Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-06-12
SHIPPING ORANGES IN PARAGUAY
The Carrying is all Done by the Women.

The two principal ports for shipping
are San Lorenzo and San Antonio. We
Staid at the latter, a lovely spot on the
Paraguay river. with strand OF yellow
sand banks fringed with lilies. and in
the background trees, some of them form,
ing masses of lilac bloom. The port con-
SiStS of square of sand. with the cabin
and flag of the customhouSe, or reSguardo,
and short wooden jetty to the right; a
| roughly traced road leading into the in
terror past sort Of store or tambo: and
to the left q tent stretched over palm
| poles, with an attic floor made of bamboo.
| This tent was full of oranges; on the sand
| outside were other mountains of oranges:
| and carts drawn by yokes of two or four
| oxen. preceded by the driver. wearing a
| long poncho'a and carrying a bamboo goad,
kept groaning and cracking down the
| slope, ana GepoSiting other golden piles
along the beach. Under the shady cur
tain of trees were seated groups of men,
women and children, with oranges, ba-
nanaS, mandloca, parrots, blue-jayS, and
! monkeys, which they hope to sell, but at
the same time made no effort to offer their
! merchandise, preferring to remain calm
| and Indifferent, Suching mate through sill
| yer bombillaS
The steamer is moored alongside. and
a long gangway of plankS is laid ON high
trestieS from the paddle-box to the shore:
! then. when all Is ready, about sixty wo-
men and girls and ten men set to work.
| some to carry baskets full of oranges.
| others TO hand the baskets from behind
the paddle boX Il the upper deck. others
| 10 pass the baskets on from this point of
| the corral or enclosure that has been
| built behind the piolet-houSe and others
still! to pass down the empty baskets. Tie
| carrying Is all done by women, who form
a procession passing continuously up and
down the gangway, and generally at run
! They are Paraguayans. GuaraniS and
other Indians and mul 3ttoeS of various
! shades, clad in white. rose, scarlet yellow.
and other bright-colOred Manchester cot
| ton stutfs; are all barefooted, and most of
them are without beauty, but gay, and
ready to laugh and scream without pre-
| text, merely for the sake of being lively
and making a noise. They are like birds
| and monkeys. Hour after this operation
| goes on. Women and girls alike have in
their mouth cigars in the usual Paraguay.
an fashion. The rapid movement of
| brightly clad figures passing IN opposite
directions, with the glare of the yellow
mountains of oranges and of the dazzling
| white tent ON the shore. ends by hypnot,
| izing one, and vet the scene is so original
| hat one continues to watch it in spite of
ones self. For that matter, there is moth
ing else to do. The village, buried in
orange trees, Is soon visited; to walk for
any distance along the river is rendered
difficult by the overhanging trees, and so
one remains leaning over the rail. and
watching the women and girls toiling.
| while the men-huSbands, fathers. or bro
| thers-loaf on the shore, smoke or play
cards, according to the custom of Para
quay, where the women work while the
men enjoy life. The steamer was supposed
to take 100000 oranges; but there being
70 means of control, it Is probable that,
in order to allow for loss, the shipper put
on board at least 100000 These oranges
of fine favor and aspect, and worth one
Paraguayan dollar a thousand at San
Antonio. The women, who carry the
baskets on their heads. are paid eighty
| centavos day, and the harvest of the fruit
lasts eight months, beginning at the end of
May.
The freight from Paraguay to Campana,
and from Campana by schooner to La
BOca, together with the loss from petri-
facation and rough handling during the
journey, brings the retail price of good
orange in Buenos Ayers to about two
cents.-Harper's Magazine.