[Illustration: THE AUTHOR AND HIS GUIDES THREE FAITHFUL MEN]

THROUGH FIVE REPUBLICS ON HORSEBACK

BEING AN ACCOUNT OF MANY WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

BY

G. WHITFIELD RAY, F. R. G. S. Pioneer Missionary and Government Explorer

With an Introduction by the Rev. J. G. Brown, D. D. Secretary for the Foreign Missions of the Canadian Baptist Church

TWELFTH EDITION--REVISED

EVANGELICAL PUBLISHING HOUSEC. HAUSER, AgentCLEVELAND, OHIO, U. S. A. 1915

[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICA]

PREFACE

The _Missionary Review of the World_ has described South America asTHE DARKEST LAND. That I have been able to penetrate into part of itsunexplored interior, and visit tribes of people hitherto untouchedand unknown, was urged as sufficient reason for the publishing ofthis work. In perils oft, through hunger and thirst and fever, consequent on the many wanderings in unhealthy climes hereinrecorded, the writer wishes publicly to record his deep thankfulnessto Almighty God for His unfailing help. If the accounts are used tostimulate missionary enterprise, and if they give the reader aclearer conception of and fuller sympathy with the conditions andneeds of those South American countries, those years of travel willnot have been in vain. 

"Of the making of books there is no end, " so when one is acceptablyreceived, and commands a ready sale, the author is satisfied that hislabor is well repaid. The 4th edition was scarcely dry when theConsul-General of the Argentine Republic at Ottawa ordered a largenumber of copies to send to the members of his Government. Much of ithas been translated into German, and I know not what other languages. Even the _Catholic Register_ of Toronto has boosted its sale byprinting much in abuse of it, at the same time telling its readersthat the book "sold like hot cakes. " A wiser editor would have beendiscreet enough not to refer to "Through Five Republics onHorseback. " His readers bought it, and--had their eyes opened, forthe statements made in this work, and the authorities quoted, areunanswerable. 

Seeing that there is such an alarming ignorance regarding LatinAmerica, I have, for this edition, written an Introductory Chapter onSouth America, and also a short Foreword especially relating to eachof the Five Republics here treated. As my portrayal of Romanism therehas caused some discussion, I have, in those pages, sought toincorporate the words of other authorities on South American life andreligion. 

That the following narratives, now again revised, and sent forth innew garb, may be increasingly helpful in promoting knowledge, is theearnest wish of the author. 

G. W. R. 

Toronto, Ont. 

INTRODUCTION

"Through Five Republics on Horseback" has all the elements of a greatmissionary book. It is written by an author who is an eye-witness ofpractically all that he records, and one who by his explorations andtravels has won for himself the title of the "Livingstone of SouthAmerica. " The scenes depicted by the writer and the glimpses into thesocial, political and religious conditions prevailing in theRepublics in the great Southern continent are of thrilling interestto all lovers of mankind. We doubt if there is another book in printthat within the compass of three hundred pages begins to give as muchvaluable information as is contained in Mr. Ray's volume. The writerwields a facile pen, and every page glows with the passion of a manon fire with zeal for the evangelization of the great "NeglectedContinent. " We are sure that no one can read this book and beindifferent to the claims of South America upon the Christian Churchof this generation. 

To those who desire to learn just what the fruits of Romanism as asystem are, when left to itself and uninfluenced by Protestantism, this book will prove a real eye-opener. We doubt if any Christianman, after reading "Through Five Republics on Horseback, " will anylonger conclude that Romanism is good enough for Romanists and thatMissions to Roman Catholic countries are an impertinence. We trustthe book will awaken a great interest in the evangelization of theLatin Republics of South America. 

Of course, this volume will have interest for others besidesmissionary enthusiasts. Apart from the religious and missionarypurpose of the book, it contains very much in the way ofgeographical, historical and scientific information, and that, too, in regard to a field of which as yet comparatively little is known. The writer has kept an open mind in his extensive travels, and hisrecord abounds in facts of great scientific value. 

We have known Mr. Ray for several years and delight to bear testimonyto his ability and faithfulness as a preacher and pastor. As alecturer on his experiences in South America he is unexcelled. Wecommend "Through Five Republics on Horseback" especially to parentswho are anxious to put into the hands of their children inspiring andcharacter-forming reading. A copy of the book ought to be in everySunday School Library. 

J. G. Brown. 

626 Confederation Life Building, Toronto. 

A PRELIMINARY WORD ON SOUTH AMERICA

The Continent of South America was discovered by Spanish navigatorstowards the end of the fifteenth century. When the tidings of a newworld beyond the seas reached Europe, Spanish and Portugueseexpeditions vied with each other in exploring its coasts and sailingup its mighty rivers. 

In 1494 the Pope decided that these new lands, which were nearlytwice the size of Europe, should become the possession of themonarchs of Spain and Portugal. Thus by right of conquest and giftSouth America with its seven and a half million miles of territoryand its millions of Indian inhabitants was divided between Spain andPortugal. The eastern northern half, now called Brazil, became thepossession of the Portuguese crown and the rest of the continent wentto the crown of Spain. South America is 4, 600 miles from north tosouth, and its greatest breadth from east to west is 3, 500 miles. Itis a country of plains and mountains and rivers. The Andean range ofmountains is 4, 400 miles long. Twelve peaks tower three miles or moreabove ocean level, and some reach into the sky for more than fourmiles. Many of these are burning mountains; the volcano of Cotopaxiis three miles higher than Vesuvius. Its rivers are among the longestin the world. The Amazon, Orinoco and La Plata systems drain an areaof 3, 686, 400 square miles. Its plains are almost boundless and itsforests limitless. There are deserts where no rain ever falls, andthere are stretches of coast line where no day ever passes withoutrain. It is a country where all climates can be found. As thenorthern part of the continent is equatorial the greatest degree ofheat is there experienced, while the south stretches its lengthtoward the Pole Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is on the equator, andPunta Arenas, in Chile, is the southernmost town in the world. 

For hundreds of years Spain and Portugal exploited and ruled with aniron hand their new and vast possessions. Their coffers were enrichedby fabulous sums of gold and treasure, for the wildest dream ofriches indulged in by its discoverers fell infinitely short of theactual reality. Large numbers of colonists left the Iberian peninsulafor the newer and richer lands. Priests, monks and nuns went in everyvessel, and the Roman Catholicism of the Dark Ages was soon firmlyestablished as the only religion. The aborigines were compelled tobow before the crucifix and worship Mary until, in a peculiar sense, South America became the Pope's favorite parish. For the benefit ofany, native or colonist, who thought that a purer religion should be, at any rate, permitted, the Inquisition was established at Lima, andlater on at Cartagena, where, Colombian history informs us, 400, 000were condemned to death. Free thought was soon stamped out whendeath became the penalty. 

Such was the wild state of the country and the power vested in thepriests that abuses were tolerated which, even in Rome, had not beendreamed of. The priests, as anxious for spiritual conquest as therest were for physical, joined hands with the heathenism of theIndians, accepted their gods of wood and stone as saints, set up thecrucifix side by side with the images of the sun and moon, formerlyworshipped; and while in Europe the sun of the Reformation arose anddispelled the terrible night of religious error and superstition, South America sank from bad to worse. Thus the anomaly presenteditself of the old, effete lands throwing off the yoke of religiousdomination while the younger ones were for centuries to be contentwith sinking lower and lower. [Footnote: History is repeating itself, for here in Canada we see Quebec more Catholic and intolerant thanItaly. The Mayor of Rome dared to criticize the Pope in 1910, but inthe same year at the Eucharistic Congress at Montreal his emissariesreceive reverent "homage" from those in authority. No wonder, therefore, that, while the Romans are being more enlightened everyyear, a Quebec young man, who is now a theological student inMcMaster University, Toronto, declared, while staying in the writer'shome, that, as a child he was always taught that Protestants grewhorns on their heads, and that he attained the age of 15 before everhe discovered that such was not the case. Even backward Portugal hashad its eyes opened to see that Rome and progress cannot walktogether, but the President of Brazil is so "faithful" that the Pope, in 1910, made him a "Knight of the Golden Spur. "]

If the religious emancipation of the old world did not find its echoin South America, ideas of freedom from kingly oppression began totake root in the hearts of the people, and before the year 1825 theSpanish colonies had risen against the mother country and had formedthemselves into several independent republics, while three yearsbefore that the independence of Brazil from Portugal had beendeclared. At the present day no part of the vast continent is ruledby either Spain or Portugal, but ten independent republics have theirdifferent flags and governments. 

Since its early discovery South America has been pre-eminently acountry of bloodshed. Revolution has succeeded revolution andhundreds of thousands of the bravest have been slain, but, phoenix-like, the country rises from its ashes. 

Fifty millions of people now dwell beneath the Southern Cross andspeak the Portuguese and Spanish languages, and it is estimated that, with the present rate of increase, 180 millions of people will speakthese languages by 1920. 

South America is, pre-eminently, the coming continent. It is morethinly settled than any other part of the world. At least six millionmiles of its territory are suitable for immigrants--double theavailable territory of the United States. "No other tract of goodland exists that is so large and so unoccupied as South America. "[Footnote: Dr. Wood, Lima, Peru, in "Protestant Missions in SouthAmerica. "] "One of the most marvellous of activities in thedevelopment of virgin lands is in progress. It is greater than thatof Siberia, of Australia, or the Canadian North-West. " [Footnote:The Outlook, March, 1908. ] Emigrants are pouring into the continentfrom crowded Europe, the old order of things is quickly passing away, and docks and railroads are being built. Bolivia is spending morethan fifty million dollars in new work. Argentina and Chile arepushing lines in all directions. Brazil is preparing to penetrate hervast jungles, and all this means enormous expense, for the highestpoints and most difficult construction that have ever beenencountered are found in Peru, and between Chile and Argentina therehas been constructed the longest tunnel in the world. [Footnote: Onerailway ascends to the height of 12, 800 feet. ]

Most important of all, the old medieval Romanism of the Dark Ages islosing its grip upon the masses, and slowly, but surely, the leavenis working which will, before another decade, bring South America tothe forefront of the nations. 

The economic possibilities of South America cannot be overestimated. It is a continent of vast and varied possibilities. There are stilldistricts as large as the German Empire entirely unexplored, andtribes of Indians who do not yet know that America has been"discovered. "

This is a continent of spiritual need. The Roman Catholic Church hasbeen a miserable failure. "Nearly 7, 000, 000 of people in SouthAmerica still adhere, more or less openly, to the fetishisms of theirancestors, while perhaps double that number live altogether beyondthe reach of Christian influence, even if we take the word Christianin its widest meaning. " [Footnote: Report of Senor F. De Castello]The Rev. W. B. Grubb, a missionary in Paraguay, says: "The greatestunexplored region at present known on earth is there. It contains, asfar as we know, 300 distinct Indian nations, speaking 300 distinctlanguages, and numbering some millions, all in the darkestheathenism. " H. W. Brown, in "Latin America, " says, "There is a paganpopulation of four to five millions. " Then, with respect to the RomanCatholic population, Rev. T. B. Wood, LL. D. , in "Protestant Missionsin South America, " says, "South America is a pagan field, properlyspeaking. Its image-worship is idolatry. Abominations are grosser andmore universal than among Roman Catholics in Europe and the UnitedStates, where Protestantism has greatly modified Catholicism. But itis _worse_ off than any other great _pagan_ field in that it isdominated by a single mighty hierarchy--the mightiest known inhistory. For centuries priestcraft has had everything its own way allover the continent, and is now at last yielding to outside pressure, but with desperate resistance. "

"South America has been for nearly four hundred years part of theparish of the Pope. In contrast with it the north of the New World--Puritan, prosperous, powerful, progressive--presents probably themost remarkable evidence earth affords of the blessings ofProtestantism, while the results of Roman Catholicism _left toitself_ are writ large in letters of gloom across the priest-ridden, lax and superstitious South. Her cities, among the gayest andgrossest in the world, her ecclesiastics enormously wealthy andstrenuously opposed to progress and liberty, South America groansunder the tyranny of a priesthood which, in its highest forms, isunillumined by, and incompetent to preach, the gospel of God's freegift; and in its lowest is proverbially and habitually drunken, extortionate and ignorant. The fires of her unspeakable Inquisitionstill burn in the hearts of her ruling clerics, and although thespirit of the age has in our nineteenth century transformed all hermonarchies into free Republics, religious intolerance all butuniversally prevails. " [Footnote: Guiness's "Romanism andReformation. "]

Prelates and priests, monks and nuns exert an influence that is all-pervading. William E. Curtis, United States Commissioner to SouthAmerica, wrote: "One-fourth of all the property belongs to thebishop. There is a Catholic church for every 150 inhabitants. Ten percent. Of the population are priests, monks or nuns, and 272 out ofthe 365 days of the year are observed as fast or feast days. Thepriests control the government and rule the country as absolutely asif the Pope were its king. As a result, 75 per cent. Of the childrenborn are illegitimate, and the social and political conditionpresents a picture of the dark ages. " It is said that, in one town, every fourth person you meet is a priest or a nun, or an ecclesiasticof some sort. 

Yet, with all this to battle against, the Christian missionary ismaking his influence felt. 

_La Razon_, an important newspaper of Trujillo, in a recent issuesays: "In homage to truth, we make known with pleasure that theministers of Protestantism have benefited this town more in one yearthan all the priests and friars of the Papal sect have done in threecenturies. "

"Last year, " writes Mr. Milne, of the American Bible Society, "one ofour colporteurs in Ayacucho had to make his escape by the roof of ahouse where he was staying, from a mob of half-castes, led on by afriar. Finding their prey had escaped, they took his clothes andseveral boxes of Bibles to the plaza of the city and burnt them. "

It was not such a going-back as the outside world thought, but, oh, it was a deeply significant one, when recently the leading men of theRepublic of Guatemala met together and solemnly threw over thereligion of their fathers, which, during 400 years of practice, hadfailed to uplift, and re-established the old paganism of culturedRome. So serious was this step that the _Palace of Minerva_, thegoddess of trade, is engraved on the latest issue of Guatemalanpostage stamps. Believing that the few Protestants in the Republicare responsible for the reaction, the Archbishop of Guatemala haspromised to grant one hundred days' indulgence to those who will prayfor the overthrow of Protestantism in that country. 

"Romanism is not Christianity, " so the few Christian workers arefighting against tremendous odds. What shall the harvest be?

PART I. 

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

The country to which the author first went as a self-supportingmissionary in the year 1889. 

 And Nature, the old nurse, took The child upon her knee, Saying, "Here is a story book Thy Father hath written for thee. "

 "Come, wander with me, " she said, "Into regions yet untrod, And read what is still unread In the manuscripts of God. "

 And he wandered away and away With Nature, the dear old nurse, Who sung to him night and day The rhymes of the universe. 

 --_Longfellow. _

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

The Argentine Republic has an area of one and a quarter millionsquare miles. It is 2, 600 miles from north to south, and 500 miles atits widest part. It is twelve times the size of Great Britain. Although the population of the country is about seven millions, onlyone per cent, of its cultivable area is now occupied, yet Argentinahas an incomparable climate. 

It is essentially a cattle country. She is said to surpass any othernation in her numbers of live stock. The Bovril Co. Alone kills100, 000 a year. On its broad plains there are _estandas_, or cattleranches, of fifty and one hundred thousand acres in extent, and onthese cattle, horses and sheep are herded in millions. Argentina hasover twenty-nine million cattle, seventy-seven million sheep, sevenand a half million horses, five and a half million mules, a quarter-million of donkeys, and nearly three million swine and three milliongoats. Four billion dollars of British capital are invested in thecountry. 

Argentina has sixteen thousand miles of railway. This has beencomparatively cheap to build. On the flat prairie lands the rails arelaid, and there is a length of one hundred and seventy-five mileswithout a single curve. 

Three hundred and fifty thousand square miles of this prairie isspecially adapted to the growing of grain. In 1908-9 the yield ofwheat was 4, 920, 000 tons. Argentina has exported over three milliontons of wheat, over three million tons of corn, and one million tonsof linseed, in one year, while "her flour mills can turn out 700, 000tons of flour a year. " [Footnote: Hirst's Argentina, 1910. ]

"It is a delight often met with there to look on a field of twentysquare miles, with the golden ears standing even and close together, and not a weed nor a stump of a tree nor a stone as big as a man'sfist to be seen or found in the whole area. "

"To plant and harvest this immense yield the tillers of the groundbought nine million dollars of farm implements in 1908. Argentina'srecord in material progress rivals Japan's. Argentina astonished theworld by conducting, in 1906, a trade valued at five hundred andsixty million dollars, buying and selling more in the markets offoreign nations than Japan, with a population of forty millions, andChina, with three hundred millions. " [Footnote: John Barrett, inMunsey's Magazine]

To this Land of Promise there is a large immigration. Nearly threehundred thousand have entered in one single year. About two hundredthousand have been going to Buenos Ayres, the capital, alone, but in1908 nearly five hundred thousand landed there. [Footnote: "Despitethe Government's efforts, emigration from Spain to South Americatakes alarming proportions. In some districts the men of the workingclasses have departed in a body. In certain villages in theneighborhood of Cadiz there arc whole streets of deserted houses. "-Spanish Press. ] In Belgium 220 people are crowded into the territoryoccupied by one person in Argentina, so yet there is room. AlbertHale says: "It is undeniable that Argentina can give lodgment to100, 000, 000 people, and can furnish nourishment, at a remarkablycheap rate, for as many more, when her whole area is utilized. "

Argentina's schools and universities are the best in the Spanish-speaking world. In Buenos Ayres you will find some of the finestschool buildings in the world, while 4, 000 students attend oneuniversity. 

Buenos Ayres, founded in 1580, is to-day the largest city in theworld south of the equator, and is "one of the richest and mostbeautiful places of the world. " The broad prairies around the cityhave made the people "the richest on earth. "

Kev. John F. Thompson, for forty-five years a resident of thatcountry, summarizes its characteristics in the following paragraph:"Argentina is a _land of plenty_; plenty of room and plenty of food. If the actual population were divided into families of ten persons, each would have a farm of eight square miles, with ten horses, fifty-four cows, and one hundred and eighty-six sheep, and after they hadeaten their fill of bread they would have half a ton of wheat andcorn to sell or send to the hungry nations. "

CHAPTER I. 

BUENOS AYRES IN 1889. 

In the year 1889, after five weeks of ocean tossing, the steamer onwhich I was a passenger anchored in the River Plate, off BuenosAyres. Nothing but water and sky was to be seen, for the coast wasyet twenty miles away, but the river was too shallow for the steamerto get nearer. Large tugboats came out to us, and passengers andbaggage were transhipped into them, and we steamed ten miles nearerthe still invisible city. There smaller tugs awaited us and we wereagain transhipped. Sailing once more toward the land, we soon caughtsight of the Argentine capital, but before we could sail nearer thetugs grounded. There we were crowded into flat-bottomed, lug-sailedboats for a third stage of our landward journey. These boats conveyedus to within a mile of the city, when carts, drawn by five horses, met us in the surf and drew us on to the wet, shingly beach. Thereabout twenty men stood, ready to carry the females on their backs onto the dry, sandy shore, where was the customs house. The populationof the city we then entered was about six hundred thousand souls. 

After changing the little gold I carried for the greasy papercurrency of the country, I started out in search of something to eat. Eventually I found myself before a substantial meal. At a table infront of me sat a Scotsman from the same vessel. He had arrivedbefore me (Scotsmen say they are always before the Englishmen) andwas devouring part of a leg of mutton. This, he told me, he hadprocured, to the great amusement of Boniface, by going down on allfours and _baa-ing_ like the sheep of his native hills. Had he waiteduntil I arrived he might have feasted on lamb, for my voice was notso gruff as his. He had unconsciously asked for an old sheep. I thinkthe Highlander in that instance regretted that he had preceded theEnglishman. 

How shall I describe the metropolis of the Argentine, with its one-storied, flat-roofed houses, each with grated windows and centre_patio_? Some of the poorer inhabitants raise fowls on the roof, which gives the house a barnyard appearance, while the iron-barredwindows below strongly suggest a prison. Strange yet attractivedwellings they are, lime-washed in various colors, the favoriteshades seeming to be pink and bottle green. Fires are not used exceptfor cooking purposes, and the little smoke they give out is quicklydispersed by the breezes from the sixty-mile-wide river on which thecity stands. 

The Buenos Ayres of 1889 was a strange place, with its long, narrowstreets, its peculiar stores and many-tongued inhabitants. There isthe dark-skinned policeman at the corner of each block sittingsilently on his horse, or galloping down the cobbled street at thesound of some revolver, which generally tells of a life gone out. Arriving on the scene he often finds the culprit flown. If hesucceeds in riding him down (an action he scruples not to do), he, with great show, and at the sword's point, conducts him to thenearest police station. Unfortunately he often chooses the quiet sidestreets, where his prisoner may have a chance to buy his freedom. Ifhe pays a few dollars, the poor _vigilante_ is perfectly willing tolose him, after making sometimes the pretence of a struggle to blindthe lookers-on, if there be any curious enough to interestthemselves. This man in khaki is often "the terror of the innocent, the laughing-stock of the guilty. " The poor man or the foreignsailor, if he stagger ever so little, is sure to be "run in. " TheArgentine law-keeper (?) is provided with both sword and revolver, but receives small remuneration, and as his salary is often tardilypaid him, he augments it in this way when he cannot see a goodopportunity of turning burglar or something worse on his own account. When he is low in funds he will accost the stranger, begging a cigarette, or inviting himself at your expense to the nearest_cafe_, as "the day is so unusually hot. " After all, we must notblame him too much--his superiors are far from guiltless, and heknows it. When Minister Toso took charge of the Provincial portfolioof Finance, he exclaimed, "_C-o! Todos van robando menos yo!_"("Everybody is robbing here except I. ") It is public news thatPresident Celman carried away to his private residence in the countrya most beautiful and expensive bronze fountain presented by theinhabitants of the city to adorn the principal _plaza_. [Footnote:Public square. ] The president is elected by the people for a term ofthree years, and invariably retires a rich man, however poor he mayhave been when entering on his office. The laws of the country may bedescribed as model and Christian, but the carrying out of them is avery different matter. 

Some of the laws are excellent and worthy of our imitation, such as, for example, the one which decrees that _bachelors shall be taxed_. Civil elections are held on Sundays, the voting places being RomanCatholic churches. 

Both postmen and telegraph boys deliver on horseback, but such is thelax custom that everything will do to-morrow. That fatal word is thefirst the stranger learns--_mañana_. 

Comparatively few people walk the streets. "No city in the world ofequal size and population can compare with Buenos Ayres for thenumber and extent of its tramways. " [Footnote: Turner's "Argentina. "]A writer in the _Financial News_ says: "The proportion of thepopulation who daily use street-cars is _sixty-six times greater inBuenos Ayres than in the United Kingdom_. "

This _Modern Athens_, as the Argentines love to term their city, hasa beautiful climate. For perhaps three hundred days out of every yearthere is a sky above as blue as was ever seen in Naples. 

The natives eat only twice a day--at 10. 30 a. M. , and at 7 p. M. --thecommon edibles costing but little. I could write much of BuenosAyres, with its _carnicerias_, where a leg of mutton may be boughtfor 20 cts. , or a brace of turkeys for 40 cts. ; its _almacenes_, where one may buy a pound of sugar or a yard of cotton, a measure ofcharcoal (coal is there unknown) or a large _sombrero_, a package oftobacco (leaves over two feet long) or a pair of white hemp-soledshoes for your feet--all at the same counter. The customer mayfurther obtain a bottle of wine or a bottle of beer (the lattercosting four times the price of the former) from the same assistant, who sells at different prices to different customers. 

There the value of money is constantly changing, and almost every dayprices vary. What to-day costs $20 to-morrow may be $15, or, morelikely, $30. Although one hundred and seventy tons of sugar areannually grown in the country, that luxury is decidedly expensive. Ihave paid from 12 cts. To 30 cts. A pound. Oatmeal, the Scotsman'sdish, has cost me up to 50 cts. A pound. 

Coming again on to the street you hear the deafening noises of thecow horns blown by the streetcar drivers, or the _pescador_ shrillyinviting housekeepers to buy the repulsive-looking red fish, carriedover his shoulder, slung on a thick bamboo. Perhaps you meet a beggaron horseback (for there wishes _are_ horses, and beggars _do_ ride), who piteously whines for help. This steed-riding fraternity all useinvariably the same words: _"Por el amor de Dios dame un centavo!"_("For the love of God give me a cent. ") If you bestow it, he willcall on his patron saint to bless you. If you fail to assist him, thecurses of all the saints in heaven will fall on your impious head. This often causes such a shudder in the recipient that I have knownhim to turn back to appease the wrath of the mendicant, and receiveinstead--a blessing. 

It is not an uncommon sight to see a black-robed priest with his handon a boy's head giving him a benediction that he may be enabled tosell his newspapers or lottery tickets with more celerity. 

The National Lottery is a great institution, and hundreds keepthemselves poor buying tickets. In one year the lottery has realizedthe sum of $3, 409, 143. 57. The Government takes forty per cent. Ofthis, and divides the rest between a number of charitable andreligious organizations, all, needless to say, being Roman Catholic. Amongst the names appear the following: Poor Sisters of St. Joseph, Workshop of Our Lady, Sisters of St. Anthony, etc. 

Little booths for the sale of lottery tickets are erected in thevestibules of some of the churches, and the Government, in this way, repays the church. 

The gambling passion is one of Argentina's greatest curses. Ticketsare bought by all, from the Senator down to the newsboy who ventureshis only dollar. 

You meet the water-seller passing down the street with his barrelcart, drawn by three or four horses with tinkling bells, dispensingwater to customers at five cents a pail. The poorer classes have noother means of procuring this precious liquid. The water is kept in acorner of the house in large sun-baked jars. A peculiarity of thesepots is that they are not made to stand alone, but have to be held upby something. 

At early morning and evening the milkman goes his rounds onhorseback. The milk he carries in six long, narrow cans, likeinverted sugar-loaves, three on each side of his raw-hide saddle, hehimself being perched between them on a sheepskin. In some cans hecarries pure cream, which the jolting of his horse soon converts intobutter. This he lifts out with his hands to any who care to buy. After the addition of a little salt, and the subtraction of a littlebuttermilk, this _manteca_ is excellent. After serving you he willagain mount his horse, but not until his hands have been well wipedon its tail, which almost touches the ground. The other cans of the_lechero_ contain a mixture known to him alone. I never analyzed it, but have remarked a chalky substance in the bottom of my glass. Hedoes not profess to sell pure milk; that you can buy, but, of course, at a higher price, from the pure milk seller. In the cool of theafternoon he will bring round his cows, with bells on their necks andcalves dragging behind. The calves are tied to the mothers' tails, and wear a muzzle. At a _sh-h_ from the sidewalk he stops them, and, stooping down, fills your pitcher according to your money. The cows, through being born and bred to a life in the streets, are generallymiserable-looking beasts. Strange to add, the one milkman shoes hiscows and the other leaves his horse unshod. It is not customary inthis country for man's noble friend to wear more than his own naturalhoof. A visit to the blacksmith is entertaining. The smith, by meansof a short lasso, deftly trips up the animal, and, with its legssecurely lashed, the cow must lie on its back while he shoes itsupturned hoofs. 

Many and varied are the scenes. One is struck by the number ofhorses, seven and eight often being yoked to one cart, which eventhen they sometimes find difficult to draw. Some of the streets arevery bad, worse than our country lanes, and filled with deep ruts anddrains, into which the horses often fall. There the driver willsometimes cruelly leave them, when, after his arm aches in using thewhip, he finds the animal cannot rise. For the veriest trifle I haveknown men to smash the poor dumb brute's eyes out with the stock ofthe whip, and I have been very near the Police Station more than oncewhen my righteous blood compelled me to interfere. Where, oh, whereis the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals? Surely nosuffering creatures under the sun cry out louder for mercy than thosein Argentina?

As I have said, horses are left to die in the public streets. It hasbeen my painful duty to pass moaning creatures lying helplessly inthe road, with broken limbs, under a burning sun, suffering hungerand thirst, for three consecutive days, before kind death, thesufferer's friend, released them. Looking on such sights, seeingevery street urchin with coarse laugh and brutal jest jump on such ananimal's quivering body, stuff its parched mouth with mud, or pokesticks into its staring eyes, I have cried aloud at the injustice. The policeman and the passers-by have only laughed at me for mypains. 

In my experiences in South America I found cruelty to be a markedfeature of the people. If the father thrusts his dagger into hisenemy, and the mother, in her fits of rage, sticks her hairpin intoher maid's body, can it be wondered at if the children inherit cruelnatures? How often have I seen a poor horse fall between the shaftsof some loaded cart of bricks or sand! Never once have I seen hisharness undone and willing hands help him up, as in other civilizedlands. No, the lashing of the cruel whip or the knife's point is hisonly help. If, as some religious writers have said, the horse will bea sharer of Paradise along with man, his master, then those fromBuenos Ayres will feed in stalls of silver and have their woundshealed by the clover of eternal kindness. "God is Love. "

I have said the streets are full of holes. In justice to theauthorities I must mention the fact that sometimes, especially at thecrossings, these are filled up. To carry truthfulness still further, however, I must state that more than once I have known them bridgedover with the putrefying remains of a horse in the last stages ofdecomposition. I have seen delicate ladies, attired in Parisianfurbelows, lift their dainty skirts, attempt the crossing--and sinkin a mass of corruption, full of maggots. 

In my description of Buenos Ayres I must not omit to mention thelarge square, black, open hearses so often seen rapidly drawn throughthe streets, the driver seeming to travel as quickly as he can. Inthe centre of the coach is the coffin, made of white wood and coveredwith black material, fastened on with brass nails. Around thisgruesome object sit the relatives and friends of the departed one ontheir journey to the _chacarita_, or cemetery, some six miles outfrom the centre of the city. Cemeteries in Spanish America aredivided into three enclosures. There is the "cemetery of heaven, ""the cemetery of purgatory, " and "the cemetery of hell. " The locationof the soul in the future is thus seen to be dependent on itslocation by the priests here. The dead are buried on the day of theirdeath, when possible, or, if not, then early on the followingmorning; but never, I believe, on feast days. Those periods are setapart for pleasure, and on important saint days banners and flags ofall nations are hung across the streets, or adorn the roofs of theflat-topped houses, where the washing is at other times dried. 

After attending mass in the early morning on these days, the peoplegive themselves up to revelry and sin at home, or crowd the street-cars running to the parks and suburbs. Many with departed relatives(and who has none?) go to the _chacarita_, and for a few _pesos_bargain with the black-robed priest waiting there, to deliver theirprecious dead out of Purgatory. If he sings the prayer the cost isdouble, but supposed to be also doubly efficacious. Mothers do notalways inspire filial respect in their offspring, for one young mandeclared that he "wanted to get his mother out of Purgatory before hewent in. "

A Buenos Ayres missionary writes "There are two large cemeterieshere. From early morn until late at night the people crowd into them, and I am told there were 100, 000 at one time in one of them. November1 is a special day for releasing thousands of souls out of Purgatory. We printed thousands of tracts and the workers started out todistribute them. By ten o'clock six of them were in jail, having beengiven into custody by a 'holy father. ' They were detained until sixin the evening without food, and then were released through theefforts of a Methodist minister. "

The catechisn reads: "Attend mass all Sundays and Feast days. Confessat least once a year, or oftener, if there is any fear of death. TakeSacrament at Easter time. Pay a tenth of first-fruits to God'sChurch. " The fourth commandment is condensed into the words:"Sanctify the Feast days. " From this it will be seen that there isgreat need for mission work. Of course Romanism in this and othercities is losing its old grip upon the people, and because of thisthe priest is putting forth superhuman effort to retain what he has. _La Voz de la Iglesia_ ("The Voice of the Church"), the organ of theBishop of Buenos Ayres, has lately published some of the strongestarticles we have ever read. A late article concludes: "One thingonly, one thing: OBEY; OBEY BLINDLY. Comply with her (the Church's)commands with faithful loyalty. If we do this, it is impossible forProtestantism to invade the flowery camp of the Church, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman. "

Articles such as this, however, and the circulation of a tract by oneof the leading church presses, are not calculated to help forward alosing cause. The tract referred to is entitled, "Letter of Jesusabout the Drops of Blood which He shed whilst He went to Calvary. ""You know that the soldiers numbered 150, twenty-five of whomconducted me bound. I received fifty blows on the head and 108 on thebreast. I was pulled by the hair 23 times, and 30 persons spat in myface. Those who struck me on the upper part of the body were 6, 666, and 100 Jews struck me on the head. I sighed 125 times. The wounds onthe head numbered 20; from the crown of thorns, 72; points of thornson the forehead, 100. The wounds on the body were 100. There came outof my body 28, 430 drops of blood. " This letter, the tract states, wasfound in the Holy Sepulchre and is preserved by his holiness thePope. Intelligent, thinking men can only smile at such an utterabsurdity. 

An "Echoes from Argentina" extract reads: "Not many months ago, Argentina was blessed by the Pope. Note what has happened since:--TheArchbishop, who was the bearer of the blessing and brought it fromRome, has since died very suddenly; we have had a terrible visitationof heat suffocation, hundreds being attacked and very many dying; wehave had the bubonic pest in our midst; a bloody provincialrevolution in Entre Rios; and now at the time of writing there is anoutbreak of a serious cattle disease, and England has closed herports against Argentine live stock. Of course, we do not say thatthese calamities are the _result_ of the Pope's blessing, but wewould that Catholics would open their eyes and see that it is a factthat whereas Protestant countries, _anathematized_ by the Pope, prosper, Catholic countries which have been blessed by him are in alamentable condition. "

BUENOS AYRES AT THE PRESENT TIME. 

Perhaps no city of the world has grown and progressed more duringthis last decade than the city of Buenos Ayres. To-day passengersland in the centre of the city and step on "the most expensive systemof artificial docks in all America, representing an expenditure ofseventy million dollars. "

To this city there is a large emigration. It has grown at the rate of4, 000 adults a week, with a birthrate of 1, 000 a week added. Thepopulation is now fast climbing up to 1 1-2 millions of inhabitants. There are 300, 000 Italians, 100, 000 Spaniards, a colony of 20, 000Britishers, and, of course, Jews and other foreigners in proportion. "Buenos Ayres is one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world. There are 189 newspapers, printed in almost every language of theglobe. Probably the only Syrian newspaper in America, _The Assudk_, is issued in this city. " To keep pace with the rush of newcomers hasnecessitated the building of 30, 000 houses every year. There is here"the finest and costliest structure ever built, used exclusively byone newspaper, the home of _La Prensa_; the most magnificent operahouse of the western hemisphere, erected by the government at thecost of ten million dollars; one of the largest banks in the world, and the handsomest and largest clubhouse in the world. " [Footnote:John Barrett, In Munsey's Magazine. ] The entrance fee to this club is$1, 500. The Y. M. C. A. Is now erecting a commodious building, for which$200, 000 has already been raised, and there is a Y. W. C. A. , with amembership of five hundred. Dr. Clark, in "The Continent ofOpportunity, " says, "More millionaires live in Buenos Ayres than inany other city of the world of its size. The proportion of well-clothed, well-fed people is greater than in American cities, theslums are smaller, and the submerged classes less in proportion. Theconstant movement of carriages and automobiles here quite surpassesthat of Fifth Avenue. " The street cars are of the latest and mostimproved electric types, equal to any seen in New York or London, andseat one hundred people, inside and out. Besides these there is anexcellent service of motor cabs, and _tubes_ are being commenced. Level crossings for the steam roads are not permitted in the citylimits, so all trains run over or under the streets. 

"The Post Office handles 40, 000, 000 pieces of mail and 125, 000 parcelpost packages a month. The city has 1, 209 automobiles, 27 theatresand 50 moving picture shows. Five thousand vessels enter the port ofBuenos Ayres every year, and the export of meat in 1910 was valued at$31, 000, 000. No other section of the world shows such growth. "[Footnote: C. H. Furlong, in The World's Work. ]

The city, once so unhealthy, is now, through proper drainage, "thesecond healthiest large city of the world. " The streets, as I firstsaw them, were roughly cobbled, now they are asphalt paved, and madeinto beautiful avenues, such as would grace any capital of the world. Avenida de Mayo, cut right through the old city, is famed as beingone of the most costly and beautiful avenues of the world. 

On those streets the equestrian milkman is no longer seen. Beautifulsanitary white-tiled _tambos_, where pure milk and butter are sold, have taken his place. The old has been transformed and PROGRESS iswritten everywhere. 

CHAPTER II. 

_REVOLUTION. _

South America, of all lands, has been most torn asunder by war. Revolutions may be numbered by hundreds, and the slaughter has beenincredible. Even since the opening of the year 1900, thirty thousandColombians have been slain and there have been dozens of revolutions. Darwin relates the fact that in 1832 Argentina underwent fifteenchanges of government in nine months, owing to internal strife, andsince then Argentina has had its full share. 

During my residence in Buenos Ayres there occurred one of thosedisastrous revolutions which have from time to time shaken the wholeRepublic. The President, Don Juarez Celman, had long been unpopular, and, the mass of the people being against him, as well as nearly halfof the standing army, and all the fleet then anchored in the river, the time was considered ripe to strike a blow. 

On the morning of July 26, 1890, the sun rose upon thousands ofstern-looking men bivouacking in the streets and public squares ofthe city. The revolution had commenced, and was led by one of themost distinguished Argentine citizens, General Joseph Mary Campos. The battle-cry of these men was "_Sangre! Sangre!_" [Footnote:"Blood! Blood!"] The war fiend stalked forth. Trenches were dug inthe streets. Guns were placed at every point of vantage. Men mountedtheir steeds with a careless laugh, while the rising sun shone ontheir burnished arms, so soon to be stained with blood. Battalions ofmen marched up and down the streets to the sound of martial music, and the low, flat-roofed housetops were quickly filled withsharpshooters. 

The Government House and residence of the President was guarded inall directions by the 2nd Battalion of the Line, the firemen and adetachment of police, but on the river side were four gunboats of therevolutionary party. 

The average South American is a man of quick impulses and littlethought. The first shot fired by the Government troops was the signalfor a fusilade that literally shook the city. Rifle shots cracked, big guns roared, and shells screaming overhead descended in alldirections, carrying death and destruction. Street-cars, wagons andcabs were overturned to form barricades. In the narrow, straightstreets the carnage was fearful, and blood soon trickled down thewatercourses and dyed the pavements. That morning the sun had risenfor the last time upon six hundred strong men; it set upon theirmangled remains. Six hundred souls! The Argentine soldier knowslittle of the science of "hide and seek" warfare. When he goes forthto battle, it is to fight--or die. Of the future life heunfortunately thinks little, and of Christ, the world's Redeemer, heseldom or never hears. The Roman Catholic chaplain mumbles a fewLatin prayers to them at times, but as the knowledge of these _resos_does not seem to improve the priest's life, the men prefer to remainin ignorance. 

The average Argentine soldier is a man of little intelligence. Theregiments are composed of Patagonian Indians or semi-civilizedGuaranis, mixed with all classes of criminals from the state prisons. Nature has imprinted upon them the unmistakable marks of the savage--sullen, stupid ferocity, indifference to pain, bestial instincts. Asfor his fighting qualities, they more resemble those of the tigerthan of the cool, brave and trained soldier. When his blood isroused, fighting is with him a matter of blind and indiscriminatecarnage of friend or foe. A more villainous-looking horde it would bedifficult to find in any army. The splendid accoutrements of thegenerals and superior officers, and the glittering equipments oftheir chargers, offer a vivid contrast to the mean and dirty uniformsof the troops. 

During the day the whole territory of the Republic was declared to bein a state of siege. Business was at a complete standstill. Thestores were all closed, and many of them fortified with the firstmeans that came to hand. Mattresses, doors, furniture, everything wasrequisitioned, and the greatest excitement prevailed in commercialcircles generally. All the gun-makers' shops had soon been cleared oftheir contents, which were in the hands of the adherents of therevolution. 

That evening the news of the insurrection was flashed by "Reuter's"to all parts of the civilized world. The following appeared in one ofthe largest British dailies:

"BUENOS AYRES, July 27, 5. 40 p. M. 

"The fighting in the streets between the Government troops and theinsurgents has been of the most desperate character. 

"The forces of the Government have been defeated. 

"The losses in killed and wounded are estimated at 1, 000. 

"The fleet is in favor of the Revolutionists. 

"Government house and the barracks occupied by the Government troopshave been bombarded by the insurgent artillery. "

That night as I went in and out of the squads of men on therevolutionary side, seeking to do some acts of mercy, I saw manystrange and awful sights. There were wounded men who refused to leavethe field, although the rain poured. Others were employed in cookingor ravenously eating the dead horses which strewed the streets. Somewere lying down to drink the water flowing in the gutters, whichwater was often tinged with human blood, for the rain was by thistime washing away many of the dark spots in the streets. Others laycoiled up in heaps under their soaking _ponchos_, trying to sleep alittle, their arms stacked close at hand. There were men to allappearances fast asleep, standing with their arms in the reins of thehorses which had borne them safely through the leaden hail of thatday of terror. Numerous were the jokes and loud was the coarselaughter of many who next day would be lying stiff in death, butlittle thought seemed to be expended on that possibility. 

Men looted the stores and feasted, or wantonly destroyed valuablesthey had no use for. None stopped this havoc, for the officers werequartered in the adjacent houses, themselves holding high revelry. Lawless hordes visited the police offices, threw their furniture intothe streets, tore to shreds all the books, papers and records found, and created general havoc. They gorged and cursed, using swords forknives, and lay down in the soaking streets or leaned against theguns to smoke the inevitable _cigarillo_. A few looked up at thegilded keys of St. Peter adorning the front of the cathedral, perhapswondering if they would be used to admit them to a better world. 

Next day, as I sallied forth to the dismal duty of caring for thedead and dying, the guns of the Argentine fleet [Footnote: British-built vessels of the latest and most approved types. ] in the riveropposite the city blazed forth upon the quarter held by theGovernment's loyal troops. One hundred and fifty-four shots werefired, two of the largest gunboats firing three-hundred and six-hundred pounders. Soon every square was a shambles, and the mud oozedwith blood. The Buenos Ayres _Standard_, describing that day offierce warfare, stated:

"At dawn, the National troops, quartered in the Plaza Libertad, madeanother desperate attack on the Revolutionary positions in the PlazaLavalle. The Krupp guns, mitrailleuses and gatlings went off at aterrible rate, and volleys succeeded each other, second for second, from five in the morning till half-past nine. The work of death wasfearful, and hundreds of spectators were shot down as they watchedfrom their balconies or housetops. Cannon balls riddled all thehouses near the Cinco Esquinas. In the attack on the Plaza Lavalle, three hundred men must have fallen. "

[Illustration]

"At ten a. M. The white flag of truce was hoisted on both sides, andthe dismal work of collecting the dead and wounded began. Theambulances of the Asistencia Publica, the cars of the tram companiesand the wagons of the Red Cross were busily engaged all day incarrying away the dead. It is estimated that in the Plaza Lavalleabove 600 men were wounded and 300 killed. Considering that theRevolutionists defended an entrenched position, whilst the Nationaltroops attacked, we may imagine that the losses of the latter wereenormous. "

"General Lavalle, commander-in-chief of the National forces, gaveorders for a large number of coffins, which were not delivered, asthe undertaker wished to be paid cash. It is to be supposed thatthese coffins were for the dead officers. "

"When the white flags were run up, Dr. Del Valle, Senator of theNation, sent, in the name of the Revolutionary Committee, anultimatum to the National Government, demanding the immediatedismissal of the President of the Republic and dissolution ofCongress. Later on it was known that both parties had agreed on anarmistice, to last till mid-day on Monday. "

Of the third day's sanguinary fighting, the _Standard_ wrote:

"The Plaza Libertad was taken by General Lavalle at the head of theNational troops under the most terrible fire, but the regiments heldwell together and carried the position in a most gallant manner, confirming the reputation of indomitable valor that the Argentinetroops won at the trenches of Curupayti. Our readers may imagine thefire they suffered in the straight streets swept by Krupp guns, gatlings and mitrailleuses, while every housetop was a fortresswhence a deadly fire was poured on the heads of the soldiers. Letanybody take the trouble to visit the Calles [Footnote: Streets]Cerrito, Libertad and Talcahuano, the vicinity of the Plazas Parqueand Lavalle, and he will be staggered to see how all the houses havebeen riddled by mitrailleuses and rifle bullets. The passage ofcannon balls is marked on the iron frames of windows, smashed framesand demolished balconies of the houses. 

