Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-08-16
LIFE IN THE ARGENTINE Re-
PUBLIC.
Coz. sarmlento's Book.


az present What comes 10 us IN the
shape of news is either imperfect or will
J fully distorted, aud there are few or no
competent and impartial observers on
the spot to impart TO US trustworthy in
formation From Paraguay we have had
confused accounts Of q protraeted war,
with more or less about that persistent.
\ little country and about the Argentine
Republic, but as rule, the more news
the less knowledge. Beyond the fact
that there is and has been q war, our ex-
act information does not extend far.
We know enough, however, TO. have
acquired a desire to know more. What
sort of people those are down toward the
Straits Of Magellan how they live what
are their inehoate notions Of government;
what style of men are their leaders what
is the nature OF their couutry-these are
inquiries which must occasionally sug-
gest themselves SIS the latest dispatches
from Humaita are received. Fortunate
kly, lust at this time we have goodly
sized volume which tells us much in an
hswer TO these Inquiries. For this we are
indebted to Mrs Horace Mann, a lady
of culture and literary ability, who has
translated from the Spanish work BY
! Domingo f. SarIniento, LII d., Minister
Plenipotentiary from the Argentine Re-
public to the UnitedStates, Just published
by Hurd a. Houghton.
Dr.. Sarmient0,s or Col. Sarmiento, is,
as we are informed in the excellent pre-
face of Mrs. Mann, an Argentine whom
we may well feel inclined TO trust AL
though be has proved his patriotism and
military ability in the field, his career
has mainly been that of a civilian. Born
in 1911, the year after the Argentine
! Republic won its independence, he traces
his descent through Spanish to Saracen
sources on one side, He was early
student, and devoted himself especially
to the history and science of government.
From his youth he seemed TO have de-
I termined to devote himself to the cause
! of popular education, and during all of
I his subsequent. career, whether in exile
( or in prison, adhered to his purpose. He
regarded the establishment of republican
/ institutions an impossibility unless the
+ people should first be educated, looking
on the common school system of the Z
United States as the model. As chief OF
the Department of Schools, Senator, Min
lister of State, and Governor Of his native /
province, the great object of his endeav-
ors has been the education Of the people (
By his countrymen he is called The /
Schoolmaster. which he considers his 4
proudest title.
Col. Sarmiento's book is, consequent (
ly. that of one who knows whereof he .
speaks 1t is but natural that he should .
feel partiality toward his native land or .
that his statements of party contests /
should show some marks of prejudice, 1
but the general tone of his work impresses
one favorably. He tells us, at all events.
much that we did not know before, and j
in a style which attracts and holds our
interest. The brief, but clear and Wig
orous statement of historical facts made /
by Mrs Mann in her preface, prepares
US to understand the main body of the
volume, as well as the biographical sketch
of Col Sarmiento at the close.
4 COUNTRY OF VAST Dist ANcRs.
The country which is called the Ar /
gentine Republic is one whose vast .ex-
panse is not generally appreciated In
deed, as the author says, {" Its own ex-
tent is the evil from which the Argentine
Republic suffers. The desert encem-
passes it on every side and penetrates its
very heart; wastes containing no human
dwelling, are, generally speaking, the
unmistakeable boundaries between its
several provinces. Immensely Is the
universal characteristic of the country
the plains, the woods, the rivers, are all
immense and the horizon is always un-
defined, always lost in haze and delicate
Vapors which forbid the eye to. mark the
point in the distant perspective where
the land ends and the sky begins"
EFFECTS on CHARACTER OF PEOPLE.
The character of the country has its
usual effect on that Of its inhabitants.
Col. Sarmiento says
When the solitary caravan of wagons.
as it sluggishly traverses the pampas,
halts for short period of rest, the men
in charge of it, grouped around their
seanty FIRE, turn their eyes mechanically
toward the south upon the faintest whis-
per Of the wind among the dry grass,
and gaze into the deep darkness of the
night, in search Of the sinister Yisages Of
the savage horde, which, at any moment,
approaching unperceived, may surprise
them. IL no sound reaches their ears, if
their sight fails to pierce the gloomy veil I
which covers the silent wilderness, they {
direct thsir eyes, before entirely dismiss
iRg their apprehensions, TO the ears of
any horse standing within the freight,
to see if they are pricked up or turned
earelessly backward. Then they resume
their Interrupted conversation, or put
into their mouths the half-se0rched
pieces Of dried beef on which they sub
sist When not fearful Of the approach K
Of the savage, the plainsman has equal
cause TO dread the keen eyes Of the tiger
or the viper beneath his feet This con-
slant insecurity of life, outside the towns,
in my opinion, stamps upon the Argen-
tine character a certain stOical resigna-
ton to death by violence, which is re- {
garded as one of the inevitable probabil- ]
tiles of existence. Perhaps this is the
reason why they infict death or submit {
to it with 50 mnch Indifference, and why {
such events make no deep or lasting i'm
pressions upon the survivors.
GREAT RIVERS UNUSED.
The great rivers which drain the pain
pas are regarded rather as hindrances '
than as helps by the gauches. i
"Thus, says the author, the foun- !
tain of national growth, the origin of /
the early. celebrity of Egypt, the cause
Of Hollands greatness, and Of the rapid
development Of North America, the nav $
igation Of rivers, or the use of canals, c
remains latent power, unappreciated I
by the inhabitants of the banks of the {
Bermejo, Pilcomayo, Parana and Para v
quay. A few small vessels, manned by !
Italians and adventurers, sail up. stream G
from the Plata, but after ascending a few 3
leagues, even this navigation ceases. The ]
instinct of the sailor, which the Saxon /