The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-06-22

!. Four Times as Big as New Eng
land and Has Pastures, Farms,
Ind, and FOrcstS-A Big Ranch |
owned by Americans-The Rivers
And RailrOadS-Great Forests and
Inc Wealth in Standardization the
woods Arc ExplOited-A Business
employing Millions Of DOilarS-Thc
Climate IF the ChacO-Strange Ami |
msl--Fish That Come From the
C,oud-Tlle Terrible Piranha and
the palOmeta.
aCopyright. 1915. by Frank G. Carpen-
Asuncion, Paraguay.
write this morning OF one of the
biesest blocks of u~nexplored land
known to the world. The territory
has an area four or five times as
large as New England. and three times
mat of New York. New Jersey and
Pennsylvania combined. There is
enough land i'm it to make seven states
,hc size of Ohio, five the size of Illinois
and almost forty as big as Massachu-
setts II contains more than 100000
square miles. and if it could be lifted
NJ and spread over the United States
il would hide almost one-tenth of our
country from the light of the SUM-.
This region is known as the Gran
Clatca. Some of it belongs to Para
quay. some to Argentina, and it runs
over into Bolivia and Brazil. 1t ex-
tends for five or six hundred miles
along the western side of the Parana
and Paraguay rivers and runs back al
most to the foothills of the Andes. The
P~araguaysu part of it is opposite
where | am writing these notes. and its
capital is ASunCiou. where this letter
Is dated.
The Gran ChacO is a vast plain, the
most Of which is less than a thousand
feet above the sea. 1t has same great
Swamps and lagOOnS, and 1t is trav-
ersed by the PilcomayO and VermejC
rivers, each of which rises in Bolivia
and. crossing the ChacO, enters tho
Paraguay. The PilcomayO is abOut
1900 miles long, and the VermejO 800
Attempts have been made to explore
both rivers. with a view to opening {
route to Bolivia, but without success
Both streams are crooked and shallow
and INSTRUCTED by sand bars. Their
are small boats on the PilcOmayO, ant
navigation is being opened up on tn
Vermejo. on account OF the iumDe
interests and plantations along it
banks. 1t is now possible to go sew
erai hundred miles up the VermejC
and small steamboats,, which have
speed OF about seven miles an hour
travel upon it. The boats are fitte
with cabins and are lighted by cleo
tricity. They do not move during tn
night.
The ChacO in general is well water
ed. although some parts are semi-arit
1t has millions Of acres Of uplands COY
cred with grass. and undevelOped FOL
ests of large extent.The only part
the country that is now being brougf
into use Is the Argentine Chaco ar
some spots here and there in h Pare
guayan Chaco. The Argentine Chac'
which is as big as Illinois, has a POI
ulation Of about SO. 700 whites. 1t hs
some large estates and its rancho
| have more than a half million cattl
1900 horses. $4,000 sheep and SOC
goats. 1t has something like 1906
acres in corn and 5000 acres in sugs
cane. There are no stock statistic
of the Paraguayan ChacO, and none
to the lands which extend across in
Bolivia and Brazil. 1t is known, hOy
ever, that the soil is generally fertil
and net ii will raise corn, sugar can
tobacco and cotton. Some cotton n
already been planted in the far SOut
The seed came from the United State
and the product is of superior Qualit
As to the pasture lands Of the Ch
CO. they are large enough to fill t.
meat baskets of the millions. The r
glons that have been explored ha
shown vast plains covered with ri
grass. and in those adjoining Boliv
The cattle run wild. In the nOrthe
part of the Paraguayan Chaco are t
ranches belonging to the American
OF which Tex Richard is the nan
ing Director Their territories col
Prise about 100000 acres, or 10
f~araguayan leagues, and the cat
ranch they are establishing is to
one of the largest in the world. A!
nave said. they ave already abe
$4,000 head of stock on them and
am told that this number is rapit
increasing. The majority Of their c.
Tie are a cross between the Indian Re
and the South American tranQue
out good breeding stock will be i
ported and the ranching is to be S
ehthcaiiy carried on. The company
I'M u