"The Miro Palace, in the Plaza Parque, is a sorry picture ofwreckage: the 'mirador' is knocked to pieces by balls and shells; thewalls are riddled on every side, and nearly all the beautiful Italianbalconies and buttresses have been demolished. The firing around thepalace must have been fearful, to judge by the utter ruin about, andall the telephone wires dangling over the street in meshes from everyhouse. Ruin and wreckage everywhere. 

"By this time the hospitals of the city, the churches and publicbuildings were filled with the wounded and dying, borne there onstretchers made often of splintered and shattered doors. Nearly ahundred men were taken into the San Francisco convent alone. " Yetwith all this the lust for blood was not quenched. It could still bewritten of the fourth day:

"At about half-past two, a sharp attack was made by the Governmenttroops on the Plaza Parque, and a fearful fire was kept up. Hundredsand hundreds fell on both sides, but the Government troops werefinally repulsed. People standing at the corners of the streetscheering for the Revolutionists were fired on and many were killed. Bodies of Government troops were stationed at the corners of thestreets leading to the Plaza, Large bales of hay had been heaped upto protect them from the deadly fire of the Revolutionists. 

"It was at times difficult to remember that heavy slaughter was goingon around. In many parts of the city people were chatting, joking andlaughing at their doors. The attitude of the foreign population wasmore serious; they seemed to foresee the heavy responsibilities ofthe position and to accurately forecast the result of theinsurrection. 

"The bulletins of the various newspapers during the revolution werepurchased by the thousand and perused with the utmost avidity; fancyprices were often paid for them. The Sunday edition of _The Standard_was sold by enterprising newsboys in the suburbs as high as $3. 00 percopy, whilst fifty cents was the regulation price for a momentarypeep at our first column. "

Towards the close of that memorable 29th of July the hail of bulletsceased, but the insurgent fleet still kept up its destructivebombardment of the Government houses for four hours. 

The Revolutionists were defeated, or, as was seriously affirmed, hadbeen sold for the sum of one million Argentine dollars. 

_"Estamos vendidos!" "Estamos vendidos!"_ (We are sold! We are sold!)was heard on every hand. Because of this surrender officers broketheir swords and men threw away their rifles as they wept with rage. A sergeant exclaimed: "And for this they called us out--to surrenderwithout a struggle! Cowards! Poltroons!" And then with a stern glancearound he placed his rifle to his breast and shot himself through theheart. After the cessation of hostilities both sides collected theirdead, and the wounded were placed under the care of surgeons, civilas well as military. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the insurgents were said to bedefeated, the President, Dr. Celman, fled from the city, and theamusing spectacle was seen of men and youths patrolling the streetswearing cards in their hats which read: _"Ya se fue el burro"_ (Atlast the donkey has gone). A more serious sight, however, was whenthe effigy of the fleeing President was crucified. 

Thus ended the insurrection of 1890, a rising which sent threethousand brave men into eternity. 

What changes had taken place in four short days! At the PlazaLibertad the wreckage was most complete. The beautiful partierreswere trodden down by horses; the trees had been partially cut downfor fuel; pools of blood, remnants of slaughtered animals, offal, refuse everywhere. 

Since the glorious days of the British invasion--glorious from anArgentine point of view--Buenos Ayres had never seen its streetsturned into barricades and its housetops into fortresses. In times ofelectoral excitement we had seen electors attack each other in bandsmany years, but never was organized warfare carried on as during thisrevolution. The Plaza Parque was occupied by four or five thousandRevolutionary troops; all access to the Plaza was defended by armedgroups on the house-tops and barricades in the streets, Krupp gunsand that most infernal of modern inventions, the mitrailleuse, sweptall the streets, north, south, east and west. The deadly grape sweptthe streets down to the very river, and not twenty thousand men couldhave taken the Revolutionary position by storm, except by gutting thehouses and piercing the blocks, as Colonel Garmendia proposed, toavoid the awful loss of life suffered in the taking of the PlazaLibertad on Saturday morning. 

At the close of the revolution the great city found itself sufferingfrom a quasi-famine. High prices were asked for everything. In somedistricts provisions could not be obtained even at famine prices. Thewriter for the first time in his life had to go here and there to bega loaf of bread for his family's needs. 

A reporter of the _Argentine News_, July 31st of that same year, wrote:

"There is a revolution going on in Rosario. It began on Saturday, when the Revolutionists surprised the Government party, and by one onSunday most of the Government buildings were in their hands. It isnow eight in the morning and the firing is terrible. Volunteers arecoming into the town from all parts, so the rebels are bound to winthe stronghold shortly. News has just come that the Government troopshave surrendered. Four p. M. --I have been out to see the dead andwounded gathered up by the ambulance wagons. I should think the deadare less than a hundred, and the wounded about four times thatnumber. The surprise was so sudden that the victory has been easy andwith little loss of life. The Revolutionists are behaving well andnot destroying property as they might have done. The whole town isrejoicing; flags of all nations are flying everywhere. The saddestthing about the affair is that some fifty murderers have escaped fromthe prison. I saw many of them running away when I got upon the spot. The order has been given to recapture them. I trust they may becaught, for we have too many of that class at liberty already. * * ** It is estimated that over 100, 000 rounds of ammunition were firedin the two days. * * * The insurgents fed on horse-meat and beef, theformer being obtained by killing the horses belonging to the police, the latter from the various dairies, from which the cows wereseized. "

In 1911 the two largest Dreadnoughts of the world, the _Rivadavia_and the _Moreno_, were launched for the Argentine Government. Thesetwo battleships are _half as powerful again_ as the largest BritishDreadnought. 

CHAPTER III. 

_THE CRIOLLO VILLAGE_. 

The different centres of trade and commerce in the Argentine caneasily be reached by train or river steamer. Rosario, with its140, 000 inhabitants, in the north; Bahia Blanca, where there is thelargest wheat elevator in the world, in the south, and Mendoza, atthe foot of the Andes, several times destroyed by earthquake, fivehundred miles west--all these are more or less like the capital. 

To arrive at an isolated village of the interior the traveller mustbe content to ride, as I did, on horseback, or be willing to joltalong for weeks in a wagon without springs. These carts are drawn byeight, ten, or more bullocks, as the weight warrants, and areprovided with two very strong wheels, without tires, and oftenstanding eight and ten feet high. The patient animals, by means of ayoke fastened to their horns with raw-hide, draw these carts throughlong prairie grass or sinking morass, through swollen rivers oroozing mud, over which malaria hangs in visible forms. 

The _voyager_ must be prepared to suffer a little hunger and thirston the way. He must sleep amongst the baggage in the cart, or on thebroader bed of the ground, where snakes and tarantulas creep and theheavy dew saturates one through and through. 

As is well known, the bullock is a slow animal, and these nevertravel more than two or three miles an hour. 

Time with the native is no object. The words, "With patience we winheaven, " are ever on his lips. 

The Argentine countryman is decidedly lazy. 

Darwin relates that he asked two men the question: "Why don't youwork?" One said: "The days are too long!" Another answered: "I am toopoor. "

With these people nothing can succeed unless it is begun when themoon is on the increase. The result is that little is accomplished. 

You cannot make the driver understand your haste, and the bullocksunderstand and care still less. 

The mosquitoes do their best to eat you up alive, unless your bodyhas already had all the blood sucked out of it, a humiliating, painful and disfiguring process. You must carry with you sufficientfood for the journey, or it may happen that, like me, you are onlyable to shoot a small ring dove, and with its entrails fish out ofthe muddy stream a monster turtle for the evening meal. 

If, on the other hand, you pass a solitary house, they will withpleasure give you a sheep. If you killed one without permission yourpunishment would perhaps be greater than if you had killed a man. 

If a bullock becomes ill on the road, the driver will, with hisknife, cut all around the sod where the animal has left itsfootprint. Lifting this out, he will cut a cross on it and replace itthe other side uppermost. This cure is most implicitly believed inand practised. 

[Illustration]

The making of the cross is supposed to do great wonders, which yourguide is never tired of recounting while he drinks his _máte_ in theunbroken stillness of the evening. Alas! the many bleaching bones onthe road testify that this, and a hundred other such remedies, arenot always effectual, but the mind of the native is so full ofsuperstitious faith that the testimony of his own eyes will notconvince him of the absurdity of his belief. As he stoops over thefire you will notice on his breast some trinket or relic--anythingwill do if blessed by the priest--and that, he assures you, will savehim from every unknown and unseen danger in his land voyage. Thepriest has said it, and he rests satisfied that no lightning strokewill fell him, no lurking panther pounce upon him, nor will he die ofthirst or any other evil. I have remarked men of the most cruel, cutthroat description wearing these treasures with zealous care, especially one, of whom it was said that he had killed two wives. 

When your driver is young and amorously inclined you will notice thathe never starts for the regions beyond without first providinghimself with an owl's skin. This tied on his breast, he tells you, will ensure him favor in the eyes of the females he may meet on theroad, and on arrival at his destination. 

I once witnessed what at first sight appeared to be a heavy fall ofsnow coming up with the wind from the south. Strange to relate, thisphenomenon turned out to be millions of white butterflies of largesize. Some of these, when measured, I found to be four and fiveinches across the wings. Darwin relates his having, in 1832, seen thesame sight, when his men exclaimed that it was "snowing butterflies. "

The inhabitants of these trackless wilds are very, very few, but inall directions I saw numbers of ostriches, which run at the leastsign of man, their enemy. The fastest horse could not outstrip thisbird as with wings outstretched he speeds before the hunter. As Job, perhaps the oldest historian of the world, truly says: "What time shelifteth herself up on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider. "The male bird joins his spouse in hatching the eggs, sitting on themperhaps longer turns than the female, but the weather is so hot thatlittle brooding is required. I have had them on the shelf of mycupboard for a week, when the little ones have forced their way outForty days is the time of incubation, so, naturally, those must havebeen already sat on for thirty-three days. With open wings thesegiant birds often manage to cover from twenty-five to forty-fiveeggs, although, I think, they seldom bring out more than twenty. Therest they roll out of the nest, where, soon rotting, they breedinnumerable insects, and provide tender food for the coming young. The latter, on arrival, are always reared by the male ostrich, who, not being a model husband, ignominiously drives away the partner ofhis joys. It might seem that he has some reason for doing this, forthe old historian before referred to says: "She is hardened againsther young ones as though they were not hers. "

As the longest road leads somewhere, the glare of the whitewashedchurch at last meets your longing gaze on the far horizon. Thevillage churches are always whitewashed, and an old man is frequentlyemployed to strike the hours on the tower bell by guess. 

I was much struck by the sameness of the many different interiortowns and villages I visited. Each wore the same aspect of indolentrepose, and each was built in exact imitation of the other. Each townpossesses its plaza, where palms and other semi-tropical plants wavetheir leaves and send out their perfume. 

From the principal city to the meanest village, the streets all bearthe same names. In every town you may find a _Holy Faith street_, a_St. John street_ and a _Holy Ghost street_, and these streets areshaded by orange, lemon, pomegranate, fig and other trees, the fruitof which is free to all who choose to gather. All streets are in allparts in a most disgraceful condition, and at night beneath the heavyfoliage of the trees Egyptian darkness reigns. Except in daylight, itis difficult to walk those wretched roads, where a goat often findsprogress a difficulty. Rotten fruit, branches of trees, ashes, etc. , all go on the streets. A hole is often bridged over by a putrefyinganimal, over which run half-naked urchins, pelting each other withoranges or lemons--common as stones. When the highways are left insuch a state, is it to be wondered at that, while standing on my owndoor-step, I have been able to count eleven houses where smallpox wasdoing its deadly work, all within a radius of one hundred yards?

Even in the city of La Plata, the second of importance in Argentina, I once had the misfortune to fall into an open drain while passingdown one of the principal streets. The night was intensely dark, andyet there was no light left there to warn either pedestrian orvehicle-driver, and _this sewer was seven feet deep_. 

Simple rusticity and ignorance are the chief characteristics of thecountry people. They used to follow and stare at me as though I werea visitor from Mars or some other planet. When I spoke to them intheir language they were delighted, and respectfully hung on my wordswith bared heads. When, however, I told them of electric cars andunderground railways, they turned away in incredulity, thinking thatsuch marvels as these could not possibly be. 

Old World towns they seem to be. The houses are built of sun-bakedmud bricks, kneaded by mares that splash and trample through the oozysubstance for hours to mix it well. The poorer people build ranchesof long, slender canes or Indian cornstalks tied together by grassand coated with mud. These are all erected around and about the mostimposing edifice in the place--the whitewashed adobe church. 

All houses are hollow squares. The _patio_, with its well, is insidethis enclosure. Each house is lime-washed in various colors, and allare flat-roofed and provided with grated windows, giving them aprison-like appearance. The window-panes are sometimes made of mica. Over the front doors of some of the better houses are pictures of theVirgin. The nurse's house is designated by having over the doorway asignboard, on which is painted a full-blooming rose, out of thepetals of which is peeping a little babe. 

If you wish to enter a house, you do not knock at the door (an actthat would be considered great rudeness), but clap your hands, andyou are most courteously invited to enter. The good woman at oncesets to work to serve you with _máté_, and quickly rolls a cigar, which she hands to you from her mouth, where she has already lightedit by a live ember of charcoal taken from the fire with a spoon. Matches can be bought, but they cost about ten cents a hundred. Ifyou tell the housewife you do not smoke she will stare at you ingaping wonder. Their children use the weed, and I have seen a motherurge her three-year-old boy to whiff at a cigarette. 

Bound each dwelling is a _ramada_, where grapes in their season hangin luxuriant clusters; and each has its own garden, where palms, peaches, figs, oranges, limes, sweet potatoes, tobacco, nuts, garlic, etc. , grow luxuriantly. The garden is surrounded by a hedge of cactior other kindred plants. The prickly pear tree of that family is oneof the strangest I have seen. On the leaves, which are an inch ormore in thickness, grows the fruit, and I have counted as many asthirteen pears growing on a single leaf. When ripe they are a deepred color, and very sweet to the taste. The skin is thick, andcovered with innumerable minute prickles. It is, I believe, a mostrefreshing and healthful food. 

Meat is very cheap. A fine leg of mutton may be bought for theequivalent of twelve cents, and good beef at four cents a pound. Their favorite wine, _Lagrimas de San Juan_ (Tears of Holy John), canbe bought for ten cents a quart. 

All cooking is done on braziers--a species of three-legged ironbucket in which the charcoal fire is kindled. On this the littlekettle, filled from the well in the _patio_, is boiled for theinevitable _máté_. About this herb I picked up, from various sources, some interesting information. The _máté_ plant grows chiefly InParaguay, and is sent down the river in bags made of hides. From thevillage of Tacurti Pucu in that country comes a strange account ofthe origin of the _yerba máté_ plant, which runs thus: "God, accompanied by St. John and St. Peter, came down to the earth andcommenced to journey. One day, after most difficult travel, theyarrived at the house of an old man, father to a virgin young andbeautiful. The old man cared so much for this girl, and was soanxious to keep her ever pure and innocent, that they had gone tolive in the depths of a forest. The man was very, very poor, butwillingly gave his heavenly visitors the best he could, killing intheir honor the only hen he possessed, which served for supper. Noting this action, God asked St. Peter and St. John, when they werealone, what they would do if they were Him. They both answered Himthat they would largely reward such an unselfish host. Bringing himto their presence, God addressed him in these words: 'Thou who artpoor hast been generous, and I will reward thee for it. Thou hast adaughter who is pure and innocent, and whom thou greatly lovest. Iwill make her immortal, and she shall never disappear from earth. 'Then God transformed her into the plant of the yerba máté. Since thenthe herb exists, and although it is cut down it springs up again. "Other stories run that the maiden still lives; for God, instead ofturning her into the máté plant, made her mistress of it, and shelives to help all those who make a compact with her, Many men during"Holy week, " if near a town, visit the churches of Paraguay andformally promise to dedicate themselves to her worship, to live inthe woods and have no other woman. After this vow they go to theforest, taking a paper on which the priest has written their name. This they pin with a thorn on the máté plant, and leave it for her toread. Thus she secures her devotees. 

Roman Catholicism is not "_Semper Idem_, " but adapts itself to itssurroundings. 

Máté is drunk by all, from the babe to the centenarian; by the richcattle-owner, who drinks it from a chased silver cup through a golden_bombilla_, to his servant, who is content with a small gourd, whicheverywhere grows wild, and a tin tube. Tea, as we know it, is only tobe bought at the chemist's as a remedy for _nerves_. In othercountries it is said to be bad for nerves. 

Each house possesses its private altar, where the saints are kept. That sacred spot is veiled off when possible--if only by hanging infront of it a cow's hide--from the rest of the dwelling. It consists, according to the wealth or piety of the housewife, in expensivecrosses, beads, and pictures of saints decked out with costly care;or, it may be, but one soiled lithograph surrounded by paper flowersor cheap baubles of the poorer classes; but all are alike sacred. Everything of value or beauty is collected and put as an offering tothese deities--pieces of colored paper, birds' eggs, a rosy tomato orpomegranate, or any colored picture or bright tin. Descending fromthe ridiculous to the gruesome, I have known a mother scrape andclean the bones of her dead daughter in order that _they_ might begiven a place on the altar. Round this venerated spot the goodwife, with her palm-leaf broom, sweeps with assiduous care, and afterwardscarefully dusts her crucifix and other devotional objects with herbrush of ostrich feathers. Here she kneels in prayer to the differentsaints. God Himself is never invoked. Saint Anthony interests himselfin finding her lost ring, and Saint Roque is a wonderful physician incase of sickness. If she be a maiden Saint Carmen will find her asuitable husband; if a widow, Saint John will be a husband to her;and if an orphan, the sacred heart of the Virgin of Carmen givesbalsam to the forlorn one. Saint Joseph protects the artisan, and ifa candle is burnt in front of Saint Ramon, he will most obliginglyturn away the tempest or the lightning stroke. In all cases onecandle at least must be promised these mysterious benefactors, andrash indeed would be the man or woman who failed to burn the candle;some most terrible vengeance would surely overtake him or his family. 

God, as I have said, is never invoked. Perhaps He is supposed to sitin solitary grandeur while the saints administer His affairs? Theselatter are innumerable, and whatever may be their position in theminds of Romanists in other lands, in South America they are distinctand separate gods, and their graven image, picture or carving isworshipped as such. 

When religious questions have not arisen, life in those remotevillages has passed very pleasantly. The people live in greatsimplicity, knowing scarcely anything of the outside world and itsprogress. 

At the Feast of St. John the women take sheep and lambs, gailydecorated with colored ribbons, to church with them. That is an actof worship, for the priest puts his hand on each lamb and blesses it. A _velorio_ for the dead, or a dance at a child's death, aregenerally the only meetings beside the church; but, as the poet says:

 "'Tis known, at least it should be, that throughout All countries of the Catholic persuasion, Some weeks before Shrove Tuiesiday comes about, The people take their fill of recreation, And buy repentance ere they grow devout, However high their rank or low their station, With fiddlling, feasting, dancing, drinking, masking, And other things which may be had for asking. "

Carnival is a joyous time, and if for only once in the year the quiettown then resounds with mirth. Pails of water are carried up to theflat roofs of the houses, and each unwary pedestrian is in turndeluged. At other times flour is substituted, and on the last day ofthe feast ashes are thrown on all sides. At other seasons of the yearthe streets are quiet, and after the rural pursuits of the day areover, the guitar is brought out, and the evening breeze wafts wavesof music to each listening ear. The guitar is in all South Americawhat the bag-pipes are to Scotland-the national musical instrument ofthe people. The Criollo plays mostly plaintive, broken airs--now solow as to be almost inaudible, then high and shrill. Here and therehe accompanies the music with snatches of song, telling of an exploitor describing the dark eyes of some lovely maiden. The airs strikeone as being very strange, and decidedly unlike the rolling songs ofBritish music. 

In those interior towns a very quiet life may be passed, far awayfrom the whistle of the railway engine. Everything is simplicityitself, and it might almost be said of some that _time itself seemsat a standstill_. During the heat of the day the streets are entirelydeserted; shops are closed, and all the world is asleep, for that isthe _siesta_ time. "They eat their dinners and go to sleep--and couldthey do better?"

After this the barber draws his chair out to the causeway and shavesor cuts his customer's hair. Women and children sit at their doorsdrinking máté and watching the slowly drawn bullock-carts go up anddown the uneven, unmade roads, bordered, not by the familiar maple, but with huge dust-covered cactus plants, The bullocks all draw withtheir horns, and the indolent driver sits on the yoke, urging forwardhis sleepy animals with a poke of his cane, on the end of which hehas fastened a sharp nail. The _buey_ is very thick-skinned and wouldnot heed a whip. The wheels of the cart are often cut from a solidpiece of wood, and are fastened on with great hardwood pins in a mostprimitive style. Soon after sunset all retire to their trestle beds. 

In early morning the women hurry to mass. The Criollo does not breakhis fast until nearly mid-day, so they have no early meal to prepare. Even before it is quite light it is difficult to pass along thestreets owing to the custom they have of carrying their praying-chairs with them to mass. The rich lady will be followed by her dark-skinned maid bearing a sumptuously upholstered chair on her head. Themiddle classes carry their own, and the very poor take with them apalm-leaf mat of their own manufacture. When mass is over religion isover for the day. After service they make their way down to the riveror pond, carrying on their heads the soiled linen. Standing waist-high in the water, they wash out the stains with black soap of theirown manufacture, beating each article with hardwood boards madesomewhat like a cricketer's bat. The cloths are then laid on the sandor stones of the shore. The women gossip and smoke until these aredry and ready to carry home again ere the heat becomes too intense. 

In a description of Argentine village life, I could not possibly omitthe priest, the "all in all" to the native, the temporal andspiritual king, who bears in his hands the destinies of the livingand the dead. These men are the potentates of the people, who refereverything to them, from the most trivial matter to the weightier oneof the saving of their souls after death. Bigotry and superstitionare extreme. 

Renous, the naturalist, tells us that he visited one of these townsand left some caterpillars with a girl. These she was to feed untilhis return, that they might change to butterflies. When this wasrumored through the village, priest and governor consulted togetherand agreed that it must be black heresy. When poor Renous returnedsome time afterwards he was arrested. 

The Argentine village priest is a dangerous enemy to the Protestant. Many is the time he has insulted me to my face, or, more cowardly, charged the school-boys to pelt and annoy me. In the larger towns thepriest has defamed me through the press, and when I have answered himalso by that means, he has heaped insult upon injury, excluded mefrom society, and made me a pariah and a byword to the superstitiouspeople. I have been stoned and spat upon, hurled to the ground, hadhalf-wild dogs set on me, and my horse frightened that he might throwme. I have been refused police help, or been called to the office togive an account of myself, all because I was a Protestant, orinfidel, as they prefer to term it. At those times great patience wasneeded, for at the least sign of resistance on my part I should havebeen attacked by the whole village in one mass. The policeman on thestreet has looked expectantly on, eager to see me do this, and on oneoccasion he escorted me to the station for snatching a bottle fromthe hand of a boy who was in the act of throwing it at my head. Arriving there I was most severely reprimanded, although, fortunately, not imprisoned. 

Women have crossed themselves and run from me in terror to seek theholy water bottle blessed by the father. Doors have been shut in myface, and angry voices bade me begone, at the instigation of thisblack-robed believer in the Virgin. Congregations of worshippers inthe dark-aisled church have listened to a fabulous description of mymission and character, until the barber would not cut my hair or thebutcher sell me his meat! Many a mother has hurriedly called herchildren in and precipitately shut the door, that my shadow inpassing might not enter and pollute her home. Perhaps a senorita, more venturesome, with her black hair hanging in two long plaitsbehind each shoulder, has run to her iron-barred window to smile atme, and then penitently fallen before her patron saint imploringforgiveness, or hurried to confess her sin to the wily _padre_. Ifthe confession was accompanied by a gift, she has been absolved byhim; if she were poor, her tear-stained face, perhaps resembling thatof the suffering Madonna over the confessional, has moved his heartto tenderness, for well he knows that

 "Maidens, like moths, are ever caught by glare, And Mammon wins his way where seraphs might despair. "

The punishment imposed has only been that she repeat fifty or ahundred _Ave Marias_ or _Paternosters_. Poor deluded creature! Hersin only consisted in permitting her black eyes to gaze on me as Ipassed down the street. 

"These poor creatures often go to confession, not to be forgiven thewretched past, but to get a new license to commit sin. One woman, towhom we offered a tract, refused it, and, showing us an indulgence ofthree hundred days, said: 'These are the papers I like. '"

A young university man in the capital confessed that he had neverread the New Testament and never would read it, because he knew itwas against the Church of Rome. The mass of the people have not theslightest notion of goodness, as we count piety, and lying is notconsidered wrong. A native will often entreat the help of hisfavorite saint to commit a theft. 

"To the Protestant the idea of religion without morals isinconceivable; but in South America Romanism divorces morals andreligion. It is quite possible to break every command of theDecalogue and yet be a devoted, faithful Romanist. " [Footnote: Rev. J. H. La Fetra, in "Protestant Missions in South America"]

I can only describe Roman Catholicism on the South American continentas a species of heathenism. The Church, to gain proselytes, acceptedthe old gods of the Indians as saints, and we find idolatroussuperstition and Catholic display blended together. The most ignorantare invariably the most pious. The more civilized the Criollobecomes, the less he believes in the Church, and the priest in returncondemns him to eternal perdition. 

"It is not necessary to detail the multitude of pagan superstitionswith which the religion of South America is encumbered. It is enoughto point out that it does not preach Christ crucified and risenagain. It preaches Mary, whom it proclaims from the lips of thousandsof lecherous priests to be of perpetual virginity. And it is by itsdeliberate falsehood and deceit, as well as by its misrepresentation, that the Roman Catholic Church in South America has not only nottaught Christianity, but has directly fostered deception and untruthof character. " [Footnote: Missions in South America. Robert E. Speer. ]

When I desired respectfully to enter a church with bared head anddeferential mien, they have followed me to see that I did not stealthe trinkets from the saints or desecrate the altar. If I havetouched the font of holy water, instead of it purifying me, I havedefiled it for their use; and when I have looked at the images of thesaints the people have seen them frown at me. After my exit thepriest would sprinkle holy water on the spots where I had stood, todrive away "the evil influence. "

In those churches one may see an image, with inscription beneath, stating that those who kiss it receive an indulgence for sin and apromise of heaven. When preaching in Parana I inadvertently dropped aword in disparagement of the worship of the Virgin, when, quick asthought, a man dashed towards me with gleaming steel. The Criollo'sknife never errs, and one sharp lunge too well completes his task;but an old Paraguayan friend then with me sprang upon him and dashedthe knife to the ground, thus leaving my heart's blood warm withinme, and not on the pavement. I admired my antagonist for the strengthof his convictions--true loyalty he displayed for his goddess, who, however, does not, I am sure, teach her devotees to assassinate thosewho prefer to put their faith rather in her Divine Son. Had I beenkilled the priest would on no account have buried me, and would mostwillingly have absolved the assassin and kept him from the "arm ofjustice. " That arm in those places is very short indeed, for I havemyself met dozens of murderers rejoicing in their freedom. Hell isonly for Protestants. 

On the door of my lodging I found one morning a written paper, wellpasted on, which read:

MUERA! VIVA LA VIRGEN CON TODOS LOS SANTOS!

"_Die! Live the Virgin and all the Saints!_" That paper I took fromthe door and keep as a souvenir of fanaticism. 

The Bible is an utterly unknown book, except to the priests, whoforbid its entrance to the houses. It, however, could do little goodor harm, for the masses of the people are utterly unlettered. AllProtestant literature stolen into the town is invariably gathered andburned by the priest, who would not hesitate also to burn the bringerif he could without fear of some after-enquiry into the matter. 

[Illustration: THE WORLD'S LARGFST ROCKING STONE, TANDIL, ARGENTINA. This immense stone is so evenly poised that the wind or the slightesttouch of the hand sets it in motion but the storms of the centurieshave failed to dislodge it. ]

Rome is to-day just what she always was. Her own claim and motto is:_Semper idem_ (Always the same). But for this age of enlightenmenther inquisitorial fires would still burn. "Rome's contention is, notthat she does not persecute, but only that she does not persecute_saints_. She punishes heretics--a very different thing. In theRhemish New Testament there is a note on the words, 'drunken with theblood of saints, ' which runs as follows: 'Protestants foolishlyexpound this of Rome _because heretics are there put to death_. But_their_ blood is not called _the blood of saints_, any more than theblood of thieves or man-killers, or other malefactors; and for theshedding of it no commonwealth shall give account. '"

During my residence in Argentina a Jesuit priest in Cordoba publiclystated that if he had his way he would burn to death every Protestantin the country. 

The following statements are from authorized documents, laws anddecrees of the Papacy:

"The papacy teaches all her adherents that it is a sacred duty toexterminate heresy. 

"Urban II. Issued a decree that the murder of heretics was excusable. 'We do not count them murderers who, burning with the zeal of theirCatholic mother against the excommunicate, may happen to have slainsome of them. '" [Footnote: "Romanism and Reformation. "]

In Argentine life the almanac plays an important part; in that eachday is dedicated to the commemoration of some saint, and the childborn must of necessity be named after the saint on whose day he orshe arrives into the world. The first question is, "What name does itbring?" The baby may have chosen to come at a time when the calendarshows an undesirable name, still the parents grumble not, for a saintis a saint, and whatever names they bear must be good. The child is, therefore, christened "Caraciollo, " or "John Baptist, " when, insteadof growing up to be a forerunner of Christ, he or she may, with morelikelihood, be a forerunner of the devil. Whatever name a childbrings, however, has Mary tacked on to it. 

All names serve equally well for male or female children, as aconcluding "o" or "a" serves to distinguish the sex. Many men bearthe name of Joseph Mary. Numbers, also, both male and female, havebeen baptized by the name of "Jesus, " "Saviour, " or "Redeemer. " If Iwere asked the old question, "What's in a name?" I should answer, "Very little, " for in South America the most insolent thief willoften boast in the appellation of _Don Justice_, and the lowest girlin the village may be _Señorita Celestial_. _Don Jesus_ may be foundincarcerated for riotous conduct, and I have known _Don Saviour_throw his unfortunate wife and children down a well; _Don Destroyer_would have been a more appropriate name for him. _Mrs. Angel_ herhusband sometimes finds not such an angel after all, when she putspoison into his máté cup, a not infrequent occurrence. Let none bedeceived in thinking that the appellation is any index to a man'scharacter. 

Dark, needy people--Rome's true children!

The school-books read: Which is the greatest country? _Ans. _, Spain. Who is the greatest man? _Ans. _, The Pope. Why? Because he isinfallible. 

It is his wish, and the priest's duty, to keep them in this darkness. Yet, --One came from God, "a light to lighten the Gentiles, " and Hesaid, "I am the Light of the world. " Some day they may hear of Himand themselves see the Light. 

Already the day is breaking, and superstition must prepare to hideitself. The uneducated native no longer pursues the railway train atthundering pace to lasso it because the priest raved against itsbeing built. He even in some cases doubts if it is "an invention ofhell, " as he was taught. 

The educated native, Alberdi, a publicist and an advocate of freedom, in the discussion over religious rights of foreigners in theArgentine, wrote: "Spanish America reduced to Catholicism, with theexclusion of any other cult, represents a solitary and silent conventof monks. The dilemma is fatal, --either Catholics and unpopulated, orpopulated and prosperous and tolerant in the matter of religion. "

CHAPTER IV. 

TEE PRAIRIE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 

The Pampas, or prairie lands of the Argentine, stretch to the southand west of Buenos Ayres, and cover some 800, 000 square miles. Onthis vast level plain, watered by sluggish streams or shallow lakes, boundless as the ocean, seemingly limitless in extent, there is anexhilarating air and a rich herbage on which browse countless herdsof cattle, horses, and flocks of sheep. The grass grows tall, andmiles upon miles of rich scarlet, white, or yellow flowers minglewith or overtop it. Beds of thistles, in which the cattle completelyhide themselves, stretch away for leagues and leagues, and present analmost unbroken sheet of purple flowers. So vast are these thistle-beds that a day's ride through them only leaves the traveller withthe same purple forest stretching away to the horizon. The floristwould be enchanted to see whole tracts of land covered by the_Verbena Melindres_, which appears, even long before you reach it, tobe of a bright scarlet. There are also acres and acres of the many-flowered camomile and numberless other plants; while large tracts oflow-lying land are covered with coarse pampa grass, affording shelterfor numberless deer, and many varieties of ducks, cranes, flamingoes, swans and turkeys. Wood there is none, with the exception of asolitary tree here and there at great distances, generally markingthe site of some cattle establishment OP _estancia_. An _ombú_, orcluster of blue gums, is certain to be planted there. 

On this prairie, man, notwithstanding the fact that he is the "lordof creation, " is decidedly in the minority. Millions of four-footedanimals roam the plains, but he may be counted by hundreds. Let usturn to him, however, in his isolated home, for the _Gaucho_ has beendescribed as one of the most interesting races on the face of theearth. A descendant of the old conquerors, who, leaving their fairones in the Spanish peninsula, took unto them as wives the unclothedwomen of the new world, he inherits the color and habits of the onewith the vices and dignity of the other. Living the wild, free lifeof the Indian, and retaining the language of Spain; the finesthorseman of the world, and perhaps the worst assassin; the most open-handed and hospitable, yet the accomplished purloiner of hisneighbor's cattle; imitating the Spaniard in the beautifully-chasedsilver trappings of his horse, and the untutored Indian in hismiserable adobe hovel; spending his whole wealth in heavy gold orsilver bell-shaped stirrups, bridle, or spurs (the rowel of thelatter sometimes having a diameter of six inches), and leaving hishome destitute of the veriest necessities of life--such is theGaucho. A horn or shell from the river's bed makes his spoon, gourdsprovide him with his plates and dishes; but his knife, with gold orsilver handle and sheath, is almost a little fortune in itself. Content in his dwelling to sit on a bullock's skull, on horseback hissaddle must be mounted in silver. His own beard and hair he seldomtrims, but his horse's mane and tail must be assiduously tended. Thebaked-mud floor of his abode is littered with filth and dirt, whilehe raves at a speck of mud on his embroidered silk saddle-cloth. 

The Gaucho is a strange contradiction. He has blushed at my good butplain-looking saddle, yet courteously asked me to take a skull seat. He may possess five hundred horses, but you search his kitchen invain for a plate. If you please him he will present you with his besthorse, waving away your thanks. If you displease him, his long knifewill just as readily find its way to your heart, for he kills hisenemies with as little compunction as he kills the ostrich. "TheGaucho, with his proud and dissolute air, is the most unique of allSouth American characters. He is courageous and cruel, active andtireless. Never more at ease than when on the wildest horse; on theground, out of his element. His politeness is excessive, his naturefierce. " The children do not, like ours, play with toys, but delightthe parents' hearts by teasing a cat or dog. These they will stickwith a thorn or pointed bone to hear them yell, or, later on, lassoand half choke them. "They will put out their eyes, and such likechildish games, innocent little darlings that they are. " Cold-bloodedtorture is their delight, and they will cheer at the sight of blood. 

To describe the dress of this descendant of Adam I feel myselfincapable. A shirt and a big slouch hat seem to be the only articlesof attire like ours. Coat, trousers or shoes he does not wear. Instead of the first mentioned, he uses the _poncho_, a long, broadblanket, with a slit in the centre to admit his head. For trousers hewears very wide white drawers, richly embroidered with broadneedlework and stiffly starched. Over these he puts a black_chiripá_, which really I cannot describe other than as similar tothe napkins the mother provides for her child. Below this black andwhite leg covering come the long boots, made from one piece ofseamless hide. These boots are nothing more than the skin from thehind legs of an animal--generally a full-grown horse. The bend of thehorse's leg makes the boot's heel. Naturally the toes protrude, andthis is not sewn up, for the Gaucho never puts more than his big toein the stirrup, which, like the bit in his horse's mouth, must be ofsolid silver. A dandy will beautifully scallop these rawhide bootsaround the tops and toes, and keep them soft with an occasionalapplication of grease. No heel is ever attached. Around the man'swaist, holding up his drawers and chiripa, is wound a long coloredbelt, with tasseled ends left hanging over his boot, down the rightside; and over that he invariably wears a broad skin belt, clasped atthe front with silver and adorned all around with gold or silvercoins. In this the long knife is carried. 

What shall I say of the domestic life of these people? Unfortunately, marriage is practically unknown among them. The father gives his sona few cattle, and the young man, after building himself a house, conducts thither his chosen one. Unhappily, constancy in either manor woman is a rare virtue. 

Of the superstitious side of the Gancho race I might speak much. Inthe saints the female especially implicitly believes. These, herdeities, are all-powerful, and to them she appeals for thesatisfaction of her every desire. Saint Clementina's help is soughtby the girl when her lover betrays her. Another saint will aid her inpoisoning him. If the wife thinks her husband long in bringing theevening meal, she has informed me, a word with Saint Anthony issufficient, and she hears the sound of his horse's hoofs. SaintAnthony seems to be useful on many occasions of distress. One eveningI called at a _rancho_ made of dry thistle-stalks bound together withhide and thatched with reeds, Finding the inmates very hospitable, Istayed there two or three hours to rest. Coming out of the houseagain, I found to my dismay that during our animated gossip my horsehad broken loose and left me. Now the loss of a horse is too triviala matter to interest Anthony the saint, but a horse having saddle andbridle attached to him makes it quite a different matter, for theseoften cost ten times the price of the horse. One of the saint'sespecial duties is to find a lost saddled horse, if the owner orinterested one only promises to burn a candle in his honor. The nightwas very dark, and no sign of the animal was to be seen. Mine hostlaid his ear to the ground and listened, then, leaping on his horse, he galloped into the darkness, from whence he brought my lost animal. I did not learn until afterwards that Mrs. Jesus, for such was thewoman's name, had sought the help of Saint Anthony on my behalf. I amsure she lost her previous good opinion of me when I thanked herhusband but did not offer a special colored candle to her saint. 

Among these strange people I commenced a school, and had the joy ofteaching numbers of them to read the Spanish Bible. Boys and girlscame long distances on horseback, and, although some of them hadperhaps never seen a book before, I found them exceedingly quick tolearn. In four or five months the older ones were able to read anyordinary chapter. In arithmetic they were inconceivably dull, andafter three months' tuition some of them could not count ten. 

I have said the saints are greatly honored among these people. MyChristmas cards generally found their way to adorn their altars. Every house has its favorite, and some of these are regarded asespecially clever in curing sickness. It being a very unhealthful, low-lying district where my school was, I contracted malarial fever, and went to bed very sick. Every day some of the children would cometo enquire after me, but Celestino, one of the larger boys, came onemorning with a very special message from his mother. Thiscommunication was to the effect that they did not wish the school-teacher to die, he being "rather a nice kind of a man and wellliked. " Because of this she would be pleased to let me have herfavorite saint. This image I could stand at the head of my bed, andits very presence would cure me. When I refused this offer and smiledat its absurdity, the boy thought me very strange. To be so wise insome respects, and yet so ignorant as to refuse such a chance, was tohim incomprehensible. The saints, I found, are there often lent outto friends that they may exercise their healing powers, or rented outto strangers at so much a day, When they are not thus on duty, but ina quiet corner of the hut, they get lonely. The woman will then gofor a visit, taking her saint with her, either in her arms or tied tothe saddle. This image she will place with the saint her host owns, and _they will talk together and teach one another_. A saint issupposed to know only its own particular work, although one namedSanta Rita is said to be a worker of impossibilities. Some of themare only very rudely carved images, dressed in tawdry finery. I havesometimes thought that a Parisian doll of modern make, able to openand close its eyes, etc. , would in their esteem be even competent toraise the dead! [Footnote: Writing of Spanish American Romanism, Everybody's Magazine says: "To the student of human nature, whichmeans the study of evil as well as good, this religious body is ofabsorbing interest. One would look to find these enthusiastsrighteous and virtuous in their daily life; but, apart from theannual week of penance, their religion influences them not at all, and on the whole the members of the Brotherhood constitute adesperate class, dangerous to society. "]

In cases of sickness very simple remedies are used, and not a fewutterly nonsensical. To cure pains in the stomach they tie aroundthem the skin of the _comadreka_, a small, vile-smelling animal. Thisthey told me was a sovereign remedy. If the sufferer be a babe, across made on its stomach is sufficient to perfectly cure it. I haveseen seven pieces of the root of the white lily, which there growswild, tied around the neck of an infant in order that its teeth mightcome with greater promptitude and less pain. A string of dog's teethserves the same purpose. To cure a bad wound, the priest will becalled in that he may write around the sore some Latin prayerbackwards. Headache is easily cured by tying around the head thecast-off skin of a snake. Two puppies are killed and bound one oneach side of a broken limb. If a charm is worn around the neck nopoison can be harmful. For a sore throat it is sufficient toexpectorate in the fire three times, making a cross. Lockjaw iseffectually stopped by tying around the sufferer's jaws the stringsfrom a virgin's skirt; and they say also that powdered excrement of adog, taken in a glass of water, cures the smallpox patient, As Mrs. Jesus sent her boy to my school, so Mrs. Flower sent hergirl. The latter was perhaps the most deluded woman I have met. Herevery act was bad in itself or characterized by superstitiousdevotion. She was one of the Church's favorite worshippers, and whileI was in the neighborhood she sold her cows and horses and presentedthe priest at the nearest town with a large and expensive silvercross--the emblem of suffering purity. Near her lived a person forwhom she had an especial aversion, but that enemy she got rid of insurely the strangest of ways, which she described to me. Catching asnake, and holding it so that its poison might not reach her, shepassed a threaded needle through both its eyes. When this was doneshe let it go again, alive, and, carefully guarding the needle, approached the person from behind and made a cross with the thread. The undesired one disappeared, having probably heard of theenchantment, and being equally superstitious, or--the charm worked!

