Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1859-01-05
TOPOGRAPHY OF PARAGUAY.

~ 10y the district of st, Paul's, part of Bra
r zll. 1t lies in the fork of the broad riy-
crs, the Parana and Paraguay, the first of
4 4 which ilows down its eastern border. and
y the other runs along its western edge, and
"a they unite their waters in 27 degrees 30
mlnut,1 south latitude. From this point
II up to its northern limits is nearly five
N hundred miles and its mean breadth, be-
" tween those rivers is about two hundred
% miles Through the length Of this coun-
> try extends range oilOw mountains, rich
~ ly wooded To their SUBMITS, which is the
- water shed to the whole interior of this
m state On either side Of this open and
/ beautiful valleys send out to those large
n rivers, small, clear tributaries, east and
a. west-so that the entire territory is admi-
X rably watCrcd. The level lands along
/ these streams are extremely fertile, and
Z the valleys in the mountains are cloth ed
y with forests Of the yeIba tree, the leaves Of
Va which, prepared by drying over fires, is
= the celebrated "maic," or Paraguayan tea
20 These groves are called "ycrbqlcs." and
n will he more particularly noticed again.
= The southern section Of the state, is an
i \ exception to this topography The Para
y. ! quay river oyerilows its banks for some
= distance above its mouth, during freshets,
\ and spreads out shallow, broad marshes
on its western borders. The traveller. on
7 the road to Assumption, will be up to the
N saddleSskirts in water for hours at time
= with only here and there patches of dry
% land in view. This region is called the
~ coast and is inhabited by scattered bo-
:, dies OF wood-cuttcrs, who suffer every pos
u slble ailliction from aguc and insects. Still
2 the Costcros, driven out temporarily, bv
high water, to the uplands, always eagerly
n return to these s.oughs. The insects par
z ucularly the mosquitoes, are so formida-
= bic, that but for an expedient of these
people, based upon a known habit Of these
Z pests, a man could not exist there. Ex-
y pcrlcncc has shown to them that mosqui-
= toes coniino their depredations to the
= surface Of the ground and do not rise
% high in the air. The people, therefore, in
y front OF their houses, raise a scaiiold upon
y posts, fifteen feet high, set firmly in the
~ ground. Upon this they stretch bul!ocks
hides and spread on these coarse straw
! mats, AT night the family retire to this
4 staging, and having drawn up the ladder.
J sleep undisturbcd Besides, this arrange
. I mont protects them from the fierce puma
\ and ounce
, This low region extends up to the mar
10 rows Of the river Paraguay. Here the HIGH
\ lands are crossed by the rycr,which forms
= the Angostura, above which, twenty seven
y miles. is tie Capitol Of the Republic. As
sumption, finely situated on the cast
\ bank Of the Paraguay. better dcscrip-
a ton of the country about this city cannot
be given than is prcscntcd in a letter 10y
\ an English merchant, who visited it in
person. will, therefore give an extract
Z from it:
y "Prescntly we were shut ouC from the
= open country. and wendcd our way thIo'
. road, embarked on either side to the
- height of twelve feet. 1t was overarched
y 10y the wood which met, and twincd its
y branches on both sides of this shaded
N pathway. From springs in the banks ON
each side of the road, gurgled the clear
4 waters, not a ray Of sun could penetrate
4 this retreat; and we rcjoccd in this re-
Y ircshing passage through which we bent
! our course TO the Capitol. All the ap-
: proachcs tor passes as they may be more
u praperIy callcd) to Assumption, are Of
10 this kind. They were made originally fer
: defence against the frequent inroads Of
- the Indians; and these detilcs may be ca
n sill guarded against any number Of enc
7 mics. These dangers now being past, the
/ \ approaches to the city serve rs the plea.
antpassagcs by which travellers enter, or
z the rural inhabitants carry their fruit, We
y getables and meats 20 market Of such we
overlook hundreds, chiefly females, some
\ on foot others besrOdc asses, some drove
\ horses and mules with pannicrs across
= them, and those Of higher station had a
p clumsy horse~cart.
% at was something more than pictur-
- esquc, to see the elegantly clothed fe-
. J male, with her full bust, roundly turned
arms, small hands, and smaller feet. short
pctticoat and braided lrir,and black eyes,
4 pursuing her course Of industry, either
: with pitcher OF water, q bundle oftobac-
y co, or parcel of yucca root, on her iaunty
head, clothed in pure white, she glidcd
I like sylph through the green foliage.
y Through these shady lanes Of twelve miles
q entered Assumption, with all the onthu-
=, sigsm of a man, introduced for the first
lS time, into country ofsuch Arcadian sim
= plicity and happiness"
This Claude-like sketch paints graphi
cally the happy primitiveness Of this nno-
cent people, and the great abundance Of
the nccessaries of life Their remote stu
; alton, the mildness of the climate, and
the great productiyeness of the soil, CON
shtute them quiet, and cOntented popu-
lation. They are a mixed race-of Span |
lard and Iudian-but the'aboriginal blood
3 has become so attenuatcd, as to be scarce- |
r ly perceptible, and the females are rs
> pretty in features and fgurc-the com, |
q pleXion as clear as a tint Of olive, slightly |
tinged with red--as the nativeAndalusian |
This greater beauty of person and docil- |
ty Of disposition is due to the fact. that
the negro was never introduced into this
beautiful country. This black clement
where it has been infused into the mix
ture, in other parts Of fSouthAmcrca gives
coarseness Of face and viciousness and cru
city to the character. 1t drag down the
superior race to lower grade Of mind
and morals-and hence of necessity, an in
ferior civilization. This very peaceful
! dienneiIinn Of lhn ,,nIirn nnrn,,,n,.n,, l..