Evening star., 1913-12-07

has a white band extending across the
chest from shoulder to shoulder. 1t goes
about in herds or droves and Is not dthi-
cult to shoot. We have some tapirs in
Panama and they are found In many
parts of the Amazon and Parana ba-
sins. I saw some during my travels In
South America. They make me think OF
cross between a hog and q pony. They
the lowlands near the rivers. They like
TO bathe and run for the water when at
tackled. They are not at all dangerous
And then the aIligators and turtles.
There are aligators almost everywhere
in the Rio de Ia Plata system. had
shot at a score or SO during my trip UP
the Paraguay river, and ] saw some on
the Amazon, although that stream Is 80
large that one only comes into sight or
them when near the shore or on the
banks. There are also sea porpoises in
the Amazon and its branches. There are
snakes of enormous size and all kinds OF
fishes. from the great coWfish to the sar-
dine Those rivers are the homes of big
turtles. which lay vast quantities of eggs
on the banks. The natives collect the
eggs and stack them up in piles like the
cannon balls in navy yard. Some of
the piles are twenty feet in diameter and
three times as high as a man. Later the
eggs are thrown into canoes and broken
with sticks In order to make turtle-egg
butter When canoe is half full of
these broken eggs. water is poured In and
the Whole is left out In the heat OF the
tropical sun. After short time the oily
matter Of the eggs rises to the surface.
when it Is SKINNED OF and clarified. 1t
then looks like butter and Is used as such
by the Indians and some of the other
natives. 1t is said that several hundred
millions Of turtle eggs are thus gathered
every year In the Amazon basin.
But come with me and let us take a
.rip up the Parana system from the
mouth of the Rio de la Plata, between
Uruguay and Argentina. and on through
Paraguay to where former President
Roosevelt will leave the river. in Matto
;rosso, Brazil. We shall start at Buenos
Aires 1t is city bigger than Phtiadel-
phia and 1t has as fine buildings as chi
caso. Our steamer is a side-wheeler and
it will take US more than twelve hundred
miles up the stream.
During our first days voyage we steam
past the mouth Of the Uruguay river
Parana means 1.-The mother Of the sea"
and this river system drains large part
of eastern South America We sail up it
to where the Paraguay hows In, as far
as from Mem York to Cleveland. This
part OF the stream Is from one to three
miles in width and 1t carries great vol
ume of water 1t has the whole OF the
Paraguay system. as well as that OF the
upper Parana. Whicn noWs ABOUT sixteen
hundred miles through Brazil before 1t
reaches the mouth of the Paraguay. 1t
is on one of the branches Of this part OF
the Parana that lie the Niagara Falls Of
South America. They are far In the In
terror but they can be reached. and it is
probable that ex-President Roosevelt will
go to them. The falls are wider than
either the Zambesi Falls or Niagara, and
the river makes q leap which is thirty
or forty feet more than that OF Niagara
Eon nd ic caf6 that the 9DQcfQnlo 10
equally grand.
All the way up the Parana to the Para
quay we pass floating islands. The floods
tear the vegetation away from the banks
and great masses of grass and trees go
floating down stream. Sometimes one
sees an alligator lying on the shores of
one of these islands. and wild animals
are often carried on them out Of the