Mrs. Flower was a most repulsive-looking creature. Her skin wasexactly the color of an old copper coin. She did not resemble any_flower_ I have seen in either hemisphere. Far was she from being arose, but she certainly possessed the thorn. Her love for the saintswas most marked, and I have known her promise St. Roque that shewould walk six miles carrying his image if he would only grant her acertain prayer. This petition he granted, and off she trudged withher divine (?) load. Those acquainted with dwellers on the prairieknow that this was indeed a great task, horses being so cheap andriding so universal. Mrs. Flower was unaccustomed to walk even theshortest distance. I myself can bear witness to the fact that evenstrong men find it hard to walk a mile after spending years inequestrian travel. The native tells you that God formed your legs sothat you might be able to sit on a horse rather than to walk withthem. A favorite expression with them is, "I was born on horseback. "

Stone not being found on the pampas, these people generally buildtheir houses of square sods, with a roof of plaited grasses--sometimes I have observed these beautifully woven together. Two ormore holes, according to the size of the house, are left to serve fordoor and window. Wood cannot be obtained, glass has not beenintroduced, so the holes are left as open spaces, across which, whenthe pampa wind blows, a hide is stretched. No hole is left in theroof for the smoke of the fire to escape, for this to the native isno inconvenience whatever. When I have been compelled to fly withracking cough and splitting head, he has calmly asked the reason. Never could I bear the blinding smoke that issues from his fire ofsheep or cow dung burning on the earthen floor, though he heeds itnot as, sitting on a bullock's skull, he ravenously eats his eveningmeal. 

If entertaining a stranger, he will press uncut joint after joint ofhis _asado_ upon him. This asado is meat roasted over the fire on aspit; if beef, with the skin and hair still attached. Meat cooked inthis way is a real delicacy. A favorite dish with them (I held adifferent opinion) is a half-formed calf, taken before its propertime of birth. The meat is often dipped in the ashes in lieu of salt. I have said the Gaucho has no chair. I might add that neither has hea table, for with his fingers and knife he eats the meat off thefire. Forks he is without, and a horn or shell spoon conveys the soupto his mouth direct from the copper pan. So universal is the use ofthe shell for this service that the native does not speak of it as_caracol_, the real word for shell, but calls it _cuchara del agua_, or water spoon. Of knives he possesses more than enough, and heavy, long, sharp-pointed ones they are. When his hunger is appeased theknife goes, not to the kitchen, but to his belt, where, when not inhis hand, you may always see it. With that weapon he kills a sheep, cuts off the head of a serpent--seemingly, however, not doing it muchharm, for it still wriggles--sticks his horse when in anger, and, alas, as I have said, sometimes stabs his fellow-man. Being so farisolated from the coast, he is necessarily entirely uneducated. Theforward march of the outer world concerns him not; indeed he imaginesthat his native prairie stretches away to the end of the world. Hewill gaze with wonder on your watch, for his only mode ofascertaining the time is by the shadow the sun casts. As thatluminary rises and sets, so he sleeps and wakes. His only bed is thesheepskin, which when riding he fastens over his saddle, and thelatter article forms his pillow. His coverlet is the firmament ofheaven, the Southern Cross and other constellations, unseen bydwellers in the Northern Hemisphere, seeming to keep watch over him;or in the colder season his poncho, which I have already described. Around his couch flit the fireflies, resembling so many stars ofearth with their strangely radiant lights. The brightness of one, when held near the face of my watch, made light enough to enable meto ascertain the hour, even on the darkest night. 

The Gaucho with his horse is at home anywhere. When on a journey hewill stop for the evening meal beside the dry bones of some deadanimal. With these and grass he will make a fire and cook the meat hecarries hanging behind him on the saddle. I have known an animalkilled and the meat cooked with its own bones, but this is not usual. Dry bones burn better, and thistle-stalks better still. He will thenlie down on mother earth with the horse-cloth under him and thesaddle for a pillow. When travelling with these men I have knownthem, without any comment, stretch themselves on the ground, eventhough the rain was falling, and soon be in dreamland. After havingpassed a wretched night myself, I have asked them, "How did yousleep?" _"Muy Bien, Senor"_ (Very good, sir), has been the invariableanswer. They would often growl much, however, over the wet saddle-cloths, for these soon cause a horse's back to become sore. 

Here and there, but sometimes at long distances apart, there is a_pulperia_ on the road. This is always designated by having a whiteflag flying on the end of a long bamboo. At these places cheapspirits of wine and very bad rum can be bought, along with tobacco, hard ship-biscuits (very often full of maggots, as I know only toowell), and a few other more necessary things. I have observed in someof these wayside inns counters made of turf, built in blocks asbricks would be. Here the natives stop to drink long and deep, andstew their meagre brains in bad spirits. These draughts result inquarrels and sometimes in murder. 

The Gaucho, like the Indian, cannot drink liquor without becomingmaddened by it. He will then do things which in his sober moments hewould not dream of. I was acquainted with a man who owned a horse ofwhich he was very fond This animal bore him one evening to a pulperiasome miles distant, and was left tied outside while he imbibed hisfill inside. Coming out at length beastly intoxicated, he mounted hishorse and proceeded homeward. Arriving at a fork in the path, thefaithful horse took the one leading home, but the rider, thinking inhis stupor that the other way was the right one, turned the horse'shead. As the poor creature wanted to get home and have the saddletaken off, it turned again. This affront was too much for the Gaucho, who is a man of volcanic passions, so drawing his knife, he stabbedit in the neck, and they dropped to the ground together. When herealized that he had killed his favorite horse he cried like a child. I passed this dead animal several times afterwards and saw thevultures clean its bones. It served me as a witness to the results ofungoverned passion. 

The Gaucho does not, and would not under any consideration, ride amare; consequently, for work she is practically valueless. Strain, who rode across the pampas, says: "In a single year ten million hideswere exported. " For one or two dollars each the buyer may purchaseany number; indeed, of such little worth are the mares that they arevery often killed for their hide, or to serve as food for swine. Atone estancia I visited I was informed that one was killed each dayfor pig feed. The mare can be driven long distances, even a hundredmiles a day, for several successive days, The Argentine army mustsurely be the most mobile of any in the world, for its soldiers, whenon the march, get nothing but mare's flesh and the custom gives themgreat facility of movement. The horse has, more or less, its standardvalue, and costs four or five times the price of the mare. 

[Illustration: THE AUTHOR IN GAUCHO DRESS. ]

Sometimes it happens that the native finds a colt which is positivelyuntamable. On the cheek of such an animal the Gaucho will burn across and then allow it to go free, like the scape-goat mentioned inthe book of Leviticus. 

The native horse is rather small, but very wiry and wild. I was oncecompelled, through sickness, to make a journey of ninety-seven miles, being in the saddle for seventeen consecutive hours, and yet my poorhorse was unable to get one mouthful of food on the journey, and thesaddle was not taken off his back for a moment. He was very wild, yetone evening between five and eight o'clock, he bore me safely adistance of thirty-six miles, and returned the same distance with meon the following morning. He had not eaten or drunk anything duringthe night, for the locusts had devoured all pasturage and no rain hadfallen for a space of five months. 

The horse is not indigenous to America, although Darwin tells us thatSouth America had a native horse, which lived and disappeared agesago. Spanish history informs us that they were first landed in BuenosAyres in 1537. We are further told that the Indians flew away interror at the sight of a man on horseback, which they took to be oneanimal of a strange, two-headed shape. When the colony was for a timedeserted these horses were suffered to run wild. Those animals somultiplied and spread over such a vast area that they were found, forty-three years later, even down to the Straits of Magellan, adistance of eleven hundred miles. With good pasture and a limitlessexpanse to roam over, they soon turned from the dozens to thousands, and may now be counted by millions. The Patagonian "foot" Indiansquickly turned into "horse" Indians, for on those wide prairie landsa man without a horse is almost comparable to a man without legs. Informer years, thousands of wild horses roamed over these extensiveplains, but the struggle of mankind in the battle of life turnedmen's attention to them, and they were captured and branded bywhomsoever had the power and cared to take the trouble. In the moreisolated districts, there may still be found numbers which are bornand die without ever feeling the touch of saddle or bridle. Far awayfrom the crowded busses and perpetually moving hansoms of the city, they feel not the driver's whip nor the strain of the wagon, as, withtail trailing on the ground and head erect, they gallop in freedom oflife. Happy they!

In all directions on the prairie ostriches are found. The nativescatch them with _boliadoras_, an old Indian weapon, which is simplythree round stones, incased in bags of hide, tied together by twistedropes, also of hide. When the hunters have, by galloping fromdifferent directions, baffled the bird in his flight, they thunderdown upon him, and, throwing the _boliadoras_ round his legs, wherethey entangle, effectually stop his flight. I have seen this weaponthrown a distance of about eighty yards. 

The ostrich is a bird with wonderful digestive powers, which I oftenhave envied him; he eats grass or pebbles, insects or bones, as suitshis varying fancy. If you drop your knife or any other article, hewill stop to examine it, being most inquisitive, and, if possible, hewill swallow it. The flesh of the ostrich is dry and tough, and itsfeathers are not to be compared in beauty with those of the Africanspecimen. Generally a very harmless bird, he is truly formidableduring breeding time. If one of the eggs is so much as touched hewill break the whole number to shivers. Woe to the man whom hesavagely attacks at such times; one kick of his great foot, with itssharp claws, is sufficient to open the body of man or horse. TheGaucho uses the skin from the neck of this bird as a tobacco pouch, and the eggs are considered a great delicacy. One is equal to aboutsixteen hen's eggs. 

As all creation has its enemy, the ostrich finds his in the _iguana_, or lizard--an unsightly, scaly, long-tailed species of landcrocodile. This animal, when full-grown, attains the length of fivefeet, and is of a dark green color. He, when he can procure them, feeds on the ostrich eggs, which I believe must be a verystrengthening diet. The lizard, after fattening himself upon themduring the six hotter months of the year, is enabled to retire to therecesses of his cave, where he tranquilly sleeps through theremaining six. The shell of the ostrich's egg is about the thicknessof an antique china cup, but the iguana finds no difficulty inbreaking it open with a slash of his tail This wily animal is moreastute than the bird, which lays its eggs in the open spaces, for thelizard, with her claws, digs a hole in the ground, in which hers aredropped to the number of dozens. The lizard does not provide shellsfor her eggs, but only covers them with a thick, soft skin, and they, buried in the soil, eventually hatch themselves. 

When the Gaucho cannot obtain a better meal, the tail of the lizardis not considered such a despicable dish by him, for he is noepicure. When he has nothing he is also contented. His philosophy is:_"Nunca tenga hambre cuando no hay que comer"_ (Never be hungry whenno food is to be had). 

The estancia, or catile ranch, is a feature of the Argentine prairie. Some of these establishments are very large, even up to one hundredsquare miles in extent. On them hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep and horses are herded. "It is not improbable that there aremore cattle in the pampas and llanos of South America than in all therest of the world. " [Footnote: Dr. Hartwig in "Argentina, " 1910] Anestancia is almost invariably called by the name of some saint, asare the different fields belonging to it. "Holy Mary field" and"Saint Joseph field" are common names. Notwithstanding the fact thatthere may be thousands of cows on a ranch, the visitor may be unableto get a drop of milk to drink. "Cows are not made to milk, but toeat, " they say. Life on these establishments is rough and the faregenerally very coarse. Even among the wealthy people I have visitedyou may sit down to dinner with nothing but meat put before you, without a bite of bread or any vegetables. All drink water out of anearthenware pitcher of peculiar shape, which is the centrepiece ofthe table. 

Around the ranches of the people are many mice, which must be of aferocious nature, for if one is caught in a trap it will be foundnext morning half, if not almost wholly, eaten by its own comrades. Well is it called "the cannibal mouse. "

In times of drought the heat of the sun dries up all vegetation. Theleast spark of fire then suffices to create a mighty blaze, especially if accompanied by the _pampero_ wind, which blows withirresistible force in its sweep over hundreds of miles of levelground. The fire, gathering strength as it goes, drives all beforeit, or wraps everything in its devouring flames. Casting a luridlight in the heavens, towards which rise volumes of smoke, itattracts the attention of the native, who lifts his starting eyestowards heaven in a speechless prayer to the Holy Virgin. Madlyleaping on his fleetest horse, without saddle, and often withoutbridle, he wildly gallops down the wind, as the roaring, cracklingfire gains upon him. In this mad race for life, men, horses, ostriches, deer, bullocks, etc. , join, striving to excel each otherin speed. Strange to say, the horse the native rides, cheered on bythe touch of his master, is often the first to gain the lake orriver, where, beneath its waters at least, refuge may be found. Intheir wild stampede, vast herds of cattle trample and fall on oneanother and are drowned. A more complete destruction could notovertake the unfortunate traveller than to be caught by thisremorseless foe, for not even his ashes could be found by mourningfriends. The ground thus burnt retains its heat for days. I have hadoccasion to cross blackened wastes a week after this most destructiveforce in nature had done its work, and my horse has frequently rearedin the air at the touch of the hot soil on his hoofs. 

The Gaucho has a strange method of fighting these fires. Severalmares are killed and opened, and they, by means of lassos, aredragged over the burning grass. 

The immensity of the pampas is so great that one may travel manymiles without sighting a single tree or human habitation. The wearytraveller finds his only shade from the sun's pitiless rays under thebroad brim of his sombrero. At times, with ears forward and extendednostrils, the horse gazes intently at the rippling blue waters of the_mirage_, that most tantalizingly deceptive phenomenon of nature. Mayit never be the lot of my reader to be misled by the illusive mirageas I have been. How could I mistake vapor for clear, gurgling water?Yet, how many times was I here deceived! Visions of great lakes andbroad rivers rose up before me, lapping emerald green shores, where Icould cool my parched tongue and lave in their crystal depths; yetto-day those waters are as far off as ever, and exist only in myhopes of Paradise. Not until I stand by the "River of Life" shall Ibehold the reality. 

The inhabitant of these treeless, trackless solitudes, which, withtheir waving grass, remind one of the bosom of the ocean, develops akeen sight Where the stranger, after intently gazing, descriesnothing, he will not only inform him that animals are in sight, butwill, moreover, tell him what they are. I am blest with a very clearvision, but even when, after standing on my horse's back, I have madeout nothing, the Gaucho could tell me that over there was a drove ofcattle, a herd of deer, a troop of horses, or a house. 

It is estimated that there are two hundred and forty millions ofacres of wheat land in the Argentine, and of late years the prairiehas developed into one of the largest wheat-producing countries inthe world, and yet only one per cent, of its cultivable area is sofar occupied. 

The Gaucho is no farmer, and all his land is given up to cattlegrazing, so _chacras_ are worked generally by foreign settlers. Theprovince of Entre Rios has been settled largely by Swiss and Italianfarmers from the Piedmont Hills. Baron Hirsch has also planted acolony of Russian Jews there, and provided them with farm implements. Wheat, corn, and linseed are the principal crops, but sweet potatoes, tobacco, and fruit trees do well in this virgin ground, fertilized bythe dead animals of centuries. The soil is rich, and two or threecrops can often be harvested in a year. 

No other part of the world has in recent years suffered from such aplague of locusts as the agricultural districts of Argentina. Theycome from the north in clouds that sometimes darken the sun. Some ofthe swarms have been estimated to be sixty miles long and from twelveto fifteen miles wide. Fields which in the morning stand high withwaving corn, are by evening only comparable to ploughed or burntlands. Even the roots are eaten up. 

In 1907 the Argentine Government organized a bureau for thedestruction of locusts, and in 1908 $4, 500, 000 was placed by Congressat the disposal of this commission. An organized service, embracingthousands of men, is in readiness at any moment to send a force toany place where danger is reported. Railway trains have beenrepeatedly stopped, and literally many tons of them have had to betaken off the track. A fine of $100 is imposed upon any settlerfailing to report the presence of locust swarms or hopper eggs on hisland. Various means are adopted by the land-owner to save what he canfrom the voracious insects. Men, women and children mount theirhorses and drive flocks of sheep to and fro over the ground to killthem. A squatter with whom I stayed got his laborers to gallop atroop of mares furiously around his garden to keep them from settlingthere. All, however, seemed useless. About midsummer the locust laysits eggs under an inch or two of soil. Each female will drop fromthirty to fifty eggs, all at the same time, in a mass resembling ahead of wheat. As many as 50, 000 eggs have been counted in a spaceless than three and a half feet square. 

During my sojourn in Entre Rios, the province where this insect seemsto come in greatest numbers, a law was passed that every man over theage of fourteen years, whether native or foreigner, rich or poor, wascompelled to dig out and carry to Government depots, four poundsweight of locusts' eggs. It was supposed that this energetic measurewould lessen their numbers. Many tons were collected and burnt, but, I assure the reader, no appreciable difference whatever was made intheir legions. The young _jumpers_ came, eating all before them, andtheir numbers seemed infinite. Men dug trenches, kindled fires, andburned millions of them. Ditches two yards wide and deep and twohundred feet long were completely filled up by these living waves. But all efforts were unavailing--the earth remained covered. AWaldensian acquaintance suffered for several years from this fearfulplague. Some seasons he was not even able to get back so much as theseed he planted. If the locusts passed him, it so happened that the_pampero_ wind blew with such terrific force that we have looked invain even for the straw. The latter was actually torn up by the rootsand whirled away, none knew whither. At other times large hailstones, for which the country is noted, have destroyed everything, or tens ofthousands of green paroquets have done their destructive work. When afive-months' drought was parching everything, I have heard himreverently pray that God would spare him wheat sufficient to feed hisfamily. This food God gave him, and he thankfully invited me to shareit. I rejoice in being able to say that he afterwards became rich, and had his favorite saying, _"Dios no me olvidaé"_ (God will notforget me), abundantly verified. 

Notwithstanding natural drawbacks, which every country has, Argentinacan claim to have gone forward as no other country has during thelast ten years. There are many estates worth more than a milliondollars. Dr. W. A. Hirot, in "Argentina, " says: "Argentina has morelive stock than any other country of the world. Ten million hideshave been exported in one year, and it is not improbable that thereare more cattle in South America than there are in all the rest ofthe world combined. " Belgium has 220 people occupying the space oneperson has in Argentina, so who can prophesy as to its future?

PART II. 

BOLIVIA

[Illustration]

 Have you gazed on naked grandeur where there's nothing else to gaze on, Set pieces and drop curtain scenes galore, Big mountains heaved to heaven, which the blinding sunsets blazon, Black canyons where the rapids rip and roar?

 --_Robert W. Service. _

BOLIVIA

Bolivia, having no sea-coast, has been termed the Hermit Republic ofSouth America. Its territory is over 600, 000 square miles in extent, and within its bounds Nature displays almost every possible panorama, and all climates. There are burning plains, the home of the emu, armadillos, and ants; sandy deserts, where the wind drifts the sandlike snow, piling it up in ever-shifting hills about thirty feet inheight. Bolivia, shut in geographically and politically, is a worldin itself--a world of variety, in scenery, climate, products andpeople. Its capital city, La Paz, has a population of 70, 000, but thevast interior is almost uninhabited. In the number of inhabitants tothe square mile, Bolivia ranks the lowest of all the nations of theearth. 

Perhaps no country of the world has been, and is, so rich in preciousmetals as Bolivia. "The mines of Potosi alone have furnished theworld over $1, 500, 000, 000 worth of silver since the Spaniards firsttook possession of them. " [Footnote: "Protestant Missions in SouthAmerica. "]

Bolivia can lay claim to the most wonderful body of water in theworld--Lake Titicaca. This lake, nearly two and a half miles high inthe air, is literally in the clouds. "Its lonely waters have nooutlet to the sea, but are guarded on their southern shores bygigantic ruins of a prehistoric empire--palaces, temples, andfortresses--silent, mysterious monuments of a long-lost golden age. "Some of the largest and most remarkable ruins of the world are foundon the shores of Lake Titicaca, and as this was the centre of thegreat Incan Dynasty, that remarkable people have also left wonderfulremains, to build which stones thirty-eight feet long, eighteen feetwide, and six feet thick, were quarried, carried and elevated. TheTemple of the Sun. The most sacred edifice of the Incas, was one ofthe richest buildings the sun has ever shone upon, and it was itselfa mine of wealth. From this one temple, Pizarro, the Spanishconqueror, took 24, 000 pounds of gold and 82, 000 pounds of silver. "Ninety million dollars' worth of precious metals was torn from Incatemples alone. " The old monarch of the country, Atahuallpa, gavePizarro twenty-two million dollars in gold to buy back his countryand his liberty from the Spaniards, but their first act on receivingthe vast ransom was to march him after a crucifix at the head of aprocession, and, because he refused to become a Roman Catholic, puthim to death. Perhaps never in the world's history was there a baseract of perfidy, but this was urged by the soldier-priest of theconquerors, Father Valverde, who himself signed the King's death-warrant. This priest was afterwards made Bishop of Atahuallpa'scapital. 

Surely no country of the world has had a darker or a sadder historythan this land of the Incas. The Spaniards arrived when the "Childrenof the Sun" were at the height of their prosperity. "The affair ofreducing the country was committed to the hands of irresponsibleindividuals, soldiers of fortune, desperate adventurers who enteredon conquest as a game which they had to play in the most unscrupulousmanner, with little care but to win it. The lands, and the persons aswell, of the conquered races were parcelled out and appropriated bythe victors as the legitimate spoils of victory. Every day outrageswere perpetrated, at the contemplation of which humanity shudders. They suffered the provident arrangements of the Incas to fall intodecay. The poor Indian, without food, now wandered half-starved andnaked over the plateau. Even those who aided the Spaniards fared nobetter, and many an Inca noble roamed a mendicant over the fieldswhere he once held rule; and if driven, perchance, by his necessitiesto purloin something from the superfluity of his conquerors, heexpiated it by a miserable death. " [Footnote: Prescott's "Conquestof Peru. "]

Charles Kingsley says there were "cruelties and miseries unexampledin the history of Christendom, or perhaps on earth, save in theconquests of Sennacherib and Zinghis-Khan. " Millions perished at theforced labor of the mines, The Incan Empire had, it is calculated, apopulation of twenty millions at the arrival of the Spaniards, In twocenturies the population fell to four millions. 

When the groans of these beasts of burden reached the ears of thegood (?) Queen Isabel of Spain, she enacted a law that throughout hernew dominions no Indian, man or woman, should be compelled to carrymore than three hundred pounds' weight at one load! Is it cause forwonder that the poor, down-trodden natives, seeing the flaunting flagof Spain, with its stripe of yellow between stripes of red, shouldregard it as representing a river of gold between two rivers ofblood?

"Not infrequently, " said a reliable witness, "I have seen theSpaniards, long after the Conquest, amuse themselves by hunting downthe natives with blood hounds, for mere sport, or in order to traintheir dogs to the game. The most unbounded scope was given tolicentiousness. The young maiden was torn remorselessly from the armsof her family to gratify the passion of her brutal conqueror. Thesacred houses of the Virgins of the Sun were broken open andviolated, and the cavalier swelled his harem with a troop of Indiangirls, making it seem that the crescent would have been a morefitting emblem for his banner than the immaculate cross. "

With the inexorable conqueror came the more inexorable priest. "Attendance at Roman Catholic worship was made compulsory. Men andwomen with small children were compelled to journey as much asthirty-six miles to attend mass. Absentees were punished, thereforethe Indian feared to disobey. " [Footnote: Neely, "Spanish America. "]

As is well known, the ancient inhabitants worshipped the sun and themoon. The Spanish priest, in order to gain proselytes with greaterfacility, did not forbid this worship, but placed the crucifixbetween the two. Where the Inca suns and moons were of solid gold andsilver, they were soon replaced by painted wooden ones. The crucifix, with sun and moon images on each side, is common all over Boliviato-day. 

Now, four hundred years later, see the Indian under priestly rule. The following is taken from an official report of the Governor ofChimborazo: "The religious festivals that the Indians celebrate--notof their own will, but by the inexorable will of the priest--are, through the manner in which they are kept, worse than those describedto us of the times of Paganism, and of monstrous consequences tomorality and the national welfare . .. They may be reckoned as abarbarous mixture of idolatry and superstition, sustained by infamousavarice. The Indian who is chosen to make a feast either has to useup in it his little savings, leaving his family submerged in misery, or he has to rob in order to invest the products of his crime inpaying the fees to the priest and for church ceremonies. These aresimply brutal orgies that last many days, with a numerous attendance, and in which all manner of crimes and vices have free license. "

"For the idols of the aborigines were substituted the images of theVirgin Mary and the Roman saints. The Indians gave up their oldidols, but they went on with their image-worship. Image-worship isidolatry, whether in India, Africa, or anywhere else, and the worshipof Roman images is essentially idolatry as much as the worship of anyother kind of images. Romanism substituted for one set of idolsanother set. So the Indians who were idolaters continued to beidolaters, only the new idols had other names and, possibly, were alittle better-looking. " [Footnote: Neely, "South America. "]

What has Romanism done for the Indians of Bolivia in its four hundredyears of rule? Compare the people of that peaceful, law-keepingdynasty which the Spaniards found with the Bolivian Indian of to-day!Now the traveller can report: "The Indians are killing the whiteswherever they find them, and practising great cruelties, having boredholes in the heads of their victims and sucked the brains out whilethey were yet alive. Sixteen whites are said to have been killed inthis way! These same Indians are those who have been Christianized bythe Roman priests for the past three centuries, but such cruelties asthey have been practising show that as yet not a ray of Christ's lovehas entered their darkened minds. " How can the priest teach what heis himself ignorant of?

Where the Indian has been civilized, as well as Romanized, Mr. Milne, of the American Bible Society, could write:

"Since the Spanish conquest the progress of the Indians has been inthe line of deterioration and moral degradation. They are oppressedby the Romish clergy, who can never drain contributions enough out ofthem, and who make the children render service to pay for masses fordeceased parents and relatives. Tears came to our eyes as Mr. Penzotti and I watched them practising their heathen rites in thestreets of La Paz, the chief city of Bolivia. They differ from theother Indians in that they are domesticated, but _they know no moreof the Gospel than they did under the rule of the Incas. "_

What is to be the future of these natives? Shall they disappear fromthe stage of the world's history like so many other aborigines, victims of civilization, or will a hand yet be stretched out to helpthem? Civilization, after all, is not entirely made up of greed andlust, but in it there is righteousness and truth. May the day soondawn when some of the latter may be extended to them ere they takethe long, dark trail after their fathers, and have hurled the lastmalediction at their cursed white oppressors!

 "We suffer yet a little space Until we pass away, The relics of an ancient race That ne'er has had its day. "

For four hundred years Bolivia has thus been held in chains by Romishpriestcraft. Since its Incan rulers were massacred, its civilizationhas been of the lowest. Buildings, irrigation dams, etc. , weresuffered to fall into disrepair, and the country went back topre-Incan days. 

The first Christian missionaries to enter the country were imprisonedand murdered. Now "the morning light is breaking. " A law has beenpassed granting liberty of worship. 

Bolivia, with its vast natural riches, must come to the forefront, and already strides are being taken forward. She can export over fivemillion dollars' worth of rubber in one year, and is now spendingmore than fifty million dollars on railways. So Bolivia is a countryof the past and the future. 

CHAPTER V. 

JOURNEY TO "THE UNEXPLORED LAKE. "

Since the days when Pizarro's adventurers discovered the hithertoundreamed-of splendor of the Inca Dynasty, Bolivia has been a land ofsurprises and romantic discovery. Strange to say, even yet much ofthe eastern portion of this great republic remains practicallyunexplored. The following account of exploration in those regions, left for men of the twentieth century, may not, I am persuaded, bewithout interest to the general reader. Bolivia has for many yearsbeen seriously handicapped through having no adequate water outlet tothe sea, and the immense resources of wealth she undoubtedlypossesses have, for this reason, been suffered to go, in a measure, unworked. Now, however, in the onward progress of nations, Boliviahas stepped forward. In the year 1900, the Government of that countrydespatched an expedition to locate and explore Lake Gaiba, a largesheet of water said to exist in the far interior of Bolivia andBrazil, on the line dividing the two republics. The expedition staffconsisted of Captain Bolland, an Englishman; M. Barbiere, aFrenchman; Dr. Perez, Bolivian; M. Gerard D'Avezsac, French artistand hunter, and the writer of these pages. The crew of ten men wasmade up of Paraguayans and Argentines, white men and colored, oneBolivian, one Italian, and one Brazilian. Strange to relate, therewas no Scotchman, even the ship's engineer being French. Perhaps themissing Scotch engineer was on his way to the Pole, in order to befound sitting there on its discovery by----(?)

The object of this costly journey was to ascend the rivers La Plata, Paraguay and Alto Paraguay, and see if it were possible to establisha port and town in Bolivian territory on the shores of the lake. After some months of untiring energy and perseverance, there wasdiscovered for Bolivia a fine port, with depth of water for anyordinary river steamer, which will now be known to the world as_Puerto Quijarro_. A direct fluvial route, therefore, exists betweenthe Atlantic and this far inland point. 

The expedition left Buenos Ayres, the capital of the ArgentineRepublic. Sailing up the western bank of the River of Silver, weentered the Parana River, and after an uneventful voyage of six days, passed the mouth of the River of Gold, and turned into the Paraguay. 

Three hundred miles up the Higher Parana, a mighty stream flowingfrom the northeast, which we here left to our right, are the Falls ofYguasú. These falls have been seen by few white men. The land on eachside of the river is infested by the Bugres Indians, a tribe ofcannibals, of excessively ferocious nature. The Falls of Big Watermust be the largest in the world--and the writer is well acquaintedwith Niagara. 

The river, over two and a half miles wide, containing almost as muchwater as all the rivers of Europe together, rushes betweenperpendicular cliffs. With a current of forty miles an hour, and avolume of water that cannot be less than a million tons a minute, themighty torrent rushes with indescribable fury against a rocky island, which separates it into two branches, so that the total width isabout two miles and a half. The Brazilian arm of the river forms atremendous horseshoe here, and plunges with a deafening roar into theabyss two hundred and thirteen feet below. The Argentine branchspreads out in a sort of amphitheatre form, and finishes with onegrand leap into the jagged rocks, more than two hundred and twenty-nine feet below, making the very earth vibrate, while spray, risingin columns, is visible several miles distant. 

"Below the island the two arms unite and flow on into the ParanaRiver. From the Brazilian bank the spectator, at a height of twohundred and eighty feet, gazes out over two and a half miles of someof the wildest and most fantastic water scenery he can ever hope tosee. Waters stream, seethe, leap, bound, froth and foam, 'throwingthe sweat of their agony high in the air, and, writhing, twisting, screaming and moaning, bear off to the Parana. ' Under the blue vaultof the sky, this sea of foam, of pearls, of iridescent dust, bathesthe great background in a shower of beauty that all the more adds tothe riot of tropical hues already there. When a high wind is blowing, the roar of the cataract can be heard nearly twenty miles away. Arough estimate of the horse-power represented by the falls isfourteen million. "

Proceeding up the Paraguay River, we arrived at Asuncion, the capitalof Paraguay, and anchored in a beautiful bay of the river, oppositethe city. As many necessary preparations had still to be made, theexpedition was detained in Asuncion for fifteen days, after which weboarded the S. S. _Leda_, for the second stage of our journey. 

Steaming up the Alto Paraguay, we passed the orange groves of thatsunny land on the right bank of the river, and on the left saw theencampments of the Tobas Indians, The dwellings of these people areonly a few branches of trees stuck in the ground. Further on, we sawthe Chamococos Indians, a fine muscular race of men and women, whocover their bronze-colored bodies with the oil of the alligator, andthink a covering half the size of a pocket-handkerchief quitesufficient to hide their nakedness. As we stayed to take in wood, Itried to photograph some of these, our brothers and sisters, but thecamera was nothing but an object of dread to them. One old woman, with her long, black, oily hair streaming in the breeze, almostwithered me with her flashing eyes and barbarous language, until Iblushed as does a schoolboy when caught in the act of stealingapples. Nevertheless, I got her photo. 

The Pilcomayo, which empties its waters into the Paraguay, is one ofthe most mysterious of rivers. Rising in Bolivia, its course can betraced down for some considerable distance, when it loses itself inthe arid wastes, or, as some maintain, flows underground. Its sourceand mouth are known, but for many miles of its passage it isinvisible. Numerous attempts to solve its secrets have been made. They have almost invariably ended disastrously. The Spanishtraveller, Ibarete, set out with high hopes to travel along itsbanks, but he and seventeen men perished in the attempt. Two half-famished, prematurely-old, broken men were all that returned from theunknown wilds. The Pilcomayo, which has proved itself the river ofdeath to so many brave men, remains to this day unexplored. TheIndians inhabiting these regions are savage in the extreme, and theFrench explorer, Creveaux, found them inhuman enough to leave him andmost of his party to die of hunger. The Tobas and the Angaitaestribes are personally known to me, and I speak from experience when Isay that more cruel men I have never met. The Argentine Government, after twenty years of warfare with them, was compelled, in 1900, towithdraw the troops from their outposts and leave the savages inundisputed possession. If the following was the type of civilizationoffered them, then they are better left to themselves: "Two hundredIndians who have been made prisoners are _compelled to be baptized_. The ceremony takes place in the presence of the Governor andofficials of the district, and a great crowd of spectators. TheIndians kneel between two rows of soldiers, an officer with drawnsword compels each in turn to open his mouth, into which a secondofficer throws a handful of salt, amid general laughter at the wryfaces of the Indians. Then a Franciscan padre comes with a pail ofwater and besprinkles the prisoners. They are then commanded to rise, and each receives a piece of paper inscribed with his new name, ascapulary, and--_a glass of rum_" [Footnote: Report of British andForeign Bible Society, 1900. ] What countries these for missionaryenterprise!

After sailing for eighteen days up the river, we transhipped into asmaller steamer going to Bolivia. Sailing up the bay, you pass, onthe south shore, a small Brazilian customs house, which consists of asquare roof of zinc, without walls, supported on four posts, standingabout two meters from the ground. A Brazilian, clothed only in hisblack skin, came down the house ladder and stared at us as we passed. The compliment was returned, although we had become somewhataccustomed to that style of dress--or undress. A little farther upthe bay, a white stone shone out in the sunlight, marking theBolivian boundary, and giving the name of Piedra Blanca to thevillage. This landmark is shaded by a giant tamarind tree, andnumerous barrel trees, or _palo boracho_, grow in the vicinity. In mymany wanderings in tropical America, I have seen numerous strangetrees, but these are extraordinarily so. The trunk comes out of theground with a small circumference, then gradually widens out to theproportions of an enormous barrel, and at the top closes up to thetwo-foot circumference again. Two branches, like giant arms spreadthemselves out in a most weird-looking manner on the top of all. About five leaves grow on each bough, and, instinctively, youconsider them the fingers of the arms. 

It was only three leagues to the Bolivian town of Piedra Blanca, butthe "Bahia do Marengo" took three hours to steam the short distance, for five times we had to stop on the way, owing to the bearingsbecoming heated. These the Brazilian engineer cooled with pails ofwater. 

In the beautiful Bay of Caceres, much of which was grown over withlotus and Victoria Regia, we finally anchored. This Bolivian villageis about eighteen days' sail up the river from Montevideo on theseacoast. 

Chartering the "General Pando, " a steamer of 25 h. P. And 70 ft. Long, we there completed our preparations, and finally steamed away up theAlto Paraguay, proudly flying the Bolivian flag of red, yellow, andgreen. As a correct plan of the river had to be drawn, the steameronly travelled by day, when we were able to admire the grandeur ofthe scenery, which daily grew wilder as the mountains vied with eachother in lifting their rugged peaks toward heaven. From time to timewe passed one of the numerous islands the Paraguay is noted for. These are clothed with such luxuriant vegetation that nothing lessthan an army of men with axes could penetrate them. The land is onegreat, wild, untidy, luxuriant hot-house, "built by nature forherself. " The puma, jaguar and wildcat are here at home, besides theanaconda and boa constrictor, which grow to enormous lengths. TheYaci Retá, or Island of the Moon, is the ideal haunt of the jaguar, and as we passed it a pair of those royal beasts were playing on theshore like two enormous cats. As they caught sight of us, one leaptinto the mangrove swamp, out of sight, and the other took a plungeinto the river, only to rise a few yards distant and receive anexplosive bullet in his head. The mangrove tree, with its twistinglimbs and bright green foliage, grows in the warm water and fœtid mudof tropical countries. It is a type of death, for pestilence hangsround it like a cloud. At early morning this cloud is a very visibleone. The peculiarity of the tree is that its hanging branchesthemselves take root, and, nourished by such putrid exhalations, itquickly spreads. 

There were also many floating islands of fantastic shape, on whichbirds rested in graceful pose. We saw the _garza blanca_, the aigretsof which are esteemed by royalty and commoner alike, along with otherbirds new and strange. To several on board who had looked for yearson nothing but the flat Argentine pampas, this change of scenery wasmost exhilarating, and when one morning the sun rose behind the"Golden Mountains, " and illuminated peak after peak, the effect wasglorious. So startlingly grand were some of the colors that ourartist more than once said he dare not paint them, as the world wouldthink that his coloring was not true to nature. 

Many were the strange sights we saw on the shore. Once we were amusedat the ludicrous spectacle of a large bird of the stork family, whichhad built its nest in a tree almost overhanging the river. The nestwas a collection of reeds and feathers, having two holes in thebottom, through which the legs of the bird were hanging. The feet, suspended quite a yard below the nest, made one wonder how the birdcould rise from its sitting position. 

Every sight the traveller sees, however, is not so amusing. Asdarkness creeps over earth and sky, and the pale moonbeams shed afitful light, it is most pathetic to see on the shore the dead trunkand limbs of a tree, in the branches of which has been constructed arude platform, on which some dark-minded Indian has reverently liftedthe dead body of his comrade. The night wind, stirring the dry bonesand whistling through the empty skull, makes weird music!

The banks of the stream had gradually come nearer and nearer to us, and the great river, stretching one hundred and fifty miles in widthwhere it pours its volume of millions of tons of water into the seaat Montevideo, was here a silver ribbon, not half a mile across. 

Far be it from me to convey the idea that life in those latitudes isEden. The mosquitos and other insects almost drive one mad. Thecountry may truly be called a naturalists' paradise, for butterflies, beetles, and creeping things are multitudinous, but the climate, withits damp, sickly heat, is wholly unsuited to the Anglo-Saxon. Dayafter day the sun in all his remorseless strength blazes upon theearth, is if desirous of setting the whole world on fire. Thethermometer in the shade registered 110, 112 and 114 degreesFahrenheit, and on one or two memorable days 118 degrees. The heat inour little saloon at times rose as high as 130 degrees, and theperspiration poured down in streams on our almost naked bodies. Weseemed to be running right into the brazen sun itself. 

One morning the man on the look-out descried deer on the starboardbow, and arms were quickly brought out, ready for use. Our Frenchhunter was just taking aim when it struck me that the deer moved in astrange way. I immediately asked him to desist. Those dark forms inthe long grass seemed, to my somewhat trained eyes, naked Indians, and as we drew nearer to them so it proved, and the man was thankfulhe had withheld his fire. 

After steaming for some distance up the river several dug-outs, filled with Guatos Indians, paddled alongside us. An early travellerin those head-waters wrotes of these: "Some of the smaller tribeswere but a little removed from the wild brutes of their own jungles. The lowest in the scale, perhaps, were the Guatos, who dwell to thenorth of the Rio Apa. This tribe consisted of less than one hundredpersons, and they were as unapproachable as wild beasts. No otherperson, Indian or foreigner, could ever come near but they would flyand hide in impenetrable jungles. They had no written language oftheir own, and lived like unreasoning animals, without laws orreligion. "

The Guato Indian seems now to be a tame and inoffensive creature, butwell able to strike a bargain in the sale of his dug-out canoes, home-made guitars and other curios. In the wrobbling canoe they arevery dexterous, as also in the use of their long bows and arrows; thelatter have points of sharpened bone. When hungry, they hunt or fish. When thirsty, they drink from the river; and if they wish clothing, wild cotton grows in abundance. 

These Indians, living, as they do, along the banks of the river andstreams, have recently been frequently visited by the white man onhis passage along those natural highways. It is, thereforesuperfluous for me to add that they are now correspondinglydemoralized. It is a most humiliating fact that just in proportion asthe paleface advances into lands hitherto given up to the Indian sothose races sink. This degeneration showed itself strikingly amongthe Guatos in their inordinate desire for _cachaca_, or "firewater. "Although extremely cautious and wary in their exchanges to us, refusing to barter a bow and arrows for a shirt, yet, for a bottle ofcachaca, they would gladly have given even one of their canoes. These_ketchiveyos_, twenty or twenty-five feet long by about twenty incheswide, they hollow from the trunk of the cedar, or _lapacho_ tree. This is done with great labor and skill; yet, as I have said, theywere boisterously eager to exchange this week's work for that whichthey knew would lead them to fight and kill one another. 

As a mark of special favor, the chief invited me to their littlevillage, a few miles distant. Stepping into one of their canoes--alarge, very narrow boat, made of one tree-trunk hollowed out by fire--I was quickly paddled by three naked Indians up a narrow creek, which was almost covered with lotus. The savages, standing in thecanoe, worked the paddles with a grace and elegance which thecivilized man would fail to acquire, and the narrow craft shotthrough the water at great speed. The chief sat in silence at thestern. I occupied a palm-fibre mat spread for me amidships. The veryfew words of Portuguese my companions spoke or understood renderedconversation difficult, so the stillness was broken only by thegentle splash of the paddles. On each side the dense forest seemedabsolutely impenetrable, but we at last arrived at an opening. As wedrew ashore I noticed that an Indian path led directly inland. 

Leaving our dug-out moored with a fibre rope to a large mangrovetree, we started to thread our way through the forest, and finallyreached a clearing. Here we came upon a crowd of almost naked andextremely dejected-looking women. Many of these, catching sight ofme, sped into the jungle like frightened deer. The chief's wife, however, at a word from him, received me kindly, and after acceptinga brass necklace with evident pleasure, showed herself very affable. Poor lost Guatos! Their dejected countenances, miserable grass huts, alive with vermin, and their extreme poverty, were most touching. Inhabiting, as they do, one of the hottest and dampest places on theearth's surface, where mosquitos are numberless, the wonder is thatthey exist at all. Truly, man is a strange being, who can adapthimself to equatorial heat or polar frigidity. The Guatos' chiefbusiness in life seemed to consist in sitting on fibre mats spread onthe ground, and driving away the bloodthirsty mosquitos from theirbare backs. For this they use a fan of their own manufacture, madefrom wild cotton, which there seems to abound. Writing of mosquitos, let me say these Indian specimens were a terror to us all. Whatnumbers we killed! I could write this account in their blood. It was_my_ blood, though--before they got it! Men who hunt the tiger incool bravery boiled with indignation before these awful pests, whichstabbed and stung with marvellous persistency, and disturbed the solitude of nature with their incessant humming. I write theword _incessant_ advisedly, for I learned that there are severalkinds of mosquitos. Some work by day and others by night. Naturaliststell us that only the female mosquito bites. Did they take aparticular liking to us because we were all males?

Some of the Indians paint their naked bodies in squares, generallywith red and black pigment. Their huts were in some cases large, butvery poorly constructed. When any members of the tribe are taken sickthey are supposed to be "possessed" by a stronger evil power, and thesickness is "starved out. " When the malady flies away the lifegenerally accompanies it. The dead are buried under the earth insidethe huts, and in some of the dwellings graves are quite numerous. This custom of interior burial has probably been adopted because thewild animals of the forest would otherwise eat the corpse. Horribleto relate, their own half-wild dogs sometimes devour the dead, thoughan older member of the tribe is generally left home to mount guard. 

