colorado.  All  the  running  waters  of  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes  between  36^  and  41"'  south  latitude  are  collected  by 
the  Xeuquen  and  the  Limay,  its  two  main  headstreams  which  enclose  a  vast 
triangular  space  about  the  foothills  and  the  pampas. 

The  Xeuquen,  which  rises  near  the  Chilian  volcano  in  the  little  lake  Malbarco, 
7,000  feet  above  sea  level,  is  joined  by  numerous  torrents  before  plunging  into  a 
wild  soTse  in  the  range  of  foothills  below  Piedra  Lisa.  It  follows  the  eastern 
base  of  this  range  as  far  as  its  confluence  with  its  largest  tributary,  the  Rio 
Agrio,  which  issues  from  a  longitudinal  valley  between  two  parallel  Cordilleras. 
A  short  distance  below  the  confluence  nearly  all  the  mountain  tracks  from  the 
passes  between  Mounts  Antuco  and  Quetrupillan,  converge  at  the  Paso  de  los 
Indios,  that  is,  the  chief  ford,  now  guarded  by  a  fort.  Below  this  point  the 
Xeuquen  sweeps  roimd  the  plateau  to  its  junction  with  the  Limay  ;  but  in  this 
part  of  its  course  it  is  joined  by  no  other  affluents. 


The  Eio  Limay. — Lake  Xahtel-Hcapi. 

The  Limay,  second  main  headstream  of  the  Rio  Xegro,  is  formed  by  the 
confluence  of  numerous  torrents  which  descend  from  the  Argentino-ChUian 
water-parting  in  a  space  of  about  185  miles  north  and  south.  Several  lakes 
flooding  old  glacial  valleys  send  their  overflow  to  the  impetuous  Limay,  which 
itself  escapes  from  the  famous  Lake  Xahuel-Huapi,  "  Tiger  Island,"  so  named 
from  a  long  sedgy  island  occupying  the  centre  of  the  basin. 

Xahuel-Huapi,  which  occupies  a  depression  of  great  importance  on  the  line  of 
a  future  trans-continental  highway  between  Bahia  Blanca  and  Valdivia,  has  been 
known  for  over  two  centuries.  Here  the  Jesuit  missionaries  had  already  estab- 
L'shed  themselves  in  the  midst  of  the  Araucanian  Indians  so  early  as  1670,  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  they  founded  a  settlement  near  the  head 
of  the  Rio  Limay.  But  this  station  was  destroyed  by  an  incursion  of  hostile 
natives,  and  although  it  was  again  visited  by  other  missionaries,  Xahuel-Huapi 
was  not  systematically  explored  till  the  year  185o. 

Since  that  time  numerous  travellers  have  found  their  way  to  the  shores  of  this 
lovely  lake,  and  about  1878  it  was  formally  occupied  by  the  Argentine  Govern- 
ment. Xevertheless,  its  contour  lines  are  not  yet  accurately  determined,  and  its 
form  is  differently  represented  by  diSerent  observers.  According  to  Siemiradzki 
this  Alpine  sea  is  much  smaller  than  is  usually  supposed,  being  only  28  instead  of 
50  miles  long,  as  stated  by  previous  travellers,  with  an  extreme  breadth  of  not 
more  than  9  or  10  miles. 

But  whatever  be  its  size,  all  are  unanimous  in  praise  of  this  beautiful  lake,  in 
whose  crystal  waters  are  mirrored  the  surrounding  heights,  in  one  place  bare 
trachyte  cliffs,  in  another  steep  granite  escarpments  clothed  with  beech  and  pine 
groves,  and  dominated  in  the  background  by  snowy  pyramids.  Its  altitude  above 
the  sea  is  variously  estimated  at  from  1,700  to  over  2,000  feet. 

Immediately  after    issuing  from    Nahuel-Huapi,   the   Limay   trends  round 


384  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

abruptly  northwards  to  a  longitudinal  VBUey  separating  the  great  Cordillera  from 
the  parallel  range  known  as  the  Cordillera  de  los  Cipreses.  After  rcceisang  the 
overflow  from  Lake  Treful  the  Limay  pierces  this  rocky  barrier,  beyond  which  it 
is  joined  by  the  longer  and  equally  copious  Collon-Cura  rising  about  160  miles 
farther  north.  On  its  winding  course  southwards  the  Collon-Cura  is  joined  by 
the  emissary  of  the  Alumine  lagoon,  which  stands  near  the  divide  between  the 
Biobio  and  Rio  Negro,  and  possiblj'  sends  its  overflow  to  both  basins. 

Swollen  by  all  the  torrents  from  the  Cordilleras,  the  Limay  flows  rapidly  in  a 
north-easterly  course,  flanked  here  and  there  by  reddish  cliffs,  and  elsewhere 
expanding  in  broad  depressions  studded  with  lagoons,  the  resort  of  myriads  of 
water-fowl.  The  current,  although  verj-  swift,  nowhere  develops  rapids,  so  that  a 
steamer  with  powerful  engines  might  ascend  aU  the  way  to  Lake  Nahuel-Huapi, 
and  even  penetrate  into  the  Collon-Cura  afiluent. 

The  Lower  Eio  Negbo. 

At  the  confluence  the  Neuquen  and  the  Limay  have  about  the  same  mean 
annual  discharge ;  but  the  Neuquen,  traversing  a  more  arid  region,  presents  far 
greater  discrepancies  between  high  and  low  water.  To  judge  from  the  disposition 
of  its  valley,  the  Limay  would  seem  to  be  the  true  upper  branch  of  the  Cur  a 
Leofu,  or  Rio  Negro,  to  which  the  Indians  appear  to  have  given  this  name,  not 
from  the  colour  of  its  waters,  but  from  the  rapids  and  other  dangerous  obstructions 
to  its  navigation.  Flowing  on  a  shingly  or  rocky  bed,  the  stream  maintains  its 
pure  sea-green  colour  throughout  the  year,  except  for  two  or  three  days  after  the 
floods,  when  it  changes  to  "  a  dull  red  with  the  red  earth  that  some  swollen  tribu- 
tary hundreds  of  miles  to  the  west  has  poured  into  its  current.  This  change 
lasts  only  a  day  or  two,  after  which  the  river  runs  green  and  pure  again."  * 

Flowing  in  its  broad,  regularly  inclined  vaUey  at  first  eastwards,  then  to  the 
south-east,  the  "  Black  River  "  receives  not  a  single  tributary  from  the  arid  Pata- 
gonian  plains.  But  although,  under  this  rainless  climate,  it  gradually  loses  volume 
on  its  seaward  course,  it  stiU  maintains  a  mean  depth  of  over  thirteen  feet.  About 
midway  it  breaks  into  two  branches  which  ramify  amid  groups  of  shifting  islands, 
forming  the  Choele  Choel,  famed  in  Patagonian  history  as  the  place  where  the 
native  warriors  crossed  to  swoop  down  on  the  Argentine  settlements. 

The  Choele  Choel,  some  60  miles  long  with  a  mean  breadth  of  6  or  7  miles, 
consists  of  alluvial  soil  at  a  dead  level  clothed  with  bush  and  herbage.  Right 
and  left  stretch  low-lying  plains  bounded  by  the  scarps  of  the  plateau  (here  about 
800  feet  high),  and  often  submerged  by  the  flood  waters  of  the  Neuquen,  derived 
in  summer  from  the  melting  snows,  in  winter  from  the  heavy  rains  on  the 
mountain  slopes.  The  Rio  Negro  glides  silently  into  the  sea  through  a  single 
channel,  without  in  any  way  modifying  the  trend  of  the  shore-line,  t 

*  W.  H.  Hudson,  Idle  Bays  in  Patagonia,  p.  36. 

t  Length  of  the  Rio  Negro  from  Lake  Nahuel-Huapi  to  the  sea        .         .        575  miles. 
Area  of  catchment  basin         .......  50,000  square  miles. 

Probable  discharge,  according  to  Guerrico     .        .  14,000  cubic  feet  per  second. 


LAKES  AND  EIVEES  OF  PATAGONIA.  885 

The  Chubut  axd  Sexgier  Rivers. 

A  much  smaller  volume  is  sent  down  by  the  Chubut,  a  river  whose  very  exis- 
tence was  stiU  unknown  in  1833,  unless  it  is  to  be  identified  with  the  Eio 
Camerones  of  the  old  maps.  Its  farthest  headwaters  descend  from  the  Cordillera 
south  of  Nahuel-Huapi,  and  once  formed,  the  river  flows  without  many  windings 
through  an  "accursed  land"  of  rocks  and  shingle,  where  affluents  are  rare  on.  the 
south,  and  altogether  absent  on  the  north  side. 

The  Senguer  (Singerr,  Senguel),  chief  tributary  of  the  Chubut,  rises  on  the 
Andes  near  the  sources  of  the  Aysen,  and,  according  to  a  native  report  mentioned 
by  Moreno,  the  Senguer  (Chubut)  forms  with  the  Aysen  a  continuous  waterway 
across  the  Continent  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  It  first  traverses  a  splendid 
region  of  pastures  and  woodlands,  a  veritable  Patagonian  oasis ;  then,  being 
deflected  to  the  north-east  by  a  barrier  of  rocks  and  other  obstacles,  its  turbid 
current  expands  in  a  vast  shallow  basin  which  rises  and  falls  with  the  seasons, 
and  which,  according  to  Fontana,  stands  about  1,000  feet  above  sea-level. 

This  basin,  composed  of  the  lakes  Colhue  and  Musters,  which  are  almost  com- 
pletely separated  by  a  meridional  chain  of  volcanic  crests,  is  fringed  on  the  south 
side  by  marshy  tracts  flooded  by  its  overflow.  Beyond  this  morass,  where  it 
loses  a  third  of  its  volume,  the  Senger  continues  its  course  to  the  Chubut, 
without,  however,  contributing  sufficient  to  make  it  navigable  at  all  times.  Boats 
can  ascend  with  the  flow,  but  they  find  only  five  or  six  feet  of  water  in  its  bed 
except  during  the  melting  of  the  snows. 


The  Rio  Deseado. 

The  Rio  Deseado,  "  Desire,"  discovered  by  Cavendish  in  1586,  falls  into  the 
estuary  of  the  same  name  south  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  George.  It  is  even  less  copious 
than  the  Chubut,  although  it  also  traverses  nearly  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
Patagonian  peninsula.  Lake  Buenos  Ayres,  which  probably  at  one  time  fed  the 
Deseado,  has  no  longer  any  outlet,  and  now  sleeps  in  its  circular  basin  like  a 
flooded  crater. 

In  these  Patagonian  regions,  which  were  formerly  far  more  humid  than  at 
present,  travellers  have  observed  several  other  basins,  which  are  now  dry,  but 
which  were  at  one  time  filled  with  water,  as  is  evident  from  the  alluvial  deposits 
on  their  beds. 

At  its  mouth  the  Deseado  is  usually  a  mere  rivulet,  with  a  volume  reduced  at 
times  to  a  few  cubic  feet  per  second,  but  after  the  rains  it  is  swollen  to  the 
proportions  of  a  considerable  river.  It  reaches  the  coast  at  the  head  of  an 
elongated  inlet  of  extremely  picturesque  aspect,  which  extends  for  a  distance  of 
some  24  miles  in  the  direction  from  west  to  east.  The  coast  line  is  greatly 
diversified  with  numerous  islands  and  islets,  reefs  and  headlands,  bays,  ravines, 
and  glens.     All  the  eminences  are  extinct  volcanoes,  which  were  probably  still 

VOL.  XIX.  c  c 


386 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


active  during  the  pliocene  epoch,  towards  the  close  of  tbe  glacial  period.  Alon" 
the  coast  the  prevailing  formations  are  trachytes  and  tidfas.  In  its  eastern  section 
Port  Deseado  is  accessible  to  vessels  of  heavy  draught,  and  at  high  water — 16  to 
20  feet — ships  of  average  size  are  able  to  penetrate  to  the  head  of  the  inlet. 
But  the  navigation  is  impeded  by  the  strong  currents  and  by  the  adverse  winds, 
which  prevail  especially  in  the  winter  months. 

Two  other  small  watercoursec,  which  also  appear  to  traverse  the  Patagonian 
plains  in   parallel  valleys,  have   been  differently  named  by  different  explorers. 


Fig.  157. — Lake  Aegenttno  accokdejg  to  Moeeno. 
Scile  1  :  2.000  000. 


49- 


50- 


rti- 


*^-. 


.1 


4Q' 


50' 


\i^'V"  '  ''\ 


West  oF  Greenwich 


12' 


30  MUes. 


But  the  term  Salado,  applied  to  the  southern  stream,  shows  that  it  is  not  copious 
enough  to  maintain  its  current  fresh — at  least,  in  its  lower  course. 

Farther  south  follows  the  Santa  Cruz,  which  is  relatively  a  copious  river, 
thanks  to  the  wide  extent  of  its  upper  basin,  and  to  the  heavier  rainfall  in  this 
contracted  part  of  South  Patagonia.  About  its  head  affluents  four  considerable 
lakes  stretch  along  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Andes,  a  distance  of  about  120  miles. 


LAKES  A^'D  ETS'EBS  OF  PATAGOXIA.  887 

One  of  these  basins,  discovered  by  Moreno  in  1877,  and  by  him  named  the  San 
Martin  in  honour  of  the  Conqueror  of  Chacabuco,  develops  an  irregular  oval 
between  lofty  mountains  of  volcanic  origin,  whence  descend  glaciers  and  ava- 
lanches. East  of  this  basin  meres  and  lagoons  occupy  a  deep  trough  dominated 
by  the  pyramidal  Mount  Kochait,  "Bird,"  and  other  volcanoes.  Towards  the 
west  these  lacustrine  depressions  send  their  overflow  to  a  still  xmexplored  basin 
at  the  east  foot  of  the  Fitzroy  volcano,  which  in  its  turn  discharges  into  Lake 
Viedma,  so  named  from  Antonio  de  Viedma,  who  discovered  it  in  1782. 


Lakes  Tiedm-^  axd  Arge>ti>"o. 

Tiedma,  largest  of  all  the  basins  in  these  sub- Andean  regions,  stretches 
a  distance  of  about  50  miles  in  the  direction  from  north-west  to  south-east. 
It  is  swept  by  fierce  gales  which  raise  huge  waves  like  Atlantic  billows, 
and  on  the  west  side  a  large  glacier  discharges  great  blocks,  which  float  away 
ia  long  processions  towards  the  east  side  where  they  are  stranded,  and  strew 
the  shores  with  erratic  boulders.  Traces  of  ancient  beaches  show  that  the  lake 
stood  formerly  at  a  much  higher  level  than  at  present.  Its  waters  have  been 
carried  off  by  the  Rio  Leona  (Orr),  which  winds  through  a  mountain  gorge 
southwards,  and  to  Lake  Argentino,  which  it  enters  at  its  north-east  corner.  A 
now  dry  channel  formerly  carried  the  waters  of  the  Rio  Leona  directly  to  the 
Rio  Santa  Cruz. 

Lake  Argentino,  which  was  discovered  by  Grardiner  in  1868,  and  afterwards 
visited  by  FeUberg  in  1873,  and  navigated  by  Moreno  in  1878,  occupies  that  region 
to  which  Fitzroy  and  Darwin  gave  the  name  of  the  "  Mysterious  Plain."  They  even 
sighted  and  named  two  mountains,  Hobler  Hill  and  Castle  Hill,  which  are  bathed 
by  its  waters,  without  recognising  the  lake  itself.  At  present  the  basin  stands, 
according  to  Carlos  Burmeister,  at  an  elevation  of  1,050  feet,  but  like  Tiedma, 
it  formerly  stood  at  a  much  higher  level,  and  the  traces  of  two  ancient  beaches 
may  stiU  be  clearly  followed  above  its  present  margin.  Like  those  of  the  Swiss 
Alps,  the  lakes  of  the  Argentine  Andes  appear  to  be  extremely  deep.  Two  miles 
from  the  shore  Moreno  failed  to  reach  the  bottom  of  Argentino  with  a  sounding- 
line  122  feet  long.  They  were  originally  perhaps  fiords,  like  those  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Andes,  and  like  them  they  have  their  deepest  parts  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains,  whence  they  shoal  gradually  seawards. 


The  Saxta  Cruz  axd  Chico  Rivers. 

The  Rio  Santa  Cruz,  outlet  of  the  chain  of  lakes  which  begin  with  Viedma, 
escapes  from  the  east  side  of  Lake  Argentino  a  few  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  Leona.  The  current  is  interrupted  by  rapids,  which  are  impassable  by  boats, 
which  have  to  be  drawn  up  by  ropes.     But  when  the  river  is  in  flood,  light  craft 

c  c  2 


388 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


shoot  these  rapids  at  a  velocity  of  12  or  15  miles  an  hour.  The  Santa  Cruz  is 
certainly  the  most  copious  of  all  the  Patagonian  rivers,  and  Moyano  estimates  its 
discharge  at  no  less  than  30,000  cuhic  feet  per  second.  It  draws  all  its  supplies 
from  the  lakes,  for  the  little  rain  that  falls  farther  east  is  absorbed  in  the  sur- 
rounding volcanic  scoriae.  Its  channel  and  the  lateral  terraces  are  strewn 
with  erratic  boulders,  huge  masses  of  17,000  or  18,000  cubic  feet.  Assuming 
that  in  the  Upper  Santa  Cruz  valley  the  average  annual  rainfall  amounts  to 
about  aO  inches,  a  figure  which  seems  approximately  correct,  the  superficial 
area  of   a   catchment   basin   necessary  for   the  development   of    such   a  stream 


Fig.  158. — Mouths  of  the  Eios  Chico  4.nd  Santa  Cetjz. 
Scale  1  ;  1,100,000. 


West  oF  Greenwich  . 69' 


Depths. 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


6  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  to  25 
Fathoms. 


25  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


.  6  Miles. 


as  the  Santa  Cruz  should  exceed  13,000  square  miles.  Such  in  fact  must  be 
the  extent  of  the  region  from  which  Lakes  Vicdma  and  Argentine  draw  their 
supplies. 

At  its  eastern  extremity  the  fluvial  valley,  bordered  by  cHfis  from  100  to 
400  feet  high,  has  quite  the  aspect  of  an  ancient  marine  strait,  and  Darwin  sug- 
gested the  idea  that  it  might  have  at  one  time  formed  a  passage  between  the  two 
oceans,  like  another  Magellan  Strait.  This  hypothesis,  however,  is  not  supported 
by  the  aspect  of  the  mountains  rising  to  the  west  of  Lake  Argcntino. 

In  the  estuary  converges  another  river,  the  Eio  Chico,  which  is  often  re- 


LAKES  AXD  EIYERS  OF  PATAGONIA. 


889 


garded  as  an  affluent  of  the  Santa  Cruz.  The  Chico,  which  was  explored  in  its 
lower  course  by  Musters,  and  in  its  upper  reaches  by  Moyano,  flows,  like  the 
Santa  Cruz,  in  a  deep  channel  excavated  in  the  basaltic  plateau.  But  it  is  at  no 
time  navigable,  and  during  the  dry  season  it  shrinks  to  a  mere  rivulet  120  feet 
wide,  and  easily  fordable.     It  adds  little  to  the  volume  of  the  Santa  Cruz,  and 


Fig.  159. — Fboh  Lake  Aeqentixo  to  the  Southees  Fioed3. 
Scale  1  :  2,500,000. 


.1^4 


50' 


60  Miles. 


the  average  discharge  of  both  in  the  common  estuary  is  estimated  at  about  31,000 
cubic  feet  per  second.  In  this  estuary,  the  tides,  which  are  very  swift,  rise  from 
about  10  feet  on  the  bar  at  ebb  to  50  or  60  at  flow. 

Lake  Argentine  is  continued  southwards  by  another  basin,  which  according 
to  some  authorities  stands  at  the  same  level  of  about  300  feet,  while  according  to 
others  it  lies  not  more  than  a  few  feet  above  the  sea.     Moyano  believes  that  the 


390  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

two  lakes  communicate  in  some  way,  either  through  a  channel  or  a  series  of 
rapids ;  but  he  was  unable  to  verify  the  fact  by  actual  observation. 

Farther  south  a  long  stretch  of  fresh  water,  half  river,  half  fiord,  is  developed  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  in  the  direction  of  the  glacial  fiords,  which  form  the 
ramifying  inlets  of  Skyring  Water. 

South  of  the  Santa  Cruz  estuary  the  coast  presents  other  fiord-like  indenta- 
tions, half  filled  with  silt,  which  receive  some  small  streams  descending  from  the 
Cordilleras.  But  all  have  their  sources  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  volcanic  range, 
and  are  consequently  for  the  most  part  dry.  Coy  Inlet,  which  Darwin  regarded 
as  the  remains  of  a  marine  strait,  like  that  of  Magellan,  is  joined  only  by  a  rivulet 
known  as  the  Coylc,  a  corruption  of  Coy,  the  English  name  of  the  estuary.  It 
was  dry  when  visited  by  Moreno  ;  but  farther  south  the  Rio  Gallegos,  rising  in 
the  fertile  Llanuras  de  Diana,  "  Diana  Plains,"  is  a  perennial  stream,  and  even 
navigable  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  year.  All  the  running  waters  at  the  extremity 
of  Patagonia  wash  down  auriferous  sands. 


The  Patagonian  Seaboard. 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  the  shores  of  Patagonia  and  Tierra  del  Fuego  present  no 
character  of  unity  in  their  contour  lines.  Between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Bahia 
Blanca  the  semicircular  bend  of  the  seaboard  is  developed  in  a  rhythmical  curve, 
in  which  is  revealed  the  result  of  slow  and  continuous  geological  action.  So,  also, 
at  the  extremity  of  the  continent  a  similar  movement  in  the  formation  of  the 
coast-line  is  attested  by  the  cimeter- shaped  curved  line  which  is  described  between 
Staten  Island  and  Coy  Inlet,  and  which  is  interrupted  by  the  two  Straits  of 
Lemaire  and  Magellan. 

But  all  the  intermediate  space  extending  from  Bahia  Blanca  to  the  Santa 
Cruz  estuary  is  indented  in  an  extremely  irregular  fashion.  South  of  Bahia 
Blanca,  itself  a  tunnel-shaped  estuary  penetrating  far  into  the  interior  of  the 
continent,  several  parallel  inlets  which  follow  along  the  seaboard  seem  to  indicate 
the  existence  of  an  old  delta ;  only  the  river,  which  one  might  expect  to  see 
discharging  into  the  head  of  the  gulf,  has  long  ceased  to  exist.  By  a  remarkable 
contrast,  both  the  Rio  Colorado  and  the  Rio  Negro,  instead  of  flowing  in  valleys 
forming  a  landward  continuation  of  marine  gulfs  or  inlets,  follow  the  line  of  a 
ridge  traversing  the  surrounding  plains,  and  discharge  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  at 
the  extreme  convexity  of  lands  projecting  seawards. 

Immediately  south  of  the  Rio  Negro  the  Gulf  of  San  Matias  penetrates  so  far 
into  the  interior  of  Patagonia  that  it  has  received  the  alternative  name  of  Bahia 
Sin  Fondo,  that  is,  "  Endless  Bay."  On  the  other  hand  the  Valdes  or  San  Jose 
Peninsula,  which  encloses  this  bay  on  the  south  side,  is  connected  with  the 
mainland  by  a  narrow  isthmus  with  a  hammer-shaped  headland,  which  bends 
round  to  the  right  and  left  (north  and  south)  in  such  a  way  as  to  develop  two 
lateral  inlets. 


THE  PATAGONIAN  SEABOARD. 


391 


South  of  the  regular  semicircle  formed  by  the  spacious  Gulf  of  St.  George, 
the  Rio  Deseado  presents  a  phenomenon  analogous  to  that  of  the  Rios  Colorado 
and  Negro.  Instead  of  debouching  in  the  vast  gulf,  which  seems  made  to  receive 
its  discharge,  it  reaches  the  coast  after  traversing  a  peninsular  ti-act  which,  like 
that  of  San  Jose,  encloses  the  gulf  on  the  south  side. 

Natural  havens  are  rare  on  this  Patagonian  seaboard,  which  is  exposed  to  the 

Fig.  IGO. — View  taken  in  tub  Acha  Vaixet,  Central  Pampa. 


full  fury  of  the  fierce  Polar  winds.  In  the  southern  waters  navigators  show  a 
preference  for  Port  San  Julian  and  Port  Santa  Cruz,  although  both  are  closed  at 
ebb  tide  by  bars  with  depths  of  not  more  than  8  or  10  feet.  But  the  flow,  which 
on  these  coasts  rises  to  a  height  of  from  30  to  50  feet,  gives  access  to  the  largest 
vessels  at  all  times.  The  approaches  are  much  dreaded  in  the  Gulf  of  San  Jlatias, 
especially  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Yaldes  Peninsula.  Here  the  chopping  seas  and 
conflicting  currents   cross  and  recross  in  all   directions,  developing   exceedingly 


392  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

dangerous  whirlpoola.  Sucli  is  the  force  of  the  currents  and  eddies  that  they 
cause  the  plumb  lines  to  drif«t,  thus  preventing  accurate  soundings  from  being 
taken  in  these  troubled  waters. 


Climate  of  Argentina. 

With  the  exception  of  a  small  strip  of  territory  iu  the  extreme  north,  Argen- 
tina lies  entirely  within  the  south  temperate  zone,  with  a  climate  corresponding 
in  some  respects  to  that  of  west  Europe,  between  the  latitudes  of  Spain  and  the 
Feroer  Islands.  But  between  22^  and  25°  south  latitude  there  are  naturally 
many  transitions  from  north  to  south,  and  to  these  must  be  added  the  changes  that 
take  place  from  east  to  west  between  the  Atlantic  seaboard  and  the  slopes  of  the 
Cordilleras.  Hence  arises  au  endless  diversity  of  local  climates,  all  however 
characterised  both  by  a  considerable  range,  and  by  sudden  changes,  of  temperature. 
The  general  relief  of  the  land,  from  the  plains  of  Chaco  to  the  rugged  Fuegian 
Archipelago,  leaves  ample  space  for  the  play  of  the  hot  equatorial  and  cold  antarctic 
winds,  which  are  nowhere  intercepted  by  any  mountain  barriers. 

In  the  "  Mesopotamian  "  region,  and  generally  throughout  North  Argentina, 
the  normal  currents  set  in  the  same  direction  as  the  mountain  ranges  and 
watercourses,  that  is,  from  north  to  south,  or  from  south  to  north,  parallel  with 
the  Andes  and  with  the  Famatina  and  Aconquija  foothills,  parallel  also  with  the 
Parana  and  Uruguay  valleys.  But  a  certain  see-saw  movement  is  observed 
between  the  eastern  fluvial  and  the  western  highland  regions.  In  the  former  the 
northern,  in  the  latter  the  southern  currents  predominate. 

Another  contrast  consists  in  the  deflection  of  the  north  wind,  which  frequently 
sweeps  from  the  uplands  down  to  the  plains.  This  is  the  much-dreaded  zonda, 
which  assumes  the  character  of  a  gale,  especially  during  the  winter  months  from 
July  to  September.  Both  the  true  north  wind  and  the  zonda  are  accompanied  by 
a  considerable  rise  in  the  temperature,  which  has  occasionally  exceeded  104°  Fah. 
Then  any  sudden  shifting  of  the  currents  may  be  attended  by  a  fall  of  50°  or 
even  54"^  Fah.  within  the  twenty-four  hours. 

In  winter,  and  under  the  prolonged  action  of  the  south  wind,  which  clears  the 
sky  and  promotes  radiation,  the  glass  may  fall  below  freezing-point,  and  the  Pata- 
gonian  rivers,  as  far  north  as  the  Chubut,  rapidly  freeze.  Such  is  the  purity  of 
the  atmosphere,  that  at  San  Juan,  near  the  foot  of  the  Andes,  the  stars  are  said 
to  be  visible  by  day,  even  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sun. 

The  coastlands  about  the  Plate  estuary  and  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  enjoy 
the  alternating  virazones,  land  breezes  prevailing  during  the  day  followed  by  sea 
breezes  at  night.  This  region  is  also  exposed  to  the  south-east  trades,  not  only 
in  summer,  but  also  during  a  great  part  of  the  winter  season.  They  sometimes 
blow  with  fury,  and  under  the  name  of  su-cstada  they  churn  up  the  estuary  waters 
and  sbem  the  current  of  the  Parana  and  Uru'guay,  causing  these  rivers  to  over- 
flow their  banks.     Most  of  the  shipwrecks  in  the  Buenos  Ayres  roadstead  are  due 


CLIMATE  OF  AEGEXTIXA. 


S93 


to  these  soutt-eastem  squalls,  wliich  are  nearly  always  accompanied  by  heavy 
rains. 

Here  also  the  less  dangerous ^a»j/)ero,  or  pampas  wind,  blows  with  equal  violence 
from  south-west  to  north-east  across  the  central  plains,  reaching  at  times  as  far 
as  and  beyond  Cape  Frio  on  the  Brazilian  coast.     This  pure,  dry,  and  salubrious 


Rg.  161.— Closed  Basins  of  Abobstdia. 

Scak  J  :  20,000,000. 


.  620  Miles. 


wind  lasts  sometimes  only  a  few  hours,  at  others  several  days.  But  on  the  whole, 
the  climate  of  these  coastlands  is  more  equable,  and  scarcely  ever  exposed  to  the 
intolerable  heats,  which  are  felt,  especially  in  calm  weather,  in  the  inland  "  Sa- 
hara?." 

In  the  conflict  between  the  equatorial  and  polar  currents,  the  former  nearly 


394  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

always  prevail  in  Patagonia,  where  north-west  winds  set  regularly  for  a  part  of 
the  spring  and  throughout  the  whole  of  the  summer  season.  They  blow  at  times 
with  such  fury  that  riders  are  unable  to  keep  the  saddle,  and  have  to  dismount 
and  seek  shelter  in  some  cleft  of  the  rocks.  In  these  caJiadones  an  arborescent 
vegetation  is  able  to  maintain  itself ;  but  on  the  arid  storm-swept  plains  nothing 
can  thrive  except  low  growths,  bush,  and  herbage.  The  gales  usually  rise  with 
the  sun,  and  continue  to  increase  in  violence  tUl  the  afternoon,  when  they  subside, 
a  dead  calm  often  prevailing  at  night. 

In  the  extreme  south  the  aerial  currents  are  far  more  capricious  in  the 
labyrinth  of  fiords,  inlets,  sounds,  and  narrow  channels  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  than 
on  the  open  Patagonian  steppe  lands.  As  had  already  been  observed  by  the 
navigator  Anson,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  fine  weather  never  lasts  very  long 
in  these  high  southern  latitudes.  The  very  clearness  of  the  atmosphere  is  an 
indication  to  the  weather-wise  of  pending  storms. 

As  a  rule,  the  rainfall  decreases  gradually  in  the  direction  of  the  south.  On 
the  Tucuman  plains  it  is  heavier  than  in  the  Argentine  Mesopotamia,  more  copious 
in  this  region  than  in  Buenos  Ayres,  in  Buenos  Ayres  than  in  Patagonia.  There 
is  also  a  falling  off  in  the  direction  from  east  to  west,  aridity  increasing  with  the 
distance  from  the  seaboard.  Here  dews  are  copious,  and  fine  drizzly  rains  occur, 
like  the  "  Scotch  Mists  "  of  Europe.  But  farther  inland,  and  notably  in  the  San 
Juan  district,  such  phenomena  are  almost  unknown,  and  are  replaced  by  tre- 
mendous downpours,  at  times  accompanied  by  thunder  and  hail-storms.  Such 
heavy  showers  appear  to  be  an  abnormal  phenomenon,  -which  is  attributed  to  the 
conflict  of  opposing  aerial  curi'ents.  At  Buenos  Ayres,  and  on  the  surrounding 
plains,  snow  is  of  extremely  rare  occurrence.  Nevertheless,  Hermann  Burmeister 
■was  able  to  record  the  fall  of  a  few  flakes,  as  an  exceptional  event,  in  the  j'ear 
1871. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  Argentina,  even  on  the  seaboard,  lacks  sufiicient  moisture  for 
agricultural  pursuits.  The  people  of  Buenos  Ayres  have  not  yet  forgotten  the 
fjran  seca,  "  great  drought,"  which  prevailed  from  1827  to  1831,  and  during  which 
only  a  few  passing  showers  fell  on  the  plains.  In  the  interior  these  droughts 
last  even  longer ;  but  here  the  settlers  depend  not  so  much  on  the  rainfall  as  on 
the  melting  snows  of  the  uplands,  which  feed  the  irrigation  rills,  and  on  the 
artesian  wells  that  have  been  sunk  to  a  depth  of  300  feet  and  upwards  in  many 
districts. 

It  would,  however,  almost  seem  as  if  the  climate  has  evei-ywhere  become  drier, 
snow  being  apparently  less  abundant  than  within  a  recent  epoch.  To  the  lack  of 
moisture,  whether  under  the  form  of  snow  or  rain,  is  due  the  exhaustion  of  so 
many  rivers  on  the  northern  plains  and  in  Patagonia.  In  the  "  accursed  lands  " 
traversed  by  the  Eios  Colorado  and  Negro,  mere  channels  destitute  of  any  afiluents, 
showers  are  extremely  rare,  and  at  times  not  a  drop  falls  for  years  together.  The 
stations  on  the  railway  lines  in  the  solitudes  south  of  Buenos  Ayres  receive  their 
water  supply  regulaily  with  each  train.  Elsewhere  travellers  have  to  put  up  with 
the  brackish  fluid  that  oozes  in  many  places  from  the  ground.     In  these  districts 


CLIMATE  OF  AEGEXTDsA.  395 

the  pumas  die  of  thirst,  and  the  sheep  of  hunger,  and  the  vegetation  is  kept  alive 
entirely  by  the  morning  dews.* 

According  to  the  observations  of  Moreno,  the  most  arid  district  in  the  whole 
of  Patagonia  is  the  region  comprised  within  the  basin  of  the  Rio  Deseado,  a  long 
river  which  descends  as  a  copious  stream  from  the  snowy  uplands  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras, but  which  is  reduced  to  the  proportions  of  a  mere  rivulet  before  it  reaches 
its  vast  fiord-like  outlet  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic.  But  if  the  plateaux  and 
plains  sloping  towards  the  Atlantic  are  destitute  of  moisture,  the  Andes  regions 
enjov  an  abundant  rainfall.  The  north-west  winds,  which  blow  with  great 
violence,  and  which  discharge  their  contents  on  the  slopes  of  the  Pacific,  find 
numerous  breaches  through  which  they  are  able  to  reach  the  opposite  side,  which 
thus  receives  a  portion  of  their  humidity. 

The  other  atmospheric  currents,  being  arrested  by  the  higher  summits,  also 
precipitate  some  of  their  moisture  in  the  form  of  rain  or  snow,  and  thus  are 
developed  a  few  glaciers  here  and  there  on  the  crests  of  the  Cordilleras.  On  the 
Argentine  side  is  also  developed  a  chain  of  lakes  along  the  foot  of  the  highlands, 
and  numerous  basins,  whose  liquid  contents  have  long  been  evaporated,  appear  to 
have  at  one  time  formed  an  almost  continuous  waterway  between  Lake  Nahuel- 
Huapi  and  Magellan  Strait.  On  the  other  hand,  Tierra  del  Fuego  is  still 
sufficiently  watered,  even  on  the  eastern  plains  roamed  by  the  Ona  nomads. 

In  connection  with  the  climate  of  Patagonia  the  naturalist  John  Ball  argues, 
against  the  commonly  received  opinion,  that  the  southern  is  not  colder  than  the 
northern  hemisphere.  The  mean  temperature  of  the  three  points  south  of  oO"* 
south  latitude,  from  which  meteorological  observations  are  available,  considerably 
exceeds  42'  Fahr.,  as  shown  in  the  subjoined  table  : — 


Mean  .Anna'd 

S.  Latitude. 

Tempera  trrre. 

Falkland  Islands   . 

.     oViV 

about  4300=  Fahr 

Punta  Arenas 

.   5r-2o- 

„      43o2'      „ 

Ushoaja  (Beagle  Channel)     . 

.     o4=o3' 

„      42-39'     „ 

This,  compared  with  corresponding  places  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  is  four 
or  five  degrees  higher,  except  in  such  favourably  situated  localities  as  Sitka,  on 

*  Meteorological  conditions  of  vjirions  towns  in  Argentina  :^ 

Tempera  tnre. 


Latitude. 

Height 

-^M«T. 

Mean. 

iiJ^ 

BainlUL 

Salta      . 

24=46- 

3.935  feet. 

109=  Fahr. 

63'  Fahr. 

■li' 

Fah. 

23  in. 

Tucuman 

26=50' 

1,4S0  ,. 

104° 

»j 

68= 

16= 

39  „ 

Santiago  del  Estero 

27'4S' 

690  „ 

113= 

i» 

70= 

29= 

19  „ 

Catamarca 

28=28- 

1,700  „ 

109= 

tt 

69° 

25= 

10  ,. 

La  Kioja 

29=26' 

1,660  „ 

109' 

„ 

67= 

32= 

12  „ 

Chilecito 

29n2' 

3,530  „ 

104' 

,, 

63= 

32= 

11   „ 

Cordoba 

31=25' 

1,576  „ 

111= 

II 

er 

16= 

26  „ 

San  Joan 

31-32- 

2,130  „ 

108' 

„ 

65= 

2r 

3  ,1 

MendoM 

32=53- 

2.500  „ 

100= 

„ 

60= 

29' 

6  1, 

San  Lois 

33=18- 

2,364  „ 

103= 

It 

61= 

25° 

24  „ 

Bosario  . 

32=56- 

24  „ 

lor 

II 

63= 

29' 

40,. 

Bnenos  Ajres 

34=36- 

66  „ 

100= 

II 

64' 

30' 

34  „ 

Bahia  Blanca 

38=45- 

50  „ 

105"= 

II 

60= 

23' 

19  ,. 

Kawson  . 

43=17- 

100  „ 

100' 

II 

54= 

14' 

12,. 

f  shnia    . 

54=53- 

32  ,. 

81= 

II 

42= 

13= 

f 

396  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

the  north-west  coast  of  North  America.  "  The  general  conclusion,  which  seems 
to  be  fully  established,  is  that  the  southern  hemisphere  is  not  colder  than  the 
northern,  and  that  all  arguments  based  upon  an  opposite  assumption  must  be  set 
aside.  I  think  that  this  belief,  as  well  as  many  others  regarding  physical 
geography,  originated  in  the  fact  that  ph3'sical  science,  in  its  more  exact  form, 
had  its  birth  in  "Western  Europe,  a  region  which,  especially  as  to  climate,  is 
altogether  exceptional  in  its  character.  The  further  our  knowledge,  yet  too 
limited,  has  extended  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  the  less  ground  we  find  for  a 
belief  in  the  supposed  inferiority  of  its  mean  temperature.  What  we  do  find,  in 
exact  conformity  with  obvious  physical  principles,  is  that  in  the  hemisphere 
where  the  water  surface  largely  predominates  over  that  of  the  land,  the  tempera- 
ture is  much  more  uniform  than  where  the  land  occupies  the  larger  portion  of 
the  surface.  In  the  former  the  heat  of  summer  is  mainly  expended  in  the  work 
of  converting  water  into  vapour,  and  partially  restored  in  winter  in  the  conversion 
of  vapour  into  water  or  ice."  * 

Floka  of  Argentina. 

Tropical  woodlands  analogous  to  those  of  the  Brazilian  selva  and  certain  parts 
of  Paraguay  occur  only  in  the  provinces  of  Salta,  Jujuy,  and  Tucuman  at  the  foot 
of  the  Plateau  border  ranges,  and  in  Chaco  along  the  banks  of  the  Pilcomayo  and 
Bermejo.  Round  its  margin  this  forest  region  passes  by  gradual  transitions  to  the 
natural  parklands,  where  the  woods  intermingled  with  the  prairies  constitute  the 
fairest  and  most  fertile  districts  of  Argentina.  All  the  forest  species  are  represented 
in  these  scattered  woods  and  thickets,  which  occupy  considerable  tracts  in  the 
northern  provinces.  But  the  more  valuable  timber,  cabinet  and  dyewoods,  are 
already  disappearing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  large  towns. 

From  the  lack  of  moisture  and  vegetable  humus,  and  from  the  presence  of 
saline  elements  in  the  soil,  the  vegetation  acquires  a  peculiar  character.  In  such  a 
climate  those  trees  alone  can  flourish  which  bear  slender  leaves,  spikes,  or  thorns, 
diffusing  little  shade.  On  the  slopes  bordering  Catamarca  and  Santiago  del  Estero 
are  met  the  cahil,  a  species  of  acacia  useful  for  tanning  purposes,  and  the  quehracho 
Colorado  {loxopterygiiim  Lorentzii),  also  rich  in  tannin,  and  owing  to  its  strength 
and  elasticity  much  valued  for  railway  sleepers. 

On  the  dunes,  and  generally  in  the  sandy  districts,  the  most  common  tree  is  the 
algarrobo  {prosopk),  while  regiments  of  the  woody  cactus  and  more  ramifying 
Barbary  fig  are  characteristic  of  a  very  dry  soil.  In  Chaco  most  of  the  space  is 
occupied  by  palm  groves  composed  mainly  of  the  copcnticia  ccrifcra.  Farther  south 
they  dimini.sh  in  extent,  breaking  into  small  thickets  or  clumps  chiefly  consisting 
of  the  trithinax  campestris.  The  yatai  (cocas  yatai)  occurs  more  especially  in  the 
provinces  of  Corrientes  and  Entre-Pios  between  the  Parana  and  Uruguay  rivers, 
which  region  contains  four  of  the  ten  or  twelve  palms  peculiar  to  the  Argentine 
flora.     In  some  districts  thorny  trees,  such  as  the  gleditschia  amorphoidcs,  develop 

•  Xolcs  nf  a  Naturalist  in  South  America,  pp.  272 — 3. 


FLORA  OF  AEGENTIXA. 


897 


sucli  a  tangle  of  sharp  points  that  they  form  a  veritable  snare,  in  which  animals 
run  the  risk  of  perishing. 

The  forests  are  not  arrested  abruptly  on  the  verge  of  the  pampas,  into  which 
are  projected  wooded  headlands  and  islands,  while  elsewhere  grassy  glades  appear 
amid  the  groves  and  thickets.  Since  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  the  indigenous 
herbaceous  flora  of  the  pampas  has  been  invaded  by  numerous  species  introduced 
from  the  Old  World,  which  have  rapidly  spread  from  the  seaboard  to  the  foot  of 
the  Andes.  Thus  several  varieties  of  the  thistle  have  taken  possession  of  the 
plains,  where  in  dry  seasons  they  grow  so   thickly  as  to  be  quite  impenetrable. 


Fig.  162. — FLOEiS  OF  THE  Plateaus  A^1>  Ravetes. 
Scale  1  : 1,000,000. 


-,-,    Sc--^"-:..^        ^smpa     i/e     Zeis      Co 


r/}  /  c  e  3 


38' 


|»ifiiS»iS^' 


^W^ 


K'j^: 


ys 


65° 


West  op  Greenw'cK 


64° 


I  IS  Miles. 


These  European  species  would  appear  to  have  improved  the  pasturage  by  the  de- 
velopment of  the  pasio  hlando  or  pasto  tierno,  tender  herbage  good  for  sheep,  with 
a  corresponding  decrease  of  the  pasto  duro,  or  coarse  grasses  on  which  horses 
chiefly  graze. 

Compared  with  the  other  vegetable  zones  the  pampas  flora  comprises  but  a 
small  number  of  species,  which,  however,  are  remarkable  for  their  prodigious  ex- 
pansion. But  the  gijnerium  argenteum,  known  in  Europe  by  the  name  of  "pam- 
pas grass,"  does  not  occur  in  the  pampas  proper,  but  onlj-  on  the  slopes  of  the 
mountains,  and  in  the  moist  barrancas  or  bottom-lands  on  the  Patagonian  frontier. 


398  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Not  a  single  indigenous  tree  is  met  in  tlie  true  pampa,  and  those  now  gro\ring, 
even  far  from  human  habitations — eucalyptus,  poplar,  peach,  and  others — have 
all  been  introduced  by  man.  Conspicuous  amongst  them  is  the  ombu  {phytolacca 
or pircunia  dioica),  with  a  huge  spongy  stem,  dull  ball-shaped •■  foliage,  and  gnarly 
roots  trailing  over  the  surface. 

Southwards  the  pampas  flora  scarcely  extends  beyond  Bahia  Blanca  ;  but  far- 
ther inland  it  still  reaches  the  Colorado  valley,  which  may  be  taken  as  the  northern 
limit  of  the  scrubby  vegetation  of  Patagonia.  In  this  zone  there  is  a  total  absence 
of  pasturage  properly  so-called,  although  a  few  tufts  of  grass  and  other  herbs  grow 
about  the  stems  of  the  thorny  and  gnarly  shrubs.  In  the  whole  of  the  vast  Pata- 
gonian  region  Lorentz  and  Niederlein  had  enumerated  not  more  than  300  distinct 
species  in  1884.  Here  the  prickly  cactus  presents  in  many  places  an  impassable 
barrier  to  men  and  horses.  In  the  Rio  Negro  valley  the  only  large  tree  is  a  species 
of  willow  (salix  hiimboldfiana),  which  may,  perhaps,  be  of  European  origin.  But 
even  this  is  rapidly  disappearing  under  the  axe  of  the  woodman.  On  the  terraces 
dominating  the  river  banks  the  mtfst  common  "  tree,"  a  mere  shrub  in  appearance, 
is  the  chamr  {gourliwa  decorticans),  which  in  October  decks  itself  with  yellow  flowers 
resembling  the  broom. 

Amongst  the  few  Patagonian  plants  possessing  some  economic  value  are  the 
"  incense  "  tree  (dumua  magellanica),  which  yields  an  excellent  resin,  and  the  Santa 
Cruz  "tea"  {micromeria  Darwinii),  a  very  small  plant,  with  the  leaves  and  large 
roots  of  which  is  made  a  highly  aromatic  infusion  tasting  like  mint.  The  hcrheris 
huxifolia  grows  in  such  abundance  on  certain  inland  dunes  that  its  bluish  colour 
is  visible  miles  away,  and  when  the  supply  of  guanaco  meat  fails,  the  Indians  live 
exclusively  on  the  berry  of  this  plant.  From  a  species  of  juniper  they  obtain  the 
so-called  maken,  a  gum  which  all  Patagonians  chew,  and  which  acts  both  as  an 
excellent  dentifrice  and  as  a  substitute  for  tobacco. 

About  the  sources  of  the  Santa  Cruz  the  slopes  of  the  Cordilleras  are  clothed 
with  continuous  forests  of  the  "  antarctic  beech,"  which  intertwines  its  branches 
above  the  gorges,  where  the  wild  horse  has  taken  refuge.  Farther  north  the 
hillsides  are  covered  with  "  oaks  "  and  "  C3^presses,"  while  the  apple,  introduced 
by  the  Jesuits,  flourishes  vigorously  in  the  upland  valleys,  where  the  head- 
streams  of  the  Rio  Negro  take  their  rise. 


Fauna  of  Argentina. 

During  tertiary  and  even  quaternary  times,  the  southern  regions  of  the  Con- 
tinent had  a  far  richer  fauna  of  large  animals  than  at  present.  The  deposits  of 
fossil  mammals  discovered  by  Darwin  near  Bahia  Blanca  were  embedded  in  a  layer 
of  stratified  gravels  and  of  reddish  mud,  such  as  might  at  present  be  formed  by 
the  sea  on  a  shoaling  beach.  The  associated  shells  belonged  in  fact  to  recent  or 
even  contemporary  species.  Most  of  the  glyptodons  or  gigantic  armadillos  brought 
to  light  in  the  pampean  formation  just  below  the  vegetable  humus  are  as  perfect 
as  the  skeletons  of  horses  or  oxen  lying  on  the  sm'face.     Ilence  the  conditions  of 


FAUNA  OP  AEQENTINA.  899 

tHe  animal  kingdom  were  at  that  time  much  the  same  as  at  present.  There  were 
no  huge  curuivorous  beasts  to  break  and  scatter  the  bones,  but  only,  as  at  present, 
vultures  and  other  carrion  birds  to  devour  the  flesh.  According  to  the  Indians 
the  glj-ptodon  survived  till  quite  recently,  and  appears  to  have  been  certainly  con- 
temporary with  man.  Roth  found  a  human  skeleton  in  the  hollow  ground 
excavated  beneath  the  natural  roof  formed  by  the  huge  carapace  of  one  of  these 
animals. 

A  striking  feature  of  this  Platean  and  Patagonian  tertiary  fauna  is  the  astonish- 
ing abundance  and  variety  of  species  concentrated  in  a  narrow  space.  The  Bahia 
Blanca  beds,  little  more  than  about  250  square  3'ards  in  extent,  contained  skulls 
of  the  megatherium  ;  a  niegalonyx ;  a  nearly  perfect  scelidotherium,  a  quadruped 
of  the  same  family,  but  showing  relations,  on  the  one  hand,  with  the  ant-eater, 
on  the  other  with  the  armadillo  ;  three  gigantic  species  belonging  to  the  group  of 
edentates  ;  a  horse ;  a  tooth  of  the  macrauchenia,  ancestor  of  the  camel  and  of  the 
llama ;  lastly  a  toxodon,  a  strange  creature  approaching  the  elephant  in  size,  the 
rat  in  its  dentition,  and  the  manatee  in  its  aquatic  habits,  with  a  general  resem- 
blance in  form  to  the  capivara  of  the  Parana. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Santa  Cruz  and  other  South  Patagonian  rivers  explorers 
have  found  numerous  remains  of  hitherto  unknown  mammals,  all  of  which  have 
not  yet  been  completely  classified.  Amongst  the  most  interesting  finds  iu  this 
region  is  a  gigantic  bird  larger  even  than  the  New  Zealand  dinornis.  Altogether 
the  extinct  Patagonian  fauna  rivals  in  number  and  importance  that  of  the  Bad 
Lands  of  the  North  American  Far  AVest. 

