The Falls of the Iguassú, which here lie half concealed by the crowding forests, are a worthy rival of Niagara. The scenery surrounding is, in its lone loveliness, in harmony with the solemn grandeur of the cataract. The roar of the waterfall is all the more impressive because of the solitude that reigns in these primeval forests. These falls cover a wide area, as they are nearly two miles in length. They are so great that they must be viewed from several points before their full magnitude dawns upon the traveller. They plunge out of the hidden recesses of the forest in many places, for numerous islands have been formed which are now densely wooded. Nature here seems to have revelled in perfect abandon in producing this wonderful spectacle. It is like another Niagara set out in the midst of a wilderness, where the hand of man has done nothing to add to or detract from what nature has here prepared for the delectation of mankind.
The falls may be divided into two sections, the Argentine and Brazilian cascades. The Iguassú River is very wide just above the falls where it takes a very sharp turn prior to making the first plunge. It makes a series of three leaps, the last being a drop exceeding two hundred feet. The unequal erosion of the rock has given the falls a horseshoe shape very similar to Niagara. Below the falls the water passes through a narrow gorge where the depth is so great that a hundred fathom line has failed to sound it. The natives call it bottomless. In 1905, during an unusually severe rainy season, the water rose so high here, because of the narrowness of the gorge, that for five days it was backed up to the total height of the lowest falls, two hundred and ten feet.
Ascending the Alta Paraná, another one hundred and twenty-five miles, one reaches the smoking cataracts of La Guayra. So scored are the river’s banks on either side by cascade and torrents that it might be called “waterfall land.” The Falls of La Guayra are another series of mighty cascades on the border between Paraguay and Brazil. Above the falls is a great lake all of the waters of which must pass over these precipices and through a narrow gorge. At one point it is only two hundred feet from cliff to cliff. The current piles up in the centre with a corkscrew motion which forms a maelstrom, with which the famous Whirlpool Rapids are a quiet pool. The total plunge of these falls is three hundred and ten feet. Above the La Guayra the Alta Paraná widens out and the hills retreat. At a distance of four hundred miles, or a total distance of one thousand six hundred and forty miles from Buenos Aires, are the Uberaponga Falls, another frantic water power awaiting the harnessing by man. One can follow this stream on up to its source in a flat, swampy section, which is also the source of one of the principal affluents of the Amazon. It drains a very large section of Brazil, for, because of the range of mountains which follows the coast line in Brazil, water falling within a few miles of the Atlantic turns its back on the blue waters of the ocean and journeys from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles before entering salt water by means of the La Plata.
The route up the Uruguay River is much more picturesque than that up the Paraná. This majestic stream is about six miles wide at its junction with the latter river. It is somewhat less obstructed by islands here, so that both banks can usually be seen. And yet this great stream has moods, as well as other rivers. The current in its main channel will oftentimes change. It will encroach here and recede there, submerge an island in one place and form a new one in another. After a long drouth navigation must be conducted with caution, but the normal depth is generally sufficient for all purposes. During times of flood all kinds of strange small animals and vegetation are brought down by the Uruguay. The water is decidedly clay coloured. On one side is the flat Argentine plain, and on the other the undulating shores of Uruguay, for this river is the international boundary line between these two republics. Small topsail schooners may be seen coming down the river loaded with timber or fruit, and bound either for Montevideo or Buenos Aires. Farther up the stream contracts and one gets a more intimate acquaintance with the country. The banks shrink back and reveal a glimpse of flowering shrubs, willow trees, and an occasional palm. A stretch of bright, sandy beach may occasionally unfold itself. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish shore from island. Buoys mark the channel, which is very much zigzag. The sunsets on these broad waters and flat pampas are really wonderful. They paint the clouds in every colour and shade of rosy pink and brilliant red, and the waters become of a bluish hue. The cliffs on the Uruguay side are tinted in many colours, while the Argentine bank is nothing but a straight, black line.
The boats stop on either side. One hundred and thirty miles from Buenos Aires, and on the Uruguay side, is the town of Fray Bentos, where the great Liebig’s Extract Factory is located. On the opposite side and a little further up is Concepcion del Uruguay, which is an interesting little town. The busiest and most important town of Argentina on the Uruguay River is Concordia, two hundred and seventy miles from the metropolis. It is a town of perhaps fifteen thousand inhabitants, and has railway communication as well. Because of a falls and rapids at this point the large river steamers cannot proceed beyond Concordia, although light draught boats can ascend considerably farther.