Seeing by the numerous gourds scattered around that they weredrinking _chicha_, I solicited some, being anxious to taste thebeverage which had been used so many centuries before by the oldIncas. The wife of the chief immediately tore off a branch of thefeather palm growing beside her, and, certainly within a minute, madea basket, into which she placed a small gourd. Going to the otherside of the clearing, she commenced, with the agility of a monkey, toascend a long sapling which had been laid in a slanting positionagainst a tall palm tree. The long, graceful leaves of this cabbagepalm had been torn open, and the heart thus left to ferment. From thehollow cabbage the woman filled the gourd, and lowered it to me by afibre rope. The liquid I found to be thick and milky, and the tastenot unlike cider. 

Prescott tells us that Atahuallpa, the Peruvian monarch, came to seethe conqueror, Pizarro, "quaffing chicha from golden goblets borne byhis attendants. " [Footnote: Este Embajador traia servicio de Senor, icinco o seis Vasos de Oro fino, con que bebia, i con ellos daba abeber a los Espanoles de la chicha que traia. "--Xerez. ] Goldengoblets did not mean much to King Atahuallpa, however, for his palaceof five hundred different apartments is said to have been tiled withbeaten gold. 

In these Guato Indians I observed a marked difference to any others Ihad visited, in that they permitted the hair to grow on their faces. The chief was of quite patriarchal aspect, with full beard and mild, intelligent-looking eyes. The savages inhabiting the Chaco considerthis custom extremely "dirty. "

Before leaving these people I procured some of their bows and arrows, and also several cleverly woven palm mats and cotton fans. 

Some liquor our cook gave away had been taken out by the braves totheir women in another encampment. These spirits had so inflamed theotherwise retiring, modest females that they, with the men, returnedto the steamer, clamoring for more. All the stores, along with someliquors we carried, were under my care, and I kept them securelylocked up, but in my absence at the Indian camp the store-room hadbeen broken open, and our men and the Indians--men and women--haddrunk long and deep. A scene like Bedlam, or Dante's "Inferno, " wastaking place when I returned. Willing as they were to listen to mycounsel and admit that I was certainly a great white teacher, withsuperior wisdom, on this love for liquor and its debasingconsequences they would hear no words. The women and girls, like themen, would clamor for the raw alcohol, and gulp it down in longdraughts. When ardent spirits are more sought after by women andgirls than are beads and looking-glasses it surely shows a terriblydepraved taste. Even the chattering monkeys in the trees overheadwould spurn the poison and eagerly clutch the bright trinket. Perhapsthe looking-glasses I gave the poor females would, after the orgieswere over, serve to show them that their beauty was not increased bythis beastly carousal, and thus be a means of blessing. It may beasked, Can the savage be possessed of pride and of self-esteem? Iunhesitatingly answer yes, as I have had abundant opportunity ofseeing. They will strut with peacock pride when wearing a speciallygaudy-colored headdress, although that may be their only article ofattire. 

Having on board far more salt than we ourselves needed, I was enabledto generously distribute much of that invaluable commodity amongthem. That also, working in a different way, might be a means ofrestoring them to a normal soundness of mind after we left. 

Poor lost creatures! For this draught of the white man's poison, farmore terrible to them than the deadly nightshade of their forests, more dangerous than the venom of the loathsome serpent gliding acrosstheir path, they are willing to sell body or soul. Soul, did I say?They have never heard of that. To them, so far as I could ascertain, a future life is unknown. The explorer has penetrated some little wayinto their dark forests in search of rubber, or anything else whichit would pay to exploit, but the missionary of the Cross has neversought to illumine their darker minds. They live their little day andgo out into the unknown unconscious of the fact that One calledJesus, who was the Incarnate God, died to redeem them. As atraveller, I have often wondered why men should be willing to pay mehundreds of dollars to explore those regions for ultimate worldlygain, and none should ever offer to employ me in proclaiming thegreatest wonder of all the ages--the story of Calvary--for eternalgain. After all, are the Indians more blind to the future than weare? Yet, strange to say, we profess to believe in the teachings ofthat One who inculcated the practice of laying up treasure in heaven, while they have not even heard His name. For love of gain men havebeen willing to accompany me through the most deadly fever-breedingmorass, or to brave the poisoned arrows of the lynx-eyed Indian, butfew have ever offered to go and tell of Him whom they profess toserve. 

The suffocating atmosphere quite precluded the idea of writing, for apen, dipped in ink, would dry before reaching the paper, and thelatter be saturated with perspiration in a few seconds; so theseobservations were penned later. So far as I could ascertain, theRomish Church has never touched the Guatos, and, notwithstanding allI have said about them, I unhesitatingly affirm that it is better so. Geo. R. Witte, missionary to Brazil, says: "With one exception, allthe priests with whom I came in contact (when on a journey throughNorthern Brazil) were immoral, drunken, and ignorant. The tribes whohave come under priestly care are decidedly inferior in morals, industry, and order to the tribes who refuse to have anything to dowith the whites. The Charentes and Apinages have been, for years, under the care of Catholic friars--this is the way I found them: bothmen and women walk about naked. "

"We heard not one contradiction of the general testimony that thepeople who were not under the influence of the Roman Catholic Churchas it is in S. America were better morally than those who were. "[Footnote: Robert E. Speer, "Missions in South America. "]

In Christendom organs peal out the anthems of Divine love, and well-dressed worshippers chant in harmonious unison, "Lord, incline ourhearts to keep Thy law. " That law says: "Thou shalt love thy neighboras thyself. " To the question: "Who is my neighbor?" the Divine voiceanswers: "A certain man. " May he not be one of these neglectedIndians?

CHAPTER VI. 

ARRIVAL AT THE LAKE. 

 "It sleeps among a hundred hills Where no man ever trod, And only Nature's music fills The silences of God. "

After going about two thousand three hundred miles up this serpentineriver, we discovered the entrance to the lake. Many had been theconjectures and counsels of would-be advisers when we started. Somesaid that there was no entrance to the lake from the river; others, that there was not sufficient depth of water for the steamer to passthrough. On our port bow rose frowning rocks of forbidding aspect. Drawing nearer, we noticed, with mingled feelings of curiosity andwonder, that the face of these rocks was rudely carved by unmistakablyIndian art. There were portrayed a rising sun, tigers' feet, birds'feet, etc. Why were they thus carved? Are those rocks the everlastingrecorders of some old history--some deed of Indian daring in days ofold? What these hieroglyphics signify we may never know; the workmanis gone, and his stone hammer is buried with him. To twentieth centurycivilization his carving tells nothing. No Indians inhabit the shoresof the lake now, perhaps because of this "writing on the wall. "

With the leadsman in his place we slowly and cautiously entered theunexplored lake, and thus for the first time in the world's historyits waters were ploughed by a steamer's keel. 

Soon after our arrival the different guards were told off for thesilent watches. Night shut in upon the lake, and all nature slept. The only lights on shore were those of the fire-flies as they dancedthrough the myrtle boughs. The stars in the heavens twinkled aboveus. Now and again an alligator thrust his huge, ugly nose out of thewater and yawned, thus disturbing for the moment its placid surface, which the pale moon illuminated with an ethereal light; otherwisestillness reigned, or, rather, a calm mysterious peace which was deepand profound. Somehow, the feeling crept upon us that we had becomedetached from the world, though yet we lived. Afterwards, when thetigers [Footnote: Jaguars are invariably called tigers in SouthAmerica. ] on shore had scented our presence, sleep was often brokenby angry roars coming from the beach, near which we lay at anchor;but before dawn our noisy visitors always departed, leaving onlytheir footprints. Early next morning, while the green moon was stillshining (the color of this heavenly orb perplexed us, it was a purebottle green), each one arose to his work. This was no pleasureexcursion, and duties, many and arduous, lay before the explorers. The hunter sallied forth with his gun, and returned laden withpheasant and mountain hen, and over his shoulder a fine duck, which, unfortunately, however, had already begun to smell--the heat was sointense. In his wanderings he had come upon a huge tapir, half eatenby a tiger, and saw footprints of that lord of the forest in alldirections. 

Let me here say, that to our hunter we were indebted for many a gooddish, and when not after game he lured from the depths of the lakemany a fine perch or turbot. Fishing is an art in which I am not veryskilled, but one evening I borrowed his line. After a few moments'waiting I had a "bite, " and commenced to haul in my catch, whichstruggled, kicked, and pulled until I shouted for help. My fish wasone of our Paraguayan sailors, who for sport had slipped down intothe water on the other side of the steamer, and, diving to my cord, had grasped it with both hands. Not every fisher catches a man!

Lake Gaiba is a stretch of water ten miles long, with a narrow mouthopening into the River Paraguay. The lake is surrounded by mountains, clad in luxuriant verdure on the Bolivian side, and standing out inbare, rugged lines on the Brazilian side. The boundary of the twocountries cuts the water into two unequal halves. The most prominentof the mountains are now marked upon the exhaustive chart drawn out. Their christening has been a tardy one, for who can tell what ageshave passed since they first came into being? Looking at Mount Ray, the highest of these peaks, at sunset, the eye is startled by thestrange hues and rich tints there reflected. Frequently we askedourselves: "Is that the sun's radiance, or are those rocks the fabled'Cliffs of Opal' men have searched for in vain?" We often sat in awonder of delight gazing at the scene, until the sun sank out ofsight, taking the "opal cliffs" with it, and leaving us only with thedream. 

On the shores of the lake the beach is covered with golden sand andstudded with innumerable little stones, clear as crystal, whichscintillate with all the colors of the rainbow. Among these pebbles Ifound several arrowheads of jasper. In other parts the primevalforest creeps down to the very margin, and the tree-roots bathe inthe warm waters. Looking across the quivering heat-haze, the eyerests upon palms of many varieties, and giant trees covered withorchids and parasites, the sight of which would completely intoxicatethe horticulturist. Butterflies, gorgeous in all the colors of therainbow, flit from flower to flower; and monkeys, with curiouslyhuman faces, stare at the stranger from the tree-tops. White cottontrees, tamarinds, and strangely shaped fruits grow everywhere, andround about all are entwined festoons of trailing creepers, or theloveliest of _scarlet_ mistletoe, in which humming-birds build theirnests. Blue macaws, parrots, and a thousand other birds fly to andfro, and the black fire-bird darts across the sky, making lightningwith every flutter of his wings, which, underneath, are painted abright, vivid red. Serpents of all colors and sizes creep silently inthe undergrowth, or hang from the branches of the trees, theiremerald eyes ever on the alert; and the broad-winged eagle soarsabove all, conscious of his majesty. 

Here and there the coast is broken by silent streams flowing into thelake from the unexplored regions beyond. These _riachos_ are coveredwith lotus leaves and flowers, and also the Victoria Regia in all itsgorgeous beauty. Papyrusa, reeds and aquatic plants of alldescriptions grow on the banks of the streams, making a home for thewhite stork or whiter _garza_. Looking into the clear warm waters yousee little golden and red fishes, and on the bed of the stream shellsof pearl. 

On the south side of the Gaiba, at the foot of the mountains, thebeach slopes gently down, and is covered with golden sand, in whichcrystals sparkle as though set in fine gold by some cunning workman. A Workman, yes--but not of earth, for nature is here untouched, unspoilt as yet by man, and the traveller can look right away from itto its Creator. 

During our stay in these regions the courses of several of the largerstreams were traced for some distance. On the Brazilian side therewas a river up which we steamed. Not being acquainted with thechannel, we had the misfortune to stick for two days on a tosca reef, which extended a distance of sixty-five feet. [Footnote: The findingof tosca at this point confirms the extent inland of the ancientPampean sea. --Colonel Church, in "Proceedings of the RoyalGeographical Society, " January, 1902. ] During this time, a curiousphenomenon presented itself to our notice. In one day we clearly sawthe river flow for six hours to the north-west, and for another sixhours to the south-east. This, of course, proved to us that theriver's course depends on the wind. 

On the bank, right in front of where we lay, was a gnarled old tree, which seemed to be the home, or parliament house, of all theparoquets in the neighborhood. Scores of them kept up an incessantchatter the whole time. In the tree were two or three hanging nests, looking like large sacks suspended from the boughs. Ten or twentybirds lay in the same nest, and you might find in them, at the onetime, eggs just laid, birds recently hatched, and others ready tofly. Sitting and rearing go on concurrently. I procured a tame pairof this lovely breed of paroquets from the Guatos. Their prevailingcolor was emerald green, while the wings and tail were made up oftints of orange, scarlet, and blue, and around the back of the birdwas a golden sheen rarely found even in equatorial specimens. Whetherthe bird is known to ornithologists or not I cannot tell. One nightour camp was pitched near an anthill, inhabited by innumerablemillions of those insects. None of us slept well, for, although ourhammocks were slung, as we thought, away from them, they troubled usmuch. What was my horror next morning when the sun, instead oflighting up the rainbow tints of my birds, showed only a black movingmass of ants! My parrots had literally been eaten alive by them!

But I am wandering on and the ship is still aground on the reef!After much hauling and pulling and breaking of cables, she at lastwas got off into deep water. We had not proceeded far, however, whenanother shock made the vessel quiver. Were we aground again? No, thesteamer had simply pushed a lazy alligator out of its way, and heresented the insult by a diabolical scowl at us. 

Continuing on our way, we entered another body of hitherto unexploredwater, a fairy spot, covered with floating islands of lotus, anchoredwith aquatic cables and surrounded by palm groves. On the shallow, pebbly shore might be seen, here and there, scarlet flamingoes. Thesebeautiful birds stood on one leg, knee deep, dreaming of theirenchanted home. Truly it is a perfect paradise, but it is almost asinaccessible as the Paradise which we all seek. What long-lostcivilizations have ruled these now deserted solitudes? Penetrate intothe dark, dank forest, as I have done, and ask the question. The onlyanswer is the howling of the monkeys and the screaming of thecockatoos. You may start when you distinctly hear a bell tolling, butit is no call to worship in some stately old Inca temple with itsgolden sun and silver moon as deities. It is the wonderful bell-bird, which can make itself heard three miles away, but it is found onlywhere man is not. Ruins of the old Incan and older pre-Incancivilizations are come across, covered now with dense jungle, buttheir builders have disappeared. To have left behind them until thisday ruins which rank with the pyramids for extent, and Karnak forgrandeur, proves their intelligence. 

The peculiar rasping noise you now hear in the undergrowth hasnothing to do with busy civilization--'tis only the rattlesnakedrawing his slimy length among the dead leaves or tangled reeds. No, all that is past, and this is an old new world indeed, and romancemust not rob you of self possession, for the rattle means that in theencounter either he dies--or you. 

Meanwhile the work on shore progressed. Paths were cut in differentdirections and the wonders of nature laid bare. The ring of the axeand the sound of falling trees marked the commencement ofcivilization in those far-off regions. Ever and anon a loud reportrang out from the woods, for it might almost be said that the menworked with the axe in one hand and a rifle in the other. Once theystarted a giant tapir taking his afternoon snooze. The beast lazilygot up and made off, but not before he had turned his piercing eyeson the intruders, as though wondering what new animals they were. Surely this was his first sight of the "lords of creation, " andprobably his last, for a bullet quickly whizzed after him. Anotherday the men shot a puma searching for its prey, and numerous were thebirds, beasts and reptiles that fell before our arms. The veryvenomous _jaracucú_, a snake eight to twelve feet long, having adouble row of teeth in each jaw, is quite common here. 

The forests are full of birds and beasts in infinite variety, as alsoof those creatures which seem neither bird nor beast. There are largeblack howling monkeys, and little black-faced ones with prehensiletails, by means of which they swing in mid-air or jump from tree totree in sheer lightness of heart. There is also the sloth, which, asits name implies, is painfully deliberate in its motions. Were I aScotchman I should say that "I dinna think that in a' nature there isa mair curiouser cratur. " Sidney Smith's summary of this strangeanimal is that it moves suspended, rests suspended, sleeps suspended, and passes its whole life in suspense. This latter state may alsoaptly describe the condition of the traveller in those regions; forman, brave though he may be, does not relish a _vis-á-vis_ with theenormous anaconda, also to be seen there at most inconvenient times. I was able to procure the skins of two of these giant serpents. 

The leader of the "forest gang, " a Paraguayan, wore round his neck acotton scapular bought from the priest before he started on theexpedition. This was supposed to save him from all dangers, seen andunseen. Poor man, he was a good Roman Catholic, and often counted hisbeads, but he was an inveterate liar and thief. 

Taking into consideration the wild country, and the adventurousmission which had brought us together, our men were not at all a badclass. One of them, however, a black Brazilian, used to boast attimes that _he had killed his father while he slept. _ In the quiet ofthe evening hour he would relate the story with unnatural gusto. 

We generally slept on the deck of the steamer, each under a thinnetting, while the millions of mosquitos buzzed outside--and insidewhen they could steal a march. Mosquitos? Why _"mosquitos á laParis"_ was one of the items on our menu one day. The course was notaltogether an imaginary one either. Having the good fortune topossess candles, I used sometimes to read under my gauzy canopy. Thiswould soon become so black with insects of all descriptions as toshut out from my sight the outside world. 

After carefully surveying the Bolivian shore, we fixed upon a sitefor the future port and town. [Footnote: The latitude of PortQuijarro is 17° 47' 35", and the longitude, west of Greenwich, 57°44' 38". Height above the sea, 558 feet. ] Planting a hugh palm in theground, with a long bamboo nailed to the crown, we then solemnlyunfurled the Bolivian flag. This had been made expressly for theexpedition by the hands of Señora Quijarro, wife of the Bolivianminister residing in Buenos Ayres. As the sun for the first timeshone upon the brilliant colors of the flag, nature's stillness wasbroken by a good old English hurrah, while the hunter and severalothers discharged their arms in the air, until the parrots andmonkeys in the neighborhood must have wondered (or is wondering onlyreserved for civilized man?) what new thing had come to pass. Therewe, a small company of men in nature's solitudes, each signed hisname to the _Act of Foundation_ of a town, which in all probabilitywill mean a new era for Bolivia. We fully demonstrated the fact thatPuerto Quijarro will be an ideal port, through which the wholecommerce of south-eastern Bolivia can to advantage pass. 

Next day the Secretary drew out four copies of this _Act_. One wasfor His Excellency General Pando, President of the Bolivian Republic;another for the Mayor of Holy Cross, the nearest Bolivian town, 350miles distant; a third for Señor Quijarro; while the fourth wasenclosed in a stone bottle and buried at the foot of the flagstaff, there to await the erection of the first building. Thus acommencement has been made; the lake and shores are now explored. Thework has been thoroughly done, and the sweat of the brow was notstinted, for the birds of the air hovered around the theodolite, evenon the top of the highest adjacent mountain. [Footnote: The openingof the country must, from its geographical situation, be productiveof political consequences of the first magnitude to South America. --Report of the Royal Geographical Society, January, 1902. ]

At last, this work over and an exhaustive chart of the lake drawn up, tools and tents collected, specimens of soil, stones, iron, etc. , packed and labelled, we prepared for departure. 

The weather had been exceptionally warm and we had all suffered muchfrom the sun's vertical rays, but towards the end of our stay theheat was sweltering--killing! The sun was not confined to one spot inthe heavens, as in more temperate climes; here he filled all the sky, and he scorched us pitilessly! Only at early morning, when theeastern sky blushed with warm gold and rose tints, or at even, whenthe great liquid ball of fire dropped behind the distant violet-colored hills, could you locate him. Does the Indian worship thisawful majesty out of fear, as the Chinaman worships the devil?

Next morning dawned still and portentous. Not a zephyr breeze stirredthe leaves of the trees. The sweltering heat turned to a suffocatingone. As the morning dragged on we found it more and more difficult tobreathe; there seemed to be nothing to inflate our lungs. Byafternoon we stared helplessly at each other and gasped as we laysimmering on the deck. Were we to be asphyxiated there after all? Ihad known as many as two hundred a day to die in one South Americancity from this cause. Surely mortal men never went through suchawful, airless heat as this and lived. We had been permitted todiscover the lake, and if the world heard of our death, would thatflippant remark be used again, as with previous explorers, "To makeomelettes eggs must be broken"?

However, we were not to _melt_. Towards evening the barometer, whichhad been falling all day, went lower and lower. All creation wasstill. Not a sound broke the awful quiet; only in our ears thereseemed to be an unnatural singing which was painful, and we closedour eyes in weariness, for the sun seemed to have blistered the veryeyeballs. When we mustered up sufficient energy to turn our achingeyes to the heavens, we saw black storm-clouds piling themselves oneabove another, and hope, which "springs eternal in the human breast, "saw in them our hope, our salvation. 

The fall of the barometer, and the howling of the monkeys on shorealso, warned us of the approaching tempest, so we prepared foremergencies by securing the vessel fore and aft under the lee of arugged _sierra_ before the storm broke--and break it did in all itsmight. 

Suddenly the wind swept down upon us with irresistible fury, and webreathed--we lived again. So terrific was the sweep that giant trees, which had braved a century's storms, fell to the earth with a crash. The hurricane was truly fearful. Soon the waters of the lake werelashed into foam. Great drops of rain fell in blinding torrents, andevery fresh roll of thunder seemed to make the mountains tremble, while the lightning cleft asunder giant trees at one mighty stroke. 

[Illustration: VICTORIA REGIA, THE WORLD'S LARGEST FLOWER]

In the old legends of the Inca, read on the "Quipus, " we find thatPachacamac and Viracocha, the highest gods, placed in the heavens"Nusta, " a royal princess, armed with a pitcher of water, which shewas to pour over the earth whenever it was needed. When the rain wasaccompanied by thunder, lightning, and wind, the Indians believedthat the maiden's royal brother was teasing her, and trying to wrestthe pitcher from her hand. Nusta must indeed have been fearfullyteased that night, for the lightning of her eyes shot athwart theheavens and the sky was rent in flame. 

Often in those latitudes no rain falls for long months, but when oncethe clouds open the earth is deluged! Weeks pass, and the zephyrbreezes scarcely move the leaves of the trees, but in those days ofcalm the wind stores up his forces for a mighty storm. On this dark, fearful night he blew his fiercest blasts. The wild beast wasaffrighted from his lair and rushed down with a moan, or the mountaineagle screamed out a wail, indistinctly heard through the moaningsounds. During the whole night, which was black as wickedness, thewind howled in mournful cadence, or went sobbing along the sand. Asthe hours wore on we seemed to hear, in every shriek of the blast, the strange tongue of some long-departed Indian brave, wailing forhis happy hunting-grounds, now invaded by the paleface. Coats andrugs, that had not for many months been unpacked, were brought out, only in some cases to be blown from us, for the wind seemed to tryhis hardest to impede our departure. The rain soaked us through andthrough. Mists rose from the earth, and mists came down from above. Next morning the whole face of nature was changed. 

After the violence of the tempest abated we cast off the ropes andturned the prow of our little vessel civilizationward. When weentered the lake the great golden sun gave us a warm welcome, now, atour farewell, he refused to shine. The rainy season had commenced, but, fortunately for us, after the work of exploration was done. Thisweather continued--day after day clouds and rain. Down the rugged, time-worn face of the mountains foaming streams rushed and poured, and this was our last view--a good-bye of copious tears! Thus we sawthe lake in sunshine and storm, in light and darkness. It had beenour aim and ambition to reach it, and we rejoiced in its discovery. Remembering that "we were the first who ever burst into that silentsea, " we seemed to form part of it, and its varying moods onlyendeared it to us the more. In mining parlance, we had staked out ourclaims there, for--

 "O'er no sweeter lake shall morning break, Or noon cloud sail; No fairer face than this shall take The sunset's golden veil. "

CHAPTER VII. 

_PIEDRA BLANCA_. 

In due time we again reached Piedra Blanca, and, notwithstanding ourragged, thorn-torn garments, felt we were once more joined on to theworld. 

The bubonic plague had broken out farther down the country, steamboats were at a standstill, so we had to wait a passage down theriver. Piedra Blanca is an interesting little spot. One evening atired mule brought in the postman from the next town, Holy Joseph. Hehad been eight days on the journey. Another evening a string of dustymules arrived, bringing loads of rubber and cocoa. They had been fivemonths on the way. 

When the Chiquitana women go down to the bay for water, with theirpitchers poised on their heads, the sight is very picturesque. Sometimes a little boy will step into one of the giant, traylikeleaves of the Victoria Regia, which, thus transformed into a fairyboat, he will paddle about the quiet bay. 

The village is built on the edge of the virgin forest, where the redman, with his stone hatchet, wanders in wild freedom. It contains, perhaps, a hundred inhabitants, chiefly civilized ChiquitanosIndians. There is here a customs house, and a regular trade inrubber, which is brought in from the interior on mule-back, a journeywhich often takes from three to four months. 

One evening during our stay two men were forcibly brought into thevillage, having been caught in the act of killing a cow which theyhad stolen. These men were immediately thrown into the prison, asmall, dark, palm-built hut. Next morning, ere the sun arose, theirfeet were thrust into the stocks, and a man armed with a long hidewhip thrashed them until the blood flowed in streamlets down theirbare backs! What struck us as being delicately thoughtful was thatwhile the whipping proceeded another official tried his best to drowntheir piercing shrieks by blowing an old trumpet at its highestpitch!

The women, although boasting only one loose white garment, walk withthe air and grace of queens, or as though pure Inca blood ran intheir veins. Their only adornment is a necklace of red corals and afew inches of red or blue ribbon entwined in their long raven-blackhair, which hangs down to the waist in two plaits. Their houses arepalm-walled, with a roof of palm-leaves, through which the rain poursand the sun shines. Their chairs are logs of wood, and their beds arestring hammocks. Their wants are few, as there are no electric-lighted store windows to tempt them. Let us leave them in theirprimitive simplicity. Their little, delicately-shaped feet areprettier without shoes and stockings, and their plaited hair withoutParisian hats and European tinsel. They neither read nor write, andtherefore cannot discuss politics. Women's rights they have neverheard of. Their bright-eyed, naked little children play in the mud ordust round the house, and the sun turns their already bronze-coloredbodies into a darker tint; but the Chiquitana woman has never seen awhite baby, and knows nothing of its beauty, so is more thansatisfied with her own. The Indian child does not suffer fromteething, for all have a small wooden image tied round the neck, andthe little one, because of this, is supposed to be saved from allbaby ailments! Their husbands and sons leave them for months whilethey go into the interior for rubber or cocoa, and when one comesback, riding on his bullock or mule, he is affectionately butsilently received. The Chiquitano seldom speaks, and in this respecthe is utterly unlike the Brazilian. The women differ from our mothersand sisters and wives, for they (the Chiquitanas) have nothing tosay. After all, ours are best, and a headache is often preferable tocompanioning with the dumb. I unhesitatingly say, give me the music, even if I have to suffer the consequences. 

The waiting-time was employed by our hunter in his favorite sport. One day he shot a huge alligator which was disporting itself in thewater some five hundred yards from the shore. Taking a strong rope, we went out in an Indian dug-out to tow it to land. As my friend wasthe more dexterous in the use of the paddle, he managed the canoe, and I, with much difficulty, fixed the rope by a noose to themonster's tail. When the towing, however, commenced, the beast seemedto regain his life. He dived and struggled for freedom until thewater was lashed into foam. He thrust his mighty head out of thewater and opened his jaws as though warning us he could crush thefrail dug-out with one snap. Being anxious to obtain his hide, andmomentarily expecting his death, for he was mortally wounded, I heldon to the rope with grim persistency. He dived under the boat andlifted it high, but as his ugly nose came out on the other side thecanoe regained its position in the water. He then commenced to towus, but, refusing to obey the helm, took us to all points of thecompass. After an exciting cruise the alligator gave a deep dive andthe rope broke, giving him his liberty again. On leaving us he gavewhat Waterton describes as "a long-suppressed, shuddering sigh, soloud and so peculiar that it can be heard a mile. " The bullet hadentered the alligator's head, but next morning we saw he was stillalive and able to "paddle his own canoe. " The reader may be surprisedto learn that these repulsive reptiles lay an egg with a pure whiteshell, fair to look upon, and that the egg is no larger than a hen's. 

One day I was called to see a dead man for whom a kind of wake wasbeing held. He was lying in state in a grass-built hovel, and raisedup from the mud floor on two packing-cases of suspiciously Britishorigin. His hard Indian face was softened in death, but the observanteye could trace a stoical resignation in the features. Several menand women were sitting around the corpse counting their beads anddrinking native spirits, with a dim, hazy belief that that was theright thing to do. They had given up their own heathen customs, and, being civilized, must, of course, be Roman Catholics. They were"reduced, " as Holy Mother Church calls it, long ago, and, of course, believe that civilization and Roman Catholicism are synonymous terms. Poor souls! How they stared and wondered when they that morning heardfor the first time the story of Jesus, who tasted death for us thatwe might live. To those in the home lands this is an old story, butdo they who preach it or listen to it realize that to millions it isstill the newest thing under the sun?

Next day the man was quietly carried away to the little forestclearing reserved for the departed, where a few wooden crosses lifttheir heads among the tangled growth. Some of these crosses have fourrudely carved letters on them, which you decipher as I. N. R. I. TheIndian cannot tell you their meaning, but he knows they havesomething to do with his new religion. 

As far as I could ascertain, the departed had no relatives. One afteranother had been taken from him, and now he had gone, for "when he isforsaken, withered and shaken, what can an old man do but die?"--itis the end of all flesh. Poor man! Had he been able to retain even aspark of life until Holy Week, he might then have been saved frompurgatory. Rome teaches that on two days in the year--Holy Thursdayand Corpus Christi--the gates of heaven are unguarded, because, theysay, _God is dead_. All people who die on those days go straight toheaven, however bad they may have been! At no other time is that gateopen, and every soul must pass through the torments of purgatory. 

A missionary in Oruru wrote: "The Thursday and Friday of so-calledHoly Week, when Christ's image lay in a coffin and was carriedthrough the streets, _God being dead_, was the time for robberies, and some one came to steal from us, but only got about fifty dollars'worth of building material. Holy Week terminates with the 'Saturdayof Glory, ' when spirits are drunk till there is not a dram left inthe drink-shops, which frequently bear such names as 'The Saviour ofthe World, ' 'The Grace of God, ' 'The Fountain of Our Lady, ' etc. Thepoor deluded Romanists have a holiday on that day over the tragic endof Judas. A life-size representation of the betrayer is suspendedhigh in the air in front of the cafés. At ten a. M. The church bellsbegin to ring, and this is the signal for lighting the fuse. Then, with a flash and a bang, every vestige of the effigy has disappeared!At night, if the town is large enough to afford a theatre, the crowdswend their way thither. This place of very questionable amusementwill often bear the high-sounding name, _Theatre of the Holy Ghost!_"

There is no church or priest in the village of Piedra Blanca. Down onthe beach there is a church bell, which the visitor concludes is astart in that direction, but he is told that it is destined for thetown of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, three hundred miles inland. The bellwas a present to the church by some pious devotee, but the moneydonated did not provide for its removal inland. This cost the priestsrefuse to pay, and the Chiquitanos equally refuse to transport itfree. There is no resident priest to make them, so there it stays. Inthe meantime the bell is slung up on three poles. It was solemnlybeaten with a stick on Christmas Eve to commemorate the time when the"Mother of Heaven" gave birth to her child Jesus. In one of theprincipal houses of the village the scene was most vividlyreproduced. A small arbor was screened off by palm leaves, in whichwere hung little colored candles. Angels of paper were suspended fromthe roof, that they might appear to be bending over the Virgin, whichwas a highly-colored fashion-plate cut from a Parisian journal thatsomehow had found its way there. The child Jesus appeared to be aMellin's Food-fed infant. Round this fairy scene the youth and beautyof the place danced and drank liberal potations of chicha, theBolivian spirits, until far on into morning, when all retired totheir hammocks to dream of their goddess and her lovely babe. 

After this paper Virgin the next most prominent object of worship Isaw in Piedra Blanca was a saint with a dress of vegetable fibre, long hair that had once adorned a horse's tail, and eyes of pieces ofclamshell. 

Poor, dark Bolivia! It would be almost an impossible thing toexaggerate the low state of religion there. A communication fromSucre reads: "The owners of images of Jesus as a child have beengetting masses said for their figures. A band of music is employed, and from the church to the house a procession is formed. A scene ofintoxication follows, which only ends when a good number lie drunkbefore the image--the greater the number the greater the honor to theimage?" The peddler of chicha carries around a large stone jar, abouta yard in depth. The payment for every drink sold is dropped into thejar of liquor, so the last customers get the most "tasty" decoction. 

Naturally the masses like a religion of license, and are as eager asthe priests to uphold it. Read a tale of the persecution of anineteenth century missionary there. Mr. Payne in graphic languagetells the story:

"Excommunication was issued. To attend a meeting was special sin, andonly pardoned by going on the knees to the bishop. Sermons against uswere preached in all the churches. I was accused before the CriminalCourt. It was said I carried with me the 'special presence' of thedevil, and had blasphemed the Blessed Virgin, and everyone passingshould say: 'Maria, Joseph. ' One day a crowd collected, andsacristans mixed with the multitude, urging them on to 'vengeance onthe Protestants. ' About two p. M. We heard the roar of furiousthousands, and like a river let loose they rushed down on our house. Paving-stones were quickly torn up, and before the police arrivedwindows and doors were smashed, and about a thousand voices werecrying for blood. We cried to the Lord, not expecting to live muchlonger. The Chief of Police and his men were swept away before themob, and now the door burst in before the huge stones and force used. There were two parties, one for murder and one for robbery. I wasbeaten and dragged about, while the cry went up, 'Death to theProtestant!' The fire was blazing outside, as they had lots ofkerosene, and with all the forms, chairs, texts, clothes and booksthe street was a veritable bonfire. Everything they could lay handson was taken. At this moment the cry arose that the soldiers werecoming, and a cavalry regiment charged down the street, carrying fearinto the hearts of the people. A second charge cleared the street, and several soldiers rode into the _patio_ slashing with theirswords. "

In this riot the missionary had goods to the value of one thousanddollars burnt, and was himself hauled before the magistrates and, after a lengthy trial, condemned to _die_ for heresy!

Baronius, a Roman Catholic writer, says: "The ministry of Peter istwofold--to feed and to kill; for the Lord said, 'Feed My sheep, ' andhe also heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Kill and eat. '" Bellarmineargues for the necessity of _burning_ heretics. He says: "Experienceteaches that there is no other remedy, for the Church has proceededby slow steps, and tried all remedies. First, she onlyexcommunicated. Then she added a fine of money, and afterwards exile. Lastly she was compelled to come to the punishment of death. If youthreaten a fine of money, they neither fear God nor regard men, knowing that fools will not be wanting to believe in them, and bywhom they may be sustained. If you shut them in prison, or send theminto exile, they corrupt those near to them with their words, andthose at a distance with their books. Therefore, the only remedy isto send them betimes into their own place. "

As this mediaeval sentence against Mr. Payne could hardly be carriedout in the nineteenth century, he was liberated, but had to leave thecountry. He settled in another part of the Republic. In a letter fromhim now before me as I write he says: "The priests are circulatingall manner of lies, telling the people that we keep images of theVirgin in order to scourge them every night. At Colquechaca we werethreatened with burning, as it was rumored that our object was to doaway with the Roman Catholic religion, which would mean a falling offin the opportunities for drunkenness. " So we see he is stillpersecuted. 

The Rev. A. G. Baker, of the Canadian Baptist Mission, wrote: "TheBishop of La Paz has sent a letter to the Minister of Public Worshipof which the following is the substance: 'It is necessary for me tocall attention to the Protestant meetings being held in this city, which cause scandal and alarm throughout the whole district, andwhich are contrary to the law of Bolivia. Moreover, it isindispensable that we prevent the sad results which must follow suchteachings, so contrary to the true religion. On the other hand, ifthis is not stopped, _we shall see a repetition of the scenes thatrecently took place in Cochabamba_. '" [Footnote: Referring to thesacking and burning of Mr. Payne's possessions previously referredto. ]

Bolivia was one of the last of the Republics to hold out against"liberty of worship, " but in 1907 this was at last declared. Greatefforts were made that this law should not be passed. 

In my lectures on this continent I have invariably stated that inSouth America the priest is the real ruler of the country. I append arecent despatch from Washington, which is an account of a massacre ofrevolutionary soldiers, under most revolting circumstances, committedat the instigation of the ecclesiastical authorities: "The Departmentof State has been informed by the United States Minister at La Paz, Bolivia, that Col. Pando sent 120 men to Ayopaya. On arriving at thetown of Mohoza, the commander demanded a loan of two hundred dollarsfrom the priest of the town, and one hundred dollars from the mayor. These demands being refused, the priest and the mayor wereimprisoned. Meanwhile, however, the priest had despatched couriers tothe Indian village, asking that the natives attack Pando's men. Alarge crowd of Indians came, and, in spite of all measures taken topacify them, the arms of the soldiers were taken away, the mensubjected to revolting treatment, and finally locked inside thechurch for the night. In the morning the priest, after celebratingthe so-called 'mass of agony, ' allowed the Indians to take out theunfortunate victims, two by two, and 103 were deliberately murdered, each pair by different tortures. Seventeen escaped death by havingdeparted the day previous on another mission. "

After Gen. Pando was elected President of the Republic of Bolivia, priestly rule remained as strong as ever. To enter on and retain hisoffice he must perforce submit to Church authority. When in hisemploy, however, I openly declared myself a Protestant missionary;and, because of exploration work, was made a Bolivian citizen. 

In 1897 it was my great joy to preach the gospel in Ensenada. Manyand attentive were the listeners as for the first time in their livesthey were told of the Man of Calvary who died that they might live. With exclamations of wonder they sometimes said: "What fortunatepeople we are to have heard such words!" Four men and five women wereborn again. Ensenada, built on a malarial swamp, was reeking withmiasma, and the houses were raised on posts about a yard above theslime. I was in consequence stricken with malarial fever. One day aman who had attended the meetings came into my room, and, kneelingdown, asked the Lord not to let me suffer, but to take me quickly. After long weeks of illness, God, however, raised me up again, andthe meetings were resumed, when the reason of the priest's non-interference was made known to me. He had been away on a longvacation, and, on his return, hearing of my services, he ordered thechurch bells rung furiously. On my making enquiries why the bellsclanged so, I was informed that a special service was called in thechurch. At that service a special text was certainly taken, for I wasthe text. During the course of the sermon, the preacher in his fervideloquence even forbade the people to look at me. After that myresidence in the town was most difficult. The barber would not cut myhair, nor would the butcher sell me his meat, and I have gone intostores with the money ostentatiously showing in my hand only to hearthe word, "_Afuera_!" (Get out!) When I appeared on the street I waspelted with stones by the men, while the women ran away from me withcovered faces! It was now a sin to look at me!

I reopened the little hall, however, for public services. It had beenbadly used and was splashed with mud and filth. The first night mencame to the meetings in crowds just to disturb, and one of these shotat me, but the bullet only pierced the wall behind. A policemanmarched in and bade me accompany him to the police station, and onthe way thither I was severely hurt by missiles which were thrown atme. An official there severely reprimanded me for thus disturbing thequiet town, and I was ushered in before the judge. That dignifiedgentleman questioned me as to the object of my meetings. Respectfullyanswering, I said: "To tell the people how they can be saved fromsin. " Then, as briefly as possible, I unfolded my mission. The man'scountenance changed. Surely my words were to him an idle tale--heknew them not. After cautioning me not to repeat the offence, he gaveme my liberty, but requested me to leave the town. Rev. F. Penzotti, of the B. & F. B. Society, was imprisoned in a dungeon for eight longmonths, so I was grateful for deliverance. 

An acquaintance who was eye-witness to the scene, though himself nota Christian, tells the following sad story:

"Away near the foot of the great Andes, nestling quietly in a fertilevalley, shut away, one would think, from all the world beyond, laythe village of E---. The inhabitants were a quiet, home-lovingpeople, who took life as they found it, and as long as they had foodfor their mouths and clothes for their backs, cared little foranything else. One matter, however, had for some little time beentroubling them, viz. , the confession of their sins to a priest. Afterdue consideration, it was decided to ask Father A. , living someseventeen leagues distant, to state the lowest sum for which he wouldcome to receive their confessions. 'One hundred dollars, ' he replied, 'is the lowest I can accept, and as soon as you send it I will come. '

"After a great effort, for they were very poor, forty dollars wasraised amongst them, and word was sent to Father A. That they couldnot possibly collect any more. Would he take pity on them and acceptthat sum? 'What! only forty dollars in the whole of E---, ' was hisreply, 'and you dare to offer me that! No! I will not come, and, furthermore, from this day I pronounce a curse on your village, andevery living person and thing there. Your children will all sickenand die, your cattle all become covered with disease, and you willknow no comfort nor happiness henceforth. I, Father A. , have said it, and it will come to pass. '

"Where was the quiet, peaceful scene of a few weeks before? Gone, andin its place all terror and confusion. These ignorant people, believing the words of the priest, gathered together their belongingsand fled. As I saw those poor, simple people leaving the homes whichhad sheltered them for years, as well as their ancestors before them, and with feverish haste hurrying down the valley--every few minuteslooking back, with intense sorrow and regret stamped on their faces--I thought surely these people need some one to tell them of Jesus, for, little as I know about Him, I am convinced that He does not wishthem to be treated thus. "

The priest is satisfied with nothing less than the most completesubmission of the mind and body of his flock. A woman must often giveher last money for masses, and a man toil for months on the well-stocked land of the divine father to save his soul. If he fail to dothis, or any other sentence the priest may impose, he is condemned toeternal perdition. 

Mr. Patrick, of the R. B. M. U. , has described to me how, soon afterhe landed in Trujilla, he attended service at a Jesuit church. He hadintroduced some gospels into the city, and a special sermon waspreached against the Bible. During the service the priest producedone of the gospels, and, holding it by the covers, solemnly put theleaves into the burning candle by his side, and then stamped on theashes on the pulpit floor. The same priest, however, Ricardo Gonzalesby name, thought it no wrong to have seventeen children to variousmothers, and his daughters were leaders in society. "Men lovedarkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. " InTrujilla, right opposite my friend's house, there lived, at the sametime, a highly respected priest, who had, with his own hands, lit thefire that burnt alive a young woman who had embraced Christianitythrough missionary preaching. Bear in mind, reader, I am not writingof the dark ages, but of what occurred just outside Trujilla duringmy residence in the country. Even in 1910, Missionary Chapman writesof a convert having his feet put in the stocks for daring todistribute God's Word. [Footnote: I never saw greater darknessexcepting in Central Africa. I visited 70 of the largest cathedrals, and, after diligent enquiry, found only one Bible, and that aProtestant Bible about to be burned--Dr. Robert E. Speer, in"Missionary Review of the World, " August, 1911. ]

Up to four years ago, the statute was in force that "Every one whodirectly or through any act conspires to establish in Bolivia anyother religion than that which the republic professes, namely, thatof the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church, is a traitor, and shallsuffer the penalty of death. "

After a week's stay in Piedra Blanca, during which I had ample timefor such comparisons as these I have penned, quarantine lifted, andthe expedition staff separated. I departed on horseback to inspect atract of land on another frontier of Bolivia 1, 300 miles distant. 

PART III. 

PARAGUAY

[Illustration: AN INDIAN AND HIS GOD NANDEYARA]

 "I need not follow the beaten path; I do not hunt for any path; I will go where there is no path, And leave a trail. "

PARAGUAY

Paraguay, though one of the most isolated republics of South America, is one of the oldest. A hundred years before the "Mayflower" sailedfrom old Plymouth there was a permanent settlement of Spaniards nearthe present capital. The country has 98, 000 square miles ofterritory, but a population of only 800, 000. Paraguay may almost becalled an Indian republic, for the traveller hears nothing but thesoft Guarani language spoken all over the country. It is in thisrepublic that the yerba máté grows. That is the chief article ofcommerce, for at least fifteen millions of South Americans drink thistea, already frequently referred to. Thousands of tons of the bestoranges are grown, and its orange groves are world-famed. 

