The people of Uruguay as a whole are better educated and brighter looking than the people of most other South American countries. Their schools and colleges are said to be the very best. The people, as a rule, dress well and seem to be prosperous and happy. A ramble through the streets and plazas lingers in one's memory like a pleasant dream.
Away to the north in the very heart of the south central part of the continent is the country of Paraguay. While nearly twice as large as Uruguay it has but few more than half as many people and a majority of them are women. This ought to be called a bachelor's paradise.
Paraguay came to be a woman's country in the following manner. Years ago Paraguay got into trouble with Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, all her neighbors, at the same time. These countries combined their forces and all but annihilated the Paraguayan army. As all the able bodied men were in the army they were nearly all killed. It used to be said that there were five women to every man in Paraguay and from all reports conditions have not greatly changed yet. It is almost dangerous for an unmarried man to show his head.
The country is naturally divided into two parts, eastern and western. The most of the people live in the eastern part for the western part is flat and the rivers overflow, covering a great portion of the country. No wonder that great swarms of ferocious mosquitoes make parts of the country almost uninhabitable, fever-infested and unhealthy. Besides these unpleasant features the heat is often almost unbearable.
The summer in Paraguay lasts from October to March and the winter from April to September, July and August being the coldest months. The Parana river takes to the sea a greater volume of water than our great Mississippi. Near the place where the Iguassu river empties into the Parana are the famous Iguassu Falls which are twice as wide and fifty feet higher than Niagara Falls.
In the eastern part of Paraguay are great orange groves and all kinds of tropical fruits. The oranges are delicious and are so plentiful that they are fed to the pigs. As many as thirty are sometimes sold for a penny. Wheat and corn are grown and tobacco and cotton plantations are numerous.
They say that in Paraguay a great many of the women smoke, but I imagine that this is greatly exaggerated. The same has been said of other South American countries but after traveling more than twelve thousand miles in and around this country I here record the fact that in not more than a case or two did I see a woman smoking. My traveling company only saw two or three cases so we are forced to think that many talk who do not know. For if any large number, as is often reported, used the weed in this way we would have discovered it.
There is a very valuable tree that grows in Paraguay that is not often found in other countries. It is called the quebracho tree. The name really means "ax-breaker," and the wood is almost as hard as iron. A quebracho log will not float upon water, but will sink like iron. This wood makes the most valuable railroad ties known.
But a certain variety of the quebracho tree is much more valuable for another purpose, viz: the tanning of leather. For ages the world's great tanneries used the bark of oak, hemlock and other trees for that purpose. But it was discovered that not only the bark of this tree but the wood itself makes better tanning extract than any other bark or tree known.
In the heart of the continent there is a vast plain that takes in not only western Paraguay but reaches into Brazil and Bolivia on the north and Argentina on the south. This is called the Gran Chaco and it is nearly as large as the state of Texas. Most of this region is as yet unexplored. In parts of it are tribes of wild Indians as well as wild and ferocious beasts, alligators and snakes that are usually found in tropical jungles. In other parts are grassy plains suitable for cattle and other livestock. Already there are many ranches here, one of the largest of which is run by a stockman from the United States.