ARGENTINA AND HER PEOPLE OF TO-DAY

Works of NEVIN O. WINTER

Mexico and Her People of To-day$3.00
Guatemala and Her People of To-day3.00
Brazil and Her People of To-day3.00
Argentina and Her People of To-day3.00

L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.

PLAZA DE MAYO, BUENOS AIRES ([See page 35])

ARGENTINA AND
HER PEOPLE
OF TO-DAY

AN ACCOUNT OF THE
CUSTOMS, CHARACTERISTICS, AMUSEMENTS,
HISTORY AND ADVANCEMENT
OF THE ARGENTINIANS, AND
THE DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES
OF THEIR COUNTRY

BY
NEVIN O. WINTER

Author of “Mexico and Her People of To-day,”
“Guatemala and Her People of To-day,”
“Brazil and Her People of To-day,” etc.

ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL AND SELECTED
PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR

BOSTON
L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY
MDCCCCXI

Copyright, 1911,
By L. C. Page & Company
(INCORPORATED)

All rights reserved

First Impression, April, 1911

Electrotyped and Printed by
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U.S.A.

TO
Elizabeth Eleanor
AND
Charles Winter
Coyle

PREFACE

The Spaniards who first visited the coast of Argentina, and sailed up the broad and imposing river that empties into the Atlantic Ocean, were so impressed with the outlook and prospects, that they named the country Argentina, which means silvery or silver-like, and bestowed upon the majestic stream the name Rio de La Plata, which means river of silver. When their prospectors failed to find the great deposits of gold and silver, which had been described to them by the natives, this province lost much of its importance, and soon dwindled into comparative insignificance. The city, which was founded near the mouth of that river, continued for more than two centuries a comparatively unimportant place.

It remained for a later age to develop the real wealth of Argentina, a treasure far greater than mines of gold or silver. The growth of population, and the increase in manufacturing, to which were devoted the energies of many European countries, made imperative the development of new sources of food supplies. The rich pampas of Argentina, which had heretofore been of comparatively little worth, and of which square leagues were almost given away by the government to any one who would pay the taxes, began to attract attention. Experiments showed that the soil was well adapted to the cultivation of all the cereals grown in temperate regions. The construction of refrigerator vessels, by means of which frozen meat could be carried across the equator to Europe, and delivered there in as good condition as when it was started, stimulated the live-stock industry to gigantic proportions. The result has been that Argentina is to-day one of the greatest food-producing countries on the face of the globe.

At the present time Argentina stands at the head of all the republics south of the United States in commercial importance. Its imports and its exports greatly exceed those of any of the other countries, and its population is rapidly growing. The people are energetic, resourceful and ambitious. Its capital is one of the great cities of the world. It has been the aim of the writer in the preparation of this work to present a complete treatise upon that country, which shall cover not only its resources, their present development and the possibilities of the future, and a brief but comprehensive history of the republic, but a study of the people and their characteristics, and the new race which is growing up as a result of the amalgamation of the different elements that are now pouring into it. In the preparation of the work there has been not only an extensive first-hand study, but the works of the leading writers upon that country have been consulted, so that the author’s view-point might be broadened and a more accurate survey result.

The author wishes to acknowledge his obligation to Hon. Charles Hitchcock Sherrill, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of the United States to Argentina, for many courtesies received at his hands, to the Pan-American Union and its able director, and to the Bulletin published under its auspices, for similar courtesies and permission to use two or three photographs which appear in this work.

Toledo, Ohio, March, 1911.

MAP of ARGENTINA

Transcriber’s Note: The map is clickable for a larger version, if the device you’re reading this on supports that.

CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
Preface[vii]
I.The Country[1]
II.The Metropolis of the Southern Hemisphere[22]
III.The Camp[48]
IV.The River of Silver[74]
V.The Garden of the Republic[99]
VI.The Province of Good Airs[121]
VII.The Mysterious Land of the Pata-Goas[136]
VIII.Crossing the Continent[158]
IX.The People and their Characteristics[189]
X.The People at Play[209]
XI.Education and the Arts[230]
XII.The Forces of Defence[246]
XIII.Railroads and Their Development[260]
XIV.Religious Forces[287]
XV.The Struggle Against Oppression[298]
XVI.The Era of Development[329]
XVII.Trade Conditions in South America[361]
XVIII.A Promising Republic[377]
Appendices[405]
Index[415]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires ([see page 35])[Frontispiece]
Map of Argentina[facing ix]
On the Upper Paraná River[4]
“Giant cranes are swinging”[25]
“They file around and around between the palms”[29]
“The broad and imposing Avenida de Mayo”[34]
The Avenida Alvear[35]
One of the Palatial Homes of Buenos Aires[38]
“Cows are brought to the door”[41]
The Ricoleta Cemetery[43]
“Agriculture has spread far and wide”[51]
Threshing Grain on an Estancia[52]
“Not a Handsome Structure, but ... rather striking”[54]
A Herd of Half-wild Horses[63]
“The harvesting machines are usually propelled from the rear”[65]
A Gaucho and His Wife on an Outing[67]
Gauchos Branding Cattle[71]
A Forest in the Gran Chaco[90]
An Indian Woman of the Gran Chaco[95]
Among the Hills of Cordoba[109]
“A somnolent atmosphere seems to prevail”[124]
The Legislative Palace, La Plata[126]
Puerto Galvan, Bahia Blanca[131]
A Sheep Dip[143]
Native Indians of Patagonia[148]
Useless Bay, Tierra del Fuego[151]
A Glimpse of the Andes from Mendoza[167]
Crossing the Andes[175]
“The Christ of the Andes”[176]
A Group of Peons[193]
One of Argentina’s Daughters[200]
Black-haired Children of Argentina[203]
The Hippodromo, Buenos Aires[210]
A Summer Cottage at El Tigre[216]
“Imposing creeper-clad cottages are dotted along the bank”[217]
Mar del Plata[222]
On the Beach, Mar del Plata[227]
A Secondary School[232]
The Columbus Theatre, Buenos Aires[245]
A Policeman of Argentina[248]
The Armoured Cruiser, “Pueyrredon”[257]
Bridge of the Incas[267]
Railway Station, Santa Fé[274]
Church in Corrientes, built in 1588[289]
San Martin and O’Higgins at La Cumbre, crossing the Andes into Chile[316]
Typical Wagons of the Pampas[341]
Rolls of Paper from Germany[364]
Congress Palace and the Plaza, Buenos Aires[381]
Shipping Hides to the United States[394]