The old capital, founded in 1537, was built without regularity ofplan, but the present city, owing to the despotic sway of Francia, ismost symmetrical. That South American Nero issued orders for allhouses that were out of his lines to be demolished by their owners. "One poor man applied to know what remuneration he was to have, andthe dictator's answer was: 'A lodgment gratis in the public prison. 'Another asked where he was to go, and the answer was, 'To a statedungeon. ' Both culprits were forthwith lodged in their respective newresidences, and their houses were levelled to the ground. "

"Such was the terror inspired by the man that the news that he wasout would clear the streets. A white Paraguayan dared not utter hisname. During his lifetime he was 'El Supremo, ' and after he was deadfor generations he was referred to simply as 'El Difunto. '"[Footnote: Robertson's "Reign of Terror. "]

Paraguay, of all countries, has been most under the teaching of theJesuit priest, and the people in consequence are found to be the mostsuperstitious. Being an inland republic, its nearest point a thousandmiles from the sea-coast, it has been held in undisputed possession. 

Here was waged between 1862 and 1870 what history describes as themost annihilating war since Carthage fell. The little republic, standing out for five and a half years against five other republics, fought with true Indian bravery and recklessness, until for every manin the country there could be numbered nine women (some authoritiessay eleven); and this notwithstanding the fact that the women inthousands carried arms and fought side by side with the men. Thedictator Lopez, who had with such determination of purpose held outso long, was finally killed, and his last words, "_Muero con lapatria_" (I die with the country) were truly prophetic, for thecountry has never risen since. 

Travellers agree in affirming that of all South Americans theParaguayans are the most mild-mannered and lethargic; yet when thesepeople are once aroused they fight with tigerish pertinacity. Thepages of history may be searched in vain for examples of warfarewaged at such odds; but the result is invariably the same, the weakernation, whether right or wrong, goes under. Although the nationalmottoes vary with the different flags, yet the Chilian is the mostuniversally followed in South America, as elsewhere: "_Por la razon óla fuerza_" (By right or by might). The Paraguayans contendedheroically for what they considered their rights, and such bloodybattles were fought that at Curupaitá alone 5, 000 dead and dying wereleft on the field! Added to the carnage of battle was disease onevery hand. The worst epidemic of smallpox ever known in the annalsof history was when the Brazilians lost 43, 000 men, while this warwas being waged against Paraguay. One hundred thousand bodies wereleft unburied, and on them the wild animals and vultures gorgedthemselves. The saying now is a household word, that the jaguar ofthose lands is the most to be dreaded, through having tasted so muchhuman blood. 

"Lopez, the cause of all this sacrifice and misery, has gone to hisfinal account, his soul stained with the blood of seven hundredthousand of his people, the victims of his ambition and cruelty. "

Towns which flourished before the outbreak of hostilities were sackedby the emboldened Indians from the Chaco and wiped off the map, SanSalvador (Holy Saviour) being a striking example. I visited the ruinsof this town, where formerly dwelt about 8, 000 souls. Now the streetsare grass-grown, and the forest is creeping around church andbarracks, threatening to bury them. I rode my horse through the highportal of the cannon-battered church, while the stillness of thescene reminded me of a city of the dead. City of the dead, truly--menand women and children who have passed on! My horse nibbled the grassgrowing among the broken tiles of the floor, while I, in imagination, listened to the "passing bell" in the tower above me, and under whoseshade I sought repose. A traveller, describing this site, says: "Itis a place of which the atmosphere is one great mass of malaria, andthe heat suffocating--where the surrounding country is anuninterrupted marsh--where venomous insects and reptiles abound. " SanSalvador as a busy mart has ceased to exist, and the nearest approachto "the human form divine, " found occasionally within its walls, isthe howling monkey. Such are the consequences of war! During the lastten years Paraguay has been slowly recovering from the terribleeffects of this war, but a republic composed mostly of women isseverely handicapped. [Footnote: Would the suffragettes disagree withthe writer here?]

Paraguay is a poor land; the value of its paper currency, like thatof most South American countries, fluctuates almost daily. In 1899the dollar was worth only twelve cents, and for five gold dollars Ihave received in exchange as many as forty-six of theirs. Yet thereis a great future for Paraguay. It has been called the Paradise ofSouth America, and although the writer has visited sixteen differentcountries of the world, he thinks of Paraguay with tender longing. Itis perhaps the richest land on earth naturally, and produces so muchmáte that one year's production would make a cup of tea for everyman, woman and child on the globe. Oranges and bananas can be boughtat six cents a hundred, two millions of cattle fatten on its richpasture lands; but, of all the countries the writer has travelled in, Mexico comes first as a land of beggars, and poor Paraguay comessecond. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

ASUNCION. 

Being in England in 1900 for change and rest, I was introduced to aneccentric old gentleman of miserly tendencies, but possessed of$5, 000, 000. Hearing of my wanderings in South America, he told methat he owned a tract of land thirteen miles square in Paraguay, andwould like to know something of its value. The outcome of this visitwas that I was commissioned by him to go to that country and explorehis possession, so I proceeded once more to my old field of labor. Arriving at the mouth of the River Plate, after five weeks of sea-tossing, I was, with the rest, looking forward to our arrival inBuenos Ayres, when a steam tug came puffing alongside, and we wereinformed that as the ship had touched at the infected port of Bahia, all passengers must be fumigated, and that we must submit to threeweeks' quarantine on Flores Island. The Port doctor has sent a wholeship-load to the island for so trifling a cause as that a sailor hada broken collar-bone, so we knew that for us there was nothing butsubmission. Disembarking from the ocean steamer on to lighters, wegave a last look at the coveted land, "so near and yet so far, " andwere towed away to three small islands in the centre of the river, about fifty miles distant. One island is set apart as a burialground, one is for infected patients, and the other, at which we werelanded, is for suspects. On that desert island, with no other land insight than the sister isles, we were given time to chew the cud ofbitter reflection. They gave us little else to chew! The food servedup to us consisted of strings of dried beef, called _charqui_, whichwas brought from the mainland in dirty canvas bags. This was oftensupplemented by boiled seaweed. Being accustomed to self-preservation, I was able to augment this diet with fish caught whilesitting on the barren rocks of our sea-girt prison. Prison itcertainly was, for sentries, armed with Remingtons, herded us likesheep. 

The three weeks' detention came to an end, as everything earthlydoes, and then an open barge, towed by a steam-launch, conveyed us toMontevideo. Quite a fresh breeze was blowing, and during our elevenhours' journey we were repeatedly drenched with spray. Delicateladies lay down in the bottom of the boat in the throes ofseasickness, and were literally washed to and fro, and saturated, asthey said, to the heart. We landed, however, and I took passage up toAsuncion in the "Olympo. "

The "Olympo" is a palatial steamer, fitted up like the best Atlanticliners with every luxury and convenience. On the ship there wereperhaps one hundred cabin passengers, and in the steerage were sixhundred Russian emigrants bound for Corrientes, three days' sailnorth. Two of these women were very sick, so the chief steward, towhom I was known, hurried me to them, and I was thankful to be ableto help the poor females. 

The majestic river is broad, and in some parts so thickly studdedwith islands that it appears more like a chain of lakes than aflowing stream. As we proceeded up the river the weather grew warmer, and the native clothing of sheepskins the Russians had used was castaside. The men, rough and bearded, soon had only their under garmentson, and the women wore simply that three-quarter length loose garmentwell known to all females, yet they sweltered in the unaccustomedheat. 

At midnight of the third day we landed them at Corrientes, and thewomen, in their white (?) garments, with their babies and ikons, andbundles--and husbands--trod on terra firma for the first time inseven weeks. 

After about twelve days' sail we came to Bella Vista, at which pointthe river is eighteen miles wide. Sixteen days after leaving themouth of the river, we sighted the red-tiled roofs of the houses atAsuncion, the capital of Paraguay, built on the bank of the river, which is there only a mile wide, but thirty feet deep. The riverboats land their passengers at a rickety wooden wharf, and Indianscarry the baggage on their heads into the dingy customs house. Afterthis has been inspected by the cigarette-smoking officials, the dark-skinned porters are clamorously eager to again bend themselves underthe burden and take your trunks to an hotel, where you follow, walking over the exceedingly rough cobbled streets. There is not acab for hire in the whole city. The two or three hotels are fifth-rate, but charge only about thirty cents a day. 

Asuncion is a city of some 30, 000 inhabitants Owing to its isolatedposition, a thousand miles from the sea-coast, it is perhaps the mostbackward of all the South American capitals. Although under Spanishrule for three hundred years, the natives still retain the old Indianlanguage and the Guarani idiom is spoken by all. 

The city is lit up at night with small lamps burning oil, and theselights shed fitful gleams here and there. The oil burned bears thehigh-sounding trade-mark, "Light of the World, " and that is the only"light of the world" the native knows of. The lamps are of so littleuse that females never dream of going out at night without carryingwith them a little tin farol, with a tallow dip burning inside. 

I have said the street lamps give little light. I must make exceptionof one week of the year, when there is great improvement. That weekthey are carefully cleaned and trimmed, for it is given up as a feastto the Virgin, and the lights are to shed radiance on gaudy littleimages of that august lady which are inside of each lamp. The Pal, orfather priest, sees that these images are properly honored by thepeople. He is here as elsewhere, the moving spirit. 

San Bias is the patron saint of the country, It is said he won forthe Paraguayans a great victory in an early war. St. Cristobelreceives much homage also because he helped the Virgin Mary to carrythe infant Jesus across a river on the way to Egypt. 

Asuncion was for many years the recluse headquarters of the Jesuits, so of all enslaved Spanish-Americans probably the Guaranis are theworst. During Lent they will inflict stripes on their bodies, oralmost starve themselves to death; and their abject humility to thePaî is sad to witness. On special church celebrations largeprocessions will walk the streets, headed by the priests, chanting inLatin. The people sometimes fall over one another in their eagerendeavors to kiss the priest's garments, They prostrate themselves, count their beads, confess their sins, and seek the coveted blessingof this demi-god, "who shuts the kingdom of heaven, and keeps the keyin his own pocket. "

A noticeable feature of the place is that all the inhabitants gobarefooted. Ladies (?) will pass you with their stiffly-starchedwhite dresses, and raven-black hair neatly done up with coloredribbons, but with feet innocent of shoes. Soldiers and policementramp the streets, but neither are provided with footwear, and theirclothes are often in tatters. The Jesuits taught the Indians to_make_ shoes, but they alone _wore_ them, exporting the surplus. Shoes are not for common people, and when one of them dares to coverhis feet he is considered presumptuous. Hats they never wear, butthey have the beautiful custom of weaving flowers in their hair. Whenflowers are not worn the head is covered by a white sheet called the_tupoî_, and in some cases this garment is richly embroidered. Thesefemales are devoted Romanists, as will be seen from the followingdescription of a feast held to St. John:

"Doña Juana's first care was to decorate with uncommon splendor alarge image of St. John, which, in a costly crystal box, shepreserved as the chief ornament of her principal drawing-room. He waspainted anew and re-gilded. He had a black velvet robe purchased forhim, and trimmed with deep gold lace. Hovering over him was a cherub. Every friend of Doña Juana had lent some part of her jewellery forthe decoration of the holy man. Rings sparkled on his fingers;collars hung around his neck; a tiara graced his venerable brow. Thelacings of his sandals were studded with pearls; a precious girdlebound his slender waist, and six large wax candles were lighted up atthe shrine. There, embosomed in fragrant evergreens--the orange, thelime, the acacia--stood the favorite saint, destined to receive thefirst homage of every guest that should arrive. These all solemnlytook off their hats to the image. "

Such religious mummery as this is painful to witness, and to see thesaint borne round in procession, with men carrying candles, andwhite-clad girls with large birds' wings fastened to their shoulders, dispels the idea of its being Christianity at all. 

The people are gentle and mild-spoken. White-robed women lead stringsof donkeys along the streets, bearing huge panniers full ofvegetables, among which frequently play the women's babies. Thepanniers are about a yard deep, and may often be seen full to thebrim with live fowls pinioned by the legs. Other women go around withlarge wicker trays on their heads, selling _chipá_, the native bread, made from Indian corn, or _mandioca_ root, the staple food of thecountry. Wheat is not grown in Paraguay, and any flour used isimported. These daughters of Eve often wear nothing more than a robe-de-chambre, and invariably smoke cigars six or eight inches long. Their figure is erect and stately, and the laughing eyes full ofmischief and merriment; but they fade into old age at forty. Untilthen they seem proud as children of their brass jewellery and redcoral beads. The Paraguayans are the happiest race of people I havemet; care seems undreamed of by them. 

In the post-office of the capital I have sometimes been unable toprocure stamps, and "_Dypore_" (We have none) has been the civilanswer of the clerk. When they _had_ stamps they were not providedwith mucilage, but a brush and pot of paste were handed the buyer. Ifyou ask for a one cent stamp the clerk will cut a two cent stamp andgive you a half. They have, however, stamps the tenth part of a centin value, and a bank note in circulation whose face value is lessthan a cent. There are only four numerals in the Guarani language: 1, _petei_; 2, _moncoi_; 3, _bohapy_; 4, _irundú_. It is not possible toexpress five or six. No wonder, therefore, that when I bought five40-cent stamps, I found the clerk was unable to count the sum, and Ihad to come to the rescue and tell him it was $2. 00. At least eightyper cent. Of the people are unable to read. When they do, it is ofcourse in Spanish, A young man to whom I gave the Gospel of Johncarefully looked at it, and then, turning to me, said: "Is this ahistory of that wonderful lawyer we have been hearing about?" Tothose interested in the dissemination of Scriptures, let me statethat no single Gospel has as yet been translated into Guarani. 

A tentative edition of the "Sermon on the Mount" has recently beenissued by the British and Foreign Bible Society, a copy of which Ihad the honor to be the first to present to the head executive. 

Gentle simplicity is the chief characteristic of the people. If thetraveller relates the most ordinary events that pass in the outsideworld, they will join in the exclamation of surprise-"_Bá-eh-picó!Bá-eh-picó!_"

Information that tends to their lowering is not always accepted thus, however, for a colonel in the army, when told that Asuncion could beput into a large city graveyard, hastily got up from the dinner tableand went away in wounded pride and incredulity. The one who issupposed to "know a little" likes to keep his position, and theSpanish proverb is exemplified: _"En tierra de los ciegos, el tuertoes rey"_ (In the blind country the one-eyed are kings). The native ismost guileless and ignorant, as can well be understood when hislanguage is an unwritten one. 

Paraguay is essentially a land of fruit, 200 oranges may be boughtfor the equivalent of six cents. Small mountains of oranges mayalways be seen piled up on the banks ready to be shipped down theriver. Women are employed to load the vessels with this fruit, whichthey carry in baskets on their heads. Everything is carried on theirheads, even to a glass bottle. My laundress, Cuñacarai [Footnote: TheGuarani idiom can boast of but few words, and Mr. , Mrs. And Miss aresimply rendered "carai" (man), "cuna-carai" (woman) and "cunatai"(young woman); "mita cuna" is girl, "mita cuimbai" is boy, and "mitamishi"--baby. ] Jesus, although an old woman, could bear almostincredible weights on her hard skull. 

As the climate is hot, a favorite occupation for men and women is tosit half-submerged in the river, smoking vigorously "The Paraguayansare an amphibious race, neither wholly seamen nor wholly landsmen, but partaking of both. " All sleep in cotton hammocks, --beds arealmost unknown. The hammocks are slung on the verandah of the housein the hotter season and all sleep outside, taking off their garmentswith real _sang froid_. In the cooler season the visitor is invitedto hang his hammock along with the rest inside the house, and in theearly morning naked little children bring máté to each one. If thefamily is wealthy this will be served in a heavy silver cup and_bombilla_, or sucking tube, of the same metal. After this drink anda bite of _chipá_, a strangely shaped, thin-necked bottle, made ofsun-baked clay, is brought, and from it water is poured on the hands. The towels are spotlessly white and of the finest texture. They arehand-made, and are so delicately woven and embroidered that I foundit difficult to accustom myself to use them. The beautifully finelace called _nandutî_ (literally spider's web) is also here made bythe Indian women, who have long been civilized. Some of thehandkerchiefs they make are worth $50 each in the fashionable citiesof America and Europe. A month's work may easily be expended on sucha dainty fabric. 

The women seem exceptionally fond of pets. Monkeys and birds arecommon in a house, and the housewife will show you her parrot andsay, "In this bird dwells the spirit of my departed mother. " Anenemy, somehow, has always turned into an alligator--a reptile muchloathed by them. 

In even the poorest houses there is a shrine and a "Saint. " Thesedeities can answer all prayers if they choose to. Sometimes, however, they are not "in the humor, " and at one house the saint had refused, so he was laid flat on the floor, face downwards. The woman sworethat until he answered her petition she would not lift him up again. He laid thus all night; whether longer or not I do not know. 

Having heard much concerning the _moralité_ of the people, I askedthe maid at a respectable private house where I was staying: "Haveyou a father?" "No, sir, " she answered, "we Paraguayans are notaccustomed to have a father. " Children of five or six, when askedabout that parent, will often answer, "Father died in the war. " Thewar ended thirty-nine years ago, but they have been taught to saythis by the mother. 

As in Argentina the first word the stranger learns is _mañana_ (to-morrow), so here the first is _dy-qui_ (I don't know). Whateverquestion you ask the Guarani, he will almost invariably answer, "_Dy-qui_. " Ask him his age, he answers "_Dy-qui_" To your question: "Areyou twenty or one hundred and twenty?" he will reply "_Dy-qui_. "Through the long rule of the Jesuits the natives stopped thinking;they had it all done for them. "At the same time that they enslavedthem, they tortured them into the profession of the religion they hadimported; and as they had seen that in the old land the love of thisworld and the deceitfulness of riches were ever in the way ofconversion to the true faith, they piously relieved the Indians ofthese snares of the soul, even going so far in the discharge of thispainful duty as to relieve them of life at the same time, ifnecessary to get their possessions into their own hands, " [Footnote:Robertson's "Letters on Paraguay. "]

"The stories of their hardness, and perfidy, and immorality beggardescription. The children of the priests have become so numerous thatthe shame is no longer considered. " [Footnote: Service. ]

As the Mahometans have their Mecca, so the Paraguayans have Caacupé;and the image of the Virgin in that village is the great wonder-worker. Prayers are directed to her that she will raise the sick, etc. , and promises are made her if she will do this. One morning Ihad business with a storekeeper, and went to his office. "Is thecaraî in?" I asked. "No, " I was answered, "he has gone to Caacupé topay a promise. " That promise was to burn so many candles before theVirgin, and further adorn her bejewelled robes. She had, as hebelieved, healed him of a sickness. 

The village of Caacupé is about forty miles from Asuncion. "TheBishop of Paraguay formally inaugurated the worship of the Virgin ofCaacupé, sending forth an episcopal letter accrediting the practice, and promising indulgences to the pilgrims who should visit theshrine. Thus the worship became legal and orthodox. Multitudes ofpeople visit her, carrying offerings of valuable jewels. There areseveral _well-authenticated_ cases of persons, whose offerings wereof inferior quality, being overtaken with some terrible calamity. "[Footnote: Washburn's "History of Paraguay. "]

Funds must be secured somehow, for the present Bishop's sons, to whomI was introduced as among the aristocrats of the capital, certainlyneed a large income from the lavish manner I noticed them "treat" alland sundry in the hotel. "It is admitted by all, that in SouthAmerica the church is decadent and corrupt. The immorality of thepriests is taken for granted. Priests' sons and daughters, of coursenot born in wedlock, abound everywhere, and no stigma attaches tothem or to their fathers and mothers. " [Footnote: "The Continent ofOpportunity. " Dr. Clark. ] Hon. S. H. Blake, in the _NeglectedContinent_, writes: "I was especially struck by the statement of aRoman Catholic--a Consular agent with a large amount of informationas to the land and its inhabitants. He stopped me in speaking of thepriests by saying, 'I know all that. You cannot exaggerate theirimmorality. Everybody knows it--but the Latin race is a degeneraterace. Nothing can be done with it. The Roman Church has had fourcenturies of trial and has made a failure of it. '"

When a person is dying, the Paî is hurriedly sent for. To this callhe will readily respond. A procession will be formed, and, precededby a boy ringing a bell, the _Host_, or, to use an everydayexpression, _God_, will be carried from the church down the street tothe sick one. All passers-by must kneel as this goes along, and thepolice will arrest you if you do not at least take off your hat. "Liberty of conscience is a most diabolical thing, to be stamped outat any cost, " is the maxim of Rome, and the Guarani has learned hislesson well. "In Inquisition Square men were burned for daring tothink, therefore men stopped thinking when death was the penalty. "

Wakes for the dead are always held, and in the case of a child thelittle one lies in state adorned with gilded wings and tinselledfinery. All in the neighborhood are invited to the dance which takesplace that evening around the corpse. At a funeral the Paî walksfirst, followed by a crowd of men, women and children bearingcandles, some of which are four and five feet long. The dead arecarried through the streets in a very shallow coffin, and the head ismuch elevated. An old woman generally walks by the side, bearing thecoffin lid on her head. The dead are always buried respectfully, foran old law reads: "No person shall ride in the dead cart except thecorpse that is carried, and, therefore, nobody shall get up and ridebehind. It is against Christian piety to bury people with irreverentactions, or drag them in hides, or throw them into the grave withoutconsideration, or in a position contrary to the practice of theChurch. "

All Saints Day is a special time for releasing departed ones out ofpurgatory. Hundreds of people visit the cemeteries then, and pay thewaiting priests so much a prayer, If that "liberator of souls" singsthe prayer the price is doubled, but it is considered doublyefficacious. 

A good feature of Romanism in Paraguay is that the people have beentaught something of Christ, but there seems to be an utter want ofreverence toward His person, for one may see a red flag on the publicstreets announcing that there are the "Auction Rooms of the childGod. " In his "Letters on Paraguay, " Robertson relates the followinggraphic account of the celebration of His death: "I found greatpreparations making at the cathedral for the sermon of 'the agony onthe cross. ' A wooden figure of our Saviour crucified was affixedagainst the wall, opposite the pulpit; a large bier was placed in thecentre of the cathedral, and the great altar at the eastern extremitywas hung with black; while around were disposed lighted candles andother insignia of a great funeral. When the sermon commenced, thecathedral was crowded to suffocation, a great proportion of theaudience being females. The discourse was interrupted alternately bythe low moans and sobbings of the congregation. These became moreaudible as the preacher warmed with his discourse, which was partlyaddressed to his auditory and partly to the figure before him; andwhen at length he exclaimed, 'Behold! Behold! He gives up the ghost!'the head of the figure was slowly depressed by a spring towards thebreast, and one simultaneous shriek--loud, piercing, almostappalling--was uttered by the whole congregation. The women now allstruggled for a superiority in giving unbounded vent to apparentlythe most distracting grief. Some raved like maniacs, others beattheir breasts and tore their hair. Exclamations, cries, sobs andshrieks mingled, and united in forming one mighty tide of clamor, uproar, noise and confusion. In the midst of the raging tempest couldbe heard, ever and anon, the stentorian voice of the preacher, reproaching in terms of indignation and wrath the apathy of hishearers! 'Can you, oh, insensate crowd!' he would cry, 'Can you sitin silence?'--but here his voice was drowned in an overwhelming cryof loudest woe, from every part of the church; and for five minutesall further effort to make himself heard was unavailing. Thissingular scene continued for nearly half an hour; then, by degrees, the vehement grief of the congregation abated, and when I left thecathedral it had subsided once more into low sobs and silent tears. 

"I now took my way, with many others, to the Church of San Francisco, where, in an open space in front of the church, I found that the dutyof the day had advanced to the funeral service, which was about beingcelebrated. There a scaffolding was erected, and the crucifixionexactly represented by wooden figures, not only of our Lord, but ofthe two thieves. A pulpit was erected in front of the scaffold; andthe whole square was covered by the devout inhabitants of the city. The same kind of scene was being enacted here as at the cathedral, with the difference, however, of the circumstantial funeral in placeof the death. The orator's discourse when I arrived was only here andthere interrupted by a suppressed moan, or a struggling sigh, to beheard in the crowd. But when he commenced giving directions for thetaking down of the body from the cross, the impatience of grief beganto manifest itself on all sides, 'Mount up, ' he cried, 'ye holyministers, mount up, and prepare for the sad duty which ye have toperform!' Here six or eight persons, covered from head to foot withample black cloaks, ascended the scaffold. Now the groans of thepeople became more audible; and when at length directions were givento strike out the first nail, the cathedral scene of confusion, whichI have just described, began, and all the rest of the preacher'soratory was dumb show. The body was at length deposited in thecoffin, and the groaning and shrieking of the assembled multitudeceased. A solemn funeral ceremony took place: every respectableperson received a great wax taper to carry in the procession: thecoffin after being carried all round was deposited in the church: thepeople dispersed; and the great day of Passion Week was brought to aclose. "

CHAPTER IX. 

EXPEDITION TO THE SUN-WORSHIPPERS. [Footnote: An account of thisexpedition was requested by and sent to the Royal GeographicalSociety of London, Eng. ]

I took passage on the "Urano, " a steamer of 1, 500 tons, forConcepcion, 200 miles north of Asuncion. 

On the second day of our journey the people on board celebrated achurch feast, and the pilot, in his anxiety to do it well, gothelplessly drunk. The result was that during that night I was thrownout of the top berth I occupied by a terrific thud. The steamer hadrun on the sandbank of an uninhabited island, and there she stuckfast--immovable. We were landed on the shore, and there had furthertime for reflection on the mutability of things. In the white sandthere were distinct footprints of a large jaguar and cub, probablycome to prey on the lazy alligators that were lying on the beach; andI caught sight of a large spotted serpent, which glided into the lowjungle where the tiger also doubtless was in hiding. 

After three days' detention here, a Brazilian packet took us off. Onstepping aboard, I saw what I thought to be two black pigs lying onthe deck. I assure the reader that it was some seconds before Idiscovered that one was not a pig, but a man!

At sunset it is the custom on these river boats for all to have abath. The females go to one side of the ship, and the males to theother; buckets are lowered, and in turn they throw water over eachother. After supper, in the stillness of the evening, dancing is theorder, and bare feet keep time to the twang of the guitar. 

We occasionally caught sight of savages on the west bank of theriver, and the captain informed me that he had once brought up a bagof beans to give them. The beans had been _poisoned_, in order thatthe miserable creatures might be _swept off the earth!_

We landed at Concepcion, and I walked ashore. I found the onlyBritish subject living there was a university graduate, but--aprodigal son Owing to his habit of constant drinking, the authoritiesof the town compelled him to work. As I passed up the street I sawhim mending a road of the "far country" There I procured five horses, a stock of beads, knives, etc, for barter, and made ready for my landjourney into the far interior. The storekeeper, hearing of my plans, strongly urged me not to attempt the journey, and soon all thevillage talked. Vague rumors of the unknown savages of the interiorhad been heard, and it was said the expedition could only end indisaster, especially as I was not even going to get the blessing ofthe Paî before starting. I was fortunate, however, in securing thecompanionship of an excellent man who bore the suggestive name of"Old Stabbed Arm"; and Doña Dolores (Mrs. Sorrows), true to her name, whom I engaged to make me about twenty pounds of chipá, said shewould intercede with her saint for me. Loading the pack-horse withchipá, beads, looking-glasses, knives, etc. , Old Stabbed Arm and Imounted our horses, and, each taking a spare one by the halter, drovethe pack-saddle mare in front, leaving the tenderhearted Mrs. Sorrowsweeping behind. The roads are simply paths through deep red sand, into which the horses sank up to their knees; and they are so uneventhat one side is frequently two feet higher than the other, so wecould travel only very slowly. From time to time we had to push ourway into the dense forest on either side, in order to give space fora string of bullock carts to go past. These vehicles are eighteen ortwenty feet long, but have only two wheels. They are drawn by ten ortwelve oxen, which are urged on by goads fastened to a bamboo, twentyfeet long, suspended from the roof of the cart, which is thatchedwith reeds. The goads are artistically trimmed with feathers ofparrots and macaws, or with bright ribbons. These are of all colors, but those around the sharp nail at the end are further painted withred blood every time the goad is used. 

The carts, rolling and straining like ships in foul weather, can beheard a mile off, owing to the humming screech of the wheels, whichare never greased, but on the contrary have powdered charcoal put inthem to _increase_ the noise. Without this music (?) the bullocks donot work so well. How the poor animals could manage to draw the loadwas often a mystery to me, Sections of the road were partly destroyedby landslides and heavy rains, but down the slippery banks of rivers, through the beds of torrents or up the steep inclines they somehowmanaged to haul the unwieldy vehicle. Strings of loaded donkeys ormules, with jingling bells, also crawled past, and I noticed with asmile that even the animals in this idolatrous land cannot get onwithout the Virgin, for they have tiny statuettes of her standingbetween their ears to keep them from danger. Near the town the riversand streams are bridged over with tree trunks placed longitudinally, and the crevices are filled in with boughs and sods. Some of them areso unsafe and have such gaping holes that I frequently dismounted andled my horse over. 

The tropical scenery was superb. Thousands of orange trees growing bythe roadside, filled with luscious fruit on the lower branches, andon the top with the incomparable orange blossoms, afforded delight tothe eye, and notwithstanding the heat, kept us cool, for as we rodewe could pluck and eat. Tree ferns twenty and thirty feet high wavedtheir feathery fronds in the gentle breeze, and wild pineapplesgrowing at our feet loaded the air with fragrance. 

There was the graceful pepper tree, luxuriant hanging lichens, orbamboos forty feet high, which riveted the attention and made onethink what a beautiful world God has made. Many of the shrubs andplants afford dyes of the richest hues, Azara found four hundred newspecies of the feathered tribe in the gorgeous woods and coppices ofParaguay, and all, with the melancholy _caw_, _caw_ of the toucansoverhead, spoke of a tropical land. Parrots chattered in the trees, and sometimes a serpent glided across the red sand road. Unfortunately, flies were so numerous and so tormenting that, evenwith the help of a green branch, we could not keep off the swarms, and around the horses' eyes were dozens of them. Several menacinghornets also troubled us. They are there so fierce that they caneasily sting a man or a horse to death!

As night fell we came to an open glade, and there beside a clear, gurgling brook staked out our horses and camped for the night. Building a large fire of brushwood, we ate our supper, and then laydown on our saddlecloths, the firmament of God with its galaxy ofstars as our covering overhead. 

By next evening we reached the village of Pegwaomi. On the way we hadpassed a house here and there, and had seen children ten or twelveyears of age sucking sticks of sugar-cane, but content with no otherclothing than their rosary, or an image of the Virgin round theirnecks, like those the mules wear. Pegwaomi, I saw, was quite avillage, its pretty houses nestling among orange and lime trees, withluscious bananas in the background. There was no Paî in Pegwaomi, soI was able to hold a service in an open shed, with a roof but nowalls. The chief man of the village gave me permission to use thisnovel building, and twenty-three people came to hear the strangerspeak. After the service a poor woman was very desirous of confessingher sins to me, and she thought I was a strange preacher when I toldher of One in heaven to whom she should confess. 

"Paraguay, from its first settlement, never departed from 'the age offaith' Neither doubt nor free-thinking in regard to spiritual affairsever perplexed the people, but in all religious matters they acceptedthe words of the fathers as the unquestionable truth. Unfortunately, the priests were, with scarcely an exception, lazy and profligate;yet the people were so superstitious and credulous that they fearedto disobey them, or reserve anything which they might be required toconfess. " [Footnote: Washburn's "History of Paraguay. "]

In the front gardens of many of the rustic houses I noticed a woodencross draped with broad white lace. The dead are always interred inthe family garden, and these marked the site of the graves. When thepeople can afford it, a priest is brought to perform the sad rite ofburial, but the Paraguayan Paî is proverbially drunken and lazy. Onceafter a church feast, which was largely given up to drinking, thepriest fell over on the floor in a state of intoxication. "While hethus lay drunk, a boy crawled through the door to ask his blessing, whereupon the priest swore horribly and waved him off, 'Not to-day, not to-day those farces! I am drunk, very drunk!'" Such an one hasbeen described by Pollock: "He was a man who stole the livery of thecourt of heaven to serve the devil in; in holy guise transactedvillainies that ordinary mortals durst not meddle with. "

Lest it might be thought that I am strongly prejudiced, I give thisextract from a responsible historian of that unhappy land: "Thesimple-minded and superstitious Paraguayans reverenced a Paî, orfather, as the immediate representative of God. They blindly andimplicitly followed the instructions given to them, and did whateverwas required at his hands. Many of the licentious brotherhood tookadvantage of this superstitious confidence placed in them by thepeople to an extent which, in a moral country, would not only shockevery feeling of our nature to relate, but would, in the individualinstances, appear to be incredible, and, in the aggregate, be countedas slanderous on humanity. "

During my stay in Pagwaomi, a dance was held on the sward outside oneof the houses, and the national whirl, the _sarandiy_, gave pleasureto all. The females wove flowers in their hair, and made garlands ofthem to adorn their waists. Others had caught fire-flies, whichnestled in the wavy tresses and lit up the semi-darkness with a softlight, like so many green stars. Love whisperings, in the musicalGuarani, were heard by willing ears, and eyelight was thus added tostarlight. As the dancers flitted here and there in their whitegarments, or came out from the shade of the orange trees, they lookedethereal, like the inhabitants of another world one sees at times inromantic dreams, for this village is surely a hundred years behindthe moon. 

From this scene of innocent happiness I was taken to more than onesick-bed, for it soon became known that I carried medicines. 

Will the reader accompany me? Enter then--a windowless mud hut See, lying on sheepskins and burning with fever, a young woman-almost agirl-wailing "_Ché raciy!>_" (I am sick!) Notice the intenseeagerness of her eyes as she gazes into mine when I commence tominister to her. Watch her submit to my necessarily painful treatmentwith child-like faith. Then, before we quietly steal out again, listen to her low-breathed "_Acuerame_" (Already I feel better). 

In a larger house, a hundred yards away, an earthenware lamp, withcotton wick dipping in raw castor oil, sheds fitful gleams on a dyingwoman. The trail of sin is only too evident, even in thoughtlessPegwaomi. The tinselled saints are on the altar at the foot of thebed, and on the woman's breast, tightly clutched, is a crucifix, butMrs. Encarnacion has never heard of the Incarnate One whom she issoon to meet. Perhaps, if Christians are awake by that time, hergrandchildren may hear the "story. "

In that rustic cottage, half covered with jasmine, and shaded by aroyal palm, a child lies very sick. Listen to its low, weak moaningas we cross the threshold. The mother has procured a piece of tape, the length of which, she says, is the exact measure of the head ofSaint Blas. This she has repeatedly put around her babe's head as anunfailing cure. Somehow the charm does not work and the woman issorely perplexed. While we helplessly look on the infant dies!Outside, the moon soared high, throwing a silver veil over the grimpathos of it all; but in the breast of the writer was a surgingdissatisfaction and--anger, at his fellow--Christians in thehomeland, who in their thoughtless selfishness will not reach out ahelping hand to the perishing of other lands. 

Would the ever-present Spirit, who wrote "Be ye angry" notunderstand? Would the Master of patience and forbearance, who Himselfshowed righteous anger, enter into it? Is the Great God, who seesthese sheep left without a shepherd, Himself angry? Surely it is wellto ask?

"Oh, heavy lies the weight of ill on many hearts, And comforters areneeded sore of Christlike touch. "

In this village I made inquiries for another servant and guide, andwas directed to "Timoteo, the very man. " Liking his looks, and beingable to come to satisfactory terms, I engaged him as my secondhelper. Timoteo had a sister called Salvadora (Saviour). She poundedcorn in a mortar with a hardwood pestle, and made me another bakingof chipá, with which we further burdened the pack-horse, and away westarted again, with affectionate farewells and tears, towards theunknown. 

Next day we were joined by a traveller who was escaping to theinterior. He plainly declared himself as a murderer, and told us hehad shot one of the doctors in Asuncion. Through being wellconnected, he had, after three weeks' detention in prison, beenliberated, as he boasted to us, _con todo buen nombre y fama (withgood name and report). The relatives of the murdered man, however, did not agree with this verdict, and sought his life. During the daywe shot an iguana, and after a meal from its fat tail our newacquaintance, finding the pace too slow for his hasty flight, leftus, and I was not sorry. We met a string of bullock carts, each drawnby six animals and having a spare one behind. The lumbering wagonswere on their way from the Paraguayan máté fields, and had a load ofover two thousand pounds each. Jolting over huge tree-trunks, or anonsinking in a swamp, followed by swarms of gad-flies, the patientanimals wended their way. 

Here and there one may see by the roadside a large wooden cross, witha rudely carved wooden rooster on the top, while below it are thenails, scourge, hammer, pincers and spear of gruesome crucifixionmemory. At other places there are smaller shrines with a statuette ofthe Virgin inside, and candles invariably burning, provided by thegenerous wayfarers. It is interesting to note that the old Indianshad, at the advent of the Spaniards, cairns of stones along theirpaths, and the pious Indian would contribute a stone when he passedas an offering to Pachacamac, who would keep away the evil spirits. That custom is still kept up by the Christian (?) Paraguayan, withthe difference that _now_ it is given to the Virgin. My guide wouldget down from his horse when we arrived at these altars, andcontribute a stone to the ever-growing heap. If a specially brightone is offered, he told me it was more gratifying to the goddess. Feeling that we were very likely to meet with many _evil spirits_, Timoteo carefully sought for bright stones. The people are _very_religious, yet with it all are terribly depraved! The truth is seldomspoken, and my guide was, unfortunately, no exception to the rule. Aswe left the haunts of men, and difficulties thickened, he would oftenentreat the help of Holy Mary, but in the same breath would lie andcurse!

Sighting a miserable hut, we called to inquire for meat. The masterof the house, I discovered, was a leper, and I further learned, onasking if I might water my horses, that the nearest water was threemiles away. The man and wife and their large family certainly lookedas though water was a luxury too costly to use on the skin. The leperwas most hospitable, however; he killed a sheep for us, and we satdown to a feast of mutton. After this we pushed on to water thehorses. By sunset we arrived at a cattle ranch near the river Ipané, and there we stayed for the night. At supper all dipped in the samestew-pan, and afterwards rinsed out the mouth with large draughts ofwater, which they squirted back on the brick floor of the dining-room. The men then smoked cigarettes of tobacco rolled in cornleaves, and the women smoked their six-inch-long cigars. Finding thattwo of the men understood Spanish, I read some simple parts ofscripture to them by the light of a dripping grease lamp. Theylistened in silence, and wondered at the strange new story. Themosquitoes were so troublesome that a large platform, twenty feethigh, had been erected, and after reading all the inmates of thehouse, with us, ascended the ladder leading to the top. There themosquitoes did not disturb us, so we slept peacefully on our aerialroost between the fire-flies of the earth and the stars of heaven. 

Next day we came to a solitary house, where I noticed strings of meathung in the sun to dry. This is left, like so many stockings andhandkerchiefs, hanging there until it is hard as wood; it will thenkeep for an indefinite time. There we got a good dinner of freshbeef, and about ten pounds of the dried meat (_charqui_) to take awaywith us. At this place I bought two more horses, and we each got alarge bullock's horn in which to carry water, swinging from thesaddle-tree. I was not sorry to leave this house, for, tearing up theoffal around the building, I counted as many as sixty black vultures. Their king, a dirty white bird with crimson neck covered with goreand filth, had already gorged himself with all the blood he couldget. "All his sooty subjects stand apart at a respectful distance, whetting their appetites and regaling their nostrils, but neverdreaming of an approach to the carcass till their master has sunkinto a state of repletion. When the kingly bird, by falling on hisside, closing his eyes, and stretching on the ground his unclenchedtalons, gives notice to his surrounding and expectant subjects thattheir lord and master has gone to rest, up they hop to the carcass, which in a few minutes is stripped of everything eatable. " Here weleft the high-road, which is cut through to Punta Pona on theBrazilian frontier, and struck off to the west. Over the grassyplains we made good progress, and by evening were thirty milesfarther on our journey. But when we had to cut the path before usthrough the forest, ten or twelve miles was a good day's work. Whenthe growth was very dense, the morning and evening camps were perhapsonly separated by a league. Anon we struggled through a swamp, or thehorses stuck fast in a bog, and the _carapatas_ feasted on our blood. "What are carapatas?" you ask. They are leeches, bugs, mosquitos, gad-flies, etc. , all compounded into one venomous insect! Thesevoracious green ticks, the size of a bug, are indeed a terriblescourge. They fasten on the body in scores, and when pulled away, either the piece of flesh comes with them or the head of the carapatais torn off. _It was easy to pick a hundred of these bugs off thebody at night_, but it was _not_ easy to sleep after the ordeal! Thepoor horses, brushing through the branches on which the ticks waitfor their prey, were sometimes _half covered with them!_

As we continued our journey, a house was a rare sight, and soon wecame to "the end of Christianity, " as Timoteo said, and allcivilization was left behind. The sandy road became a track, and thenwe could no longer follow the path, for there was none to follow. Timoteo had traversed those regions before in search of the mateplant, however, and with my compass I kept the general direction. 

After about ten days' travel, during which time we had many remindersthat the flesh-pots had been left behind, _"Che cane o"_ (I am tired)was frequently heard. Game was exceedingly scarce, and it waspossible to travel for days without sighting any animal or ostrich. We passed no houses, and saw no human beings. For two days wesubsisted on hard Indian corn. Water was scarce, and for a week wewere unable to wash. Jiggers got into our feet when sleeping on theground, and these caused great pain and annoyance. Someone hasdescribed a jigger as "a cross between Satan and a woodtick. " Thelittle insects lay their eggs between the skin and flesh. When theyoung hatch out, they begin feeding on the blood, and quickly growhalf an inch long and cause an intense itching. My feet were swollenso much that I could not get on my riding-boots, and, consequently, my lower limbs were more exposed than ever. If not soon cut out, theflesh around them begins to rot, and mortification sometimes ensues. 

On some of the savannas we were able to kill deer and ostrich, butthey generally were very scarce. Our fare was varied; sometimes wefeaisted on parrot pie or vultures eggs; again we lay down on thehard, stony ground supperless. At such times I would be compelled torise from time to time and tighten up my belt, until I must haveresembled one of the ladies of fashion, so far as the waist wasconcerned. Again we came to marshy ground, filled with royal duck, teal, water-hens, snipe, etc, and forgot the pangs of past hunger. Atsuch places we would fill our horns and drink the putrid water, ortake off our shirts and wash them and our bodies. Mud had to servefor soap. Our washing, spread out on the reeds, would soon dry, andoff we would start for another stage. 

The unpeopled state of the country was a constant wonder to me;generations have disappeared without leaving a trace of theirexistence. Sometimes I stopped to admire the pure white water-liliesgrowing on stagnant black water, or the lovely Victoria Regia, theleaf of which is at times so large as to weigh ten pounds. Theflowers have white petals, tinted with rose, and the centre is a deepviolet. Their weight is between two and three pounds. 

Wherever we camped we lit immense fires of brushwood, and generallyslept peacefully, but with loaded rifle at arm's length. 

