The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-06-11
SOUTH AMERICA
Things We Don't Know About Our
i. =. Next Neighbor.
H: E. Armstrong In Ainslee's.

II. A1uISCl OAS Ill tAlASlSS
The United States was the first nation
to recognize the independence of the
South American republics, and over them
it raised the aegis: off4the Monroe Doc
trine almost eighty years ago; yet, COM
pared with the Europeans; 1--WE in America
are profoundly ignorant: about South
America We know almost nothing Of
its scenic wonders, for we do not visit
them; our share in it's exploration is in
significant; what information the world
has Of its flora and - fauna has been
cleaned by Europeans mainly, our knoWl-
edge of it's ethnology also comes from
them, and the same may be- said of the
history of it's people in the nineteenth
century &(from American sources almost
no account Of: the rise:of the Spanish re-
-publics can be- hadD; and lit is European;
and not American, sseapital that, has
opened up it's wildernesses, built it's cities
and railroads. and established its indus
tries. How" many Americans have seen
Ecuador's 'ayenue of volcanoes" twenty
of whose mighty 'crests exceed $4,000 feet,
one of them 10000, and three others, 49,
900 feet? How 1nanys Americans have
heard OF the 'Paulo Alfonso Falls, on the
Rio San Francisco, with their descent of
300 feet and volume Of 900 cubic feet
per second or of the seven falls of Quay
"a, on the Parana, which in combination
during? the rainy. season challenge the
grandeur of Niagara2;! -. -: :. -
HOW many Americans: are familiar
with General San, Martins achievement
in making the passage of the Uspalata
Pass, l2,7OO feet above sea level. with an
army of 5000 men, infantry. cavalry and
artillery, in. the war of independence. in
1917? The Great st. Bernard, over which
Napoleon led his army, is 5000 feet lower
than Uspalata. And writ in water, so far
as most of us are concerned, is the heroic
defense of the Paraguavans in the war of
1865-70 with Brazil, Argentine and Uru-
declined from 1,20O,000 to 5000, and none
but women old men and children were left
of people distinguished for their gentle
ness and amiability.:-~
For the American naturalist, botanist,
hunter and traveller; sno part of the world
should have more attractions. Brazil
alone has 1,700 SPECIES of birds, many
of splendid irideseent plumage; no less
than fifty kinds ofsapes; fifty varieties OF
snakes, Including the water boa, which
swallows horses and men; eight species OF
alligators, the yacaTeguezu, ~ feet long;
twenty four bats, including the loathsome
vampire (PhyHostSnia Spectrum), feet
in: swing stretch, that kills cattle and
fastens on sleeping8 children; and 1900
distinct marine creatures. Eight thou
sand species of beetles have been record
l. =
snake which is domesticated and trained
to patrol gardens, and in the tiautero a
bird whose song sAcresembles the, sound
| Of flute as to deceive the practiced ear.
Among the apes ss'ef equatorial South
America is the howler, which has de-
| veloped a kind Of: tribal organization
under chief who leads a chorus of dis
NAL music, unlike that of any other ami.
NAL and heard for miles at dawn and
sunset. A curiosity of the plant world ir
Peru is the tamal easpi, or rain tree
which grows to a height of 60. fet and alb:
serbs the humidity Of the atmosphere
I In. such abundance that in droughts water
drips from it's branches. So many strange
things there are in the animal and vegeta:
bic kingdom Of South America that Mt
prudent person would do more. than sug.
gest the wealth of them. In the first
quarter Of the twentieth century most Of
! the exploration and exploiting of Soutt
| America will be done by citizens Of the
United States, because the Commercial
interests OF this country will point the
way. The political are: growing in I'M
portance. T.