Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-12
INTHE BACKWOODS OF BRAZIL
Strange Features of Life in the Province of
Matte Crosse.
CITIES OF CORUMBA AND CUYABA
Vast Forests Alive with wild Animals
and Birds-HOw Cattle Take the
Place of Horses-Curious
Indian Tribes.
CITIES OF CORUMBA AND CUYABA

(Copyright, 1899, by Frank G. C~arpenterO
ASUNCION, Paraguay, Jan. 10, 1873
Especial Correspondence of The Bee)-The
wonders of the Parana system grow upon me.
I am now on the Paraguay, which flows 1000
miles from its source in Brazil before 1t
loses itself in the Parana. The Paraguay
has a network Of tributaries above Asun-
Cion UP which you can sail for thousands
OF miles. On some of these rivers you
can go in canoes so close TO the tributaries
OF the Amazon that you can carry your boat
n short distance and go out to the Atlantic
through that mighty stream.
The Parana proper, which l left about
200 miles south, at the town OF Corrientes,
extends more than a thousand miles further
north, bounding south Paraguay and run
ming on into Brazil. 1t is navigable for
small steamers during a part of its course.
but it has 400 miles OF rocky rapids, and
in the future 1t may be one of the great
picturesque routes OF the world. 1t has
waterfalls which are said to surpass those
of Niagara. These are on the borders of
Paraguay and Brazil, and are known as
the Salto Guayra. They are, l am told,
far more grand than the falls of Ygyazu,
which are sometimes called the Niagara OF
South America.
/ have already written how in coming to
ASuuClOH i Sdlltu as lat as from NEW
York City to Omaha on large river steam
ers. l can go just as much further by
steam into the very heart OF this continent,
or further than from Philadelphia to Salt
Lake City. The limit OF steam navigation
is now Cuyaba, Brazil, the capital of Matte
Crosse, and the metropolis OF a vast coun-
try OF undeveloped resources,
The first man to penetrate this region by
steam was an American, His name was
Captain Thomas j. Page. He was COM
mander of the steam launch Alpha of our
navy, and upon this little ship in 1859 he
pushed his way inland 2,700 miles from the
Atlantic. Today Brazilian mail steamer;
go over the same route twice a month, and
there are steamers leaving here weekly fol-
Cuyaba. The Paraguay river for half the
Journey is everywhere twenty feet deep
while its average depth is said TO be forty
Ave feet.
In the Heart of Brazil.
In going from Asuncion TO Cuyaba you
pass through a region which is most pic
turesque, Crossing the boundary Of Para,
quay, you enter the great province OF Matte
Crosse, which is an empire in itself. AS you
go north the Paraguay river narrows, the
scenery becomes wild, and you steam II
and out among mountains upon the bases o
which grow fern trees and giant palms
The banks are covered with a wooded mas
of vegetation. The trees are tall and bounI
together with vines and creepers. Yol
could not make your way through them Will
AN AK or a knife.
There are all kinds Of wild birds, and yol
get many shots from the steamer. Their
ara alligatoTs everywhere, and II you rs
early YOU may now and then see tiger
swimming across the river.
Further north, il you throw a dynamit
cartridge into the water the dead fish vii