From  the  great  variety  and  huge  size  of  these  remains  it  has  been  inferred 
that  the  terminal  peninsula  of  America  is  a  mere  remnant  of  a  vast  Continent, 
which  comprised  the  islands  now  scattered  over  the  South  Atlantic  Ocean.  The 
amazing  accumulation  of  fossils  occurring  under  the  volcanic  tuffas  support  the 
hypothesis  that  at  that  time  the  animal  kingdom  was  here  represented  by  myriads 
of  individuals.  At  present,  were  all  the  animals  of  the  plains  involved  in  some 
sudden  catastrophe,  their  skeletons  would  be  found  very  thinly  scattered,  except 
in  the  case  of  gregarious  animals  herding  together. 

But  however  this  be,  Buffon's  remark  that  the  size  of  the  animals  corresponds 
to  some  extent  to  that  of  the  continents  inhabited  by  them,  does  not  appear  to  be 
justified  bjr  the  character  of  the  old  tertiary  fauna  of  Patagonia.  However  large 
this  peninsula  may  have  been  at  that  time,  it  can  scarcely  have  been  another 
Africa.  But  in  the  contemporary  geological  epoch  most  of  the  genera  are  repre- 
sented by  species  of  larger  proportions  in  the  New  than  in  the  Old  "World. 

By  a  remarkable  phenomenon  of  correspondence,  the  present  fauna  of  the 
temperate  regions  in  South  America  resembles  that  of  the  northern  continent. 
In  this  respect  Argentina  and  Patagonia  correspond  to  the  States  bordering  on 
the  great  Canadian  lakes ;  if  not  in  their  specialised  forms,  at  least  in  their 
genera.  In  certain  districts  of  both  regions  all  the  types  might  almost  be  regarded 
as  identical.  But  in  respect  of  the  invertebrates  belonging  to  the  marine  fauna, 
it  has  been  observed  that  the  corresponding  animal  forms  are  met  on  the  shores 


400  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

of  South  America  at  a  far  greater  distance  from  the  equator  than  is  the  c 
the  North  American  seaboard.  Thus  molluscs  of  the  voluta  and  oliva  •  yjies,  .  ^^cti 
do  not  occur  in  the  United  States  beyond  the  thirteenth  degree  of  latitude,  are 
seen  in  abundance  as  far  south  as  the  parallel  of  Bahia  Blanca  (39°  S.  lat.)  in 
Patagonia.  The  voluta  is  common  even  in  Magellan  Strait,  about  1,000  miles 
farther  south.  A  phenomenon  of  analogous  character  is  presented  by  the  marine 
fauna  on  the  southern  shores  of  the  African  Continent.* 

The  Rio  Negro  forms  approximately  the  divide  between  the  Argentine  and 
Patagonian  zoological  zones.  This  line  is  never  crossed  by  certain  species,  such 
as  the  fiandu  ostrich  (r/iea  Americana)  and  the  smaller  rhea  Daricinii,  which  keep 
to  their  respective  northern  and  southern  domains.  The  Patagonian  jaguar  also 
is  of  much  smaller  size  than  the  Chaco  species. 

Another  natural  parting-line  is  formed  by  the  barrier  of  the  Andes,  although 
these  frontiers  are  surmounted  by  some  animals.  The  puma  (felis  concolor)  ranges 
as  far  south  as  the  Magellan  Strait,  and  Patagonia  is  also  inhabited  by  two 
kinds  of  wild  cats,  dogs,  a  small  armadillo  {damjpus  minvtus),  and  mice,  more 
nimierous  here  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The  Condor,  which  in 
Ecuador  descends  not  even  to  the  level  of  the  Andean  foothills,  in  Patagonia 
sweeps  down  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic.  In  this  terminal  region  reptiles  are 
rare,  and  land  and  lacustrine  molluscs  relatively  still  rarer.  Marine  life  of  all 
kinds — birds,  cetaceans,  fish,  and  lower  organisms — abounds  in  the  Magellanic 
archipelagoes,  although  some  species  are  already  threatened  with  destruction. 
The  penguins,  formerly  met  in  myriads  drawn  up  Kke  soldiers  on  the  overhanging 
rocks,  have  disappeared  from  several  of  the  insular  groups. 

In  North  Argentina  three  families  of  monkeys  are  still  represented  in  the 
forest  regions  of  the  Missions  and  Corrientes,  and  farther  west  on  the  slopes  of 
the  Jujuy  and  Salta  moimtains  towards  the  Bolivian  frontier.  Bats  are  much 
rarer  than  in  Brazil,  and  the  phyllostome  vampire  is  no  longer  seen  south  of 
Tucuman  ;  even  here  it  is  much  less  dangerous  than  in  the  tropics.  The  carnivora 
are  represented  by  numerous  species,  although  the  felidae,  such  as  the  Jaguar 
and  Ocelot,  are  retreating  before  the  farmers  and  other  settlers.  In  the  Platean 
regions  the  puma  never  attacks  man,  and  will  not  even  defend  itself  except  by 
tears  from  his  assaults.  This  point  has  been  much  discussed  by  naturalists ;  but 
the  fact  has  been  placed  beyond  doubt  by  the  researches  of  Mr.  Hudson,  who 
mentions  several  authentic  cases,  and  suggests  an  explanation  of  the  remarkable 
phenomenon.  "  All  that  I  had  previously  heard,"  he  writes,  "  had  compelled  me  to 
believe  that  the  puma  really  does  possess  a  unique  instinct  of  friendliness  for  man, 
the  origin  of  which,  like  that  of  many  other  well-known  instincts  of  animals,  must 
remain  a  mystery.  The  fact  that  the  puma  never  makes  an  unprovoked  attack 
on  a  human  being,  or  eats  human  flesh,  and  that  it  refuses,  except  in  some  rare 
cases,  even  to  defend  itself,  does  not  seem  really  less  wonderful  in  an  animal  of  its 
bold  and  sanguinary  temper,  than  that  it  should  follow  the  traveller  in  the  wilder- 

*  Henry  A.  Ward,  En-ista  del Mtisco  dc  La  riato,  Vol.  I.  1890—91. 


FAUNA  OF  AEGENTINA  401 

ness,  or  come  near  tim  when  he  Kes  sleeping  or  disabled,  and  even  occasionally 
defend  him  from  its  enemy  the  jaguar.  "We  know  that  certain  sounds,  colours, 
or  smells,  which  are  not  particularly  noticed  by  most  animals,  produce  an  extra- 
ordinary effect  on  some  species ;  and  it  is  possible  to  believe,  1  think,  that  the 
human  form  or  countenance,  or  the  odour  of  the  human  body,  may  also  have  the 
effect  on  the  puma  of  suspending  its  predatory  instincts,  and  inspiring  it  with  a 
gentleness  towards  man,  which  we  are  only  accustomed  to  see  in  our  domestic  car- 
nivores, or  in  feral  animals  towards  those  of  their  own  species. 

"  Wolves,  when  pressed  with  hunger,  wiU  sometimes  devour  a  fellow- wolf ; 
as  a  rule,  however,  rapacious  animals  will  starve  to  death  rather  than  prey  on  one 
of  their  own  kind ;  nor  is  it  a  common  thing  for  them  to  attack  other  species 
possessing  instincts  similar  to  their  own.  The  puma,  we  have  seen,  violently  attacks 
other  large  carnivores,  not  to  feed  on  them,  but  merely  to  satisfy  its  ani- 
mosity ;  and,  while  respecting  man,  it  is,  within  the  tropics,  a  great  hunter  and 
eater  of  monkeys,  which  of  aU  animals  most  resemble  man.  We  can  only  con- 
clude with  Humboldt  that  there  is  something  mysterious  in  the  hatreds  and  affec- 
tions of  animals."  * 

Neither  the  tapir  nor  the  peccary  of  the  hot,  moist  forest  regions  ever  ranges 
farther  south  than  the  provinces  of  Corrientes  and  Santiago  del  Estero.  The 
sloth  also  is  found  no  farther  south  than  Chaco,  while  the  ant-eater,  very  com- 
mon in  the  northern  solitudes,  is  rare  in  the  Argentine  provinces. 

The  tatu  (armadillo)  family  is  represented  by  at  least  eight  species,  including 
the  gigantic  tatu,  now  rare  in  the  Toba  territory  north  of  the  Rio  Bermejo,  the 
dwarfish  quirquincho  of  the  province  of  Mendoza,  no  bigger  than  a  mole,  and  the 
hairy  armadillo  {dasyjms  viUosus),  which  has  now  acquired  protective  nocturnal 
habits.  This  species  is  specially  remarkable  for  its  versatility  and  power  of 
adaptation  to  changing  environments.  Its  habits  are  constantly  changing  to  suit 
its  new  conditions  of  life,  so  that  it  remains  diurnal  in  districts  where  its  car- 
nivorous enemies  are  nocturnal,  and  becomes  nocturnal  in  the  presence  of  its 
persecutor,  man.  In  this  way  the  hairy  armadillo  is  able  to  hold  its  ground,  and 
even  become  more  abundant,  in  regions  occupied  in  increasing  numbers  by  human 
settlements. 

But  the  most  characteristic  animal  of  the  pampas  is  the  viscacha  (lagostamus 
trichodacfyliis),  which  in  many  respects  recalls  the  prairie  dog  of  Xorth  America, 
and  like  it  builds  itseK  underground  cities  in  the  sandy  soil.  Here  also  it  is 
found  in  friendly  association  with  the  owl  and  other  nocturnal  birds,  which  are 
often  seen  mounting  guard  at  the  mouth  of  the  burrows.  These  burrows  are  also 
frequented  by  vipers,  adders,  and  poisonous  spiders,  and  travellers  crossing 
districts  occupied  by  colonies  of  viscachas  never  fail  to  provide  themselves  with 
a  clove  of  garlic,  believed  by  all  Argentines  to  be  an  infallible  protection  against 
the  attacks  of  all  such  noxious  vermin.  Like  the  bower-bird,  the  viscacha  loves 
to  decorate  the  approaches  to  its  dwelling  with  all  kinds  of  objects,  shreds  of 

•  W.  H.  Hudson,  The  Naturalitt  in  La  Plata,  p.  49. 
VOL.  XIX.  U  D 


402  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

cloth,  bits  of  leather,  old  shoes,  bleached  bones,  dry  roots  and  branches,  or  what- 
ever other  "  inconsidered  trifles"  it  can  pick  up  on  the  surrounding  pampa. 

Hence  caravans  find  it  convenient  to  encamp  in  the  vicinity  of  the  visci/chcras, 
where  they  have  an  abundance  of  fuel  ready  to  hand  for  cooking  purposes.  During 
the  day  these  viscacheras  may  be  recognised  at  a  distance  by  the  heibage,  which 
is  cropped  short  at  the  entrance,  but  which  grows  in  tall  tufts  on  the  surface  of 
the  ground  above  the  burrows.  But  at  night  the  rider  has  to  guard  against  the 
risk  of  his  mount  stumbling  and  perhaps  breaking  a  leg  by  falling  through  the 
roof  of  some  underground  dwelling.  The  Indian  horse,  however,  being  accustomed 
to  nocturnal  expeditions,  keeps  his  head  down,  smelling  the  ground  liko  a  hound 
on  the  scent,  and  his  instinct  thus  enables  him  generally  to  avoid  the  danger. 

Between  the  Colorado  and  Rio  Negro  the  most  common  animal  is  the 
marra,  or  "Patagonian  hare"  {dolichotis  patagonica),  which  is  met  in  groups  of 
twenties  on  either  side  of  the  tracks  across  the  bush.  In  the  cultivated  parts  of 
the  pampa  game,  instead  of  diminishing,  as  might  have  been  expected,  has  greatly 
increased,  thanks  to  the  cessation  of  the  steppe  fires,  which  formerly  destroyed  the 
young  and  the  lairs. 

The  guanaco  (huanaco),  which  in  Patagonia  ranges  over  the  stony  wastes  as 
far  as  the  seaboard,  has  been  exterminated  throughout  a  great  part  of  the 
Argentine  foothills.  It  is  now  rarely  met  in  the  Rioja  and  Catamarca  districts ; 
but  in  the  province  of  Jujuy  both  the  guanaco  and  vicuna  are  respected  by  the 
Quichua  natives,  and  here  they  may  still  be  seen  grazing  in  flocks  of  hundreds 
by  the  wayside.  In  South  Patagonia  the  Tehuel-che  natives  capture  about 
300,000  guanacos  every  year  without  appreciably  reducing  their  numbers.  In 
the  district  between  Lake  Argentine  and  the  Latorre  Cordillera  Rogers  and  Ibar 
saw  as  many  as  5,000,  and  they  calculated  that  there  must  be  about  1,200,000  in 
the  whole  region.  The  wool  is  woven  into  ponchos  and  blankets ;  and  cloaks, 
which  command  a  high  price  on  the  Buenos  Ayres  market,  are  made  of  the  skins 
of  yoimg  guanacos  stitched  together  with  ostrich  sinews. 

Like  the  camel,  its  congener  in  the  Old  "World,  the  guanaco  is  able  to  pass 
days  without  drink,  and  wlien  driven  to  it,  can  slake  its  thirst  even  with  brackish 
water.  The  male  animal,  being  of  solitary  habits  and  swift  in  flight,  is  difiicult 
to  capture  ;  but  the  females  associating  in  herds,  and  possessing  less  staying  power, 
fall  easier  victims  to  their  pui'suers.  In  South  Patagonia,  the  guanaco,  when 
fatally  wounded  or  in  a  moribund  state,  retires  to  some  solitary  bush  or  thicket  to 
die  in  peace.  The  ground  in  such  places  is  often  found  strewn  with  thousands  of 
skeletons.  This  strange  instinct,  first  noticed  by  Darwin  and  Fitzroy,  has  since 
been  fully  confirmed  by  other  observers.  It  is  noteworthy  that  it  is  only  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  continent  that  the  guanacos  have  dying-places ;  else- 
where they  do  not  appear  to  have  developed  the  habit,  in  the  explanation  of  which 
the  naturalist,  Hudson,  suggests  that  the  guanaco,  in  withdrawing  from  the  herd 
to  drop  down  and  die  in  the  ancient  dying-ground,  is  in  reality  only  seeking 
an  historically  remembered  place  of  refuge,  and  not  of  death.  He  mentions  an 
analogous  impulse  in  the  Argentine  riding-horse,  which  will  also  come  home,  or 


FAUNA  OF  ARGENTINA.  403 

to  the  gate  of  its  owner's  house,  to  die,  although  in  the  healthy  state  it  avoids  its 
master  as  an  enemy,  and  has  to  be  captured  with  a  lasso.  "  In  this  case  also  the 
explanation  would  appear  to  be  that  the  animal  remembers  how  relief  is  always 
sure  to  come  at  his  master's  door,  after  he  has  been  ridden  for  twelve  or  fifteen 
hours  on  the  pampas,  burdened  with  the  ponderous  native  saddle,  with  its  huge  sur- 
cingle of  raw  hide  drawn  up  so  tightly  as  to  hinder  free  respiration."  * 

The  Argentina  avifauna  is  represented  by  a  great  diversity  of  forms,  from  the 
huge  vulture  to  the  tiny  humming-bird.  It  includes  many  species  of  parrokeets, 
as  well  as  the  Condor,  still  common  in  the  Sierras  de  Sans  Luis  and  de  Cordoba, 
and  the  iiandu  ostrich,  which  is  now  a  familiar  sight  in  many  farm-vards.  Of 
the  aquatic  birds  the  largest  is  the  "  race-horse  duck,"  better  known  as  the 
"  steamer  duck,"  from  the  close  resemblance  which  the  action  of  its  wings  boars  to 
the  beat  of  the  paddles  as  it  moves  with  surprising  rapidity,  half  swimming,  half 
flying,  over  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  leaving  a  long  streak  in  its  wake.  They 
live  chiefly  on  mussels,  and  some  of  the  drakes  are  nearly  four  feet  long  from  the 
bin  to  the  extremity  of  the  tail. 

In  the  Pampas  flamingoes  abound.  They  are  considerably  smaller  than  the 
African  species,  but  of  richer  colour.  The  slender  legs,  about  sixteen  inches  long, 
are  of  a  bright  red  hue,  like  that  of  the  tail  feathers,  while  the  general  plumage 
is  of  a  delicate  rosy  tint,  contrasting  with  the  black  colour  of  the  pen  feathers. 
These  aquatic  birds  may  often  be  seen  wading  in  the  shallow  saline  lagoons  of  the 
pampas  in  such  numbers  as  to  impart  a  lovely  roseate  colour  to  the  scene  viewed 
from  a  little  distance.  The  effect  is  much  heightened  by  the  constant  flash  of 
the  various  tints  in  the  sunlight,  as  they  flap  their  wings  or  take  flight  when 
startled  by  any  sudden  noise. 

Like  the  other  divisions  of  the  Argentine  fauna,  the  reptile  world  attests  a 
general  falling  off  of  vital  energy  south  of  the  torrid  zone.  The  various  species 
of  turtles  are  smaller  than  their  Brazilian  congeners ;  the  jacar^  alligators, 
which  swarm  in  the  lagoons  and  lakes  of  Corrientes,  average  scarcely  more 
than  six  or  seven  feet  in  length,  and  rarely  reach  ten.  South  of  Santa  F4  they 
have  disappeared  altogether.  The  boas  are  not  met  beyond  the  region  of 
Santiago  del  Estero,  and  the  rattle-snake  ranges  no  farther  south  than  the 
Cordoba  uplands. 

Amongst  the  blood-sucldng  insect  pests  mention  is  made  of  the  Ixodes,  a  species 
of  tick  of  the  jigger  type,  which  swarms  throughout  Argentina,  and  ranges  as 
far  north  as  Central  America.  They  are  a  fearful  nuisance,  and  seem  to 
pervade  the  very  atmosphere.  Clustering  in  myriads  about  the  tips  of  twigs  and 
branches,  they  attach  themselves  to  every  passing  animal  by  means  of  the  hooks 
with  which  their  feet  are  armed.  Lean  and  flat  when  vegetating  on  the  plants, 
they  swell  to  the  shape  and  size  of  a  Barcelona  nut  after  feasting  on  their  victims. 
"  The  white  globe  is  leathery,  and  nothing  can  injure  it  ;  the  poor  beast  cannot 
rub,  bite,  or  scratch  it  off,  as  it  is  anchored  to  his  flesh  by  eight  sets  of  hooks  and 
a  triangle  of  teeth. 

*  Hudson,  The  Xatiiralist  in  La  Plata,  p.  32t. 

dd2 


404  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

"  The  ticks  inhabiting  regions  rich  in  bird  and  insect  life,  but  with  few 
mammals,  are  in  the  same  condition  as  mosquitoes,  as  far  as  the  supply  of  blood 
goes  ;  and,  like  the  mosquitoes,  thej  are  compelled  and  able  to  exist  without  the 
nourishment  best  suited  to  them.  They  are  nature's  miserable  castaways,  para- 
sitical tribes  lost  in  a  great  dry  wilderness  where  no  blood  is  ;  and  every  marsh- 
born  mosquito,  piping  of  the  hunger  gnawing  its  vitals,  and  every  forest  tick, 
blindly  feeling  with  its  grappling-irons  for  the  beast  that  never  brushes  by,  seems 
to  tell  us  of  a  world  peopled  with  gigantic  forms,  mammalian  and  reptilian,  which 
once  afforded  abundant  pasture  to  the  parasite,  and  which  the  parasite  perhaps 
assisted  to  overthrow."  * 

Nearly  all  the  Argentine  waters,  marine,  fluvial,  and  lacustrine,  teem  with 
fish,  one  of  which,  a  large  trout  of  excellent  flavour,  lives  both  in  fresh  and  salt 
water.  Cetaceans  of  all  kinds  were  formerly  very  numerous  everywhere,  and 
sea-lions  and  other  seals  are  still  pursued  in  the  Patagonian  waters.  But  the 
whale  is  now  scarcely  met  farther  north  than  Fuegia. 


Inhabitants  of  Argentina. 

It  is  difficult  to  unravel  the  complicated  prehistoric  relations  in  Argentina, 
owing  to  the  great  variety  of  human  types  and  remains  of  all  kinds  brought  to 
light  in  recent  times.  Thus  earthenware  has  been  found  ia  the  pampas  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  which  even  experts  cannot  distinguish  from  vases  collected  in  the  Aztec 
burial-grounds.  In  the  Rio  Dulce  valley,  near  Santiago  del  Estero,  sepulchral 
urns  have  been  unearthed  containing  human  remains  mingled  with  shells  of  the 
same  species  as  those  now  living  in  the  Pacific  waters.  Certain  blocks  of  stone  or 
of  wood  are  absolutely  identical  with  those  worked  by  the  Maori  of  New  Zealand 
and  the  Melanesians  of  the  New  Hebrides.  But  whether  all  these  resemblances 
point  at  racial  affinities,  independent  parallel  developments,  migrations,  or  com- 
mercial intercourse,  are  questions  which  cannot  yet  be  solved. 

Throughout  the  north-western  Argentine  uplands  from  the  province  of  Jujuy 
to  that  of  Mendoza,  numerous  ruins,  earthworks,  towns,  and  strongholds,  are  found 
on  the  heights  and  in  the  surrounding  valleys.  Some  stand  at  an  elevation  of 
over  13,000  feet,  at  times  on  steep  escarpments,  and  even  in  the  clefts  of  vertical 
walls,  like  the  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  clifi"  dwellings.  Most  of  them  had  to 
be  approached  by  ladders  giving  access  to  thick  walls  or  terraces,  whence  a  descent 
could  be  made  to  the  quadrangular  courts  lined  by  habitations  in  the  form  of 
caves. 

The  industrial  arts  of  these  unknown  builders  were  also  considerably  developed, 
as  shown  by  the  great  highway  known  as  the  "  Incas'  Road,"  but  by  Moreno 
believed  to  be  anterior  to  the  Inca  period.  It  may  still  be  followed  for  hundreds 
of  leagues  east  of  the  Andes  in  a  straight  line  across  the  plains,  with  branches 
on  both  sides  running  to  former  populous  districts,  when  this  region  was  traversed 

*  Hudson,  The  Naturalist  in  La  Plata,  p.  142. 


INHABITAXTS  OF  ARGENTINA.  405 

by  great  watercourses,  and  studded  with  vast  lacustriue  basius,  whicb  have  long 
disappeared.  The  rock  inscriptions,  which  are  very  numerous  along  this  route, 
are  different  from  those  of  the  Peruvian  Quichuas,  and  seem  to  belong  to  another 
civilisution.  Here,  also,  are  seen  the  remains  of  extensive  irrigation  works,  and 
here  have  been  found  woven  fabrics,  stone,  copper,  bronze,  and  silver  objects,  aU 
bearing  witness  to  a  tolerably  advanced  culture,  destroyed  partly  by  wars  waged 
in  prehistoric  times,  and  partly  also  bj^  the  general  desiccation  of  the  land. 

Even  as  far  south  as  Patagonia  the  Argentiue  regions  appear  to  have  been 
formerly  thickly  peopled.  Scarcely  a  district,  however  inhospitable  it  may  now 
seem,  but  has  yielded  proofs  of  the  migrations  or  long  sojourn  of  vanished  races. 
At  Ensenada  potsherds  have  been  dug  up  over  200  feet  below  the  surface,  and  the 
varying  types  of  skulls,  implements,  and  rock  carvings  show  that  these  communi- 
ties belonged  to  several  stocks.  Argentina  is  a  vast  necropolis  of  extinct  popula- 
tions, some  of  whom  may  now  be  represented  by  degenerate  Yahgans,  Alakalufs, 
and  other  Fuegians.  In  the  Samborombon  basin,  south-east  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
Carles  discovered  near  a  megatherium  a  remarkable  human  skeleton  with  thirteen 
dorsal  vertebrse. 

In  the  Eio  Negro  valley  Moreno  has  examined  a  large  number  of  paraderos* 
as  the  sites  abounding  in  prehistoric  remains  are  called.  They  have  yielded  arrow- 
heads both  of  the  paleoHthic  and  neolithic  ages,  the  former  usually  on  the  upper 
slopes  and  terraces  along  the  river  banks,  the  latter  strewn  in  great  abundance 
over  the  bottom-lands.  Near  Carmen,  Hudson  found  some  of  the  neolithic  types 
about  half  an  inch  long,  "  most  exquisitely  finished,  with  a  fine  serration,  and 
without  exception,  made  of  some  beautiful  stone — crystal,  agate,  and  green,  yellow 
and  horn-coloured  flint.  It  was  impossible  to  take  half-a-dozen  of  these  gems 
of  colour  and  workmanship  in  the  hand  and  not  be  impressed  at  once  with 
the  idea  that  beauty  had  been  as  much  an  aim  to  the  worker  as  utilit)'."  t 

In  the  pampas  region  farther  north  archaeologists  have  discovered  human 
settlements  of  a  somewhat  different  type  from  the  ordinary  paraderos,  and  in  some 
respects  resemble  kitchen-middens.  These  certainly  indicate  the  sites  of  human 
encampments  long  occupied  by  primitive  populations.  The  total  absence  of  any 
traces  of  disturbance  altogether  excludes  the  theory  at  first  put  forward  that  they 
may  have  been  the  abodes,  not  of  the  living,  but  of  the  dead.  Those  found  in  many 
parts  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres  have  been  fully  described  by  Moreno  and 
Zeballos,  while  the  attention  of  Ameghino  has  been  more  especially  directed  towards 
the  paraderos  occurring  along  the  banks  of  the  Marco-Diaz,  Lujan  and  other 
streams.  One  of  the  paraderos  in  the  Marco-Diaz  valley  covers  a  superficial  area 
of  no  less  than  612  feet  by  408  feet,  and  must  have  been  occupied  either  con- 
tinuously or  at  intervals  for  countless  generations. 

•  This  word,  which  is  of  constant  occurrence  in  writings  on  the  early  history  of  man  in  Argentina 
and  Patagonia,  is  derived  from  the  Spanish  parar — to  sojourn.  The  paraderos  are  generally  supposed  to 
occupy  the  sites  of  ancient  habitations  or  settlements,  and  this  view  certainly  offers  the  best  explanation 
of  the  numerous  traces  of  burnt  earth  strewn  about,  and  apparently  caused  by  the  action  of  fire 
kindled  for  cooking  purposes. 

t   Op.  cU.,  p.  39. 


406  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Numerous  animal  remains,  often  covering  a  considerable  space,  are  here  and 
there  found  scattered  about  in  the  vicinity  of  these  prehistoric  settlements.  "The 
long  bones  are  split,  others  show  grooves  and  cuts  ;  nearly  all  have  been  subjected 
to  the  action  of  fire.  With  these  bones  have  been  picked  up  stone  implements, 
chiefly  arrow-points  and  fragments  of  clumsy  and  badly-baked  pottery,  showing, 
however,  traces  of  artificial  colouration.  Heaps  of  burnt  earth  and  charcoal  cinders 
tell  clearly  of  the  hearths  of  men. 

"  AU  the  bones,  whether  of  mammals  or  birds,  are  of  species  such  as  the  deer 
or  llama  (huanaco)  still  extant  in  South  America  ;  nowhere  are  any  bones  found, 
such  as  those  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  pampas  formation,  belonging  to  extinct 
animals.  The  paraderos  must  not  therefore  be  confounded  with  these  formations, 
and  their  much  more  modern  character  brings  them  near  to  that  of  the  ordinary 
shell-heaps. 

"  Recent  discoveries  have  lately  confirmed  this  conclusion.  Excavations  in 
a  tumulus  of  elliptical  form  (260  by  105  feet  and  8  feet  high)  on  the  Parana, 
near  the  port  of  Campana,  have  brought  to  light  a  great  many  objects  which  bear 
witness  to  an  advanced  state  of  culture.  There  are  weapons  and  tools  of  quartz 
or  of  blue  granite,  often  of  remarkable  workmanship,  hand-mills  very  like  those 
still  in  use  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  implements  of  deer-horn  (ccrviis  rufus  and 
cervtis  canipesfris),  whistles  of  venado-wood,  and  above  all,  a  considerable  number 
of  fragments  of  pottery,  very  superior  in  execution  to  any  hitherto  noticed.  Some 
of  these  fragments  are  coloured  red,  others  are  decorated  with  designs  or  orna- 
mentation. Dr.  Zeballos  speaks  of  more  than  3,000  potsherds,  amongst  them 
twenty  ollas  or  jars  still  intact. 

"  Amongst  these  pieces  of  pottery  must  be  mentioned  some  very  close  imitations 
of  animal  forms,  especially  a  parrot's  head,  very  true  to  Hfe.  The  works  of  man 
lay  mixed  together  in  a  considerable  accumulation  of  large  pieces  of  charcoal,  fish 
and  mammal  bones.  It  is  evident  that  this  mound  concealed  one  or  more  primi- 
tive hearths,  and  that  these  hearths,  in  accordance  with  a  custom  common  to 
many  different  races,  afterwards  became  burial-places ;  the  discovery  of  several 
human  skeletons  leaves  no  doubt  on  this  point."* 

At  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  Argentina — 
from  the  Bolivian  plateaux  to  the  Austral  seas — was  peopled  by  a  multitude  of 
tribes  bearing  different  names,  but  belonging  in  reality  to  a  small  number  of 
distinct  ethnical  groups.  The  north-western  region  belonged  to  the  Calchaquis 
of  Quichua  culture,  speech,  and  perhaps  origin.  In  the  Mesopotamia  between 
the  Parana  and  Uruguay  the  Guarani  were  dominant,  and  branches  of  this 
widely-diffused  nation  extended  beyond  the  rivers  far  into  the  pampas ;  south 
of  Campana,  Estanislao  Zaballos  discovered  a  vast  Guarani  barrow  containing 
twentj'-seven  skeletons,  and  the  local  nomenclature  shows  that  they  reached 
southwards,  even  beyond  the  Plate  estuary  as  far  as  the  Rio  Salado  and  Sambo- 
rombon  Bay.      The  Querandi,  who    inflicted  such    a  disastrous   defeat   on  the 

*  De  Nadaillac,  rrthistortc  America,  p.  54. 


IXHABITAXTS  OF  AEGENTINA.  407 

Spaniards  near  the  present  site  of  Buenos  Avres,  may  have  been  a  Guarani 
people,  although  Moreno  and  others  regard  them  as  the  probable  ancestors  of 
the  Puel-che,  since  driven  farther  inland. 

Between  the  civilised  Calchaquis  and  the  Guarani  the  plains  were  occupied  by 
nomad  groups,  presenting  no  kind  of  national  cohesion,  but  resembling  each 
other  in  their  usages,  warlike  character,  and  often  also  in  speech.  Many  doubtless 
belonged  to  a  common  stock,  which  in  the  absence  of  any  collective  name 
might  be  called  the  Toba  race,  from  the  most  powerful  nation  by  whom  they  are 
now  represented. 

Farther  south  the  terminal  peninsula  of  the  Continent  was  occupied  by  the 
Araucanians  and  Patagronians,  who  constitute  a  sub-race  very  distinct  from  the 
northern  Indians.  Lastly,  the  eastern  section  of  Fuegia  is  still  roamed  by  a 
few  Onas,  who  are  Patagonian  intruders  from  the  mainland. 

With  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  began  the  massacres  and  steady  exter- 
mination of  the  aborigines  under  diverse  pretexts.  Some  were  distributed  in  the 
so-called  ?ncomiendas  for  their  "  spiritual  welfare,"  while  others  were  simply 
enslaved,  or  else  classed  as  mi^ayos,  "hirelings."  But  the  result  was  the  same, 
and  whole  groups  disappeared  in  the  mines  or  died  out  on  the  plantations. 
Those  gathered  by  the  Jesuits  into  their  reductions  increased  in  peaceful  times 
and  in  healthy  years,  but  only  to  be  eventually  swept  away  by  the  Mamelucos 
and  epidemics.  Most  of  the  missions  have  disappeared  with  all  their  inhabitants, 
either  extirpated  or  assimilated  to  the  surrounding  Hispano- American  mixed 
populations. 

This  process  of  assimilation  has  been  extended  to  the  north-western  Calchaquis, 
to  the  Guarani  of  Corrientes,  to  the  agricultural  Indians  of  Tuctmian,  Santiago 
del  Estero,  San  Luis,  and  Cordoba.  The  Comachigones  of  the  Central  province, 
the  Michilengues  of  San  Luis,  the  Giyones  and  Calingastas  of  Mendoza,  having 
lost  their  Indian  names  and  speech,  fancy  themselves  full-blood  Spaniards.  In 
usages,  language,  and  political  life  they  have  become  gradually  assimilated  to  the 
other  Argentine  populations. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  wild  Indians  themselves,  who  have  never  ceased  to 
kidnap  the  women  and  children  of  their  white  neighbours,  belong  in  great 
measure,  at  least  in  blood,  to  the  race  of  the  conquerors.  But  the  racial  struggle 
is  still  carried  on,  fierce  and  brutal  as  ever,  between  the  Argentines  and  the 
warlike  Toba  tribes  of  the  northern  plains.  In  the  south  the  rapid  decrease  of 
the  Pampean  aborigines  has  at  last  put  an  end  to  the  border  warfare,  which  had 
till  recently  been  waged  with  relentless  cruelty  on  both  sides.  Possibly  Spanish 
influence  had  rendered  these  natives  more  savage  than  they  had  been  originally. 
At  least  a  bad  effect  could  not  fail  to  be  produced  by  the  servitude  of  the 
civilised  tribes,  and  by  the  introduction  of  the  horse  and  of  firearms,  which 
naturally  gave  a  stimulus  to  the  inborn  taste  for  rapine  and  plunder. 

Little  has  been  heard  in  Europe  of  these  border  troubles  ;  but  the  horrors 
and  atrocities  that  were  associated  with  the  sudden  raids  of  the  Pampas  Indians 
almost  pass  the  limits  of  credibility.      "  It  is   now  but   twelve  years,"  writes 


408  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Mr.  Knight  in  1884,  "  since  the  Indians  made  a  raid  here  [Canada  de  Gomez], 
and  carried  away  10,000  head  of  cattle  and  many  women,  for  the  aboriginal 
has  the  good  taste  to  prefer  the  white  to  the  dusky  beauties  of  his  own  race. 
But  the  camps  of  the  white  men  have  advanced  many  leagues  farther  into 
the  Indian  territory  since  that  time,  and  Canada  de  Gomez  has  little  to  fear 
now. 

"  A  raid  of  Pampas  Indians  is  no  joke.  As  the  peaceful  stock-farmer  is 
scanning  his  herd  some  fine  morning,  he  perceives  a  dust  on  the  horizon,  and  out 
of  the  dust  soon  comes  on  at  a  tremendous  gallop  the  wild  troop  of  naked  men 
on  splendid  horses,  seeming  one  with  their  steeds — very  centaurs,  with  long  black 
hair  waving  behind  their  shoulders,  and  brandishing  their  long  lances,  whUe 
they  raise  their  piercing  and  fearful  war-cries.  The  estancia  is  pillaged  in  a 
few  moments,  the  wife  and  daughters  of  the  estanciero  carried  off,  and  then, 
swooping  down  on  the  herds,  the  savages  drive  them  away  to  the  distant  pastures 
by  far  rivers  that  the  white  man  knows  not  of.  When  Indians  on  expeditions 
of  this  nature  come  across  a  solitary  white  man,  they  kill  him  if  they  fiud  arms 
upon  him.  If  he  be  unarmed,  they  treat  him  more  mercifully.  They  content 
themselves  with  cutting  oif  the  soles  of  his  feet,  and  let  him  go."  *  It  may  be 
remembered  that  the  Persian  victims  of  the  Turkoman  alamans  often  met  with 
similar  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  people  of  Khiva,  before  their  marauding 
expeditions  were  suppressed  by  the  Russians. 


The  Calchaqui  and  Chirihuanas. 

The  descendants  of  the  Quichuas  in  the  province  of  Jujuy  bear  the  general 
name  of  Coyos,  or  Coyas.  Although  all  understand  Spanish  they  have  preserved 
their  mother  tongue  and  national  usages.  Many  migrate  periodically  to  the 
plains  as  itinerant  pedlars,  but,  like  the  Bolivian  Collahuayas,  nearly  always 
return  to  their  mountain  homes. 

In  the  extensive  region  between  the  North  Chilian  frontier  and  the  Cordoba 
uplands,  formerly  occupied  by  the  Calchaquis,  few  traces  now  remain  of  that 
powerful  nation  except  their  characteristic  black  and  red  pottery  of  diverse  forms 
with  geometrical  designs  in  straight  lines,  and  on  the  sepulchral  urns  symbolic 
and  animal  figures.  For  over  a  century  these  Indians  successfully  resisted  the 
Spaniards,  and  even  attempted  to  restore  the  Inca  dynasty  ;  but  they  were  finally 
overthrown  in  16G4,  when  most  of  the  combatants  preferred  death  to  bondage. 
The  Quilme  group  was  removed  in  1677  to  the  suburban  quarter  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
which  still  bears  their  name,  and  where  the  last  of  the  race  died  in  1869.  But 
the  half-caste  descendants  of  the  Calchaquis  constitute  the  substratum  of  the 
industrious  populations  in  the  provinces  of  Jujuy,  Salta,  Catamarca,  and  La  Bioja. 
Most  of  the  towns  and  villages,  especially  in  the  upland  valleys,  perpetuate  the 

*  Cruise  of  the  Falcon,  i.,  p.  Ul. 


INHABITANTS  OF  AHQENTINA. 


409 


names  of  assimilated  Calchaqui  tribes,  such  as  the  Andalaga,  Tolombon,  Cafayate, 
I'iambala,  Tiuogasta,  and  Famatina.  Tucuman  is  also  a  modified  Calchaqui 
name. 

All  the  northern   part   of   the  Argentine  Mesopotamia    is  still  occupied   by 
populations  of  undoubted  Guarani  descent,  although   the  tribal  names  have  dis- 


Fig.  163. — IsDiAN  Populations  of  Noeth  Aboentina. 
Scale  1 :  19,000,000. 


310  Miles. 


appeared,  and  the  Spanish  language  is  stcadilj'  spreading  from  all  the  urban 
centres.  The  Chirihuanas  (Chiriguanos),  who  are  nearly  pure  Guarani  from  the 
Bolivian  province  of  Tarija,  occupy  parts  of  Chaco,  where  they  seek  employment 
on  the  sugar  plantations  of  the  Bermejo  and  Juramento  valleys.  Their  Guarani 
dialect  differs  little  from  that  of  Paraguay ;  but  at  present  most  of  these  semi- 
independent  Chiriguanos  speak  Spanish. 


410  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

The  Matacos  and  Abipons. 

Associated  witli  them  on  the  sugar  plantations  are  the  Matacos,  a  branch  of 
the  independent  Mataguayos,  who  appear  to  be  of  Toba  stock.  They  are  smaller, 
more  thick-set,  and  stronger,  but  also  less  skilfid  and  enterprising  than  the 
Chiriguanos.  The  uncivilised  branch  have  the  curious  custom  of  wearing,  sus- 
pended from  the  shoulders,  a  satchel  in  which  are  kept  odds  and  ends  of  all  sorts, 
arrowheads,  fish  scales,  hair,  feathers,  dry  leaves,  blood-stained  rags,  which  make 
up  the  "history"  of  the  bearer,  each  object  representing  some  event  in  his  life, 
and,  therefore,  carefully  preserved  as  part  of  himself  till  his  death.  The  Matacos, 
who  are  estimated  at  about  14,000,  practise  the  couvade.  They  are  of  shorter 
stature  than  the  Tobas,  but  more  robust  and  strongly  built,  with  thick  neck, 
well-developed  muscles,  stout  limbs,  broad,  flat  features,  and  high  cheek-bones, 
the  upper  jaw  being  deeply  arched  like  a  horseshoe.  "  The  nose  is  broad, 
straight,  not  very  prominent,  and  with  wide  nostrils,  but  it  is  not  flattened. 
Indeed,  they  are  seriously  afraid  of  having  flat  noses,  so  much  so  that  they  will 
not  eat  mutton,  which  is  supposed  by  them  to  cause  flatness  in  that  feature.  This 
is  a  device  of  their  medicine-men  and  soothsayers,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
destruction  of  their  few  sheep  and  also  the  consequent  loss  of  the  wool,  which  they 
weave  and  make  use  of  in  many  ways. 

"  The  adults  have  black  or  blackish  hair ;  in  the  old  it  is  sometimes,  but  rarely, 
white,  possibly  because  very  few  attain  to  old  age.  The  children  up  to  ten  or 
twelve  years  have  reddish  hair ;  a  curious  fact  recalling  the  theory  of  De  Salles, 
according  to  which  primitive  man  was  red-haired.  The  hair  is  generally  worn 
long  and  unkempt,  but  during  periods  of  mourning  it  is  cut  off  for  a  year.  The 
skin  of  all  these  Indians  varies  in  colour  from  copper  to  clay,  while  occasionally 
some  are  spotted  with  black."  * 

Like  most  of  the  other  imciviHsed  tribes  of  Gran  Chaco,  the  Matacos  are 
unable  to  count  beyond  four,  and  even  to  accomplish  this  mental  operation  they 
have  recourse  to  the  four  fingers  of  the  right  hand,  the  thumb  being  held  in  the 
left ;  beyond  four  everything  is  ntocq,  "  many."  Thus  a  noted  Mataco  chief  had 
some  difiiculty  to  explain  to  his  interviewer,  Pelleschi,  that  in  his  time  he  had 
slain  a  large  number  of  hostile  Indians.  After  telling  ofi"  the  first  four  he  got 
puzzled,  and  "  sitting  down  cross-legged  on  the  ground,  he  began  making  marks 
on  the  earth  with  his  finger,  exclaiming  at  each  one  toch,  i.e.,  '  this,'  raising  his 
head  each  time  as  well  as  his  hand,  and  looking  at  me,  added  uuidt  toch,  meaning 
'  and  this  one  too  ' ;  and  so  he  went  on  imtil  he  reached  about  a  score,  always, 
however,  turning  towards  me  that  I  might  understand  that,  besides  these,  there 
were  always  the  four  fingers,  until  at  last  I  was  almost  tired  out  with  ntocq,  ntocq, 
'  many,  many.'  "  f 

In  Argentina  the  fierce  and  till  recently  powerful  Abipons  are  now  represented 
only  by  a  few  half-caste  families  of  Spanish  speech  in  the  Santa  Fe  district.  The 
kindred  Mocovi,  or  Mbocovi,  alternately  their  allies  and  deadly  foes,  still  retain 

*  Pelleschi,  p.  33.  t  Pellesolii,  p.  289. 


INHABITANTS  OF  ARGENTINA.  411 

tteir  tribal  organisation,  although  greatly  reduced  in  numbers,  perhaps  more  by 
small-pox  than  by  war.  But  they  have  been  recruited  by  refugees  of  all  races, 
horse-stealers,  murderers,  brigands,  and  others  obliged  to  fly  from  the  white 
settlements. 

These  iloco^-i,  usually  called  Indios  Jfoiifaraces,  "  Forest  Indians,"  formerly 
committed  terrible  depredations,  destroying  \-iIlages,  wasting  the  plantations  in 
Tucuman  and  the  neighbouring  provinces,  and  long  preventing  the  whites  from 
access  to  Chaco.  Their  nasal  and  guttural  language  is  a  dialect  of  the  Abipon, 
which,  according  to  Lafone  y  Quevedo,  is  "a  branch  of  the  great  Carib  family." 
Thus  the  powerful  Carib  race,  whom  the  first  European  navigators  found  spread 
over  many  of  the  "West  Indian  islands,  but  whose  original  home  appears  to  be 
Central  Brazil,  would  seem  to  have  ranged  southwards  as  far  as  the  foot  of  the 
Argentine  Cordilleras.* 


The  Pampas  Int)iaxs. 

South  of  the  settled  provinces,  in  which  all  the  indigenous  groups  have 
been  obliterated  as  distinct  elements,  the  southern  regions  of  the  pampas, 
together  with  the  whole  of  Patagonia,  belonged  till  recently  to  the  free  In- 
dians, collectively  classed  as  "  Pampeans,"  Araucanians,  and  Patagonians.  After 
the  fii-st  conflicts  with  the  Spaniards,  these  aborigines  were  driven  south,  and 
long  remained  at  peace  with  the  whites.  They  possessed  neither  gold  nor 
silver,  nor  much  agricultural  wealth  ;  they  were  left  to  their  grassy  and  stony 
solitudes. 

Meantime  the  Indians  had  received,  in  the  horse  introduced  by  the  whites,  a 
valuable  ally,  useful  in  battle,  in  the  chase,  and  even  as  food,  failing  the  guanaco, 
ostrich,  armadillo,  and  other  game.  They  became  great  riders,  and  during  their 
long  warlike  or  migratory  expeditions  the  Eanqueles  and  Pampeans  of  the  Buenos 
Ayres  district  never  quitted  the  saddle.  When  worn  out  by  fatigue  they  stretched 
themselves  on  the  animal  as  on  a  bed,  and  slept  for  hours  in  this  position  without 
ever  losing  their  balance.  Such  was  the  intelligence  of  the  horse  that  he  instinc- 
tively adapted  all  his  movements  to  those  of  his  inert  burden.  We  are  even 
assured  that  the  Indian  could  die  on  his  horse.  During  the  frontier  wars  instances 
were  recorded  of  dead  warriors  being  found  and  removed  with  difficulty  from  the 
horse  that  carried  him  out  of  the  fight,  and  about  whose  neck  his  rigid  fingers 
were  clasped  in  death. t 

Then  they  learnt  to  trade  in  this  live-stock  with  the  Chilians  over  the  moun- 
tains, receiving  in  exchange  arms  and  other  implements.  And  if  the  herds  fell 
short,  they  could  be  renewed  by  raiding  the  whites,  by  taking  the  animals  from 
those  who  had  taken  their  lands.  Hence  those  incursions  (iiialoii,  ma/oca)  which 
the  squatters  on  the  frontiers  justly  dreaded,  and  which  were  renewed  from  year 
to  year  aU  along  the  borders  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Mendoza.     Thus  was 

•  SevUta  del  Miueo  <fe  la  Plata,  1890—1891. 
t   TKe  yatiiralLil  in  La  Plata,  p.  355. 


412 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


gradually  brought  about  a  chronic  state  of  fierce  warfare,  in  which  no  quarter 
was  given  on  either  side.  "When  a  camp  or  a  village  was  surprised,  all 
the  men  were  slaughtered,  at  times  even  tortured,  the  women  being  reserved 
as  slaves  or  concubines,  the  children  either  kiUed  or  kept  as  thralls  about  the 
farmsteads. 

To  protect  the  outlying  settlements  from  these  incursions,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  lay  down  various  frontier  lines  at  different  periods,  and  to  defend  them 
with  forts  and  earthworks.  At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  limit  of  the 
area  of  colonisation  was  indicated  south  of  Buenos  Ayres  by  the  Rio  Salado  Valley, 
and  extended  westwards  about  the  thirty-fourth  parallel  as  far  as  San  Rafael  at 
the  foot  of  the  Andes.      But  the  Indians  took  advantage  of  the  "War  of  Indepen- 


Fig.  164. — Lines  of  Outposts  against  thb  Indians. 
Scale  1  :  17,000,000. 


310  Miles. 


dence  to  break  through  this  cordon.  In  1833,  however,  they  were  driven  south  of 
the  Rio  Negro  into  Patagonia  proper,  and  several  of  the  tribes  asked  for  peace. 
Then  the  civil  wars  gave  the  natives  a  fresh  respite,  and  even  enabled  them  to 
renew  their  incursions  as  allies  of  one  or  other  of  the  factions.  Thus  they  several 
times  occupied  the  city  of  San  Luis,  and  blocked  the  main  route  between  Chili, 
Mendoza,  and  Buenos  Ayres. 

On  the  restoration  of  peace  the  Indians,  steadily  diminishing  in  numbers,  were 
again  driven  back,  and  then  the  fortified  lines  were  drawn  more  sinuously  from 
the  Rio  Colorado,  south  of  Bahia  Blanca,  northwards  to  cover  the  cultivated 
regions  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  from  post  to  post  north-westwards  to  San  Luis,  here 
bending  round  soulh-westwards  in  the  direction  of  San  Rafael  and  the  Plauchon 


INHABITANTS  OF  AEGENTINA.  418 

Pass.  This  frontier  was  divided  into  nine  sections,  each  defended  by  a  fortified 
central  camp  held  by  a  strong  garrison.  In  1876  a  general  forward  movement 
advanced  the  Hne  in  such  a  way  as  to  efface  all  its  curves,  thus  greatly  reducing 
its  length,  and  annexing  the  native  tiysting  grounds. 

