A Tour Through South America

by A. S. Forrest

This dome is constructed of dull red adobe bricks, and is imposing and dignified enough in appearance; but the interior is now utilised as a store, and the inhabitants who use it seem to have little idea as to who built it, or for what it was originally intended.

A few buildings in the main street of the city rise to two, three,

THE DOME OF THE ORATOIRE DE LOPEZ.

and even four stories. One of these, the Spanish-American Hotel, is an old stone building, with a lofty piazza surrounded by heavy pillars, whilst quaint, lugubrious staircases wind round this patio, and lead to the upper floors, which are all of stone. In this hotel, travellers to the city obtain solid food and strongly fortified accommodation, and must not be surprised if they find that the charges are proportionately heavy. The place reminded me of many of the old hotels upon the Spanish Main in Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia, where the same free and easy attendance was given to the guests, and the same highly seasoned dishes were set in front of them. A travelling theatrical company happened to be staying in this hotel during my sojourn, but the presence of the fashionable ladies of the footlights attracted but little attention in the city, which was in a highly strung condition, owing to the disturbed state of the country. Few of the beaux of the town dared venture out; many of them were already either in the ranks of the Government or the insurgents, and those who were not were lying low, fearful of being pressed into service.

Only in the market-place were the ordinary scenes of daily routine to be witnessed, and that because the whole of the business is carried on by the womenfolk. The long and terrible war which was waged by the younger Lopez for six years very nearly exterminated the male portion of the community, so that to-day the women far outnumber the men.

This market is a real live place, with its crowds of dark-haired women and children, the former clad in white or brightly coloured dresses and wearing graceful mantillas or shawls of varied hues, squatting upon the ground, surrounded by a medley of wares in the shape of fruits, meats, sweets, and vegetables. Many of the groups that wear the black mantillas over their heads and falling in long, graceful folds around their shoulders, reminded me very much of the funeral parties that mourn round the coffins outside the country churches in Mexico; but the bright colours of the fruits and flowers, and the blue of the sky, seemed to gain in intensity from these little touches of funereal black. Here and there patient kine stand waiting to yield up their supply of milk to passing customers, whilst their muzzled calves strive in vain to obtain their rightful nourishment. Panniered donkeys and mules are ranged in rows along the railings that surround the inner square, women of all ages pass gracefully to and fro amidst the crowd, their purchases or wares poised easily upon their heads, and altogether the scene presents an animation that is in strong contrast with the listlessness of the rest of the town.

Not a few of the young girls and maidens are very pretty, with slender, graceful figures, jet-black hair, and lustrous eyes, fringed with long lashes, their complexions ranging from light saffron to darkest olive shades, although a few of them possess a really European appearance. Their costumes are simple and inexpensive, although many of the poorest wear ornaments in the way of earrings and necklaces, of native workmanship, made of silver and often of gold. I noticed, however, that some were wearing the cheaper forms of jewellery of foreign manufacture, and that the cut and fashions of modern modes were obtaining popularity amongst the better-to-do market women.

Young children of both sexes run about in a perfectly nude state, even in the town, and in the country this is practically a universal custom. The Paraguayans are all rather short, but strongly knit and wiry. They betray little evidence of Spanish blood, and although there must be in the towns many whose origin is Indo-Spanish, the Indo predominates. The language spoken by the masses is the Guarani, an Indian dialect which is common over a large district in the heart of the continent. The upper classes betray a marked Spanish origin, both in their appearance and speech, and are a little better educated; but most of the people of real Spanish descent were killed during the war, and few, if any, remain to-day who can boast a purely European origin, excepting always the small number of foreigners, English, Italians, Germans, Portuguese, and Spaniards, who have found their way into the country during the last century, and settled there, and those who continue to flow in year after year from many climes, making their new homes in this beautiful country.

Smoking is a universal habit amongst the women in the market-place, and when the thick black rolls of tobacco leaf are laid aside, mouths are generally closed over “bombillas,” through which they suck the steaming “yerba.” Vendors of the beautiful native lace wander up and down, carrying over their arms baskets filled with a large assortment of the delicate handiwork. The visitor is quickly singled out for attention, and invited to inspect the goods, and on his displaying the slightest curiosity is importuned to accompany the dame to one of the shops which surround the market square, where, without “by your leave” to its owner, the goods are spread out upon a table or counter, and a sale is sure to be effected. The proprietor of the shop looks calmly on with apparently no interest in the business, but it is more than likely that some understanding with the itinerant vendor exists, and that when the purchaser has departed the shopkeeper will get a commission for the use of his premises. The lace is very handsome, and although small pieces can be purchased for about half a sovereign, the larger articles, with more intricate workmanship, cost as much as thirty and forty pounds. One small basket, the contents of which I inspected, must have contained a stock worth two or three hundred pounds, if the price asked for the various examples was realised by the merry, middle-aged lady who hawked it round the square.