The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-02-26


shipped to all parts of South America.
There are millions who use it in the
Argentine. Uruguay and Brazil and you
will find it for sale in Chile and in the
lands further north.
The people prefer it to tea or coffee
and even In the coffee districts Of Bra
zil 1t Is greedily drunk. The usual
breakfast of the poorer Paraguayans
consists of a cup of this tea or rather
a little bowl, for 1t is always served in
gourd about the size and shape of a
base ball. This is half filed with the
powdered leaves. Boiling water is then
poured upon it. and. the person who
drinks it sucks up theis liquid through
a silver or brass tube at the end Of
which are a lot Of small holes which
act as a strainer. Nearly all the for
eigners who come toi Paraguay drink
mate. They say 1t Is an, excellent brain
stimulant, and that 1t has no bad eff
fects If used in moderation. have tried
it several times, but Railways burn my
tongue with the tubess The. tea tastes
to me somewhat like, a. docoction of
quinine and hay, and doubt If [ shall
ever be able to acquire love for it.
A BANK FOR FARMERS.
Returning to the banks, one of the
queerest financial Institutions Of Para
quay is the Agricultural bank This
is managed by the government. It is
a sort of a combination of a bank and
an agricultural department. Its bust
| ness Is to help along agriculture by in
Producing seeds and tools and by loan
ing money to farmers on farm prop
erty. It has a capital of about half a
million dollars, gold. 1t loans on about
half the assessed value Of the property,
charging what is here considered the
very low interest rate Of per cent.
| Connected with it there is warehouse
which is filed with farming implements
and seeds. The officials say the insti-
| tuition is a success although such
banks in other parts Of South America
have ended in failures. This bank is
| one of the methods by which the Para
| guayan government is trying to- build
up its farming interests. The govern
ment also offers inducements to immi-
grants, giving each new settler some
agricultural machines eighty acres Of
land and a loan of twelve cents
| month for seven months for each adult
and nine cents for each child. It gives
each immigrant a mich cow oxen and
seeds, and also agrees to pay his pas
sage from Buenos Ayres up to Asun-
| cion. There are strings attached TO
some Of the above gifts by which the
immigrants pay back in installments
for all they receive outside the land.
THE NAUGHTY HAYES COLONY.
The immigrants who come to Para
quay settle in colonies. and not upon
their farms. There are scattered over
the country perhaps half-dozen col
onfes composed Of different nationali-
ties. There is one not far from Asun-
cion called San Bernardiuo populated
by Germans. There is another Of Aus
tralians, who got up brotherly love
scheme and came to Paraguay to live
after the Golden Rule. They began
enthusiastically. They chartered
ship, each selling his property and put
ting the money into the. general fund
| In order to cut down the expenses they
divided the work on the voyage among
the different members Of the colony.
They had hardly left Australia before
the Golden Rule was kicked higher
| than Gilderoy's kite, and when it fell
it came down in a thousand pieces
These brotherly lovers and sisterIy
lovers acquired a pleasant way of
throwing the dishes at one another
during the trip, and by the time they
reached Asuncion they were quarrel
ing as discordantly as so many strange
parrots. They soon became Disguised
with themselves and their lands have
now been redivided.
Another colony Of special interest to
the United States is just across the
river from Asuncion. In the Chaco
This was named after President Hayes,
because he decided a territorial ques-
ton between the Argentine and Para
quay in favor Of the latter. The colony
is called Villa Hayes. but they pro-
nounce it here as though it We're spell
ed Villa Eyes, for that Is the way the
Spaniards pronounce Hayes. This col
ony, named after our good president,
who, it will be remem bered. shuddered
when they talked of putting Roman
punch on the White house table, is
largely engaged in cultivating sugar
cane and distilling it's juice into rum
so villainous that it will kill at forty
rods. Inasmuch as rum is an article
that is in demand in all parts Of Para
quay at all times, the colony is prob
ably in a good financial condition.
Frank G. Carpenter.