In 1895 the first exportation of quebracho extract is recorded from the River Plate. In that year it was four hundred tons only. By 1902 it had reached nine thousand tons, and now the annual export exceeds thirty thousand tons. Of this enormous export the United States takes fully sixty-five per cent.
There are several thousand Indians who live in the Gran Chaco, and they comprise a number of tribes, all of whom, however, have the same general characteristics. These Indians are absolutely unlettered, and they have developed no civilization or institution of their own. Furthermore, they have the reputation of being treacherous and cruel, and many small parties of whites have been treacherously murdered. They are perhaps the most barbarous of any Indians in South America. Others of the same tribes inhabit the Chaco of Paraguay. It is said by those who have made a study of them that these Chaco aborigines are more ignorant and much less tractable than any of the natives of Patagonia.
They dwell along the rivers in this great wilderness in the simplest kind of abodes, and away from the settlements wear practically no clothing whatever. One distinguishing feature is the habit of tattooing the skin, which is very common. Not only the warriors, but the women as well, indulge in this custom, which, in their opinion, beautifies them. At first glance these tattoo marks oftentimes resemble the markings of smallpox, but a closer inspection shows that it is all in geometrical design. It is effected by pricking the skin with a big thorn, dipped in an acrid milky substance obtained from a plant that grows near there, and which leaves an indelible mark wherever it touches. It is absorbed by the epidermic tissue. This juice is obtained by breaking off the clusters of flowers of the plant, called the iguoqui, and this milky substance then exudes from the stem. It is used as it comes out of the stem, for it must be fresh. The Indians are also almost hairless on the face and body, due to the habit of depilation of the skin. This latter characteristic is in common with our American red men, and the tattooing takes the place of paint.
Horrible tales are told of these Chaco Indians and their murder of travellers. On the other hand numerous instances are known where they have saved the lives of white men and tenderly ministered to their wants. They have been accused of being cannibals, and probably were in the past. “I have seen them drink the blood of animals killed for our use with avidity,” says an Argentine writer. They do not live exclusively on meat, but also eat roots and wild fruits, and the wild honey which is found in abundance. From fruits and honey they also make fermented drinks, of which they are very fond. They are nomadic, and wander from one place to another in quest of game and fruit. They have few domesticated animals, such as the dog and horse. They neither understand nor practise agriculture, although they sometimes plant little patches of corn or sugar-cane, which they have learned from the priests. They barter a little among themselves, but of trade in general they know nothing, and so they beg of travellers whom they meet instead of offering to trade. It is said they cannot even count above four. In medicine they resort to sorcery and incantations rather than to any curative herbs.
Polygamy is permitted among these Indians, but is not commonly practised. The portion of women is very much as with the red men, for to them falls the hard work of the home. If her husband dies the wife mourns for a year, and it is not proper for her to marry again during that time. She even refuses to converse and walks apart from all the others. The dead are burned by some tribes and buried by others. Those tribes who bury always place a gourd of water by the grave. This is both for the deceased and his friends, who come to visit the grave, and is probably due to a fraternal and hospitable idea in this land where a drink of refreshing water is sometimes more welcome than food.
CHAPTER V
THE GARDEN OF THE REPUBLIC
The second city in Argentina is Rosario de Santa Fé. It is the Chicago of Argentina, for it is the chief wheat market, and is about as far inland as Pittsburg. It is connected with Buenos Aires by two branches of the Central Railway, as well as river communication. Rosario is to a great extent a replica of the national capital on a much smaller scale. The streets all cross each other at right angles. One-storied buildings predominate everywhere, and I do not believe that there is a structure which exceeds three stories in the city. Even in the business section one story is the general rule. In the way of municipal improvement Rosario is up to date, and contains all the advantages of the metropolis except population. There are a number of plazas after the usual style, and a beautiful park adorns one section of the city. Electric light and cars serve the entire city, so that in physical comforts Rosario is not behind similar cities in Europe, or North America. There is quite a considerable foreign colony and each one boasts its club where the members can meet, eat, drink and be merry. Although Rosario is almost two centuries old, it was an obscure little village up to a generation ago. In the past ten years it has doubled its population.
As a commercial centre Rosario is of great importance. Tapping the greater portion of the rich provinces of Cordoba and Santa Fé, it receives enormous quantities of wheat and other cereals as well as live stock. It is accessible to ocean-going steamers, and hundreds of vessels leave it each year loaded with food for the millions of Europe. The Paraná River at this point is nearly a mile wide, and is an imposing, if not beautiful, stream of water. The river has cut its channel down into the soil to such a depth that the bluffs upon which Rosario is built stand about sixty feet high. Warehouses line these bluffs, and the wheat is transferred to the waiting vessels below by gravity. Each warehouse has a long chute running down to the river bank through which the grain is poured. It has been bagged on the estancias and is shipped in the same bags to Europe. As soon as a bag touches the chute it speeds down the inclined plane into the waiting vessel. The bags follow one another in quick succession. At harvest time the wheat often becomes congested at this port.