Notes and Impressions of a Year
in the Argentine and Uruguay

By
J. A. HAMMERTON

With Numerous Illustrations

NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1915

Copyright, 1915
By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY

CONTENTS

PAGE
CHAPTER I
From London to Lisbon[1]
CHAPTER II
Our Voyage to the River Plate[7]
CHAPTER III
First Impressions of Buenos Ayres[28]
CHAPTER IV
Pictures of Street Life in Buenos Ayres[38]
CHAPTER V
More Scenes from the Streets of Buenos Ayres[56]
CHAPTER VI
What We Thought of the Weather and the Mosquitoes[73]
CHAPTER VII
A Splendid City of Sham[83]
CHAPTER VIII
Some “Paseos” in Buenos Ayres[102]
CHAPTER IX
More “Paseos” in Buenos Ayres[116]
CHAPTER X
How the Money Goes[129]
CHAPTER XI
Some Phases of Social Life[154]
CHAPTER XII
Business Life in Buenos Ayres[195]
CHAPTER XIII
The Argentine at Home[236]
CHAPTER XIV
“The British Colony” and Its Ways[260]
CHAPTER XV
The Emigrant in Light and Shade[289]
CHAPTER XVI
Life in the “Camp” and the Provincial Towns[315]
CHAPTER XVII
The Spirit of the Country[340]
CHAPTER XVIII
A Land of Pain[348]
CHAPTER XIX
To-day and To-morrow in the Argentine[361]
CHAPTER XX
Our Summer in Montevideo[379]
CHAPTER XXI
Uruguay: Notes and Impressions[411]
CHAPTER XXII
From the River Plate to the Andes[438]

ILLUSTRATIONS

A Vanishing Figure—“Gaucho” in full costume[Frontispiece]
FACING PAGE
One of the Crowded Docks in the Port of Buenos Ayres[4]
Friends of Emigrants Awaiting Arrival of a Ship[4]
Paseo Colón, with Government House on the Right[12]
The Narrow Streets of Buenos Ayres—Florida and San Martín[22]
The Changing Heart of Buenos Ayres—Plaza de Mayo[34]
Exterior and Interior of the “Casa Rosada”[44]
Statue of San Martín in Buenos Ayres[52]
The Colón Theatre, Buenos Ayres[60]
Exterior of the Jockey Club, Buenos Ayres[68]
The New Courts of Justice[76]
The Palatial Home of La Prensa, Buenos Ayres[88]
A Princely Sanctum Room of the Prensa’s Chief Editor[96]
A Corner of the Medical Consulting Room of the Prensa[96]
Bedroom of Distinguished Visitors’ Suite in Prensa Office[106]
The Gorgeously Decorated Salon in the Prensa Office[106]
A Contrast in Public Buildings—Art Gallery and Waterworks Office[112]
English “Pro-Cathedral” in Buenos Ayres[118]
Roman Catholic Cathedral, Buenos Ayres[118]
“La Merced,” a Typical Buenos Ayres Church[124]
“Teatro de la Opera,” Exterior View[124]
The Luxurious Domestic Architecture of Buenos Ayres[136]
Terminus of the Southern Railway at Plaza Constitucion, Buenos Ayres[148]
Marble Fountain in the Gardens of the Paseo Colón, Buenos Ayres[158]
Plaza Francia, in the Avenida Alvear, Buenos Ayres[158]
Prize Bulls at Buenos Ayres Agricultural Show[166]
Summer Scenes on the Tigre[174]
Views of Mar del Plata[182]
Suburban and Rural Roads in the Argentine[190]
An Argentine “Gaucho” in his Hours of Ease[198]
Italian “Colonos” and their “Rancho” in the Argentine[206]
A Village Wheelwright in the Argentine “Camp”[206]
Preparing the Picnic Meal—“Un Asada” in the Argentine[214]
Fields of Maize[222]
Bags of Wheat Awaiting Shipment[230]
Three Huge Piles of “Jerked Beef” at a “Saladero”[230]
A Scene in the “Camp”—Peones Outside a “Pulperia,” or Country Grocery and Liquor Store[240]
A “Ramada,” or Shaded Resting-Place for Men and Horses[254]
An “Estancia” Homestead of the Old Clay-Built Type[266]
A Modern “Estancia” Homestead Built of Concrete[282]
A “Rodeo,” or Round-Up of Cattle in the Argentine Pampa[294]
Familiar Scenes on an “Estancia”[310]
Teams of Oxen Ploughing in the Argentine Pampa[318]
Montevideo from the South, Showing the Cerro with Its Fort[332]
Shipping in the Roadstead at Montevideo[332]
General View of Montevideo and the River Plate[344]
Plaza Independencia, Montevideo[350]
Plaza Libertad, or Cagancha, Montevideo[350]
Cathedral and Plaza Matriz, Montevideo[356]
Plaza Independencia and Avenida 18 de Julio, Montevideo[356]
The “Rambla” at Pocitos, Montevideo[364]
Bathing Place at Ramírez, Montevideo[364]
Main Buildings of Montevideo University[372]
The Solis Theatre, Montevideo[372]
Scene in the Parque Urbano of Montevideo[382]
A Rural Glimpse in the Prado, Montevideo[382]
Cattle Assembled on “La Tablada,” Near Montevideo[390]
Types of the Fantastic Domestic Architecture of Montevideo[408]
Typical Country Road in Uruguay[418]
Hides Drying at a Curing Factory Near Montevideo[418]
The Calle San Martín, Mendoza[432]
A Glimpse of the River Mendoza[432]
The Natural Bridge of Puente del Inca[440]
The Inca’s Lake in the Andes[446]
The Christ of the Andes[446]