This  new  chain  of  forts,  extended  along  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes,  made 
all  further  resistance  impossible,  and  nothing  remained  for  the  survivors  except  to 
submit.  But  meantime  the  Pampeans  had  disappeared,  and  even  the  Pata- 
gonians  are  dying  out,  having  fallen  from  about  30,000  before  the  border  wars  to 
no  more  than  2,000  in  1893.  The  loss,  however,  can  scarcely  be  regretted,  for 
long  before  their  final  reduction  the  Pampas  Indians  had  been  transformed  to 
mere  predatory  hordes,  depending  for  their  very  existence  on  cattle-Kfting  raids 
amongst  the  white  settlers.  "  Even  those  who,  like  the  more  distant  Pehuenches, 
were  of  Araucanian  origin,  had  sadly  degenerated  from  the  foi-midable  warriors 
sung  by  ErciUa.  They  had  lost  all  the  bolder  traditions  of  savage  warfare,  and 
had  sunk  to  the  level  of  mere  marauders,  though  their  inborn  ferocity  too  fre- 
quently showed  itself  in  cowardly  murders  committed  on  the  defenceless.  Unfor-  ■ 
tunately  their  toklerias,  or  encampments,  served  as  a  refuge  to  the  more  lawless 
elements  among  the  native  Argentines  or  Gauchos,  and  they  were  often  led,  as 
well  as  instructed  in  the  use  of  firearms,  by  deserters  and  criminals  flying  from 
justice. 

"  StiU,  considering  the  paucity  of  their  numbers  and  the  poorness  of  their  arma- 
ment, it  seems  almost  a  national  disgrace  that  they  should  have  been  allowed  to 
hold  their  own  so  long,  and,  indeed,  to  derive  tribute,  as  they  did,  from  the  trea- 
suries of  civilised  communities  like  Santa  Fe  or  Buenos  Ayres.  It  is  the  more 
surprising  because,  like  their  kinsmen  in  North  America,  they  were  an  expiring 
race,  and  at  the  time  of  their  final  overthrow  had  been  reduced  to  a  state  of  semi- 
starvation  by  the  iron  barrier  of  the  frontier,  which  put  an  end  to  cattle-lifting  on 
a  large  scale,  and  prevented  their  replenishing  the  herds  of  horses  which  alone 
made  them  formidable. 

"  The  internal  dissensions,  which  so  long  distracted  the  Confederation  and  para- 
lysed its  energies,  must  account  for  the  lack  of  vigour  shown  towards  these 
intolerable  savages,  and  the  radical  manner  in  which  they  have  now  been  dealt 
with  is  a  happy  augury  that  this  country  has  at  last  reached  the  era  of  stable, 
well-ordered  sovemment."  * 

Of  the  Pampeans  the  Eanqueles  (Ranqual-che)  were  nearest  to  the  Buenos 
Ayres  colonies,  being  followed  southwards  by  the  Puel-che  of  the  Pio  Colorado, 
and  westwards  in  the  province  of  Mendoza  by  the  numerous  Araucanian  tribes, 
whose  names  terminate  in  the  syllable  die,  meaning  "  people."  Such  were  the 
Pehuen-che,  Huilli-che,  Payu-che,  Tami-che,  Pibna-che,  Teghul-che,  following  in 
their  order  along  the  chain  of  the  Andes.  The  Molu-che  occupied  the  central 
regions,  while  the  Tehuel-che,  that  is,  "  People  of  the  East,"  roamed  the  Atlantic 
coastlands  from  Magellan  Strait  to  the  Rio  Chubut,  and  ranged  into  Fuegia  under 
the  name  of  Onas. 

•  Eambold,  op.  cit.,  p.  70. 


414  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


The  Patagonians. 


The  Tehuel-che  probably  descend  from  tbe  "  Patagonians  "  met  by  Magell;m 
and  described  by  Pigafetta.  They  are  still  the  most  numerous  of  these  groups, 
and  they  have  best  preserved  their  cohesion  as  a  distinct  nation.  The  term 
Patagones,  "  Big  Feet,"  is  a  misnomer,  for  they  have  in  fact  rather  small  feet 
(averaging  less  than  11  inches)  compared  to  their  colossal  stature  of  about  6  feet 
4  inches.  In  very  cold  weather  they  often  wear  over  their  boots  a  kind  of  gaiter 
made  of  guanaco  skin,  and  this  may  perhaps  have  given  the  feet  a  dispropor- 
tionately large  appearance,  though  Pigafetta's  words  are :  "  The  guanaco  skin 
gives  their  feet  the  appearance  of  bears'  claws."  As  to  the  giants  "ten  or  twelve 
feet  high  "  reported  by  Byron,  Sarmiento  and  others,  they  were  probably  not  taUer 
than  the  present  Patagonians,  who,  however,  are  undoubtedly  the  tallest  race  in 
the  world. 

At  Carmen  de  Patagones,  where  the  Tehuel-che  are  already  crossed  with  the 
Pampas  Indians,  and  consequently  faU  below  the  average  stature  of  the  race, 
d'Orbigny  found  that  the  men  had  a  mean  height  of  5  feet  9  or  10  inches.  Since 
that  time  nearly  all  explorers,  who  have  traversed  the  country  or  even  merely 
visited  the  coast-lands,  have  also  taken  regular  measurements  of  the  stature  of  the 
aborigines.  A  comparative  table  of  these  measurements  shows  that  the  full-blood 
natives  of  the  interior  are  the  tallest,  averaging  about  6  feet  3  or  4  inches  in  the 
Upper  Rio  Chico  Valley.  The  women  also  are  very  tall,  and  the  guanaco  skin, 
which  constitutes  their  ordinary  costume,  contributes  to  give  them  a  still  more 
majestic  appearance. 

The  Tehuel-che  are  also  noted  for  their  broad  shoulders,  fine  muscular  develop- 
ment, and  stately  bearing.  The  eyes  are  small,  the  nose  short,  the  face  round, 
with  a  somewhat  pleading  expression.  The  Tehuel-che  language  is  very  harsh, 
guttural,  and  difficult  to  express  with  European  letters,  as  shown  by  the  extra- 
ordinary discrepancies  in  the  spelling  of  words  collected  by  difierent  travellers. 
It  also  changes  rapidly  owing  to  the  custom  of  avoiding  sounds  that  might  recall 
the  name  of  any  departed  friend,  such  sounds  having  to  be  replaced  by  fresh 
expressions.  The  three  dialects — Tehuel-che,  Araucanian  and  Pampean — differ 
so  greatly  that  the  kindred  peoples  were  unable  to  converse  together. 

Nevertheless  they  possess  a  simple  and  very  complete  decimal  system  of 
numeration,  which  is  absolutely  identical  in  all  three  dialects.  This  feature  might 
at  first  sight  seem  to  connect  the  Patagonian  speech  with  that  of  the  PeruArian 
linguistic  family.  But  it  could  never  establish  any  fundamental  relationship, 
and,  taken  by  itself,  would  point  at  most  to  the  civilising  influence  formerly 
exercised  by  the  Quiches,  nation  far  beyond  the  actual  political  frontiers  of  the 
Peruvian  empire.  The  Patagonians  themselves  have  no  historic  traditions,  and 
their  oral  records  go  no  farther  back  than  the  period  when  they  came  into  contact 
with  the  European  settlers.  The)'  cannot  even  imagine  a  time  when  their 
ancestors  lived  without  a  knowledge  of  the  horse,  an  animal  which  now  appears 
so  necessary  to  their  very  existence. 


^ 


INHABITANTS  OP  ARGENTINA. 


419 


Fig. 


165. — Indian  Popuhtions  op 
South  Aeoentina. 

Scale  1  :  IS.noo.ooO. 


All  the  Patagonians  have  for  several  years  lived  in  complete  subjection  to  tho 
Argentine  authorities.  They  even  call  themselves  Christians ;  but  despite  their 
apparent  physical  strength  they  are  often  decimated  by  epidemics.  Although 
generally  sober,  they  indulge  in  drunken  orgies  on  all  festive  occasions,  and  these 
degrading  scenes  sometimes  last  for 
weeks  together.  At  such  times  the 
women  carefully  collect  all  dan- 
gerous implements,  knives,  clubs, 
lassos,  and  hide  them  away  in  some 
remote  gorge,  where  they  take  refuge 
with  the  children  till  the  bout  is 
over. 

For  the  most  part  the  Tehuel- 
che  Indians  are  dying  out  without 
passing  through  the  period  of  servi- 
tude. These  aborigines  still  pre- 
serve their  haughty  spirit,  freely 
roaming  their  dreary  solitudes  from 
north  to  south,  from  the  foot  of  the 
Andes  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic. 
They  wear  their  flowing  locks  bound 
round  the  head  with  a  broad  band- 
age, like  that  which  is  used  to  com- 
press the  skull  to  the  required  shape 
in  infancy.  Like  so  many  other 
primitive  peoples,  they  carefully 
pluck  out  all  hairs  from  the  face, 
and  till  recently  employed  for  this 
purpose  small  silver  tweezers  iden- 
tical with  those  that  have  been 
found  in  the  old  sepulchral  mounds 
of  the  Calchaqui  Indians  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Catamarca.*  But  in  their 
present  impoverished  state  they 
have  gonerallj'  to  rest  satisfied  with 
simple  knives  with  which  all  sprout- 
ing hairs  are  shaved  oil. 

Since   their   submission    to    the 
Argentine  Government,  the   Pata- 
gonians have  been  obliged  to  renounce  all  warlike  expeditions.     Consequently  they 
no  longer  go  about  armed  with  the  national  spear  and  cowhide  buckler  embellished 
with  metal  ornaments.     At  present  their  only  weapon  is  the  bola  perdida,  "  lost 


WestoFG. 


.  31U  Miles. 


•  Francisco  P.  Moreno,  Viaje  a  la  Patagonia  Atutral. 


416  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

bola,"  whicli  they  cover  with  leather  and  keep  attached  to  the  waist.  "  This 
characteristic  missile  is  of  two  kinds :  the  simplest,  which  is  chiefly  used  for 
catching  ostriches,  consists  of  two  round  stones,  covered  with  leather  and  united 
by  a  thin  plaited  thong  about  eight  feet  long.  The  other  kind  differs  only  in 
having  three  balls  united  by  the  thongs  to  a  common  centre.  The  Gaucho  holds 
the  smallest  of  the  three  in  his  hand,  and  whirls  the  other  two  round  and  round 
his  head ;  then,  taking  aim,  sends  them  like  chain-shot  revolving  through  the 
air.  The  balls  no  sooner  strike  any  object  than,  winding  round  it,  they  cross  each 
other  and  become  firmly  hitched. 

"  The  size  and  weight  of  the  balls  vary  according  to  the  purpose  for  which  they 
are  made.  When  of  stone,  although  not  larger  than  an  apple,  they  are  sent  with 
such  force  as  sometimes  to  break  the  leg  even  of  a  horse.  I  have  seen  the  balls 
made  of  wood,  and  as  large  as  a  turnip,  for  the  sake  of  catching  these  animals 
without  injuring  them.  The  balls  are  sometimes  made  of  iron,  and  these  can  be 
hurled  to  the  greatest  distance.  The  main  difficulty  in  using  either  lazo  or  bolas 
is  to  ride  so  well  as  to  be  able  at  full  speed,  and  while  suddenly  turning  about, 
to  whirl  them  so  steadily  round  the  head  as  to  take  aim  ;  on  foot  any  person  would 
eoon  learn  the  art."  * 

Some  of  the  Patagonians  still  wear  little  silver  bells  suspended  from  the  waist ; 
all  paint  themselves  in  red,  white,  and  deep  blue,  both  for  show  and  also  for  the 
practical  purpose  of  protecting  the  exposed  parts  of  the  body  from  the  action  of 
the  wind  and  from  mosquitoes.  Their  only  musical  instrument  is  a  sort  of  flute 
made  of  the  bone  of  a  huauaco. 

Under  new  forms  the  old  beliefs  still  persist.  Sun  and  moon  retain  their 
beneficent  qualities  as  good  spirits,  while  noxious  influences  are  diffused  by  certain 
animals  such  as  the  lizard,  which  have  to  be  conjured  by  the  sacrifice  of  living 
beings,  especially  the  horse.  Probably  through  fear  of  similar  baneful  results 
several  of  the  Tehuel-che  tribes  will  on  no  account  eat  fish.  The  women  secrete 
little  figures,  regarded  perhaps  as  amulets  or  household  gods,  and  the  medicine- 
men still  continue,  as  in  pagan  times,  to  exorcise  their  patients,  to  summon  or  scare 
away  the  demons. 

These  payi,  as  the  medicine-men  are  called  by  a  name  differing  but  slightly 
from  that  current  in  the  Amazonian  and  Guiana  regions,  have  also  the  right  of 
interpreting  at  their  pleasure  all  natural  phenomena  and  incidents  of  all  kinds. 
Thus  a  long-established  belief  based  on  such  interpretations  assigns  to  the  gauUchus, 
or  demons,  the  bodies  of  old  women,  as  their  ordinary  dwelling-place.  Hence 
everyone  had  a  right  to  kill  any  aged  females  crossing  his  path,  and  till  recently 
this  right  was  frequently  exercised.  In  order  to  escape  from  such  a  fate  most  of 
the  cronies  attempted  to  render  some  service  to  the  community  in  the  character  of 
prophetesses  announcing  good  tidings.  But  woe  to  those  whose  forecastings 
turned  out  unfortunate. 

In  certain  cases  custom  even  required  the  Tehuel-che  to  sacrifice  some  aged 

*  Charles  Darwin,  Voyage  Sound  the  World,  oh.  iii. 


INHABITANTS  OF  AEGENTINA.     .  417 

relative,  slave,  or  mistress.  On  the  death  of  any  young  person  in  the  fohlo,  or 
tent,  the  head  of  the  family  had  to  secretly  remove  the  appointed  victim  far  from 
the  camp,  and  despatch  her  with  a  knife.  This  duty  was  sternly  exacted,  especi- 
ally in  the  case  of  mothers-in-law.  Hence,  in  anticipation  of  such  a  tragic  end, 
the  parents  of  the  bride  were  careful  to  live  apart  from  the  son-in-law,  never 
coming  in  contact  or  holding  any  intercourse  with  him.  A  similar  custom  is 
known  to  prevail  amongst  the  Papuans,  the  Australians,  the  Zulu-Kaffirs  of  South 
Africa,  and  many  other  primitive  peoples.  In  these  communities  mother-in-law 
and  son-in-law  take  every  precaution  to  avoid  each  other's  sight,  and  the  explana- 
tion of  the  feeling  is  probably  afforded  by  the  Patagonian  custom.  Orphans,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  well  looked  after ;  they  are  the  wards  of  the  whole  tribe,  and 
their  property  is  administered  with  perfect  honesty.  Married  people  without 
children  often  solenmly  adopt  a  little  dog,  setting  apart  for  his  maintenance  a 
number  of  horses,  as  would  be  done  in  the  case  of  a  son  and  heir. 

Marriages  are  always  freely  contracted  without  the  intervention  of  the  parents 
on  either  side.  But,  like  burials,  they  afford  a  pretext  for  sacrifices.  On  such 
occasions  several  mares  are  killed,  and  the  blood  drimk  as  it  flows  from  the 
wounds.  But  during  the  present  generation  no  instances  have  occurred  of  human 
sacrifices.  On  the  other  hand,  when  a  man  goes  into  mourning  for  the  loss  of  a 
wife,  he  burns  all  he  possesses.  The  dead  are  sewn  up  in  a  poncho  and  buried 
either  in  the  recesses  of  a  cave  or  under  a  heap  of  stones  like  the  cairns  raised 
over  the  graves  of  the  old  Gaulish  chiefs.  They  are  always  deposited  in  a  sitting 
posture,  like  that  of  the  Peruvian  mummies,  and  like  the  bodies  of  the  pre-historic 
inhabitants  of  Patagonia. 

So  recently  as  the  year  1860  the  Tehuel-che  still  sewed  up  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  in  a  fresh  leather  sack.  If  the  sick  person  happened  to  be  advanced  in 
years,  his  friends  did  not  wait  for  his  death,  fearing  that  the  rigor  mortis  might 
render  the  operation  impossible.  An  old  woman,  charged  with  the  funeral 
arrangements,  sat  upon  the  chest  of  the  victim,  drew  the  legs  by  sheer  force  up  to 
the  trimk  at  the  risk  of  breaking  them,  and  then  fastened  the  hands  to  the 
tibias.  The  pack,  well  corded,  was  then  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  when  suffi- 
ciently dried,  stowed  away  in  the  sands  of  the  dunes.  Such  was  the  force  of 
habit  or  tradition,  gradually  transformed  to  a  pious  duty,  that,  in  order  to  burj- 
the  dead  in  accordance  with  the  prescribed  forms,  they  were  killed  by  breaking 
their  bones.*  Such  a  practice  forcibly  recalls  the  Procrustean  process  of  legen- 
dary Greek  history,  which  may  have  possibly  been  a  reminiscence  of  analogous 
usages  in  savage  times. 


The  Gauchos. 

Till  recently  the  Argentine  of  the  rural  districts,  undoubtedly  descended  on 
the  mother's  side  from  the  aborigines,  scarcely  differed  in  his  social  usages  from 

•  Moreno,  op.  eit. 
VOL.    XIX.  E  E 


418  AMAZOXIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

the  Indians  themselv'es.  Even  physically  he  resembled  them  in  his  tall  stature, 
robust  frame,  swarthy  complexion,  strongly-marked  features,  coarse  black  hair. 
His  life  in  the  saddle  had  made  him  bandy-legged  with  feet  turned  in-ward,  and 
a  heavy  rolling  gait  when  walking.  Like  his  Araucanian  foe,  the  Gaucho  feared 
no  danger,  possessed  prodigious  power  of  endurance,  and  was  careless  of  Hfe. 
He  despised  manual  labour,  leaving  it  mostly  to  the  women,  and,  if  he  occasion- 
ally consented  to  lend  a  hand  it  was  done  with  a  haughty,  contemptuous  air,  "  such 
as  becomes  a  gentleman."  He  even  trained  his  horse  to  do  his  work,  to  tread 
out  the  corn,  knead  the  potters'  clay,  churn  the  butter. 

Of  sordid  habits,  and  housing  in  wretched  hovels,  the  Gaucho  was  nevertheless 
vain  of  bis  finery,  guanaco  wool  mantle,  embroidered  pantaloons,  silver  spurs, 
plumed  hat.  No  less  splendidly  comparisoned  was  his  horse,  whose  affection  he 
never  gained,  and  whom  he  was  ready  at  any  moment  to  stake  on  a  throw  of 
the  dice.  Cock-fighting,  racing,  pot-house  orgies,  wars,  and  bloodshed,  such 
were  his  ruling  passions.  Hence,  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  the  Gaucho  has 
gradually  been  outstripped.  As  he  got  the  better  of  the  Indian,  he  has  in  his 
turn  been  supplinted  by  the  gringo,  that  is,  the  foreign  immigrant  supposed  to 
speak  "  griego  "  (Greek).  The  last  genuine  Gauchos  were  the  Llanistas  of  La 
Hioja,  at  first  retainers  of  two  lordly  families,  then  during  the  civil  wars  grouped 
round  the  truculent  chief,  Facundo  Quiroga,  with  their  dreaded  banner : 
"  Religion  or  Death  !  " 

A  gloomy  picture  is  drawn  by  those  who  knew  them  best  of  the  domestic  and 
social  relations  of  the  Argentine  Gauchos.  "  It  may  be  said  that  among  the 
unlovely  homes  of  the  peasantry  of  most  countries  none  perhaps  is  more  dreary  or 
repulsive  than  that  of  the  Gaucho — if  home  it  can  be  properly  called,  having,  in 
most  cases,  for  its  basis  an  illicit  union  with  a  poor  creature  devoid  of  all  feminine 
charm  or  grace,  and  steeped  in  utter  ignorance  and  slovenliness.  The  typical 
Gaucho  woman,  in  fact,  has  little  of  her  sex  beyond  her  imtidy  garments  and 
sharp  tongue  ;  and  but  for  the  powers  of  endurance,  which  enable  her  on  occasion 
to  vie  with  the  men  in  the  hardest  work,  such  as  sheep-shearing  or  cattle -driving, 
and  a  certain  rough  fidelity  that  makes  her  stick  to  the  chance  partner 
with  whom,  after  many  a  previous  experience,  she  has  finally  mated  for  good, 
she  has  no  redeeming  qualities.  Of  things  above  these  she  has  neither  know- 
ledge nor  instinct,  and  it  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  if  her  companion  is  driven 
from  her  cheerless  society  by  sheer  enmii  to  seek  a  solace  elsewhere  in  drink  and 
debauchery. 

"  It  is  difiicult  to  say  who  is  to  come  to  the  rescue  of  these  hot-blooded, 
untutored  men,  who,  for  all  their  vices,  attract  sjinpathy  by  their  fearless 
bearing  and  a  certain  native  dignity  and  courtesy.  The  priest  has  never  had 
any  hold  on  their  dark  heathenish  homes,  for  the  pure  Gaucho  has  but  the 
faintest  tinge  of  Christianity,  his  religion  being  made  up  of  childish  and 
degrading  superstitions,  mainly  derived  from  Indian  sources.  The  schoolmaster 
so  far  has  hardly  reached  him,  and  he  has  yet  to  be  redeemed  if  he  is  to  be 
worked  up  into  u  useful  element  in  the  new  fabric  of  civilisation  that  is  growing 


< 


D 


INHABITANTS  OF  AEGENTINA.  419 

up  around  him,     The  national  government  have  an  arduous  task  before  them  iu 
this  direction."  * 


The  Spaniards  and  other  European  Settlers. 

Even  during  the  early  migrations  the  white  intruders  in  the  Platean  re"-ions 
were  already  a  strongly  mixed  race,  and  interminglings  are  still  goin"  on  to  a 
greater  extent  than  in  any  other  land.  Certain  .Arab  words  which  have  become 
obsolete  in  Spanish  reappear  in  the  language  of  the  Argentines.  Such  are  jagiul, 
a  well  flush  with  the  surface ;  giiadal,  a  quagmire,  and  other  terms  referrin"  for 
the  most  part  to  life  in  the  wilderness.  Some  family  names,  also,  such  as 
Albarraciti,  which  have  disappeared  in  Spain,  are  still  met  on  the  Argentine 
plains.  From  these  examples  it  would  seem  probable  that  during  the  first  period 
of  colonisation  the  converted  Christians  of  Moorish  stock,  still  harassed  bj'  the 
minions  of  the  Inquisition,  emigrated  in  relatively  larger  numbers  than  those  of 
the  old  Spanish  race. 

But  however  this  may  be,  all  non-Spanish  elements  except  the  negro  slaves  were 
rigorously  excluded  from  the  country  before  the  War  of  Independence,  and  it  is 
only  since  1821  that  foreign  immigration  has  been  encouraged  by  the  Argentine 
Government.  By  a  treaty  concluded  with  England  in  1825,  the  country  was 
formally  thrown  open  to  settlers  of  all  nationalities. 

The  first  to  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege  were  the  Basques,  those  of  the 
French  Pyrenees  as  well  as  those  of  the  Iberian  provinces.  At  Monte  Video 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  all  the  inland  towns  along  the  banks  of  the  Uruguay  and 
Parana  rivers,  these  Basques  found  employment  as  stevedores,  gardeners,  brick- 
makers,  tanners,  overseers  on  the  estancias  or  at  the  saladeros ;  in  a  word,  in  aU 
pursuits  demanding  skill,  strength,  and  endurance.  In  many  localities  they  were 
grouped  in  colonies  suflBciently  populous  to  preserve  the  use  of  their  mother 
tongue,  at  least  for  some  time.  Although  they  have  now  for  the  most  part 
adopted  the  Spanish  language,  the  multitude  of  Basque  names,  recurring  in  every 
part  of  Argentina  more  frequently  than  in  any  of  the  other  Hispano- American 
Republics,  shows  the  great  importance  taken  by  this  ethnical  element  in  the 
formation  of  the  Argentine  people.  Even  Indian  chiefs  bear  Basque  names,  and 
tradition  still  preserves  the  memory  of  the  exploits  performed  by  the  Pampean 
captain,  Baigorrita. 


Recent  Immigrants. 

The  material  progress  made  by  Argentina  may  be  gauged  by  the  development 
of  the  immigration  movement.  Not  a  single  European  nation  but  has  its  repre- 
sentatives in  this  vast  Babel  of  the  New  World.  The  French,  English,  and 
Gennans   have  settled   especially  in  the   large   cities,    where   they  control    the 

*  Kmnbold,  op.  nt.,  p  91. 
E  E  2 


420  AMAZOJfIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

industries,  and  promote  most  of  the  local  enterprises.  The  Italians  have 
monopolised  the  fluvial  navigation,  and  are  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers, 
crowding  out  all  rivals  and  taking  a  leading  part  in  all  departments  of  national 
activity. 

A  stream  of  Irish  immigration,  now  nearly  run  dry,  flowed  in  some  decades 
ago,  and  became  associated  more  intimately  than  the  English  with  the  general 
population,  especially  in  field  operations  and  about  the  docks  and  shipyards. 
The  agricultural  colonies  of  Santa  Fe  were  chiefly  founded  by  Swiss,  German, 
and  French  peasants,  while  Russians  and  Russified  Germans  form  the  majority 
of  the  rural  settlers  in  Entre-Rios  on  the  banks  of  the  Parana.  The  Welsh  have 
formed  a  separate  group  in  the  remote  region  of  the  Chubut  Valley.  Even 
Australia  has  begun  to  take  part  in  the  movement,  and  in  1893  several  hundreds 
fiom  this  region  obtained  concessions  along  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Negro.  Since 
1891  thousands  of  Jews,  expelled  or  refugees  from  Russia,  have  found  an  asylum 
in  the  Argentine  lands,  where  they  have  hitherto  kept  aloof  from  the  other 
elements  of  the  population.  Thousands  of  Chilians  swarm  into  the  western 
provinces,  and  are  rapidly  peopling  the  Cuyo,  as  the  Andean  slopes  are  called. 
Bolivians,  Paraguayans,  and  Brazilians  also  form  a  considerable  section  of  the 
northern  and  eastern  settlements.  But  types  indicating  a  strain  of  African  blood 
are  rare,  although  in  1778  people  of  colour  formed  about  one-third  of  the  whole 
population. 

It  would  appear  from  a  Parliamentary  paper  issued  in  1894  by  the  British 
Foreign  Ofiice  on  Baron  Hirsch's  recent  Jewish  Colonisation  scheme,  that  none  of 
these  foreigners  succeed  better  than  the  Jewish  refugees  from  Russia.  At  the 
end  of  the  year  1893  these  already  numbered  considerably  over  6,000,  most  of 
them  being  drawn  from  the  provinces  of  Southern  Russia.  The  extent  of  lands 
bought  for  them  is  63  square  leagues,  of  which  about  one-third  is  colonized  at 
an  expenditure  so  far  of  nearly  £-140,000.  The  present  condition  of  the  colonies 
is  described  as  decidedly  prosperous.  The  area  under  crops  is  large,  wheat  alone 
covering  over  17,000  acres.  Thorough!}'  practical  men  have  been  engaged  in 
carrying  out  the  scheme,  with  the  result  that  the  settlers  have  now  a  good  harvest 
before  them,  and  are  likely  to  realise  good  profits.  There  is  a  central  committee 
in  St.  Petersburg,  with  branches  all  over  Russia,  who  select  the  most  deserving 
Jews  recommended  to  their  notice  for  emigration. 

After  a  colony  has  been  properly  organised,  local  self-government  is  intro- 
duced. A  council  with  several  members  is  apjooiiited,  of  which  two  or  three, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  settlement,  are  chosen  by  election  from  among  the 
colonists  themselves,  and  one  is  the  resident  controller  named  by  the  association. 
This  council,  which  meets  daily,  regulates  the  distribution  of  machines,  transport, 
building,  public  health,  and  the  difficult  question  of  meat.  The  duty  of  the 
controller  is  to  look  after  the  property  of  the  association,  to  distribute  the  food 
subsidies  to  each  family,  to  act  as  its  legal  representative  in  all  dealings  with  tlie 
local  authorities  and  private  persons,  and  later  to  collect  the  debts  due  by  the 
colonists  to  the  association. 


TOPOGEAPIIY  OF  AEGENTIXA.  421 

Topography — Towxs  of  the  Missions  Territory. 

Like  the  United  States  and  other  regions  where  trade  and  population  are 
rapidly  increasing,  the  Argentine  Eepublic  is  distinguished  bv  a  marked  prepon- 
derance of  urban  groups,  and  by  a  general  tendency  of  the  people  to  gravitate 
towards  the  large  towns.  Buenos  Ayres,  capital  of  the  State,  contains  over  one- 
eighth  of  the  whole  population,  while  vast  inland  regions  far  from  the  Atlantic 
ports  remain  almost  uninhabited. 

In  the  territory  of  the  Argentine  "  Missions  "  the  former  reductions,  or  settle- 
ments of  converted  Indians,  have  been  transformed  to  rural  villages  with  widely 
scattered  dwellings,  while  most  of  the  ruined  churches  have  supplied  the  materials 
for  modern  structures.  The  Brazilians,  who  form  the  majority  of  the  settlers  in 
this  region,  have  established  sugar-works  and  factories  for  the  preparation  of 
manioc  and  mate. 

On  the  right  bank  of  the  Uruguay,  where  till  recently  the  ruins  of  the  Missions 
covered  a  space  of  nearly  150  acres  planted  with  palm  and  orange  groves,  the  town 
of  Concepeion  has  become  a  busy  agricultural  centre  surrounded  by  a  broad  belt  of 
"  black  "  tobacco  fields.  Farther  on  the  village  of  Sanfo  Tome,  also  an  old  Jesuit 
foundation  on  the  same  side  of  the  river,  exports  much  rice.  San  Martin  (the 
Tapeiju  of  the  Guarani),  birthplace  of  the  revolutionary  hero  bearing  this  name, 
is  now  a  mere  hamlet,  although  for  many  years  the  headquarters  of  the  Missions, 
the  "  Eome  "  of  the  great  theocratic  Eepublic. 

Librcs — Paso  de  los  Libres,  formerly  Eesfauracion — where  the  "freemen" 
crossed  the  river  to  rescue  their  country  from  the  tyranny  of  Rosas,  stands  over 
against  Uruguayana,  on  the  Uruguay  side,  with  which  it  practically  forms  a 
single  town.  A  little  farther  south  is  the  old  mission  where  Aime  Bonpland 
passed  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  Life,  and  where  he  died  in  1857. 

Lower  down  Monte  Caseros,  an  important  cattle  market,  faces  the  Uruguayan 
town  of  Santa  Eosa.  At  this  point  the  railway  constructed  along  the  left  bank 
of  the  Uruguay  throws  off  to  the  north-west  a  branch  which  is  soon  to  be  com- 
pleted through  Mercedes  to  Corrientes,  capital  of  the  province  of  like  name. 


Concordia — Loreto — Itati. 

Southwards  follow  the  modem  settlements  of  Mocoreta,  Libcrtad,  founded  by 
Tyrolese  peasants,  Federaeion  and  Concordia,  the  last-mentioned  facing  the 
Uruguayan  city  of  Salto.  Although  one  of  the  busiest  riverside  ports  of  Argen- 
tina, it  is  accessible  to  large  steamers  only  during  the  floods.  Even  Colon,  over 
60  miles  farther  south,  is  approached  with  difficulty  at  low  water.  Colon,  which 
dates  from  1863,  faces  Paysandu  on  the  Uruguay  side,  and  serves  as  the  outlet 
for  the  agricultural  produce  of  San  Jose.  This  colony,  established  in  1857  by 
some  Swiss  and  Savoy  immigrants,  has  prospered  wonderfully,  and  from  this 
"  mother  hive  "  have  issued  numerous  swarms,  which  have  gradually  transformed 
the  whole  face  of  the  land.     Wheat,  with  which  a  beginning  was  made,  has  been 


422  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

successively  replaced  by  orchards,  and  by  vineyards  which  yield  a  coarse  wine 
infinitely  preferable  to  the  horrible  concoctions  sold  in  Argentina  as  "claret." 
Poultry  farming  also  succeeds  well  in  the  San  Jose  settlement. 

Vessels  drawing  over  20  feet  stop  below  Colon  at  the  landing-stage  of  Concep- 
cion  del  Uniguay,  former  capital  of  the  province,  which  stands  on  a  lateral  creek 
communicating  by  rail  with  the  main  stream.  Caseros,  west  of  Concepcion,  is  one 
of  the  most  flourishing  offshoots  of  San  Jose. 

Gualegnaychu,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  shallow  river  of  like  name,  is  visited 
by  numerous  vessels  of  light  draught,  which  here  ship  cattle,  provisions,  hides, 
and  other  farm  produce.  Founded  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Guale- 
guavchu  has  become  the  third  port  of  the  Republic,  and  the  largest  and  wealthiest 
city  in  the  province  of  Entre-Rios.  It  has  far  outstripped  its  former  rival,  Guale- 
guay,  which  lies  some  GO  miles  farther  west  on  the  river  Gualeguay.  This  place 
is  connected  by  rail  with  Tala,  central  station  of  the  province,  and  with  the  indus- 
trious settlement  of  VUIayuay,  where  the  Belgians  are  in  a  majority.  A  branch 
line  runs  through  Nogoya  and  its  cattle  farms  to  the  port  of  Victoria  on  a  lateral 
creek  of  the  Parana. 

On  the  Parana  the  Argentine  stations  above  Corrientes  are  for  the  most  part 
villages  founded  by  the  missionaries.  Such  are  Cundelaria,  at  one  time  residence 
of  the  Jesuit  directors,  and  Posadas,  which  has  displaced  Yapeyu  as  capital  of  the 
present  administratiA^e  division  of  the  Missions.  Posadas,  which  from  1822  to  the 
death  of  Francia  was  the  only  free  port  of  entry  for  the  traffic  of  Paraguay  with 
Argentina,  has  continued  to  flourish  despite  the  loss  of  its  monopoly. 

Nearly  all  the  stations  which  follow  as  far  as  the  Paraguay  confluence  recall 
some  events  in  the  local  wars  and  predatory  expeditions.  The  tranquera 
("  trench  ")  of  San  Miguel,  and  lower  down  that  of  Loreto,  were  dug  to  protect 
the  territory  of  the  Jesuits  against  the  incursions  of  the  Corrientinos,  and  on  the 
former  Francia  erected  a  fort  in  1822.  Itati,  near  the  Paraguay  confluence,  dating 
from  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  lies  near  the  defensive  works  so 
stubbornly  defended  by  the  Paraguayans  against  the  allies.  The  inhabitants  of 
Itati  are  of  nearly  pure  Guarani  stock,  although  they  have  become  half  assimilated 
to  the  Hispano- Americans  in  speech.  They  still  practise  the  traditional  industries 
of  weaving  and  pottery,  for  which  the  Guarani  people  were  always  famous. 

Towns  of  Corrientes  and  Chaco, 

Corrientes,  capital  of  the  province  of  like  name,  and  the  most  important  place 
between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Asimcion,  may  be  regarded  geographically  as  the  city 
of  the  fluvial  confluence,  although  founded  15  miles  below  the  delta  (Tres  Bocas). 
It  owes  its  name  of  Corrientes — San  Juan  de  los  Siete  Corrientes — to  the  swirling 
waters  or  eddies  caused  on  the  left  bunk  by  rocky  ledges  projecting  into  the 
stream.  Taroguy,  its  Indian  name,  is  said  to  mean  the  "  Lizard- ground."  It 
might  also  be  culled  "  Orangetowu,"  so  embowered  is  the  place  in  groves  of  the 
golden  fruit. 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  AEGENTINA. 


423 


Corrlentes  was  founded  in  1588  on  a  bluff  rising  25  or  2G  feet  above  the 
average  level  of  the  river,  and  although  distant  820  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres, 
it  is  accessible  at  all  times  to  craft  drawing  10  feet  and,  for  six  months  in  the 
year,  to  vessels  of  13  or  14  feet.  It  is  the  chief  station  for  the  steamers  plying 
ou  the  Parana  and  the  Paraguay,  which  have  here  their  building  and  repairing 
docks.     During  the  Paraguay  war  it  was  the  headquarters  of  the  allies  after  the 


Fig.    166. — COBEIENTES  AND  tttr  GeeAT  CONFLUENCE. 
Scale  1  :  800,000. 


59- 


WestoF  Greenwich 


SSiO- 


12  Miles. 


fierce  naval  battle  of  Riachuelo  had  delivered  it  into  their  hands.  Its  railway 
communications  with  the  southern  provinces  are  still  incomplete,  and  during  the 
rainy  season  it  is  separated  by  a  zone  of  lakes  and  morasses  from  Caati,  the  chief 
agricultural  market  of  the  interior.  Facing  Corrientes  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Parana  stands  the  village  of  San  Fernando,  which  occupies  the  site  of  an  old 
camping-ground  of  civilised  Guaycurus  and  Tobas.    At  first  these  Indians  regularly 


424  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

supplied  the  people  of  Corrientes  with  fuel,  timber,  fodder  and  other  local  produce. 
But  the  forests  of  Gran  Chaco  have  gradually  receded  before  the  woodman's  axe, 
and  the  natives  have  receded  before  the  agricultural  settlements  which  now 
follow  along  the  river  banks. 

Formosa,  on  an  isolated  blufE  opposite  the  Paraguayan  town  of  Villa  Franca, 
gives  its  name  to  the  northernmost  of  the  two  divisions  of  Chaco,  an  almost 
uninhabited  territory  comprised  between  the  Pilcomayo  and  the  Bermejo.  In 
1893  it  had  a  European  population  of  not  more  than  5,000,  mostly  Italians  and 
Slavs,  and  scarcely  as  many  acres  under  cultivation.  Yet  the  whole  district 
bordering  on  Paraguay  has  already  been  bought  up  by  sugar-planters,  stock- 
breeders, and  other  capitalists.  Formosa,  the  capital,  has  succeeded  to  Villa 
Occidental,  which  had  to  be  evacuated  by  the  Argentines  when  North  Chaco  was 
restored  to  Paraguay  by  the  decision  of  the  United  States.  In  the  hope  of  making 
it  a  riverside  trading-place,  Formosa  was  founded  at  a  spot  exactly  midway  between 
Corrientes  and  Asuncion,  140  miles  from  both  'cities.  It  also  occupies  a  strong 
strategical  position  at  a  point  where  the  river  is  rather  narrow  and  very  deep. 
The  passage  could  easily  be  commanded  by  the  guns  of  a  fort  erected  at  Formosa. 

In  the  southern  division  of  Argentine  Chaco  all  the  riverside  lands  have 
been  ceded  or  sold  by  the  Government,  and  some  well-managed  sugar  works  have 
already  been  established  in  the  district.  Tiniho  or  Puerto  Bermejo,  which 
commands  the  confluence  of  the  Bermejo  with  the  Paraguay,  is  followed  south- 
wards by  a  Swedish  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  Pio  de  Oro,  a  small  affluent 
of  the  Paraguay,  and  lower  down  by  Hesistencia,  capital  of  South  Chaco,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Pio  Negro . 

An  agricultural  colony  founded  in  this  district  at  the  expense  of  the  central 
administration  is  conducted  by  Government  officials.  But  no  direct  route  has  yet 
been  opened  across  the  wilderness  between  Hesistencia  and  the  fertile  plains  of 
Salta. 


Towns  of  Entre-Rios. 

Below  Resistencia  the  east  bank  is  occupied  at  long  intervals  by  a  few  stations, 
such  as  Bella  Vista,  founded  in  1826  as  a  penal  settlement ;  Goya  ;  Esquina,  at 
the  confluence  of  the  Parana  and  Corrientes;  La  Paz,  formerly  Cavallti-Cuatia, 
midway  between  Asuncion  and  Buenos  Ayres,  and  one  of  the  busiest  ports  on 
the  river ;  Hernandarias,  crowning  a  high  wooded  bluff  ;  Parana,  formerly  Bajada, 
the  "  Landing  Stage,"  the  first  town  founded  in  Entre-Rios.  This  place  has 
passed  through  great  vicissitudes,  having  first  been  capital  of  the  State,  and  then  of 
the  whole  Republic,  from  1852  to  1861.  It  still  does  a  considerable  trade  as  the 
outlet  of  the  neighbouring  colonies  of  Villa  Urqniza  and  Ccrrito.  Most  of  the 
settlers  in  this  district  are  Italians  ;  but  every  European  nationality  is  represented, 
including  even  some  Rumanians  accompanied  by  their  buffaloes  from  the  banks 
of  the  Lower  Danube. 

Here  alao  a  Russian  mir,  with  property  held  in  common,  has  been  founded  by 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  AEGEXTINA.  425 

some  Germans  from  the  banks  of  the  Volga.  The  woods  and  pastures  remain 
undidded,  and  each  family  draws  lots  for  its  share  of  the  laud  to  be  tilled  in 
common.  The  first  Eusso-German  colony  founded  near  Diamante,  south  of 
Parana,  has  sent  forth  numerous  branches  numbering  altogether  about  10,000 
settlers  along  the  banks  of  the  river.  Excellent  growers  of  wheat  and  horse- 
breeders,  these  emigrants  from  the  Volga  continue  to  prosper,  and  every  year 
purchase  new  lands  for  the  development  of  their  commercial  system,  which  is 
administered  by  a  general  assembly  of  all  the  heads  of  families,  the  women 
included.  The  Argentine  Government  having  attempted  to  introduce  the  same 
organisation  as  in  the  other  colonies,  the  sturdy  peasants  revolted,  and  since 
then  they  have  been  left  to  administer  themselves  after  their  own  fashion.  In 
the  same  region  of  Entre-Rios  some  positivists  and  disciples  of  Count  Tolstoi  have 
also  established  themselves  in  "  harmonic  societies." 


To^WNS    OF    THE    PrOVIXCE    OF    Sa>TA   Fe EsPERANZA. 

In  clear  weather  the  towers  and  domes  of  Santa  Fe  may  be  seen  from  the 
heights  of  Parana  glittering  in  the  setting  sun  some  12  miles  away.  This  ciiy, 
founded  by  Juan  de  Garay  in  1573,  and  chosen  by  the  Jesuits  as  the  centre  of 
the  Missions  amongst  the  Mocovi  and  other  Chaco  Indians,  stands  not  on  the  Parana 
itself,  but  on  a  side  branch,  the  Riacho  de  Santa  Fe  or  Coronda,  which  broadens 
out  into  a  lagoon,  and  is  here  joined  by  the  Rio  Salado.  The  port,  approached 
through  a  labyrinth  of  channels,  is  accessible  to  craft  drawing  6  or  7  feet ;  but 
most  of  the  trufSc  is  done  on  a  railway  7  miles  long,  which  connects  Santa  Fe 
with  the  riverside  port  of  Colastine,  with  a  depth  of  from  24  to  26  feet  even  at 
low  wat€r. 

A  city  of  churches  and  convents,  a  venerable  metropolis  where  Congress  met 
occasionally  to  deliberate  on  the  common  interests  of  the  Republic,  Santa  Fe  was 
long  abandoned  by  commerce,  and  even  declined  in  population,  untU  its  prosperity 
was  revived  by  the  opening  of  the  railways  and  the  arrival  of  foreign  settlers, 
who  have  brought  the  surrounding:  lands  imder  cultivation. 

These  settlers,  who  have  enriched  Santa  Fe,  are  grouped  round  E-^peranza, 
"  Hopetown,"  founded  in  1856  on  the  plains  18  mUes  north-west  of  Santa-Fe. 
The  "  hopes  "  of  the  founders  have  been  realised.  The  two  hundred  Swiss  fami- 
lies who  arrived  before  a  single  cabin  had  been  erected  for  their  reception,  have 
been  followed  by  thousands  and  thousands  of  other  families,  French,  Germans,  but 
especially  Italians.  Towns,  villages,  steam  factories,  workshops  of  all  kinds  have 
sprung  up  in  the  pampa,  where  the  railways  have  ramified  in  every  direction. 
The  pleasant  little  town  of  Esperanza,  with  its  rows  of  paraisos,  "paradise  trees" 
(melia  azedaraclt)  lining  all  the  thoroughfares,  bears  on  its  town  hall  the  inscrip- 
tion in  Spanish,  "  Subdivision  of  Property."  To  this  subdivision  of  the  land  into 
small  and  average  holdings  the  district  assuredly  owes  its  prosperity,  yielding 
crops  a  hundredfold  more  abundant  than  those  obtained  from  far  more  fertile 


426 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


lands  in  other  provinces  held  by  a  few  great  landowners.  Some  leagues  north 
of  Santa  Fe  may  still  be  seen  traces  of  the  trench  formerly  cut  to  arrest  the 
mounted  Indian  raiders.  These  earthworks  have  long  been  crossed  by  the  settlers, 
who  have  transformed  every  railway  station  to  an  agricultural  centre,  thus  step  by 
step  converting  the  wilderness  to  a  cultivated  plain.  They  are  already  approach  ■ 
ing  the  plantations  of  Santiago  del  Estero. 

Below  Santa  Fe  and  Parana,  a  cKff  rising  260  feet  above  the  left  bank  is 
crowned  by  the  town  of  Diamante,  which  occupies  a  superb  position  at  the  head 
of  the  delta.     The  Parana,  contracted  to  a  narrow  channel  at  this  point,  is  more 


Fig.  167.— Santa  Fe  and  its  Fiest  CoLONrES. 
Scale  1 :  1,250,000. 


■  25  Miles. 


easily  crossed  than  in  the  upper  and  lower  reaches.  Hence  this  strategic  posi- 
tion has  been  hotly  contested  in  all  the  civil  wars,  and  here  Urquiza's  army  of 
20,000  horse  swam  the  current.  Like  Parana,  Diamante  is  surrounded  by  Russo- 
German  settlements. 

Lower  down  a  lateral  creek,  communicating  with  the  main  stream  during 
the  floods,  is  occupied  by  the  town  of  Victoria,  so  named  from  a  victory 
gained  in  1728  over  the  Minuan  Indians,  who  were  driven  beyond  the 
Uruguay  to  the  Charma  district.  In  the  neighbourhood  the  archaeologist 
Ramon  Lista  has  discovered  some  burial-places  filled  up  with  the  remains  of 
these  Indians. 


TOPOGBAPHY  OF  ARGENTINA.  427 

ROSARIO. 

Rosario,  the  chief  place  in  the  province  of  Santa  Fe,  and  second  largest  city  in 
Argentina,  owes  the  foundations  of  its  prosperity  to  the  civil  -wars.  Buenos 
.  Avres  having  withdrawn  from  the  rest  of  the  Confederation  in  1S54,  the  Govern- 
ment installed  at  Parana  ordered  the  construction  of  a  railway  from  Rosario  to 
Cordoba,  and  at  the  same  time  granted  a  reduction  of  18  per  cent,  on  the  Customs 
in  favour  of  all  vessels  ascending  the  Parana  without  touching  at  Buenos  Ayres 
or  any  other  port  in  the  Plate  estuary.  Rosario  at  once  benefited  by  this  decree, 
tlie  more  so  that  it  is  accessible  throughout  the  year  to  ships  drawing  16  feet, 
whereas  till  recently  large  vessels  had  to  anchor  in  the  offing  a  great  distance 
from  Buenos  Ajtcs. 

Rosario  has  the  further  advantage  of  lying  at  the  bend  of  the  river,  where  it 
begins  to  trend  south-east  in  a  line  with  the  estuary,  and  it  has  thus  become  the 
busiest  riverside  port  in  the  whole  basin.  The  Cordoba  railway  has  also  made  it 
a  rival  of  Buenos  Ayres  for  the  direct  foreign  trade  of  Argentina.  It  is  now 
visited  by  the  steamers  of  no  less  than  fourteen  transatlantic  companies,  which 
here  ship  wheat  for  Europe,  alalfa  or  lucerne  for  Brazil,  metals,  hides,  and  other 
produce  for  all  parts 

The  aspect  of  the  city  i§  essentially  commercial,  with  piers  lined  by  shipping, 
quays  intersected  by  rails,  warehouses  stocked  with  goods,  tramways  radiating  in 
all  directions,  telegraph  and  telephone  wires  crossing  and  re-crossing  at  every 
street  comer.  Rosario  is  inhabited  by  a  population  of  even  a  more  cosmopolitan 
character  than  that  of  its  commercial  rival,  Buenos  Ayres.  In  England  its 
name  is  still  chiefly  associated  with  colonisation  schemes  notoriously  mismanaged, 
and  ending  in  disastrous  failures. 

The  railway  from  Santa  Fe  to  Cordoba  was  constructed  by  an  English  com- 
pany, which  received  a  concession  of  all  the  land  for  a  width  of  three  miles  on  both 
sides  of  the  line  on  the  condition  of  colonising  the  country.  Hence,  since  1870, 
Bcrnstadt,  Carcaratia,  Ca/iadu  de  Gomez,  Tortugas,  and  other  stations  have  become  so 
many  agricultural  settlements,  peopled,  Hke  Esperanza,  by  Italian,  French,  Swiss, 
and  German  peasants.  The  English  settlers  at  Canada  de  Gomez,  although 
specially  favoured  by  the  Company,  never  prospered,  and  have  now  been  replaced 
by  others  from  the  Continent. 

San  Nicolas — Martin  Garcia. 

