The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1891-11-11
The PARAcuAYAN CAPITAL.
AsuncIon Is Town That Is Full of Sur
prises and Contrasts.

In Paraguay there is but one town
Asuncion, the capital-says Theodore
Child in HdrpeT'S Magazine When
the traveller has seen this city he has
seen the quintessence of all that is fine
in the republic. Asuucion is charm
ingly situated on gently undulating
ground. rising to a considerable height
above the river, which makes a bend
here and forms a bay, in which are
anchored few steamers, MANY
schooners, white Brazilian gunboat
and two or three hulks. while close to
the shore are some long wood RATS
and cedar logs. To the northeast of
the port, which consists merely of a
wooden pier simple quays. and the
usual buildings of custom house and
warehouses on a small scale, the beach
for some distance forms broad, level
stretch of green meadows, bounded by
steep red sandstone cliffs, which are
crowned by the silhouets of the princi-
pal edifices of the toWn-the palace of
Lopez, the Cabildo. the barracks, the
dome of the Pantheon. the church of
San Francisco, and below this church,
perched literally on the side of the
cliff, the suburb, or quarter, called La
Chacarita. ALI along the shore are
groups of women washing clothes,
with. in the background, fourishing
growth of trees and Jungle, and the
town itself appears to be surrounded
and interspersed with verdure
The view of Asuncion from the river
is delightful, but the view from the in
terror is still more SO, particularly
from the high ground of La Cancha, a
sort of hotel and pleasure resort, situ-
ated a short distance to the east. From
this point the spectacle is most fascin-
ating. The outer zone of the town
consists of belt of low wooded hills,
dotted with cottages and yellow with
orange trees. The inner zone, more
level but still undulating, slopes to-
ward the river. and appears covered
with buildings, from which emerge
tall church towers and here and there
groups of trees; beyond this is the sill
very river winding along between
islands, jungles and shadows, and in
the background is the dark blue inter-
minable fiatness of the Paraguayan
Chaco. There are few towns in the
world more picturesquely situated than
Asuncion. and few urban panoramas
that offer more beautiful distribution
of soft hills. rich vegetation, pretty
river scenery and grand and limitless
horizon.
The town is full of surprises and
contrasts. This hotel of La Cancha,
for instance, almost within a stones
throw of the virgin forest. is lighted
by electricity. The streets of Asun-
cion are, with two exceptions un-
paved, and in some of the side streets
cows may be seen grazing, but all are
lined with tall posts and cross-trees
that carry innumerable telegraph
wires, and in some of the old oil Lam
terms have been replaced by electric
lamps. The town is laid out rectan-
gularly in cuadras. the streets running
in one direction to the port and in the
other toward the wooded country.
These streets all go up and down hill;
they have high sidewalks, more or less
paved; but the roadway is generally a
sort of deep and rugged valley of fine
red sand, with here and there pro-
truding rock. A proof of the condi-
ton of the streets of Asuncion is given
by the fact that there are no public or
private carriages; the only vehicles
that can circulate are ox-carts and
high vehicles drawn by three or four
riding-horses are also used, but for
light goods and passengers the great
and Indispensable conveyance is the
tramway, which bears the name of
conductor universal. The streets 90
on and on to the limits of the town,
the houses and huts becoming less and
less frequent, but the deep, sandy road
continues between forests, orange
trees and innumerable varieties of
Towering shrubs and creepers. The
telegraph posts continue likewise and
with them the tram-lines and the cars,
with their teams of ill-used mules,
their dark-skinned drivers and con-
ductors, who talk Guarani and barely
understand few words of Spanish.
One wonders what can be the use of
tramway through the forest. AT
last, however. after running some five
miles, the cars stop at a spot called
Villa Nora, where the streets are in
dicated by 6nger-posts stuck in the
open fields. There are few country
houses here, mandatory of palm
oil, hotel. and at a short distance the
church and cemetery of the Recoleta.
The landscape is beautiful and the
vegetation and flora of variety and
richness beyond description; the roads
are lined with orange trees; every hut
nestles in groves of orange. banana.
lime. fig and palm trees; the hedges
and fences are formed of large cac-
fuses, convolvuli and lanes. As for
the cottages and huts. they are of very
primitive architecture, most of them
being built of mud and cane, with bark
roofs; few only are of brick. with
| tile roofs. and still fewer have more
than one room, one door and one
small window, shaded in front by a
veranda supported on palm tree pill
lars. In the town. too. the old houses
all have verandas or long colonades in
front that cover the sidewalk and offer
protection from the tropical sun. The
more modern houses. on the other
hand, have no verandas; they are like
those of Buenos Ayres. and their
| facades are over-ornamented with
| ctucoo and pla horate iron oratinOS