Between the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers lie the two goodly-sized provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes, and the territory of Misiones. The two provinces are each about the size of Indiana, and are rich in agricultural lands. Wheat was first successfully cultivated in Entre Rios, and these provinces still produce large quantities of grain as well as much stock. Each one has a population of about a third of a million and it is increasing each year. A number of colonies have been established there which have been quite successful. Corrientes contains several swampy lakes which cover many hundreds of square miles. A part of the year the greater part of these lakes is dry and then furnishes excellent pasturage. Their worst feature is that they are the breeding places of the tick and other pests to stock. A good system of drainage might make these lands invaluable. It also possesses one large body of water, called Lake Ibera.
Misiones is a little larger than Massachusetts, and has a population not exceeding thirty-five thousand. Its lands are fertile, but the climate is more tropical and it has not been developed so rapidly as the other sections of the country. It is the only province in Argentina that shares the tropical conditions of Southern Brazil. The name was derived from its settlement by the Jesuits after they were expelled from Brazil. For a time their colonies were very prosperous and thousands of Indians were gathered together at Apostoles, Santa Ana and San Ignacio. The work was all done by the Indians under the direction of the priests. The ruins of San Ignacio, which was established in the sixteenth century, and which can still be traced in the forest growth, show the solidity with which the place was built. Many ruins of the houses can still be seen, each one with a niche in which was placed the statue of a saint. New settlements of Russians and Poles have recently been established in this territory which give promise of success. There is much rich virgin land awaiting development in forest-covered Misiones. Yerba maté, tobacco, mandioca and sugar-cane grow in great abundance.
Proceeding up the Paraguay River from its junction with the Alta Paraná it is about two hundred miles to Asuncion. The river twists around over its wide bed in a very capricious manner, and in flood times spreads over thousands of square miles of the llanos, or plains. One can travel several hundred miles farther by small steamers up into the great state of Matto Grosso, Brazil, which is twice as large as Texas, and perhaps of equal fertility. The unoccupied grazing lands of that state will, some day, support millions of cattle that will be demanded by earth’s teeming millions.
Flowing into the Paraguay River from the west in Argentina are two rivers, the Bermejo and Pilcomayo, the latter of which is the international boundary line with Paraguay for a long distance. Each of these rivers is more than five hundred miles in length. The Bermejo River is entirely within Argentine territory. It is exceedingly tortuous and its actual length is about three times as great as the real distance between its source and its mouth. Small steamers can navigate it for at least half of its length.
Between these two rivers and extending across the Paraguay River into Paraguay lies what is known as the Gran Chaco. This is a broad plain, alternating with forest, which includes thousands of square miles of territory. It is the least known of Argentine territory, because of the difficulties of travel, and also because of the fact that wild and savage Indians who lead a nomadic existence are still to be found in certain sections. It was a mysterious and strange country to the early explorers. Into this wilderness the natives fled, and both fancy and imagination peopled it with all manner of strange wild beasts. The territorial boundaries were never definitely settled, until President Hayes, acting as arbitrator, fixed the boundaries between Paraguay and Argentina. These vast leagues are now divided into two territories, Formosa and Chaco. The former is almost as large as Ohio and the latter equals Illinois. In the two territories the reported population is about one person to each five square miles. There are many curious phenomena in the Chaco. The edges between plain and woodland are as clearly cut and as straight as if a surveyor had done the work. In fact the line of demarkation is drawn with remarkable exactitude. On one side will be a forest, and on the other the smooth plain stretches out with not a tree upon it to break the severity of the contrast. In other places there will be only palm trees, with not a single specimen of another species for variety. It is a land of strange watercourses. Broad streams that have ploughed all the way from the Andes in the full light of day burrow beneath the ground in the Chaco and continue their course underground. During heavy rainfalls it is claimed that small fish descend from the clouds. Fish eight or ten inches in length will be found in pools after showers, where there had been no water, and the ground had been in a parched condition for months. Do they lie imbedded in the earth like frogs? Are these fish amphibious? These questions have not yet been answered. It is a fact that there are many odd phases of nature in this little known section of Argentina; the same character is found in a goodly part of Paraguay, and it even extends up into Brazil.