San  Nicolas,  chief  riverine  port  between  Rosario  and  Buenos  Ayres,  is  also 
one  of  the  large  cities  of  the  Republic ;  it  was  even,  at  one  time,  proposed  as  the 
Capital  of  Argentina.  It  is  followed  lower  down  by  other  busy  ports,  such  as 
Ohligado,  where  the  dictator  Rosas  attempted  to  defend  the  course  of  the  Parana 
against  an  Anglo-French  squadron  in  1845  ;  San  Pedro,  with  a  good  natural  har- 
bour of  about  300  acres  ;  Baradero,  where  a  prosperous  Swiss  colony  was  founded 
in  18-56;  Zaratc,  centre  of  the  numerous  insular  colonies  clustering  about  the 


428  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

delta ;  Campana,  a  busy  port  on  the  Parana  do  las  Palmas,  -with  an  extensive 
frozen-meat  factory. 

The  rocky  islet  of  Martin  Garcia,  with  a  lazaretto  and  quarantine  station, 
guards  the  approaches  to  the  delta,  beyond  which  a  sinuous  channel  leads  through 
the  spacious  estuary  to  the  capital  of  Argentina. 

Towns  of  the  Provinces  of  Jljut. 

If  the  Parana  is  the  great  fluvial  artery  connecting  Buenos  AjTes  and  the 
La  Plata  estuary  with  the  interior  of  the  continent,  the  land  route  in  a  pre- 
eminent sense  is  the  historical  highway  which,  under  the  Spanish  administration, 
connected  the  two  seaboards  of  La  Plata  and  Peru  through  the  northern  Argentine 
provinces  of  Jujuy,  Salta  and  Tucuman. 

In  the  province  of  Jujuy,  conterminous  with  Bolivia,  the  first  place  on  the 
route  leading  down  from  the  Cortaderas  Pass  (12,965  feet),  is  the  old  Quichua 
town  of  Humahuacn,  near  the  source  of  the  San  Francisco,  over  10,000  feet  above 
the  sea.  After  the  conquests,  its  inhabitants,  who  had  offered  a  stout  resistance 
to  the  invaders,  were  removed  bodily  to  La  Pioja,  and  replaced  by  conquered 
Indians  from  Famatina. 

Below  Humahuaca  the  track,  which  follows  the  right  bank  of  the  river  along 
the  foot  of  the  snowy  Chaiii  range,  crosses  several  streams  before  entering  the 
broad  well-watered  plains  (4,000  feet),  where  stands  t7«f;My,  capital  of  the  province. 
This  place,  built  by  Velasco  in  1592,  still  preserves  its  aspect  of  an  old  Spanish 
town,  and  is  surrounded  by  plantations  extending  into  the  lateral  vallej'S  watered 
by  affluents  of  the  Pio  Grande,  one  of  the  main  branches  of  the  Pio  Bermejo. 
Jujuy,  which  abounds  in  agricultural  produce  of  the  sub- tropical  and  temperate 
zones,  owes  its  chief  importance  to  its  transit  trade  with  Bolivia  carried  on  by 
convoys  of  mules  and  llamas,  and  comprising  such  commodities  as  maize,  fruits, 
chicha,  and  especially  salt  extracted  from  the  dry  bed  of  Lake  Casabinda.  Its 
fairs  are  much  frequented,  and  here  many  Bolivians  have  settled,  thus  repairing 
the  heavy  mortahty  caused  by  pneumonia,  rheumatism,  eliuchu  fevers,  and  other 
maladies  due  to  the  cold  winter  winds,  and  in  summer  to  the  noxious  exhalations 
from  the  badly-kept  canals.  In  the  neighbourhood  are  some  petroleum  weUs,  and 
the  thermal  saline  springs  of  the  quehrada  de  los  Eeyes  are  much  frequented  by 
rheumatic  patients. 

OrAN — ElVADATIA. 

Below  Jujuy,  the  San  Francisco  continues  to  flow  in  a  steep  bed  obstructed 
by  rapids,  till  it  reaches  a  more  level  incline  beyond  its  great  bend  near  the 
Ledesma  sugar  plantations.  In  this  part  of  the  basin  the  chief  place  is  Oran, 
standing  at  a  height  of  1,000  feet,  on  a  torrent  near  the  point  where  the  San 
Francisco  unites  with  the  Tarija  to  form  the  Bermejo.  Oran  is  surrounded  by 
rich  sugar  and  other  plantations,  cultivated  chiefly  by  the  Mataco  and  Chiriguano 


TOPOGRAPnY  OF  AUOENTINA. 


429 


Indians.  Although  Orau  is  accessible  to  river  craft  all  the  way  from  Buenos 
Ayres  (1,850  miles),  its  traffic  is  carried  on  mainly  by  the  overland  route  to  the 
Jujuy  railway,  pending  the  construction  of  a  local  branch  in  connection  with  that 
line. 

South-eastwards  lies  the  agricultural  colony  of  Rivadavia,  on  the  Rio  Teuco, 
where  numerous  Bolivian  squatters  have  received  allotments   of   1,250  acres  per 


Fig.  168.— General  Vikw  op  Jujut. 


family.     Rivadavia  is  connected  by  a  military  carriage-road  with  the  station  of 
Puerto  Bermrjo  on  the  Paraguay. 


Towns  of  the  Phovixce  of  Sai.ta. 

Salta,  capital  of  the  province  of  like  name,  stands  on  the  Lcrma  plain,  wliich 
is  watered  by  the  Rio  Arias,  and  numerous  tcnjair/cs,  as  the   irrigation  canals  are 


480  AMAZONIA  AXD  LA  PLATA. 

locally  called.  Lying  from  100  to  120  feet  lower  than  Jujuy,  but  more  to  tlie 
south,  Salta  cultivates  plants  of  the  temperate  zone,  so  that  the  district  presents  a 
somewhat  European  aspect.  Like  Jujuy,  it  relies  chiefly  on  its  transit  trade  with 
Bolivia  and  ChiK,  and  about  a  tenth  of  the  inhabitants  are  of  Bolivian  origin. 
In  the  neighbourhood  Belgrano  gained  a  first  success  over  the  Spaniards  in  1812, 
and  in  honour  of  this  victory  the  province  adopted  the  black  and  blue  colours  now 
incorporated  in  the  xVrgentine  flag. 

Southwards  follow  several  large  agricultural  villages,  such  as  Cachi,  -which 
gives  its  name  to  the  neighbouring  plateaux  and  nevados,  San  Jose,  Moliiws, 
San  Carlos,  Cafalate,  all  of  which  places  make  excellent  wines  and  raise  crops  of 
the  famed  Trigo  de  los  Vallcs,  "Valley  wheat."  The  mules  and  horned  cattle 
bred  by  the  Christian  Calchaquis  of  the  district  are  highly  esteemed  throughout 
Argentina  and  ChiH. 

On  the  railway  between  Salta  and  Tucuman  the  chief  station  is  Romrio  de  la 
Frontera,  on  a  head  stream  of  the  Juramento.  Here  are  sugar  and  tobacco 
plantations,  and  here  is  made  the  cheese  known  in  every  part  of  Argentina  by 
the  name  of  tafi.  In  summer  invalids  flock  to  the  heighbouring  thermal  waters, 
which  have  a  temperature  of  over  167°  Fahr.,  and  are  said  to  be  very  efficacious. 
The  whole  district  abounds  in  sulphurous  and  other  hot  springs,  whrch,  however, 
are  little  utilised  by  the  natives. 

According  to  Brackebusch  the  heat  of  these  springs  is  due,  not  to  the  igneous 
character  of  the  ground,  but  to  the  action  of  the  iron  pyrites  which  are  contained 
in  large  quantities  in  the  surrounding  schistose  limestone  mountains,  ancT  which 
at  contact  with  water  liberate  a  high  degree  of  heat.  These  formations  are  also 
charged  with  petroleum,  which  is  distilled  in  the  lower  depths,  and  which  may 
perhaps  explain  the  local  earthquakes  and  the  inflammable  gas-jets  occasionally 
seen  above  the  surface. 


Towns  of  the  Provikce  of  Tucumax. 

The  province  of  Tucuman,  certainly  one  of  the  richest  of  Argentine,  has  been 
described  in  somewhat  extravagant  language  b}'  native  and  even  by  some  European 
writers.  Sarmiento  speaks  of  it  as  a  tropical  land,  where  nature  has  displayed  its 
greatest  pomp,  the  garden  of  Argentine,  the  Eden  of  America,  without  a  rival  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  covered  with  sugar-caue  brakes,  orange  and  myrtle  groves, 
the  resort  of  gaudy  butterflies,  brilliant  humming-birds,  green  parrots,  blue 
magpies,  golden  toucans,  and  so  forth.  But  this  idyllic  picture  has  its  reverse 
side,  and  Tucuman  with  all  its  advantages  undoubtedly  suffers  from  some  serious 
drawbacks.  The  dangerous  and  wasting  cliuchu  fever  is  endemic,  especially  in 
the  marshy  districts  infested  by  mosquitoes,  which  alone  seem  capable  of  resisting 
the  malarious  exhalations  which  rise  from  the  black  mud  festering  in  the  hot  sun. 

Another  much-dreaded  scourge  are  the  swarms  of  locusts,  which  at  times 
transform  entire  districts  to  lifeless  solitudes.  From  the  multitudes  of  these 
^vinged  pests  the  whole  landscape  at  times  assumes  a  russet  colour  like  that  of 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  AEGENTINA. 


481 


burnt  bricks.  "  Earth,  trees,  and  bush,"  writes  Mr.  Knight,  "  had  all  assumed  tho 
same  curious  hue,  the  effect  being  something  like  that  of  early  winter  on  some  of 
the  vegetation  of  northern  Europe.  We  could  not  at  first  conjecture  what  the 
strange  appearance  signified — it  was  as  if  some  pestilential  blast  had  withered  up 
all  the  Kfe  of  the  land.  On  approaching  we  found  this  to  be  a  vast  multitude 
of  locusts,  that  were  settled  so  thickly  on  everything  that  no  twig  or  leaf  or 
inch  of  bare  earth  was  left  visible.  There  was  nothing  to  be  seen  anywhere  under 
the  sky  but  the  mahogany-coloured  bodies  of  these  fearful  creatures ;  wo  rode 
through  several  leagues  of  them,  and  as  we  rode  they  rose  from  under  our  feet 
in  thousands,  with  a  multitudinous  crackling  sound  as  of  a  huge  bonfire,  and  then 


Fig.  169.— TuctTMAN. 
Scale  1 :  1,600,000. 


West  of  'GreenwicVi  65° 


,  30  Miles. 


when  we  had  passed,  settling  down  again,  but  revealing  in  their  short  flight  the 
devastation  they  had  wrought.  Little  but  bare  barkless  stacks  were  left  of  tree 
and  bush  ;  even  the  grass  had  been  devoured  down  to  the  ground."  * 

Tmuman,  metropolis  of  the  north,  although  preserving  in  a  slightly  modified 
form  the  old  Quichua  name  of  Tucma  applied  to  the  province  under  the  Inca 
rule,  is  nevertheless  of  Spanish  foundation,  dating  from  the  year  1585.  This 
historical  city  is  admirably  situated,  at  an  altitude  of  1,480  feet,  in  a  fertile  and 
highly-cultivated  plain,  which  inclines  gently  down  to  the  Rio  Sali,  and  rises 
westwards  in  the  direction  of  the  superb  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Aconquija.  Here 
Belgrano  defeated  the  Spaniards,  and  here  the  National  Congress  proclaimed  the 


Op.  cit.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  28 


432  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

independence  of  the  land  in  1816.  Since  then  Tucuman  has  also  taken  a  lar^e 
share  in  the  civil  wars  by  which  the  country  has  been  wasted. 

Nevertheless,  the  city  has  continued  to  increase,  and  is  now  the  fourth  place 
in  Argentina  for  population.  The  local  industries  have  also  been  developed  by  a 
steady  stream  of  immigration,  comprising  Europeans  of  all  nationalities.  As 
many  as  thirty  large  factories  have  been  established  in  the  outskirts,  and  sugar 
culture,  introduced  from  Peru  in  1824,  has  succeeded  so  well  that  in  1890  this 
industry  employed  7,000  hands,  and  yielded  20,000  tons  of  sugar  and  1,100,000 
gallons  of  rum  from  a  total  area  of  20,000  acres.  The  district,  which  is 
studded  with  farmsteads  and  hamlets,  also  yields  coffee,  hemp,  wheat,  and  other 
j)roduce. 

Tucuman  enjoys  some  reputation  as  a  centre  of  intellectual  life,  and  one  of 
its  colleges  takes  a  high  place  amongst  the  scholastic  institutions  of  the  Republic. 
Next  to  the  capital  the  most  flourishing  agricultural  towns  are  Montcros  and 
Medinas,  both  situated  on  affluents  of  the  Rio  Dulce. 


Towns  of  the  Province  of  Santiago. 

Santiago  del  Estero,  "  St.  James  of  the  Morass,"  was  the  centre  of  the  ancient 
province  of  Tucma  (Tucuman),  which  was  brought  under  the  rule  of  the  Incas 
towards  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Here  the  Spanish  conquerors 
established  (1553)  the  first  permanent  city  in  the  Argentine  possessions,  and  this 
place  was  even  long  known  by  the  name  of  Tucuman,  now  transferred  to  the  more 
flourishing  northern  city. 

Standing  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rio  Dulce  on  a  plain  about  650  feet  above 
sea-level,  Santiago,  as  indicated  by  the  epithet  "  Estero,"  is  surrounded  by  swamps 
and  lagoons,  former  beds  of  the  shifting  stream.  Half  of  the  houses  were  swept 
away  by  an  inundation,  in  1633,  when  some  of  the  inhabitants  migrated  to 
Tucuman,  others  to  Cordoba.  The  deserted  city,  often  exposed  to  the  attacks  of 
the  Indians,  remained  under  the  government  of  the  Jesuits,  who  transformed  the 
country  to  another  Paraguay,  with  a  similar  theocratic  administration  and  similar 
social  usages.  In  all  respects  the  populations  of  both  regions  resemble  each 
other ;  they  display  the  same  love  of  cleanliness,  and  the  same  taste  for  music 
and  the  harp,  which  has  alwaj's  been  the  national  instrument  of  the  Guarani 
people.  The  ordinary  diet,  almost  exclusively  vegetable,  is  the  same,  as  is  also 
the  universal  use  of  mate  as  a  stimulating  beverage. 

After  the  proclamation  of  Argentine  independence,  Ibarra,  dictator  and 
absolute  master  for  thirty  years,  made  every  effort  to  maintain  the  outlying 
territories,  which  lay  beyond  the  sphere  of  political  agitation.  But  although 
reduced  to  a  mere  collection  of  adobe  houses,  Santiago  has  recovered  a  little  of  its 
former  activity  since  the  completion  of  the  line  connecting  it  with  the  Cordoba- 
Tucuman  railway.  It  exports  lucerne,  cheese,  and  other  produce,  and  also 
engages  in  the  sugar  industry,  although  with  less  success  than  Tucuman, 


TOPOGEAPHT  OF  ABGENTIXA. 


483 


Zorcto,  Afamixqiii,  SafanTia,  are  also  agrictJtural  settlements,  which,  like 
Siintiago,  have  suffered  from  the  floods  and  shiftings  of  the  Eio  Dulce.  A  little 
north  of  the  fertile  Campo  del  Cielo,  "  Elysian  Fields,"  is  seen  the  famous 
meteoric  block,  which,  when  studied  by  a  scientific  commission  in  17SS,  formed  a 
mass  of  about  2-jO  cubic  feet,  weighing  45  tons,  and  containing  one-tenth  of 
nickel  Since  then  it  has  been  greatly  reduced  by  chipping,  and  numerous  frag- 
ments are  preserved  in  Tarious  museums.  The  groimd  round  about  is  strewn 
with  other  meteorites  of  smaller  size.  Mafnra,  also  an  agricultural  settlement, 
stands  on  the  Hio  Juramento,  near  the  forda  formerly  used  by  the  Mocovi  and 


Eg.  170. — Akdalgaia  A2fD  Mt.  Acosquija. 
Scale  I :  l,ii>J,0». 


n 


r^i  : 


'/ 


w=.t 


25  Miles. 


Abipon  Indians ;  hence  this  place  was  much  exposed  to  the  incursions  of  those 
predatory  tribes,  ilatara  was  the  starting  point  of  an  easy  route,  which  here 
traversed  the  solitudes  of  Gran  Chaco  in  the  direction  of  Corrieutes. 


Towxs  OF  THE  Province  of  Catamarca. 

South-west  of  Tucuman  stretches  the  mountainous  province  of  Catamarca, 
boimded  eastwards  by  the  Aconquija  ranse  and  its  ofl"shoots.  Catamarca,  the 
provincial  capital,  stands  at  an  altitude  of  1,850  feet  on  the  Piio  del  Yalle,  which 

VOL.    XIX.  F  F 


434  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

here  ramifies  in  irrigation  canals  over  the  valley  flanked  on  the  east  by  the  Sierra 
de  Ancaste,  on  the  west  by  the  Ambato  range.  After  its  foundation  in  1G80 
the  settlement  suffered  so  much  from  inundations  that  it  had  to  be  removed  a  few 
miles  higher  up.  Catamarca  communicates  by  rail  in  one  direction  with  La  Rioja 
and  Mendoza,  in  another  with  Cordoba,  Rosario,  and  Buenos  Ayres,  the  line 
bifurcating  at  Chumbicha.  By  these  railways  are  forwarded  the  oranges,  dried 
£gs,  cattle,  and  other  produce  of  the  surrounding  provinces. 

AndaJfjala,  so  named  from  a  valiant  Calchaqui  tribe  long  merged  in  the 
general  Spanish  population,  bears  also  the  name  of  Ftierte,  from  a  now  abandoned 
"fort."  It  lies  at  the  foot  of  Aconquija,  on  a  level  plain  3,300  feet  above  the 
sea,  and  owes  all  its  importance  to  its  silver  mines,  the  most  productive  in 
Argentina.  The  richest  vein,  which  was  worked  by  the  Calchaquis  before  the 
conquest,  but  the  existence  of  which  was  concealed  by  them,  was  rediscovered  in 
1849  from  the  revelations  of  an  aged  Indian.  Standing  at  an  altitude  of  10,000 
feet,  it  has  an  average  monthly  output  of  200  tons  of  ore  containing  about  35 
tons  of  pure  metal.  Some  3,000  mules  are  constantly  employed  conveying  the 
ores  to  the  Fikiaio  works,  a  remarkable  establishment  furnished  with  the  best 
English  plant. 


The  Campo  del  Plcara. 

The  industrious  people  of  Andalgala  also  work  the  neighbouring  kaolin  beds 
for  the  manufacture  of  fire-bricks,  cultivate  the  vine,  which  yields  an  excellent 
wine,  export  fruits  to  Tucuman,  mules  and  asses  to  Chili,  hides  and  guanaco 
fabrics  to  Cordoba.  The  wretched  hamlet  of  Pucara,  near  the  much-frequented 
pass  between  the  snowy  Aconquija  on  the  north  and  the  Manchao  heights  on  the 
south,  represents  a  real  pucara,  or  "stronghold,"  which  formerly  stood  here, 
and  the  circular  ramparts  of  which  may  still  be  traced  for  a  distance  of  nearly 
two  miles. 

This  word  pucara,  Pelleschi  tells,  means  sfreiir////  in  the  Aymara,  and  red  in 
the  Calchaqui  language,  both  appellations  being  appropriate,  the  one  on  account 
of  the  pervading  colour,  the  other  on  account  of  the  fortified  works  formerly 
erected  in  the  district.  The  C'amjjo  del  Pucara,  as  this  district  is  called,  forms  a 
transition  between  the  grassy  ranges  on  the  east  and  the  arid  sand-hills  of  the 
west.  Although  itself  arid  and  parched,  it  affords  sustenance  to  cattle  during 
some  months  of  the  year,  and  was  at  one  time  thickly  peopled.  Extensive  remains 
of  Indian  habitations,  grouped  together  Kke  so  many  separate  villages,  occur  not 
only  on  the  plain,  but  also  along  the  slopes  of  the  neighbouring  heights. 

If  the  Campo  was  formerly  subject  to  the  same  climatic  conditions  as  at 
present,  it  certainly  could  not  have  afforded  subsistence  to  such  populous  com- 
munities. Yet  there  is  no  indication  nor  any  tradition  of  a  change  of  climate 
having  taken  place  in  the  district  since  its  occupation  by  man.  Hence  Pelleschi 
suggests  that  perhaps  the  local  conditions  may  have  been  modified  by  the  drying 
up  of  some  extensive  reservoir  in  the  neighbourhood,  some  lacustrine  basin,  of 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  AEGEXTIXA.  435 

wbioh  the  fish  afforded  food,  while  the  water  yielded  a  sufiicicnt  supply  for 
domestic  use  and  irrigation  purposes.  But  however  this  be,  a  region  which  at  one 
time  teemed  with  human  life,  is  now  little  better  than  a  wilderness,  interesting 
mainly  to  the  explorer  and  antiquary. 

In  the  western  valleys  of  Catamarca  are  some  settlements  of  the  industrious 
Calehaquis,  amongst  others  Belen  and  the  neighbouring  Londres,  surrounded  bj' 
vineyards,  orchards,  and  rose  gardens.  Farther  west  Tinogasta  exports  mules 
and  cattle  to  Copiapo,  and  the  thermal  waters  of  Fiamhala,  higher  up  the  valley, 
attract  visitors  during  the  fine  season. 


Towns  of  the  Provixce  of  Rioja 

The  province  of  Eioja,  like  that  of  Catamarca,  consists  of  upland  Andean 
valleys,  sloping  south  or  south-west  towards  the  Salinas,  or  salt  j^lains,  limited 
eastwards  by  the  Cordoba  Mountains.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  has  become 
proverbial,  and  no  other  part  of  Argentina  yields  better  wheat,  wine,  and  oranges. 
All  the  laud  capable  of  being  irrigated  has  already  been  brought  imder  cultiva- 
tion, and  to  extend  the  area  of  productive  ground  it  would  be  necessary  to 
construct  reservoirs  in  the  upland  valleys.  It  is  claimed  for  the  light  porous 
soil  of  the  plains  that,  where  sufficiently  watered,  it  is  more  productive  than  the 
deep  lands  along  the  banks  of  the  Parana,  imparting  a  more  delicate  flavour  to 
the  grain  and  fruits  grown  in  the  district. 

The  city  of  La  Eioja,  founded  in  1591  at  the  east  foot  of  the  Velasco  Moun- 
tains, commands  from  its  elevated  terrace  (1,670  feet)  a  wide  prospect  of  the 
surrounding  plains.  Although  now  connected  with  the  Argentine  railway  system, 
it  has  developed  Little  trade  or  industry,  owing  to  the  restricted  area  of  cultivable 
land ;  where  the  rivulets  run  out  the  desert  begins. 


The  CniLECTTo  Mixeral  Eegioxs. 

More  prosperous  is  the  valley  lying  farther  west,  between  the  Sierra  de 
Yelasco  and  the  snowy  Famatina  range.  The  town  which  gives  its  name  to  this 
superb  group,  straggles  in  a  continuous  line  of  houses  and  gardens  some  nine 
miles  along  the  banks  of  a  torrent  to  the  point  where  the  water  ceases  to  flow. 
Another  stream,  descending  from  the  ly^evado  de  Famatina,  waters  the  district 
of  the  more  important  town  of  Chilecito,  or  Villa  Argentina,  which  has  become 
the  real  industrial  and  commercial  centre  of  the  province.  As  indicated  by  its 
name,  "  Little  ChiU,"  its  population  is  of  Chilian  origin,  attracted  by  the  mineral 
wealth  of  Eioja. 

Both  slopes  of  the  valley  between  the  Velasco  and  Famatina  heights  contain 
deposits  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  iron,  and  nickel ;  all  the  streams  are  metalliferous, 
some  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  useless  for  irrigation  purposes.  In  several  districts 
are  seen  heaps  of  scoriaj  and  the  ruins  of  rude  furnaces,  showing  that  the  copper 

FF  2 


436 


AMAZOmA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


mines  were  formerly  worked  by  the  Calchaquis,  and  the  metal  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  arms  and  agricultural  implements.  The  first  serious  operations 
of  the  whites  date  from  1804;  but  they  have  frequently  been  interrupted  by 
the  civil  wars,  or  by  the  high-handed  proceedings  of  the  military  commanders. 

The  mining  region,  in  a  pre-eminent  sense,  occupies  the  southern  part  of  the 
Sierra  de  Famatina,  the  richest  veins  lying  on  the  crests  themselves  near  the 
central  peaks  at  altitudes  of  from  13,000  to  15,000  and  even  16,500  feet.  Those 
of  La  Mcjicana  are  said  to  have  been  discovered  by  some  Mexicans  by  following  to 
its  source  a  stream  charged  with  ochre.  The  limestone  rocks  of  which  these 
mountains  are  formed  are  intersected  by  innumerable  metallic  veins,  pyrites 
of  copper,  gold,  and  sUver  in  association  with  chlorine,  iodine,  arsenic,  and 
sulphur. 

Between  1820  and  1860  these  gold  and   silver  mines  yielded  £1,200,000, 


Fig.  171. — CmuEcrro  a^td  Fajiattn'a. 
Scale  1  :  1,000,000. 


West  oF  uree'^wicVi 


15  Miles. 


which  was  partly  minted  at  La  Rioja.  At  present  operations  have  been  extended 
to  the  copper  mines,  in  which  the  ores  contain  about  one-sixth  of  pure  metal. 
Chilecito  is  connected  by  a  branch  line  with  the  Argentine  railway  system,  which 
gives  access  to  the  difficult  tracks  running  from  various  points  over  the  moun- 
tains. By  one  of  these  routes,  which  leads  through  Vinchina  to  the  Upper 
Vermejo  valley,  Chilecito  maintains  active  relations  with  the  mining  centre  of 
Copiupo  on  the  opposite  (Pacific)  slope  of  the  Argento-Chilian  Cordilleras. 


TOWXS    OF    THE    PrOVIXCE    OF    SaN    Jr.4N. 

South  of  Piioja  follows  the  province  of  San  Juan,  which  is  also  a  mining 
district,  and  which,  like  Catamarca  and  Rioja,  lies  entirel)'  within  the  region  of 
closed  river  basins.      San   Juan,  the  capital,  is  well  situated  at  an  altitude  of 


TOPOGEAPHY  OF  AEQENTDfA.  437 

2,130  feet  on  a  fertile  plain  watered  by  tte  innumerable  ramifying  rills  of 
the  Rio  San  Juan.  Founded  in  loGl  about  four  miles  farther  north,  and  after- 
wards removed  to  its  present  site,  San  Juan  presents  an  agreeable  aspect  with 
its  belt  of  cultivated  ground  and  magnificent  circular  boulevard  planted  with 
poplars.  To  the  west  lies  the  pleasant  watering-place  of  Zonda,  and  to  the 
east  the  town  of  Caucete,  oflScially  Iiidependencia,  in  a  district  reclaimed  by 
irrigation  works  from  the  wilderness.  San  Juan  possesses  a  botanic  garden 
and  a  school  of  mines  in  connection  with  the  neighbouring  mineral  deposits. 
Jachcl,  12i  miles  farther  north,  lies  in  a  district  abounding  in  mines  and 
thermal  waters.  Standing  on  a  copious  river,  which  is  swoUen  by  torrents  from 
all  the  lateral  glens,  Jachel  has  become  the  chief  centre  of  traffic  for  all  the 
northern  districts  of  the  province.  From  this  poiat  numerous  convoys  of 
mules  are  directed  over  the  Cordilleras,  and  across  the  plateaux  to  the  two 
Chilian  seaports  of  Huasco  and  Coquimbo.  But  the  porterage  of  goods  eon- 
veyed  by  these  difficult  and  even  dangerous  routes  is  so  heavy  that  the  traffic 
must  entirely  cease  as  soon  as  the  Argentine  and  Chilian  railway  systems  are 
connected  by  the  inter-oceanic  trimk-lines  now  in  progress. 


Towns  of  the  Pkotince  of  Mendoza. 

Next  to  tbat  of  Tucuman,  the  province  of  Mendoza  is  the  most  populous  of  all 
tbe  Andean  regions  within  Argentine  territory.  It  owes  its  exceptional  impor- 
tance to  its  position  on  the  main  Continental  highway  between  Buenos  Ayres  and 
Valparaiso.  The  Cumbre  Pass,  over  which  will  be  carried  the  future  trans- 
Andean  railwaj-,  lies  between  Aconcagua  and  Tupungato,  loftiest  peaks  of  the 
Cordilleras.  Farther  south  the  range  is  interrupted  by  lower  passes ;  but  they  are 
little  frequented,  owing  to  their  remoteness  from  the  route  connecting  the  two 
vital  points  of  Chili  and  Argentina. 

Like  the  neighbouring  provinces,  llendoza  possesses  some  rich  mineral  deposits ; 
but  they  have  been  little  worked  during  the  present  century,  and  its  chief  resources 
are  its  vineyards,  cereals,  and  lucerne  meadows  watered  by  the  torrents  descend- 
ing from  the  Cordilleras.  Sericulture,  of  which  great  hopes  were  entertained 
when  introduced  about  the  year  1850,  has  since  been  abandoned.  Jointly  with 
the  provinces  of  San  Juan  and  San  Luis,  Mendoza  belongs  to  the  region  known 
by  the  name  of  Cuyo.  Under  the  Spanish  colonial  rule  this  region  depended 
administratively  on  the  government  of  Chili. 

Mendosa,  the  capital,  and  formerly  metropolis  of  the  Spanish  vice-royalty  of 
La  Plata,  was  founded  in  1560  on  a  plain  traversed  by  rivulets  utilised  as  irriga- 
tion rills.  But  it  does  not  occupy  its  original  site.  The  first  Mendoza,  built  with 
taller  houses  and  heavier  materials,  was  overthrown  in  a  few  minutes  by  the 
fearful  earthquake  of  1861.  The  catastrophe  occurred  on  Ash  Wednesday  eveuing, 
when  all  the  inhabitants  were  assembled  in  the  chiirches,  all  of  which  gave  way, 
burying  beneath  their  ruins  10,000,  or  according  to  some  13,000,  in  a  total  popula- 


438 


AMAZONIA  AKD  LA  PLA.TA. 


tion  of  less  than  15,000.  The  geologist  Bravard,  wlio  is  traditionally  said  to  have 
predicted  the  shock,  was  amongst  the  victims. 

As  Mendoza  is  not  situated  in  a  volcanic  region,  and  as  there  are  no  craters 
in  the  neighbouring  Andes,  the  place  can  scarcely  have  been  overthrown  bj'  an 
ordinary  igneous  disturbance.  Brackebusch  suggests  that  it  may  have  been 
caused  by  the  combustion  of  the  bituminous  beds  below  the  surface,  accompanied 
by  an  explosion  of  gas. 

In   rebuilding   the    city,    the    inhabitants  took    as    central   thoroughfare    the 


Fig.  172. — Mendoza. 

Scale  1  :  200,000. 


T        fM  M|«,n^       J^     j       r    t^f--      ^    \\  /■J' 


I      -'- 


68°  55' 


We.t  oF  Gn 


1 


3  Miles. 


Alameda,  an  avenue  of  poplars  and  elms,  which  formed  the  fashionable  resort  on 
fine  summer  evenings.  The  new  houses,  painted  in  bright  colours  and  built  of 
clastic  adobe,  which  vibrates  under  a  concussion,  are  disposed  along  the  banks  of 
a  canal  lined  with  rows  of  trees,  and  ornamented  with  fountains  and  waterfalls. 

Lying  on  the  main  highway  between  Buenos  Ay  res  and  Valparaiso,  Mendoza 
is  the  chief  station  between  the  two  Republics.  It  is  also  an  agricultural  centre  of 
the  first  importance,  and  seat  of  a  great  school  of  agriculture.     The  surround- 


=1 

■■4 


TOPOGRArUY  OF  AEGEXTINA. 


439 


ing  plains,  tlic  best  watcrccl  in  Argentina,  contain  admirable  invcrnndas,  artificially 
irrigated  meadows  yielding  splendid  crops  of  lucerne,  exported  with  wools,  hides, 
and  cattle,  especially  to  Chili.  The  wine  grown  in  the  district  is  all  sent  (o  Iho 
Eiieuos  Ayrcs  market.  In  some  years  as  many  as  50,000  horned  cattle  are 
forwarded  over  the  Cumbre  Pass  to  the  Chilian  markets. 

West  of  Mendoza  the  road  and  the  railway,  starting  from  an  altitude  of 
2,C40  feet,  run  south-west  through  the  Rio  de  Mendoza  Valley  to  Challao,  a 
watering-place  six  miles  from  the  cajntal,  and  thence  to  Uspallafa  about  6,200  feet 
above  the  sea.      Beyond  this  point  the  railway  has  been  carried  15  miles,  stopping 

V\s-  173. — TxcA  Beidge. 


at  present  (1894)  at  an  elevation  of  6,560  feet  below  Finifa  Vacas,  where  begin 
the  diificult  escarpments.  Casuckaa,  or  "  shelters,"  have  been  erected  at  intervals 
along  the  slope  of  the  Cumbre,  as  refuges  against  snow-storms  and  avalanches. 
One  of  these  nestles  at  the  foot  of  a  precipice  not  far  from  the  "  Inca's  Bridge," 
a  natural  arch  of  conglomerate  cemented  by  the  calcareous  deposits  of  thermal 
springs  (97°  Fahr.),  which  bubble  up  on  the  floor  of  a  cavern  and  fall  in  cascades 
down  to  the  Las  Cuevas  rivulet.  The  arch,  beneath  which  flows  the  creek,  rises 
70  feet  above  the  gorge,  and  has  a  span  of  100  feet ;  long  stalactites  hang  from 
the  overhanging  vault.  Although  no  bathing  establishments  have  yet  been 
founded  on  the  spot,   a  few  invalids,   especially  Chilians,   already  resort   to  tho 


440  Ail^^ONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

mineral  waters,  wiich  have  the  reputation  of  being  highly  efficacious  in  the  case 
of  rheumatic  complaints  and  affections  of  the  blood. 

But  Uspallata  itself,  although  presenting  some  advantages  as  an  agricultural 
centre,  has  hitherto  failed  to  attract  immigrants.  It  stands  at  too  great  an 
altitude,  about  6,350  feet,  and  consequently  remains  without  importance,  except 
as  a  frontier  custom-house.  Nor  have  any  great  returns  been  yielded  by  the 
mining  operations  carried  on  to  utilise  the  copper  and  other  mineral  deposits  of 
the  district.  During  the  last  century  the  Paramillo  mines,  which  stand  at  various 
elevations  between  9,000  and  10,000  feet,  were  actively  worked.  Enormous 
excavations  were  made  by  the  unfortunate  Araucanian  captives,  who  were 
employed  in  the  galleries,  and  perished  by  thousands.  On  these  uplands  the 
wind,  which  takes  the  name  oiparamillero,  from  the  district,  blows  at  times  with 
tremendous  fury. 


San  Carlos — The  San  Rafael  Coalfields. 

South  of  Mendoza  the  route  passes  San  Vicente,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a 
suburb  of  the  capital.  Some  60  miles  farther  south  it  reaches  San  Carlos,  the 
chief  station  between  Mendoza  and  San  Rafael.  San  Carlos  has  never  recovered 
the  disaster  of  1868,  when '  the  Indians  surprised  and  massacred  its  garrison, 
plundered  the  houses,  and  carried  oif  the  women.  At  present  the  settlers  in  the 
district,  nearly  all  Chilians,  live  in  isolated  houses  and  farmsteads  scattered  over 
the  surrounding  plains. 

Brighter  prospects  seem  to  be  in  store  for  San  Rafael,  which  stands  near  the 
banks  of  the  Rio  Diamante  at  the  point  where  it  issues  from  the  mountains. 
Thanks  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  its  numerous  streams,  and  the  relatively  easy 
passes  by  which  it  communicates  with  Chili,  this  place  promises,  in  the  near 
future,  to  become  one  of  the  chief  cities  of  Argentina.  Most  of  its  first  inhabi- 
tants were  refugees  from  other  provinces,  exiles  or  criminals,  who  were  known 
by  the  half-Indian  name  of  guayqueros,  or  "  ostrich-hunters."  They  acted  as 
guides  to  the  military  expeditions  during  the  operations  carried  on  in  the  region 
of  the  Andes. 

So  recently  as  1872  the  place  was  besieged,  or  at  least  blockaded,  by  the 
surrounding  nomad  tribes.  None  of  the  garrison  dared  to  venture  any  distance 
from  the  fort,  and  the  people  had  to  keep  their  cattle  carefully  guarded  in  two 
enclosures.  At  present  the  artificially  watered  grassy  plains  stretch  far  from  the 
town,  and  convoys  of  mules,  laden  with  fodder  for  the  Chilian  markets,  are 
constant!}'  crossing  the  Cordilleras  by  the  Planchon  and  Cruz  de  Piedra  passes. 
Near  San  Rafael  the  settlers  have  already  introduced  the  cultivation  of  the  vine, 
for  which  soil  and  climate  seem  well  suited. 

West  of  San  Rafael,  which  has  also  suffered  from  the  predatory  Indians,  the 
Argentine  foothills  contain  beds  of  coal,  which  certainly  belong  to  the  carboni- 
ferous formation,  and  not  to  the  triassic  system,  like  those  of  the  San  Juan  and 
Mendoza  districts.     The  coal  burns  with  a  clear  flame,  and  is  equal  in  quality  to 


TOPOGEAPHY  OF  AEQENTINA.  441 

arerage  Englisli  coal.     Numerous  beds  have  already  been  surveyed,  and  one  layer 
in  the  Eloim  mine  is  no  less  than  13  feet  thick. 

All  the  indications  seem  to  show  that  this  coalfield  stretches  southwards  under 
the  Jurassic  strata  as  far  as  the  Neuquen  district.  The  same  region  contains 
petroleum,  alabasters,  and  limestones,  valuable  as  building  material.  Moreover, 
the  ashes  of  the  San  Eafael  coal  have  a  large  proportion  of  vanidium,  the  salts  of 
which  are  the  best  mordants  for  aniline  dyes.  But  the  best  coal  pits  stand  at  a 
great  altitude,  from  8,000  to  10,000  feet,  and  are  covered  with  snow  in  winter. 
Hence  it  would  be  difEcult  to  work  them  with  profit  before  the  Rio  Diamante  is 
made  navigable,  and  these  elevated  regions  opened  up  by  the  railways  now  in 
course  of  construction  over  the  Cordilleras. 


Towns  of  the  Provinte  of  Sax  Luis. 

The  province  of  San  Luis,  separated  from  that  of  Mendoza  by  the  course  of 
the  Desaguadero  and  of  the  Salado,  comprises  a  portion  of  the  central  uplands 
and  stretches  far  into  the  southern  deserts.  It  is  one  of  the  most  thinly  peopled 
regions  of  Argentina,  although  abounding  in  mineral  resources,  and  very  fertile 
in  all  its  irrigable  districts.  It  has  also  the  advantage  of  lying  between  Cordoba 
and  Mendoza,  and  is  consequently  intersected  by  the  main  highway  between  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific. 

But  of  all  the  Argentine  populations  those  of  San  Luis  have  suffered  most 
from  the  border  warfare.  For  over  250  years,  from  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  city  of  San  Luis  was  the 
advanced  post  of  the  Spaniards  and  Argentines  against  the  Pampas  Indians  ;  and 
with  such  enemies  the  struggle  was  incessant,  ilore  than  once  the  Indian  horse- 
men even  advanced  beyond  San  Luis,  extending  their  incursions  into  the  settled 
districts,  either  as  conquerors,  or  as  allies  of  one  or  other  of  the  Argentine  factions. 
Of  aU  the  Hispano- American  peoples  none  have  taken  a  more  active  part  in  these 
fratricidal  conflicts,  in  which  the  youth  of  the  country  have  been  more  than 
decimated.  Hence,  even  still  the  proportion  of  women  is  greatly  in  excess  of  the 
men,  despite  the  stream  of  immigration,  in  which  the  males  always  outnumber  the 
females. 


City  of  Sax  Lris — Villa  Mercedes.  . 

Built  in  1597  by  Martin  de  Loyola,  nephew  of  Ignatius  Loyola,  founder  of 
the  Jesuit  Order,  San  Luis  was  long  known  by  the  name  of  Pttufa  de  los  Venudos, 
from  the  bluff  on  which  were  erected  the  first  houses  ;  hence  the  appellation  of 
Ptintanos,  given  to  the  inhabitants.  The  city  stands  at  an  altitude  of  2,500  feet 
on  the  slopes  of  the  Punta,  which  commands  an  extensive  prospect  of  the  surround- 
ing plains  and  mountains,  limited  westwards  by  the  snowj-  crests  dominated  by 
Tupungato  and  the  Cerro  de  Plata.     A  reservoir  containing  420  million  cubic 


442  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

feet  feeds  tbe  irrigation  rills  whic-h  ramify  over  the  neiglibonring  vineyards  and 
orchards.  But  the  gold  washings,  carried  on  in  the  highest  gorges  of  the 
mountain  near  the  Tomolasta  peak,  no  longer  yield  adequate  returns. 

Villa  Mercedes,  founded  in  1856  under  the  name  of  Fiieiie  Coiisfitncional,  has 
unexpectedly  risen  to  importance,  thanks  to  its  position  on  a  fertile  plain  watered 
by  the  Rio  Quinto  on  the  route  of  the  inter-oceanic  railway  at  the  point  where 
it  turns  the  Sierra  de  Cordoba  on  the  south.  Villa  Mercedes  thus  occupies  an 
advantageous  position  as  the  converging  point  of  the  future  trunk  lines  from 
Cordoba,  Rosario,  Buenos  Ayres,  Bahia  Blanca,  and  Mendoza.  Founded  in  a 
district  lately  wrested  from  the  Pamjjas  Indians,  this  place  continues  to  thrive 
and  increase  in  population  at  the  expense  of  Ar/iirns  and  San  Jose  del  Morro, 
stations  which  lie  farther  north  on  the  old  highway  to  Chili.  Villa  Mercedes  is 
surrounded  by  rich  lucerne  meadows. 

Towns  of  the  Province  of  Cordoba. 

Rio  Cuarto,  another  busy  station  of  the  Argentine  railway  system,  lies,  as 
indicated  by  its  name,  on  the  "  Fourth  "  of  the  rivers  descending  from  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  Cordoba  mountains.  It  lies  within  the  province  of  Cordoba, 
and,  like  San  Luis,  it  was  long  a  bulwark  against  the  Pampeans  on  the  extreme 
frontier  of  the  settled  districts  of  Argentina.  It  was  often  besieged,  the  women 
and  children  taking  refuge  in  the  churches,  while  the  men  fought  in  the  streets. 
Since  the  return  of  peace  its  agricultural  resources  have  been  developed  by  the 
construction  of  irrigation  works,  and  at  present  Rio  Cuarto  is  the  second  city  in 
the  province. 

Another  outlet  for  the  produce  of  the  district  is  afforded  by  the  twin  towns 
of  Villa  Maria  and  Villa  Nucra,  the  former  on  the  left,  the  latter  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Rio  Tercero,  which  is  here  crossed  by  a  railway  bridge. 

Fraijle  Muerto,  the  first  agricultural  colony  in  this  district,  was  founded  by 
English  settlers  in  18G8  ;  but  it  never  prospered,  and  the  colonists  dispersed. 
Since  then  peasants  of  other  nationalities  have  arrived  in  large  numbers,  and  the 
country  about  Bell-vilk,  as  Frayle  Muerto  is  now  called,  has  been  brought  largely 
under  cultivation,  yielding  rich  crops  of  lucerne  and  wheat. 

This  place  is  associated  with  the  fortunes  of  the  ill-fated  Henley  colony. 
Some  years  ago  there  arrived  from  England  "  a  strange  crew  of  yoimg  English 
gentlemen,  with  the  ostensible  object  of  cattle-farming.  If  energy  and  skill  in 
cana-drinking  and  horse-racing  are  the  sole  requisites  for  a  cattle-farmer,  then 
none  could  be  better  than  these.  These  young  men,  unsteady,  fresh  from  school 
and  college  and  regiment,  without  practical  knowledge  of  anything,  arrived  at 
Rosario  in  a  batch,  and  considerably  astonished  the  natives  by  their  manners  and 
customs.  The  Henlcyites  came  down  on  the  land  in  the  fashion  of  a  hostile 
army.  They  had  a  uniform  of  which  a  plumed  helmet  was  not  the  least  con- 
spicuous article ;  each  was  provided  with  a  regulation  rifle,  revolver,  and  sabre, 
besides  an  arsenal  of  wondei'ful  weapons  he  took  on  his  own  account  in  addition. 


TOPOGEAPnY  OF  AEGEXTIXA. 


443 


They  were  encamped  for  some  time  in  a  village  of  wooden  huts,  while  lands  were 
being  apportioned  out  to  them ;  and  here  they  soon  showed  what  manner  of 
colonists  they  were  going  to  be.  Drinking,  gambling,  and  horse-racing  was  the 
order  of  the  day.  The  capital  they  had  brought  with  them  took  unto  itself 
wings;  for  let  the  gringo  (European),  however  knowing  in  his  own  land,  skin 
his  eyes  ere  he  match  himself  on  the  turf  with  the  simple  gaucho  of  the  pampas. 


Fig.    17-1.— COBDOBA. 
Scale  1  :  SOO.OOO. 


liililc-s. 


"  So  things  went  on,  and  the  natives  smiled  at  the  ways  of  the  locos  Ingkses 
f'mad  Englishmen'),  won  their  money,  acquired  their  mortgaged  lauds,  while 
the  colonists  diminished  woefully  in  number.  Many  of  these  gentlemen  ultimately 
were  driven  to  take  any  menial  work  they  could  get ;  some  died  of  delirium 
tremens,  others  self-despatched  with  their  own  revolvers ;  the  remainder  settled 
down,  after  the  first  wild  burst  was  over,  with  diminished  means  to  the  business 
they  had  come  over  to  undertake.     The  prosperous  little  town  of  Frayle  iluerto 


414  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

has  been  built  for  the  most  part  on  the  spoils  that  have  been  M^rung  from  the 
ill-fated  Englishmen  by  publicans  and  usui'ers."  * 


City  of  Cordoba. 

Cordoba,  capital  of  the  province  and  second  largest  city  of  the  Republic  west  of 
the  Rio  Parana,  is  one  of  the  old  settlements  in  South  America,  having  been 
founded  by  Cabrera  in  1573,  seven  years  before  Buenos  Ayres.  Standing  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Rio  Primero  about  1,-300  feet  above  the  sea,  it  occupies  the 
deepest  part  of  a  valley  excavated  by  the  running  waters  between  high  lateral 
cliffs  ;  to  the  west  is  seen  the  breach  through  which  the  waters  escape  between 
two  steep  escarpments. 

Headquarters  of  the  Jesuit  rule  for  a  period  of  two  centuries,  Cordoba  till 
recently  still  presented  the  dull  aspect  of  an  ecclesiastical  town.  But  since  1870, 
when  it  was  brought  into  connection  with  the  Argentine  railway  system,  it  has 
again  become  a  busy  centre  of  trade  and  industry,  as  well  as  the  rival  of  Buenos 
Ayres  in  intellectual  progress.  The  university,  which  had  been  established  after 
the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  in  1767,  and  which,  possessing  neither  books,  instru- 
ments, collections,  nor  professors,  had  hitherto  taught  little  beyond  "  Church 
Latin  "  and  scholastic  philosophy,  was  re-constituted  in  1870  on  a  liberal  basis, 
and  since  then  serious  studies  have  been  introduced  by  a  staff  of  learned  teachers, 
for  the  most  part  German  naturalists. 

An  astronomic  observatory,  founded  at  the  same  time,  holds  an  honorable  posi- 
tion amongst  similar  institutions,  and  has  already  done  work  of  primary  impor- 
tance by  the  publication  of  a  chart  of  the  southern  heavens.  Cordoba  also  possesses 
a  meteorological  institute,  an  academy  of  science,  and  various  other  learned  institu- 
tions. The  atlas  bearing  the  name  of  Scelstrang  is  in  course  of  preparation  at  the 
geographical  bureau. 

Formerly  Cordoba  was  greatly  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  torrents  overflowing 
their  banks.  A  lateral  branch  of  the  Rio  Primero,  issuing  from  a  gorge  nearly 
always  dry,  sent  down  at  times  sudden  avalanches  of  mud  and  slush.  A  murallon 
or  dam  constructed  in  1671  still  holds  back  the  storm  waters,  and  a  similar  work 
on  a  colossal  scale  was  recently  undertaken  to  embank  the  Rio  Primero.  A  barrage 
erected  at  the  issue  from  the  mountains  near  San  Roque  arrested  the  flood  waters, 
and  regulated  the  discharge,  both  for  the  supply  of  the  city  and  for  irrigation  pur- 
poses. Above  this  dyke,  which  is  no  less  than  100  feet  broad  at  the  base,  and 
over  16  at  the  top,  and  344  feet  long,  a  navigable  lake  would  have  been  created 
■nith  a  depth  of  over  116  feet,  a  superficial  area  of  64  square  miles,  and  a  capacity 
of  over  9,000  million  cubic  feet.  It  would,  in  fact,  have  been  the  largest  artificial 
basin  of  the  kind  in  the  world. 

But,  as  has  so  often  been  the  case  elsewhere,  the  contractors  had  tried  to  cff'ect 
savings  by  the  use  of  an  inferior  mortar  for  cementing  these  cyclojDic  walls,  and 

*  Kiiiglit,  op.  cit.,  p.  Iu7. 


