The Indianapolis journal., 1899-02-26
Towns, Cities and Villages of Para
quay, with observations Concern
ing the Inhabitants Thereof.
BANKS THAT ARE PROFITABLE
A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION WHICH IS
OPERATED FOR FARMERS.
Naughty Settlement Named After Pres
ident Hayes and Some Wicked
"Golden Rulers from Australia.
copyright. 1899. by Frank G. carpenter.1

ICopyrght, 1892 by Frank c. CarpenterJ
ASUNCION, Paraguay, Jan. 6-Come
with me this morning and have a lock at
the capital of Paraguay. We are in the very
heart of the South American continent 1t
is now summer. Every one is going about
IN cottons or linens, and at midday there
seems to be only a sheet Of brown paper
between us and hades. The children go to
school very early and every one is. resting
or doing at noon. The mornings and even
ings, however, are pleasant and there are
mule street cars which will take US to all
parts of the city.
But first let me say a few words about
this town of Asuncion. She is the queerest
municipal maiden on the South American
continent. She is the social political and
industrial mistress of all things Paraguay
an. She has the government buildings the
colleges, the banks and chief business
houses, and still she is so small that she
might be hypodermically injected into the
cheek Of Chicago and she would hardly
raise pimple on that fair lady's face.
Asuncion has only about $1,000 people. Her
buildings are almost all small. They are
chiefly one-story houses, and outside the
government structures there are not two
hundred more than thirty feet high. The
Paraguayan who lives in two-story house
struts about like a king and the owner of
a three-story block is a nabob.
Still, this maiden Asuncion is wonderfully
beautiful. Mother Nature has clothed her
ir the brightest of dresses. In her gardens
lemons and oranges grow. Great palm trees
throw their shadows upon her and the am
orous waters of two mighty rivers are al
ways washing her feet. She is seated on
the high east bank of the Paraguay river,
just opposite the mouth OF the winding Pill
comavo, which has flowed down from the
Bolivian Andes 1900 miles to get to her. She
is just in the center of the west border of
Paraguay proper and in a good position to
command the whole country of which she
is the capital.
BIRDSEYE VIEW OF PARAGUAY.
I get my best idea of Paraguay by think
ing of Illinois. 1t lies on the South Ameri-
can continent in much the same place that
Illinois does in North America. 1t is in the
5itlnctfUr Of two gyers. just like Illinois.
Along its west side is the great Paraguay
river, which corresponds to the Mississippi
and on it's south and southeast the Parana,
corresponding to the Ohio. Both the Para
quay and Parana are navigable for large
river steamers, giving a broad waterway
from here to the Atlantic similar to that of
the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
Paraguay proper is just about as big as
Illinois. 1t is 375 miles long and about go
miles wide, and it includes all the land lying
east of the Paraguay river. There is a vast
wilderness to the west of the stream called
the Chaco. This is the wild west of Para
quay. 1t is inhabited by Indians and wild
animals, and has good forests and pastures,
but as yet is not much explored
Paraguay proper is not unlike Illinois in
character. 1t has excellent soil and great
pastures. The face of the country is rolling
In some places there are low mountains
which furnish numerous streams, so that
you can hardly fence off farm without in
cluding good water.
1t is in Paraguay proper that the greater
part of the people of Paraguay live. The
country has not more than six hundred
thousand, and as 1 have said, large ma
jority of these people are women. The
Paraguayans are the offsprings of the In
dams united to some of the best Spanish
element that settled South America. One
of the first cities established on the conti-
nent this town of Asuncion 1t was
built seventy years before John Smith
landed at jamestown and the Spanish-In-
dian babies born then were gray haired
DeIOTe Boston SpIduS lHlO D6lnS.
Paraguay was for years the leader of
wealth, civilization and culture of this
part of the world, and it was not until the
close of our civil war that it fell out of the
race 1t then had fight with it's neighbor-
ing republic which lasted five years and
killed off almost all the men. This ruined
the country. A report went forth that it
was desolate and the bulk Of the European
INN Gin hpYl hos fO ba
gentine Uruguay and Brazil. There are to-
day less than 10000 foreigners in all Para
quay / have an estimate from the secre-
tary of state which says that there are now
here 5000 Argentines, 1000 Italians. eco
Brazilans and 500 Germans. The rest are
French, Swiss, Americans and English
In addition to these and the 100000 native
whites and of the mixed breed. there are
about 10000 pure Indians. There is so much
Indian blood in the whites that it is hard
to tell where the red mans blood ends and
that of the Caucasian begins. You see a
dash of gingerbread in the compilations of
most of the people aud the language gen.
orally used is that Of the Guarami Indians.
1t is a beautiful language. more soft and
melodious than even the Spanish, and is
used by every one outside the cities.
NO LARGE TOWNS.
I have said that Asuncion has $1,000 popu-
lation The average Paraguayan considers
it very big city. In my travels 1 have
gone through some of the best settled parts
of Paraguay. and I am surprised at the
fewness of the people. There are a number
of villages and some very small cities. The
cities are much smaller than the books
would lead you to think. The Statesmans
Year Book mentions a number of from five
to twenty thousand. Those have seen have
not one-third the number claimed i'll the
books. 1 spent some time in Villa Rica. 1t
is in the interior about hundred miles east
of Asuncion. 1t is put down as having 49,
co., but venture that it cannot number COCO
souls. Villa Conception. which is 25o miles
north of Asuncion on the Paraguay river,
has certainly not 1900 people, and villa En-
carnacion, the biggest town Of south Para
quay is not nearly so large. The small
towns are composed Of thatched hnts from
fifteen to twenty-five feet square The
smaller cities have one or two streets OF
one-story brick dwellings,, the walls Of
which are covered with stucco, and which,
are rooted with rec tiles Some have walls