A portion of land which I rode over while in that district must havebeen just a thin crust covering a mighty cave. The horses' footfallsmade hollow sounds, and when the thin roof shook I half expected tobe precipitated into unknown depths. 

After many weeks of varied experiences we arrived at or near the landI was seeking. There, on the banks of a river, we struck camp, andfrom there I made short excursions in all directions in order toascertain the approximate value of the old gentleman's estate. On theland we came upon an encampment of poor, half or wholly naked CaingwaIndians. By them we were kindly received, and found that, notwithstanding their extremely sunken condition and abject poverty, they seemed to have mandioca and bananas in abundance. In return fora few knives and beads, I was able to purchase quite a stock. Seeingthat all the dishes, plates, and bottles they have grow in the formof gourds, they imagine all such things we use also grow. It wasamusing to hear them ask for _seeds of the glass medicine bottles_ Icarried with me. 

A drum, ingeniously made by stretching a serpent's skin over a largecalabash, was monotonously beaten as our good-night lullaby when westretched ourselves out on the grass. 

The Caingwa men all had their lower lip pierced, and hanging downover the breast was a thin stick about ten inches long. Their faceswere also painted in strange patterns. 

Learning from their chief that the royal tribe to which theyoriginally belonged lived away in the depths of the forest to theeast, some moons distant, I became curious. After repeated enquiriesI was told that a king ruled the people there, and that they dailyworshipped the sun. Hearing of these sun-worshippers, I determined, if possible, to push on thither. The old chief himself offered todirect us if, in return, I would give him a shirt, a knife, and anumber of white beads. The bargain was struck, and arrangements weremade to start off at sunrise next day, My commission was not only tosee the old gentleman's land, but to visit the surrounding Indians, with a view to missionary work being commenced among them. 

The morning dawned clear and propitious, but the chief had decidednot to go. On enquiring the reason for the change of mind, Idiscovered that his people had been telling him that I only wanted toget him into the forest in order to kill him, and that I would notgive him the promised shirt and beads. I thought that it was muchmore likely for him to kill me than I him, and I set his mind at restabout the reward, for on the spot I gave him the coveted articles. Onreceipt of those luxuries his doubts of me fled, and I soon assuredhim that I had no intention whatever of taking his life. Towards noonwe started off, and, winding our way through the Indian paths insingle file, we again soon left behind us all signs of man, and sawnothing to mark that any had passed that way before. 

That night, as we sat under a large silk-cotton tree silently eatingsupper off plates of palm leaves, the old chief suddenly threw downhis meat, and, with a startled expression, said, "I hear spirits!"Never having heard such ethereal visitors myself, I smiledincredulously, whereupon the old savage glared at me, and, leavinghis food upon the ground went away out of the firelight into thedarkness. Afraid that he might take one of the horses and return tohis people, I followed to soothe him, but his offended mood did notpass until, as he said, the _spirits_ had gone. 

On the third day scarcity of water began to be felt. We had beenslowly ascending the rugged steeps of a mountain, and as the day woreon the thirst grew painful. That night both we and the horses had tobe content with the dew-drops we sucked from the grass, and our dumbcompanions showed signs of great exhaustion. The Indian assured methat if we could push on we would, by next evening, come to abeautiful lake in the mountains: so, ere the sun rose next morning, we were in the saddle on our journey to the coveted water. 

All that day we plodded along painfully, silently. Our lips weredried together, and our tongues swollen. Thirst hurts! The horseshung their heads and ears, and we were compelled to dismount and goafoot. The poor creatures were getting so thin that our weight seemedto crush them to the earth. The sun again set, darkness fell, and thelake was, for all I could see, a dream of the chief, our guide. Atnight, after repeating the sucking of the dew, we ate a little, drankthe blood of an animal, and tried to sleep. The patient horses stoodbeside us with closed eyes and bowed heads, until the sight was morethan I could bear. Fortunately, a very heavy dew fell, which greatlyhelped us, and two hours before sunrise next morning the loads wereequally distributed on the backs of the seven horses and we startedoff once again through the mist for water! water! When the sunilluminated the heavens and lit up the rugged peaks of the strangelyshaped mountains ahead of us, hope was revived. We sucked the fruitof the date palm, and in imagination bathed and wallowed in thewater--beautiful water--we so soon expected to behold. The poorhorses, however, not buoyed up with sweet hopes as we were, gave out, one after the other, and we were compelled to cruelly urge them on upthe steep. With it all, I had to leave two of the weaker ones behind, purposing, if God should in kindness permit us to reach water, toreturn and save them. 

That afternoon the Indian chief, who, though an old man, had shownwonderful fortitude and endurance, and still led the way, shouted:"_Eyoape! Eyoape!_" (Come! Come!) We were near the lake. With new-born strength I left all and ran, broke through the brushwood of theshore, jumped into the lake, and found--nothing but hard earth! Thelake was dried up! I dug my heel into the ground to see if below thesurface there might be soft mud, but failing to find even that, Idropped over with the world dancing in distorted visions before myeyes. More I cannot relate. 

How long I lay there I never knew. The Indian, I learned later, exploring a deep gully at the other side, found a putrid pool ofslime, full of poisonous frogs and alive with insects. Some of thisliquid he brought to me in his hands, and, after putting it in mymouth, had the satisfaction of seeing me revive. I dimly rememberthat my next act was to crawl towards the water-hole he guided me to. In this I lay and drank. I suppose it soaked into my system as rainin the earth after a drought. That stagnant pool was our salvation. The horses were brought up, and we drank, and drank again. Not untilour thirst was slaked did we fully realize how the water stank! Whenthe men were sufficiently refreshed they returned for the abandonedhorses, which were found still alive. Had they scented watersomewhere and drank? At the foot of the mountains, on the other side, we later discovered much better water, and there we camped, ourhorses revelling in the abundant pasturage. 

After this rest we continued our journey, and next day came to theedge of a virgin forest. Through that, the chief said, we must cutour way, for the royal tribe never came out, and were never visited. Close to the edge of the forest was a deep precipice, at the bottomof which we could discern a silvery streak of clear water. From therewe must procure the precious fluid for ourselves and horses. Takingour kettle and horns, we sought the best point to descend, and afterconsiderable difficulty, clinging to the branches of the overhangingtrees and the dense undergrowth, we reached the bottom. After slakingour thirst we ascended with filled horns and kettle to water thehorses. As may be supposed, this was a tedious task, and the descenthad to be made many times before the horses were satisfied. My hatserved for watering pail. 

Next morning the same process was repeated, and then the men, eachwith long _machetes_ I had provided, set to work to cut a paththrough the forest, and Old Stabbed Arm went off in search of game. After a two hours' hunt, a fat ostrich fell before his rifle, and hereturned to camp. We still had a little chipá, which had by this timebecome as hard as stone, but which I jealously guarded to use only incase of the greatest emergency. At times we had been very hungry, butmy order was that it should not be touched. 

Only the reader who has seen the virgin forest, with its interlacing_lianas_, thick as a man's leg--the thorns six inches long and sharpas needles--can form an idea of the task before us. As we penetratedfarther and farther in the _selva_, the darkness became deeper anddeeper. Giant trees reared their heads one hundred and fifty feetinto the heavens, and beautiful palms, with slender trunks anddelicate, feathery leaves, waved over us. The medicinal plants wererepresented by sarsaparilla and many others equally valuable. Therewas the cocoa palm, the date palm, and the cabbage palm, the latterof which furnished us good food, while the wine tree afforded anexcellent and cooling drink. In parts all was covered with beautifulpendant air-flowers, gorgeous with all the colors of the rainbow. Monkeys chattered and parrots screamed, but otherwise there was asombre stillness. The exhalations from the depth of rotting leavesand the decaying fallen wood rendered the steamy atmosphere mostpoisonous. Truly, the flora was magnificent, and the fauna, represented by the spotted jaguar, whose roar at times broke theawful quiet of the night, was equally grand. 

As the chief, ignorant of hours and miles, could not tell me theextent of the forest, I determined to let him and Timoteo make theirway through as best they could, crawling through the branches, to theSun-Worshippers, and secure their help in cutting a way for thehorses. After dividing the food I had, we separated. Timoteo and theIndian crept into the forest and were soon lost sight of, while OldStabbed Arm and I, with the horses, retraced our steps, and reachedthe open land again. After an earnest conversation my companionshouldered his rifle and went off to hunt, and I was left with onlythe companionship of the grazing horses. I remained behind to waterthe animals, and protect our goods from any prowling savage who mightchance to be in the neighborhood. My saddle-bed was spread under alarge _burning bush_, or incense tree, and my self-imposed duty wasto keep a fire burning in the open, that its smoke might be seen byday and its light by night. 

Going exploring a little, I discovered a much better descent down theprecipice, and water was more easily brought up. Indeed, I decidedthat, if a certain deep chasm were bridged over, it might be possibleto get the horses themselves to descend by a winding way. With thisobject in view I felled saplings near the place, and in a few hoursconstructed a rough bridge, strong enough to bear a horse's weight. Whether the animals could smell the water flowing at the bottom, orwere more agile than I had thought, I cannot tell, but they descendedthe almost perpendicular path most wonderfully, and soon were takingdraughts of the precious liquid with great gusto. Leaving the horsesto enjoy their drink, I ascended the stream for some distance, inorder to discover, if possible, where the flow came from. Judge of mysurprise when I found that the water ran out of a grotto, or cavern, in the face of the cliff-out of the unknown darkness into thesunlight! Walking up the bed of the stream, I entered the cave, and, striking a few matches, found it to be inhabited by hundreds ofvampire bats, which were hanging from the sides and stalactites ofthe roof, like so many damp, black rags. On my entrance the unearthlycreatures were disturbed, and many came flying in my face, so I madea quick exit. Several which I killed came floating down the streamwith me; one that I measured proved to be twenty-two inches acrossthe wings. My exploration had discovered the secret of the clots ofblood we had been finding on the horses' necks every morning. Thevampire-bats, in their nightly flights, had been sucking the life-blood of our poor, already starving animals! It is said theseloathsome creatures--half beast, half bird--fan their victim to sleepwhile they drain out the red blood. Provided with palm torches, Iagain entered the cavern, but could not penetrate its depths; itseemed to go right into the bowels of the mountain. Exploring downstream was more successful, for large flamingoes and wild ducks andgeese were found in plenty. 

That night I carefully staked out the horses all around the camp-fireand lay down to think and sleep and dream. Old Stabbed Arm had notreturned, and I was alone with nature. Several times I rose to see ifthe horses were securely tied, and to kill any bats I might finddisturbing them. Rising in the grey dawn, I watered the horses, cooked a piece of ostrich meat, and started off on foot for a shortdistance to explore the country to the north, where I saw manyindications that tapirs were numerous. My first sight of thispeculiar animal of Paraguay I shall never forget. It resembles noother beast I have ever seen, but seems half elephant, with itsmuzzle like a short trunk. In size it is about six feet long andthree and a half feet high. There were also ant-bears, peculiaranimals, without teeth, but provided with a rough tongue to lick upthe ants. The length of this animal is about four feet, but the thicktail is longer than the body. Whereas the tapir has a hog-like skin, the ant-bear has long, bristly hairs. 

Returning to camp, judge of my surprise when I found it in possessionof two savages of strange appearance. My first thought was that I hadlost all, but, drawing nearer, I discovered that Timoteo and thechief were also there, squatting on the ground, devouring the remainsof my breakfast. They had returned from the royal tribe, who hadoffered to cut a way from their side, and these two strangers were toassist us. 

With this additional help we again penetrated the forest. The men cutwith a will, and I drove the horses after them. Black, howlingmonkeys, with long beards and grave countenances, leapt among thetrees. Red and blue macaws screeched overhead, and many a largeserpent received its death-blow from our machetes. Sometimes we werefortunate enough to secure a bees' nest full of honey, or findluscious fruit. At times I stopped to admire a giant tree, eight orten feet in diameter, or orchids of the most delicate hues, but thepassage was hard and trying, and the stagnant air most difficult tobreathe. The fallen tree-trunks, over which we had to step, or goaround or under, were very numerous, and sometimes we landed in abed, not of roses, but of thorns. Sloths and strange birds' nestshung from the trees, while the mosquitos and insects made life almostunendurable. We were covered with carapatas, bruised and torn, andalmost eaten up alive with insects. 

[Illustration: PARAGUAYAN FOREST INDIAN. These dwarf men use a verylong bow, while the Patagonian uses a short one]

Under the spreading branches of one of the largest trees we came uponan abandoned Indian camp. This, I was told, had belonged to the"little men of the woods, " hairy dwarfs, a few of whom inhabit thedepths of the forest, and kill their game with blow-pipes. Of coursewe saw none of the poor creatures. Their scent is as keen as ananimal's; they are agile as monkeys, and make off to hide in thehollow trunks of trees, or bury themselves in the decaying vegetationuntil danger is past. Poor pigmy! What place will he occupy in thelife that is to be?

CHAPTER X. 

WE REACH THE SUN-WORSHIPPERS. 

After some days' journey we heard shouts, and knew that, likeentombed miners, we were being dug out on the other side! TheCaingwas soon met us, and I looked into their faces and gravelysaluted. They stared at me in speechless astonishment, and I ascuriously regarded them. Each man had his lower lip pierced and worethe _barbote_ I have described, with the difference that these weremade of gum. 

With a clear path before us we now made better progress, and beforelong emerged from the living tomb, but the memory of it will everremain a nightmare. 

We found a crowd of excited Indians, young and old, awaiting us. Manyof the females ran like frightened deer on catching sight of me, butan old man, whom I afterwards learned was the _High Priest_ of thetribe, came and asked my business. Assuring him, through Timoteo, that my mission was peaceable, and that I had presents for them, hegave me permission to enter into the glade, where I was told_Nandeyara_ [Footnote: "Our Owner, " the most beautiful word for God Ihave ever heard. ] had placed them at the beginning of the world. HadI discovered the _Garden of Eden_, the place from which man had beenwandering for 6, 000 years? I was conducted by Rocanandivá (the highpriest) down a steep path to the valley, where we came in view ofseveral large peculiarly shaped houses, built of bamboo. Near thesedwellings were perhaps a hundred men, women and children, remnants ofa vanishing nation. Some had a mat around their loins, but many werenaked. All the males had the _barbote_ in the lip, and hadexceptionally thick hair, matted with grease and mud. Most of themhad a repellant look on their pigment-painted faces, and I could verydistinctly see that I was not a welcome visitor. No, I had notreached Eden! Only "beyond the clouds and beyond the tomb" would thebowers of Eden be discovered to me. Hearing domestic hens cacklingaround the houses, I bade Timoteo tell the priest that we were veryhungry, and that if he killed two chickens for us I would give him abeautiful gift later on. The priest distinctly informed me, however, that I must give first, or no fowl would be killed. From thatdecision I tried to move him, urging that I was tired, the pack washard to undo, and to-morrow, when I was rested, I would well repaythem the kindness. My words were thrown away; not a bite should weeat until the promised knife was given. I was faint with hunger, butfrom the load on the packhorse I procured the knife, which I handedto my unwilling host with the promise of other gifts later. Onreceipt of this treasure he gave orders to the boys standing off at adistance to catch two chickens. The birds were knocked over by thestones thrown at them. Two women now came forward with clay pots ontheir heads and fire-sticks in their hands, and they superintendedthe cooking. Without cutting off either heads or legs, or pulling outthe birds' feathers, the chickens were placed in the pots with water. Lying down near the fire, I, manlike, impatiently waited for supper. Perhaps a minute had dragged its weary length along when I picked upa stick from the ground and poked one of the fowls out of the water, which was not yet warm. Holding the bird in one hand, and pullingfeathers out of my mouth with the other, I ate as my forefathers didages ago. Years before this I had learned that a hungry man can eatwhat an epicure despises. After this feast I lay down on the groundbehind one of the tepees, and, with my head resting on my most valuedpossessions, went to sleep. 

Having promised to give the priest and his wife another present, Iwas awakened very early next morning. They had come for their gifts. Rising from my hard bed, I stretched myself and awoke my servant, under whose head were the looking-glasses. I presented one of theseto the woman, who looked in it with satisfaction and evidentpleasure. Whether she was pleased with her reflection or with theglass I cannot tell, but I feel sure it must have been the latter! Anecklace to the daughter and a further gift to the old man gainedtheir friendship, and food was brought to us. After partaking of thisI was informed that the king desired to see me, and that I mustproceed at once to his hut. 

His majesty (?) lived on the other side of the river, close at hand. This water was of course unbridged, so, in order to cross, I wascompelled to divest myself of my clothing and walk through it innature's garb. The water came up to my breast, and once I thought theclothes I carried on my head would get wet. Dressing on the otherside, I presented myself at the king's abode. There I was kindlyreceived, being invited to take up my quarters with him and his royalfamily. The king was a tall man of somewhat commanding appearance, but, save for the loin cloth, he was naked, like the rest. The queen, a little woman, was as scantily dressed as her husband. She was veryshy, and I noticed the rest of the inmates of the hut peeping throughthe crevices of the corn-stalk partition of an inner room. Afterplacing around the shapely neck of the queen a specially finenecklace I had brought, and giving the king a large hunting-knife, Iwas regaled with roasted yams, and later on with a whole watermelon. 

Timoteo, my servant, whose native language was Guarani, couldunderstand most of the idiom of the Sun Worshippers, which we foundto be similar to that spoken by the civilized inhabitants of thecountry. There must therefore have been some connection between thetwo peoples at one time. The questions, "Where have you come from?""Why have you come?" were asked and answered, and I, in return, learned much of this strange tribe. Máté was served, but whereas inthe outside world a rusty tin tube to suck it through is inpossession of even the poorest, here they used only a reed. I wasastonished to find the máté sweetened. Knowing that they could notpossibly have any of the luxuries of civilization, I made enquiriesregarding this, and was told that they used a herb which grew in thevalley, to which they gave the name of _cá-ha hé-hé_ (sweet herb). This plant, which is not unlike clover, is sweet as sugar, whethereaten green or in a dried state. 

There was not a seat of any description in the hut, but the kingsaid, "_Eguapú_" ("Sit down"), so I squatted on the earthen floor. Abroom is not to be found in the kingdom, and the house had never beenswept!

A curiosity I noticed was the calabash which the king carriedattached to his belt. This relic was regarded with great reverence, and at first His Majesty declined to reveal its character; but afterI had won his confidence by gifts of beads and mirrors, he becamemore communicative. One day, in a burst of pride, he told me that thegourd contained the ashes of his ancestors, who were the ancientkings. Though the Spaniards sought to carefully rout out and destroyall direct descendants of the royal family of the Incas, theirhistorians tell us that some remote connections escaped. The Indiansof Peru have legends to the effect that at the time of the Spanishinvasion an Inca chieftain led an emigration of his people down themountains. Humboldt, writing in the 18th century, said: "It isinteresting to inquire whether any other princes of the family ofManco Capac have remained in the forests; and if there still existany of the Incas of Peru in other places. " Had I discovered somedescendants of this vanished race? The Montreal _Journal_, commentingon my discovery, said: "The question is of extreme interest to thescientific enquirer, even if they are not what Mr. Ray thinks them. "

The royal family consisted of the parents, a son and his wife, adaughter and her husband, and two younger girls. I was invited tosleep in the inner room, which the parents occupied, and the twomarried couples remained in the common room. All slept in fibrehammocks, made greasy and black by the smoke from the fire burning onthe floor in the centre of the room. No chimney, window, door, orarticle of furniture graced the house. 

"The court of the Incas rivalled that of Rome, Jerusalem, or any ofthe old Oriental countries, in riches and show, the palaces beingdecorated with a great profusion of gold, silver, fine cloth andprecious stones. " [Footnote: Rev. Thomas Wood, LL. D. , Lima, Peru, In"Protestant Missions in South America. "]

An ancient Spanish writer who measured some of the stones of theIncan palace at Cuzco tells us there were stones so nicely adjustedthat it was impossible to introduce even the blade of a knife betweenthem, and that some of those stones were thirty-eight feet long, byeighteen feet broad, and six feet thick. What a descent for the"Children of the Sun"! "How are the mighty fallen!" Thoughts of thepast and the mean present passed through my mind as I lay down in thedust of the earthen floor that first night of my stay with the king. 

Owing to the thousands of fleas in the dust of the room it was hardfor me to rest much, and that night a storm brewing made sleep almostimpossible. As the thunder pealed forth all the Indians of the houseshastily got out of their hammocks and grasped gourd rattles andbeautifully woven cotton banners. The rattles were shaken and the banners waved, while a droning chant was struck up by thehigh priest, and the louder the thunder rolled the louder theirvoices rose and the more lustily they shook the seeds in theircalabashes. They were trying to appease the dread deity of Thunder, as did their Inca ancestors. The voice of the old priest led theworship, and for _four hours_ there was no cessation of themonotonous song, except when he performed some mystic ceremony whichI understood not. 

Just as the old priest had awakened me the first morning to ask forhis present, so the king came tapping me gently the second. In hishand he had a large sweet potato, and in my half-dreamy state I heardhim saying, "Give me your coat. Eat a potato?" The change I thoughtwas greatly to his advantage, but I was anxious to please him. Ipossessed two coats, while he was, as he said, a poor old man, andhad no coat. The barter was concluded; I ate the potato, and he, withstrange grimaces, donned a coat for the first time in his life. Thinkof this for an alleged descendant of the great Atahuallpa, whoserobes and jewels were priceless!

I offered to give the queen a feminine garment of white cotton if shewould wear it, but this I could not prevail upon her to do; it was"ugly. " As a loin-cloth, she would use it, but put it on--no! In thelatter savage style the shaped garment was thereafter worn. Womenhave _fashions_ all over the globe. 

The few inches of clothing worn by the Caingwa women are neverwashed, and the only attempt at cleansing the body I saw when amongthem was that of a woman who filled her mouth with water and squirtedit back on her hands, which she then wiped on her loin-cloth!

Prescott, writing of the Incas, says: "They loved to indulge in theluxury of their baths, replenished by streams of crystal water whichwere conducted through subterraneous silver channels into basins ofgold. "

The shapely little mouth of the queen was spoilt by the habit she hadof smoking a _heavy_ pipe made of red clay. I was struck with theweight and shape of this, for it exactly resembled those made by theold cliff-dwellers, unknown centuries ago. One will weigh at least aquarter of a pound. For a mouth-piece they use a bird's quill. Thetobacco they grow themselves. 

Near the royal abode were the kitchen gardens. A tract of forest hadbeen fired, and this clearing planted with bananas, mandioca, sweetpotatoes, etc. The blackened trunks of the trees rose up like so manyevil spirits above the green foliage. The garden implements used wereof the most primitive description; a crooked stick served for hoe, and long, heavy, sharpened iron-wood clubs were used instead of thesteel plough of civilization. 

As I have already remarked, I found the people were sun-worshippers. Each morning, just as the rising sun lit up the eastern sky, youngand old came out of their houses, the older ones carrying emptygourds with the dry seeds inside. At a signal from the high priest, asolemn droning chant was struck up, to the monotonous time kept bythe numerous gourd rattles. As the sun rose higher and higher, thechanting grew louder and louder, and the echoes of _"He! he! he! ha!ha! ha! laima! laima!"_ were repeated by the distant hills. When thealtar of incense (described later) was illuminated by the sun-god, the chanting ceased. 

After this solemn worship of the Orb of Day, the women, with quietdemeanor and in single file, went off to their work in the gardens. On returning, each carried a basket made of light canes, slung on theback and held up by plaited fibres forming a band which came acrosstheir foreheads. The baskets contained the day's vegetables. Meat wasseldom eaten by them, but this was probably because of its scarcity, for when we killed an ostrich they clamored for a share. Reptiles ofall kinds, and even caterpillars, are devoured by them when hungry. 

The Caingwas are under the average height, but use the longest bowsand arrows I have ever seen. Some I brought away measure nearly sevenfeet in length. The points are made of sharpened iron-wood, notchedlike the back of a fish-hook, and they are poisoned with serpentvenom. Besides these weapons, it was certainly strange to find themliving in the _stone age_, for in the hands of the older members ofthe tribe were to be seen stone axes. The handles of these primitiveweapons are scraped into shape by flints, as probably our savageforefathers in Britain did theirs two thousand years ago. 

Entering the low, narrow doorway of one of the bamboo frame houses, Isaw that it was divided into ten-foot squares by corn-stalkpartitions a yard high. These places, like so many stalls for horses, run down each side of the _hogá_. One family occupies a division, sleeping in net hammocks made of long, coarse grass. A "family man"usually has bands of human hair twisted around his legs below theknees, and also around the wrists. This hair is torn from his wife'shead. Down the centre are numerous fires for cooking purposes, butthe house was destitute of chimney. Wood is burned, and the place wasat times so full of smoke that I could not distinguish one Indianfrom another. Fortunately, the walls of the house, as was also theroof, were in bad repair, and some of the smoke escaped through thechinks. Sixty people lived in the largest hogá, and I judged thenumber of the whole tribe to be about three hundred. 

The doorways of all the houses faced towards the east, as did thoseof the Inca. In the principal one, where the high priest lived, asquare altar of red clay was erected. I quickly noticed that on thiselevation, which was about a yard high, there burned a very carefullytended fire of holy wood. Enquiring the meaning of this, I wasinformed that, very many moons ago, Nande-yara had come in person tovisit the tribe, and when with them had lit the fire, which, he said, they must not under any circumstances suffer to die out. Ever sincethen the smoke of the incense had ascended to their "Owner" in hisfar-off dwelling. 

How forcibly was I reminded of the scripture referring to the Jewishaltar of long ago, "There the fire shall ever be burning upon thealtar; it shall never go out. " If I had not discovered Eden, I had atleast found the altar and fire of Edenic origin. 

Behind the altar, occupying the stall directly opposite the doorway, stood the tribal god. As the Caingwas are sun-worshippers, I wassurprised to see this, but Rocanandivia, with grave demeanor, told methat when Nandeyara departed from them he left behind him hisrepresentative. In the chapter on Mariolatry, I have traced thenatural tendency of man to sink from spiritual to image worship, andI found that the Caingwas, like all pagans, had reverted to asomething they could see and feel. Remembering that they had neverheard the second commandment, written by God because of this failingin man, we can excuse them, but what shall be said of the enlightenedRomanists?

Being exceedingly anxious to procure their "Copy of God, " I tried tobargain with the priest. I offered him one thing and another, but toall my proposals he turned a deaf ear, and finally, glaring at me, said that _nothing_ would ever induce him to part with it. The peoplewould never allow the image to be taken away, as the life of thetribe was bound up with it Seeing that he was not to be moved, Idesisted, though a covetous look in his eye when I offered abeautiful colored rug in exchange gave me hope, Rocanandiva was, likemost idolatrous priests, very fanatical. When he learned that Iprofessed and taught a different religion, his jealousy was mostmarked, and he often told me to go from them, I was not wanted. Living with the king, however, saved me from ejection. 

One day the priest, ever on the beg, was anxious to obtain somearticle from me, and I determined to give it only on one condition. Being anxious to tell the people the story of Jesus, I had repeatedlyasked permission of him, but had been as often repulsed. They did notwant _me_, or any new "words, " he would reply. Turning to him now, Isaid, "Rocanandiva, if you will allow me to tell 'words' to thepeople you shall have the present. " The priest turned on his heel andleft me. Knowing his cupidity, I was not surprised when, later, hecame to me and said that I could tell them _words_, and held out hishand for the gift. 

After sun-worship next morning the king announced that I hadsomething new to tell them. When all were seated on the ground inwondering silence, I began in simple language to tell "the old, oldstory. " My address was somewhat similar to the following: "Many moonsago, Nandeyara, looking down from his abode, saw that all the men andwomen and children in the world were bad; that is, they had donewrong things, such as . . . Now God has a Son, and to Him He said, Look down and see. All are doing wicked things! He looked and saw. The Father said that for their sin they should have to die, but thatJesus, His Son, could come down and die in their place. The Son came, and lived on earth many moons; but was hated, and at last caught, andlarge pieces of iron (like the priest's knife) were put into Hishands and feet, and He was fastened to a tree. After this a man came, and, with a very long knife, brought the blood out of the side ofJesus, and He died. " Purposing to further explain my story, I was notpleased when the priest stopped me, and, stepping forth, told thepeople that my account was not true. He then in eloquent tonesrelated to them what he called the _real story_, to which I listenedin amazed wonder. 

"Many moons ago, " he began, "we were dying of hunger! One day theSun, our god, changed into a man, and he walked down _that_ road. "(Here he pointed to the east. ) "The chief met him. 'All your peopleare dying of hunger, ' said god. 'Yes, they are, ' the chief replied. 'Will you die instead of all the people?' Nandeyara said. 'Yes, Iwill, ' the chief answered. He immediately dropped down dead, and godcame to the village where we all are now. 'Your chief is lying deadup the road, ' he said, 'go and bury him, and after three days arepassed visit the grave, when you will find a plant growing out of his mouth; that will be corn, and it will save you!'" Then, turningto me, the priest said: "This we did, and behold us alive! That isthe story!" A strange legend, surely, and yet the reader will bestruck with the grains of truth intermingled--life, resulting fromthe sacrificial death of another; the substitution of the one for themany; the life-giving seed germinating after _three days' burial_, reminding one of John 12:24: "Except a corn of wheat fall into theground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forthmuch fruit. " Strange that so many aboriginal people have legends sonear the truth. 

Some days later the chiefs son and I were alone, and I saw thatsomething troubled him. He tried to tell me, but I was somewhatignorant of his language, so, after looking in all directions to seethat we were really alone, he led the way into a dark corner of thehogá, where we were. There, from under a pile of garden baskets, calabashes, etc. , he brought out a peculiarly-shaped gourd, full ofsome red, powdery substance. This, with trembling haste, he put intomy hand, and seemed greatly relieved when I had it securely. Goingthen to the corner where I kept my goods, he took up a box of matchesand made signs for me to exchange, which I did. When Timoteo returnedI learned that the young man was custodian of the devil--the only andoriginal one--and that he had palmed him off on me for a box ofmatches! How the superstition of the visible presence of the deviloriginated I have no idea, but there might be some meaning in theman's earnest desire to exchange it for matches, or lights, theemblem of their fire or sun-worship. Was this simple deal fallenman's feeble effort to rid himself of the _Usurper_ and get back the_Father_, for it is very significant that the Caingwa word, _ta-ta_(light), signifies also father. Do they need light, or are theysufficiently illumined for time and eternity? Will the readerreverently stand with me, in imagination, beside an Indian grave? Agirl has died through snake poisoning. A shallow grave has been dugfor her remains. Into this hole her body has been dropped, uncoffined, in a sitting position. Beside the body is placed somefood and a few paltry trinkets, and the people stand around with thatdisconsolate look which is only seen upon the faces of those who knownot the Father. As they thus linger, the witch-doctor asks, "Is thedog killed?" Someone replies, "Yes, the dog is killed. " "Is the headcut off?" is then asked. "Yes, the head is off, " is the reply. "Putit in the grave, then, " says the medicine man; and then the dog'shead is dropped at the girl's feet. 

Why do they do this? you ask. Question their _wise man_, and he willsay: "A dog is a very clever animal. He can always find his way. Agirl gets lost when alone. For that reason we place a dog's head withher, that it may guide her in the spirit life. " I ask again, "Do theyneed missionaries?"

My stay with the sun-worshippers, though interesting, was painful. Excepting when we cooked our own food, I almost starved. Their habitsare extremely filthy, indeed more loathsome and disgusting than Idare relate. 

My horses were by now refreshed with their rest, and appeared ablefor the return journey, so I determined to start back tocivilization. The priest heard of my decision with unfeigned joy, butthe king and queen were sorrowful. These pressed me to return againsome time, but said I must bring with me a _boca_ (gun) like my ownfor the king, with some more strings of white beads for the queen'swrists. 

While saddling our horses in the grey dawn, the wily priest came tome with a bundle, and, quietly drawing me aside, said that Nandeyarawas inside, and in exchange for the bright rug I could take him away. The exchange was made, and I tied their god, along with bows andarrows, etc. , on the back of a horse, and we said farewell. I hadstrict orders to cover up the idol from the eyes of the people untilwe got away. Even when miles distant, I kept looking back, fearingthat the duped Indians were following in enraged numbers. Of course, the priest would give out that I had _stolen_ the image. 

Ah, Rocanandiva, you are not the first who has been willing to sellhis god for worldly gain! The hand of Judas burned with "thirtypieces of silver, " the earthly value of the Divine One. Pilate, forpersonal profit, said: "Let Him be crucified. " And millions to-daysell Him for "a mess of pottage. "

The same horse bore away the _devil_ and _god_, so perhaps withoutthe one there would be no need of the other. 

So prolific is the vegetation that during our few weeks' stay withthe Indians the creeping thorns and briars had almost covered up thepath we had cut through the forest, and it was again necessary to useour machetes. The larger growth, however, being down, this was notdifficult, and we entered its sombre stillness once more. Whatstrange creatures people its tangled recesses we knew not. 

 "For beasts and birds have seen and heard That which man knoweth not. "

I hurried through with little wish to penetrate its secret. Mereexistence was hard enough in its steaming semi-darkness. Our clotheswere now almost torn to shreds (I had sought to mend mine with horse-hair thread, with poor results), and we duly emerged into daylight onthe other side, ragged, torn and dirty. 

Our journey back to civilization was similar to the outward way. Weselected a slightly different route, but left the old chief safe andwell with his people. 

One night our horses were startled by a bounding jaguar, and were soterrified that they broke away and scattered in all directions. Searching for them detained us a whole day, but fortunately we wereable to round them all up again. Two were found in a wood ofstrangely-shaped bushes, whose large, tough leaves rustled likeparchment. 

One afternoon a heavy rain came on, and we stopped to construct ashelter of green branches, into which we crept. The downpour becameso heavy that it dripped through our hastily-constructed arbor, andwe were soon soaking wet. Owing to the dampness of the fuel, it wasonly after much patient work that we were able to light a fire anddry our clothes. There we remained for three days, Timoteo sighingfor Pegwaomi, and the wind sighing still louder, to our discomfort. Everything we had was saturated. Sleeping on the soaking ground, thepoisonous tarantula spiders crept over us. These loathsome creatures, second only to the serpent, are frequently so large as to spreadtheir thick, hairy legs over a six-inch diameter. 

The storm passed, and we started off towards the river Ipane, whichwas now considerably swollen. Three times on the expedition we hadhalted to build rough bridges over chasms or mountain streams withperpendicular banks, but this was broad and had to be crossed throughthe water. As I rode the largest and strongest horse, it was my placeto venture first into the rushing stream. The animal bravely stemmedthe current, as did the rest, but Old Stabbed Arm, riding a weakerhorse, nearly lost his life. The animal was washed down by the strongcurrent, and but for the man's previous long experience in swimmingrivers he would never have reached the bank. The pony also somehowstruggled through to the side, landing half-drowned, and Old StabbedArm received a few hearty pats on the back. The load on the mare wasfurther soaked, but most of our possessions had been ruined long ago. My cartridges I had slung around my neck, and I held the photographicplates in my teeth, while the left hand carried my gun, so these werepreserved. To my care on that occasion the reader is indebted forsome of the illustrations in this volume. Nandeyara got another wash, but he had been wet before, and never complained!

On the farther side of the river was a deserted house, and we coulddistinctly trace the heavy footprints of a tapir leading up the pathand through the open doorway. We entered with caution. Was the beastin then? No. He had gone out by a back way, probably made by himself, through the wattled wall. We could see the place was frequented veryoften by wild pigs, which had left hundreds of footprints in thethree-inch depth of dust on the floor. There we lit a fire to againdry our clothes, and prepared to pass the night, expecting a visitfrom the hogs. Had they appeared when we were ready for them, thevisit would not have been unwelcome. Food was hard to procure, andanimals did not come very often to be shot. Had they found us asleep, however, the waking would have been terrible indeed, for they willeat human flesh just as ravenously as roots. After spreading oursaddle-cloths on the dust and filth, Old Stabbed Arm and I werechatting about the Caingwas and their dirty habits, when Timoteo, heaving a sigh of relief, said: "Thank God, we are clean at last!" Hewas satisfied with the pigpen as he recalled the _hogá_ of the Sun-Worshippers. 

 At last the village of Pegwaomi was reached, and, oh, we were notsorry, for the havoc of the jiggers in our feet was getting terrible!The keen-eyed inhabitants caught sight of us while we were stilldistant, and when we reined up, Timoteo's aged mother tremblinglysaid, "_Yoape_" ("Come here") to him, and she wept as she embracedher boy. Truly, there was no sight so sweet to "mother" as that ofher ragged, travel-stained son; and Timoteo, the strong man, wept. The fatted calf was then killed a few yards from the doorstep, byhaving its throat cut. Offal littered up the doorway, and thechildren in their glee danced in the red blood. The dogs' tails andthe women's tongues wagged merrily, making us feel that we werejoined on to the world again. I was surprised to find that we weredays out of reckoning; I had been keeping Sunday on Thursday!

During this stay at Pegwaomi I nearly lost Old Stabbed Arm. The dayafter we returned our hostess very seriously asked me if he mightmarry her daughter. Thinking he had sent her to ask, I consented. Itwas a surprise to learn afterwards that he knew nothing at all of thematter. 

Although Pegwaomi gained no new inhabitant, I secured what proved tobe one of the truest and most faithful friends of my life--a littlemonkey. His name was Mr. Pancho. With him it was love at first sight, and from that time onward, I believe, he had only two things in hismind--his food and his master. He would cry when I left him, and hugand kiss me on my return. Pancho rode the pack-mare into the villageof Concepcion, and busied himself on the way catching butterflies andtrying to grasp the multi-colored humming-birds hovering over theequally beautiful passion-flowers growing in the bushes on each sideof the path. 

Surely a stranger sight was never seen on the streets of Concepcionthan that of a tired, dusty pack-horse bearing a live monkey, a deadgod, and an equally dead devil on his back! Mrs. Sorrows wasoverjoyed to see me return, and earnestly told me that my first dutywas to hurry down to the store and buy two colored candles to burnbefore her saint, who had brought me back, even though I was aheretic, which fact she greatly lamented. We had been given up aslost months before, for word came down that I had been killed byIndians. Here I was, however, safe and fairly well, saving that theends of two of my toes had rotted off with jiggers, and fever burnedin my veins! Mrs. Dolores doctored my feet with tobacco ashes as Ireclined in a hammock under the lime trees surrounding her hut. I didnot buy the candles, but she did; and while I silently thanked aHigher Power, and the _ta-tas_ burned to _her_ deity, she informed methat my countryman, the prodigal, had been carried to the "potters'field. " Not all prodigals reach home again; some are buried by theswine-troughs. 

For some time I was unable to put my feet to the ground; but Pancho, ever active, tied in a fig tree, helped himself to ripe fruit, andtook life merrily. Pancho and I were eventually able to bid good-byeto Mrs. Sorrows, and, thousands of miles down life's pathway, thislittle friend and I journeyed together, he ever loving and true. Itook him across the ocean, away from his tropical home, and--he died. I am not sentimental--nay, I have been accused of hardness--but Imake this reference to Pancho in loving memory. Unlike some friendsof my life, _he_ was constant and true. [Footnote: From lettersawaiting me at the post-office, I learned, with intense sorrow andregret, that my strange patron had gone "the way of all flesh" Theland I had been to explore, along-with a bequest of $250, 000, passedinto the hands of the Baptist Missionary Society, to the Secretary ofwhich Society all my reports were given. ]

CHAPTER XI. 

CHACO SAVAGES. 

The Gran Chaco, an immense region in the interior of the continent, said to be 2, 500, 000 square miles in extent, is, without doubt, thedarkest part of "The Darkest Land. " From time immemorial this hasbeen given up to the Indians; or, rather, they have proved so warlikethat the white man has not dared to enter the vast plain. The Chacocontains a population of perhaps 3, 000, 000 of aborigines. These aredivided into many tribes, and speak numerous languages. From themilitary outposts of Argentina at the south, to the Fort of Olimpo, 450 miles north, the country is left entirely to the savage. Theformer are built to keep back the Tobas from venturing south, and thelatter is a Paraguayan fort on the Brazilian frontier. Here about onehundred soldiers are quartered and some fifty women banished, for theParaguayan Government sends its female convicts there. [Footnote: Thewomen are not provided with even the barest necessities of life. Herethey are landed and, perforce, fasten themselves like leeches on thelicentious soldiery. I speak from personal knowledge, for I havevisited the "hell" of Paraguay. ] Between these forts and Bolivia, onthe west, I have been privileged to visit eight different tribes ofIndians, all of them alike degraded and sunken in the extreme; savageand wild as man, though originally made in the image of God, can be. 

The Chaco is a great unknown land. The north, described by Mr. Minchin, Bolivian Government Explorer, as "a barren zone--an almostuninterrupted extent of low, thorny scrub, with great scarcity ofwater, " and the centre and south, as I have seen in exploringjourneys, great plains covered with millions of palm trees, throughwhich the astonished traveller can ride for weeks without seeing anylimit. In the dry season the land is baked by the intense heat of thetropical sun, and cracked into deep fissures. In the rainy season itis an endless marsh--a veritable dead man's land. During a 200-mileride, 180 lay through water with the sun almost vertical. All thiscountry in past ages must have been the bed of a great salt sea. 

As I have said, the Chaco is peculiarly Indian territory, into whichthe white man steps at his peril. I accepted a commission, however, to examine and report on certain parts of it, so I left the civilizedhaunts of men and set foot on the forbidden ground. 

My first introduction to the savages in Chaco territory was at theirvillage of Teepmuckthlawhykethy (The Place Where the Cows Arrived). They were busy devouring a dead cow and a newly-born calf, and I sawtheir naked bodies through such dense clouds of mosquitos that in oneclap of the hands I could kill twenty or thirty. This Indian _toldo_consists of three large wigwams, in which live about eighty of themost degraded aborigines to be found on earth. When they learned Iwas not one of the _Christians_ from across the river, and that Icame well introduced, they asked: Did I come across the _big water_in a dug-out? Was it a day's journey? Would I give them some of "thestuff that resembles the eggs of the ant?" (their name for rice). 

I was permitted to occupy a palm hut without a roof, but I sleptunder a tiger's skin, and that kept off dew and rain. They reservedthe right to come and go in it as they pleased. The women, with nakedbabies astride their hips, the usual way of carrying them, wereparticularly annoying. A little girl, however, perhaps ten years old, named Supupnik (Sawdust), made friends with me, and that friendshiplasted during all my stay with them. Her face was always grotesquelypainted, but she was a sweet child. 

These Indians are of normal stature, and are always erect andstately, perhaps because all burdens are borne by straps on theforehead. The expression of the savage is peculiar, for he pulls outall the hair on his face, even the eyelashes and eyebrows, and seemsto think the omission of that act would be a terrible breach ofcleanliness. These same individuals will, however, frequently be seenwith their whole body so coated with dirt that it could easily bescraped off with a knife in cakes, as the housewife would scrape aburnt loaf! The first use to which the women put the little round tinlooking-glasses, which I used for barter, was to admire their pretty(?) faces; but the men, with a sober look, would search for thedetested hair on lip or chin. That I was so lost to decency as tosuffer a moustache to cover my lip was to them a constant puzzle andwonder, for in every other respect the universal opinion was that Iwas a civilized kind of "thing. " I write _thing_ advisedly, for thewhite man is to them an inferior creation--not a _person_. 

In place of a beard or moustache, the inhabitant of the Chaco prefersto paint his face, and sometimes he makes quite an artistic design. 