TOPOGE.iPIIY  OF  AEGENTINA.  445 

dangerous  fissures  made  their  appearance  in  the  barrier.  The  level  of  the  lake  had 
consequently  to  be  limited  to  70  feet,  which  corresponds  to  a  capacitj'  of  2,000 
million  cubic  feet,  a  quantity  still  sufficient  for  the  irrigation  of  at  least  100,000 
acres.  In  1890  a  single  downpour  of  six  hours'  duration  caused  three-fourths  of 
the  contents  of  the  reservoir  to  escape,  bursting  a  canal,  by  which  the  city  was 
laid  under  water,  and  several  hundred  houses  destroyed ;  fortunately  most  of  tho 
inhabitants  were  able  to  effect  a  timely  retreat. 

In  the  neighbourhood  is  the  settlement  of  Puchllto,  inhabited  by  Indian  half- 
breeds,  who  since  its  foundation  have  always  remained  under  the  direct  control  of 
Cordoba.  Farther  up  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains  is  the  health  resort  of  Cosquin, 
frequented  during  the  fine  season  by  consumptive  and  other  patients.  A  railway, 
running  from  Cordoba  by  San  Roque  and  Cosquin  up  to  the  sources  of  the  Rio 
Primero,  and  descending  westwards  to  the  salinas  of  Rioja,  traverses  a  formerly 
productive  mineral  region,  which  now  yields  but  little  of  the  precious  metal. 
Hence  the  Cordoba  mint,  which  coined  the  gold  from  these  mountains,  has  long 
been  closed.  /bV«  Pedro  and  Dolores,  the  chief  places  in  the  mining  district,  now 
depend  on  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  surrounding  plains. 


Towns  of  the  Provixce  of  Buenos  Ayres. 

The  province  of  Buenos  Aj^res,  in  which  is  situated  the  capital  of  Argentina^ 
comprises  less  than  a  tenth  part  of  the  domain  of  the  Republic.  But  its  advan- 
tageous position  has  enabled  it  to  take  a  much  higher  rank  in  respect  of  wealth 
and  population.  In  the  fertility  of  its  soil,  and  even  in  its  climatic  conditions  it 
cannot  compare  with  many  other  provinces  ;  but  it  enjoj's  the  primary  advantage 
of  easy  access  to  foreign  trade  and  immigration. 

But  not  satisfied  with  its  economic  preponderance,  Buenos  Ayres  has  long 
aspired  to  political  supremacy.  In  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  its  inhabitants 
expected  to  take  the  place  of  the  metropolis  as  the  centre  of  authoritj^,  and  forth- 
with began  to  issue  orders  to  the  other  sections  of  the  colonial  empire.  Such 
was  the  cause  of  the  civil  wars  between  "  unionists "  and  "  federalists,"  which 
have  cost  torrents  of  blood,  and  which  for  a  time  even  divided.  Argentina,  into 
two  separate  States. 

City  of  Buenos  Ayres 

The  city  to  which  its  founder,  Mendoza,  gave  the  name  of  Puerto  Santa  Maria 
de  Buenos  Ayres,  is  not  a  natural  "  puerto  "  (haven),  despite  its  name  and  despite 
i^iQ  term  Puertenos,  "Harbour  Folk,"  aijplied  to  its  inhabitants.  On  the  long, 
low-lying  strand  of  the  estuary  there  are  no  deep  inlets  of  any  kind,  and  the  spot 
chosen  for  the  settlement  offered  to  the  first  arrivals  nothing  but  a  rocky  hard,  or 
landing-place  for  the  boats  of  the  vessels  which  had  to  ride  at  anchor  in  the 
offing-. 


446  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Even  at  present,  despite  the  artificial  port,  basins,  breakwaters,  and  ottGa- 
recently  completed  harbour  works,  Buenos  Aj'res  is  scarcely  distinguished  from 
the  uniform  contour  line  of  the  horizon  ;  masts,  funnels,  towers,  all  appear,  seen 
from  the  estuary,  as  if  rising  above  a  floating  island.  Without  hills,  or  any 
broken  ground  rising  more  than  60  feet  above  the  surface,  Buenos  Ayres  can 
present  no  imposing  or  conspicuous  object  to  visitors  arriving  from  any  point  of 
the  compass.  The  streets,  laid  out  in  the  monotonous  chessboard  fashion  of  so 
many  American  cities,  stretch  away  in  interminable  straight  lines,  unbroken  by 
any  natural  obstacle  causing  a  change  of  direction.  Towards  the  south  alone  the 
regularity  of  the  geometrical  plan  is  somewhat  interrupted  by  the  scarps  of  a 
terrace,  which  fall  abruptly  towards  the  Riachuelo,  the  "  Brook,"  as  the  neighbour- 
ing rivulet  is  called.  A  little  variety  in  the  quadrilateral  blocks  of  houses  has  also 
been  introduced  by  the  railway  lines  and  stations,  and  some  other  structures. 

Although  its  site  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  chosen  for  a  Spanish  settlement, 
Buenos  Ayres  is  not  the  oldest  city  in  the  Republic.  In  1-53.J,  that  is,  eight  years 
after  the  erection  of  the  fortress  of  Espiritu  Santo,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Carcaraiia,  Diego  de  Mendoza  penetrated  into  the  Riachuelo,  and  erected  a  few 
huts  on  the  terrace  dominating  this  streamlet.  But  being  unable  to  maintain 
friendly  relations  with  the  Querandi  Indians,  he  soon  found  himself  blocked 
with  his  soldiers  and  settlers  in  his  narrow  camping-ground.  Assaults  and  conflicts 
followed  with  varying  success ;  but  the  little  colony  failing  to  shake  ofi"  the 
enemy,  Alvar  Nunez  broke  up  the  settlement  in  1542,  when  the  district  was 
restored  to  the  Indians. 

Repulsed  in  this  direction,  the  Spaniards  turned  their  arms  in  the  direction 
of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay  rivers,  where  the  natives  had  submitted  without 
much  show  of  resistance.  But  the  progress  of  the  whites  in  the  interior 
rendered  all  the  more  indispensable  the  foundation  of  a  trading  place  on  the 
shores  of  the  estuary.  It  seemed  rash  to  attempt  to  gain  a  footing  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  warlike  Charruas  of  the  Banda  Oriental,  hence  it  was  decided  to  recover 
the  position  abandoned  on  the  Riachuelo.  In  1580  Juan  de  Garay,  at  the  head  of 
sixty  soldiers  and  a  troop  of  Indian  auxiliaries,  resumed  possession  of  the  terrace 
at  Buenos  Ayres.  The  Querandi  natives  had  at  the  time  withdrawn  from  the 
district,  and  the  leaders  at  once  set  about  distributing  the  land. 

The  establishment  of  a  commercial  station  at  the  entrance  to  the  vast  flu^-ial 
basin  of  La  Plata  could  not  fail  to  affect  the  interests  of  the  old  trade  routes. 
The  merchants  of  Cadiz  and  Seville,  who  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the  traffic  with 
the  New  World  by  the  New  Grenada  and  Peruvian  routes,  exacted  from  the 
Government  the  monstrous  condition  that  European  goods  destined  for  La  Plata 
should  be  forwarded  by  the  way  of  Peru  and  the  Upper  Paraguay. 

Nevertheless,  Buenos  Ayres  managed  to  secure  a  few  concessions,  while  the 
contraband  trade  was  rapidly  developed  by  the  establishment  of  a  Portuguese 
colony  at  Sacramento  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  estuary.  But  the  place  developed 
ver}^  slowly,  and  in  1744,  over  a  century  and  a  half  after  its  foundation,  the 
population  still  fell  short  of  20,000.     It  continued  to  languish  till  the  year  177G, 


TOPOGEArHT  OF  AEGENTINA  447 

when  the  Platean  territories  were  severed  from  tlie  political  and  commercial 
supremacy  of  Peru,  and  constituted  a  separate  viceroyalty  in  direct  dependence 
on  the  home  Government.  By  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  Buenos  Ayres 
was  already  a  large  city  with  50,000  inhabitants,  and  as  many  more  in  the 
surrounding  district. 

Although  wars  and  civil  strife  were  ushered  in  with  the  period  of  political 
independence,  Buenos  Ayres  never  ceased  to  develop,  and  since  European 
immigration  has  assumed  the  character  of  an  exodus,  the  capital  of  La  Plata, 
till  recently  inferior  to  several  other  places  in  South  America  and  to  the  two 
chief  cities  of  Australia,  now  ranks  as  the  largest  centre  of  population  in  the 
whole  of  the  southern  hemisphere.*  At  times  local  revolutions,  epidemics,  and 
financial  crises  have  occasioned  a  temporary  falling  off;  but  the  normal  yearly 
increase  by  the  excess  of  births  over  the  mortality  ranges  from  10,000  to 
14,000,  and  to  this  must  be  added  a  share  of  the  general  immigration,  estimated 
at  about  one-fifth  of  all  the  passengers  landed. 

The  city,  covering  a  very  large  area  in  proportion  to  its  population,  extends 
for  a  space  of  about  ten  miles  along  the  river,  from  Belgrano  to  Barracas,  and  for 
about  the  same  distance  from  the  estuary  towards  the  inland  plains.  North  west- 
wards a  long  suburb  stretches  away  in  the  direction  of  the  Parana ;  westwards 
several  quarters  are  advancing  towards  San  Jose  dc  Florcs  ;  in  the  south  con- 
tinuous lines  of  houses  reach  all  the  way  to  La  Boca  and  Barracas  on  the  banks 
of  the  Riachuelo,  and  the  whole  municipality  comprises  a  space  of  about  70 
square  miles;  but  the  ground  actually  covered  by  structures  is  not  more  than  18 
square  miles,  or  about  half  the  extent  of  Paris.  Since  1870  Buenos  Ayres,  like 
Eio,  Monte  Video,  and  all  the  other  large  South- American  cities,  has  been  amply 
sujjplied  with  tramways,  which  do  a  relatively  larger  business  than  those  of 
European  towns.  Six  local  railways  also  radiate  from  the  quays  to  several  urban 
stations. 

Before  the  creation  of  colossal  fortimes  b}'  trade  and  speculation,  all  the 
streets  and  all  the  houses  were  very  much  alike.  As  regulated  in  colonial  times 
by  a  formal  enactment  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  the  streets  had  an  average 
width  of  10  rarcs  (4-j  feet),  and  formed  maiizanaa,  or  blocks,  430  feet  on  all  sides, 
with  footpaths  about  three  or  four  feet  wide  along  both  sides  of  the  road- 
way. The  normal  type  of  dwelling,  modelled  on  those  of  Cadiz  and  Seville, 
presents  to  the  street  an  apartment  with  two  windows,  and  a  railed  vestibule 
giving  a  view  of  the  shrubs  and  flowers  of  ajxdio,  or  inner  court,  surrounded  by 
chambers. 

Formerly  the  houses  had  only  one  storey,  or  often  merely  a  ground-floor. 
But  the  increasing  value  of  the  land,  about  the  same  in  the  central  quarters  as 
that  of  European  capitals,  has  induced  the  ground  landlords  to  build  upwards,  as 
the  busy  quarters — in  the  east  near  the  harbour,  in  the  north  near  the  Palermo 
park  and  the  fashionable  Belgrano  district — are  being  gradually  reconstructed 

*  Population  of  Buenos  Ayres,  July  31,  1S93  :  509,122. 


448  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

with  loftier  and  more  sumptuous  houses,  no  longer  modelled  on  the  old  Andalusian 
type. 

But  since  Buenos  Ayres  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  contractors  and 
builders,  it  has  begun  to  assume  more  and  more  the  composite  and  commonplace 
aspect  of  most  other  modern  capitals.  Except  brick  and  sand,  the  soil  of  the 
district  yields  none  of  the  materials  employed  in  the  construction  and  embellish- 
ment of  its  buildings.  The  banks  vie  with  each  other  in  the  display  of  imported 
marbles  and  metals,  and  the  two  English  banks  are  really  fine  structures,  which 
would  be  an  ornament  to  any  city.  Granite  and  mica  schists  come  from  the 
island  of  Martin  Garcia ;  the  marbles  from  Italy ;  the  flagstones  of  the  side-paths 
and  courts  are  brought  b}'  English  vessels ;  the  lime  is  prepared  on  the  banks  of 
Uruguay  and  Parana  rivers ;  the  ordinary  timber  is  felled  in  Norway  and  Canada* 
while  Brazil  and  Paraguay  forward  the  costly  cabinet  woods,  and  France  most  of 
the  furniture,  bronzes  and  mirrors. 

The  chief  monuments  are  concentrated  near  the  shore  on  the  spot  where 
Juan  de  Garay  erected  his  first  humble  habitations.  The  Casa  Sosada,  now  the 
Government  palace,  near  the  custom  house,  was  the  old  viceregal  fort,  often 
restored  and  entirely  rebuilt  towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Close 
by  the  Mayo  or  Victoria  Square  is  lined  by  the  palace  of  Congress,  the  Town 
Hall,  Exchange,  Colon  Theatre  and  the  Cathedral,  with  its  ambitious  peristyle 
of  Corinthian  columns.  At  this  central  quarter  begins  the  still  unfinished 
Boulevard  de  Mayo,  a  spacious  thoroughfare  which  is  to  intersect  the  Calluo 
Boulevard  in  the  centre  of  the  city.  Near  the  Maj'O  Square  is  also  situated  the 
great  terminal  station,  whence  radiate  most  of  the  Hues  of  the  Argentine  railway 
system. 

All  nationalities  have  their  representatives  in  Buenos  Ayres,  the  great 
"crucible "  in  which  the  Argentine  nation  is  being  ground  and  amalgamated. 
In  this  Babel  of  races  and  languages  the  natives  are  not  even  in  a  majority,  and 
in  1892  they  constituted-  no  more  than  a  fifth  of  all  the  citizens.  At  that  time 
the  Italians  were  twice  as  numerous,  and  in  some  quarters  little  is  heard  except 
the  Genoese,  Neapolitan,  or  other  Italian  dialects. 

Buenos  Ayres  cannot  be  called  a  healthy  citj',  and  although  the  birth-rate 
exceeds  that  of  some  large  European  capitals,  the  mortality  is  also  very  high,  over 
24  per  thousand  in  1891.  The  new  drainage  system  had  not  been  begun  before 
the  two  great  epidemics  of  cholera  in  1SG7  and  yellow  fever  in  1871,  the  former 
of  which  carried  off  15,000,  the  latter  as  many  as  26,000  victims.  The  works, 
which  have  already  cost  £0,000,000,  are  still  far  from  complete,  four-fifths  of 
the  houses  not  having  yet  been  connected  with  the  main  sewer  16  miles  long, 
which  discharges  into  the  estuary  near  Qui/ines,  east  of  the  city.  The  water 
supply  is  obtained  about  a  mile  above  Belgrano  from  a  part  of  the  estuary  which, 
though  quite  fresh,  is  charged  with  sediment.  The  water  is  conveyed  by  a  tunnel 
nearly  four  miles  long  to  the  reservoirs  of  La  Eccoleta,  just  north  of  the  cit_^. 
But  the  daily  supply,  about  15,000,000  gallons,  is  inadequate,  and  in  1893  as 
many  as  10,000  out  of  40,000  houses  were  still  without  water  from  this  source. 


I 


o 
-J 


o 


TOPOGEAPUT  OF  AEGEXTIXA.  449 

There  are  also  numerous  artesian  wells,  some  sunk  in  1860  to  depths  of  800  or 
900  feet ;  but  the  water  is  too  brackish  to  be  of  any  use  for  domestic  purposes. 
Since  then  the  freshwater  has  been  tapped  which  comm>micates  with  the  Rio 
Parana  at  depths  of  from  84  to  100  feet  below  the  surface.  In  1884  as  many  as 
150  of  these  wells  had  already  been  opened,  the  most  copious  j-ielding  over 
1,400  cubic  feet  per  hour.  These  underground  reservoirs  seem  to  be  inex- 
haustible. 

To  meet  the  increasing  demands  of  the  shipping  in  a  soaport  concentrating 
in  itself  three-fourths  of  all  the  trade  of  the  Republic,  more  than  one  attempt  has 
been  made  to  improve  the  approaches  and  create  a  good  artificial  harbour.  At 
first  the  mouth  of  the  Riachuelo,  where  Mendoza  had  moorod  his  caravals,  was 
embanked,  and  the  entrance  dredged  deep  enough  to  admit  vessels  drawing 
16  feet ;  the  dredging  is  still  in  progress,  and  wiU  ultimately  attain  a  depth  of 
18  or  20  feet. 

Another  project,  on  a  much  larger  scale,  begim  in  1887,  consists  in  construct- 
ing along  the  whole  frontage  of  the  city  four  basins  23  feet  deep  protected  by 
a  granite  breakwater,  and  provided  with  warehouses,  cranes,  and  railways.  When 
fully  carried  out,  this  scheme,  which  has  already  cost  nearly  £8,000,000,  will 
give  to  Buenos  Ayres  a  harbour  incomparably  superior  to  that  of  Monte  Yideo. 
Instead  of  anchoring  in  the  middle  of  the  estuary  16  miles  from  the  city,  most 
of  the  large  vessels  already  avail  themselves  of  three  of  the  basins  completed  in 
1893,  or  of  La  Boca,  "the  mouth,"  as  the  port  of  Riachuelo  is  called.  In 
the  last  century,  the  channel  not  having  yet  been  buoyed,  vessels  sailed  on 
the  estuarv  only  during  the  day,  preceded  by  two  pilot  boats  taking  the 
soundings,  quaintly  compared  by  iluratori  to  hounds  on  the  scent  ahead  of  the 
sportsman. 

The  imports  not  only  comprise  manufactured  wares  and  other  goods  required 
for  the  local  demand  and  for  the  interior,  but  also  the  plant  and  raw  materials 
for  distQleries,  flour  mills,  foimdries,  tanneries,  and  other  industries  bolstered  up 
bv  prohibitive  tariffs  at  the  expense  of  the  consiimer.  In  exchange  are  forwarded 
wools,  provisions,  cheese,  maize,  and  other  produce. 

Although  well  supplied  with  theatres,  music  halls,  and  such-like  resorts  of 
pleasure,  Buenos  Ayres,  apart  from  a  few  little  gardens  and  some  promenades 
planted  with  trees,  has  only  one  park,  the  Palermo,  situated  on  the  shore  of  the 
estuarv  near  the  fashionable  quarters  on  the  road  to  the  suburban  districts  of 
Belgrano,  San  liidro,  San  Fernando,  and  Los  Conchas.  This  magnificent  public 
garden,  traversed  by  a  superb  avenue  of  palms,  possesses  some  fine  botamcal  and 
zoological  collections. 

The  University,  which  occupies  the  site  of  the  old  Jesuit  College,  contains 
the  Xarional  Library  of  60,000  volumes,  and  the  Museum  founded  in  1823  by 
Rivadavia,  and  for  many  years  administered  by  the  naturalist,  Hermann  Bur- 
meister.  This  museum  possesses  a  most  valuable  paleontological  collection,  and 
amongst  other  remarkable  objects  a  meteorite  which  fell  in  the  province  of  Entre- 
Rios  in  1880,  and  which  contains  carbon  substances. 

vol..  XIX.  o  <■ 


450  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


The  City  of  La  Plata. 


Ln  Plittn,  capital  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  owes  its  origin,  not  to 
individual  enterprise,  but  to  administrative  exigencies.  The  municipality  of 
Buenos  Ayres  having  been  "  federalised  "  by  Act  of  Parliament,  the  seat  of  the 
provincial  Government  had  to  be  transferred  to  some  place  beyond  the  municipal 
limits.  Some  already  existing  town  might  have  been  chosen  ;  but  it  was  thought 
preferable  to  start  fresh  vyith  a  "  ready-made  "  city  on  the  open  pampas,  provided 
from  the  first  with  all  the  comforts,  sanitary  requirements,  and  refinements  of 
modern  culture. 

Fortunately,  an  excellent  site  was  selected  in  a  healthy  district  near  the 
ensenada  (inlet)  of  Barragan,  the  best  haven  on  the  whole  coast.  The  Spaniards 
had  frequented  the  roadstead  for  two  centuries,  and  on  several  occasions  harbour 
works  were  constructed  for  the  convenience  of  shipping.  Within  the  new 
municipal  district,  comprising  an  area  of  GO  square  miles,  there  already  existed 
two  little  towns,  Tolosa,  with  extensive  railway  works,  and  Ensenada,  on  the 
Barragan  inlet,  with  a  collective  population  of  8,000. 

La  Plata,  which  occupies  a  central  position  in  the  municipality,  made  rapid 
progress  at  first.  Within  eighteen  months  of  its  foundation  in  1 882,  the  chief 
provincial  administrations  were  already  established  in  palaces  resplendent  with 
gildings,  marbles  and  cabinet-work.  The  census,  taken  every  year,  indicated  an 
extraoi'dinary  increase,  sometimes  exceeding  a  thousand  a  month. 

Then  came  the  inevitable  reaction.  After  the  ofiicial  buildings  were  com- 
pleted, when  the  contractors,  builders,  and  gangs  of  workmen  had  to  be  dis- 
charged, a  financial  crisis  added  to  the  difficulties  caused  by  the  stoppage  of  the 
works,  and  it  was  discovered  that  the  co-existence  of  two  large  administrative 
centres  30  miles  apart  was  too  great  a  burden  for  the  economic  condition  of 
Argentina.  The  principals,  bound  to  reside  near  their  respective  bureaus, 
regretted  the  attractions  of  the  neighbouring  capital,  with  its  theatres,  its  places 
of  amusement,  its  restless  political  and  social  Life,  its  varied  pursuits,  busy  streets 
and  noisy  traffic. 

Nevertheless,  the  dullness  of  La  Plata  cannot  fail  soon  to  be  relieved  by  the 
growth  of  local  industries,  and  meantime  this  city  has  acquired  some  importance 
as  a  scholastic  centre.  The  chief  buildings  dedicated  to  science  and  instruction 
have  been  erected  in  the  middle  of  a  shady  park  or  in  the  vicinity.  Such  are 
the  Agricultural  and  Veterinary  Schools,  the  Observatory,  well  furnished  with 
excellent  instruments,  and  especially  the  Museum,  founded  in  188-4  by  the 
explorer  and  naturalist,  Francisco  Moreno,  and  enriched  with  his  valuable  collec- 
tions and  library.  Since  then  the  zeal  of  a  numerous  band  of  explorers  has 
added  greatly  to  its  treasures.  The  whole  series  of  geological  formations,  the 
stratified  layers  abounding  in  fossils,  the  burial-grounds  of  hundreds  of  extinct 
tribes,  have  furnished  a  surprising  quantity  of  rare  objects,  all  methodically 
classified,  which  in  certain  branches  of  paleontology  and  archfcology  give  the 
La  Plata  Museum    the  foremost   place  amongst  such   institutions.       The  very 


TOPOGBAPHY  OF  AEGEXTIXA. 


451 


ground  on  which  the  city  stands  has  yielded  skeletons,  chipped  stones,  worked 
bones,  and  other  human  remains. 


Ensexada— Tan-dil— Bahia  Blanca. 

The  port  of  La  Plata,  the  ancient  Emenada,  5  miles  from  the  centre  of  the 
capital,  has  realised  the  hopes  of  its  founders.  Its  principal  basin,  3,670  feet 
long  and  160  feet  wide,  is  20  feet  deep  at  low  water,  and  is  accessible  at  flow  to 
the  largest  vessels.  But  the  merchandise  here  landed  is  destined  almost  entirely 
for  Buenos  Ayres.      The  chief  drawback  to  the  port  and  neighbouring  city  is 


Fi?.  175. — La  Plata  ^usettm. 


ir^ 

^ 

iBpk        -    =;3S?l'l'     ''■•■•- '  '^''^  nflL 

1          '^ 

1 

caused  by  the  Buenos  Ayres  drainage  system,  which  has  its  outlet  near  QuUmes, 
and  which  threatens  eventually  to  choke  the  harbour  with  its  pestiferous  deposits. 
Nevertheless  as  a  seaport,  Ensenada  has  a  double  advantage  over  Buenos  Ayres. 
It  is  reached  by  a  buoyed  channel  rather  under  four  miles  instead  of  nine  miles 
in  length ;  wharfage  dues  are  also  much  lower,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
provincial  government  has  expropriated  all  the  foreshore  for  the  harbour,  quays, 
docks,  and  wharfs.  But  in  wet  weather  the  place  presents  a  dismal  appearance, 
all  the  thoroughfares  being  transformed  to  almost  impassable  quagmires. 

East  of  La  Plata  there  are  no  towns  properly  so-called  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  estuary.  iFagdalena,  the  most  important  place  in  the  district,  Ues  3  miles 
inland,  but  possesses  a  few  saladeros  at  the  port  of  Atalaya  on  the  coast.  Pleasure- 
seekers  and  invalids  from  Buenos  Ayres  resort  in  the  season  to  the  favourite 
watering-place  of  J/ar  del  Plata,  which  lies  near  Cape  Corricntes,  2-50  miles  by 
rail  from  the  capital.      Other  watering-places  are  springing  up  farther  north 

G  g2 


452 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


near  Mar  Chiquita,  and  on  the  south  coast  near  Necochea  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Quequen. 

The  railway  connecting  Mar  del  Plata  with  Buenos  Aj^res  passes  Ckascomtis, 
"  Lake  Town,"  so  named  from  the  surrounding  lagoons,  beyond  which  follow  the 
stations  of  Dolores  and  Maipu,  with  a  branch  at  this  place  running  to  the 
picturesque  town  of  Tanclil  (650  feet),  at  the  issue  of  a  broad  gap  in  the  range 
stretching  in  the  direction  of  Cape  Corrientes.      This  pass  of  Tandil   was  the 


Fig.  170. — Mount  Tandil  at  Cape  Coeeientes. 

Scile  1  :  2,000,000. 


Depths, 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


5  to  25 
Fathoms. 


2B  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 

.  60  Miles. 


gateway  through   which  the   predatory  Indians  penetrated  into  the    plains  o£ 
Buenos  Ajtcs.      Hence,  in  1822,  a  fort  was  erected  at  this  strategical  point. 

Some  miles  from  Tandil  is  seen  the  famous  piedra  movcdiza,  or  "  logging  rock," 
an  erratic  boidder  weighing  270  tons,  poised  at  a  single  point  of  its  broad  base 
on  a  steep  granite  cM.  Although  it  sways  in  the  wind,  according  to  a  local 
tradition  a  team  of  thirty  oxen  failed  to  upset  it.  This  block  was  sacred  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Indians,  and  is  still  regarded  with  awe  by  the  Gauchos.  On 
January  1st,  1873,  a  band  of  about  100  natives  made  it  their  trysting-place  on  an 


TOPOGEAPnT  OF  AEGEXTINA. 


453 


expedition  against  the  Europeans  of  whom  some  forty  were  massacred.      Tandil 
supplies  Buenos  Arres  with  marbles  and  other  building  materials. 

Farther  north  the  town  of  Azul,  formerly  Calufu,  both  terms  meaning  "  blue," 
lies  midwav  on  the  line  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Bahia  Blanca  ;  in  respect  of 
trade  and  population,  Azul  is  at  present  the  chief  place  in  this  inland  region. 
The  whole  of  the  pampas  from  the  Plate  estuary  to  Bahia  Blanca  has  already  been 
divided  into  allotments  separated  by  wire  fences.  Everywhere  the  land  has  its 
ovmer ;  yet  outside  the  towns  few  people  are  met,  and  little  seen  except  the  flocks 
and  their  shepherds.     Nevertheless  Azul  and  its  western  neighbour  Olacarria  are 


Fig.  17 


-Ekraiic  Bouldebs  op  Taitdii.. 


snrronnded  by  settlements  cultivated  by  peasants  of  all  nationalities,  but  especially 
Danes  and  Russian  ilennonites. 

The  districts  of  the  province  west  of  Buenos  Ayres  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  Parana  and  about  the  inter-oceanic  raUway,  are  the  most  thickly  peopled  of 
all  the  pampas  regions.  Several  thriving  places  follow  along  the  lines  of  railway, 
amongst  others  Lobos,  Veinte  ij  Cinco  de  Mayo,  Mercedes,  ChhUcoy,  Chacahuco, 
Junin,  Pergamino  and  Arrecifes.  Here  were  first  discovered,  in  1766,  the  remains 
of  the  great  pre-historic  animals  of  Argentina.  A  megatherium  forwarded  to 
Madrid  enabled  Cuvier,  from  its  description  alone,  to  classify  this  gigantic  species 
in  the  animal  series. 


454 


AMAZONIA  AKD  LA  PLATA. 


Southwards  follows  Trcnque  Lauquen,  which  was  formerly  one  of  the  strongest 
strategical  posts  on  the  Indian  frontier.  South  of  this  place  and  of  the  chain  of 
forts  connecting  it  with  the  natural  "moat"  formed  by  the  Giiamini  lakes,  settlers 
are  still  but  thinly  scattered  over  the  region  of  hills  and  lagoons,  which  forms 
the  watershed  between  the  E,io  Salado  and  the  Patagonian  rivers. 


Bahia  Blanca — Cakmen  de  Patagones. 

Groups  of  population  become  more  numerous  in  the  direction  of  Bahia  Blanca, 
a  place  which  seems  destined  for  a  great  future.     In  1828  a  fort  was  first  erected. 


Fiff.  178. — Chains  of  Laies  and  Foets. 


Scale  1  :  1,400,000. 


37' 


Part 
e 


;    d  a 


^fo'-tm 
♦Fortifi 
♦Fortin 
*Fortio 
•Fortin 


G    u    a 


o,^ 


'0     o 


'i       ^   *Fortin 

«Deheza 
♦FrZapioIa 
5=»     ♦F^Corresa 


mini 


,5  <•■*'■■»» 


6     ,ja     "^    4<5  ♦F^^Bnavos 

•.»*  r^Marbnez  ♦*F^Lamadrid 

''JMnac/o    «»»  J'      ■    .FTRosrtti 

.FtR, 


„  *  a     *o  /     "^  ''    '   •F*RaucW      >^l 


n  ^rrLepuco         "> 


F^Trabajo 


37' 


ivest  or  breenwich 


63' 


SO  Miles. 


not  on  the  sandy  bay,  but  some  6  miles  off,  near  the  morass  where  the  Eio  de 
Naposta  runs  out.  The  first  settlers,  three  S-ndss,  arrived  in  1863,  and  they  were 
soon  followed  by  immigrants  of  all  nationalities.  But  before  1882  no  European 
steamer  had  touched  at  the  port,  and  at  that  time  the  sailing  vessels  engaged  in 
the  local  traffic  represented  a  j'early  burden  of  not  more  than  6,000  tons. 

Bahia  Blanca,  that  is,  "  White  Bay,"  enjoys  exceptional  advantages.  The 
harbour,  lying  about  4  miles  from  the  town,  is  perfectly  sheltered  by  a  chain  of 
islets,  and  even  at  low  water  has  a  depth  of  33  leet,  and  of  16  feet  close  up  to 


TOPOGEAPHT  OF  AEGENTINA. 


455 


the  landing  stage.  Surrounded  by  vineyards,  whicli  yield  the  much  esteemed 
Chocoli  wine,  Bahia  Blanca  enjoys  a  climate  analogous  to  that  of  "West  Europe, 
and  corresponds  in  latitude  to  that  part  of  Chili  between  Concepcion  and 
Taldi^'ia,  where  the  plants  of  the  temperate  zone  thrive  best.  It  is  connected 
with  Buenos  Ayres  by  two  railways  and  a  weekly  service  of  steamers.  It  also 
trades  directly  with  the  European  seaports,  and  holds  the  first  Unks  in  the  chain 
of  railways  by  which  this  seaboard  will  ultimately  be  connected  with  the  ujiland 
valleys  of  the  Eio  Colorado  and  with  the  Chilian  harbour  of  Valdivia. 

Bahia  Blanca  receives  its  supply  of  water  by  a  canal  derived  from  the  Rio 


Kg.  179. — Bahu  Blasca. 

Scale  1 :  1,400,000. 


I  Hcvn«ro  Grande 


WestoFGrcen^xK 


Depths. 


0  to5 

Fathoms. 


5  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


.  EO  MUes. 


Naposta,  and  from  two  artesian  wells  sunk  in  the  district  between  the  town  and 
the  estuary  to  the  respective  depths  of  790  and  886  feet.  But  although  drinkable 
the  water  from  this  source  is  charged  with  a  certain  quantity  of  salt,  which  it  is 
hoped  may  be  got  rid  of  by  more  closely  cementing  the  sides  of  the  wells. 

Extensive  swamps,  especially  in  the  direction  of  Cuairero,  have  already  been 
drained  seawards  and  the  slush  replaced  by  the  pure  water  of  irrigation  canals. 
These  hitherto  unproductive  tracts  are  now  covered  with  gardens  and  fields. 

The  great  territorial  division,  which  takes  the  name  of  La  Panipa,  and  which 
is  traversed  by  the  Eio  Salado  as  far  as  Lake  Urre  Lafqucn  north  of  the  Rio 


450  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Colorado,  has  Babia  Blanca  as  its  natural  outlet  aud  future  metropolis.  General 
Acha,  so-named  from  one  of  the  military  captains  of  Argentina,  is  its  present 
capital.     The  district  is  studded  with  lagoons  and  laid  out  in  grazing-grounds. 

A  diligence,  which  crosses  the  Rio  Colorado  at  the  fort  of  General  Paz, 
traverses  the  desert  between  Bahia  Blanca  and  Carmen  de  Patagones,  or  simply 
Pat  agones,  which  was  founded  by  Viedma  in  1779,  and  which  was  long  the 
advanced  outpost  of  civilisation  in  the  inhospitable  solitudes  of  the  south.  Pata- 
gones stands  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio  Negro  21  miles  above  its  mouth, 
at  the  foot  of  the  steep  plateau  escarpments  which  here  present  the  aspect  of 
cliffs.  A  fort  erected  above  the  town  served  till  recently  as  a  refuge  in  case  of 
alarm  for  the  few  squatters  who  had  ventured  to  establish  themselves  in  the 
territory  of  the  Tehuel-che  Indians. 

In  the  early  days  of  independence,  during  the  war  between  Brazil  and  Argen- 
tina, three  vessels  manned  by  imperialists  made  their  appearance  at  the  bar  of 
the  Rio  Negro.  The  men  landed  to  seize  the  fort,  while  the  vessels  attempted 
to  ascend  the  stream.  But  one  was  stranded  on  an  island  at  the  entrance,  another 
ran  aground  half-way  up,  and  when  the  third  came  in  view  of  the  fort  they  found 
that  their  500  comrades  had  surrendered,  overcome  by  thirst  and  half  dead  with 
fright  at  a  drove  of  about  a  thousand  savage  horses  driven  against  them  bj"  the  70 
defenders  of  Carmen.  Thereupon  the  remaining  vessel  also  struck  her  colours, 
and  was  immediately  broken  up  by  the  riverside  people. 

Since  then  the  inhabitants  have  brought  the  surrounding  district  under  culti- 
A'ation,  and  the  surviving  Tehuel-che  Indians,  having  made  their  submission,  have 
settled  down  near  Viedma  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  Steamers  from  Buenos 
Ayres  touch  regularly  at  the  station  of  Carmen,  despite  its  dangerous  approaches. 

Fortunately  the  much  more  convenient  harbour  of  San  Bias,  surveyed  by  a 
hydrographic  commission  in  1883,  lies  not  far  off,  about  midway  between  the 
Colorado  and  Negro  estuaries.  Should  the  coimtry  ever  get  thickly  peopled,  San 
Bias  will  become  the  natural  outlet  for  the  produce  of  both  valleys.  The  buoyed 
channel  giving  access  to  the  port  has  a  depth  of  2-3  feet  at  ebb,  and  from  28  to 
36  at  flow.  Viedma,  so  named  in  honour  of  the  founder  of  Carmen,  is  quite  as 
large  and  a  pleasanter  place  of  residence  than  its  neighbour.  It  has  been  chosen 
by  the  Argentine  Government  as  capital  of  the  Rio  Negro  territory.  Between 
the  two  settlements  the  rapid  and  dangerous  river  has  a  breadth  of  about  820 
feet. 

Towns  of  Patagonia — Hucal — Jukin  de  los  Andes, 

The  territory  of  Neuquen,  which  is  separated  from  the  province  of  Mendoza 
by  the  Upper  Colorado,  and  in  which  the  Rio  Negro  receives  nearly  all  its 
affluents,  can  scarcely  be  settled  except  from  the  Chilian  side  of  the  Cordilleras. 
On  the  Atlantic  slope  facing  the  stony  plains  the  communications  must  remain 
too  long  and  too  difScult,  at  least  until  good  roads  or  railways  are  constructed 
from  the  coast  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes. 


r 


1^ 


TOPOGRAPET  OF  AEGEXTINA.  457 

To  reach  the  Xeuquen  district  from  Buenos  Ayres  the  traveller  has  first  to 
take  the  railway  as  far  as  Mendoza  under  the  mountains,  and  then  the  diligence 
to  San  Rafael,  beyond  which  point  the  journey  has  to  be  continued  for  some  300 
miles  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  over  hills  and  valleys,  across  torrents  and  almost 
trackless  forests.  Or  he  may  take  an  alternative  route  by  starting  from  the 
station  of  Hiical,  a  settlement  in  the  wilderness  communicating  by  rail  with  Bahia 
Blanca.  Beyond  Hucal  the  track  crosses  the  solitudes  to  the  Rio  Negro,  which 
may  then  be  followed  to  the  region  of  its  head-streams. 

A  few  military  posts  founded  in  the  Upper  Neuquen  basin  have  served  as  so 
many  little  centres  of  colonisation,  and  a  number  of  stockbreeders  have  established 
themselves  in  the  neighbourhood.  In  the  Rio  Limay  vallev  also  the  zone  of 
pastures  has  already  received  some  settlers,  and  here  vast  tracts  of  land  have  been 
conceded  to  the  officers  of  the  military  expedition,  by  which  this  region  was  first 
occupied  in  1865. 

C/ws-2I(ih/,  administrative  capital  of  the  territory,  forms  a  little  cluster  of 
houses  at  the  confluence  of  the  Leubu  with  the  Xeuquen,  where  the  main  stream 
begins  to  be  navigable  for  smaU  craft.  Norquen,  another  liitle  settlement  about 
18  miles  to  the  south-west,  stands  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Agrio,  which  here 
escapes  from  a  breached  crater.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  are  seen  the  Copahue 
thermal  and  mineral  springs  bubbling  up  at  an  altitude  of  10,000  feet,  and  at 
temperatures  varying  from  10-1°  to  207"  Fahr. 

Farther  south  Junin  de  los  Andes,  the  Huinca  MeUeu  of  the  Indians,  has  been 
founded  at  an  elevation  of  2,230  feet  in  the  Rio  Chemen  Huin  Valley  within  view 
of  the  magnificent  cypress  and  beech  forests,  which  have  already  been  attacked 
by  the  woodman.  The  lumber  is  floated  down  in  rafts  to  Carmen  de  Patagones. 
Junin  has  the  advantage  of  lying  near  a  relatively  low  pass  over  the  great 
Cordillera  leading  directly  down  to  Yaldivia,  chief  market  of  these  Andean 
settlements. 

The  whole  region  from  San  Rafael  to  the  Nahuel-Huapi  is  the  "  Switzerland  of 
Argentina,"  a  land  of  majestic  moimtains,  of  bright  Alpine  vegetation,  of  limpid 
running  waters.  Near  the  Lonquimay  volcano,  commanding  one  of  the  more 
frequented  passes  between  the  Neuquen  and  Biobio  Valleys,  a  geyser  of  blue 
water  is  ejected  to  a  height  of  about  50  feet  from  an  extinct  crater  whose 
encircling  margin  is  now  covered  with  ice. 

Below  this  upland  basin  the  few  stations  on  the  Limay,  and  lower  down  on 
the  Rio  Negro  proper  to  the  neighbourhood  of  its  estuary,  are  all  of  military 
origin.  This  rainless  zone  has  naturally  failed  to  attract  free  settlers,  although 
Roca,  below  the  Neuquen-Limay  confluence,  stands  on  an  allu\-ial  plain  extremely 
productive  wherever  capable  of  irrigation.  But  the  canals  run  dry  in  summer, 
and  the  fields  are  often  ravaged  by  locusts.  A  small  steamer  ascends  the  river 
from  Carmen  to  Roca  during  the  floods,  from  July  to  February. 

Beyond  the  Rio  Negro  in  the  direction  of  the  south  follows  the  valley  of  the 
Chubut,  which  has  scarcely  any  white  settlers  except  near  the  estuary.  Since 
1888,  however,  a  few  English,   Chilian,  and    Argentine    cattle-breeders    have 


458 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


established  themselves  at  the  foot  of  the  Andes  in  the  Corcovado  Valley,  near 
which  are  some  auriferous  deposits. 

New  Wales. 

The  colony,  which  sends  out  its  pioneers  to  this  almost  uninhabited  though 

highly  fertile  region,  has  been  founded  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  fluvial  basin 

close  to  the  Atlantic  coast.     On  the  representations  of  a  fellow-countryman  who 

had  visited  Patagonia,  132  Welsh  people  landed  in  1865  on  the  shores  of  the  vast 

Fig.  180. — Welsh  CoLO>rT  of  Chubut. 
Scale  1  :  1,600,000. 


We  si  oF  Gr-eenwich 


Depths. 


Otol2 
Fathoms. 


12  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


30  Jliles. 


circular  basin  of  Golfo  Nuevo,  where  the  Port  Madryn  pier  projects  into  the  bay. 
From  this  point  they  reached  the  banks  of  the  Chubut  by  an  overland  route 
across  the  wilderness,  and  forthwith  set  about  the  work  of  colonisation,  building 
cabins,  tilling  and  sowing  the  ground. 

But  all  were  either  quarrvmen  or  coal-miners,  imaccustomed  to  field  operations. 
The  crops  were  wretched  in  this  arid  Patagonian  region  where  rain  seldom  falls, 
and  where  at  times  the  soil  remains  unref reshed  by  a  single  shower  for  two  or 
three  years  together.  Fortunately  these  persevering  settlers  were  men  of  kindly 
feeling,  and  soon  made  friends  of  the  Tehuel-che  Indians,  who  supplied  them  with 
food,  such  as  game,  fish,  wild  berries  from  the  mountains  in  exchange  for  bread 
and  a  few  little  articles  of  Enjrlish  manufacture. 


TOPOGEAPHY  OF  AEGENTINA. 


459 


Nevertheless  the  "Welsh  colony  must  have  eventually  failed  had  it  not  occurred 
to  some  of  the  inexperienced  squatters  to  dam  up  the  current  of  the  Chubut 
when  swollen  by  the  melting  snows,  and  distribute  the  water  through  irrigation 
rills  over  the  land.  "  New  "Wales  "  was  saved.  The  plain,  forming  a  long 
triangle  48  miles  east  and  west  with  a  mean  breadth  of  5  miles,  comprises  a 


Fig.  181. — Old  and  Modeen  Colonies  in  Patagonia. 
Scale  1  ;  16,000.000. 


,  310  Miles. 


superficial  area  of  about  100,000   acres,  of  which  one-third  is  under  wheat,  the 
concessions  varying  from  250  to  375  acres. 

The  soil,  consisting  in  great  measure  of  volcanic  ashes  watered  b}'  a  network 
of  irrigating  canals  with  a  total  length  of  230  miles,  yields  excellent  returns 
despite  the  ravages  of  wild  swans  and  duck.  The  crops  are  sevenfold  more 
abundant  than  those  of  the  old  setlkments  iu  this  region,  and  after   supplying 


460  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

the  local  demand  from  1,500  to  2,000  tons  of  com  remain  for  exportation  to 
Liverpool.  The  Chubut  wheat  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  verj'  best  in  South 
America.  A  railway  46  miles  long  runs  from  the  banks  of  the  river  across  the 
sandy  plateau  to  Port  Madryn.  Besides  tillage,  cattle  farming  is  successfully 
carried  on,  and  the  colony  already  owns  30,000  horses,  sheep,  and  cattle. 

Consisting  originally  of  a  few  Welsh  starvelings,  the  colony  now  comprises 
over  3,000  souls,  including  some  more  recent  English,  Italian,  and  Argentine 
settlers.  In  the  community  there  is  neither  a  single  pauper  nor  a  single  police- 
man, and  leisure  is  already  found  to  cultivate  the  arts,  and  to  keep  alive  the  study 
of  the  old  Welsh  language.  In  the  census  returns  mention  is  made  of  pianos, 
harps,  and  violins,  as  well  as  of  ploughs  and  harrows.  As  in  the  home  country, 
the  colonists  have  remained  faithful  to  their  religious  traditions ;  each  sect  has 
its  chapel,  and  all  are  zealous  observers  of  the  Sabbath. 

Ratcson,  capital  of  the  territory,  lies  on  both  banks  of  the  Chubut,  which  is  here 
spanned  by  a  wooden  bridge.  But  the  position  is  inconvenient,  since  all  attempts 
have  been  given  up  to  utilise  the  estuary,  and  since  the  colony  is  connected 
by  rail  with  the  Golfo  Nuevo.  Trelac,  9  or  10  miles  higher  up,  forms  a 
depot  for  the  produce  of  Rawson,  and  here  are  the  headquarters  of  the  co-opera- 
tive society  which  enables  the  settlers  to  procure  European  wares  almost  at  cost 
price. 

Puerto  Deseado — TJshuia. 

Along  the  coast  as  far  as  Magellan  Strait  follow  a  few  camping  grounds,  sites 
of  future  towns.  Such  are  San  Julian,  Santa  Cruz,  humble  capital  of  the  terri- 
tory, Gallcfjos,  and  Cabo  de  las  Virgenes  with  its  auriferous  deposits.  Owing  to  its 
rigid  climate  and  thankless  soil,  the  colonists  have  abandoned  Puerto  Deseado, 
which,  nevertheless,  enjoyed  considerable  advantages  in  its  good  roadstead  and 
favourable  position  under  a  projecting  headland  midway  between  the  Chubut 
estuary  and  Magellan  Strait.  In  1586  Cavendish  had  settled  some  English 
families  at  this  point,  and  in  1669  Great  Britain  sent  out  fresh  colonists,  making 
the  settlement  capital  of  Patagonia,  which  had  been  proclaimed  a  British  possession. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Viedma  erected  a  fort  and  hoisted  the 
Spanish  flag  at  Puerto  Deseado,  which  the  Argentine  Republic  afterwards  utilised  as 
a  penal  settlement.  The  outlay  for  every  family  till  recently  maintained  on  this 
bleak  and  arid  coast  by  the  treasury  was  estimated  at  no  less  than  £15,000.  In 
1890  a  solitary  French  family  still  lingered  on  the  spot. 

A  group  of  gold  hunters  have  established  themselves  in  Fuegia  on  the  shores 
of  San  Sebastian  Bay.  The  settlement  stands  at  a  point  giving  access  to  a  region 
of  pastures,  which  proves  to  be  considerably  more  productive  than  had  been  com- 
monly supposed,  and  which  even  affords  facilities  for  tillage,  despite  the  burrow- 
ings  of  the  tuco-tuco. 

Farther  south,  on  Beagle  Channel,  is  seen  the  little  group  of  houses  at  Ushuia, 
another  territorial  capital  which,  according  to  the  last  census,  contained  76  inhabi- 
tants, "all  officials."     This  southernmost  settlement   on  the  surface  of  the  globe 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  AEGEXTrN'A. 


4G1 


is  also  one  of  the  dreariest,  a  place   of  wiuds,  aud  rains,  ana  storms,  and  utter 
desolation. 

Sfafen  Island,  a  rocky  ridge  3,000  feet  high,  lost  amid  the  storm-tossed  waters 
of  the  Austral  Sea,  had  been  granted  to  a  stock-breeder,  who  failed  to  profit  bv  the 
concession.  The  only  inhabitants  are  the  men  in  charge  of  the  lighthouse,  which 
has  been  erected  on  Cape  San  Juan.     But  the  Argentine  Government  is  credited 


Fig.  182. — San  Sebastian  Bat. 
Scale  1 :  500,000. 


^^^ 

55     I     '^ 


Depths. 


0tol6 

Feet. 


16  to  32 
Feet. 


i2  to  64 
Feet. 


64  Feet 
and  upwaids. 


12  Miles. 


with  the  intention  of  transforming  Staten  Island  to  a  great  penal  settlement — a 
Plateau  Sakhalin. 


M.\TERI.\L    AND    SoCI.iL    CONDITION    OF   ArGENTIN.\. 

Since  the  War  of  Independence  the  population  of  Argentina  has  steadily 
increased,  despite  the  revolutions  of  the  federalist  and  centralist  factions,  and 
despite  the  brigand  conflicts  honoured  by  the  name  of  "  civil  wars,"  which  have 
so  long  wasted  certain  provinces,  and  which   have  so  often  been  re-kindled  like 


462  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

smouldering  embers.  At  the  close  of  the  Spanish  rule,  the  vast  region  now  form- 
ing the  Argentine  Republic  had  probably  not  more  than  400,000  inhabitants, 
■whereas  the  first  census  taken  in  1857  returned  as  many  as  1,837,500,  exclusive 
of  about  100,000  Indians. 

Since  that  time  no  general  census  has  been  taken,  but  a  total  of  over  4,000,000 
may  be  inferred  from  a  study  of  the  local  statistics.  But  even  this  is  insignificant 
compared  with  the  vast  extent  of  the  territory.  Doubtless  only  a  few  scattered 
groups  of  settlers  could  find  support  on  the  elevated  Andean  plateaux,  the 
Salinas  (salt  wastes)  of  the  central  provinces,  or  the  arid  stony  steppes  of  Patagonia. 

