Evening star., 1898-11-19

cot ttlf lNff W DtlNt 4 booming country.
Things also boom in the Argentine. but he
character and conditions Of prosperity are
entirely different here. We raise some
wheat; - does the Argentine. We raise
wool; the Argentine far outstrips Us in
sheep. We have the more land but the
Argentine has territory which is almost
all good for something. and it is in area AZ
least one-third the size of our country
without Alaska and our new islands, The
Argentine is longer from north to south
than the United States II is almost twice
IS long If We could lift it up at the cor
ners. twist ii around and spread 1t over our
country from east to west. placing the low
est edge Of Patagonia at New York the bur-
ders Of Brazil and Bolivia would be some
distance beyond Salt Lake City. If we could
cut it up into patchwork pieces and fit them
upon the territory Of the United States.
every inch OF our land east of the Missis-
Slppi would he covered. and the remnants
would be larger than the area Of a number
Of our states west Of that river. The Ar
RCntine Republic is twelve times rs big as
Great Britain II is five times as large as
france and il Is greater in area than the
states Of Mississippi. Louisiana. t. xas, New
Mexico. Arizona. California. Utah, Colorado
and Kansas combined This wonderful land
is made up Of mountains and plans. Its
mountainous COuntryiS comparative Y small.
hut its plains are among the largest of the
world. extending from the hot lands of the
tropics on the edge of Brazil To the cold
terraced pampas OF southern Patagonia.
The Valley of the River Plate.
The best parts of the Argentine Republic
have been built up by the wonderful zys-
tenn of streams which has its outlet in
the River Plate. These rivers ar. the
Uruguay, Paraguay, PiIcamayo and Para
ma They form 4 vast damage system
"a ttaH his r..
from the mountains for ages and ui.Ging
up this country. They drain a country
larger than the basin Of the Missisafppi
and. IN fact. as large as half of the whole
United States
The. best lands Of the Arcentin, lie ;.Ir-.s,
tn rivers. The most Of the country Is Il
great plain gently S!oping I'm the north and
central part from the Andes t" these
streams If you could see the Rio de la
Plata. or River Plate. YOU could realize
what great earth builder it is 1t Is an
lmmcHse river l"" miles wide at its mouth
and l>'l miles long to the point where it is
formed by the junction of the Uruguay
ana FHFdna- II = so fun of soil that it
drops i".tf1 tG.> of mud every hour into its
bed. This is d load so great that ifyou should
j., q" u "n 20 t'v"-h0rse wagons It would take
q line OF teams sixty miles long TO carry it,
] entered the Rio dc Ia Plata on a German
steamer IN which | sailed from the Fa!k-
land Islands To- MeutcvideO The waters
- Tho sea wera stained by the mud long
"ei"T" "" reached the mouth Of the river
90 took us all night ia sail across it, and
u tA" morning. We were still some distance
from M"rtevidso. y hen | took ny bath l
found the tub filled with what looked like
Spit - soup. and when let the Nuid
"ut there was >-dimeu! In the bottom of
IN" tub So th!ck that I left foot prints in
u quite as plain as those which frightened
k"pnS'u truSoe in the sand of his desert
island
The sea captains tell me that these
enormous masses Of mud are rapi,;Iv fiiiing
N % G. a L. Dl.4r.
varies from thirteen to thirty-six feet buf
II has many banks and shoals This silt
ma given II a bottom OF fine sand The
hiS steamers which come to Rurpos AvreS
often have To plUw their way through tho
mud, and already tho people are talking of
q l't'N system similar 10 that which Fades
'uit at the mouth Of the Mississippi
How the Argentine Looks.
l can give YOU d better idea of the Ar
sen;ine Republic by comparing it with
parts of the United States Take the great
valley Of the Rio de la Plata as you ind
1t here and for hundreds of miles to the
west ana north Of Euenos Ayres. II YOU
viii imagine yourself In Illinois south of
Springfield along the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers YOU viii be in a country much like
this You must. however. cut out the corn
fields, leave out the woods and make the
lands all pasture. Take away forty-nfne
i4rm houses out Of every ffty tear down
"L4 'il' bati-s. ana IN the places of our neat
country homes put nuts Of mud and straw
ana bricks, some times matched and some
utnts r"6Ied with galvanized iron. Then
put mere and there larger group of low
DuhfinzS surrounded by flowers and trees
belonging 10 the rich proprietor and you
nave the basin Of the Rio de la plata
You must sp"- the iandsca pc wlth sheen and
cattle n h"cks ~ thousands. and Imagine
vast fields. for the farms often include tons
OF thousands Of acres and one man may
own many square miles Of land
Further south the Argentine is a fable
land very like northern Nebraska II Is
covered with sand and grass Streams
twenty feet deep and eight feet wide cut
their way through cTumbling banks The
land rises In terraces from the sea to the
Al des. The soil Is poor and much of Il Is
sandy plain upon which nothing will
grow except by irrigation.
Again, going from the basin OF the Rio
de Ia Plata westward the land rises gently
20 the Province of Cordoba. one of he seats
OF the old civilization, and stu further
west to Mendoza In the foot hills of the
Andes Cordoba Is devoted largely to graz
Ing. 1t has u mountain chain running
through 1t and IT is much like West Vir-
ginia, save that It Is not wooded The
province of Mendoza is on the plateau OF
the Andes. II is a grape and wine cour-
TO the acre and every twenty vines a gal
Ion Of wine. Its general character is Ike