These wild inhabitants of Central South America generally wear a skinaround the loins, or a string of ostrich feathers. Some tribes, as, for example, the Chamacocos, dispense with either. The height offashion is to wear strings of tigers' teeth, deer's hoofs, birds'bills, etc. , around the neck. Strings of feathers or wool are twistedaround ankles and wrists, while the thickly matted hair is adornedwith plumes, standing upright. 

The men insert round pieces of wood in the lobe of the ear. Boys oftender age have a sharp thorn pushed through the ear, where morecivilized nations wear earrings. This hole is gradually enlargeduntil manhood, when a round piece, two inches in diameter and one anda half inches thick, can be worn, not depending from the ear, but inthe gristle of it. The cartilage is thus so distended that only anarrow rim remains around the ornament, and this may often be seenbroken out. Sometimes three or four rattles from the tail of therattlesnake also hang from the ear on to the shoulder. 

These tribes of the Chaco were all vassals of the Inca at the adventof the Spaniards. They had been by them reclaimed from savagery, andtaught many useful arts, one or two of which, such as the making ofblankets and string, they still retain. The Inca used the earornaments of solid gold, but made in the form of a wheel. The nearestapproach to this old custom is when the wooden ear-plug is paintedthus, as are some in the author's possession. 

I was fortunate in gaining the favor of the tribe living near theriver, and because of certain favors conferred upon them, was adoptedinto the family. My face was painted, my head adorned with ostrichplumes, and I was given the name of Wanampangapthling ithma (BigCactus Red Mouth). Because of this formal initiation, I wasprivileged to travel where I chose, but to the native Paraguayan orArgentine the Chaco is a forbidden land. The Indian describes himselfas a _man_; monkeys are _little men_; I was a _thing_; but theParaguayans are _Christians_, and that is the lowest degree of all. The priests they see on the other side of the river are _Yankilwana_(neither man nor woman); and a _Yankilwana_, in his distinctive garb, could never tread this Indian soil. So abhorrent to them is the nameof Christian, that the missionaries have been compelled to useanother word to describe their converts, and they are called"Followers of Jesus. " All the members of some large expeditions havebeen massacred just because they were _Christians_. Surely this isconvincing corroboration of my remarks regarding the state of RomanCatholicism in those dark lands. 

A few miserable-looking, diminutive sheep are kept by some tribes, and the blankets referred to are made from the wool, which is tornoff the sheep with a sharp shell, or, if near the coast, with aknife. The blankets are woven by hand across two straight branches oftree, and they are sometimes colored in various shades. A bulbousroot they know of dyes brown, the cochineal insect red, and the barkof a tree yellow. String is made from the fibre of the _caraguataî_plant, and snail shells are used to extract the fibre. This work is, of course, done by the women, as is also the making of the clay potsthey use for cooking. The men only hunt. 

All sleep on the ground, men, women, children and dogs, promiscuously. The wigwams are nothing more than a few branches stuckin the ground and tied at the top. The sides are left open. Veryoften even this most primitive of dwellings is dispensed with, andthe degraded beings crawl under the shelter of the bushes. Furnitureof any kind they are, of course, wit-out, and their destitution isonly equalled by the African pigmy or the Australian black. 

The Chaco is essentially a barren land, and the Indians' time seemsalmost fully taken up in procuring food. The men, with bows andarrows, hunt the deer, ostrich, fox, or wolf, while the women foragefor roots and wild fruit. 

One tribe in the north of the Chaco are cannibals, and theyoccasionally make war on their neighbors just to obtain food. 

A good vegetable diet is the cabbage, which grows in the heart ofcertain palms, and weighs three or four pounds. To secure this thetree has perforce to be cut down. To the Indian without an axe thisis no light task. The palm, as is well known, differs from othertrees by its having the seat of life in the head, and not in theroots; so when the cabbage is taken out the tree dies. 

Anything, everything, is eaten for food, and a roasted serpent orboiled fox is equally relished. During my stay among them I ceased toask of what the mess was composed; each dish was worse than theformer. Among the first dishes I had were mandioca root, a blackcarrion bird, goat's meat, and fox's head. The puma, otter, ant-bear, deer, armadillo, and ostrich are alike eaten, as is also the jaguar, a ferocious beast of immense size. I brought away from those regionssome beautiful skins of this animal, the largest of which measuresnearly nine feet from nose to tail. 

In the sluggish, almost salt, streams, fish are numerous, and theseare shot by the Indian with arrows, to which is attached a string ofgut. Lakes and rivers are also filled with hideous-looking alligatorsof all sizes. These grow to the length of twelve or fifteen feet inthese warm waters, and the tail is considered quite a delicacy. Besides these varied dishes, there is the electric eel; and, sunk ina yard depth of mud, is the _lollock_, of such interest tonaturalists The lollock is a fish peculiar to the Chaco. Thoughgrowing to the length of three and four feet, it has only rudimentaryeyes, and is, in consequence, quite blind; it is also unable to swim. The savage prods in the mud with a long notched lance, sometimes forhours, until he sticks the appetizing fish. 

The steamy waters are so covered with aquatic plants that in someplaces I have been able to walk across a living bridge. Once, whenout hunting, I came upon a beautiful forest glade, covered with acarpet of green. Thinking it a likely place for deer, I entered, whenlo, I sank in a fœtid lake of slime. Throwing my gun on to the bank, I had quite a difficulty to regain dry land. 

In my journeyings here and there I employed one or another of thebraves to accompany me. All they could eat and some little presentwas the pay. No sooner was the gift in their hand, however, aftersupper, than they would put it back in mine and say, "Give me somemore food?" I was at first accompanied by Yantiwau (The Wolf Rider). Armed with a bow and arrows, he was a good hunter for me, and afaithful servant, but his custom of spitting on my knife and spoon toclean them I did not like. When my supplies were getting low, and Iwent to the river for a wash, he would say: "There's no_kiltanithliacack_ (soap)--only _clupup_ (sand). " Yantiwau wasinterested in pictures; he would gaze with wondering eyes at photos, or views of other lands, but he looked at them _the wrong side up_, as they all invariably do. While possessed of a profound respect forme in some ways, he thought me very lacking in common knowledge. While I was unable to procure game, through not seeing any, he couldcall the bird to him in a "ducky, ducky, come and be killed" kind ofway; and my tongue was parched when he would scent water. This wassometimes very easy to smell, however, for it was almost impossibleto drink out of a waterhole without holding the nose and strainingthe liquid through my closed teeth. Chaco water at best is verybrackish, and on drying off the ground a white coat of salt is left. 

My Indian's first and last thought was of his stomach. While capableof passing two or three days without eating, and feeling no pangs ofhunger, yet, when food was to hand, he gorged himself, and could putaway an incredible amount. Truly, his make-up was a constant wonderto me. Riding through the "hungry belt" I would be famishing, but tomy question: "Are you hungry?" he would answer, "No. " After atoilsome journey, and no supper at the end: "Would you like to eat?""No. " But let an ostrich or a deer come in sight, and he could notlive another minute without food! Another proof to Yantiwau of myincapacity was the fact that when my matches were all used I couldnot light the fire. He, by rubbing a blunt-pointed hard stick in agroove of soft wood, could cause such a friction that the dust wouldspeedily ignite, and set fire to the dry twigs which he was so cleverin collecting. Although such a simple process to the Indian, I nevermet a white man who could use the firesticks with effect. 

Sitting by the camp-fire in the stillness of evening, my guide woulddraw attention to a shooting star. "Look! That is a bad witchdoctor, " he would say. "Did you notice he went to the west? Well, theToothlis live there. He has gone for vengeance!"

The wide palm plains are almost uninhabited; I have journeyed eightymiles without sighting human being or wigwam. In the rainy season thetrees stand out of a sea-like expanse of steaming water, and one maywade through this for twenty miles without finding a dry place forbivouac. Ant hills, ten and fifteen feet high, with dome-shapedroofs, dot the wild waste like pigmy houses, and sometimes they arethe only dry land found to rest on. The horses flounder through themire, or sink up to the belly in slime, while clouds of flies makethe life of man and beast a living death. Keys rust in the pocket, and boots mildew in a day. At other seasons, as I know by painfulexperience, the hard-baked ground is cracked up into fissures, andnot a drop of water is to be found in a three days' journey. Themiserable savages either sit in utter dejection on logs of wood ortree roots, viewing the watery expanse, or roam the country in searchof _yingmin_ (water). 

Whereas the Caingwas may be described as inoffensive Indians, theinhabitants of the Chaco are _savages_, hostile to the white man, whoonly here and there, with their permission, has settled on the riverbank. Generally a people of fine physique and iron constitution, freefrom disease of any kind, they are swept into eternity in anincredibly short space of time if _civilized_ diseases areintroduced. Even the milder ones, such as measles, decimate a wholetribe; and I have known communities swept away as autumn leaves in astrong breeze with the _grippe_. I was informed that the hospitalauthorities at Asuncion gave them the cast-off fever clothing oftheir patients during an epidemic to sweep them off the face of theearth!

The Indians have been ill-treated from the beginning. Darwin relatesthat, in their eagerness to exterminate the red men, the Argentinetroops have pursued them for three days without food. On the frontierthey are killed in hundreds; by submitting to the white man they diein thousands. Latin civilization is more terrible to them than war. Sad to state, their only hope is to fight, and this the savageaffirms he will do for ever and ever. 

Francia, the Dictator of Paraguay, ordered every Indian found--man, woman or child--to be put to death! Lopez, a later ruler, took sportin hunting Indians like deer. We are told that on one occasion he wasso successful as to kill forty-eight! The children he captured andsold into slavery at fifteen and twenty dollars each. The whitesettler considers himself very brave if he kills the savage with arifle sighted at five hundred yards, while well out of range of theIndians' arrows, and I have known them shot just "for fun"! TheIndians retaliate by _cutting off the heels_ of their white captives, or leaving them, _in statu naturae_, bound with thongs on ananthill; and a more terrible death could not be devised by even theinquisitor, Torquemada, of everlasting execration. The Indian is hardand cruel, indifferent to pain in himself or others. A serpent maysting a comrade, and he takes no notice; but let one find food andthere is a general scamper to the spot. The Chaco savage is barbarousin the extreme. The slain enemies are often eaten, and the bonesburnt and scattered over their food. The children of enemies aretraded off to other tribes for more food. 

The Chaco Indian is a born warrior. Sad to say, his only hope is tofight against the Latin paleface. 

Most of us have at times been able to detect a peculiar aroma in thenegro. The keen-scented savage detects that something in us, and we"smell" to them. Even I, _Big Cactus Red Mouth_, was not declaredfree from a subtle odor, although I washed so often that theywondered my skin did not come off. _They never wash_, and in dampweather the dirt peels from them in cakes. Of course they _don't_smell!

When a man or woman is, through age, no longer capable of lookingafter the needs of the body, a shallow grave is dug, the aged onedoubled up until the knees are pressed into the hollow cheeks, andthe back is broken. This terrible work done, the undesired one isdragged by one leg to the open tomb. Sometimes the face and wholebody is so mangled, by being pulled through thorns and over unevenground, that it is not recognizable, and the nose has at times beenactually torn off. While sometimes still alive, the body is coveredup with mother earth. Frequently the grave is so shallow that thematted hair may be seen coming out at the top. The burial isgenerally made near a wood, and, if passible, under the _holy woodtree_, which, in their judgment, has great influence with evilspirits. Wild beasts, attracted by the odor of the corpse, soon digup the remains, and before next day it is frequently devoured. 

An _ordinary_ burial service may be thus described: A deep cut isfirst made in the stomach of the departed one. Into this incision astone, some bone ash, and a bird's claw are introduced. The body isthen placed over the grave on two sticks, a muttering incantation issaid by the witch doctor, and the sticks are roughly knocked fromunder the body, so as to permit it to fall in a sitting posture. Abow and arrows, and some food and cooking utensils, are dropped intothe grave. All shooting stars, according to the Indian belief, areflying stones; hence the custom of placing a stone in the stomach ofthe dead. It is supposed to be able to mount heavenward, and, assuming its true character, become the avenging adversary, anddestroy the one who caused the death--always a bad witch doctor. Thebird's claw scratches out the enemy's heart, and the ashes annihilatethe spirit. One of the missionaries in the Lengua tribe stated thathe assisted at the burial of a woman where the corpse fell headforemost into the grave, the feet remaining up. Four times theattempt to drop her in right was made, with similar results, andfinally the husband deliberately broke his dead wife's neck, and bentthe head on to the back; then he broke her limbs across his knee, andso the ghastly burial was at last completed! Truly, "the dark placesof the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. " Let the onewhose idea is to "leave the pagan in his innocency" visit thesesavages, and, if he lives to tell it, his ideas will have undergone agreat change. They are _lost!_ and millions have not yet heard of the"Son of Man, " who "came to seek and to save that which was lost. "

At the death of any member, the _toldo_ in which he lived is burnt, all his possessions are destroyed, and the people go into mourning. The hair of both sexes is cut short or pulled out, and each one hasthe face blackened with a vegetable dye, which, from experience, Iknow hardly ever wears off again. As I have said, everything the manowned in life is burnt and the village is deserted; all move rightaway to get out of the presence of the death-giving spirit. To me the_toldo_ would not only seem abandoned, but the people gone withoutleaving a trace of their path; but not so to Wolf Rider, my guide. Bythe position of the half-burnt wood of the fire, he could tell thedirection they had taken, and the number gone--although each steps inthe other's footprints--whether they were stopping to hunt on theway, and much more he would never tell me. Some of the missionarieshave spent ten years in the Chaco, but cannot get the savage to teachthem this lesson of signs. 

In some tribes the aged ones are just _"left to die"_ sitting under apalm-leaf mat. All the members of the tribe move away and leave themthus. Many are the terrible things my eyes have witnessed, but surelythe most pathetic was the sight of an old woman sitting under themat. I was one day riding alone, but had with me two horses, when Icaught sight of the palm-leaf erection and the solitary figuresitting under it. Getting down from my horse, I approached the womanand offered to take her to a place of safety, promising to feed herand permit her to live as long as she chose. Would she come with me?I begged and entreated, but the poor woman would not so much as lifther eyes to mine. The law of her tribe had said she must die, and thelaws are to them unalterable. Most reluctantly, I left her to beeaten later on by the wild beasts. 

Terrible as this custom is, other tribes kill and eat their agedparents "as a mark of respect. " Another tribe will not permit onemember to go into the spirit world alone, so they hang another one, in order that there may be two to enter together. 

Whereas the Caingwas are a religious people, even attributing theircustom of piercing the lip to divine commandment, the Chacoaborigines have no god and no religion. Missionaries in the solitarystation I have referred to, after ten years' probing, have beenunable to find any approach to worship in their darkened minda. "Themiserable wretches who inhabit that vast wilderness are so low in thescale of reasoning beings that one might doubt whether or not theyhave human souls. " [Footnote: Washburn's "History of Paraguay. "]These "lost sheep" have no word to express God, and have no idols. "The poverty of the Indian dialects of the Chaco is scarcelysurpassed by that of the dumb brutes. "

These wretched tribes have perfect community of goods; what issecured by one belongs equally to all. A piece of cloth is eithertorn up and distributed, or worn in turns by each one. The shirtwhich I gave my guide, Yantiwau, for much arduous toil, was worn byone and another alternately. Much as the savage at first desires topossess some garment, it does not take long for him to tire of it. All agree with Mark Twain, that "the human skin is the mostcomfortable of all costumes, " and, clothed in the sunlight, the humanform divine is not unlovely. 

Sometimes the Indians of the interior take skins, etc. , to theParaguayan towns across the river. Not knowing the use of money, their little trading is done by barter. Their knowledge of value isso crude that on one occasion they refused a two-dollar axe for anarticle, but gladly accepted a ten-cent knife. The Chaco Indian, however, is seldom seen in civilization. His home is in the interiorof an unknown country, which he wanders over in wild freedom. Whilethe Caingwas are homekeeping, these savages are nomadic, and couldnot settle down. The land is either burnt up or inundated, so they donot plant, but live only by the chase. So bold and daring are theythat a man, armed only with a lance, will attack a savage jaguar; or, diving under an alligator, he will stab it with a sharpened bone. Thesame man will run in abject terror if he thinks he hears _spirits_. 

Though not religious, the savages are exceedingly superstitious, afraid of ghosts and evil spirits, and the fear of these spectralvisitants pursues them through life. During a storm they vigorouslyshake their blankets and mutter incantations to keep awaysupernatural visitors. 

All diseases are caused by evil spirits, or the moon; and a cometbrings the measles. The help of the witch doctor has to be sought onall occasions, for his special work is to drive away the evil spiritthat has taken possession of a sick one. This he does by rattling ahollow calabash containing stones. That important person will performhis mystic _hocus pocus_ over the sick or dying, and charm away thespirits from a neighborhood. I have known an Indian, when in greatpain through having eaten too much, send for the old fakir, who, after examination of the patient and great show of learning, declaredthat the suffering one _had two tigers in his stomach_. A very commonremedy is the somewhat scientific operation of bleeding a patient, but the manner is certainly uncommon--the witch doctor sucks out theblood. One I was acquainted with, among the Lengua tribe, professedto suck three cats out of a man's stomach. His professional name wasthereafter "Father of Kittens. " The doctor's position is not one tobe envied, however, for if three consecutive patients die, he mustfollow them _down the dark trail!_

These medicine-men are experts in poisons, and their enemies have away of dying suddenly. It cannot be denied that the Indians have avery real knowledge of the healing virtues of many plants. The writerhas marvelled at the cures he has seen, and was not slow to add someof their methods to his medical knowledge. Not a few who have beenhealed, since the writer's return to civilization, owe their new lifeto the knowledge there learned. 

Infanticide is practised in every tribe, and in my extensivewanderings among eight _toldos_, I never met a family with more thantwo children. The rest are killed! A child is born, and the motherimmediately knocks it on the head with a club! After covering thebaby with a layer of earth, the woman goes about as if nothing hadoccurred. One chief of the Lengua tribe, that I met, had himselfkilled nineteen children. An ironwood club is kept in each _toldo_for this gruesome work. Frequently a live child is buried with a deadparent; but I had better leave much of their doings in the inkpot. 

When a girl enters the matrimonial market, at about the age of twelveor thirteen, her face is specially colored with a yellow paint, madefrom the flower of the date palm, and the aspirant to her hand bringsa bundle of firewood, neatly tied up, which he places beside herearthen bed at early morning. As the rising sun gilds the easternsky, the girl awakes out of her sleep, rubs her eyes, --and sees thesticks. Well does she know the meaning of it, and a glad lightflashes in her dark eyes as she cries out, "Who brought the sticks?"All men, women and children, take up the cry, and soon the wholeencampment resounds with, "Who brought the sticks?" The medicine-man, who sleeps apart from the "common herd" under an incense-tree, hearsthe din, and, quickly donning his head-dress, hurries down to thescene. With an authoritative voice, which even the chief himself doesnot use, he demands, "Who brought the sticks?" until a young bravesteps forward in front of him and replies, "Father of Kittens, Ibrought the sticks. " This young man is then commanded to stand apart, the girl is hunted out, and together they wait while the witch-doctorX-rays them through and through. After this close scrutiny, they areasked: "Do you want this man?" "Do you want this girl?" To which theyreply, "Yes, Father of Kittens, I do. " Then, with great show ofpower, the medicine-man says, "Go!" and off the newly-married pairstart, to live together until death (in the form of burial) does thempart. 

It may be a great surprise to the reader to learn that these savagesare exceedingly moral. Infidelity between man and wife is punishedwith death, but in all my travels I only heard of one such case. Aman marries only one wife, and although any expression of lovebetween them is never seen, they yet seem to think of one another ina tender way, and it is especially noticeable that the parents arekind to their children. 

One evening I rode into an encampment of savages who were celebratinga feast. About fifty specially-decked-out Indians were standing in acircle, and one of the number had a large and very noisy rattle, withwhich he kept time to the chant of Há há há há há! ú ú ú ú ú! ó ó óóó! aú aú aú aú aú! The lurid lights of the fires burning all aroundlit up this truly savage scene. The witch-doctor, the old fakir named"Father of Kittens, " came to me and looked me through and throughwith his piercing eyes. I was given the rattle, and, although verytired, had to keep up a constant din, while my wild companions benttheir bodies in strange contortions. In the centre of the ring was awoman with a lighted pipe in her hand. She passed this from one toanother and pushed it into the mouth of each one, who had "a draw. "My turn came, and lo! the pipe was thrust between my teeth, and thedin went on: Há há! ú ú! ó ó! aú aú! This feast lasted three nightsand two days, but the music was not varied, and neither man nor womanseemed to sleep or rest. Food was cooking at the different fires, attended by the women, but my share was only a _roasted fox's head!_The animal was laid on the wood, with skin, head and legs stillattached, and the whole was burnt black. I was very hungry, and atemy portion thankfully. Christopher North said: "There's a deal offine confused feeding about a sheep's head, " and so I found with thefox's. Truly, as the Indian says, "hunger is a very big man. "

At these feasts a drum, made by stretching a serpent's skin over oneof their clay pots, is loudly beaten, and the thigh-bone of anostrich, with key-holes burned in, is a common musical instrument. From the _algarroba_ bean an intoxicating drink is made, called _ang-min_, and then yells, hellish sounds and murderous blows inspireterror in the paleface guest. "It is impossible to conceive anythingmore wild and savage than the scene of their bivouac. Some drink tillthey are intoxicated, others swallow the steaming blood ofslaughtered animals for their supper, and then, sick fromdrunkenness, they cast it up again, and are besmeared with gore andfilth. "

After the feast was over I held a service, and told how sin was_injected_ into us by the evil spirit, but that all are invited tothe heavenly feast. My address was listened to in perfect silence, and the nodding heads showed that some, at least, understood it. WhenI finished speaking, a poor woman, thinking she must offer something, gave me her baby--a naked little creature that had never been washedin its life. I took it up and kissed it, and the poor woman smiled. Yes, a savage woman can smile. 

As already stated, many different tribes of Indians dwell in theChaco, and each have their different customs. In the Suhin tribe therite of burial may be thus described. "The digger of the grave andthe performer of the ceremony was the chief, who is also a witch-doctor, and I was told that he was about to destroy the witch-doctorwho had caused the man's death. A fire was lit, and whilst thedigging was in progress a stone and two pieces of iron were beingheated. Two bones of a horse, a large bird's nest built of sticks, and various twigs were collected. The skin of a jaguar's head, atooth, and the pads of the same animal were laid out. A piece of waxand a stone were also heated; and in a heap lay a hide, some skinsfor bedding, and a quantity of sheep's wool. The grave beingfinished, the ceremony began by a wooden arrow being notched in themiddle and waxed, then plunged into the right breast of the corpse, when it was snapped in two at the notch, and the remaining half wasflung into the air, accompanied with a vengeful cry, in the directionof the Toothli tribe, one of whose doctors, it was supposed, hadcaused the man's death. Short pointed sticks, apparently to representarrows, were also daubed with wax, two being plunged into the throatand one into the left breast, the cry again accompanying eachinsertion. One of the jaguar's pads was next taken, and the head ofthe corpse torn by the claws, the growl of the animal being imitatedduring the process. An incision was next made in the cheek, and thetooth inserted; then the head and face were daubed with the heatedwax. The use of the wax is evidently to signify the desire that botharrows and animal may stick to the man if he be attacked by either. The arrows were plunged, one into the right breast downwards, andanother below the ribs, on the same side, but in an upward direction, a third being driven into the right thigh. They also spoke aboutbreaking one of the arms, but did not do so. An incision being madein the abdomen, the heated stone was then placed within the body. They place most reliance upon the work of the stone. The ceremony isknown by the name of 'Mátaimáng' stone, and all the other things aresaid to assist it. Meteorites, when seen to pass along the sky, areregarded with awe; they are believed to be these stones in passage. The body was placed in the grave with the head to the west, thejaguar's head and pads being first placed under it. A bunch of grass, tied together, was placed upon the body; then the bird's nest wasburned upon it. The bones were next thrown in, and over all thevarious articles before mentioned were placed. These were toaccompany the soul in its passage to the west. In this act the ideaof a future state is more distinctly seen than ever it has been seenamongst the Lenguas, who burn all a man's possessions at his death. The ceremony finished, the grave was covered in, logs and twigs beingcarelessly thrown on the top, apparently simply to indicate theexistence of a grave. The thing which struck me most was the intensespirit of vengeance shown. "

Notwithstanding such terrible savagery, however, the Indian has ideasof right and wrong that put Christian civilization to shame. Thepeople are perfectly _honest_ and _truthful_. I believe they _cannotlie_, and stealing is entirely unknown among them. 

Many are the experiences I have had in the Chaco. Some of them hauntme still like ghostly shadows. The evening camp-fire, the glare of which lit up and made more hideous still my savage followers, gorging themselves until covered with filth and gore. The times when, from sheer hunger, I have, like them, torn up bird or beast and eatenit raw. The draughts of water from the Indian hole containing theputrefying remains of some dead animal; my shirt dropping off in ragsand no wash for three weeks. The journeys through miles of malarialswamps and pathless wilderness. The revolting food, and the want offood. Ah! the memory is a bad dream from which I must awake. 

The other side, you say? Yes, there is another. A cloudless blue skyoverhead. The gorgeous air-flowers, delicate and fragrant. Treescovered with a drapery of orchidaceae. The loveliest of flowers andshrubs. Birds of rainbow beauty, painted by the hand of God, as onlyHe can. Flamingoes, parrots, humming-birds, butterflies of every sizeand hue. Arborescent ferns; cacti, thirty feet high, like hugecandelabra. Creeping plants growing a hundred feet, and then passingfrom the top of one ever-vernal tree to another, forming a canopy forone from the sun's rays. Chattering monkeys. Deer, with morebeautiful eyes than ever woman had since Eve fell. The balmy airwafting incense from the burning bush; and last, but oh, not least, the joy in seeing the degraded aborigine learning to love the "Lightof the World"! Yes, there are delights; but "life is real, life isearnest, " and a meal of _algarroba_ beans (the husks of the prodigalson of Luke XV. ) is not any more tempting if eaten under the shade ofa waving palm of surpassing beauty. 

The mission station previously referred to lies one hundred miles infrom the river bank, three hundred miles north of Asuncion, among theLengua Indians. As far as I am aware, no Paraguayan has ever visitedthere. The missionaries wish their influence to be the only one intraining the Indian mind. The village bears the strange name ofWaikthlatemialwa (The Place Where the Toads Arrived). At theinvitation of the missionaries, I was privileged to go there and seetheir work. A trail leads in from the river bank, but it is so badthat bullock carts taking in provisions occupy ten and twelve days onthe journey. Tamaswa (The Locust Eater), my guide, led me all duringthe first day out through a palm forest, and at night we slept on thehard ground. The Indian was a convert of the mission, and althoughpainted, feathered and almost naked, seemed really an exemplaryChristian. The missionaries labored for eleven years without gaininga single convert, but Tamaswa is not the only "follower of Jesus"now. During the day we shot a deer, and that evening, being veryhungry, I ate perhaps two pounds of meat. Tamaswa finished the rest!True, it was only a small deer, but as I wish to retain my characterfor veracity, I dare not say how much it weighed. This mealconcluded, we knelt on the ground. I read out of the old Book: "I goto prepare a place for you, " and Locust Eater offered a simple prayerfor protection, help and safety to the God who understands alllanguages. 

My blanket was wet through and through with the green slime throughwhich we had waded and splashed for hours, but we curled ourselves upunder a beer barrel tree and tried to sleep. The howling jaguars andother beasts of prey in the jungle made this almost impossible. Several times I was awakened by my guide rising, and, by the light ofa palm torch, searching for wood to replenish the dying fire, in thesmoke of which we slept, as a help against the millions of mosquitosbuzzing around. Towards morning a large beast of some kind leapedright over me, and I rose to rekindle the fire, which my guide hadsuffered to die out, and then I watched until day dawned. As all thedeer was consumed, we started off without breakfast, but werefortunate later on in being able to shoot two wild turkeys. 

That day we rode on through the endless forest of palms, and wadedthrough a quagmire at least eight miles in extent, where the greenslime reached up to the saddle-flaps. On that day we came to asluggish stream, bearing the name of"Aptikpangmakthlaingwainkyapaimpangkya" (The Place Where the PotsWere Struck When They Were About to Feast). There a punt was moored, into which we placed our saddles, etc. , and paddled across, while thehorses swam the almost stagnant water. Saddling up on the other side, we had a journey of thirty miles to make before arriving at awaterhole, where we camped for the second night. I don't know whatreal nectar is, but that water was nectar to me, although the horsessniffed and at first refused to drink it. 

At sunset on the third day we emerged from the palm forest andendless marshes, and by the evening of the fourth day the church, built of palm logs, loomed up on the horizon. Many of the Indianscame out to meet us, and my arrival was the talk of the village. Thepeople seemed happy, and the missionaries made me at home in theirroughly-built log shanties. Next morning I found a gift had beenbrought me by the Indians. It was a beautiful feather headdress, butit had just been left on the step, the usual way they have of makingpresents. The Indian expects no thanks, and he gives none. The womenreceived any present I handed them courteously but silently. The menwould accept a looking-glass from me and immediately commence tosearch their face for any trace of "dirty hairs, " probably brought totheir mind by the sight of mine, but not even a grunt of satisfactionwould be given. No Chaco language has a word for "thanks. "

[Illustration: TAMASWA (THE LOCUST EATER) PROCURING FOOD. This youngman could put the point of his arrow into a deer's eye a hundredyards distant]

[Illustration: FASHIONS OF THE CHACO. ]

There is, among the Lenguas, an old tradition to the effect that forgenerations they have been expecting the arrival of some strangerswho would live among them and teach them about the spirit-world. These long-looked-for teachers were called _The Imlah_. The traditionsays that when the Imlah arrive, all the Indians must obey theirteaching, and take care that the said Imlah do not again leave theircountry, for if so they, the Indians, would disappear from the land. When Mr. Grubb and his helpers first landed, they were immediatelyasked, "Are you the Imlah?" and to this question they, of course, answered yes. Was it not because of this tradition that the Indianwho later shot Mr. Grubb with a poisoned arrow was himself put todeath by the tribe?

About twenty boys attend the school established at Waikthlatemialwa, and strange names some of them bear; let Haikuk (Little Dead One)serve as an example. It is truly a cheering sight to see this sign ofa brighter day. When these boys return to their distant _toldos_ totell "the news" to their dark-minded parents, the most wonderful ofall to relate is "Liklamo ithnik ñata abwathwuk enthlit God;hingyahamok hikñata apkyapasa apkyitka abwanthlabanko. Aptakmilkischik sat ankuk appaiwa ingyitsipe sata netin thlamokthlohoabyiam. " [Footnote: John 3:16]

Well might the wondering mother of "Dark Cloud" call her next-born"Samai" (The Dawn of Day). 

The Indian counts by his hands and feet. Five would be one hand, twohands ten, two hands and a foot fifteen, and a specially cleversavage could even count "my two hands and my two feet. " Now Mr. Huntis changing that: five is _thalmemik_, ten _sohok-emek_, fifteen_sohokthlama-eminik_, and twenty _sohok-emankuk_. 

When a boy in school desires to say eighteen, he must first of alltake a good deep breath, for _sohok-emek-wakthla-mok-eminick-antanthlama_ is no short word. This literally means: "finished myhands--pass to my other foot three. "

At the school I saw the skin of a water-snake twenty-six feet nineinches long, but a book of pictures I had interested the boys farmore. 

The mission workers have each a name given to them by the Indians, and some of them are more than strange. Apkilwankakme (The Man WhoForgot His Face) used to be called Nason when he moved in highEnglish circles; now he is ragged and torn-looking; but the old Bookmy mother used to read says: "He that loseth his life for My sakeshall find it. " Some of us have yet to learn that if we wouldremember _His face_ it is necessary for us to forget our own. If theunbeliever in mission work were to go to Waik-thlatemialwa, he wouldcome away a converted man. The former witch-doctor, who for long made"havoc, " but has since been born again, would tell him that during arecent famine he talked to the Unseen Spirit, and said: "Give usfood, God!" and that, when only away a very short while, his arrowskilled three ostriches and a deer. He would see Mrs. Mopilinkilanawalking about, clothed and in her right mind. Who is she? Themurderess of her four children--the woman who could see the skull ofher own boy kicking about the _toldo_ for days, and watch it finallycracked up and eaten by the dogs. Can such as she be changed? TheScripture says: "Every one that believeth. "

The Lengua language contains no word for God, worship, praise, sacrifice, sin, holiness, reward, punishment or duty, but theirmeanings are now being made clear. 

The church at Waikthlatemialwa has no colored glass windows--oldcanvas bags take their place. The reverent worshippers assemblemorning and evening, in all the pride of their paint and feathers, but there is no hideous idol inside; nay! they worship the invisibleOne, whom they can see even with closely shut eyes. To watch the menand women, with erect bearing, and each walking in the other'sfootsteps, enter the church, is a sight well worth the seeing. Theybow themselves, not before some fetish, as one might suppose, but tothe One whom, having not seen, some of them are learning to love. 

One of the missionaries translated my simple address to the duskycongregation, who listened with wondering awe to the ever-new storyof Jesus. As the Lengua language contains no word for God, theIndians have adopted our English word, and both that name and Jesuscame out in striking distinctness during the service, and in thefervent prayer of the old ex-witch-doctor which followed. With thefamiliar hymn, "There is a green hill far away, " the meetingconcluded. The women with nervous air silently retired, but the mensaluted me, and some even went so far as to shake hands--with theleft hand. Would that similar stations were established all over thisneglected land! While churches and mission buildings crowd each otherin the home lands, the Chaco, with an estimated population of threemillions, must be content with this one ray of light in the densenight. 

On that far-off "green hill" we shall meet some even from the Lenguatribe. Christ said: "I am the door; by Me if _any_ man enter in, heshall be saved. " But oh, "Painted Face, " you spoke truth; the white"thing" _is_ selfish, and keeps this wondrous knowledge to himself. 

PART IV. 

BRAZIL

[Illustration]

"There can be no more fascinating field of labor than Brazil, notwithstanding the difficulty of the soil and the immense tracts ofcountry which have to be traversed. It covers half a continent, andis _three times the size of British India_. Far away in the interiorthere exist numerous Indian tribes with, as yet, no written language, and consequently no Bible. Thrust back by the white man from theiroriginal homes, these children of the forest and the river are, perhaps, the most needy of the tribes of the earth. For all thatthese millions know, the Gospel is non-existent and Jesus Christ hasnever visited and redeemed the world. " [Footnote: The NeglectedContinent]

BRAZIL

The Republic of Brazil has an area of 3, 350, 000 square miles. Fromnorth to south the country measures 2, 600 miles, and from east towest 2, 500 miles. While the Republic of Bolivia has no sea coast, Brazil has 3, 700 miles washed by ocean waves. The population of thisgreat empire is twenty-two millions. Out of this perhaps twentymillions speak the Portuguese language. 

"If Brazil was populated in the same proportion as Belgium is persquare mile, Brazil would have a population of 1, 939, 571, 699. That isto say, Brazil, a single country in South America, could hold andsupport the entire population of the world, and hundreds of millionsmore, the estimate of the earth's population at the beginning of thetwentieth century being 1, 600, 000, 000. " [Footnote: Bishop Neely's"South America. "]

Besides the millions of mules, horses and other animals, there are, in the republic, twenty-five millions of cattle. 

Brazil is rich in having 50, 000 miles of navigable waterways. Threeof the largest rivers of the world flow through its territory. TheOrinoco attains a width of four miles, and is navigable for 1, 400miles. The Amazon alone drains a basin of 2, 500, 000 square miles. 

Out of this mighty stream there flows every day three times thevolume of water that flows from the Mississippi. Many a sea-captainhas thought himself in the ocean while riding its stormy bosom. Thatmost majestic of all rivers, with its estuary 180 miles wide, is thegreat highway of Brazil. Steamboats frequently leave the sea and sailup its winding channels into the far interior of Ecuador--a distanceof nearly 4, 000 miles. All the world knows that both British andAmerican men-of-war have visited the city of Iquitos in Peru, 2, 400miles up the Amazon River. The sailor on taking soundings has found adepth of 170 feet of water at 2, 000 miles from the mouth. Stretchesof water and impenetrable forest as far as the eye can reach are allthe traveller sees. 

Prof. Orton says: "The valley of the Amazon is probably the mostsparsely populated region on the globe, " and yet Agassiz predictedthat "the future centre of civilization of the world will be in theAmazon Valley. " I doubt if there are now 500 acres of tilled land inthe millions of square miles the mighty river drains. Wherecultivated, coffee, tobacco, rubber, sugar, cocoa, rice, beans, etc. , freely grow, and the farmer gets from 500 to 800-fold for everybushel of corn he plants. Humboldt estimated that 4, 000 pounds ofbananas can be produced in the same area as 33 pounds of wheat or 99pounds of potatoes. 

The natural wealth of the country is almost fabulous. Its mountainchains contain coal, gold, silver, tin, zinc, mercury and wholemountains of the very best iron ore, while in forty years fivemillion carats of diamonds have been sent to Europe. In 1907 Brazilexported ten million dollars' worth of cocoa, seventy milliondollars' worth of rubber; and from the splendid stone docks ofSantos, which put to shame anything seen on this northern continent, either in New York or Boston, there was shipped one hundred andforty-two million dollars' worth of coffee. Around Rio Janeiro alonethere are a hundred million coffee trees, and the grower gets twocrops a year. 

Yet this great republic has only had its borders touched. It isestimated that there are over a million Indians in the interior, whohold undisputed possession of four-fifths of the country. Three and aquarter million square miles of the republic thus remains to a greatextent an unknown, unexplored wilderness. In this area there are overa million square miles of virgin forest, "the largest and densest onearth. " The forest region of the Amazon is twelve hundred miles eastto west, and eight hundred miles north to south, and this sombre, primeval woodland has not yet been crossed. [Footnote: Just as thisgoes to press the newspapers announce that the Brazilian Governmenthas appropriated $10, 000 towards the expenses of an expedition intothe interior, under the leadership of Henry Savage Landor, the Englishexplorer. ]

Brazil's federal capital, Rio de Janeiro, stands on the finest harborof the world, in which float ships from all nations. Proudest amongthese crafts are the large Brazilian gunboats. "It is a curiousanomaly, " says the _Scientific American_, "that the most powerfulDreadnought afloat should belong to a South American republic, but itcannot be denied that the _Minas Geraes_ is entitled to thatdistinction. " This is one of the vessels that mutinied in 1910. 

Brazil is a strange republic. Fanatical, where the Bible is burned inthe public plaza whenever introduced, yet, where the most obsceneprints are publicly offered for sale in the stores. Where it is a"mortal sin" to listen to the Protestant missionary, and _not_ a sinto break the whole Decalogue. Backward--where the villagers are tiedto a post and whipped by the priest when they do not please him. Progressive--in the cities where religion has been relegated to womenand children and priests. 

Did I write the word religion? Senhor Ruy Barbosa, the mostconspicuous representative of South America at the last HagueConference, and a candidate for the Presidency of Brazil, wrote ofit: "_Romanism is not a religion, but a political organization, themost vicious, the most unscrupulous, and the most destructive of allpolitical systems. The monks are the propagators of fanaticism, thedebasers of Christian morals. The history of papal influence has beennothing more nor less than the story of the dissemination of a newpaganism, as full of superstition and of all unrighteousness as themythology of the ancients--a new paganism organized at the expense ofevangelical traditions, shamelessly falsified and travestied by theRomanists. The Romish Church in all ages has been a power, religiousscarcely in name, but always inherently, essentially and untiringly apolitical power_. " As Bishop Neely of the M. E. Church was leavingRio, Dr. Alexander, one of Brazil's most influential gentlemen, saidto him: "_It is sad to see my people so miserable when they might beso happy. Their ills, physical and moral, spring from lack ofreligion. They call themselves Catholics, but the heathen arescarcely less Christian_!" Is it surprising that the Italian paper_L'Asino_ (The Ass), which exists only to ridicule Romanism, hasrecently been publishing much in praise of what it calls authenticChristianity?

"Rio Janeiro, the beautiful, " is an imperial city of imposinggrandeur. It is the largest Portuguese city of the world--greaterthan Lisbon and Oporto together. It has been called "the finest cityon the continents of America, --perhaps in the world, withunqualifiedly the most beautiful street in all the world, the AvenidaCentral. " [Footnote: Clark. "Continent of Opportunity. "] Thatmagnificent avenue, over a mile long and one hundred and ten feetwide, asphalt paved and superbly illuminated, is lined with costlymodern buildings, some of them truly imposing. Ten people can walkabreast on its beautiful black and white mosaic sidewalks. Thebuildings which had to be demolished in order to build this superbavenue cost the government seven and a half millions of dollars, andthey were bought at their _taxed_ value, which, it was estimated, wasonly a third of the actual. [Footnote: "But as a wonderful city, thecrowning glory of Brazil--yes of the world, I believe--is Rio deJaneiro. "--C. W. Furlong, in "The World's Work. "]

Some years ago I knew a thousand people a day to die in Rio Janeiroof yellow fever. It is now one of the healthiest of cities, with adeath-rate far less than that of New York. 

Rio Janeiro, as I first knew it, was far behind. Oil lamps shedfitful gleams here and there on half-naked people. Electric lightsnow dispel the darkness of the streets, and electric streetcarsthread in and out of the "Ruas. " There is progress everywhere and ineverything. 

To-day the native of Rio truthfully boasts that his city has "thefinest street-car system of any city of the world. "

A man is not permitted to ride in these cars unless he wears a tie, which seems to be the badge of respectability. To a visitor theseexactions are amusing. A friend of mine visited the city, and we rodetogether on the cars until it was discovered that he wore no tie. Theday was hot, and my friend (a gentleman of private means) had thoughtthat a white silk shirt with turn-down collar was enough. We feltsomewhat humiliated when he was ignominiously turned off the car, while the black ex-slaves on board smiled aristocratically. If youvisit Rio Janeiro, by all means wear a tie. If you forget your shirt, or coat, or boots, it will matter little, but the absence of a tiewill give the negro cause to insult you. 

Some large, box-like cars have the words "_Descalcos é Bagagem_"(literally, "For the Shoeless and Baggage") printed across them. Inthese the poorer classes and the tieless can ride for half-price. Andto make room for the constantly inflowing people from Europe, twogreat hills are being removed and "cast into the sea. "

Rio Janeiro may be earth's coming city. It somewhat disturbs ourself-complacency to learn that they have spent more for publicimprovements than has any city of the United States, with theexception of New York. Municipal works, involving an expenditure of$40, 000, 000, have contributed to this. 

Rio Janeiro, however, is not the only large and growing city Brazilcan boast of. Sao Paulo, with its population of 300, 000 and its two-million-dollar opera house, which fills the space of three New Yorkblocks, is worthy of mention. Bahia, founded in 1549, has 270, 000inhabitants, and is the centre of the diamond market of Brazil. Pará, with its population of 200, 000, who export one hundred milliondollars' worth of rubber yearly and keep up a theatre better thananything of the kind in New York, is no mean city. Pernambuco, also, has 200, 000 inhabitants, large buildings, and as much as eightmillion dollars have recently been devoted to harbor improvementsthere. 

Outside of these cities there are estates, quite a few of which areworth more than a million dollars; one coffee plantation has fivemillion trees and employs five thousand people. 