But  the  Parana-Uruguay  Mesopotamia,  the  Missions,  the  north-western  plains 
and  valleys,  the  Cordoba  uplands,  the  Pampas  grazing  grounds,  lastly,  the  upper 
valleys  of  all  the  rivers  flowing  to  the  Atlantic,  constitute  a  domain  at  least 
400,000  square  miles  in  extent,  where  even  100,000,000  human  beings  would 
constitute  but  a  small  population,  regard  being  had  to  the  immense  resources  of 
the  land.  By  natural  increase  such  a  number  could  scarcely  be  attained  in  a 
period  of  four  centuries,  at  least  according  to  the  present  rate  of  growth.  As  far 
as  can  be  judged  from  the  scanty  data  available,  the  average  mortality  would 
appear  to  be  about  two  -thirds  of  the  births,  which  corresponds  to  a  yearly  increase 
of  not  more  than  50,000. 

Immigration. 

But  since  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  this  increase  has  been  doubled 
and  in  favourable  years  even  tripled  by  the  swelling  tide  of  immigration.  In 
1889  over  289,000  were  landed  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  of  these  as  many  as  250,000 
remained  in  the  country.  Larger  views  are  entertained  on  this  subject  in  Argen- 
tina than  in  Brazil,  till  recently  a  land  of  slave  labour,  and  despite  local  jealousies, 
immigration  is  regarded  in  the  Plateau  regions  as  a  recruiting  ground  of  future 
fellow-citizens.  So  early  as  1811,  one  year  before  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade 
in  Buenos  Ayres,  Pivadavia  spoke  of  attracting  foreign  settlers,  "  not  only  to 
increase  the  labour  market,  but  as  an  element  of  civilisation." 

During  the  first  decade  no  returns  were  made  of  the  foreigners  who  came  to 
found  new  homes  in  the  Argentine  lands ;  but  since  the  year  1857  a  regular 
census  is  taken  of  all  the  immigrants  arriving  at  Buenos  Ayres,  either  directly  or 
by  the  route  of  Monte  Video.  After  deducting  the  number  of  emigrants  from 
the  country,  and  the  probable  mortality  of  the  unmarried  amongst  the  new  arrivals, 
during  the  first  years  of  their  residence,  statisticians  have  concluded  that  the 
Republic  has  been  enriched  to  the  extent  of  about  a  million  permanent  settlers  in 
Argentina. 

Moreover,  thousands  and  thousands  making  their  way  to  the  Transatlantic 
seaboard  by  other  and  more  expensive  routes,  but  not  classed  in  the  category 
of  immigrants,  have  also  established  themselves  in  the  La  Plata  regions.  Nor 
must  those  Chilian  settlers  be  overlooked  who  cross  by  the  passes  of  the  Cordilleras 
down  to  the  eastern  slopes,  and  who  already  constitute  the  great  majority  of  the 
Andean  population  within  the  Argentine  frontiers. 


MATEEIAL  COXDITION  OF  AEGEXTDCA.  403 

WTiile  increasing  the  population  as  a  whole,  the  new  arrivals  cause  an 
apparent  relative  lowering  of  the  birth-rate,  owing  to  the  excess  of  male  over 
female  immigrants.  In  Buenos  Ayres,  Santa  Fe,  and  Entre-Rios  the  disparity 
is  as  much  as  20  per  cent.  But  the  Italian  element,  at  present  by  far  the  largest 
in  the  general  movement,  is  also  the  most  prolific.  In  the  Argentine  regions  the 
birth-rate  is  stated  to  rise  to  60  per  1,000  in  Italian  families,  compared  with  40 
per  1,000  in  French,  and  still  less  in  native  households.  In  some  years  the 
mortality  would  even  appear  to  exceed  the  births  in  Argentine  families  residing 
in  Buenos  Ayres.  The  native  element  would  thus  seem  to  have  already  lost  some- 
what of  its  vital  force,  so  that  the  growth  of  the  nation  would  be  arrested  were 
the  race  not  constantly  renewed  by  a  strain  of  foreign  blood.  The  phenomenon  is 
somewhat  analogous  to  that  which  has  been  observed  in  Xew  England  and  the  other 
parts  of  the  United  States  that  were  the  first  to  be  colonised.  In  the  Argentine 
Republic,  as  well  as  in  Paraguay,  more  females  than  males  are  said  to  be  bom  in 
the  Creole  families. 

Xext  to  the  Italians,  who  form  one-third  of  the  new  arrivals,  follow  the 
Spaniards,  French,  English,  Swiss,  and  Germans  (amongst  whom  many  Slavs  from 
the  eastern  provinces)  in  the  order  named,  and  since  1S91  over  6,000  Jews  from 
Russia,  Austria,  and  Palestine.  Most  of  the  immigrants  being  of  Romance  (Jfeo- 
Latin)  speech,  the  adoption  of  the  Spanish  language  presents  no  diffieultr.  It 
also  appears  that  over  nine-tenths  are  Catholics  by  birth,  and  that  about  one-third 
can  neither  read  nor  write. 

Xaturally  the  great  majority  remain  at  or  near  the  ports  of  arrival,  such  as 
Buenos  Ayres,  Rosario,  Santa  Fe.  But  throughout  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Republic 
Europeans  find  a  suitable  climate,  and  need  to  avoid  only  the  marshy,  malarious, 
or  goitrous  districts.  Tetanus  causes  many  deaths,  and  ring- worm  is  also  common, 
owing  to  the  habit  of  eating  raw  or  half-cooked  meat.  Leprosy  carries  off  a  few 
victims,  and  Buenos  Ayres  has  been  visited  by  yeUow  fever,  introduced  from 
Brazil ;  but  this  scourge  has  not  made  its  appearance  in  recent  years,  thanks  to 
the  improved  quarantine  and  sanitary  regulations.  Small-pox  and  consumption 
also  carry  off  many  victims ;  but  some  of  the  remote,  thinly-settled  regions  are 
remarkably  free  from  maladies  of  anv  kind,  and  there  is  a  local  saying,  probably 
not  to  be  matched  in  the  whole  world,  that,  "  Once  in  a  hundred  years  a  man 
dies  in  Patagonia."  It  has,  however,  been  suggested  that  the  proverb  may  owe 
its  origin  to  the  fact  most  people  in  Patagonia  meet  with  some  violent  end.* 

Stock-Breedixg. 

Agriculture,  properly  so  called,  is  of  recent  origin  in  Argentina.  Where 
cattle  roamed  the  pampas  in  thousands  and  millions,  the  scanty  groups  of  popula- 
tion had  little  need  to  dig  and  delve,  the  less  so  that  they  lived  almost  exclusively 
on  a  flesh  diet.  An  ox  was  slaughtered  for  the  sake  of  the  tongue,  and  no  trouble 
was  taken  even  to  save  the  hide ;  the  carcass  was  at  most  used  as  fuel  in  the 

*  W.  H.  Hudson,  op.  cit.,  p.  126. 


4G4  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

brick-fields.  Later,  the  cattle-owners  derived  a  sufiicient  revenue  from  the  sale 
of  the  hides,  the  tasajo  or  jerked  meat,  and  the  animal  black  obtained  from  the 
combustion  of  the  bones.  Nothing  could  be  more  primitive  than  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Argentine  esfaiwias,  or  cattle-farms.  The  animals  lived  throughout 
the  year  under  the  canopy  of  heaven,  and  after  being  duly  branded,  were  practi- 
cally left  to  themselves.  Thus  they  reverted  to  a  half-wild  state,  and  when 
wanted  had  to  be  captured,  like  game,  with  the  lasso.  The  bola  was  even  occasion- 
ally used  for  the  purpose. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  horse  by  Solis,  horned  cattle  arrived  by  the 
Paraguay  route.  In  1550  an  envoy  of  Irak,  returning  from  Peru,  brought 
back  some  sheep  and  goats,  and  three  years  afterwards,  the  brothers  Goes  came 
into  Paraguay  from  Sao  Vicente  with  a  bull  and  eight  cows.  From  this  stock, 
originally  from  the  South  of  Spain,  have  descended  the  millions  of  oxen  that  now 
people  the  savannas  of  the  Plateau  Republics.  In  these  regions  the  European 
breed  has  lost  none  of  its  natural  qualities,  and  appears  to  have  undergone 
scarcely  any  change.  The  new  environment  suits  it  as  well  as  the  old,  and  it 
retains  its  characteristics  throughout  Argentina  for  a  space  of  over  1,200  miles, 
from  North  Chaco  to  the  plains  of  Bahia  Blanca. 

The  size,  however,  is  modified  by  the  quality  of  the  pasturage,  the  animal 
being  small  in  the  arid  Catamarca  districts,  larger  in  the  rich  prairie  lands  of 
Entre-Rios,  while  the  finest  breed  is  that  of  Miranda  from  Matto  Grosso.  On 
the  plains  all  multiply  prodigiously,  a  well-managed  herd  doubling  every  three 
years.  The  ahados,  that  is,  the  animals  which  had  run  wild,  increased  even  at  a 
still  more  rapid  rate,  and  these  were  hunted  by  the  Spaniards  of  the  pampas  only 
for  their  hides.  The  process,  which  was  carried  out  in  a  very  rude  and  barbarous 
way,  has  been  suppressed  since  the  settlement  of  the  country,  and  at  present 
nearly  all  the  herds  have  again  been  domesticated. 

In  the  lower  Rio  Negro  valley,  the  swine  have  also  reverted  to  the  wild  state, 
without  increasing  or  decreasing  in  numbers.  Hudson  relates  a  pathetic  story  of 
a  runaway  cow,  which  became  a  sort  of  foster-mother  to  a  drove  of  wild  pigs  in 
an  island  of  the  Rio  Negro,  where  aU.  lived  together  in  a  happy  family  till  "  the 
fame  of  the  cow  that  had  become  the  leader  and  queen  of  the  wild  island  pigs 
was  spread  abroad  in  the  valley."  *  Then  somebody  took  a  musket  loaded  with 
ball  and  shot  the  queen  In  the  midst  of  her  body-guard. 

The  baguale>',  or  wild  horses,  have  become  even  rarer  than  the  alzados ;  few 
are  aow  met  except  in  South  Patagonia,  where  they  are  scarcely  pursued,  except 
as  game  by  sportsmen.     As  mounts  they  are  worthless. 

Of  Arab  stock,  crossed  by  the  Andalusian  varietj^,  the  Argentine  horse  is  as 
a  rule  very  docile,  hardy,  and  of  great  staying  power.  But  till  recentl)'  little 
attention  was  paid  to  its  points  of  beauty,  and  it  is  stiU.  of  small  size  with  very 
large  head.  Mules  are  also  bred,  especially  in  the  province  of  Cordoba.  Formerly 
these  animals  were  exported  to  Peru  to  work  in  the  mines ;  at  present  they  are 
raised  chiefly  for  the  Bolivian  and  Chilian  markets.      Throughout  the   upland 

*  Op.  cit.,  p.  59. 


o 
o 

-r; 
■< 

o 


H 


O 


MATEEIAL  COXDITIOX  OF  ARGENTINA.  4G5 

regions  tlie  mule  is  almost  exclusively  employed  for  all  purposes,  being  more 
sure-footed  and  hardier  than  the  horse.  But  hitherto  little  attention  has  been 
paid  to  the  improvement  of  the  breed.  The  mules  which  are  now  exported  through 
Buenos  Ayres  to  the  Masearenhas,  to  India,  and  in  the  opposite  direction  to  the 
Andean  provinces,  are  all  raised  on  the  coast-lands. 

Sheep  constitute  with  the  horse  and  ox  the  chief  animal  wealth  of  Argentine, 
and  even  tend  to  take  the  foremost  position.  Under  the  colonial  administration 
they  had  increased  enormously,  although  at  that  time  possessing  but  little  market 
value.  In  the  interior  a  few  Calchaqui  women  used  the  wool  to  weave  some 
coarse  textiles  :  but  the  flesh  was  not  even  eaten,  but  left  to  the  dogs  and  vultures, 
while  the  bones  were  used  for  making  lime. 

Spain  had  interdicted  the  importation  of  the  merino  breed,  which  was  not 
introduced  till  long  after  the  declaration  of  independence.  But  since  1830  a 
large  number  of  English  and  other  breeders  have  improved  the  native  A^arieties, 
and  by  crossings  with  various  European  breeds  have  obtained  new  types  of  sheep 
as  well  as  of  horses  and  cattle.  The  best  wools  are  yielded  by  those  that  graze 
on  the  short  grasses  of  the  north-western  provinces,  and  especially  of  the  puna 
region  in  Jujuy.  Here  the  sheep  is  associated  with  the  llama,  an  animal  not  met 
in  any  other  part  of  Argentina. 

Ail  the  other  European  domestic  animals  have  been  introduced,  and  thrive 
well  even  without  any  special  care.  Dogs  and  cats,  which  have  reverted  in 
thousands  to  the  wild  state  ;  pigs,  goats,  rabbits,  and  poultry  of  all  kinds  are 
met  everywhere.  Both  the  South  American  and  the  African  ostrich  have 
succeeded  in  some  farms ;  but  the  industry  has  not  acquired  the  same  import- 
ance that  ostrich  farming  has  in  the  Cape.  Larks  and  other  singing-birds  have 
been  let  loose  on  the  pampas,  and  the  European  bee  thrives  in  Entre-Bios.  But  it 
may  be  asked  whether  it  would  not  be  wiser  to  utilise  the  native  species.  Various 
honey-yielding  insects  swarm  in  Gran  Chaco  and  in  the  province  of  Santiago  del 
Estero,  where  they  still  give  rise  to  a  considerable  industry.  The  Indian  mekrcs, 
or  honey  gatherers,  make  long  journeys  of  days,  or  even  weeks  together,  in  quest 
of  the  combs  deposited  by  the  bees  or  other  melliferous  insects  in  holes  or  on  the 
branches  of  trees.  At  times  they  fell  entire  woods  in  the  search.  Hence  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  the  valuable  honey-makers  may  disappear  altogether  before  suffi- 
cient knowledge  has  been  gained  to  regulate  their  work  and  prepare  suitable 
hives  for  their  reception.  Meantime  apiculture,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word, 
has  made  but  little  progress.  There  are  a  few  hives  here  and  there,  but  in  certain 
provinces  the  introduction  of  the  domestic  bee  appears  to  have  been  forbidden  as 
injurious  to  the  fruit-trees. 

Although  in  recent  years  tillage  has  encroached  on  pasturage,  just  as  sheep- 
farming  has  been  developed  at  the  expense  of  cattle-breeding,  the  Argentine 
provinces  of  Entre-Bios  and  Buenos  Ayres,  together  with  the  conterminous 
Bepublic  of  Uruguay,  still  possess  more  cattle  and  horses  in  proportion  to  the 
population  than  any  other  region  of  the  globe.  In  respect  of  sheep  they  rival, 
and,  in  some  districts,  greatly  outstrip  Australia  itself. 

VOL.  XI.X.  II  H 


400  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Aguicui.tuke. 

Agriculture  proper  had  at  first  a  bard  stmggle,  having  to  contend  especially 
with  the  pastoral  habits  and  traditions  of  the  rural  populations.  In  Entre-Rios  the 
first  laud  was  broken  up  in  obedience  to  the  peremptory  orders  of  the  all-powcrtul 
Urquiza.  But  these  orders  were  of  little  effect,  and  the  natives  took  advantage 
of  the  least  political  disturbances  to  abandon  their  fields  and  orchards  and  resume 
their  nomad  pastoral  life. 

Nevertheless,  the  revolution,  which  the  will  of  one  man  had  failed  to  bring 
about,  was  accomplished  b}'  the  new  economic  conditions  of  Europe  and  the  New 
World.  When  animal  products  began  to  acquire  a  market  value,  even  in  the 
Argentine  Mesopotamia,  the  laud  itself  rose  in  price  ;  it  was  classified  according  to 
the  nature  of  its  produce,  and  agriculture,  at  first  developed  in  the  neighbouihood 
of  the  towns,  gradually  took  possession  of  the  more  fertile  regions.  The  arrival 
of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  foreign  settlers  coincided  with  the  economic 
transformations  of  Argentina  and  gave  them  a  fresh  impetus. 

In  1891  the  extent  of  land  under  cultivation  was  estimated  by  Brackebusch 
at  nearly  12,000  square  miles,  or  rather  more  than  the  hundredth  part  of  the 
whole  territory.  Wheat  and  maize  are  by  far  the  most  important  cereals,  and 
these  alone  cover  over  two-thirds  of  all  the  tilled  land.  Next  follows  alfalfa,  or 
lucerne,  which  is  grown  especially  on  the  artificially  irrigated  lands  of  the  west, 
and  which  already  forms  a  leading  article  of  exportation. 

The  other  vegetable  products  are  confined  to  very  small  areas,  mostly  in  the 
province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  which  supplies  the  capital  with  provisions  of  all  kinds. 
In  fact,  one-third  of  all  the  land  under  tillage  lies  within  the  limits  of  this 
province.  Santa  Fe,  largely  occupied  by  foreign  settlers,  follows  next  in  import- 
ance, after  which  comes  Cordoba,  which,  however,  grows  scarcely  anything 
except  wheat  and  potatoes.  Notwithstanding  its  admirable  position  and  general 
advantages,  Entre-Rios  takes  only  the  fourth  place,  while  the  neighbouring  and 
equally  favoured  Corrientes  stands  nearly  at  the  end  of  the  list,  after  Mendoza, 
San  Juan,  Tucuman,  and  San  Luis. 

Nearly  ever}'where  the  farmers  have  to  dread  the  plague  of  locusts,  which  at 
times  present  themselves  in  serried  ranks  sixty  miles  broad.  In  general  the  yield 
of  wheat  is  far  below  the  average  of  most  other  agricultural  regions.  Even  in 
Santa  Fe,  most  fertile  of  the  pampas  provinces,  it  scarcely  exceeds  four  or  five 
hushels  per  acre,  which  in  France  or  England  would  be  regarded  as  little  better 
than  a  total  failure  of  the  crops.  Argentina  produces  much  wheat,  not  because 
of  its  fertility,  but  because  of  its  great  extent. 

Sugar,  next  in  importance  to  the  cereals,  is  confined  exclusively  to  the  sub- 
tropical zone,  and  even  here  to  the  bottom  lands,  forming  a  narrow  belt  which 
extends  from  Oran,  near  the  Bolivian  frontier,  to  Tucuman  and  Santiago  del 
Estero.  Cotton,  which  yielded  good  returns,  has  been  nearly  abandoned,  while 
in  the  same  zone  the  vine  is  cultivated  up  to  a  height  of  6,500  feet.  The  chief 
wine-growing  districts  are  in  the  neighbourhood  of  San  Juan  and  of  Mendoza, 
where   viticulture    has    acquired  real    importance.       The    total    annual  yield  is 


MATEEIAL  CONTDniOX  OF  AEGEXTIXA.  4G7 

estimated  at  13,500,000  gallons,  or  about  as  much  as  the  foreign  importation,  but 
not  more  than  one-fifth  of  all  the  liquors  consumed  under  the  name  of  "  wine." 
From  the  grapes,  as  well  as  from  sugar-cane,  maixe,  and  other  produce,  spirits  of 
various  kinds  are  distilled. 

Corrientes  yields  a  tobacco  resembling  the  finer  Paraguay  varieties.  The  other 
more  important  products  of  the  fields  and  gardens  are  olives,  bark,  potatoes, 
European  fruits,  and  vegetables.  Some  of  the  fruits  thrive  well,  and  the  apple 
has  even  run  wild,  especially  about  the  old  Indian  Missions  in  the  "Manzanas" 
region,  on  the  slopes  of  the  Andes,  where  the  natives  extract  a  ehiclia,  or  cider, 
from  the  fruit. 

Land  Tenure. 

Land  tenure  is  of  various  kinds.  In  some  places  the  old  system  of  great 
domains  still  prevails,  while  medium  or  small  holdings  have  been  formed  in  the 
eastern  provinces  under  the  influence  of  the  foreign  settlers.  Such  holdings 
already  existed  in  Tucuman,  where,  in  18S2,  the  freeholders  numbered  as  many 
as  7,150,  in  a  total  population  of  not  more  than  120,000.  Li  certain  remote 
districts  of  Buenos  Ayres  vast  estates  belong  collectively  to  the  scattered  members 
of  a  single  family,  who  enjoy  the  right  of  settling  and  grazing  their  cattle  in  any 
unoccupied  part  of  the  common  domain.  But  this  communal  system  is  no  proof, 
as  might  at  first  be  supposed,  of  any  hearty  union  between  the  different  branches 
of  the  family  circle.  It  merely  attests  the  great  obstacles  which  the  litigious 
spirit  of  the  associates  throws  in  the  way  of  a  friendly  distribution  of  the 
patrimony. 

In  the  province  of  Jujuy  traces  still  survive  of  the  old  encomiendas,  another 
name  for  Indian  slaverv.  A  few  families  of  these  Covas  serfs  have  succeeded 
after  sanguinary  revolts  in  recovering  their  lands  and  their  freedom  ;  but  all  are 
not  yet  emancipated,  and  some  of  the  great  landowners  may  stiU.  claim  to  be 
absolute  masters  of  enormous  estates  comprising  whole  mountains  and  valleys 
with  all  their  inhabitants.  Often  the  so-called  political  revolutions  of  the  far 
interior  are  nothing  more  than  conflicts  between  these  great  esfancieros,  who  arm 
their  vassals  and  retainers  against  each  other.  These  landless  serfs,  who  have  no 
hope  of  ever  acquiring  an  acre  of  property,  live  in  great  misery,  overburdened 
with  debts  due  to  their  paramount  lords,  and  leading  a  dreary  existence  to  which 
the  risks  of  a  "civil  war"  may  come  as  a  welcome  diversion. 

Even  in  the  eastern  provinces,  notably  that  of  Buenos  Ayres,  the  greater  part 
of  the  soil  is  distributed  in  vast  estates,  so  large  as  to  be  usually  measured  by 
the  "  square  league,"  that  is,  about  10  or  11  square  miles.  A  single  capitalist 
acquired  at  a  stroke  a  domain  of  900,000  acres  in  the  pampas  at  the  upset  price 
of  £-440,000. 

But  such  vast  estates  were  far  too  large  to  have  any  well-defined  limits.  The 
flocks  ranged  to  a  certain  distance  from  their  querencia,  that  is,  the  folds  where 
they  were  gathered  for  the  night.  But  the  shepherds  paid  little  heed  to  the 
exact  boundaries  of  the  conterminous  runs,  and  even  of  ploughed   lands.       Thus 

H  H  2 


4G8 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  FLATA. 


the  free  range  of  these  ammals  became  the  chief  obstacle  to  husbandry  m 
its  initial  state.  The  settlers  had  constantly  to  keep  guard  round  about  their 
enclosures,  and  often  failed  to  drive  off  the  trespassing   herds  before  aU  their 

crops  were  hopelessly  ruined. 
Fig.  i83.-PEODucnTE  La>-d3  of  Aegesttsa.  Hence     constant     wranglings 

Scale  1 :  32,000,000.  ^^^^  hcartbumings,  which  were 

at  times  followed  by  armed 
conflicts  between  the  colonists 
and  the  cattle-owners.  The 
former  have  at  last  gained  the 
day,  and  the  grazing-grounds 
have  now  to  be  enclosed  by 
wire  fences. 


Recent  Settlements. 
The  first  agricultural  settle- 
ments,   created    under    great 
difficulties,   were    founded   by 
speculators,  who,  in  return  for 
the  concessions,  undertook  to 
people  their  territories  within  a 
given  time  by  the  aid  of  certain 
financial  or  other  advantages. 
Numerous    failures     attended 
the  first  efforts,  caused  by  the 
inexperience  of  the  squatters, 
the  hostile  attitude  of  the  stock- 
breeders,  and  local  rivalries; 
but  the  colonists  were  encour- 
aged   by    occasional    success, 
and  at  present  the  groups  of 
thriving     agricultural      com- 
munes   are    reckoned  by   the 
hundred.       New     settlements 
are  founded  daily,  and  certain 
great   landowners  are  having 
their   domailis    surveyed    and 
partly  cut  up  into  allotments, 
announced  for  sale  by  flaming  placards  at  every  railway  station  and  in  all  the 

towns  and  villages. 

The  rising  settlement  receives  an  attractive  name,  a  general  store  supphes  the 
labourers  with  all  their  requirements  on  credit  for  the  first  year,  the  colonists 
present  themselves  and  undertake  to  pay  off  the  charge  on  their  holdings  by 
annual  payments  spread  over  four  years. 


MATERIAL  CONDITION  OF  .VEGEXTINA.  409 

By  the  so-called  "  Colonisatioa  Act "  passed  in  187G  on  the  model  of  the 
United  States  Homestead-Bill,  the  national  domain  was  divided  into  squares  of  Ti 
miles  on  all  sides,  comprising  400  lots  of  SoO  acres  each.  The  first  hundred 
arrivals  received  their  lots  gratis,  and  the  rest  was  then  sold  at  the  rate  of  two 
dollars  the  hectar  (2^  acres)  ;  to  prevent  the  creation  of  large  estates  it  was 
decided  that  nobody  could  purchase  more  than  four  lots.  Colonisation  Companies 
were  to  arrange  for  the  introduction  of  settlers  ;  but  after  a  few  experiments,  for 
the  most  part  unsuccessful,  this  system  was  abandoned. 

Since  1887  "  agricultural  centres  "  have  been  established  in  the  province  of 
Buenos  Ayres  round  about  railway  stations  distant  at  least  GO  miles  from  the 
capital,  and  to  these  estates  the  law  of  expropriation  is  applied  in  the  case  of  aU 
absentee  owners.  In  three  j'ears  over  2-30  villages  have  been  founded  on  this 
plan,  representing  altogether  about  5,525,000  acres  of  arable  laud. 

In  1888  the  province  of  Santa  Fe,  which  has  received  the  largest  number  of 
settlers,  comprised  over  190  colonies  with  upwards  of  6,500,000  acres.  In  nearly 
all  these  colonies  each  settler  is  allowed  to  acquire  as  man}-  c/uicras  (lots)  as  he 
has  means  to  purchase,  and  of  these  he  becomes  the  absolute  owner.  Propert}'  on 
the  communal  principle  of  collective  ownership  exists  only  amongst  the  "  Russi- 
fied "  Germans,  Mennonites,  or  others  on  the  east  side  of  the  Parana.  Here  the 
Russian  iiiir  has  been  introduced,  and  is  even  said  to  have  acqiiired  a  more 
decidedly  communistic  character. 

MlXER.\I.S— IXDLSTRIES TkaDE. 

Slineral  products  constitute  but  a  small  portion  of  the  national  wealth  in  the 
land  of  "Silver,"  Even  in  favourable  years  they  scarcely  exceed  £280,000, 
although  certain  gold,  silver,  lead,  and  copper  mines  are  very  rich  in  ores.  But 
they  are  all  situated  in  mountainous  regions  of  difficult  access,  and  in  the  Andean 
provinces  of  the  north-west  they  are  often  blocked  by  snow  in  winter.  The  coal- 
fields of  San  Rafael  and  of  the  foothills  appear  to  constitute  the  chief  mineral 
wealth  of  the  Republic ;  but  mining  operations  have  scarcely  yet  begun  in  these 
rugged  districts. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  industries  are  but  slightly  developed.  Till  recently  they 
were  confined  to  the  production  of  articles  of  primary  necessity  connected  with  the 
alimentation,  housing,  and  clothing  of  the  people,  everything  else  being  imported 
from  Europe  and  the  United  States.  The  only  important  industry  was  directly 
associated  with  stock-breeding — the  preparation  of  meat,  hides,  and  the  like. 
Weaving  had  even  retroffraded  since  the  Indian  women  had  ceased  to  make  stout 
coarse  fabrics  from  various  raw  materials. 

But  the  sudden  penury  caused  by  the  financial  crises  and  bankruptcies  has 
compelled  the  Argentines  to  develop  a  number  of  industries,  which  were  not  needed 
so  long  as  there  was  plenty  of  money  to  buy  all  they  required  in  Europe.  Thus 
have  recently  sprung  up  breweries,  sugar  refineries,  paper  mills,  and  various  other 
iactories,  provided  with  the  best  plant  and  managed  by  skilled  hands. 

Being  favoured  by  the  facility  of  transport  across  the  level  plains,  the  trade  of 


470  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Art^entina  has  acquired  a  surprising  development  during  the  last  decades,  though 
not  to  the  extent  represented  by  misleading  official  returns.  According  to  Mulhall 
the  real  annual  movement  of  exchanges  in  recent  years,  marked  by  a  great  com- 
mercial crisis,  has  been  about  £';32,000,000,  and  in  1889,  the  most  prosperous  year, 
£38,000,000  ;  altogether  the  collective  trade  represents  a  sum  of  from  £8  to  £10 
per  head  of  the  population.  In  this  movement  Great  Britain  takes  by  far  the 
largest  part,  followed  (1891)  by  France,  Belgium,  Germany,  Brazil,  and  the  United 
States  in  the  order  named.  But  since  1892  this  order  has  been  disturbed,  and  at 
present  Germany  ranks  before  Belgium. 

Nearly  all  the  exports  are  either  animal  products  or  agricultural  produce,  while 
the  imports  include  textile  fabrics,  wines  and  alimentary  substances,  machinery, 
hardware,  coal  and  petroleum.  About  two-thirds  of  the  foreign  trade  are  centred 
in  Buenos  Ay  res. 

Na\agation  with  foreign  countries,  including  the  coast  and  fluvial  services  with 
Uruguay,  has  increased  neai-ly  five-fold  during  the  last  decade,  and  to  this  must  be 
added  the  development  of  the  river  navigation  in  Argentina  itself.  Steam  has 
taken  by  far  the  largest  part  of  this  increase,  and  Great  Britain  takes  the  first  place 
in  the  shipping  returns,  the  national  flag  following  next  in  order  of  importance. 
A  single  Navigation  Company  owns  no  less  than  120  steamers  plying  on  the  rivers 
of  the  interior.  On  the  great  navigable  arteries  many  English  and  other  ship- 
owners hoist  the  Argentine  flag  to  avoid  the  heavy  harbour  dues  which  are  levied 
on  foreign  craft.  According  to  a  legal  fiction  of  the  local  administration,  the 
course  of  the  Uruguay  itself  is  regarded  as  an  "  ocean,"  at  least  in  the  section 
between  Concordia  and  Salto.  Thanks  to  the  railways,  however,  the  right  bank 
along  the  Entre-Rios  district  is  being  rapidly  transformed  to  a  continuous  wharf, 
busy  with  sea-borne  traffic. 

COMMU  >•  ICAT I ONS E,  AI LAVAYS EdUCATIOX. 

The  era  of  railway  enterprise  began  in  1857  by  the  construction  of  a  metro- 
politan line  running  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  the  south-western  suburb  of  Flores. 
But  at  first  progress  was  slow  in  the  Plateau  regions,  where  the  easy  natural 
routes  across  the  level  pampas  rendered  railwaj^  communication  less  urgent  than  in 
other  American  countries.  Before  the  introduction  of  wheeled  traffic,  travellers 
for  whom  time  was  an  object  traversed  the  solitudes  with  a  whole  drove  of  horses 
led  at  a  gallop  by  a  mare,  whose  tinkling  bells  brought  the  tropilh  to  a  stand  at 
every  station.  When  his  mount  was  tired,  the  rider  sprang  into  a  fresh  saddle, 
and  so  the  pace  was  kept  up  from  post  to  post,  and  distances  of  70  or  even  90  miles 
were  covered  in  a  single  day.  But  for  merchandise  conveyed  by  pack-mules,  or  in 
lumbering  carts,  the  daj^'s  journey  rarely  exceeded  24  miles,  and  in  disturbed  dis- 
tricts the  convoy  had  to  outspan  at  night  and  form  lager  against  a  possible 
surprise  by  predatory  Indians. 

Then  followed  the  coaching  days,  when  diligences  and  other  vehicles  with 
long  teams  of  horses  crossed  the  plains  at  full  speed,  tearing  through  the  tall 
grasses  and  dense  patches.of  thistle,  scarcely  slacking  the  pace  to  descend  and 


SOCIAL  CONDITION  OF  AEGENTINA. 


471 


mount  the  high  river  banks  and  cross  the  streams  with  the  water  up  to  the  axles 
of  their  enormous  wheels. 

But  these  resources,  adequate  for  a  rudimentary  traffic,  had  to  give  way  to 
steam  when  the  transport  trade  began  to  acquire  a  serious  doveloijuient.  The 
growth  of  railway  enterprise  thus  corresponds  to  that  of  material  progress  in 
other  directions,  and  at  present  the  Argentine  system  rivals  that  of  several 
European  States ;  compared  with  the  respective  populations  it  even  exceeds  them 
all,  Belgium  not  excepted.  But  compared  with  the  extent  of  the  territory  the 
proportion  is  less  favourable  to  Argentina,  where  the  population  is  thinly  scattered 
over  a  region  of  vast  extent. 

The  lines   are  distributed  very  unequally  over  this    region.     Round  the  two 


Fig.  184. — Route  op  the  Tbansandine  Railway. 
Scale  1 : 1,600,000. 


y\    t  :,H  c  n       h 


30  Miles. 


chief  centres,  Buenos  Ayres  and  Rosario,  they  radiate  in  all  directions,  and  also 
atTord  concurrent  routes  parallel  with  the  great  navigable  artery  of  the  Parana. 
But  the  northern  provinces  are  not  entirely  traversed  as  far  as  the  Bolivian 
frontier,  while  towards  the  west  the  passes  over  the  Andes  had  not  yet  been 
reached  in  1894.  Southwards  the  system  extends  no  farther  than  Bahia  Blanca, 
beyond  which  in  the  whole  of  Patagonia  there  exists  only  the  short  line  con- 
necting the  Welsh  colony  on  the  Rio  Chubut  with  its  port  on  the  Golfo  Nuevo. 

On  the  whole  the  traffic  on  the  Argentine  railways  is  considerable,  both  as 
regards  passengers  and  merchandise.  But  the  cost  of  construction,  averaging 
about  £7,300  per  mile,  seems  very  high  for  a  country  needing  so  few  cuttings, 
levellings,  or  other  expensive  works.  This  outlay,  however,  which  is  guaranteed 
by  the  State  for  one-third  of  the  lines,  is  explained  by  reckless  speculation,  loans 


472 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


at  heavy  interest,  tte  administrative  charges  for  boards  of  directors  over  6,000 
miles  distant  from  the  field  of  operations.  In  the  province  of  Santa  Fe,  where  the 
rapid  settlement  of  the  country  insured  immediate  returns,  the  local  Government 
was  able  to  construct  the  first  lines  without  spending  a  single  penny.  All  that  was 
needed  was  to  issue  coupons  redeemable  by  the  future  profits  on  the  transport  trade. 

Fig.  1S.5. — LiiTES  OF  ComnjinciTioN-. 

t'CiUe  1  :  87,000,000. 


VVest  or  ureensvic^ 


Weekly  Services.  Fortnighlly  Services.  llontbly  Services. 

^-^_— ^.^^—  1,240  Miles. 


The  gauge  varies  with  the  different  companies,  ranging  from  5  feet  6  inches 
on  most  lines,  to  not  more  than  40  inches  on  those  of  Santa  Fe.  It  has  been  pro- 
posed to  cut  a  tunnel  under  the  Uruguay  and  the  Parana,  in  order  to  establish 
direct  railway  communication  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Monte  Video.  At 
present  the  most  serious  engineering  work  in  progress  is  a  viaduct,  over  2,200 
jards  long,  crossing  the  E,io  Salado  at  iJolino  de  Balas. 


SOCIAL  CONDITION  OF  ARGENTINA. 


473 


The  telegraph  system  has  been  developed  even  at  a  more  rapid  rate  than  the 
railways,  while  the  postal  service  stands  on  nearly  the  same  level  of  efficiency  as 
that  of  most  commercial  European  nations.  But  the  correspondence  consists 
largely  of  business  letters,  in  which  foreigners  take  a  relativelj'  larger  share  than 
the  natives.  About  half  of  the  whole  correspondence  is  centred  in  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  the  proportion  was  even  higher  some  years  ago. 

Public   instruction,  despite  considerable  progress  during  the  last  decade,  is 


ISG. — Gent:eal  View  of  La  Plata. 


still  far  from  embracing  all  the  youth  of  the  country.  About  three  fourths  of  the 
schools  and  teachers  belong  to  the  State  system  of  education.  But  the  financial 
disasters  which  have  occurred  since  1890  have  involved  the  closing  of  numerous 
establishments,  and  in  several  provinces  the  teachers  have  been  discharged  by 
the  dozen.*     The  rate  of  attendance  has  been   proportionately  reduced  from  onc- 

*  In  AufTiist,  1894.  as  many  as  330  public  schools  in  every  part  of  the  Republic  had  to  be  closed  for 
waut  of  funds  to  maiutaiu  thurn. 


471  A3J:AZ0NIA  and  la  PLATA. 

third  to  one-fourth  for  the  whole  country.  Each  province  has  its  national 
college,  besides  which  there  are  normal  schools,  two  agricultural  schools,  a  school 
of  mines  at  San  Juan,  and  two  universities — Buenos  Ayres  and  Cordoba. 

Excluding  the  ephemeral  sheets,  which  are  due  to  political  rivalries  and  which 
disappear  after  every  election,  the  periodical  press  comprises  (1892)  one  hundred 
and  seventy  newspapers,  of  which  twenty-four  are  dailies.  Of  the  latter  as  many 
as  fifteen  appear  in  Buenos  Ayres  in  the  five  more  important  current  languages — 
Spanish,  Italian,  French,  English,  and  German. 

Administration. 

The  constitution  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  as  framed  by  the  Santa  Fe  Con- 
vention of  1853,  gives  the  State  a  federal  representative  form  of  government. 
Each  of  the  fourteen  provinces  of  the  Confederation  has  its  own  administration, 
represented  in  six  of  them  by  two  Chambers,  and  in  the  eight  others  by  a  single 
leo-islative  bodj'.  But  each  province  has  also  its  governor  or  president,  elected 
for  a  certain  period,  and  assisted  in  some  instances  by  a  vice-governor.  All  adult 
male  citizens  enjoy  the  franchise  for  the  election  of  the  municipal  bodies,  tbe 
provincial  legislatures,  and  Congress.  AU  titles  of  nobility  and  prerogatives  of 
birth  are  abolished. 

Undoubtedly  a  chief  source  of  the  troubles  and  difficulties  besetting  the  Central 
Government  is  the  political  status  of  the  fourteen  provinces.  Each  of  these  is 
practically  an  independent  state,  an  imperium  in  imperio,  framing  its  own  laws 
for  internal  administration,  often  with  L'ttle  regard  to  the  general  interests. 
"When  the  present  constitution  was  adopted  there  were,  no  doubt,  many  reasons 
whv  the  several  provinces  should  enjoy  the  privileges  of  self-government.  The 
distances  were  so  great  and  the  routes  so  difficult,  that  constant  communication 
with  the  Federal  Government  was  impossible,  and  some  of  the  more  remote  regions 
had,  in  fact,  to  be  left  to  themselves.  But  these  difiiculties  have  been  removed 
by  the  development  of  the  railway  and  telegraph  systems,  and  a  reform  of  the 
Constitution  seems  now  urgently  needed  in  the  direction  of  greater  centralisation. 
At  present  (1894)  all  the  provinces  except  Entre-Eios  are  bankrupt,  and  a  favour- 
able opportunity  is  thus  presented  for  the  Central  Government  to  take  over  the 
responsibility  of  the  provincial  debts  in  return  for  the  abolition  of  the  provincial 
organisation. 

Non-naturalised  strangers  are  admissible  to  the  municipal  functions,  and  enjoy 
all  the  civil  rights  of  the  natives,  with  freedom  to  exercise  their  trades  and 
professions,  to  own  real  property,  to  navigate  the  fluvial  waters,  to  practise  their 
religions,  to  give  evidence,  and  to  marry  in  conformity  with  the  general  laws. 
They  arc  not  required  to  take  out  letters  of  naturalisation,  or  to  pay  enforced 
contributions  of  an  exceptional  character.  Naturalisation,  if  desired,  is  obtainable 
by  a  residence  of  two  years,  and  even  sooner  in  case  of  eminent  services  rendered 
to  the  State.  On  the  other  hand  the  children  of  foreigners  are  required,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one,  to  choose  their  nationality,  having  the  option  of  retaining  that 
of  the  father  or  of  becoming  Argentine  citizens. 


ADMIXISTEATION  OF  AEGEXTINA. 


475 


Fiir.  isr 


-Teeeitortat.  Dmsioxs  of  AEOEN-rrN-A.. 
Scale  1  ;  Sl.COO.OOO. 


0    L    I    V    1     A 


■URUGUAY 


The  national  Congress,  seated  at  Buenos  Ayres,  official  capital  of  the  Con- 
federation, comprises  two  elected  bodies.  The  Chamber  of  Deputies  consists  of 
representatives  directly  named  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces  and  of  the 
capital,  in  the  proportion  of  one  for  every  20,000  or  fraction  of  20,000  above 
10,000  of  the  population,  and  elected  for  four  years. 

The  Senate,  modelled  on  that  of  the  United  States,  comprises  two  members  for 
each  province  and  two  for 
Buenos  Ayres,  nominated 
for  nine  years  and,  like  the 
deputies,  re-eligible.  In 
the  provinces  the  senators 
are  elected  by  a  majority 
of  the  local  legislatures ; 
in  Buenos  Ayres  by  a  junt^i 
of  electors  chosen  in  the 
second  degree.  The  vice- 
president  of  the  Confede- 
ration is  ex-officio  president 
of  the  Senate.  The  elec- 
tions rarely  express  the  real 
•will  of  the  people.  Usually 
the  influential  classes  as- 
semble their  clients,  dis- 
tribute the  voting  tickets, 
and  lead  them  in  battalions 
to  the  booths. 

Both  the  president  and 
the  vice-president  are 
chosen  by  a  special  body  of 
electors  for  a  term  of  six 
years.  The  president,  who 
possesses  the  same  sove- 
reign powers  as  in  the 
United  States,  is  assisted 
by  five  ministers  for  the 
interior,  foreign  affairs, 
finance,  public  ■worship 
and   education,    war    and 

navy.     The  president  and  the  vice-president  may  both  assist  at  the  deliberations 
of  Congress  and  take  part  in  the  debates,  but  cannot  vote. 

The  Judiciary  power  of  the  Confederation  is  exercised  by  a  Supreme  Court 
of  Justice,  comprising  nine  judges  and  two  procurators  fiscal  resident  in  the 
capital.  In  principle  they  hold  office  for  life,  "  except  in  case  of  proved 
unworthiness." 


nest  af  L■■^~c^^rv.lc^l 


47G  AILVZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

Religion — Finance. 

Although  all  cults  are  free,  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  are  subsidised,  and 
the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy  enjoys  an  official  status.  It  comprises  the  Archbishop 
of  Buenos  Ayres,  who  must  be  a  native  of  Argentina,  and  four  suffragan  bishops 
— Parana,  Cordoba,  Cuyo,  and  Salta.  The  clergy  number  about  GoO  priests  and 
200  monks  of  various  orders  employed  in  educational  work.  The  priests  are 
eligible  to  the  different  political  bodies. 

The  army  comprises  in  time  of  peace  from  8,000  to  10,000  men  with  1,7U0 
officers;  but  in  1893  a  bill  was  passed  raising  its  strength  to  lo,(JOO  men.  There 
is  an  undue  proportion  of  over-paid  officers,  while  the  rank  and  file  fare  badly. 
The  national  guard,  drawn  largely  upon  during  civil  strife,  comprises  over  400,000 
men,  that  is,  all  able-bodied  citizens  between  the  ages  of  17  and  45,  with  a  reserve 
comprising  all  between  45  and  60. 

The  fleet  consists  of  ironclads,  gunboats,  torpedoes,  and  transports,  with  150 
gims,  24,450  tons,  and  1,500  sailors. 

The  finances  of  the  Republic  are  in  a  deplorable  state,  the  expenditure  regularly 
exceeding  the  income,  while  the  interest  on  the  public  debt  ab'eady  exceeds  the 
annual  revenue.  The  liabilities  thus  continue  to  accumulate,  and  are  now  exces- 
sive compared  with  the  number  of  inhabitants,  despite  continual  reductions  of 
interest  and  pensions,  and  other  retrenchments  equivalent  to  partial  acts  of 
bankruptcy.  The  administration  has  at  times  been  reduced  to  such  straits  that 
it  has  been  unable  to  pay  its  gas  bills,  so  that  the  companies  have  threatened  to 
cut  off  the  supply  from  the  public  offices. 

The  provincial  finances  are  in  the  same  plight,  and  Entre-Rios,  which  has  an 
income  of  only  £000,000,  has  a  debt  the  annual  interest  of  which  amounts  to 
£700,000.  Collectively  the  national,  provincial,  and  municipal  debts  exceed 
£120,000,000,  and  to  this  must  be  added  the  foreign  charges  on  various  so-called 
national  undertakings.  The  railway  companies  are  at  present  (1894)  indebted  to 
English  cajntalists  to  the  extent  of  £50,000,000.  As  a  set-off  there  are  vast 
stretches  of  the  public  domain  still  unsold. 

Each  of  the  fourteen  provinces  is  divided  into  departments,  which  comprise 
so  many  parlidos,  while  the  nine  territories  remain  undivided  into  depai'tments. 
The  provincial  authorities  are  directly  elected  by  the  people,  but  the  President  of 
the  Republic  appoints  the  territorial  governors  for  three  j'ears,  and  these  nominate 
the  district  justices  of  the  peace.  When  a  territory  has  a  population  of  30,000 
it  has  a  right  to  elect  a  legislature,  and  double  that  number  entitles  it  to  enter 
the  Confederation  as  an  "  Argentine  province." 

In  the  appendix  are  tabulated  the  provinces  and  territories,  with  respective 
areas  and  populations. 


Ih^^ 

M 

'^M^^ 

M 

m 

CHAPTER  XYIII. 


FALKLAND   ISLAXDS  AXD   SOUTH   GEORGIA. 

HIS  archipelago,  vrhich  rises  from  the  Atlantic  depths  at  a  distance 
of  340  miles  to  the  east  of  Magellan  Strait,  bears  an  English 
name,  though  not  that  of  its  English  discoverer.  The  islands 
were  first  sighted  by  Davis  in  1592,  and  he  was  followed  in  1594 
by  Hawkins,  who  passed  this  way  on  his  plundering  expedition 
to  the  coast  of  Chili,  and  named  the  group  the  "Maiden  Islands,"  in  honour  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  Then  came  the  Dutchman,  Sebald  de  "Wert,  in  159S,  who  gave 
them  his  own  name. 

Nearly  a  century  later,  that  is,  in  1689,  the  navigator  Strong  dedicated  them 
in  his  turn  to  his  friend  Falkland,  and  this  name  has  prevailed,  although  the 
appellation  of  Malouines,  due  to  a  sailor  of  Saint-Malo,  long  figured  on  the 
French  and  Spanish  maps.  It  was  even  retained  by  the  Argentines,  who  claimed 
the  archipelago  as  part  of  their  domain,  and  gave  it  the  official  name  of 
Mah-inas. 

In  1764  Bougainville  took  the  first  steps  towards  a  permanent  occupation, 
by  letting  loose  some  cattle  in  the  archipelago ;  but  he  founded  no  colony 
pi'operly  so-called.  Then  the  Spanish  Government,  becoming  aware  of  the  pro- 
spective value  of  these  oceanic  lands,  wished  to  establish  a  military  station  on  the 
islands.  But  this  act  of  possession  having  been  accompanied  by  high-handed  pro- 
ceedings against  English  subjects,  the  British  Government  at  once  protested,  and  in 
1765  Admiral  Byron  arriving  with  a  fleet  formally  reinstated  his  fellow-country- 
men in  the  name  of  England,  without,  however,  questioning  any  higher  claims 
or  pretentions  of  Spain.  But  it  was  undoubtedly  a  serious  step,  the  more  so  that 
the  English  station  of  Egmont  was  at  the  same  time  erected  on  the  bay  of  like 
name.  This  was  obviously  a  precedent  which  might  afterwards  be  appealed  to 
as  an  act  of  formal  possession. 

After  the  TTar  of  Independence,  however,  the  Argentine  Republic,  heir  to  the 
rights  of  Spain,  took  advantage  of  the  fact  that  the  English  military  post  had 
meanwhile  been  abandoned,  owing  to  the  heavy  cost  of  maintenance,  and  in  1828 
gave  a  concession  of  the  Falkland  Islands  to  Louis  Yernet,  a  stockbreeder.     This 


478 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


settler  held  his  ground  for  three  years,  until  the  day  when  he  rashly  attempted 
to  levy  fiscal  dues  on  some  North  American  whalers.  The  result  was  that  he 
received  a  visit  from  a  United  States  corvette,  which  laid  his  \'illage  in  ashes. 

Two  years  after  that  event  Great  Britain  resumed  definite  possession  of  the 
Falkland  Islands,  regardless  of  the  protests  made  by  Argentina  against  this 
annexation.  Although  a  natural  dependency  of  the  South  American  Continent, 
the  archipelago  has  thus  become  a  British  colony  like  part  of  the  Guianas 
and  the  islands  of  Trinidad  and  Tobago  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  main- 
land. 

