The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1922-08-11
Parasuayan Cowboy" and the Government Palace at Asuncion.

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even a veteran foreign smoker usually
acknowledges himself vanquished
when he first tries them. Oddly
enough, the native cigarettes are un-
usually mild.
As a result of the bloody war with
Argentina and Brazil, it Is said that
as late as a generation ago there were
twelve Paraguayan women for every
man, and even now the ratio Is three
TO me-. Men In Paraguay are precious
and, as a consequence. are not, as a
rule, fond Of exertion. American
meat-canning 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
up the ~carcasses.
One significant feature about Para
quay is the comparatively small per-
centage Of Spanish blood in its III
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 rs generally rs Spanish.
1t is a primitive dialect, with a
vocabulary of less than eight hundred
words and only rudimentary 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
cowboy of our Western plains. His
shirt is bright-colOred and about his
neck is loosely knOtted a gorgeous silk
handkerchief. Tight-ftting white cot
ton 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
ways the belt supports the sheath OF
q long knife.
Though barefooted, he wears spurs
and sometimes loose leather leggings.
A fringed apron Of s~oft-tanned brown
leather hangs to his knees, It's pur-
pose being to protect him when on
horseback from thorns and from the
pressure of his lasso. Usually he car
ries a sil~ver-handled, f~lat-thonged
native riding whip, or evenc
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 a 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-s saddle
Paraguay has had many unusual
chapters in its history. First it 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
q period of relationships and became
the hermit nation Of the West. Trade
with outside countries and the pres
nee Of foreigners was strictly pro-
hibited and the country came TO be
entirely a self-reliant unit A sort OF
communism was established for many
years, a portion Of the land being
worked for the state, the proceeds
being used for the benefit Of the peo-
pie. De Franchia, the first and most
benevolent Of the dictators, was abb
years. When he died there was a
short period Of fighting and turbulence
from which Carlos Lopez emerged as
dictator. After him came his son,
Francisco, under whom the popula-
ton suffered its greatest losses.
Since 1870 the government has been
carried on under a constitution framed
to prevent the rise Of d~ictators. But
1t still has It's revolutions. The pres
ont one &c fhn Cnrnnfh Slnrn 1nn-