Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-02-11


the Garden OF Eden, and II has about
three Ewes to cvcy Adam. have never
hcen In a country where there are 80
many women. They swarm. They trot
by the scores through the streets OF the
cities. They walk by you and with YOU
ON the highways and byways and they
are 30 many that you nnd II hard to
re, out Of their sight.
HOW THE PARAGuAyAN MEN
WERE KILLED OFF.
The women Of Paraguay are 70 much
In the majority that they do the work
Of the country. They are the buyers
and sellers Of every community. and
outside Of cities the men nrc the dronea.
Any bachelor In the United States can
ind a wife In Paraguay II he wants
one. for the men are now 20 few that
any two-icgEed animal without fca,h-
ora OF the masculine gender will here
be grccdiiy grabbed. The sexes were
orcc about equally divided, but Para
quay had u war which killed on the
men. IL was Just before the close Of
our trouble between the North and the
South. At that time Paraguay was the
leading country OF this part OF the
world. II was about the richest Of all
South America. and It's wealth and In
fiucncc angcrcd the Argentine. uru-
quay and Brazil. They combined
against II and their Joint army attack.
cd the parnguayans. The strugglc
lasted Ave ycaT1s. but II ended In the
wiplng out. ~ II were. OF the Para
runynn men. II ~ said that one hun.
drcd thousand OF thcm died In battle
and that thouuands of women and chill
drcn were starved TO death.
II II hard to got accurate figures In
any South American country. but, &c.
cofdlng 20 the best estimates. the popu-
iation Of Paraguay was cut down by
this war 80 that there was only one
man To- six women. while another stat
iAtlcian givea II that thrcc-fourths Of
all the people In Paraguay. numbering
about 10000. were destroyed. When
the war ended there We're only 100000
left. Of whom about $4,000 were men
and 100000 were women over nftecn
years OF age. The rest were children.
Paraguay thus became n land OF wo-
mon. and nature seems 90 be keeping
II no. Since the war ! am told that
more girls have been born every ycai
than boys. In Asuncion the girl births
exceed the boy births by more than fivc
10 the hundred. and outside the city the
percentage Of girl babies IL greater.
THE WOMEN OF THE HIGHER
CLASS.
The most OF the women Of Paraguay
nrc poor. Many OF them nrc hcwcrn OF
wood ana drawers OF water but there
are some who are rich. There ARE class
distinctions here na everywhere. and
the people Of the better classes dress
and act much the same aa those of 9TH
or parts " the continent. Paraguayan
hlgh-clara ladies' wear clothes not un.
like those OF our American Girls. They
wear bonneta or hats when out on the
streets ana a few OF them actually I'm.
port their drcHrca from Paris. They
speak Spanish when In Hociety-at
least. when on dress paradc-and some
are M well educated that they are able
TO read both English and French.
Such women are usually interested In
politics and. through their husbands
have much influence upon what u done
by the government. They are good
housckeepcrn, excellent wives and are. ]
may say. the equals OF their sisters Of
any part OF this continent
HOW THEY LOOK.
Many Of the Paraguayan women are
very good looking. This N 20 OF all
cianncn. and especially so'of the young.
A Paraguaynn maiden II "A triiic under
middle height. She Il rs straight AS an
arrow and as timber a. u willow trrc
branch. though inclined 10 be- voluptu-
Gus In form. Her complexion " Of
the Jersey cream order and often OF
the reddish brown OF the Guarnni In
dlnnA. She has. aA u rule, more or less
Indian blood In her veins. When the
spanlnrda came here this country was
Inhabited by the Rcntlc and rcmi-
civilized ouaranis. The two races In
trrmarrled. Their descendants took
wives from the same tribes. 80 that
today there are comparatively few
PnrngunynnH who have not n large pros
portion OF Gunrani blood. tn. Indian
mixture has resulted In the adoption
~ many Indian customs, and the Lam
guagc most spoken by the people today
II the Guarani. In the country districts
little else II used. and the schools Of
Asuncion there are notices ON the walls
that scholars must not speak Gunrani
during school hours. The Guaranl "
soft language and the paragunyan
Elfla have sweet voices. Indeed. their
tones fall softly on my ears after the
pnrret-likc accent which has sawed
my tympanum during my association
with theirf Argentine sisters.
PAitAGUAYAN LACE.
one OF the chief Industries Of the
Paraguayan women " lace making. IL
n true that the lower classes do all
Kinds Of work, but all women make
beautiful lace. They spin webs as deli
cntcly ns though they We're spiders
and every house II full OF beautiful cob
webs made by It's women They make
lnee handkerchief. iiEchus and cmbroi.
defiea and weave great hnmmocks OF
thread 80 fine and 80 strong that they
VIII outlnst u generation. They have
patterns OF their own which they have
taken from nature. one of the most
beautiful II called the cobwcb pattern.
the threads OF which are ns dclicntely
Joined as though made by one of the big
spiders which live here IN the aemi-
tropics. Some OF these handkerchief
are Of silk, others OF linen and some OF
The iiber grown IN the country. IL
takes a long time TO weave them, but
there are NO many at work that they
nre wonderfully cheap, No that an ar
uoic upon which a month or so has
been spent can be bought for 81 ana
upwards OF our money. A good ham-
mock VIII cost you SO and n lace
shawl perhaps twice that amount.
ORANGES AND ORANGE GIRLS.
Paraguay IL land Of oranges, II Is,
perhaps. the only place IN the world
Where the orange grows Wild. There
are oranges In every thlckct and In al
most every forest. The villages are
built In orange groves, and there are
~ many oranges that they often rot
On the ground, The fruit IN delicious
~ " the best, believe, OF Its kind IN
NE world. II Is eaten by everyone, ana
the fTlrla NJ a the nlPfllF=