Although  one  of  the  least  important  lands  in  the  vast  colonial  empire  of 

Fig.  188. — Falkland  Aechipblaoo. 
Scale  t :  3,300,000. 


sy 


Depths. 


Oto60 
Fathoms. 


60  to  100 
Fathoms. 


100  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


,  GO  Miles. 


Great  Britain,  this  group  of  antarctic  islands  has,  nevertheless,  a  certain  value 
as  a  cattle  run.  But  it  is  prized  by  its  present  masters  more  especiallj'  as  a 
strategical  position,  keeping  guard  on  the  highway  of  communication  between  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans. 

Lying  under  52°  south  latitude,  that  is,  at  the  same  distance  south  of  the 
equator  as  parts  of  England  and  Holland  north  of  the  line,  the  Falklands  might  be 
supposed  from  their  rigorous  climate  to  be  situated  much  nearer  to  the  south  pole. 
The  polar  aspect  of  these  oceanic  lands  is  even  intensified  by  the  mountains  which 


FALKXANT)  ISLANDS.  479 

occupy  the  nortDem  districts,  and  which  attain  in  the  culminating  peak  of  Mount 
Adam  an  altitude  of  2,320  feet. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  indentations  of  the  coasts,  the  deep  straits  separating 
the  two  chief  members  of  the  group  and  the  hundred  clustering  islets,  and 
from  the  traces  of  ancient  glaciers,  that  the  Falkland^  are  the  remains  of  a 
coast  region  carved  into  fiords  like  the  Magellanic  lands.  The  crests  of  the  hills 
also  are  all  disposed  in  the  same  direction  from  north-west  to  south-east.  In 
winter  the  resemblance  is  heightened  by  the  snows  which  cover  the  uplands  and 
whiten  the  plains  for  a  few  hours. 

But  the  Falklands,  being  exposed  to  fierce  gales,  lack  the  arborescent  vegeta- 
tion which  clothes  the  lower  slopes  of  the  Fuegian  mountains.  So  violent  are 
the  winds  that  they  are  said  at  times  to  uproot  and  scatter  like  straw  the  very 
cabbages  grown  in  the  kitchen  gardens  of  the  settlers.  Hains  also  are  frequent, 
and,  like  the  home  country,  the  archipelago  is  often  shrouded  in  fogs  and  mists, 
especially  during  the  spring  and  autumn  months ;  these,  however,  usually  lift 
towards  noon. 

On  the  other  hand  the  climate,  being  essentially  oceanic,  offers  no  great 
discrepancies  between  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and  except  for  the  bluster- 
ing winds,  it  presents  no  features  to  which  colonists  from  Great  Britain  are  not 
accustomed.     The  climate  of  Port  Stanley  is  even  damper  than  that  of  London.* 

Next  to  the  sweet  grass  known  by  the  name  of  tussock  {dactt/lis  cespitosa), 
on  which  the  flocks  fatten,  the  most  prevalent  vegetation  are  the  mosses  and 
lichens.  A  great  part  of  the  surface,  even  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  is  carpeted 
with  a  turf  indicating  the  presence  of  bogs,  where  it  is  difficult  to  lay  down  a 
single  track.  The  quadrupeds  are  represented  only  by  a  few  foxes ;  but  aquatic 
fowl  whirl  in  multitudes  over  the  islands,  the  bays,  and  inland  lagoons,  and  of 
these  several  species  are  easily  tamed.  Penguins  are  drawn  up  in  battalions  on 
the  overhanwinff  ledges  in  such  numbers  that  the  governor  of  the  islands  is  nick- 
named  "  King  of  the  Penguins."  Hundreds  of  thousands  are  annually  killed  for 
the  sake  of  their  oil.  The  fishers  also  capture  some  species  of  salmon  and  other 
fishes,  and  till  recently  pursued  the  whale,  which  has  now  become  rare  in  these 
waters. 

The  animals  introduced  into  the  archipelago  by  Bougainville  have  multiplied. 
But  by  a  remarkable  contrast,  which  attests  the  influence  of  the  environment  on 
the  gradual  modification  of  species,  the  horses  have  become  smaller  and  smaller 
with  every  successive  generation,  while  the  cattle  have,  on  the  contrary,  increased 
in  size.f 

Nevertheless,  stock-breeders  reject  the  oxen  and  direct  their  attention  almost 
exclusively  to  sheep-farming.       In   1852  a  syndicate  of  Uruguayan  proprietors 

*  Meteorological  conditions  of  the  Falklands  and  South  Georgia  :^ 

Temperature. 
LatituJe.  ^ 

max. 
Tort  Stanley  (Falklands) 
Royal  Bay  (S.  Georgia)  . 

t  Charles  Darwin,  Voyage  of  the  Beagle. 


LatituJe. 

max. 

mean. 

minr^ 

51°  41- 

76°  Fahr. 

43°  Fahr. 

12°  Fahr. 

or  31' 

67°  Fahr. 

34°  Fahr. 

9°  Fahr. 

480 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


selected  a  peninsula  on  the  eastern  island  as  a  convenient  site  for  an  estancia  of 
about  100,000  sheep.  The  success  of  this  first  venture  gave  rise  to  others,  and 
iu  18G7  the  first  flocks  were  introduced  into  the  western  island,  which  had 
hitherto  been  neglected. 

In  1891  the  sheep  belonging  to  the  Falkland  breeders  were  estimated  at 
G7G,000,  yielding  over  1,000  tons  of  wool,  valued  at  £107,000.  The  archipelago 
lias  also  become  a  depot  for  the  fleece  imported  from  Fuegia.      The  herbage  of  the 


Fig.  189.— Poet  Stanley. 
Sa-ile  1  :  14S.0OO 


*%ir^p^^w^ 


57°  52-  West   oF  Gr-eenwich 


S/"'*''' 


Depths. 


0to5 
Fathoms. 


5  to  10 
Fathoms. 


10  to  25 
Fathoms. 


2.'^  Fathnins 
and  upwards. 


Seaweed. 


islands  is  so  nutritious  that  many  of  the  sheep  yield  on  an  average  seven  or  eight 
pounds'  weight  of  a  somewhat  coars3  wool.  Recently  the  frozen  meat  industry 
has  been  introduced,  and  some  cargoes  have  already  been  consigned  to  the  English 
market. 

Port  Stanley,  capital  of  the  archipelago,  possesses  an  ideal  harbour,  a  natural 
basin  sheltered  from  all  winds,  and  fringed  round  its  shores  with  thick  beds  of 
seaweed,  which  deaden  the  shock  of  the  waves.  Many  vessels,  knocked  about 
during  the  stormy  passage  round  Cape  Ilorn,  put  into  Port  Stanley  for  repairs 


SOUTH  GEOBGIA. 


481 


and  a  fresh  supply  of  prorisions.     An  inlet  in  the  harhour  is  full  of  dismasted 
hulks  which  were   found  too  damaged  to  be  worth  while  patching  up  again. 

The  administration  of  the  archipelago  is  entrusted  to  a  governor,  directly 
appointed  by  the  Crown,  and  assisted  by  a  legislative  and  an  executive  council, 
also  nominated  by  the  Queen.  Since  1892  the  colonists  have  begun  to  take 
part  in  the  government  of  the  islands. 

Soi-TH  Georgl\. 
South  Georgia,  about  1,600  square  miles  in  extent,  depends  administratively 
on  the  Government  of  the  Falkland  Islands.      But   it  is  uninhabited,   and  only 
occasionallv  visited  by  fishers  and   sailors.      Even  its  contour  Hnes  are  not  yet 


Fig.  190. — South  Geobgia. 

«^le  1  :  l,900,O:«  Milea. 


.  SS  Miles. 


accurately  determined,  and  the  surveys  taken  by  the  English  and  Russian  navi- 
gators do  not  penetrate  inland,  nor,  in  some  cases,  even  to  the  head  of  the  bays 
and  creeks. 

The  relief  of  the  interior  was  unknown  in  the  year  1882,  when  a  German 
scientific  expedition  established  itself  at  Eoyal  Bay,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of 
the  island,  to  take  part  in  the  circumpolar  studies,  at  that  time  undertaken  by  the 
leading  maritime  powers  in  connection  with  the  transit  of  Tenus.  But  the 
expedition  confined  its  explorations  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  bay. 

The  island,  above  which  rise  snowv-  peaks  ranging  from  6,500  to  8,000  feet  in 
height,  consists  exclusively  of  very  old  unfossiliferous  formations,  gneiss,  and 
argillaceous  schists,  of  difiicult  access  from  the  sea.     The  clifEs  have  been  worn  by 


VOL    XIX. 


1 1 


482  A5IAZ0>nA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

"•lacicrs,  which  have  scooped  out  deep  troughs  in  the  less  compact  argillaceous 
masses,  while  leaving  intact  the  peaks  and  headlands  of  harder  gneiss  formation. 
Frontal  moraines  are  seen  at  the  issue  of  the  valleys  formerly  filled  with  crystal 
streams. 

The  Ross  glacier,  whose  broken  fragments  float  away  across  Royal  Bay,  is 
developed  in  a  basin  at  least  50  square  miles  in  extent.  The  lower  limit  of 
persistent  snow  descends  to  about  2,000  feet  above  sea-level. 

The  snowy  peaks  and  headlands  of  South  Georgia  are  constantly  shrouded  in 
fo<TS,  and  snow  frequently  faUs  even  in  February,  the  warmest  month  in  the  year. 
No  tree  grows  in  the  island,  and  the  German  naturalists  were  unable  to  collect 
more  than  thirteen  species  of  flowering  plants ;  of  these  all  but  one  are  also  found 
in  the  neighbouring  Falklands  and  in  Fuegia.  The  thirteenth  belongs  to  the 
flora  of  distant  New  Zealand. 

Mosses  clothe  aU  the  inland  plateaux  and  all  the  slopes  facing  the  northern 
sun,  while  the  rocky  escarpments  turned  towards  the  south  pole  are  destitute  of 
vegetation.      These  mosses  of  the  insular  flora,  which  resemble   the  arctic  forms, 

o 

impart  to  South  Georgia  a  physiognomy  quite  distinct  from  that  of  the  other 
South  American  lands. 

The  fauna  of  the  island  comprises,  besides  various  species  of  penguins,  a  soli- 
tary songster,  a  member  of  the  lark  family. 

South  Georgia  lies  imder  the  same  latitude  as  Tierra  del  Fuego,  that  is  to  say, 
considerably  nearer  to  the  antarctic  circle  than  the  Falklands.  Its  position  is 
also  far  more  isolated  in  the  midst  of  the  South  Atlantic  waters,  remote  from  all 
the  great  highways  of  navigation,  some  1,250  miles  east  of  Magellan  Strait,  and 
in  the  direct  track  of  the  antarctic  polar  current.  Hence  the  mean  temperature 
is  several  degrees  lower  than  that  of  Ushuia  on  Beagle  Channel  in  Fuegia. 

Nevertheless,  the  moist,  stormy  climate,  being  somewbat  equable,  is  believed  to 
be  suitable  for  sheep  farming,  like  that  of  the  Falklands.  The  same  nourishing 
tussock  grass  also  grows  up  to  an  altitude  of  1,000  feet.  But  on  the  other  hand 
few  settlers  are  likely  to  be  attracted  to  such  a  dreary  abode,  a  storm-tossed  rocky 
prison,  lost  in  tbe  waste  of  waters  on  the  verge  of  the  habitable  globe. 

Farther  south  towards  the  antarctic  pole,  the  southern  seas,  with  their  convoys 
of  huge  icebergs,  sweep  round  the  planetary  surface,  awaiting  the  future  Scoresbys 
and  Nansens,  who  are  to  lift  the  veil  now  concealing  the  mysteries  of  those 
unexplored  solitudes. 


APPENDIX 


STATISTICAL    TABLES. 


THE   GTJIAJfAS. 

Area  in  sg.  miles. 

Gniana  contested  by  Great  Britain  and  Venezuela  52,000 

British  Gniana,  including  the  region  contested  by  Branl  50,000 

Dutch  Guiana 50,000 

French  Gniana 32,000 

Guiana  contested  by  France  and  Brazil 105,000 

Total     .                 .  289,000 

APPROXIMATE  POPULATION  OF  THE  GUIANAS  ACCORDING  TO   RACES  (1893). 


Civilized  TmliaTu 
Wild  TTir^iflTm 

Bush  Xegroes 

Other  Blacks  and  Mulattoes 

Hindus.  Chinese.  Malays 

Portuguese  and  Brazilians 

Europeans 

Other  Whites,  Troops,  &c. 

Total 


British. 

Dutch. 

French.     C 

kntested  Coast 

Total. 

1,000 

200 

400 

2.000 

.-i.eoo 

7,000 

2.500 

1,000 

300 

10,800 

200 

16.000 

1,000 

17,200 

130.000 

55,000 

21,700 

GOO 

207,300 

135,000 

3,600 

4,000 

142,600 

14,000 

500 

300 

100 

14,900 

4,800 

750 

100 

100 

5.750 

1,000 

1,450 

5,700 

8,150 

292,200 


80,000 


34.200 


3,100 


410.300 


BRITISH  GITANA. 

Approximate  area,  102,000  sq.  miles  :  pop.  (1893),  292,000. 

Chief  towns :— Georgetown,  56,000  ;  New  Amsterdam,  9,000  ;  Bartica,  2,000. 

Sugar  plantations  (1890).  80,000  acres. 

Sugar  crop  (1891),  117,204  hogsheads  :  ralue,  £1,650,000. 

Rum  (1891),  £267,000  :  molasses,  £44,000. 

Total  value  of  sugar  products  (1891),  £1,950,000. 

Exports  (1891),  £2,532,000  ;  imports,  £1,710,000  ;  total,  £4,242,000. 

Yield  of  gold  (1884),  £900  ;   (1892)  £460,000. 

Shipping  (1891),  647.000  tons. 

Commercial  fleet  of  British  Gniana.  141  vessels  of  6,625  tons. 

Revenue  (1890),  £500,000  ;  debt,  £200.000. 

Railw.iys,    23  miles  ;  telegraphs,  275  miles  ;  telephones,  190  miles 

1  I  2 


484 


APPENDIX. 


DUTCH  GUIANA. 

Area,  50,000  sq.  miles  ;  population  (1893),  80,000. 

Paramaribo:  population  (1893),  28,800. 

Plantations:  cacao,  bananas,  &c.,  1,320  acres. 

Production  of  gold  (1891),  £135,000. 

Exports  (1893),  £360,000  ;  imports,  £500,000  ;  total,  £860.000. 

Shipping  (1892),  entered  and  cleared  :  46u  vessels  :   190,000  tons. 

FRENCH  GUIANA. 

Area,  32,000  sq.  miles ;  population  (1893),  25,000. 

Cayenne:  population  (1893),  10,600. 

Convicts  at  Saint-Laurent  (1892),  1,105. 

PoUtical  exiles  of  Saint- Jean  (1892),  1,237. 

Prisoners  in  the  Islands  du  Salut  (1891),  685. 

Agricultural  produce  (1889),  £155,000. 

Imports  (1889),  £360,000;  exports,  £171,000;  total,  £532,000. 

Revenue  (18:i3),  £74,000  ;  expenditure,  £54,000. 


BRAZIL. 

State-s. 

Area  in  sq.  miles. 

Pop.  (188S). 

Est.  Pop.  (1894) 

Amazonas   .... 

732,400 

80,654 

90,000 

Para 

443,653 

407,350 

450,000 

Maranhao    .... 

177,566 

488,443 

500,000 

Piauhy         .... 

116,218 

266,933 

300,000 

Ceara  

40,253 

952,625 

1,000,000 

Rio  Grande  do  Norte  . 

22,195 

SOS, 852 

320,000 

Parahyba    .... 

28,854 

496,618 

500,000 

Pemambuco 

49,625 

1,110,831 

1,150,000 

Alagoas       .... 

22,583 

459,371 

550,000 

Sergipe        .... 

7,370 

232,640 

370,000 

Bahia 

164,649 

1,821,089 

2,000,000 

Espirito  Santo      . 

17,312 

121,562 

200,000 

Eio  de  Janeiro     . 

26,634 

1,164,468 

1,300,000 

Municipio  Neutro  (City  of  Eio) 

638 

406,958 

530,000 

Santa  Catharina  . 

27,436 

236,346 

250,000 

Rio  Grande  do  Sul 

91,3:35 

564,527 

1,050.000 

Minas  Geraes 

222.160 

3.018,807 

3,200,000 

Matto  Grosso 

532,708 

79,750 

100.000 

■  Goyaz         .... 

288,546 

211,721 

250,000 

Parana 

85,453 

187,548 

320,000 

San  Paulo   .... 

112,330 

1,386,242 

1,500,000 

Total     . 

.     3,209,878 

14,002,335 

15,950,000 

CHIEF  TOWNS   OF  AMAZONAS  AND  PARA  (1893). 


Manaos  (Baixa  do  Rio  Negro) 

.      50,000 

Cameta 

TefEe  (Ega) 

1,000 

Santarem 

Para  (Belem)        .... 

.     110,000 

Macapa 

Average  annual  exports  of  Para  (1880-93),  £3,400.000. 
Exports  of  rubber  (1892),  18,800  tons  ;  value,  £1,800,000. 
Receipts  of  the  Para  Cu.stom  House  (1893), £1,280,000. 


10,000 
2,000 
1,000 


CHIEF  TOWNS  OF  GOYAZ  (1893). 
Goyaz,  8,000  ;  Formosa,  3,000  ;  PyrenopoUs,  2,500. 


APPENDIX. 


485 


CHIEF  TOWNS  OF  THE  M.\RrmiE  STATES  BETWEEN  THE  TOCANTINS  AND  THE 
RIO   SAN  FRANCISCO,  WITH  ESTIMATED  POPULATION. 


Maila^iuao. 

Sao  Luiz 

45,000 

Vianna   . 

11,000 

Caxias    . 

10.000 

Alcantara 

PlAUHY. 

5,000 

Pamahyba 

. 

12,000 

Therezina 

10,000 

Amarra9ao 

5,000 

Oeiras     . 

Gbaba. 

2,000 

Fortaleza 
Aracaty . 

30,000 
16,000 

MarangTiape 

12,000 

Sobral     . 

10,500 

Baturite 

10,000 

San  Luis : 

exchanges  (1S92) 

£813,000. 

Rio  Gkaxde  do  Nokte. 


Natal 

Jlacan  ..... 
Ceara  Mirini  .... 
Mossoro  .... 

Pakahyba. 
Parahyba  .... 
llamanguape 

Peenambuco. 
Recife  (Pemambuco) 
Nazareth         .         .         •         . 
Goyana  ..... 
Palmares        .... 
Camaru  .... 

AliiGOAS. 

Maceio  and  Jaragua 
Alagoas  .... 


6,000 
6,000 
4,000 
3,000 

40,000 
10,000 

120,000 

15,000 

10,000 

5,000 

3,000 

15,000 
5,000 


Pemambuco:  average  exchanges,  £8,000,000;  sugar  exported  (1892),  23,472  tons;  Cuatom-house 
receipts,  £1,100,000;  shipping,  from  1,600,000  to  2,000,000  tons. 


CHIEF  TOWNS  OF  THE  SAN  FRANCISCO  BASIN,  WITH  ESTIMATED  POPULATION. 

Bahta  and  Espikito  Santo. 


MiNAs  Gebaes. 

Ouro  Preto 

. 

20,000 

Diamantina    . 

14,000 

Januaria 

10,000 

Serro 

7,000 

Sahara  . 

5,000 

Pitanguy 

3,000 

Morro  Velho  . 

Seegipe. 

2,500 

Aracaju . 

15,000 

S.  Christovao 

5,000 

Propria  . 

3,000 

Bahia    . 

200,000 

Cachoeira 20,000 

Nazareth 

8,000 

Santo  Amaro  . 

7,000 

Itapariea 

6,000 

Barra  do  Rio  Grande 

6,000 

Carinhanha    . 

3,000 

Canavieiras     . 

3,000 

CaraveUas 

3,000 

Philadelphia  . 

2,000 

Ilheos     . 

1,500 

Porto  Seguro 

1,000 

Victoria 

20,000 

Bahia  :  -Average imports,  £2,000,000  ;  exports,  £1,800,000  ;  shipping,  3,000  vessels,  1,700,000  tons  ; 
Custom-house  receipts  (1892),  £1,950,000. 


CHIEF  TOWNS  OF  THE   STATE  OF  RIO    DE  JANEIRO,   WITH   ESTIMATED 

POPULATION  (1893). 


Rio  de  Janeiro 
Nictheroy 
Campos 
Rio  Bonito 
Itaboraby 
Rezende . 
S.  Fidelis 


515,000 

Barra  Mansa  . 

36,000 

Petropolis 

27,000 

Pirahy    . 

21,000 

S.  Pedro  d'Aldeia 

18,000 

Macacu  . 

16,000 

Sumidouro 

14,000 

Vassouras 

12,500 
12,000 
12,000 
11,900 
11,500 
10,500 
9,500 


Rio:— Coffee  exported  (1892),  236,000  tons,  value  £8,000,000;  total  exports,  £9,600,000  :  imports, 
£16,000,000  ;  Custom-house  receipts,  £4,800,000  ;  shipping,  5,352  vessels  of  5,612,600  tone  ;  immigrants 
landed,  54,500. 


486 


APPENDIX. 


CHEEF  TOWNS  OF   THE    PAEANA   BASIN    AND    ADJACENT   SEABOARD,    WITH 
ESTIMATED   POPULATION  (1893). 


MiNAS. 


Juiz  de  Fora  . 

Uberaba 

S.  Joao  del  Rey 

S.  Paulo 

Campinaa 

Santos   . 

Taubate 

Pindamonhangaba 

Lorena  . 

Guaratingueta 

Curitiba 

Desterro 
Blnmenau 


15,000 

Barbacena 

12,000 

Tiradentes 

8,000 

Caxambu 

S.  Patilo. 

00,000 

Rio  Claro 

18,000 

Kiberao  Preto 

15,000 

Itu 

15,000 

Faxina  . 

15,000 

Jundiahy 

11,000 

Piracicaba 

10,000 

Sorocaba 

Paeana. 

6,000 

Paranagua     . 

Santa  Ca 

THAETNA. 

15,000 

Laguua 

5,000 

JoinviUe 

6,000 

5,000 
3,000 

8,000 

8,000 
6,000 
6,000 
5,000 
5,000 
4,000 

3,000 

3,000 
2,500 


Santos :— Average  imports,  £.3,000,000;   exports,  £12,000,000;   shipping  (1892),  1,034  vessels  of 
537,000  tons  ;  coffee  exported,  150,000  tons,  value  £7,300,000  ;  Custom-house  receipts,  £1,300,000. 
Paranagua: — Shipping  (1892),  376  vessels  ;  mate  exported,  19,350  tons,  value  £312,000. 

CHIEF  TOWNS  OF  RIO  GRANDE   DO   SUL,   WITH  ESTIMATED  POPULATION   (1893). 


Porto  Alegre  .... 

52,000 

Santa  Cruz     . 

6,000 

Pelotas 

35,000 

Santa  Anna    . 

6,000 

Rio  Grande    .... 

23,000 

Jaguarao 

8,000 

Bage 

22,000 

Alegrete 

4,000 

S.  Leopoldo   .... 

8,000 

Itaquy  . 

4,000 

Uraguayana  .... 

8,000 

S.  Borja 

2,500 

Rio  Grande  :— Total  exchanges  (1891),  £2,700,000  ;  shipping  (1891),  326,000  tons. 

CHIEF  TOWNS  OF  MATTO  GROSSO,  WITH  ESTIMATED  POPULATION  (1893). 


Cuyaba  . 

Corumba  and  Ladario 

S.  Luiz  de  Caceres  . 


Population. 

18,000 

7,000 

4,500 


Sant'  Antonio 
Eosario  . 
Matto  Grosso 
Diamantino    . 


Population. 
4,000 
3,000 
1,400 
1,000 


POPULATION  OF  BRAZIL  AT  VARIOUS  DATES. 
,     1770,  1,900,000;  1819,  3,617,000;  1872,  9,930,000;  1883,  12,600,000;  1893,  15,750,000. 

IMMIGRATION  RETURNS  FROM  1804  TO  1892. 

First  period         .         .     1804— 1854,  140,000,  or    3,000  a  year. 
Second  period  .     1855— 1885,  498,115,  or  16,066       „ 

Third  period       .         .     1886—1892,  688,906,  or  98,415       „ 


Total      .     1,327,021 
Italian  immigrants,  January  1,  1893,  554,000. 

NATIONALITY  OF  THE  191,152  IMMIGRANTS  LANDED  AT  RIO  IN  1891. 


Italians     . 

Portuguese 

Spaniards 

Poles  and  Russians 

Gcermans  . 

Aastriaus 


116,000 
30,071 
18,668 
11,598 

.  4,317 
2,883 


Scandinavians   . 

English,  Scotch,  Irish 

French 

"Turks" 

Belgians    . 

Svriss 


1,847 

1,933 

1,309 

863 

378 

198 


APPENDIX. 


487 


BRAZILIAN  COFFEE  CHOP  AT  VARIOUS  EPOCHS. 


1S20 
1840 
1S70 


5,085  tons 
68,000     „ 
132,500     „ 


1880 
1890 
1892 


POSITION  OF  BRAZIL  IN  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  COFFEE  (1890). 


Cuba  and  Puerto  Rico 
British  India 
West  Africa 
Sundries    . 


330,000  tons 

490,000  „ 

444,000  ,, 

35,000  tons 

30,000  „ 

20,000  ,. 

100,000  ,, 

Brazil 490,000  tons 

Central  America  and  Mexico      .  80,000     ,, 

Java  and  Sumatra     .        .        .  60,000    ,, 

Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo  .  43,000     ,, 

Arerage  yearly  production  of  sugar  in  Brazil :  200,000  tons  ;  value,  £3,200,000. 
Average  yearly  production  of  rum  :  2,200,000  gallons  ;  value,  £160,000. 
Production  of  rubber :  (1840),  400  tons;  (1860),  2,500:  (1891),  20,000. 
Production  of  rubber  (1839—1891)  :  269,206  tons ;  value,  £58,000,000. 
Homed  cattle  (estimated),  1893  :  18,000,000. 

FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  BRAZIL  (1885—1890). 

Imports.  Exports.  Total. 

1885 £19.700.000  £29,000,000  £48,700,000 

1886 31,000,000  36,000,000  67,000,000 

1888 26,000,000  21,000,000  47,000,000 

1890 25,900,000  31,000,000  56,900,000 

Exports  to  Great  Britain  (1891),  £4,250,000. 

Imports  from  Great  Britain  (1891),  £8,290,000. 

Shipping  (1890) :  13,900  vessels  of  6,000,000  tons. 

COMMERCIAL  FLEET  OF  BRAZIL. 

383  sailing  vessels 8,555  tons. 

136  steamers 81,698  tons. 

Total    .     524  vessels 90,253  tons. 

Railways  open  (1892),  4,788  miles  ;  in  progress,  2,832  miles. 
Telegraphs  (1893),  9,000  miles  ;  despatches,  1,552,000. 
Letters  forwarded  (1892),  36,694,000,  or  24  per  head. 
Public  schools  (1893),  8,000;  attendance  (estimated),  380,000. 
Higher  schools  (1890),  23  ;  attendance,  3,485. 
Army  (1891),  29,000  men;   1,600  officers;   15,000  gendarmerie. 

Navy  (1893) :  3  ironclads,  7  unarmed  cruisers,  17  grunboats,  28  other  vessels;  total,  63  vessels,  250 
guns,  4,000  sailors,  700  officers. 

Revenue  (1892),  £11,000,000  ;  expenditure,  £12,200,000  ;  deficit,  £1,200,000. 
Public  debt  (1893)  :  foreign,  £29,500,000  ;  internal,  £28,000,000  ;  total,  £57,500,000. 


PARAGUAY. 

Area,  98,000  square  miles  ;  population  (1887),  330,000. 
Estimated  population  (1893),  530,000,  or  5  per  square  mile. 


CHIEF  TOWNS,   WITH   ESTIMATED   POPULATION  (1893). 

Concepcion   .... 

Villeta 

Vina  del  Pilar 

Ita 

Encamacion 


Asuncion  (capital)         ....      35,000 

Luque 9,000 

ViUaRica 7,500 

San  Pedro 3,500 

Paraguari 3,000 

Mate  exported  (1887),  6,413  tons;  total  production,  11,443  tons  ;  value,  £440,000. 

Oranges  exported  (1888),  50,000,000. 

Tobacco  exported  (1886),  4,784  tons;  total  production,  10,497  tons. 

Live-stock  (1891) :  cattle,  861,000  :  horses,  asses,  mules,  104,220  ;  sheep,  &c.,  76,000 

Exchanges  (1891),  £1,073,000  :  shipping,  2.354  vessels  of  307,000  tons. 

Railway,  90  miles  ;  letters  forwarded  (1891),  1,124,000. 

Schools  (1891).  292  :  attendance,  18.950. 

Revenue  (1891),  £27,500;  expenditure,  £132,000;  deficit,  £104,500. 

PubUc  Debt  (1892) :  English,  £831,000  ;  internal,  £500,000  ;  total,  £1,331,000. 


2,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,000 
1,500 


488 


APPENDIX. 


URUGUAY. 


Area,  72,110  square  miles  ;  population  (estimated),  1893,  750,000. 

DepartmentB.  Area  in  sq.  miles. 

Salto 4,863 

Artigas 4,392 

Paysandu 5,115 

Rio  Negro 3,269 

Soriano           ........  3,560 

LaColonia 2,192 

San  Jose 2,687 

Flores 1.744 

Montevideo 256 

Canelones 1,833 

Maldonado 1,584 

Rocha 4,280 

Minas 4,844 

TreintayTres 3,686 

Cerro  Largo  ........  5,753 

Tacuarembo  ....          ....  8,074 

Rivera 3,790 

Durazno         ........  5,525 

Florida 4,673 

Total  72,110 


Pop.  (est.;,  1891. 
32,000 
17,800 
28,400 
14,.300 
27,500 
38,200 
21,100 
15,300 
234,000 
73,800 
20,600 
17,500 
.  22,500 
15,700 
28,000 
22,400 
19,000 
24,200 
29,500 


701,800 


POPULATION   OF   URUGUAY  AT   DIFFERENT  EPOCHS. 


1796 
1829 
1852 


31,000 

74  000 

132,000 


1860 
1883 
1893 


221,000 
476,000 
750,000 


CHIEF  TOWNS,  WITH   ESTIMATED   POPULATION   (1893). 


Monte  Video 
Paysandu   . 
Salto  . 
Mercedes    . 
San  Jose     . 


200,000 

Cerro  Largo  (Melo) 

6,000 

20,000 

Rocha 

6,000 

12,000 

Santa  Lucia 

5,000 

9,000 

Fray  Bentos 

6,000 

7,000 

Minas 

6,000 

IMMIGRANTS  LANDED  AT  MONTE  VIDEO. 


1835  to  18.52 
1853  to  1872 
1873  to  1890 


36,000  or    2,000  a  year. 
171,000  or    8,500 
224,000  or  13,000 


LIVE  STOCK  OF  URUGUAY. 


Horses 

Cattle 

Sheep 


1890 £6,500,000 

1891 

Total  exports  of  animal  produce  (1890),  £4,700,000. 


1860. 

1884. 

1890. 

740,000 

670,000 

360.000 

5,220,000 

6,830,000 

5,280,000 

2,  .590,000 

10.540,000 

13,760,000 

Imports. 

Exports. 

Total. 

£6,500,000 

£6,000,000 

£12,500,000 

3,800,000 

5,400,000 

9,200,000 

APPENDIX. 


489 


SHIPPING  RETURNS  (1892). 


Entered 
Cleared 


12,785  vessels  of  4,270,043  tons. 
12,689         ,,         4,976,905     „ 


Total 


25,474  vessels  of  9,246,948  tons. 


Railways  (1891)  :  9S0  miles  open  ;  400  mOes  in  process. 

Passengers  carried,  630,000  ;  goods,  510,000  tons. 
Telegraphs;  2,705  miles;  despatches,  233,000. 
Letters  forwarded,  6,588,000;  papers,  packages,  &o.,  14,942,000. 

PubUc  Schools  (1890)      .  .         .470       Attendance  38,747 

Private      „  „  .         .         .         .     407  ,,  21,410 


Total     .        .     877  Attendance  60,157 

1S88.  1890.                         1892. 

Revenue £2,730,000  £3,000,000          £3,100,000 

Expenditure 2,767,000  3,050,000             2,600,000 

PubUc  debt  (1892):  Internal,   £2,370,000;  external,  £18,192,000;   international,  £376,000;  total, 
£20,938,000. 

Army,  3,500  ;  civilian  force,  3,260  ;  police,  4,000. 


Real  Property 


1883. 
£50,000,000 


£58,000,000 


1891. 
£52,000,000 


AKGENTINA. 


Area,  1,125,000  square  miles;  population  (estimated),  4,086,000. 


LrrTOEAL 


Andes 


Centeai,    . 


NOETHEEN 


Peovincbs, 
Federal  Bistrict 
Buenos  Ayres 
Sante  Fe 
Entre  Rios     . 
Corrientes 

(Rioja     . 
Catamaroa     . 
San  Juan 
Mendoza 
/  Cordoba 
I  San  Luis 

"I  Santiago  del  Estero 
[  Tucuman 
j  Salta      . 
I  Jujuy    . 


Area  in  sq.  nulee. 
70 
63,000 
18,000 
45,000 
54,000 
31,500 
31,500 
29,700 
54,000 
54,000 
18,000 
31,500 
13,500 
45,000 
27,000 


Population. 
561,160 
850,000 
240,332 
300,000 
290,000 
100,000 
130,000 
125,000 
160,000 
380,000 
100,000 
160,000 
210,000 
200,000 
90,000 


Total     . 

.      515,770 

3,916,492 

Teeeitoeibs. 

'  Missiones       .... 

23,932 

50,000 

NoETHEEN 

Formosa ) 
y  Chaco      i 

.       125,012 

60,000 

Centeal     . 

Pampa 

Rio  Negro 
Neuquen 

.       191,842 

40,000 

SuUTlllCtCW 

Patagonia) 

Chubut 
Santa  Cruz 
Tierra  del  Fuego  ^ 

I 

.       208,000 

30,000 

Grand  Total 


1,125,150 


4,086,492 


490 


APrENDIX. 


CHIEF  TOWNS,  WITH  APPEOXIMATE  POPULATIONS  (1893). 


Missions  Foemosa,  Chaco. 


Posadas 
Formosa 
Kcsistencia 


CORErENTES. 


Corrientes .... 
Goya  .... 

Caacati      .... 
Libres        .... 

Entee-Rios. 
Parana 

Gualeguaychu    . 
Concordia  . 
Gualeguay 

Concepcion  del  Uruguay 
Nogoya 


Santa  Ffi. 


Eosario 
Santa  Fe    . 
Esperanza  . 


San  Luis. 


VOla  Mercedes 
San  Luis    . 


COEDOBA. 

Cordoba      .... 
Rio  Cuarto 

BeU-ViUe  .... 
Villa  Nueva  and  Villa  Maria 
San  Pedro  and  Dolores 


Pataqonia. 


Viedma 
Rawson 
Roca  . 
Norquin 


JUJUY. 


Jujuy 
Ledesma    . 
Humahuaca 


3,  .500 
1,000 
3,.500 


19,000 
4,150 
3,500 
2,500 


20,000 
15,000 
11,500 
11,000 
10,000 
8,000 


75,000 

18,000 

3,500 


7,000 
6,000 


66,247 

12,000 

5,000 

4,000 

3,500 


1,500 

1,000 

800 

500 


5,000 

4,500 

600 


Salta. 


Salta 
Oran . 
Rivadavia 


Tucninan 
Mouteros 


TUODMAN. 


Santiaqo  del  Esteeo. 


Santiago 

Loreto 

Salvina 

Atamisqui 


Catamaeca. 


Catamarca . 

Fuerte  de  Andalgala  , 

Belen 

Tinogasta  . 


18,000 
2,500 
2,000 


25,000 
4,000 


10,000 
1,500 
1,500 
1,200 


7,000 
3,000 
3,000 
2,000 


La  Rioja. 


La  Rioja 
Chilecito 


San  Juan. 


San  Juan  . 
Jachal 

Mendoza    . 
San  Rafael 


Buenos  Ayres 
La  Plata     . 
San  Nicolas 
CbivUeoy    . 
Mercedes    . 
Azul  . 
Pergamino 
Dolores 
Barracas     . 
Bahia  Blanca 
Tandil 
Chascomus 
Carmen 


Mendoza. 


Buenos  Atees, 


6,000 
4,000 


12,000 
1,600 

18,000 
3,000 

580,000 

60,000 

15.000 

12,000 

10,000 

8,000 

7,800 

7,700 

7,000 

6,500 

6,300 

5,400 

2,500 


POPULATION  OF  BUENOS  ATRES  ACCORDING  TO  NATIONALITIES  (1892). 


Italians 224,000 

Argentines 99,500 

Spaniards 68,500 

French 23,000 


English 

Germans 

Sundries 


9,100 

7,500 

102,700 


Entered 
Cleared 


SHIPPING  OF  BUENOS  AYRES  (1892). 

3,471  vessels  of  2,207,000  tons. 

2,094        ,,       „  1,745,400     „ 


Total 


Exports  of  Buenos  Ayres  (1892) 
Imports  of  Buenos  Ayres  (1890) 


6,166  vessels  of  3,952,400  tons. 

£15,600,000 

£10,320,000 


APPENDIX.  491 

SHIPPING  OF  LA  PLATA  (1892). 

480  steamers  of   838,250  tons;    132  sailing  vessels  of  130,150  tons  ;    1,611  coasters  of  100,480 
tons.    Total :  2.223  vessels  of  1,068,880  tons. 
Kxports  of  La  Plata  (1892),  £1,100,000. 
Shipping  of  Bahia  Blanca  (1892),  390  vessels  of  "4,645  tons. 
Exchanges  of  Bahia  Blanca  (1§92),  £1,712,000. 

IMMIGRATION  EETUKNS  OF  ARGENTINA. 

Immigrants.  Emigrants. 

1889         289,000  40,700 

1890         138,000  83,000 

1891        73,000  91,000 

Excess  of  immigration  over  emigration  (1871-91),  1,096,000. 

LIVE-STOCK  OF  ARGENTINA  (1890). 
Horses,  4,400,000  ;  homed  cattle,  22,050,000  ;  sheep,  70,450,000. 

LAND  UNTDER  CULTIVATION  (1891). 

Wheat,  3,000,000  acres ;  maize,  2,100,000  acres;  lucerne,  1,500,000  acres ;  snndries,  915,000  acres ; 
total,  7,515,000  acres. 

FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  ARGENTINA. 

1SS7.  1S89.  1891. 

Imports £23,400,000  £33,000,000  £13,400,000 

Exports 17,000,000  24,500,000  19,250,000 

Total  exchanges                      £40,400,000  £57,500,000  £32,650,000 

Imports  from  (1891).  Espoits  to. 

Great  Britain £5,660,000  £3,000,000 

France 1,600,000  4,700,000 

Germany 1,200,000  2,300,000 

Belgium 1,300,000  3,300,000 

United  States 700,000  SIO^OOO 

Uruguay 500,000  900,000 

Italy 800,000  650,000 

Spain 300,000  260,000 

Brazil 290,000  1,800,000 

SHIPPING  OF  ARGENTINA  (1892). 

Entered 9,948  vessels  of    6,046,825  tons. 

Cleared 9,184      ,,      „      5,840,025    „ 

Total  ,  .     19,132  vessels  of  11,886,850  tons. 

Railways  open  (1892)  :  7,676  miles  ;  in  progress,  3,170  miles. 
Telegraphs  (1892)  :   19,850  miles;  despatches,  2,340,000. 
Letters  forwarded,  126,534,000. 

PubUc  schools  (1891)        .        .        2,400     Attendance       195,000 
Private    „  „  .         .  833  ,,  55,000 

Total        .         .        3,233     Attendance        250,000 
.Army  (1891) :  15,600  men  ;  1,784  oflScers. 

Navy:  ironclads,  gunboats,  torpedoes,  &c.,  of  24,500  tons  burden,  with  150  guns,  and  about  1,500 
sailors. 

Revenue  (1891),  £10,870,000  ;  expenditure,  £18,000,000  ;  deficit,  £9,130,000. 

Public  debt  (1892)  :   National           ....         £26,000,000 
Foreign 35,000,000 

Total  .         .         £61,000,000 

National  debt,  with  paper  money,  treasury  bonds,  and  guaranteed  interests     .     £100,000,000 

Pro\-incial  debts 28,000,000 

Mnnicipal  debts 9,000,000 

Debt  of  Buenos  Ayres  9,200,000 

Total  liabilities  of  Ai-gentina  .     £146,200,000 


492 


APPENDIX. 


FALKLAND   ISLANDS   AND   SOUTH    GEORGIA. 


Area  of  East  Falkland    . 

„      „  "West  Falkland   . 

,,      „  Smaller  groups  . 

,,     „  South  Georgia    . 

Capital,  Port  Stanley  ;  population,  CU4. 


Kevenue 
Expenditure  . 
Imports 
Exports 

Live-stock  (1891) :  sheep,  667,000  ;  cattle,  6,320  ;  horses,  3,824 

Land  under  pasturage  (1891),  2,325,000  acres. 

Shipping  (1891),  86,200  tons,  of  which  18,050  tons  are  British. 


1887. 

£8,963 

9,128 

66,785 

107,995 


3,000  sq.  miles 
2,300   ,,       „ 
1,200.,,       „ 
1,000   „       „ 


1889. 

£8,628 

9,720 

55,710 

116,102 


Population 
(1891). 
1,789. 

1891. 
£11,5.51 

13,302 

67,877 
130,752 


INDEX. 


Abiabas,  113 

Abipons,  306,  410 

Abrolhos  Island,  161 

Acarahy,  ITo 

Acarai  Mountain,  9 

Acay,  354 

Aconcagua,  356 

Aconquija  Mountains,  354 

Acoqua  Indians,  5,  40 

Agua  Negra  Pass,  356 

Aguapehy,  Rio,  254 

Aguas  Bellas,  172 

Aguas  Virtuosas,  217 

Aunores  Mountains,  154 
Tribe,  163 

Aitures  Rapids,  2 

Akawoys,  38 

Akroas,  130 

Akue,  130 

Alagoa  Grande,  145 

Alagnas  State,  133 
Town,  150 

Alagoinhas,  175 

Alakalufs,  405 

Albina,  64 

Albuquerque,  259,  261 

Alcantara,  139 

Alcoba(,-a,  128 

Alegrete,  248 

Alemquer,  120 

Alexandra,  228 

Alfredo  Charez,  177 
Almas  Mountains,  154 
Almeirim,  122 
Altos  Mountains,  317,  354 
Alumine  Lagoon,  384 

Volcano,  359 
Amacum,  Rio,  18 
Amambay  Mountains,  298 
Amapa,  Rio.  21 
Amarante,  140 
Amargal,  381 
Amarra(;as,  141 
Amazonaa  Province,  90 
Amazonia,  90 
Amazons,  Rio,  90 
Estuary,  100 
Ambalo  ilountains,  354 
Amuku  Lake,  S,  12 
Ancaste  Mountains,  354 
Anchieta,   177 
Andal(;aU  Fort,  409 
Tribe,  409,  434 
Angical,  85 
Angicos,  85 
Angostura,  319 


Angostura  Mountains,  359 

Angra  dos  Reis,  198 

Anhambahy  Mountains,  253 
Rio,  250 

Animas  Mountains,  330 

Antonina,  227 

Antonio  Vaz  Island,  145 

Aourriaona  Mountain,  9 

Apa,  Rio,  250,  299 

Apanages,  130 

Apapuris,  Rio,  92 

Apiacas,  113 

Apiaby  Mine,  226 

Apipe  Rapids,  298,  315 

Apitares,  306 

Approuague,  Rio,  11,  20 

Aquidaban,  Rio,  299 

Aquiri,  Rio,  93,  117 

Araca,  Rio,  93 

Aiacaju  Town,  172 
Tribe,  122 

Aracaty, 143 

Aracoyaba,  226 

Araguay,   302 

Araguari,  Rio,  11,  21,  23 

Araguay,  Rio,  4 

Araguaya.  Rio,  88,  125,  127 

Aramina  Falls,  19 

Aranauma,  Rio,  11 

Araras  Town,  225 

Tribe,  113 
Araracoara  Rapids,  92 
Aratai,  Rio,  68 
Araucanians,  407 
Arawaks.  33,  109 
Araxa  Plateau,  252 
Arecunas,  38 
Aregua,  316 
Argent  Mountains,  1 1 
Argentina,  344 
Argentines,  351 
Argentino  Lake,  38; 
Anuos.  Rio,  97 
Arrecifes,  453 
Arroyo  Pintado,  336 
Artigas,  339 
Asuncion,  315 
Atajo  Mountains,  354 
Atalaia,  150 
Atalaya,  451 
Atamisqui,  372,  433 
Atorais,  33,  34 
Atuel,  Rio,  357,  381 
Aueans,  41 
Avanhadava,  208 
Avati  Parana,  92 


Avellos,  115 
Aysen.  Rio,  360 
Awa,  Rio,  18,  19 
Awarriwa  Mountain,  12 
Ayrao,  118 
Azul,  453 

Baependy,  217 

Bagagcm,  218 

Bage,  247 

Baguales  Mountains,   361 

Bahia  State,  152 
Town,  172 

Bahia  Blanca,  381,  454 

Bahia  Negra,  256 

Bailique  Island,  76 

Bajada,  424 

Bakairi,  114 

BaUena  Mountain,  360 

Bananal  Island,  127 

Bananeiras,  145 

Banda  Oriental,  329 

Baradero,  Rio,  374 
Town,  427 

Baramanni  Lake,  48 

Barbacena  Mountains,  153 
Town,  216 

Barcellos,  94,  118 

Barcirinhas,  140 

Bariloche,  360 
B.rima,  Rio,  18 
Barra,  170 

do  Pirahy,  188 
do  Rio  Kegro,  96 
Mansa,  188 
Barracas,  447 
Barrancas,  Rio,  357 
Bartica  Grove,  50 
Basques,  419 
Batataes,  225 
Batavia,  57 
Batel,  Rio,  373 
Baturite,  142 
Beagle  Channel,  4S2 
Beaqueos,  259 
Bebedero  Lake,  378 
Beberibe,  Rio,  146 
Belem,  90 
Belen,  435 
Belgrano,  447,  449 
Bella  Vista,  424 
Bello  Horisonte,  170 
Belmonte,  Rio,  159 
Belmonte  Town,  100,  175 
Bendego,  175 
Beni,  Rio,  96,  97 


494 


INDEX. 


