A Tour Through South America

by A. S. Forrest

A PARAGUAYAN LADY.

line to gaze upon the fair beauties of the community. Ladies, young and middle-aged, attended by their duennas, linger under the lights of the lamps, conscious of and not ill pleased with the attentions of the human moths fluttering around them. There is no doubt that the ladies of the country towns and cities of Argentina enjoy a greater freedom than do their sisters in Buenos Ayres. In Concordia they play tennis and other outdoor games, and there is a growing disposition on the part of the “society” señoritas to become acquainted with the English tongue.

The buildings in the Plaza are more modern in style than the cathedral or church, and have ornamental fronts generally painted white. Green “pariso” trees shade the square, and in the centre stands the equestrian statue of San Martin. Replicas of this statue are placed in every town of any importance in the Argentine, the only variations being the pedestals, which have local peculiarities of design, workmanship, and material. The statue is rather a poor affair, stiff and conventional in pose and action, but it serves its turn to commemorate the great general and hero of the republic. The inscription on the front records the names of the famous battles of

SAN LORENZO ... MAIPU ... CHACABUCO

and a dedication to the army of the Andes, who gloried in that they could say, “In twenty-four hours we have made the campaign, crossing the highest Cordilleras in the world, disposing of tyrants and liberating Chili.” The whole square, which is typical of many others in Argentina, is made up or bounded by houses for the most part of one story, with blinds to keep the fierce rays of the sun from penetrating windows and doors. A few cabs covered with cracked leather hoods and harnessed to scraggy horses are lined up round the pavements of the square. A bandstand railed in with a stucco imitation of rustic woodwork has its appropriate place in the general make-up of the Plaza. During the months from November to March inclusive the siesta hours are from half-past eleven till two, and during these hours the city sleeps. Banks, business houses, shops, and factories all obey the call. The shade temperature during the summer months is high, and although 114° is rarely registered, 100° to 104° are very common. In the winter from March to October the business hours are longer, and midday rest is limited to one hour and a half, from twelve to one-thirty.

Concordia is an important centre for wool and cattle. Sheep do well in the province of Entre Rios, in spite of the heat, and the cattle, although not perhaps so pleasing to the eye as the improved breeds that flourish farther south, are hardy and useful animals. Grapes are cultivated and extensive vineyards surround the town. The wines made in the bodegas of Entre Rios and Mendoza are sent down to Buenos Ayres, where ingenious dealers and merchants are expert in the art of blending them with the imported brands from Europe, so that they can pass them on to the public as the real “Simon Pure.” The roads round the town are badly made, so sandy and yielding that driving is hard work for the horses. The lanes through the vineyards are very pleasant, shaded by the “pariso” and lime trees, and perfumed by the scent of oranges and lemons. The ground is gently undulating, in marked contrast to the low, flat plains farther south and north, and from many vantage points extensive views are obtained of the surrounding country. The town of Salto, on the other side of the river, in the Republic of Uruguay, lies white like a Moorish city, the shipping at the wharves by the river side lending animation to the scene. In the suburbs of these towns are many shacks and huts built of mud or old tin cans, a common method all through the country. The dwelling-houses in the town are of the common Spanish type, and one gets accustomed to the pleasant little pictures of family life seen through open doorways. The patio is the living-room of these houses, and the flowers, vines, and creepers make cheerful wall decorations. The rooms leading off are dingy and ill-ventilated, for the shuttered windows are often kept closed for days. They are cool and free from the plague of flies, but, unless for sleeping in, they are depressing and gloomy. During the hot evenings the inhabitants take their chairs and stools out into the streets, and little groups of relatives and friends block the narrow pavements. All the windows to the houses are barred either with iron or wooden rails, giving a gloomy expression to the house fronts.

Although a small tramway drawn by horses has lately been installed in the town, the automobile has hardly got farther than the showrooms. The drivers of these cars have little horns or trumpets, upon which they perform with gusto, very much in the same way as do the pedlars in Rio upon their primitive instruments. Horses are ridden by all classes, for horseflesh is cheap, and during the making of a call, or shopping, the animals are hobbled by the fore legs and left in the streets, sometimes for hours together. There is no theatre in the town, but a travelling circus sometimes puts in an appearance, and receives the active patronage of the rank and fashion, as well as of the masses. Some of these shows are well equipped, carrying with them their own electric light plant, and, in case this should break down or give out during a performance, an extra plant for the illuminating of the tent by acetylene gas is in readiness. The performance is of the well-known circus type—elephants and trained horses, clowns and acrobats occupy the ring in turns, and cinema pictures wind up the evening’s performance. For a provincial town in South America, Concordia has many things to recommend it—a club with fine premises, a show ground for the annual cattle display, and, for those who desire further diversion, there is the café with its cinema, where, to the accompaniment of music, wine, and tobacco smoke, the evenings may be passed. From Concordia the steamer returns to Buenos Ayres, as the higher river is unnavigable. Trains from the town convey passengers to Posadas, on the Alto Parana, or to Corrientes, on the Paraguay River. The journey across country is hot, dusty, and uncomfortable, and after the river travel very undesirable. The natives who board the train at the various stations through the province are yellow-skinned Indians, with little or no Spanish blood in them. They are dull and sleepy-looking, with dirty habits and forbidding expressions. The landscape is flat and uninteresting for the greater part of the journey, pools of water and marshy swamps being the principal breaks in the monotony of the plains, and the estancias which dot the surface at long intervals make the only landmarks. Herds of cattle, horses, sheep, and ostriches graze upon the plains; a few goats are also found in certain districts, half-wild animals that start away in wild stampedes at the approach of trains. Huts of mud and thatch are grouped around the camp stations, and a few lonely and poverty-stricken-looking shacks, the residences of shepherds and cowboys, appear at intervals in the dreary landscape. Many of the “peons” or native working-classes bear striking resemblances to Chinamen, and the absence of the negro type throughout this province is

SHEPHERDS AND COWBOYS, CORRIENTES.