The Washington herald., 1908-05-31

lthaoI ana heNhlNlNF tultnI-
captain OF the ship Oh which he took
passage not to stop at his old headquar-
ters. Panama. where a delegation of his
countrymen was waiting to welcome him.
It was on September 4. 1895. that AL
faro. at the head OF the Ecuadorian
army. entered the capital. His was. in
truth, a triumphal entry. Delegations
and committees went out FIVE miles from
| Quito 10 welcome him, the road was lined
with cheering multitude. and when ne
at last rode into the city proper ne found
| II in a transport Of JOY and himself the
| hero Of the pOpulace, TO whose emotional
nature his long and picturesque career
as a revolutiOnist appealed with peculiar
force. Since that. day Alfaro has been
the big stick In Ecuador both while in
and out Of the Presidential chair. His
first term ended in 1901: his present term
began In 1906 as a result OF his seizure
OF the Office as a revolutionary after
math. Only when he has been IN the
| Presidential palace has there been COM
| parative peace n Ecuador since the day
he led his first insurrectionary army 20
battle He is now sixty-fve years old.
| Though Reyes went 70 the Isthmus OF
| Panama in 1885 with an army recruited
| largely from among the Indians on his
| own estate and there brilliantly put down
a revolt against the central government,
thereby winning his title OF general;
/ though mis- has been one OF the biz voices
Of Colombia for upward OF a quarter of
a century, and though he is favorably
known as a diplomat in Paris. Washing
! ton, Mexico City. and other national cap
! itals, his chief fame rests on his explora-
! tion exploits, which occupied the better
part Of twelve years Of his life.
Becomes m Explorer.
! All these years were spent in the in
/ terror Of South America, and during the
course OF them he crossed the continent
at It's widest point. passing over great
stretches Of country and floating down
rivers never before seen by a white man.
/ on foot he explored the Yapura. the great
river Of Southeastern Colombia. practical
/ ly from fits source in the Andes 10 the
/ headwaters OF the Amazon. a distance OF
| more than 1000 miles in a straight line
Arrived at the Amazon he build a canoe
and fioated down that mightlest OF all
| streams 10 Para, on the Atlantic Then
/ he struck south from Para up the Tocan-
/ tins River, followed It clear to its source.
/ about l000 miles above Para, as a bird
/ files crossed the great mountain range
/ in which the river has its birth came
| upon the headwaters Of the Parana, put
/ his canoe into il, and In the course Of
time found himself I'm Buenos Ayres. over
| 100 miles 10 the south as a ruler IS laid
on the map. Before he made the trip
down the Parana no man dreamed that
II was possible TO go by water from the
I heart OF Brazil 10 the Argentine capital
When he began his explorations Reyes
was accompanied by mis- two brothers,
Taaff
was the only one OF the venturesOme
quartet TO turn up at Buenos Ayres.
Enrique died of yellow fever. Nestor
was eaten by cannibals, who were met
with in abundance in the heart OF the
continent The nephew became the vic
tim Of poisoned arrow, shot at him
from ambush, just a few days before
Reyes arrived without a scratch at Bue-
nos Ayres by way OF the Rio de la Plata.
the Parana emptyiLg into Il not many
miles above that capital city.
Opens Up Section TO Commerce.
The number of miles travelled and the
extent Of the country explored by Reyes
compare favorably with Stanleys record
IN Africa And Reyes adventurous un-
dertakings, as did Stanley's in Africa.
resulted in the opening up Of large sec
NluAlo VI DUulu AlllDllC1 10 commerce A
| short time after he had finished his
| canoe journey from the source of the
Amazon to its mouth. a shipping COM
pany began to do business I'D TO the
great rivers headwaters, and also far up
the Yapura When he demonst-a ated that
1t was feasible 10 go from th5 heart Of
Brazil TO Buenos Ayres by water the
commerce seekers again got busy and to-
day their boats ply the Parana hundreds
| of miles back OF Rio Janeiro.
It Is rather interesting to note that
| Reyes turned explorer when he became
| intensely interested in keeping out Of
the way Of certain Colombians who had
been on the successful side of an upris-
Ing These gentlemen had craftily seiz-
ed the ports and the highways generally
taken by defeated revolutionists 10 safe
ty, and Reyes was forced 20 turn his
face toward the unexplored forest depths
Of his native land. A few days in the
wilds aroused his love Of adventure. and
he straightway forgot his revolutionary
defeat in the new-found zest Of explora-
ton.
In this country Reyes Will be remem-
bered as the man sent here by Colombia
|