El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-06-05
sUNCION. Paraguay, june 81

4 SUNCION, Paraguay, June 81
u am in the heart of another meat
IL land of Infinite possibilities. 1t
Is Paraguay, a country that lies md
way between Alanaos, the metropolis OF
the central Amazon river, and Buenos
Aires. the great city at the mouth OF
the Rio de IA Plata.
of an the South American republics,
Paraguay and Bolivia only have no sea
coast. Bolivia is shut off from the Pa
cific BY one Of the greatest deserts. on
earth. 1t is a land Of snow-peaked
mountains and lofty plateaus-
Paraguay is only a few hundred feet
above the sea. 1t mas soil Of astounding
fertility. pasture lands as good as those
of the pampas lands of Argentina, and
IL promises to be one of the bread lands
and wheat lands Of the future. Amer
leans already have bought 100000 acres
Of pasture lands in Paraguay.
in coming here from the Atlantic
ocean, I have Travelled on steamers 1900
miles. and the last 800 were on the
Paraguay river. ! could 90 on the same
liver 1000 miles further north into the
heart Of Brazil, and there IS a good cat
tie country along both banks Of the
river all the way.
Great Forest Region.
The Paraguay river runs through one
Of the forest regions Of this part Of the
world. As seen from the boat, the trees
are lnottv and narly and but lew OF
them are more than q foot IN diameter
They are bound together with vines
Farther inland is a dense jungle Of Yege-
tstion through which 1t would be IN
possible to make your way without an
ak OF a knife.
AS YOU approach Asuncion the land
umN Nhnm stems
ct a Paraguayan town whose only COM
nlunicatiOn with the outside world IS
the river. Such towns have unpaved
streets. IN which the grass grows. The
houses are all one story. They are most
" of stucco. They have roofs of red
tile and they are painted in the brightest
Of colors- Continuing your voyage, you
bv and by. land at Asuncion, the capital
Of Paraguay. 1t Is a city Of about
100. 900 people, and is the social, politi-
cal and financial center Of the Upper
Parana system.
Paraguay lies in the heart Of the
South American continent, much the
same as Illinois lies IN the heart Of the
North American continent. It Is at the
junction Of two mighty rivers, having
grsat waterways that carry its prod
ucts to the sea.
Divided by Great Rivers.
The country is divided into two parts |
bv the rivers that wash il. On the east /
is Paraguay proper, q territory more (
than twice the size Of Indiana, lying /
In the arms of the Paraguay and the |
Alto Parma rivers, and on the west /
running northward toward Bolivia, Dor 4
iered on the south by the PilcomayO, /
Is the vast wilderness known as the /
Chaco, which would make two Ohios \
-. hn rhI1n Z
Of Paraguay all told contains III 900 |
square miles. It has enough land to I
make three Alsbamas, four ' irginias or
three Kentuclcys, with Arkansas thrown
in for good measure. None of the eoun-
try has been carefully surveyed, and 4
some Of II has not been explored. it i
has millions of acres as wild as when 4
Sebastian Cabot first sailed up the
parana; and some Of its territories have I
never been trodden by the foot Of white
men.
Has Only 10000 People.
And still this great country has only a
lew more people than either Baltimore /
II st. Louis. It has perhaps 500 900 |
md there are in addition about $4,000 J
wild indians whose census has never
been taken. The bulk Of the inhabitants
i've in Paraguay proper. They are a
MIXTURE Of whites and of a cross be
-ween the white race and the Guarani
indians. The first whites were Span
ards. many Of whom intermarired with
he Guarsnis, and it is their descendants
nd those of the Spaniards who form
he Psraguayans of today.
In addition to the native population
here are perhaps about $4,000 foreigners
made up OF Italians, Argentinos, Brazil
ans, Germans. English and French.
There are 10000 Italians, little over
1000 Argentinos, perhaps $500 Germans
nd not to exceed so Americans The
Americans are chiefly in the northern |
art Of the country, where a colony
# them has large cattle lands. Their
eader Is G. I. Richard, who Is said to (
AVE made a large part of his money
s the promoter Of the Jeffries-Johnson
rize fight
Population Widely Scattered.
The most Of the population Of Para
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