A FOREST IN THE GRAN CHACO
The forest section of the Chaco is not a dense growth like the tropical forests. The trees do not stand close together; and the spaces between are not impenetrable, although some underbrush and tall grasses impede the way. Yet a man on horseback can easily thread his way through them. The only inhabitants are the Indians and half-breeds, the latter of whom are only partially civilized. Their homes are mud huts of a single room where the entire household, irrespective of age and sex, lodge. The Chaco abounds in game of many kinds. Partridges, wood-pigeons and snipe are very plentiful, and almost every species of water fowl in addition. A species of wild turkey is also to be met with, which affords most excellent sport as well as eating. The osprey, whose plumes are so much in demand, is a native of this land. The tapir, ant-eater, wild pig, jaguar and the lone wolf—a creature that has never been known to live in captivity—are found here in their native wilds. Poisonous snakes are very common, and huge pythons are occasionally encountered in the swamps. It is the innumerable insects, however, that make life almost unbearable for the white man, for he is subjected to both diurnal and nocturnal torture by the hordes of these pests.
At the present time this section is chiefly exploited for the quebracho wood. This is a very hard, fine-grained and tough wood. It was so named from the words quiebra-hacha, the axe-breaker, and was well named, for it does defy ordinary axes and saws. It is a tree found only in the Chaco. There are two varieties, the colorado (red) and blanco (white), of which the former is the most valuable. From this tree are made railroad ties which will last for thirty years, and it is the richest in tannin extract of any tree yet discovered.
The quebracho tree usually stands out by itself and is easily discernible at a distance, both from the character of its bark and the peculiar formation of its branches. Four or five trees to the acre is about the average yield. The tree is tall, two or three feet in diameter, and is crowned by a rather thin, oval mass of branches and leaves. The leaves are oval, smooth and shiny, and it is only partially deciduous. It lives to a great age, but also grows quite rapidly, so that it can be cultivated in the future as necessity demands. Formerly this tree was sought only by the railroads for their sleepers. About fifteen years ago it was found to be full of tannin, and, as oak bark was becoming scarce, this demand was rapidly developed and now forms the principal use for quebracho. Not only the bark yields tannin, but the sap and wood as well. The bark contains about eight per cent. of tannin, the sap three or four per cent., and the heart of the tree will yield as high as twenty-five per cent. of this essence so necessary to the tanner. It is a difficult and expensive product to market because of the remoteness of the forests and scattered character of the trees. In many places narrow gauged railroads and spurs have been run out through these trackless wastes in order to bring the logs to the mills or rivers. Otherwise it would be slow work, for during a large part of the year the roads are almost impassable and oxen suffer much from the climate and insects. These light railways have been found to be by far the most economical means of getting the logs to market. One company owns four million acres of the Chaco, and is prepared to cut logs into sleepers, make fence posts, or prepare it into tannin extract, whichever offers the most profit. There is a big and constantly increasing demand for all. The increase in construction of the Argentine railways makes a demand for sleepers, and failure of other sources of supply gives an ever widening market for the tannin extract.
Some of the railways in the Chaco end at the rivers, where the logs are loaded on boats and taken down to Rosario or Buenos Aires. Small sawmills are now found way out in the Chaco far from civilization. Other companies have their factories in the Chaco district, where the whole work is done and the extract prepared for shipment. This substance is known in the markets as “Quebracho Extract.” It is easily manufactured where the proper machinery has been installed. The wood is passed through a machine which cuts it into shavings and the smallest possible chips. These are collected into immense kettles, where it is treated by chemical processes until all the tannin has been removed. After this the fluid is reduced by evaporation to a thick, jelly-like mass which is poured into sacks, where it is finally dried into the substance sold in commerce. Some of the companies engaged in this business have been capitalized for very large sums, and considerable towns have grown up around their establishments. Civilization and development have followed the construction of the railroads here as everywhere.
AN INDIAN WOMAN OF THE GRAN CHACO