Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-02
BUENOS AYRES.
A City of Great Wealth and Business in
Lower South America.

Last July C.M. Sturtevant, Of Cleveland,
boarded the bark w. B. Flint, in New
York Harbor, and ffty-six thereafter
landed in Buenos Ayres, the capital of the
Argentine Republic. The first six days
passed very quickly and we had a splendid
voyage, except when we encountered a
severe gale. We were kept sixteen days
trying to enter the mouth of the La Plata
River.
about $50 miles up the Rio de la Plata
is Buenos Ayres, handsome city of about
| 100000 inhabitants. We have an idea
here that away down in South America it
| is almost uncivilized, but we are very
much mistaken The people there dress
better than they do here and in about the
same fashions, the city has the best street
car service in the world, and there are
banks there with S20,000,000 to $50, 0o0,-
| 600 capital. The city is laid out in regu-
lar blocks, the streets running north, south,
east and west, and whenever a street car
gets to corner the conductor blows on
trumpet made from cows horn At first
it is very funny to hear these horns footing
in all directions. The streets are so mar
| row-only 80 feet wide-that the conduc-
tor of a car can not see an approaching car
on cross street until he gets almost to
the corner; so they keep up their signals
on the horns.
There is plenty of money in Buenos
Ayres, and just now the country is boom
ing. Capitalists are buying large tracts of
land from the Government, and selling
ranches to emigrants who come to raise
cattle. A great many English capitalists
are in business there, and there is a great
deal of wealth in the city. had to have
my money changed to Argentine paper
money, and found that there were hun
dreds of these money-changing banks in
the city. The Argentine notes are dis
counted from 40 to so per cent in favor of
American gold, and from 25 to So per cent
in favor of American greenbacks. If you
are a stranger, and they know it, they will
fleece you, for the money changers are
set of robbers.
ut is said that more cattle are raised in
| the Argentine Republic than in the whole
United States. 1t is their greatest enter
prise. The country is like our Western
prairies, admirably adapted to grazing and
blest with one of the best climates in the
| world. Their horses, too, are magnificent
animals, and in Buenos Ayres they have
race tracks where the prizes are enormous
and the gambling very brisk
"They haven't any timber, though, and
have to buy all their carts, agricultural
implements, etc., from European firms.
Why, there isn't a mandatory in the city.
There are great opportunities for Ameri-
can enterprise in the country. Still, there
are drawbacks. On account of the narrow
streets, wagons cannot be used, and all the
hauling is done in huge carts drawn by
tandem team, with the cart tongue strapped
to saddle on the wheel horses back You
can imagine how busy people are in Buenos
allowed to drive up a street and return the
same way. The law compels them to 60
around in circuit to return, and so avoid
| the passing of vehicles on the streets.
1t is done to avoid blockade of the streets.
Then, too, the docks on the river are not
large enough. The English capitalists
have got their warehouses on the only
available ground near the docks, and as
the Government does not allow goods to
remain on the quays after landing, they
have monopoly. The consequence is
| that merchants have to have their goods
taken to the beach in small boats, while
those carts are driven into the water along
side and loaded up 1t is amusing to go
| along the shore and see these carts with
Just the horses heads above the water. 1t
is slow work unloading ship that way.
Where we would do it in one day, it takes
thirty days in Buenos Ayres.
"About 1900 miles from Buenos Ayres
there is an abundance of the best timber,
but no one has yet had the enterprise to
utilize it. | have been thinking of start
ing mill near there, but have not vet de-
cided. 1t takes great deal Of money to
60 into manufacturing business there.
II sailed up the La Plata to Rosario,
called the Chicago of the South, hadsome
fine hunting, and enjoyed my trip greatly.
Although the distance in direct line
from New York to Buenos Ayres is about
5000 miles, our log showed we had sailed
200 miles on our return trip, which lasted
fifty weight days"