El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-05-29

that have been torn by the river from
the highlands of Brazil and are NOV
ing slowly down to the ocean. Jaguars,
deer, tapirs and other wild animals are
sometimes seen on these floating
islands. In some places the banks Of
the islands are steep. They have been
coated and built up by flood after flood,
as you can see by the strata which are
so plain that they look like the layers
in a cake and appear to be sliced down
with a knife. Many Of the Islands are
covered at Hood times and then the
river goes far ont over the mainland
nos Aires. the stream at low water is Is
miles wide and in the floods IL extends
10 miles farther out.
Many Are Inhabited.
Many Of these Islands OF the Parana
are Inhabited This lis especially so Of
those near BusnOs Aires. where hun
GreCs Of thousands Of acres have been
taken up by fruit and vegetable plan
tations- This region is known as the
Tigre.
The Islands are so close together that
they seem one great body Of land, sep
arated only by narrow canals. There
are villas on many Of them, and the
place is also a pleasure resort. and one
OF the gambling hells for the city.
Farther upstream many islands are de-
vobed to pastures. You see cattle feed
ing upon them and animals are ferried
over from the mainland in times of
drouth. The Islands are as fertile as
the valley Of the Nile They will raise
rice, and it is believed that they might
furnish enough of that grain to feed the
whole country and give some for eX-
port Altogether they contain thousands
Of acres. but the yform a very small
part Of the undeveloped regions OF this
mighty Parana basin, which potentially
IS one Of the great food lands Of the
world.
Cre-far Thu, rl-sf, ,.f yrF.-s--t,,,,t
The basin Of the Parana is bigger
than that Of the Mississippi, and il is
a question whether il has not more cul-
tivable territory. It is more than 1000
miles long, and in places il reaches
from the Andes clear out to the ocean.
All the way up the Parana and Para
quay TO where am now. the country is
one vast plain
Until I reached the Paraguay river I
saw no woods to speak of. and I was
told that the plains extended back on
both sides for hundreds Of miles. With
the exception of Uruguay. the plains
are the only parts Of the basin that
have been developed, and they still are
on the edge Of their beginning Never
theiess, they raise tens of millions OF
cattle scores Of millions of sheep, and
they are now exporting more wheat and
corn than any other part Of the globe
This vast basin is in the shape Of a
horseshoe, with the Parana flowing
from the toe down through the center.
The Andes and the strip OF highlands
that crosses Brazil form the back and
upper end of the shoe, while IL is
bound on the south by the plains of
Patagonia The most Of the basin has
been built Up by the rivers. and their
silt has made IL one of the most fer
tile lands Of the globe.
The greater part Of the basin is as
healthy as any part Of the Mississippi
valley the seasons being those Of the
reversed. We go south in
the winter to get warm These people
go north A greater part OF the country
is IN the temperate zone, and il may
be compared to the United States. Para
quay is like Louisiana or Florida and
the northern part of Argentina has su-
gar and cotton plantations. Further
south the climate is as temperate as
that Of our middle states and in the far
south the winters compare with our
semi desert northwest. Three-fOurths
Of Paraguay, through which 7 am now
steaming. is in the temperate zone. The
climate is like that Of southern Cali
fornia and the orange orchards are to
be seen everywhere
The stream is like an island-studded
sea moving on slowly down toward the
ocean The channels are so wide that
they have waves like the waters Of a
lake. and the sun dances over a golden
eXDanse Of rising and falling pillows.
The channel runs this way and that.
Now II runs straight north and south,
and no WalmOst east and west Within I
the last few years the river has been
carefully surveyed and there are now
light buoys which mark the route OF the
steamers.
The channel is about u feet deep all
the way from BUenos Aires to Para
quay, and the volume Of the river is
next to that OF the Amazon among the
great streams Of the globe. Dr. Elmer
COrthel, the well known American en-
gineer. who assisted Capt James B.
Eads in making the Mississippi jetties,
and who was engaged on the port works
at BuenOs Aires, estimates that the an
nual flow of the Parana is double that
Of the Ganges. four times that Of the
Danube and five times that of the Nile.
II is so percent larger than the flow Of
the Mississippi and three times as
great as the volume Of the st. Law
renee In other words. all Of the water
that annually pOurs down over Niagara
Falls through the downspout Of the
great lakes and out to the ocean is
only oue-third as large as that which
flows through the Parana system, this
great downspOut Of the Andes
Greater Falls Than Niagara.
This system also has greater falls
than Niagara, in those Of Iguazu on the
The IguaZu falls are
higher than Niagara, and they are !