The herald., 1922-08-24

black cigars which are so strong tina
even veteran foreign smoker usual.
acknowledges himself vanqushet
when he first tries them. Odd,
enough, the native cigarettes are un
usually mild.
As result Of the bloody war will
Argentina and Brazil. II is said tha
as late as a generation ago there were
twelve Paraguayan women for ever,
man, and even now the ratio is three
to one. Men in Paraguay are precious
and, as a consequence. are not, as q
rule, fond Of exertion. American
meatSanning factories in the country
report that almost all their employees
are women. The only work in the fac
tories which is done by men is cutting
mp the carcasses.
One significant feature about Para
quay is the comparatively small per-
centage of Spanish blood in its In
habitants, and the fact that the old
language Of the Guarani Indians has
held its own through the centuries
and still is spoken by the lower
classes quite as generally as Spanish.
II Is primitive dialect, with a
vocabulary of less than eight hundred
words and only rudmentary grammar
Four is as high as one can count.
after which one says "full hand"
full hand and one" etc. Most of the
geographical names Of Paraguay are
Guarani and a majority of the COM
mon names of trees, plants. wild AMI
mails, and birds are In that language.
1t Is up the river from Asuncion
that one encounters. In all his glory,
the Paraguayan counterpart Of the
shirt is bright-colored and about his
neck Is loosely knOtted a gorgeous silk
handkerchief. Tight-ftting white cot
ten trousers. often with draw-strings
at the ankles. extend almost to his
armpits. About his waist he girds a
six-inch-brOad leather belt, to which
are sewed little leather pockets. use
full for carrying money, cigarettes and
other small personal belongings AL
Why's the belt supports the sheath Of
a long knife.
Though barefooted, he wears spurs
and sometimes loose leather leggings.
A fringed apron of soft-tanned brown
leather hangs TO his knees, its pur-
pose being to protect him when on
horseback from thorns and from the
pressure Of his lasso. Usually he car
ries sllver-handled, fat-thonged
native riding whip, or revenca.
Cattle Raising In the Chaco.
AS the Chaco. the untamed region
west OF the Paraguay river, is being
opened up. the cattle raising Industry
Is becoming more and more Of fac
tor In Paraguayan life. Now the herds
Of this little republic are second only |
to those of the vast Argentine pampas. |
On the Chaco plains are held each |
season roundups at which cow
punchers of Oklahoma or Texas or |
New Mexico feel fully at home. The |
gauchOs use 72-foOt lassos of braid |
ed rawhide and are as expert in |
singing out and noosing calves from
the shifting mass Of cattle as are their
northern brothers-in-saddle
Paraguay has had many unusual |
chapters in It's history. First ii har.
bored a feudalism under the control
of half-breed land owners and Span
ish governors. Then Jesuit mission
aries gained control and maintained |
a church state for more than a cen.
fury. Later Spanish governors, who
cruelty oppressed the people, came
back into power.
After independence from Spain was
gained in 1910 Paraguay entered upon
4 period of relationships and became
The hermit nation of the West Trade
With outside countries and the pres
ence Of foreigners was strictly pro-
nibited and the cOuntr, came TO he
entirely self-reliant unit. A sort of
communism was established for MANY
years. portion of the land being
worked for the state, the proceeds
being used for the benefit OF the peo-
pie. he Franchia, the first and most
benevolent Of the dictators was alb
'oiute despot OF the country for 25
'ears. When he died there was
short period OF fighting and turbulence
rom which Carlos Lopez emerged as
lictator. After him came his son.
francisco, under whom the popula-
Ion suffered its greatest losses.
Since 1870 the government has been
arried on under a constitution framed
prevent the rise of dictators. But
still has its revolutions. The pres
mt one is the seventh since 1907.