Borbico,  Eio,  16 

Town,  52 
Berraejo,  Eio,  370 
Bemstadt,  427 
Bezerros,  149 
Biguassu,  Rio,  232 

Town,  232 
Biobio,  Rio,  358 
Blanco,  Itio,  356 

Cape,  3G0 
Blumpnau,  230 
Boa  Vista  Mountains,  118 

Town,  172 
Boas  Mortes  Mountain,  118 
Boca,  La,  449 
Bocaina  Mountains,  202 
Bohans,  334 
Bois,  Rio,  208 
Bomfim,  168 
Bom  Jardim,  148 
Bonote  Mountain,  355 
Borba,  118 
Borbon,  262 
Bororos,  250,  258 
Botocudos,  163 
Botucatu,  226 
Bragancja,  124 
Branco,  Eio,  12,  93 
Brava  Mountains,  362 
Brazil,  77 

Brejo  da  Madre  de  Deus,  148 
Brejo  d'Areia,  145 
Breves,  122 
Brilhante,  Rio,  251 
Euceo  Bay,  338 
Buenos  Avres  Province,  445 

City,  445 
Bugres,  242 
Burras,  Rio,  354 
Burroburro,  Rio,  14 
Bush  Negroes,  40 
Buta-co  Pass,  357 

Caacati,  423 
Caba^al,  Rio,  258 
Cabassou  Island,  11 
Cabixi,  112 
Cabo,  149 

de  las  Virgines,  400 
Cabo  Frio,  19U 
Cabrobo,  172 
Cafapava,  218 
Caceres  Lake,  255 
Cachi  Mountains,  354 

Town,  430 
Cachiniti,  112 
Cachipour,  Rio,  11,  21 
Cachoeira,  Rio.  175 

Town,  175,  244 
Cachociro,  177 
Caetb.:'  Tribe,  138 

Village,  170 
Cafayates,  409 
Cafuaos,  108 
Caby,  Rio,  237 
Cajazeirae,  140 
Cal,  Ciimbre,  353 
Calbuco  Volcano,  306 
Calchaquis,  406,  408 
Caldas,  217 
Cttlinas,  37 
Calingastas,  407 
Camacuam,  Eio,  230 
Camarau,  175 
Camorones,  Rio,  384 
Cameta,  124 


Camocim,  141 
Caraopi,  Rio,  6 
Cainpana,  428 
Campauario  Jlountain,  357 
Carapanha.  216 
Campina  Grande,  145 
Campinas,  223 
Campo  Grande,  120,  145 

Largo,  228 
Campos  de  Boa  Vista,  202 
de  Jardao,  203 
of  Parahyba,  188 
Camuti,  8 
Canabury,  Rio,  94 
Canada  de  Gomez,  363,  427 
Cananea,  2U4,  226 
Canastra  Mountains,  154 

Rio,  208 
Canavieiras,  175 
Candolaria,  422 
Canelones,  339 
Canguaretama,  145 
Caninde,  Rio,  141 
Canoeiros,  130 
Cantagallo,  188 
Cantareira  Mountains,  203 
Canucu  Moimtains,  8 
Capazao  Mountains,  154 
Cape  do  Norte,  22 

Capella,  172 
Capibaribe,  Rio,  146 
Capitania,  176 

Capivary,  Rio,  237 

Caraja  Peak,  154 

Carapaporis  Strait,  22 
Basin,  23,  74 

Caravellas  Mountains,  175 

Carayas,  108,  130 

Carbougres,  42 

Carcarana,  427,  345 

Caribana,  2 

Caribs,  2,  33,  36,  109 

Carijos,  213,  241 

Carijonas,  109 

Carinhanha,  Rio,  150,  170 

Carioca  Mountain,  191 
Spring,  191 

Caripunas,  112 

Carmelo,  336 

Carmen  (Paraguay),  315 
(Patagonia),  405,  454 

Carmo,  118 

Carolina,  139 

Carsevenne,  Rio,  21 

Caruaru,  149 

Casa  Branca,  224 

Casabiuda  Lake,  428 

Caseros,  422 

Cassiquiare,  Rio,  2,  94 

Castello  Mountain,  191 

Castillo  Mountain,  360 

Castle  Hill,  387 

Cataguars,  166 

Catiilin  Mountains,  359 

Catamarca  Province,  433 
To\vn,  433 

Catbis  Altas,  170 

Caucete,  437 

Caux  Moimtains,  1 1 
Caviaua  Island,  102 
Caxambu,  217 
Caxias,  139 
Cayapos,  129 

Mountains,  127 
Cayari,  Uio,  90 
Cuyeum',  63,  60 


428 


358 


Cayeime  Island,  11 
Cayuas,  214 
Ceara  State,  133 
River,  141 
Town,  80,  141 
Mirim,  144 
Cebolaty,  Rio,  237 
Ceperou,  67 
Cerillos,  356 

(Eutre-Rios),  424 
(Monte  Video),  339 
(Paraguay),  315 
Cerro  Largo,  339 

Monte  Video,  338 
Chacabiico,  453 
Chaco,  Gran,  424 
Challao,  439 
Chalten  Mountain,  360 
Chamboas,  130 
Champagui  Mountain,  363 
Chanas,  334 
Chaiii  Mountain,  354, 
Chapada,  131 

Diamantina,  175 
Chapeco,  Rio,  239 
Chapel-co  Mountain, 
Charma,  426 
Chamias,  241,  334 
Chaachuil,  Rio,  378 
Chascomus,  452 
Chavantes,  129,  214 
Chaves,  122 

Mountains,  355 
Cherentes,  130 
Chichi  Falls,  15 
Chico,  Rio,  388 
Chikriabas,  130 
Chilecito,  435 
Chinch  ipe,  Rio,  90 
CMpVi^a,  Rio,  12 

Chiquita,  Mar,  372 

Chiquitos,  79 

Chirihuanos,  408,  409 

Chiriu,  12 

Chivilcoy,  453 

Choele  Choel,  384 

Chos  Malal,  357 
Town,  457 

Chubut,  Rio,  385 
Colony,  458 

Chumbicha,  434 

Chuy,  Rio,  235,  330 

Cinta  Moimtains,  138 

Cipreses  Moimtains,  358,  384 

Claro,  Rio,  127 

Clavijo  Mountains,  354 

Coary,  Rio,  93,  115 
Avellos,  115 

Cocha  Lake,  91 

Codajaz,  115 

Coermoeribo,  Rio,  17 

Coesewijne,  Rio,  17 

Coimbra,  202 

Coirrit  Mountain,  9 

Colastine,  425 

Colhue,  Lake,  385 

Coligny,  191 

CoUon-cura,  Rio,  359,  384 

Colon,  421 

Colonia,  329 

Colonia  del  Sacramento,  330 

Colorado,  Rio,  381 

Comachigones,  407 

Commewijne,  Rio,  17 

Concei9rio,  170,  176 

Concei>cion  (Paraguay),  315 


INDEX. 


•11)5 


Concepcion  (Argentina),  421 

(I'rugnay),  422 
Concordia  ^Argentina),  421 

(Uruguay),  421 
Confuso,  Kio,  301 
Congonhiis  de  Campo,  16S 
CoDgonhas  de  Sahara,  170 
Connetables  Island,  II 
Contas,  Rio,  159,  175 
Contendas.  217 
Copiapo,  Rio.  336 
Coppeuame,  Rio,  17 
Coquimbo,  356 
Coratamong  Mountains,  S 
Corcovado,  Rio,  360 

Volc;mo,  laO,  360 
Cordoba,  atj-,  444 

Sloiintains,  444 

Proi-ince,  442 
Coreahu.  Rio,  141 
Corentrne,  Rio,  9,  16 
Coimontibo,  Rio,  17 
Coroados,  164,  187.  214 
Corrient^,  Cape,  363 

Pro\-ince,  422 

Kivtr,  374 

Town,  422 
Cortaderas  Pass,  428 
Corumba,  Rio.  207 

Albuquerque,  2-59,  261,  289 
Cosquin.  445 

Cocbabamba  Mountains,  96 
Cotinga  Island,  227 
Cotinguiba,  Rio,  172 
Cottica,  Rio.  17 
Cotnntuba  Island,  190 
Counamano.  Rio,  65 
Counani  District,  73 

ViUage,  76 
Couripi,  76 
Coxim,  Rio,  236 

Town,  262 
Coy  Inlet,  390 
Coyle  Estuary,  390 
Coyos,  408 
Crato,  lis,  143 
Creoles,  37 
Crichanas.  110 
Cruz  de  Piedra,  440 
Cruzeiro.  218 
Cuarto,  Rio,  373 

Town,  442 
Cuatrero.  434 
Cnbatao  Mountains,  202 

Town,  222 
Cuchilla  Grande,  330 
Cueuhy  Rock,  95 
Cumery,  Rio,  97 
Cumbre  Pass,  356 
Cumbres  de  Calchaqni,  354 
Cumucumu  Mountains,  8 
Cunani,  Rio,  21 
Curiapim,  Rio,  336 
Cura-co,  Rio,  381 
Cura  Cukalio,  357 
Curimatahu,  Rio,  145 
Curitiba.  202,  210,  226 
Curralinbo.  141 
Curucuri  Mountains,  16 
Cnrupaity,  320 
Cururupu,  139 
Curuzu,  320 
Cuyaba  Mines,  250 

Town,  260 

Tribe,  260 
Onyo  Region,  420,  437 


Cuynni.  Rio,  4,  15 
Cuyuwini,  lUo,  12 

Darwin  Mountain,  361 
Dayman,  Rio,  335 
Demerara,  Rio,  16 
Desaguadero,  Rio,  378 
Deseado,  Rio,  385 

Estuary,  385 

Port.  460 
Desterro  Town,  231 

Strait,  231 
Deux  Connetables  Island,  357,  380 
Diamante,  426 
Diamantina,  154 

(Ticujo),  170 
Diana.  Llauuras  de,  390 
Didi.  38 

Divisoos  Mountains,  154 
Doce,  Rio,  152,  160 
Dois  Irmaos,  Rio,  134 
Dolores,  445,  452 
Domeyko  Mountain,  361 
Douro  Mountains,  125 
Dous  Rios,  183 
Dulce,  Rio,  372,  432 
Durazno,  336 

Ega,  115 
Emerillons,  38 
Encamacion,  314 
Enfant  Perdu  Island,  11,  67 
Ensenada,  451 
Entre-Rios,  188,  424 
Esperanza,  425 
Espinha(jo  Mountains,  154 
Espirito  Santo  State,  152 
Esquina,  424 
Eesequibo,  Rio,  8,  H 
Estancia,  172 
Estero,  432 

Falkland  Islands,  477 
Famatina  Mountains,  355 

Tribe,  409,  435 
Faro,  119 
Faxina,  226 

Fecho  dos  Morros,  255,  262 
Federacion,  421 
Federal  District  (Argentina),  445 

(Brazil),  190 
Feira,  140.  175 
Fernando  de  Koronba  Islands,  136, 

150 
Ferreira  Gomes,  75 
Fiambala,  Rio,  378 

Town,  435 
Fiscal  Island,  196 
Fitzroy  Volcano,  360 
Flores,  140 

Hba,  196 
Florida,  336 
Fonte  Boa,  115 
Formosa  Lake,  126 

Territory,  424 

Town,  131,  424 
Fortaleza,  141,  215,  230 
Fort  Nieuw  Amsterdam,  59 
Fort  WiUiam,  51 
Fort  Zeelandia,  58 
Foz  de  Iguazu,  230 
Frade  de  Macahe,  181 
Frade  Lespardo,  177 
Franca  Town,  225 
Fran(2isMountain,  361 
Fray  Bentos,  335 


Frayle  Muerto,  441 
Frio,  Cape,  184 
Froward,  Cape,  361 
Fructal,  218 
Fuegia,  407 
Fuegians,  405 

Gabrielle,  68 
Gaiba  Lake,  255 
GaUbi,  37 
Gallegos,  460 
Gallina  Muerta,  355 
G,amellas,  138 
Garanhuns,  149,  172 
Gauchos,  242,  417 
Gavia  Mountain,  190 
Gay,  HiU,  361 
Gfeneral  Acha,  456 

Paz,  456 
Georgetown,  51 
Ges,  129,  163 
Gigante  Mountain,  363 
Gigantillo  Mountain,  363 
Giyones,  407 
Goya,  424 
Goyana,  145 
Groyanazes,  213 
Goyaninha,  144 
Goyaz  State,  125 

Indians,  129 

Town,  131 
Goycocheas,  313 
Goytacazazes,  187 
Graciosa  Mountain,  292 

Town,  227 
Grajahu,  Rio,  135 
Granadas  Mountain,  353 
Grande  Falls,  330 

Rio,  157 

Rio,  do  Sul,  208 
Granja,  141 

Grao  Mogol  Mounljun,  154 
Gravata,  149 
Groningen,  57 
Guachipas,  Rio,  371 
Guabyba  Estuary,  237 
Guaicuby,  170 
Guainia,  Rio,  1,  18 
Guajajaras,  138 
Guajara  Guassu,  97 

Rio,  374 
Gualeguay,  422 
Gualeguaychu,  422 

Rio,  335 
Guames,  Rio,  91 
Guanes,  258 
Guanianari,  213 
Guapay,  Rio,  96 
Guapore,  Rio,  96,  254 

Tribe,  116 
Guaraha  Mountains,  202 
Guarani,  108,  214,  305 
Guarapuava,  229 
Guaratiba,  196 
Guaratingueta,  218 
Guaraunos,  1,  35 
Guatacazes,  187 
Guatos,  258 
Guaviare,  Rio,  94 
Guayanos,  1 
Guayarros,  313 
Guaycurus,  258 
Gua\ra,  210,  229 

Mission,  213 

Falls,  210,  298 
Guianas,  The,  1 


496 


INDEX. 


Guianaa  Indians,  32 
Guiana,  British,  4,  47 

French,  4,  62 

Dutch,  4,  -56 

Contested,  4,  71 
Guimaraes,  139 
Gurgueia  Mountainp,  135 
Gurgueira,  140 
Gurupa,  122 
Gurupy,  Rio,  134 

Haedo,  330 
Herculaveo,  262 
Hermina  Falls,  19 
Hemandarias.  424 
Higueritas.  331,  336 
Hobler  Hill,  387 
Hopetown,  52 
Huallaga,  Rio,  90 
Huanacache,  378 
Hucal,  467 
Huemules,  Rio,  360 
Humahuaca,  428 
Humaita,  118,  295,  320 
Hyuacu,  Eio,  93 
Hyutanaham,  116 

Ibera  Lake,  373 
Ibicuy,  Rio,  235,  239 
Icamiabas,  111 
I^a,  Rio,  91 
Icarahy,  182 
I90,  143 
Iga*u,  143 
Iguape,  Rio,  204 

Port,  226 
Iguarassu,  Rio,  141 

Town,  148 
Iguazu,  Rio,  210 
Eha  Grande,  185 
Hheos,  175 
Imbetiba,  189 
Imbituba,  232 
Independeneia,  145,  335 
Inficionado,  170 
Inga,  145 
Inini,  Rio,  11 
Ipane,  Rio,  299 
Ipanema,  Rio,  226 

Town,  226 
Ipiranga,  222 
Ipojiica,  Rio,  148 
Ipurinas,  112 
Iracouba.  Rio,  11,  65 
Isle  Royale,  65 
Ita,  317 
Ireng,  Rio,  96 
Itabira,  170 
Itabira  Mountain,  153 

do  Matto  Dentro,  153 
Itaboca  Falls,  132 
Itacambira  Mountains,  154 
Itacoatiara.  119 
Itacolumi  Mountain,  154 

Reefs,  154 
Itagua,  316 
Itaipu,  190 
Itaituba,  121 
Itajahy,  llio,  202 
Itamaraca,  145 
Itambe  Peak,  154 

Mountain,  154 
Itaparica,  175 
Irape  Mirin'.  177 
Itapicum,  Rio,  175 
Itapiru,  32U 


Itapua,  314 
Itapueuru,  Rio,  139 

Grande,  140 

Mirim,  140 
Itapura  Falls,  208 
Itati,  422 

Itatiaya  Mountaine,  203 
Itatins  Mountains,  202 

Tribe,  213 
Itu,  225 

Itubere,  Rio,  227 
Ituzaingo,  336 
Ivahy,  Rio,  209 
Ivinheima,  Rio,  251 

Jaboatao,  149 
Jabolicabal,  225 
Jac  Lake,  22 
Jacarepagua,  196 
Jao.areuaras,  113 
Jachal,  Rio.  356 
Jacu,  Rio,  144 
Jacuhy,  Rio,  236 
Jacupiranga,  Rio,  204 
Jaguarao,  Rio,  235 

Mine,  244 

Town,  244 
Jaguaribe,  Rio,  135 
Januaria,  170 
Japii,  110 
Japura,  Rio,  90 
Jaquipa,  Rio,  158 
Jaragua  Mountains,  203 
Jardim,  143 
Jary,  Rio,  97 
Jatoba,  172 
Jauapiry,  Rio.  96 
Jauru,  Rio,  254 
Javary,  Rio.  90 
Jequitinhonha,  Rio,  159 
Jesus,  315 
Joao  Aires,  180 
Joazeiro,  171 
Joeden  Sav,  69 
Johannes,  122 
Joinville  Town,  230 

Estuary,  205 
Juaurite,  118 
Juiz  de  Fora,  215 
Jujuy,  Rio,  299 

Mountain,  428 

Province,  428 

Town,  428 
Jundiahy,  223 
Junin,  453,  457 
Juntas,  Las,  299 
Juquia,  Rio,  204 
Juragua,  160 
Juramento,  Rio,  371 
Jurua,  Rio,  92,  93 
Juruena,  Rio,  97 
JuTupensen,  132 
Jutahy,  Rio,  92 

Kaieteur  Falls,  14 

Kaw,  Eio,  68 

Kaw  Hills.  1 1 

King  William  the   Fourth  Falls, 

12,  16 
Kochait  Volcano,  387 
Kourou  River,  1 1 

Town,  65 
Kroomen,  40,  166 

Labrea,  116 
Ladario,  201,  289 


Lages,  233 
Lago  Grande,  22 

Novo,  23.  75 
Lagoa  Feia,  183 

dos  PatOH,  237,  238 

Mirim,  238 

Santa,  154,  170 
Laguna.  232 

Mirim.  235 
Laianos,  258 
Lambare,  217,  318 

Promontory,  301 
Lapa,  170,  191,  229 
La  Paz,  424 
La  Plata  Town,  450 

Estuary,  450 
Larangeiras,  172.  232 
La  Torre  Mountains,  361 
Lavras,  143,  248 
Lawa,  Rio,  18 
Leblond  Mountain,  11 
Ledesma,  428 
Lemaire  Strait,  390 
Leugoas,  259 
Lenguas,  306 
Leon  Mountain,  361 
Leona,  Rio,  387 
Leopoldina,  132,  216 
Lerma,  429 
Liberlad,  421 
Libres,  421 
Limay,  Eio,  358,  383 
Limeira,  225 
Limoeiro,  148 
Llaima  Volcano,  358 
Llanos  Mountains,  362 
Lobos,  453 
Londres,  435 
Lonquimai  Volcano,  358 
Lopo  Mountain,  203 
Lorena,  218 
Loreto,  422,  433 
Lujan,  Rio,  405 
Luque,  316 

Macacu.  Eio,  1  S3 
Macaguajea,  11.5 
Maoaho,  Rio.  189 

Town,  189 
Macapa,  72,  101,  122 
Maeeio,  149 
Macus,  110 
Macusi,  38.  110 
Madeira,  Rio,  96 
Madre  de  Dios,  Rio,  9G 
Magdalena,  451 
Magellan  Strait.  347 
Magnetic  Mountain,  1 1 
Mahaica,  Eio,  16 

Town,  52 
Mahu.  Rio.  96,  110 
Mahuri,  Rio,  68 
Mainrique  Mountain,  350 
Maipo  Mountains,  357 
Maipu,  452 
Milali,  165 

Malalhue  Volcano,  357 
Malargue,  Volcano,  357 
Malbarco  Lake,  383 
Maldonado  Cape,  339 

Town.  339 
Malingre  Island.  3,  U 
Mamanguape,  Rio.  146 
Mamelucos.  79,  108 
Mamore.  Rio.  96 
Manao  Lake.  6 


INDEX. 


497 


Manaos.  87,  96,  113 
Mana.  Kio,  20 

Town,  65 
Mandiore  Lake,  255 
M:tnga,  140 
Maufjabeiras,  Rio,  125 

Mountains,  134 
Mangaratiba,  19S 
Manoel  Aires  Grande,  Rio,  126 
Manso,  Rio,  236 
Mansos  Llanos.  154 
Mantiqueira  Mountains,  180 
Mapa  Lake,  72 

Grande.  Rio,  21 
Mapuerro,  Rio,  110 
Mar,  Serra  do,  226,  236 

de  Hespanha,  215 

del  Plata,  451 

Pequeno,  226 
Maraca  Island,  22.  74 

Strait.  22.  100 
Maracaju  Mountains.  209,  253,  298 
Maraca&sume,  Rio,  139 
Maragogipe,  175 
Marajo  Island,  100 
Maranguapc,  142 
Maranhao  Island,  80 

Rio,  126 

State,  133 

Maranon.  Rio,  90 
Marianna.  169 
Maribondo.  208 
Maroim,  172 
Maroni,  Rio,  17,  18 
Maroons,  41 
Marouini.  Rio,  19 
Martini  Vaz  Islands,  162 
Martin  Chieo,  Rio.  336 

Garcia  Island,  331,  428 
M-aruype  Channel,  177 
Matacos,  410 
Matagnayos,  410 
Matara,  433 
Matheus  Peaks,  181 
Matouri  Mountain,  1 1 
Matrocanes,  42 
Matta  de  Corda,  Rio,  208 
Matto  Grosso  State,  249 

Town,  260 
Mauhes,  113 
Matiricea,  145 
Mauri  tsstad.  145 
MajTi-Tata,  Rio,  96 
Mazagao,  122 
Mazaruni,  Rio,  8,  15 
Mbarancavaa,  1S6 
Mbayas,  253.  306 
Mbuarapey,  Rio,  298 
Mearim.  Rio,  135 
Meia  Ponte,  Rio,  131 

Town,  131,  208 
Mejicana,  436 
MeUimoya  Volcano,  360 
Melo,  339 
Mendoza,  Rio,  378 

Province,  437 

Town,  437 
Me-cedes.  421,  453 
Mere  Island,  11 
Mesa  Volcano,  359 
Mestre  Alvarez  Mountain,  177 
Meiiana  Island.  100 
Michilengnes,  407 
Miguel  Bumier,  168 
Minas  Uruguay,  339 

Geraes  Stnte,  152 

VOL.    XIX. 


Minas  Novas,  1 75 
Afinrhin  Mahoida  Volcano,  360 
Minoanos,  241,  426 
Miranda,  Rio,  250  255 

Town,  262 
Miranhas.  109 
Missions,  Ter,  349 

Paraguay,  309 
Mitaraca  Mountain,  10 
Mocoreta,  421 
Mocovi,  306,  410 
Moesingas,  44 
Mogy  das  Cmzcs,  220 

Guassu,  Rio,  207,  20S 

Mirim,  218 
Mojos,  79 
Molinos,  430 
Molu-che,  413 
Moncao,  139 
Monigote  Mountain,  363 
Monkey  Jump  Falls,  15 
Montague  d' Argent,  69 

Franijaise,  11 
Monte  Alegre,'  98,  122 
Monte  Caseros,  314,  421 

Santo,  175 
Montes  Aureos,  1 39 

Claros,  126,  170 
Montevideo,  336 
Morawhanna,  Rio,  48 
Moreira,  118 
Morona,  Rio,  90 
Morretes,  227 
Morro,  191 

Velho.  170 
Mortes,  Rio  das,  127,  208 
Moruka,  Rio,  33 
Mossoro,  143 

Rio,  144 
Mncnim,  Rio,  93 
Mucuripe.  141 
Mucurv,  Rio,  160 
Mundahu,  Rio,  149 
Mnnducurus,  112 
Muias,  112 
Musters  Lake,  385 

Nahuel-Hnalpi  Lake,  383 
Napo,  Rio,  90 
Naposta,  Rio,  454 
Xassau.  Cape,  18 
Xatal,  144 
Nazareth,  14S,  175 
Neamnnda,  Rio,  97 
Jsegm,  Rio  (Brazil),  93 

(Uruguay),  331 

(la  Plata),  357 
Kegro  Mountains,  138 
Nembuco,  Rio,  330 

Town,  319 
Neuqnen,  Rio,  357,  383 

Territory,  456 
Kew  Amsterdam,  52 
New  Wales,  458 
Nickerie,  Rio,  17 

Town,  56 
Nico  Perez,  339 
Nictheroy,  190,  191 
Nieuw  Ajnsterdam,  57 
Kioac,  262 
Nogoya,  422 
Kogueira,  115 
Konjuen,  457 
Nonragues,  40 
I    Nova  Cruz,  145 
I  Friburgo,  188,  197 

K  K 


-Nova  Hamburgo, 

T>ento,  230 
Nurag  Indians,  5 


!44 


Obidos,  98,  119 
Obligado,  427 
Oeiras,  141 
Olavarria,  453 
Olimpo  Fort,  262 
Ulinda,  145 
OHva,  319 
Omagoa,  Rio,  91 
Omaguas,  109 
Onas,  407 
Oran,  428 
Orange,  Cape,  21 
Orejones,  115 
Organebo,  Rio,  65 
Orinoco,  Rio,  494 

Delta,  3 
Organ  Mountains,  ISO 
Orr,  Rio,  387 
Otuquis,  Rio,  256 
Ouassa,  Rio,  75 

VUlage,  76 
Ooro  Mountains,  168 

Branco  Mountains,  168 

Preto  Mountains,  168 
Town,  168 
Overo  Volcano,  357 
Oyampi,  3S 
Oyapok,  Rio,  5,  20 
Oyariconlets,  38 

Pacaraima  Mountains,  7,  8,  25 

Pajussara,  150 

Paiicours,  33 

Palmares,  139,  149 

Palmeira,  228 

Pampas,  367 

Pampeans,  411 

Pando,  339 

Panore,  118 

Panos,  112 

Pao  d'Alho,  148 

d'Assucar,  190,  262 
Paqueta  Island,  196 
Para,  Rio,  101,  156 

State,  SO 

aty,  122 
Paracaru,  Rio,  156,  170 
Paraguari,  316 
Paragoassu,  153 
Paraguay,  Rio,  97,  254 

State,  292 

People,  312 
Parahyba,  Rio,  145.  179,  182 
Parahybuna,  Rio,  215 

Town,  215,  219 
Parahyba  do  Korte  State,  133 

do  Xorte  Town,  145 

do  Sul,  ISS 
Paramaribo,  24,  57 
Paramillo  Mountain,  356 

Mines,  440 
Parana,  Rio,  i:6,  299,  370 

Delta,  374 

State,  199 

Town,  424 

Mirim,  97 
Paranacito,  Rio,  374 
Paranagua  Bay,  227 

Port,  202,  227 
Paranahyba,  Rio,  208 
Paranan  Mountains,  126 


498 


INDEX. 


Paranapanema,  Rio,  208 

Parana-  Pixuna,  Rio,  93 

Paraopeba,  Rio,  156 

Parity,  185,  198 

Parauna,  Rio,  170 
Town,  170 

Paravilhana,  110 

Parcel  Atoll,  161 

Pardo,  Rio,  159.  208,  250 

Parentintins,  112 

Parecis,  112 

Parexi  Tribe,  112,  252,  257 
Plateau,  252 

Paria  Gulf,  17 

Parima  Lake,  13 
l^Iountains,  2 
Rio,  94 

Parintins,  119 

Parira,  Rio,  9 

Pamahyba,  Rio,  134 
Port,  141 

Pani,  Rio,  97 

Partamonas,  38.  54 

Paso  MoUno,  339 

Pasagem,  169 

Pastaza,  Rio,  90 

Pasto  Grande  Mountain,  354 

Patagones,  456 

Patagonians,  407 

Patos,  241 
Pass,  356 

Panlistas,  81,  166,  199 

Paulo  Affonso  Falls,  156,  157 

Paumari,  112 

Paute,  Rio,  90 

Paaxis,  119 

Pauyarim,  Rio.  93 

Pavon,  Rio,  374 

Payaguas,  306 
Payen  Mountains,  357 
Payne  Mountains,  361 
Payeandu,  335 
Payuche,  413 
Paz,  la  Paz,  424 
Pebas  CUffs,  99 
PedraAssu,  181 
Pedro  Affonso,  131 

Segundo,  72.  75 
Pebuen-che,  413 
Pelado  Mountain,  356 
Pelotas,  245 
Penedo,  172 

de  S.  Pedro,  137 
Penha  Mountain,  177 

Tow-n,  145 
Pepiry  Guassu,  239 
Pere  Island,  11 
Perez  Rosalez,  359 
Pergamino,  453 
Peruambuco  State,  133 

aty,  81,  145 
Pesqueira  Keal,  118 
Pes-sanha,  170 
Petropolis,  188,  196 
Philadelphia,  176 
Philippi  Mountain,  361 
Pianagotos,    110 
Piauhy,  Rio,  135 
Mountains,  134 
State,  133 
PicauUu  Lake,  359 
Pie  de  Palo  Mountain.  355 
Piedade  Mountains,  154 
Piedras,  339 
Pilao  Arcado,  170 
Pilar,  145,  160 


Pilcomayo,  Rio,  299 

Pillahuinco  Mountains,  364 

Pimenteiras,  138 

Pindamonhangaba,  203,  218 

Pindare,  Rio,  135 

Vipiry  Guazu,  Rio,  202 

Piquiry,  Rio,  209 

Piracicaba,  Rio,  225 
Town,  225 

Piranhas,  172 

Pirara,  Rio,  8,  12,  50 

Pircas,  356 

Pirassununga,  225 

Piritinim,  Rio,  239 

Piratininga,  79,  219 

Pirayu,  316 

Pitanguy,  168 

Piturunas,  213 

Planchon  Pass,  357 

Plate  Estuary,  376 

Pocitos,  339 

Pocone,  261 

Pofos  de  Caldas,  203,  217 

Poligudus,  41 

Pomerun,  Rio,  18 

Ponta  Grossa,  228 

Porrongos,  372 

Porrudos,  255 

Port  Madryn,  458 
Stanley,  480 

Portal  Island,  64 
Porto  Alegre,  235,  242,  260 
de  Moz,  122 
do  Amazonas,  229 
FeUz,  225 
Nacional,  131 
Seguro,  78,  176 
Posadas,  422 
Potaro,  Rio,  14 
Poty,  Rio,  140 
Poiim,  Rio,  159 
Preto,  Rio,  157,   183 
Primero,  Rio,  373 
Propria,  172 
Pucara,  Fort,  434 
PuebUto,  445 
Puel-che,  407 
Puelo,  Rio,  360 
Puerto  Bermejo,  320,  424,  429 
Punta  Mountains,  363 
de  las  Pedras,  376 
Puntas  Vacas,  439 
Puri,  164 
Purus,  Rio,  93 
Putumayo,  Rio,  91 
Pyreneos  Mountains,  126,  208 
Pyreuopolis,  131 

Qiiaraim,  Rio,  235 

Quatata,  50 

Queluz  Mountains,  153,  274 

Town,  167 
Querandi,  406 
Quetrupillan  Volcano,  358 
Quichuas,  405 
Quilmes  Town,  408,  448 

Tribe,  408 
Quinto,  Rio,  373 
Quixada,  143 
Quixeramobim,  138 

Rio,  143 

Town,  143 

Ramada  Mountains,  356 
Ranqueles,  411 


Rawson,  460 
Recife,  145 
Recoleta,  448 
Reloncavi,  360 
Remire  Mountains,  11,  68 
Reaifltencia,  424 
Restauracion,  421 
Rewa,  Rio,  12 
Riacho,  176,  425 
Riachuelo,  Rio,  423,  446 

(Corrientes),  423  - 

Ribetras  Falls,  97  "^ 

Riberao  Preto,  224 
Rincon  de  las  GaUinas,  331 
Rinihue  Volcano,  358 
Rio  Branco,  3,  12,  93 
Claro,  188,  225 
Cuarto,  373 
Doce,  152 

de  Janeiro  State,  179 
City,  190 
Bay,  184 
Rio  Cuarto,  442 

Rio  Grande  do  Norte  State,  133 
do  Sul,  204 
State,  234 
Town,  235,  245 
River,  239 
Rio  Negro,  Uruguay,  331 
Argentina,  382 
Brazil,  93 
Town,  230 
Rio  Pardo,  159,  244 
Rioja,  Rio,  378 
Province.  435 
Town,  435 
Rivadavia,  428,  429 
Rivera,  336 
Robinson  Fall,  21 
Roca,  457 
Rocas,  Las,  136 
Rocaoua,  76 
Rocha,  339 
Roncador,  Rio,  127 
Roraima  Mountain,  7 
Rorota,  Rio,  67 
Rosario,  140,  427 

de  la  Frontera,  430 
Matto  Grosso,  261 
Roucouyennes,  1,  37 
Roura,  68 
Rupununi,  Rio,  8, 12 


Sahara,  170 
Sacramento,  446 
Saint-Jean,  64 

Joseph,  65 

Laurent,  64 

Louis  Fort,  61 
SaladiUo  Dulce.  374 

Amargo,  374 

Lagoons,  373 

Rio,  373 
Salado,  Rio,  Buenos  Ayres,  380 

Rio,  Samboromhon,  405 

Rio,  San  Luis,  372 
Salavina,  433 
Salinas.  124 

Point,  102 
Salta  Mountains,  430 

Province,  429 

Town,  429 
Salto  Peak,  356 

Town.  335 

Augusto  Rapid,  97 


INDEX. 


499 


Salto  Itu  Rapid.  225 

Grande  Falls,  159,  209,  330 
Salvador,  80 
Salut  Islands,  11,  65 
S.imborombon,  405 
San  Antonio,  1-45 
Bernardino,  317 
lias,  456 
Carlos,  430,  440 
Sangradouro  Canal,  239 
iSau  Fel^-x,  131,  175 
Fernando,  423 
Francisco,  Rio,  155 
larnacio  Guazu,  315 
Isidro,  449 
Jorge  Bay,  360 
Jose,  Uruguay,  336 
Jose,  Argentina,  346,  421 

de  Flores,  447 
Juan  Province,  436 
Kio,  378 
iVrgentina,  436 
Julian,  391,  460 
1,1117  Mountains,  363 
Province,  441 
Ton-n,  139,  441 
Martm,  421 

Lake,  387 
Miitias,  346,  390 
Miguel,  422 
Kicolas,  427 
Pedro,  iVrgentina,  427 

Jujuy,  298,  31.') 
Kafael  Mountain,  357 
Mines,  440 
Town,  440 
Koque,  Cape,  77 

Town,  444 
Salvador  (Paraguay),  315 

(Uruguay),  336 
Sebastian  Gulf,  220 
Valentin  Mountain,  360 
Vicente,  79,  222 
Santa  Anna  Island,  102 

Barb;ira  de  Campinas,  170 
Catharina  State,  199 
Cruz  (Esprito  Santo),  176 
Cruz,  Rio,  387 
Territory,  79 
Town  (Argentina),  460 
Fe  Province,  425 

Town,  425 
Lucia,  Rio,  143,  336,  339 
Luzia,  143,  170 
Maria,  118,  315 
Sant'  Antonio,  261 
Santarem,  98,  120 
Santa  Rosa  (Paraguay),  315 

Tecla,  247 
Santiago  del  Estero,  432 

Province,  403 
Town,  432 
(Paraguay),  315 
Santo  Agostiiiho  Cape,  149 
Amaro  (Bahiii),  175 
Antonio  Falls,  97 

Town,  US,  172 
Tome,  421 
Santos,  202,  222 
S.  (SSo)  Bento,  191,  230 

Bernardo  (Pamahyba),  141 
Borja,  248 
Christovao  Bay,  172 

Town,  172 

Fidelis  Gorge,  183 

Town,  188 


S.  (Sao)  Francisco  Island,  205 
Francisco  Port,  230 
Geraldo  Mountains,  216 
Gon^alo,  196,  239 
Ignacio  Mayor,  22G 
Jeronymo,  243 
Joaquim,  118 
Joao  da  Barra,  189 

das  duas  Barras,  132 
de  Curiry,  145 
del  Rey,  216 
Jose  de  Destero,  232 
do  Mipibu,  144 
do  Norte,  245 
Leopoldo,  244 
Louren90,  192,  254 
Luiz,  Caceres,  260 
Maranhao,  135 
Marcos  Bay,  139 
Matheus,  176 
Paulo,  State,  199 
Town,  220 
Olivenfa,  114 
Roque  Cape,  28 
Sebastiao  Island,  191,  205 
Simvio,  224 
Thome  Cape,  183, 
Sapao  Kio,  126 
Sapacuhy,  Rio,  208 
Sciramacca,  Rio,  17 
Sarmiento  Mountain,  361 
Sauce,  339 

Grande,  Rio,  364 
Saure,  122 
Segundo,  Rio,  373 
Senguer,  Rio,  385 
Sepotubo,  Rio,  254 
Sergipe,  Rio,  172 
Town,  191 
State,  152 
Serpa,  119 
Serpent's  Mouth,  17 
Serra  Abaixo,  204 
Serro,  170 

do  Mar,  180 

Parima,  96 

de  Frio,  154 

Sete  Quedas,  210 

Simao  Diaz,  172 

Sinnamari,  Rio,  6,  20 

Village,  65 
Skyring  Water,  361 
Sobral,  141 
Solimoes,  7,  90 
Sommelsdyke,  17,  59 
Somno,  Rio,  126,  157 
Somniriho,  Rio,  126 
Souanre,  Rio,  21 
Soriano,  336 
Sorocaba,  Rio,  225 

Town,  225 
South  Georgia  Island,  481 
Souzcl,  122 

Stateu  Island,  361,  461 
Stokes  Mountain.  361 
Sucnryu,  Rio,  208 
Sumdouro,  156 
Surinam,  Rio,  17 
Suyas,  114 


Tabajaras,  138 

Tabiitiiiga  Mountains,  90,  12o 

Town,  114 

Rio,  90 
Tacuarembo,  Rio,  235,  331 


Tacuarcmbo,  Town,  336 
Tacunibu  Mountains,  298 
TacuruPucu,  313 
Tairas,  38 
Takutu  Rio,  8 
Takutus,  33 
Tala,  422 
Tamaudua,  168 
Taiiii-che,  413 
Taraoyos,  1S6,  213 
Tandil  Mountain,  363 

Town,  452 
Tapanatoni,  Rio,  19 
Tapajoz,  Rio,  97,  252 
Tapaua,  Rio,  93 
Taperoa,  175 
Tapes  Mountains,  236 

Tribe,  241 
Tapuyos,  74,  108,  163 
Tiiquaretinga,  148 
Taquary,  Rio,  254 
Taraguy,  422 
Taraqua,  US 
Tariauas,  110 
Tarija,  Rio,  349 

Town,  349 
Tartarugal,  Rio,  72 
Tarumas,  12,  33 
Taubato,  218 
Tayi,  321 
Taytao,  360 
Tcffe,  Rio,  93 

To\vn,  115 
Teghul-che,  413 
Tehuel-che,  413 
Temomairera  Mountain,  10 
Tercero,  Rio.  373 
Teuco,  Rio,  370,  429 
Therezina,  140 
Therezopolis,  188,  198 
Thomar,  118 
Tibicuary,  Rio,  302 
Ticunas,  109,  115 
Tiete,  Rio,  203,  207,  208 
Tigro  Mountains,  356 
Tijuca  Motmtain,  182,  190 
TUbagy,  209 
Timbiras,  138 
Timbo,  175,  424 

Itipicuru,  175 
Timotakem  Mountain,  9 
Tingua  Mountains,  182 
Tinogasta,  409,  435 
Tmogostas,  409 
Tiradentes,  216 
Tobas,  307,  407 
Tocantins,  Rio,  88,  125 
Todos  OS  Santos  Bay,  79,  158 
Tolombons,  409 
Tomolasta  Mountain,  363 
Tortugas,  427 
Rio,  373 
Totora  Mountain,  356 
Trahiry,  Kio,  144 
Ti-efid  Lake,  384 
Treinta  y  Tres,  339 
Trelew,  400 
Trenque  Lauquon,  454 
Tres  Bocas,  3U2 
Tres  Cruces  Mountain,  435 
Tres  Sabios,  361 
Trinidud,  316 
Trinidade  Island,  162 
Trois  Sauts  Falls,  2 1 
Trombetas  Rio,  12,  97 
Tromeu  Lake,  358 


K  K  :i 


500 


INDEX. 


Tronador  Mountain,  SCO 
Tubarao,  Rio,  232 

Lagoon,  232 

Mines,  244 
Tucabaca,  Uio,  266 
Tueans,  110 
Tucuman  Province,  430 

Town,  431 
Tumuc-9nmac  Mountains,  9 
Tiinantins,  115 
Tupi,  33,  38,  lOS,  109,  163 
M'upinambas,  108 
Tupinambaramaa  Island,  97 
Tiipungato  Mountain,  356 
Turyassu,  Rio,  139 

Town,  139 
Tuyuti,  321 
Tuyucue,  321 


Uainumas,  109 
XJatuma,  Rio,  97 
Uaupes,  Rio,  93 

Tribe,  110 
Uba,  216 
Ubatuba  Mountain,  202 

Port,  202,  219 
Uberaba  Lake,  255 

Town,  208,  218 
ITcayaU,  Rio,  90 
Ucuyaris,  Rio,  93 
Una,  Rio,  139 
Uniao,  141,  150 
Union,  339 
Uraricuara,  Rio,  93 
TJrre-Lafquen,  381 
Urubu,  97,  170 

Rio,  HO 
Umbupuna;a,  208 
Urucuia,  Rio,  156 
UruRuay,  Rio,  239,  330 

State,  329 

Mirim,  239 
Uruguayana,  248 


Ushuia,  460 
UspaUata,  439 

Vacacahy,  Rio,  238 
Vaimare,  112 
Valdes,  390 
Valencia,  175,  188 
Varzeado  Marijal,  217 
Vaea  Barris,  Rio,  172 
Vaesouras,  188 
Veladero  Mountain,  355 
Velasoo  Mountains,  435 
Velhas,  Rio,  156 
Ventana  Mountains,  364 
Vera  Cruz,  78,  79 
Verde,  Rio,  Brazil,  156 

Argentina,  208 
Vermejo,  Rio,  378 
Vermelho,  Rio,  175 
Victoria,  149,  172,  176 

Kio,  374 

Argentina,  422 

Brazil,  150 
Viedma  Lake,  346,  387 

Town,  456 
Vigia,  124 
VUla  Azara,  314 
Villa  BeUa,  119,  260   . 
Villa  del  Pilar,  319 
Villa  do8  Couros,  131 
Villafranca  (Brazil),  121 

(Paraguay),  3]9__ 
Villafranca,  Lake,  97 
Mllaguay,  422 
Villa  Hayes,  315 

Maria,  260,  349,  441 

Mercedes,  441 

Nova,  119,  170,  175 

Rica,  168,  229,  316 

Urquiza,  424 

Velha,  177,  229 
Rock,  177 

Vi(;o9a,  130 
Villegaguon  Island,  191 


Villeta,  319 

Vinchina,  437 

Vulcan  Mountains,  363 

Waini  Rio,  48 
Wane  Creek,  17 
Wapisianas,  33,  34,  110 
Warramuri,  36 
Warraus,  35 
Watagnapa  Peak,  21 
Watecas,  187 
Way  anas,  1,  32 
Wayewes,  38,  110      . 
Witotos,  109 
William  Frederick  Falls,  10 

Xarayes  Lake,  255 
Xingu,  Rio,  97 
Xirixica,  226 

Yagueron,  317 
Yahuas,  109 
Yahgans,  405 
Yamunda,  Rio,  97 
Yaore,  Rio,  12 
Yapeyu,  421 
Yapok,  Rio,  72 
Yari  Rio,  7 
Yaros,  334 
Yarunas,  114 
Yate  Volcano,  360 
Yebcan  Volcano,  360 
Yerba  Buena,  36'i 
Ygatimi,  Rio,  322 
Yi,  Rio,  331 
Yumas,  113 

Zarate,  429 
Zaujon,  Rio,  378 
Zeballoa  Peak,  300 
Zeelandia,  51 
Zeuta  Moimtaios,  354 
Zonda,  437 


THE    END. 


WUKTED  BV  J.   S.   VIET'^  AND  CO.,   UlUTED,   CITY.EOAI>,   LONDON. 


SUPPLIED    TO    SUBSCRIBERS     ONLY. 

In  Fifteen  Parts  at  2s.  each;  or  in  Five  Divisions,  paper,  at  6x.  each; 
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THE 


QUEENS  OF  ENGLAND 

By   SYDNEY  WILMOT. 


ILLUSTRATED    WITH   STEEL    ENGRAVINGS. 


THIS  work  may  be  described  as  a  series  of  delightful  romances,  in  which  truth  often 
appears  stranger  than  fiction.  In  vain  will  you  consult  it  for  revolting  details  of 
sanguinary  wars,  or  even  for  such  dryasdust  materials  as  the  chronicles  of  charters  and  treaties. 
These  subjects,  if  mentioned  at  all,  are  only  alluded  to  incidentally,  in  order  to  help  the  reader 
to  fully  appreciate  the  more  interesting  matter  to  which  they  are  subordinate. 

To  the  student  of  our  national  history,  "The  Queens  of  England"  must  prove  an 
invaluable  companion.  In  it  he  will  find  a  presentment  of  such  phases  in  their  private  lives  as 
must  throw  considerable  light  on  his  studies,  and  invest  them  with  an  interest  which  they 
would  not  otherwise  possess.  It  will  supply  him  with  information  which  will  give  him  a  direct 
personal  sympathy  with  the  individual  lives  of  the  sovereigns  of  his  country— with  their  joys 
and  sorrows,  and  with  those  traits  which  concern  them  as  men  and  women,  rather  than  as  kings 
and  queens.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  he  will  also  be  better  able  to  form  a  sound  judgment 
of  the  characters  of  kings  and  queens,  when  he  has  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  many 
influences  which  constantly  assail  them,  for  good  or  for  evil,  in  their  less  public  lives ;  and 
events  which  before  he  may  have  been  apt  to  regard  as  strange  and  unaccountable,  as  having 
their  origin  possibly  in  some  personal  whim,  or  in  the  uncertain  vagaries  of  caprice,  will  assume 
a  definite  shape  and  have  a  distinct  meaning. 

It  will  thus  be  apparent  that  "The  Queens  of  England"  has  a  double  usefulness. 
Whilst,  on  the  one  hand,  it  forms  a  complete  work  for  general  use,  on  the  other  hand  it  will 
also  prove  a  suggestive  source  of  knowledge  to  that  more  limited  class  who  desire  to  acquire  a 
profounder  acquaintance  with  the  facts  of  history.  In  the  pages  of  this  work,  therefore,  will  be 
found  the  key  to  a  right  understanding  of  many  great  and  important  national  events. 

"  No  more  appropriate  time  for  the  issue  of  this  work  could,  the  Publishers  venture  to  think, 
be  selected  than  the  year  made  memorable  by  the  celebration  of  the  Jubilee  of  the  accession  to 
the  throne  of  England  of  Her  Most  Gracious  Majesty  Queen  Victoria. 


CONDITIONS    OF    PUBLICATION. 

The   Wirk  will  be   pub'ished   in   Fifteen   P;irts   at    2s.  each  ;  or  in  Five  Divisions,  pnpcr,  at  6s.  e.ich  ; 
or  in  Two  VoU.,  cloth  gilt,  gilt  edi;es,  at  2is.  each. 

Fach  Part  will  contain  Two  Steel  Engraving;  and  Thirty-two  piges  of  Letterpress. 
No   ORDER  WILL  BE   RECEIVED  I  OR   LESS   THAN    THE   ENTIRE   SET. 


LONDON:  J.  S.  VIRTUE  &  CO.,  Limited,  294,  CITY  ROAD,  and  26,  IVY  LANK 


SUPPLIED     TO     SUBSCRIBERS     ONLY. 

In  FiJUen  Parts,  in  specially  designed  Wrapper,  at  2s.  each  ;  or  in  Fire  Divisions  at  Cs.  each  ; 
or  in  Tii'o  Volumes,  handsomely  hound,  cloth  gilt,  gilt  edges,  at  2 1^.  each. 

THE  THAMES 

gtront    its   llisc    to    i\)c   BTorc. 

By  WALTER  ARMSTRONG,   M.A. 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH  NEARLY  400  ENGRAVINGS  IN  THE  TEXT 

AND 

SIXTEEN  ETCHINGS  OR  STEEL  PLATES. 


T  N  spite  of  all  that  has  been  written  about  the  Thames,  a  book  is  still  much  wanted  which 

shall  take  a  reader  to  its  source,  and  thence  conduct  him  to  the  sea,  noticing  all  that  is 
notable  on  its  banks,  or  within  a  short  walk  of  theoi,  and  putting  into  a  concise  and  complete 
form  tlie  mass  of  association  which  has  gathered  about  our  noble  river.  Such  a  want  the  present 
work  is  designed  to  supply. 

The  writer  has  put  himself  in  the  place  of  one  starting  from  the  rise  of  the  stream  in  the 
Gloucestershire  meadows,  and  has  followed  its  course,  first  on  foot,  and  then,  when  it  becomes 
navigable,  in  a  boat,  down  to  its  disappearance  in  the  sea  at  the  Nore ;  and  he  is  thus  in  a 
position  to  answer  every  question  likely  to  be  asked,  and  to  direct  the  attention  of  all  to  those 
features  which  can  add  to  the  interest  of  the  journey. 

He  will,  therefore,  be  enabled  to  produce  a  work  which  shall  be  at  once  pleasant  to  read, 
of  real  practical  use  to  those  who  take  a  holiday  on  the  river — whose  numbers  increase  every 
year — and  form  a  beautiful  and  lasting  record  of  such  a  holiday,  and  a  special  memento  for 
those  who  take  an  interest  in  the  river,  its  scenery,  its  history,  and  associations. 

The  writer  has  but  shortly  returned  from  his  journey  from  its  source  to  the  sea,  and  the 
information  which  he  will  give  will  not  only  deal  with  its  historical  associations,  but  will  describe 
the  river  as  it  at  present  is. 

There  will  be  special  sections  dealing  with  the  Amusements,  Sports,  Industries,  &c.,  for 
which  the  river  is  celebrated  ;  notice  will  be  taken  of  the  chief  historical  mansions  and  palaces 
neighbouring  its  banks;  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  "THE  THAMES"  will  be  found  to 
give  more  information  than  any  other  work  on  the  same  subject.  Its  numerous  illustrations 
will  give  a  special  interest  and  value  to  the  useful  and  pleasandy  written  letterpress,  and  the 
book  will  be  found  worthy  of  a  place  on  every  table  and  in  every  library. 


CONDITIONS    OF    PUBLICATION. 

The  Work  will  be  publislied  in  Fifteen  Parts,  at  2s.  each ;  or  in  Five  Divisions  at  63.  each ;  or  in  Two 
Volumes,  handsomely  bound  in  cloth  gilt,  gilt  edges,  at  21s.  each.  Each  Part  \rill  contain  Twenty-four  pages  of 
Illustrated  descriptive  matter,  and  either  One  Etching  or  One  Steel  Engiaving.  Each  Dinsion  will  contain 
Seventy-two  pages  of  descriptive  matter,  and  Three  Etchings  or  Steel  Engravings.  Each  Volume  will  contaiu 
One  Hundred  and  Eighty  pages  of  descriptive  matter,  and  Eight  Etchings  or  Steel  Engravings. 

1  lie  size  ol  ii.c  \V .  .rK  IS  J<.oy..l  yuarto.     It  w  ill  be  printed  in  the  liuest  style,  on  special  paper. 

No  ORUKR   WILL   BE   RECEIVED  FOR  LESS  THAN  THE  ENTIRE  SET. 


LONDON:  J.  S.  VIRTUE  &  CO.,  Limited,  294,  CITY  ROAD,  and  26,  IVV  LANE. 


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