With its Amazon River, six hundred miles longer than the journey fromNew York to Liverpool, England, with its eight branches, each ofwhich is navigable for more than a thousand miles, Brazil's futuremust be very great. 

CHAPTER XII. 

_A JOURNEY FROM RIO JANEIRO TO THE INLAND TOWN OF CORUMBA_. 

Brazil has over 10, 000 miles of railway, but as it is a countrylarger than the whole of Europe, the reader can easily understandthat many parts must be still remote from the iron road and almostinaccessible. The town of Cuyabá, as the crow flies, is not onethousand miles from Rio, but, in the absence of any kind of roads, the traveller from Rio must sail down the one thousand miles of sea-coast, and, entering the River Plate, proceed up the Paraná, Paraguay, and San Lorenzo rivers to reach it, making it a journey of3, 600 miles. 

"In the time demanded for a Brazilian to reach points in theinterior, setting out from the national capital and going either byway of the Amazon or Rio de la Plata systems of waterways, he mightjourney to Europe and back two or three times over. " [Footnote:Sylvester Baxter, in The Outlook, March, 1908. ]

The writer on one occasion was in Rio when a certain mission calledhim to the town of Corumbá, distant perhaps 1, 300 miles from thecapital. Does the reader wish to journey to that inland town withhim?

Boarding an ocean steamer at Rio, we sail down the stormy sea-coastfor one thousand miles to Montevideo. There we tranship into theBuenos Ayres boat, and proceed one hundred and fifty miles up theriver to that city. Almost every day steamers leave that great centrefor far interior points. The "Rapido" was ready to sail for Asuncion, so we breasted the stream one thousand miles more, when that city wasreached. There another steamer waited to carry us to Corumbá, anotherthousand miles further north. 

The climate and scenery of the upper reaches of the Paraguay aresuperb, but our spirits were damped one morning when we discoveredthat a man of our party had mysteriously disappeared during thenight. We had all sat down to dinner the previous evening in healthand spirits, and now one was missing. The All-seeing One only knowshis fate. To us he disappeared forever. 

Higher up the country--or lower, I cannot tell which, for the riverwinds in all directions, and the compass, from pointing our course asdue north, glides over to northwest, west, southwest, and on one ortwo occasions, I believe, pointed due south--we came to the firstBrazilian town, Puerto Martinho, where we were obliged to stay ashort time. A boat put off from the shore, in which were some well-dressed natives. Before she reached us and made fast, a loud reportof a Winchester rang out from the midst of those assembled on thedeck of our steamer, and a man in the boat threw up his arms anddropped; the spark of life had gone out. So quickly did this happenthat before we had time to look around the unfortunate man wasweltering in his own blood in the bottom of the boat! The assassin, an elderly Brazilian, who had eaten at our table and scarcely spokento anyone, stepped forward quietly, confessing that he had shot oneof his old enemies. He was then taken ashore in the ship's boat, there to await Brazilian justice, and later on, to appear before ahigher tribunal, where the accounts of all men will be balanced. 

Such rottenness obtains in Brazilian law that not long since a judgesued in court a man who had bribed him and sought to evade paying thebribe. Knowing this laxity, we did not anticipate that our murderousfellow-traveller would have to suffer much for his crime. The _News_, of Rio Janeiro, recently said: "The punishment of a criminal who hasany influence whatever is becoming one of the forgotten things. "

After leaving Puerto Martinho, the uniform flatness of the riverbanks changes to wild, mountainous country. On either hand rise highmountains, whose blue tops at times almost frowned over our heads, and the luxuriant tropical vegetation, with creeping lianas, threatened to bar our progress. Huge alligators sunned themselves onthe banks, and birds of brilliant plumage flew from branch to branch. _Carpinchos_, with heavy, pig-like tread, walked among the rushes ofthe shore, and made more than one good dish for our table. Thiswater-hog, the largest gnawing animal in the world, is here verycommon. Their length, from end of snout to tail, is between three andfour feet, while they frequently weigh up to one hundred pounds. Thegirth of their body will often exceed the length by a foot. For food, they eat the many aquatic plants of the river banks, and the puma, inturn, finds them as delicious a morsel as we did. The head of thisamphibious hog presents quite a ludicrous aspect, owing to the greatdepth of the jaw, and to see them sitting on their haunches, likehuge rabbits, is an amusing sight. The young cling on to the mother'sback when she swims. 

Farther on we stopped to take in wood at a large Brazilian cattleestablishment, and a man there assured us that "there were novenomous insects except tigers, " but these killed at least fifteenper cent. Of his animals. Not long previously a tiger had, in onenight, killed five men and a dog. The heat every day grew moreoppressive. On the eighth day we passed the Brazilian fort andarsenal of Cuimbre, with its brass cannon shining in a sun of brass, and its sleepy inhabitants lolling in the shade. 

Five weeks after leaving Rio Janeiro we finally anchored in Corumbá, an intensely sultry spot. Corumbá is a town of 5, 000 inhabitants, andoften said to be one of the hottest in the world. It is an unhealthyplace, as are most towns without drainage and water supply. In thehotter season of the year the ratio on a six months' average may betwo deaths to one birth. It is a place where dogs at times seem morenumerous than people, a town where justice is administered in waysnew and strange. Does the reader wish an instance? An assassin of thedeepest dye was given over by the judge to the tender mercies of thecrowd. The man was thereupon attacked by the whole population in onemass. He was shot and stabbed, stoned and beaten until he becamealmost a shapeless heap, and was then hurried away in a mule cart, and, without coffin, priest or mourners, was buried like a dog. 

Perhaps the populace felt they had to take the law into their ownhands, for I was told that the Governor had taken upon himself theresponsibility of leaving the prison gates open to thirty-two men, who had quietly walked out. These men had been incarcerated forvarious reasons, murder, etc. , for even in this state of Matto Grossoan assassin who cannot pay or escape suffers a little imprisonment. The excuse was, "We cannot afford to keep so many idle men--we arepoor. " What a confession for a Brazilian! I do not vouch for thestory, for I was not an eye-witness to the act, but it is quite inthe range of Brazilian possibilities. The only discrepancy may be thestrange way of Portuguese counting. A man buys three horses, but hisaccount is that he has bought twelve feet of horses. He embarks ahundred cows, but the manifest describes the transaction as fourhundred feet. The Brazilian is in this respect almost a Yankee--little sums do not content him. Why should they, when he cantruthfully boast that his territory is larger than that of the UnitedStates? His mile is longer than that of any other nation, and the_bocadinho_, or extra "mouthful, " which generally accompanies it, isendless. Instead of having one hundred cents to the dollar, he hastwo thousand, and each cent is called a "king. " The sound is big, butalas, the value of his money is insignificantly small!

The child is not content with being called John Smith. "José MariaJesus Joáo dois Sanctos Sylva da Costa da Cunha" is his name; and herecites it, as I, in my boyhood's days, used to "say a piece" whilestanding on a chair. There is no school in the town. In Brazil, 84per cent. Of the entire population are illiterate. 

Corumbá contains a few stores of all descriptions, but it would seemthat the stock in trade of the chemist is very low, for I overheard aconversation between two women one day, who said they could not getthis or that--in fact, "he only keeps cures for stabs and such likethings. " In the _armazems_ liquors are sold, and rice, salt and beansdespatched to the customer by the pint. Why wine and milk are notsold by the pound I did not enquire. 

One is not to ask too much in Brazil, or offence is given. Whenseated at table one day with a comrade, who had the misfortune toswallow a bone, I quietly "swallowed" the remedy a Brazilian told usof. He said their custom was for all to turn away their heads, whilethe unfortunate one revolved his plate around three times to theleft, and presto! the bone disappeared. My friend did not believe inthe cure; consequently, he suffered for several days. 

I have said that dogs are numerous. These animals roam the streets byday and night in packs and fight and tear at anyone or anything. Somedays before we arrived there were even more, but a few pounds ofpoison had been scattered about the streets--which, by the way, arethe worst of any town I have ever entered--and the dog population ofthe world decreased nine hundred. This is the Corumbá version. Perhaps the truth is, nine hundred feet, or, as we count, two hundredand twenty-five dogs. In the interests of humanity, I hope the numberwas nine hundred heads. Five carts then patrolled the streets andcarried away to the outskirts those dead dogs, which were thereburnt. I, the writer, find the latter part of the story hardest tobelieve. Why should a freeborn Brazilian lift dogs out of the street?In what better place could they be? They would fill up the holes andruts, and, in such intense heat, why do needless work?

Corumbá is a typical Brazilian town. Little carts, drawn by a stringof goats or rams, thread their way through the streets. Any animalbut the human must do the work. As the majority of the people gobarefooted, the patriarchal custom prevails of having water offeredon entering a house to wash the feet. At all hours of the day men, women and children seek to cool themselves in the river, which ishere a mile wide, and with a depth of 20 feet in the channel. Whileon the subject of bathing, I might mention that a wooden image of thepatron saint of the town is, with great pomp, brought down at thehead of a long procession, once every year, to receive his annual"duck" in the water. This is supposed to benefit him much. After hisimmersion, all the inhabitants, men, women and children, make a rushto be the first to dip in the "blessed water, " for, by doing this, all their sins are forgiven them for a year to come. The sick arecareful to see that they are not left in the position of theunfortunate one mentioned in the Gospel by John, who "had no one toput him into the pool. "

I have also known the Virgin solemnly carried down to the water'sedge, that she might command it to rise or fall, as suited theconvenience of the people. While she exercised her power the nativesknelt around her on the shingly beach in rapturous devotion. At suchtimes the "Mother of Heaven" is clothed in her best, and the jewelsin her costume sparkle in the tropical sun. 

What the Nile is to Egypt, the Paraguay River is to these interiorlands, and what Isis was to the Egyptians, so is the Virgin to thesepeople. Once, when the waters were low, it is related the Virgin camedown from heaven and stood upon some rocks in the river bed. To thisday the pilot tells you how her footprints are to be clearly seen, impressed in the stone, when the water is shallow. Strange thatMahomet does not rise from his tomb and protest, for that miracle wemust concede to him, because his footprints have been on the sacredrocks at Mecca for a thousand years. Does he pass it over, believing, with many, that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Whatever Roman Catholicism is in other parts of the world, in SouthAmerica it is pure Mariolatry. The creed, as we have seen, reads:"Mary must be our first object of worship, Saint Joseph the second. "Along with these, saints, living and dead, are numberless. 

A traveller in South Brazil thus writes of a famous monk: "There, ina shed at the back of a small farm, half sitting, half reclining on amat and a skin of some wild animal, was a man of about seventy yearsof age, in a state of nudity. A small piece of red blanket was thrownover his shoulders, barely covering them. His whole body wasencrusted with filth, and his nails had grown like claws. His vacantlook showed him to be a poor, helpless idiot. Beside him a large woodfire was kept burning. The ashes of this fire, strewn around him forthe sake of cleanliness, are carried away for medicinal purposes bythe thousands of pilgrims who visit him. Men and women come from longdistances to see him, in the full persuasion that he is a holy manand has miraculous powers. " [Footnote: "The Neglected Continent"]Romanism is thus seen to be in a double sense "a moral pestilence. "

The church is, of course, very much in evidence in Corumbá, for it isa very religious place. A _missa cantata_ is often held there, when anoisy brass band will render dance music, often at the moat solemnparts. The drums frequently beat until the worshippers are almostdeafened. 

In the town of Bom Fim, a little further north, the priest runs a"show" opposite his church, and over it are printed the words, "Theatre of the Holy Ghost. "

Think, O intelligent reader, how dense must be the darkness of PapalAmerica when a church notice, which anyone may see affixed to thedoor, reads:

RAFFLE FOB SOULS. 

A raffle for souls will be held at this Church on January 1st, atwhich four bleeding and tortured souls will be released frompurgatory to heaven, according to the four highest tickets in thismost holy lottery. Tickets, $1. 00. To be had of the father in charge. Will you, for the poor sum of one dollar, leave your loved ones toburn in purgatory for ages?

At the last raffle for souls, the following numbers obtained theprize, and the lucky holders may be assured that their loved ones areforever released from the flames of purgatory: Ticket 4l. --The soulof Madame Coldern is made happy for ever. Ticket 762. --The soul ofthe aged widow, Francesca de Parson, is forever released from theflames of purgatory. Ticket 84l. --The soul of Lawyer Vasquez isreleased from purgatory and ushered into heavenly joys. [Footnote:"Gospel Message. "]

But, my reader asks, "Do the people implicitly believe all the priestsays?" No, sometimes they say, "Show us a sign. " This was especiallytrue of the people living on the Chili-Bolivian border. The wily, yetprogressive, priest there made a number of little balloons, which ona certain day of the year were sent up into the sky, bearing away thesins of the people. Of course, when the villagers saw their sinsfloat away before their own eyes, enclosed in little crystal spheres, such as _could not be earthly_, they believed and rejoiced. Yes, reader, the South American priest is alive to his position after all, and even "patents" are requisitioned. In some of the larger churchesthere is the "slot" machine, which, when a coin is inserted, givesout _"The Pope's blessing. "_ This is simply a picture representinghis Holiness with uplifted hands. 

The following is a literal translation, from the Portuguese, of a"notice" in a Rio Janeiro newspaper:

FESTIVAL IN HONOR OF THE LADY OF NAZARETH. 

"The day will be ushered in with majestic and deafening fireworks, and the 'Hail Mary' rendered by the beautiful band of the----Infantryregiment. There will be an intentional mass, grand vocal andinstrumental music, solemn vespers, the Gospel preached, and ribbons, which have been placed round the neck of the image of St. Broz, distributed. 

"The square, tastefully decorated and pompously illuminated, willafford the devotees, after their supplications to the Lord of theUniverse, the following means of amusement, -----the Chinese Pavilion, etc. , -----. Evening service concluded, there will be danced in theFlora Pavilion the _fandango à pandereta_. In the same pavilion acomic company will act several pieces. On Sunday, upon the conclusionof the Te Deum, the comic company will perform, " etc. 

The spiritual darkness is appalling. If the following can be writtenof Pernambuco, a large city of 180, 000 inhabitants, on the sea coast, the reader can, in a measure, understand the priestly thraldom ofthese isolated towns. A Pernambuco newspaper, in its issue of March1st, 1903, contains an article headed, "Burning of Bibles, " whichsays:

"As has been announced, there was realized in the square of theChurch of Penha, on the 22nd ult. , at nine o'clock in the morning, inthe presence of more than two thousand people, the burning of twohundred and fourteen volumes of the Protestant Bible, amidstenthusiastic cheers for the Catholic religion, the immaculate VirginMary, and the High Priest Leo XIII. --cheers raised spontaneously bythe Catholic people. " [Footnote: Literal translation from thePortuguese. ]

A colporteur, known to me, when engaged selling Bibles in a Braziliantown, reports that the fanatical populace got his books and carriedthem, fastened and burning, at the end of blazing torches, while theytramped the streets, yelling: "Away with all false books!" "Away withthe religion of the devils!" A recent Papal bull reads: "Bibleburnings are most Catholic demonstrations. "

Is it cause for wonder that the Spanish-American Republics have beenso backward?

I have seen a notice headed "SAVIOUR OF SOULS, " making known the factthat at a certain address a _Most Holy Reverend Father_ would be inattendance during certain hours, willing to save the soul of any andevery applicant on payment of so much. That revelation which tells ofa Saviour without money or price is denied them. 

Corumbá is a strange, lawless place, where the ragged, barefootednight policeman inspires more terror in the law-abiding than theprofessional prowler. The former has a sharp sword, which glitters ashe threatens, and the latter has often a kind heart, and only asks"mil reis" (about thirty cents). 

How can a town be governed properly when its capital is threethousand miles distant, and the only open route thither is, by riverand sea, a month's journey? Perhaps the day is not far distant whenCuyabá, the most central city of South America, and larger thanCorumbá, lying hundreds of miles further up the river, will set up ahead of its own to rule, or misrule, the province. Brazil is too big, much too big, or the Government is too little, much too little. 

The large states are subdivided into districts, or parishes, eachunder an ecclesiastical head, as may be inferred from the peculiarnames many of them bear. There are the parishes of:

"Our Lady, Mother of God of Porridge. "

"The Three Hearts of Jesus. "

"Our Lady of the Rosary of the Pepper Tree. "

"The Souls of the Sand Bank of the River of Old Women. "

"The Holy Ghost of the Cocoanut Tree. "

"Our Lady Mother of the Men of Mud. "

"The Sand Bank of the Holy Ghost. "

"The Holy Spirit of the Pitchfork. "

The Brazilian army, very materially aided by the saints, is able tokeep this great country, with its many districts, in tolerablequietness. Saint Anthony, who, when young, was _privileged to carrythe toys of the child Jesus_, is, in this respect, of great serviceto the Brazilians. The military standing of Saint Anthony in theBrazilian army is one of considerable importance and diversifiedservice. According to a statement of Deputy Spinola, made on the 13thof June, the eminent saint's feast day, his career in the militaryservice of Brazil has been the following: By a royal letter of the7th of April, 1707, the commission of captain was conferred upon theimage of Saint Anthony, of Bahia. This image was promoted to be amajor of infantry by a decree of September 13th, 1819. In July, 1859, his pay was placed upon the regular pay-roll of the Department ofWar. 

The image of St. Anthony in Rio de Janeiro, however, outranks hiscounterpart of Bahia, and seems to have had a more brilliant militaryrecord. His commission as captain dates from a royal letter of March21st, 1711. He was promoted to be major of infantry in July, 1810, and to be lieutenant-colonel in 1814. He was decorated with the GrandCross of the Order of Christ also, in 1814, and his pay aslieutenant-colonel was made a permanent charge on the military listin 1833. 

The image of St. Anthony of Ouro Preto attained the rank and pay ofcaptain in 1799. His career has been an uneventful one, and has beenconfined principally to the not unpleasant task of drawing $480 amonth from the public treasury. The salaries of all these soldieryimages are drawn by duly constituted attorneys. [Footnote: Rio News]

Owing to bubonic plague, my stay in Corumbá was prolonged. I havebeen in the city of Bahia when an average of 200 died every day fromthis terrible disease, so Brazil is beginning to be more careful. 

Though steamers were not running, perspiration was. Oh, the heat! Inmy excursions in and around the town I found that even the mule I hadhired, acclimatized as it was to heat and thirst and hunger, began toshow signs of fatigue. Can man or beast be expected to work when thetemperature stands at 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade?

As the natives find bullocks bear the heat better than mules, Iprocured one of these saddle animals, but it could only travel at asnail's pace. I was indeed thankful to quit the oven of a town whenat last quarantine was raised and a Brazilian steamboat called. 

Rats were so exceedingly numerous on this packet that they wouldscamper over our bodies at night. So bold were they that we werecompelled to take a cudgel into our berths! A Brazilian passengerdeclared one morning that he had counted three hundred rats on thecabin floor at one time! I have already referred to Braziliannumbering; perhaps he meant three hundred feet, or seventy-five rats. 

With the heat and the rats, supplemented by millions of mosquitos, myCorumbá journey was not exactly a picnic. 

In due time we arrived again at Puerto Martinio, only to hear thatour former fellow-passenger, the assassin, had regained his freedomand could be seen walking about the town. But then--well, he wasrich, and money does all in Brazil--yea, the priest will even tellyou it purchases an entrance into heaven! In worldly matters thepeople _see_ its power, and in spiritual matters they _believe_ it. If the priest has heard of Peter's answer to Simon--"Thy money perishwith thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may bepurchased with money"--he keeps it to himself. How can he live if hedeceives not? Strange indeed is the thought that, three hundred yearsbefore the caravels of Portuguese conquerors ever sailed thesewaters, the law of the Indian ruler of that very part of the countryread: "Judges who receive bribes from their clients are to be consideredas thieves meriting death. " And a clause in the Sacred Book read:"He who kills another condemns his own self. " Has the interior ofSouth America gone forward or backward since then? Was the adorationof the Sun more civilizing than the worship of the Virgin?

When we got down into Argentine waters I began to feel cold, anddonned an overcoat. Thinking it strange that I should feel thus inthe latitude which had in former times been so agreeable, Iinvestigated, and found the thermometer 85 degrees Fah. In the shade. After Corumbá that was _cold_. 

PART V. 

URUGUAY

[Illustration]

THE LONE TRAIL. 

 And sometimes it leads to the desert and the tongue swells out of the mouth, And you stagger blind to the mirage, to die in the mocking drouth. And sometimes it leads to the mountain, to the light of the lone camp-fire, And you gnaw your belt in the anguish of the hunger-goaded desire. 

 --_Robert W. Service. _

The Republic of Uruguay has 72, 210 square miles of territory, and isthe smallest of the ten countries of South America. Its population isonly 1, 103, 000, but the Liebig Company, "which manufactures beef teafor the world, owns nearly a million acres of land in Uruguay. On itsenormous ranches over 6, 000, 000 head of cattle have passed throughits hands in the fifty years of its existence. " [Footnote: Clark. "Continent of Opportunity. "]

The republic seems well governed, but, as in all Spanish-Americancountries, the ideas of right and wrong are strange. While takingpart in a religious procession, President Borda was assassinated in1897. A man was seen to deliberately walk up and shoot him. The ChiefExecutive fell mortally wounded. This cool murderer was condemned totwo years' imprisonment for _insulting_ the President. 

In 1900, President Arredondo was assassinated, but the murderer wasacquitted on the ground that "he was interpreting the feelings of thepeople. "

Uruguay is a progressive republic, with more than a thousand miles ofrailway. On these lines the coaches are very palatial. The largerpart of the coach, made to seat fifty-two passengers, is for smokers, the smaller compartment, accommodating sixteen, is for non-smokers, thus reversing our own practice. Outside the harbor of the capital agreat sea-wall is being erected, at tremendous cost, to facilitateshipping, and Uruguay is certainly a country with a great future. 

The capital city occupies a commanding position at the mouth of thegreat estuary of the Rio de la Plata; its docks are large and modern, and palatial steamers of the very finest types bring it in dailycommunication with Buenos Ayres. The Legislative Palace is one of thefinest government buildings in the world. The great Solis Theatre, where Patti and Bernhardt have both appeared, covers nearly two acresof ground, seats three thousand people and cost three million dollarsto build. The sanitary conditions and water supply are so perfectthat fewer people die in this city, in proportion to its size, thanin any other large city of the world. 

The Parliament of Uruguay has recently voted that all privilegeshitherto granted to particular religious bodies shall be abrogated, that the army shall not take part in religious ceremonies, that armychaplains shall be dismissed, that the national flag shall not belowered before any priest or religious symbol. So another state cutsloose from Rome!

The climate of the country is such that grapes, apricots, peaches, and many other fruits grow to perfection. Its currency is on a morestable basis than that of any other Spanish republic, and its dollaris actually worth 102 cents. The immigrants pouring into Uruguay haverun up to over 20, 000 a year; the population has increased more than100 per cent in 12 years; so we shall hear from Uruguay in comingyears more than we have done in the past. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

SKETCHES OF A HORSEBACK RIDE THROUGH THE REPUBLIC. 

I CROSS THE SILVER RIVER. 

I left Buenos Ayres for Uruguay in an Italian _polacca_. We weighedanchor one Sunday afternoon, and as the breeze was favorable, thewhite sails, held up by strong ropes of rawhide, soon wafted us awayfrom the land. We sailed through a fleet of ships from all parts ofthe world, anchored in the stream, discharging and loading cargoes. There, just arrived, was an Italian emigrant ship with a thousandpeople on board, who had come to start life afresh. There was thelarge British steamer, with her clattering windlass, hoisting onboard live bullocks from barges moored alongside. The animals areraised up by means of a strong rope tied around their horns, and asthe ship rocks on the swell they dangle in mid-air. When a favorablemoment arrives they are quickly dropped on to the deck, completelystupefied by their aerial flight. 

As darkness fell, the wind dropped, and we lay rocking on the bosomof the river, with only the twinkling lights of the Argentine coastto remind us of the solid world. The shoreless river was, however, populous with craft of all rigs, for this is the highway to the greatinterior, and some of them were bound to Cuyabá, 2, 600 miles in theheart of the continent. During the night a ship on fire in the offinglit up with great vividness the silent waste of waters, and as theflames leaped up the rigging, the sight was very grand. Owing tocalms and light winds, our passage was a slow one, and I was notsorry when at last I could say good-bye to the Italians and theiroily food. Three nights and two days is a long time to spend incrossing a river. 

MONTEVIDEO. 

Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is "one of the handsomest citiesin all America, north or south. " Its population is over 350, 000. Itis one of the cleanest and best laid-out cities on the continent; ithas broad, airy streets and a general look of prosperity. Whatimpresses the newcomer most is the military display everywhere seen. Sentry boxes, in front of which dark-skinned soldiers strut, seem tobe at almost every corner. Although Uruguay has a standing army ofunder 3, 500 men, yet gold-braided officers are to be met with onevery street. There are twenty-one generals on active service, andmany more living on pension. More important personages than these menassume to be could not be met with in any part of the world. 

The armies of most of these republics are divided into sectionsbearing such blasphemous titles as "Division of the Son of God, ""Division of the Good Shepherd, " "Division of the Holy Lancers ofDeath" and "Soldiers of the Blessed Heart of Mary. " These are oftenplaced under the sceptre of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the nationalemblem. 

Boys of seven and old men of seventy stand on the sidewalks sellinglottery tickets; and the priest, with black beaver hat, the brim ofwhich has a diameter of two feet, is always to be seen. One of thesepriests met a late devotee, but now a follower of Christ throughmissionary effort, and said: "Good morning, _Daughter of the EvilOne_!" "Good morning, _Father_, " she replied. 

The cemetery is one of the finest on the continent, and is well wortha visit. Very few of Montevideo's dead are _buried_. The coffins ofthe rich are zinc-lined, and provided with a glass in the lid. Allcaskets are placed in niches in the high wall which surrounds thecemetery. These mural niches are six or eight feet deep in the wall, and each one has a marble tablet for the name of the deposited one. By means of a large portable ladder and elevator combined, thecoffins are raised from the ground. At anniversaries of the death thetomb is filled with flowers, and candles are lit inside, while awreath is hung on the door. A favorite custom is to attend mass onSunday morning, then visit the cemetery, and spend the afternoon atthe bull-fights. 

NATIVE HOUSES AND HABITS. 

Uruguay is essentially a pastoral country, and the finest animals ofSouth America are there raised. It is said that "Uruguay's pasturelands could feed all the cattle of the world, and sheep grow fat at50 to the acre. " In 1889, when I first went there, there were thirty-two millions of horned cattle grazing on a thousand hills. Liebig'sfamous establishments at Fray Bentos, two hundred miles north ofMontevideo, employs six hundred men, and kills one thousand bullocksa day. 

Uruguay has some good roads, and the land is wire-fenced in alldirections. The rivers are crossed on large flat-bottomed boatscalled _balsas_. These are warped across by a chain, and carry asmany as ten men and horses in one trip. The roads are in many placesthickly strewn with bones of dead animals, dropped by the way, andthese are picked clean by the vultures. No sooner does an animal liedown to die than, streaming out of the infinite space, which a momentbefore has been a lifeless world of blue ether, there come lines ofvultures, and soon white bones are all that are left. 

On the fence-posts one sees many nests of the _casera_ (housebuilder)bird, made of mud. These have a dome-shaped roof, and are divided bya partition inside into chamber and ante-chamber. By the roadside arehovels of the natives not a twentieth part so well-built or rain-tight. Fleas are so numerous in these huts that sometimes, afterspending a night in one, it would have been impossible to place afive-cent piece on any part of my body that had not been bitten bythem. Scorpions come out of the wood they burn on the earthen floor, and monster cockroaches nibble your toes at night. The thick, hotgrass roofs of the ranches harbor centipedes, which drop on your faceas you sleep, and bite alarmingly. These many-legged creatures growto the length of eight or nine inches, and run to and fro with greatspeed. Well might the little girl, on seeing a centipede for thefirst time, ask: "What is that queer-looking thing, with about amillion legs?" Johnny wisely replied: "That's a millennium. It'ssomething like a centennial, only its has more legs. "

After vain attempts to sleep, you rise, and may see the good wifecleaning her only plate for you by rubbing it on her greasy hair andwiping it with the bottom of her chemise. Ugh! Proceeding on thejourney, it is a common sight to see three or four little birdssitting on the backs of the horned cattle getting their breakfast, which I hope they relish better than I often did. 

A WAKE, AND HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN. 

During my journey I was asked: Would I like to go to the wake heldthat night at the next house, three miles away? After supper, horseswere saddled up and away we galloped. Quite a number had alreadygathered there. We found the dead man lying on a couple ofsheepskins, in the centre of a mud-walled and mud-floored room. "Nouseless coffin enclosed his breast, " nor was he wound in either sheetor shroud. There he lay, fully attired, even to his shoes. Fourtallow candles lighted up the gloom, and these were placed at hishead and feet. His clammy hands were reverently folded over hisbreast, whilst entwined in his fingers was a bronze cross and rosary, that St. Peter, seeing his devotion, might, without questioning, admit him to a better world. The scene was weird beyond description. Outside, the wind moaned a sad dirge; great bats and black moths, thesize of birds, flitted about in the midnight darkness. These, everand anon, made their way inside and extinguished the candles, whichflickered and dripped as they fitfully shone on the shrunken featuresof the corpse. He had been a reprobate and an assassin, but, luckilyfor him, a pious woman, not wishing to see him die "in his sins, " hadsprinkled _Holy Water_ on him. The said "Elixir of Life" had beenbrought eighty miles, and was kept in her house to use only inextreme cases. The poor woman had paid the price of a cow for thebottle of water, but the priest had declared that it was an effectualsoul-saver, and they never doubted its efficacy. Around the corpsewas a throng of women, and they all chattered as women are apt to do. The men, standing around the door, talked of their horse-races, fights or anything else. For some hours I heard no allusion to thedead, but as the night wore on the prophetess of the people cameforth. 

If my advent among them had caused a stir, the entrance of this oldwoman caused a bustle; even the dead man seemed to salute her, or wasit only my imagination--for I was in a strangely sensitive mood--thatpictured it? As she slowly approached, leaning heavily on a rough, thick staff, all the females present bent their knees. Now prayerswere going to be offered up for the dead, and the visible woman wasto act as interceder with the invisible one in heaven. After beingassisted to her knees, the old woman, in a cracked, yet loud, voice, began. "_Santa Maria, ruega por nosotros, ahora, y en la hora denuestra muerte!_" (Holy Mary pray for us now, and in the hour of ourdeath!) This was responded to with many gesticulations and making ofcrosses by the numerous females around her. The prayers were many andlong, and must have lasted perhaps an hour; then all arose, and mátéand cigars were served. Men and women, even boys and girls, smokedthe whole night through, until around the Departed was nothing butbluish clouds. 

The natives are so fond of wakes that when deaths do not occur withgreat frequency, the bones of "grandma" are dug up, and she is prayedand smoked over once more. The digging up of the dead is often asimple matter, for the corpse is frequently just carried into thebush, and there covered with prickly branches. 

THE SNAKE'S HISTORY. 

I met with a snake, of a whitish color, that appeared to have twoheads. Never being able to closely examine this strange reptile, Icannot positively affirm that it possesses the two heads, but thenatives repeatedly affirmed to me that it does, and certainly bothends are, or seem to be, exactly alike. In the Book of Genesis theserpent is described as "a beast, " but for its temptation of Eve itwas condemned to crawl on its belly and become a reptile. A strangebelief obtains among the people that all serpents must not only bekilled, but _put into a fire_. If there is none lit, they will kindleone on purpose, for it must be burned. As the outer skin comes off, it is declared, the four legs, now under it, can be distinctly seen. 

A GIRL'S NEW BIRTH AND TRANSLATION. 

At Rincon I held a series of meetings in a mud hut. Men and women, with numerous children, used to gather on horseback an hour beforethe time for opening. A little girl always brought her three-leggedstool and squatted in front of me. The rest appropriated tree-trunksand bullocks' skulls. The girl referred to listened to the Gospelstory as though her life depended upon it, as indeed it did! When atRincon only a short time, the child desired me to teach her how topray, and she clasped her hands reverently. "Would Jesus save _me_?"she asked. "Did He die for me--_me_? Will He save me now?" The girl_believed_, and entered at once into the family of God. 

One day a man on horseback, tears streaming down his cheeks, gallopedup to my hut. It was her father. His girl was dead. She had gone intothe forest, and, feeling hungry, had eaten some berries; they werepoisonous, and she had come home to die. Would I bury her? Shortlyafterwards I rode over to the hovel where she had lived. Awaiting mewere the broken-hearted parents. A grocery box had been secured, andthis rude coffin was covered with pink cotton. Four horses were yokedin a two-wheeled cart, the parents sat on the casket, and I followedon horseback to the nearest cemetery, sixteen miles away. There, in alittle enclosure, we lowered the girl into her last earthly resting-place, in the sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection. Shehad lived in a house where a cow's hide served for a door, but shehad now entered the "pearly gates. " The floor of her late home wasmother earth; what a change to be walking the "streets of gold!" Someday, "after life's fitful fever, " I shall meet her again, not a poor, ragged half-breed girl, but glorified, and clothed in Hisrighteousness. 

HOW I DID NOT LOSE MY EYES. 

One day I was crossing a river, kneeling on my horse's back, when hegave a lurch and threw me into the water. Gaining the bank, and beingquite alone, I stripped off my wet clothes and waited for the sun todry them. The day was hot and sultry, and, feeling tired, I coveredmyself up with the long grass and went to sleep. How long I lay Icannot tell, but suddenly waking up, I found to my alarm that severallarge vultures, having thought me dead, were contemplating me astheir next meal! Had my sleep continued a few moments longer, therapacious birds would have picked my eyes out, as they invariably dobefore tearing up their victim. All over the country these birdsabound, and I have counted thirty and forty tearing up a living, quivering animal. Sometimes, for mercy's sake, I have alighted andput the suffering beast out of further pain. Before I got away theyhave been fighting over it again in their haste to suck the heart'sblood. 

A BACHELOR RABBIT. 

The pest of Australia is the rabbit, but, strange to say, I neverfound one in South America. In their place is the equally destructive_viscacha_ or prairie dog--a much larger animal, probably three orfour times the size, having very low, broad head, little ears, andthick, bristling whiskers. His coat is gray and white, with a mixtureof black. To all appearance this is a ferocious beast, with his twofront tusk-like teeth, about four inches long, but he is perfectlyharmless. The viscacha makes his home, like the rabbit, by burrowingin the ground, where he remains during daylight. The faculty ofacquisition in these animals must be large, for in their nightlytrips they gather and bring to the mouth of their burrow anything andeverything they can possibly move. Bones, manure, stones and feathersare here collected, and if the traveller accidentally dropped hiswatch, knife or handkerchief, it would be found and carried to adornthe viscacha's doorway, if those animals were anywhere near. 

The lady reader will be shocked to learn that the head of theviscacha family, probably copying a bad example from the ostrich, hisneighbor, is also very unamiable with his "better half, " and inhabitsbachelor's quarters, which he keeps all to himself, away from hisfamily. The food of this strange dog-rabbit is roots, and hispowerful teeth are well fitted to root them up. At the mouth of theirburrows may often be seen little owls, which have ejected theoriginal owners and themselves taken possession. They have astrikingly saucy look, and possess the advantage of being able toturn their heads right around while the body remains immovable. Beingof an inquisitive nature, they stare at every passer-by, and if thetraveller quietly walks around them he will smile at the grotesquepower they have of turning their head. When a young horse isespecially slow in learning the use of the reins, I have known thecowboy smear the bridle with the brains of this clever bird, that theowl's facility in turning might thus be imparted to it. 

Another peculiar animal is the _comadreka_, which resembles thekangaroo in that it is provided with a bag or pouch in which to carryits young ones. I have surprised these little animals (for they areonly of rabbit size) with their young playing around them, and haveseen the mother gather them into her pouch and scamper away. 

DRINKING WATER, SAINTS AND THE VIRGIN. 

In Uruguay it is the custom for all, on approaching a house, to callout, "Holy Mary the Pure!" and until the inmate answers: "Conceivedwithout sin!" not a step farther must be made by the visitor. At ahut where I called there was a baby hanging from the wattle roof in acow's hide, and flies covered the little one's eyes. On going to thewell for a drink I saw that there was a cat and a rat in the water, but the people were drinking it! When smallpox breaks out because ofsuch unsanitary conditions, I have known them to carry around theimage of St. Sebastian, that its divine presence might chase away thesickness. The dress of the Virgin is often borrowed from the church, and worn by the women, that they may profit by its healing virtues. Acrucifix hung in the house keeps away evil spirits. 

The people were very _religious_, and no rain having fallen for fivemonths, had concluded to carry around a large image of the Virginthey had, and show her the dry crops. I rode on, but did not get wet!

NO NEED OF THE DOCTOR OR VET. 

"A poor girl got very severely burnt, and the remedy applied was apoultice of mashed ears of _viscacha_. The burn did not heal, and soa poultice of pig's dung was put on. When we went to visit the girl, the people said it was because they had come to our meetings that thegirl did not get better. A liberal cleansing, followed by the use ofboracic acid, has healed the wound. Another case came under ournotice of a woman who suffered from a gathering in the ear, and theremedy applied was a negro's curl fried in fat. "

To cure animals of disease there are many ways. Mrs. Nieve boastedthat, by just saying a few cabalistic words over a sick cow, shecould heal it. A charm put on the top of the enclosure where theanimals are herded will keep away sickness. To cure a bucking horseall that is necessary is to pull out its eyebrows and spit in itsface. Let a lame horse step on a sheepskin, cut out the piece, andcarry it in your pocket; if this can't be done, make a cross withtufts of grass, and the leg will heal. For ordinary sickness tie adog's head around the horse's neck. If a horse has pains in thestomach, let him smell your shirt. 

A RACE FOR INFORMATION. 

Uruguay is said to have averaged a revolution every two years fornearly a century, so in times of revolutionary disturbance theyounger children are often set to watch the roads and give timelywarning, that the father or elder brother may effect an escape. Thesaid persons may then mount their fleetest horse and be out of sightere the recruiting sergeant arrives. Being one day perplexed, and indoubt whether I was on my right road, I made towards a boy I haddescried some distance away, to ask him. No sooner did the youthcatch sight of me than he set off at a long gallop away from me; why, I could not tell, as they are generally so interested at the sight ofa stranger. Determined not to be outdone, and feeling sure thatwithout directions I could not safely continue the journey, I putspurs to my horse and tried to overtake him. As I quickened my pacehe looked back, and, seeing me gain upon him, urged his horse to itsutmost speed. Down hill and up hill, through grass and mud and water, the race continued. A sheepskin fell from his saddle, but he heededit not as he went plunging forward. Human beings in those latitudeswere very few, and if I did not catch him I might be totally lost fordays; so I went clattering on over his sheepskin, and then over hiswooden saddle, the fall of which only made his horse give a freshplunge forward as he lay on its neck. Thus we raced for at leastthree miles, until, tired out and breathless, I gave up in despair. 

Concluding that my fleet-footed but unamiable young friend hadundoubtedly some place in view, I continued in the same direction, but at a more respectable pace. Shortly afterwards I arrived at avery small hut, built of woven grass and reeds, which I presumed washis home. Making for the open door, I clapped my hands, but receivedno answer. The hut was certainly inhabited--of that I saw abundantsigns--but where were the people? I dare not get down from my horse;that is an insult no native would forgive; so I slowly walked aroundthe house, clapping my hands and shouting at the top of my voice. Just as I was making the circuit for the third time, I descriedanother and a larger house, hidden in the trees some distance away, and thither I forthwith bent my steps. There I learned that I hadbeen taken for a recruiting sergeant, and the inhabitants had hiddenthemselves when the boy galloped up with the message of my approach. 

I FIND DIAMONDS. 

 "For one shall grasp and one resign. One drink life's rue, and one its wine; And God shall make the balance good. "

Encamped on the banks of the Black River, idly turning up the soilwith the stock of my riding-whip, I was startled to find what Ibelieved to be real diamonds! Beautifully white, transparent stonesthey were, and, rising to examine them closely in the sunlight, I wasmore than ever convinced of the richness of my find. Was it possiblethat I had unwittingly discovered a diamond field? Could it be truethat, after years of hardship, I had found a fortune? I was a richman--oh, the enchanting thought! No need now to toil throughscorching suns. I could live at ease. As I sat with the stonesglistening in the light before my eyes, my brain grew fevered. Leaving my hat and coat on the ground, I ran towards my horse, and, vaulting on his bare back, wildly galloped to and fro, that thebreezes might cool my fevered head. Rich? Oh, how I had worked andstriven! Life had hitherto been a hard fight. When I had gatheredtogether a few dollars, I had been prostrated with malarial or someother fever, and they had flown. After two or three months ofenforced idleness I had had to start the battle of life afresh withdiminished funds. Now the past was dead; I could rest from strife. Rest! How sweet it sounded as I repeated aloud the precious word, andthe distant echoes brought back the word, Rest!

I was awakened from my day dreams by being thrown from my horse! Hopefor the future had so taken possession of me that the present wasforgotten. I had not seen the caves of the prairie dog, but my horsehad given a sudden start aside to avoid them, and I found myselflicking the dust. Bather a humiliating position for a man to be inwho had just found unlimited wealth; Somewhat subdued, I made my wayback to my solitary encampment. 

Well, how shall I conclude this short but pregnant chapter of mylife? Suffice it to say that my idol was shattered! The stones werefound to be of little worth. 

 "The flower that smiles to-day, To-morrow dies; All that we wish to stay Tempts, and then flies. "

A MAN WITH TWO NOSES AND TWO MOUTHS. 

I was lost one day, and had been sitting in the grass for an hour ormore wondering what I should do, when the sound of galloping hoofsbroke the silence. On looking around, to my horror, I saw a_something_ seated on a fiery horse tearing towards me! What could itbe? Was it human? Could the strange-looking being who suddenly reinedup his horse before me be a man? A man surely, but possessing twonoses, two mouths, and two hare-lips. A hideous sight! I shuddered asI looked at him. His left eye was in the temple, and he turned itfull upon me, while with the other he seemed to glance toward theknife in his belt. When he rode up I had saluted him, but he did notreturn the recognition. Feeling sure that the country must be wellknown to him, I offered to reward him if he would act as my guide. The man kept his gleaming eye fixed upon me, but answered not a word. Beginning to look at the matter in rather a serious light, I mountedmy horse, when he grunted at me in an unintelligible way, whichshowed me plainly that he was without the power of speech. He turnedin the direction I had asked him to take, and we started off at abreakneck speed, which his fiery horse kept up. I cannot say hefollowed his nose, or the reader might ask me which nose, but he ledme in a straight line to an eminence, from whence he pointed out theestancia I was seeking. The house was still distant, yet I was notsorry to part with my strange guide, who seemed disinclined toconduct me further. I gave him his fee, and he grunted his thanks andleft me to pursue my journey more leisurely. A hut I came to had beenstruck by lightning, and a woman and her child had been buried in thedebris. Inquiring the particulars, I was informed that the woman washerself to blame for the disaster. The saints, they told me, have aparticular aversion to the _ombu_ tree, and this daring Eve had builther house near one. The saints had taken _spite_ at this act ofbravado, and destroyed both mother and daughter. Moral: Heed thesaints. 

A FLEET-FOOTED DEER. 

One day an old man seriously informed me that in those parts therewas a deer which neither he nor any other one had been able to catch. Like the Siamese twins, it was two live specimens in one. When Iasked why it was impossible to catch the animal, he informed me thatit had eight legs with which to run. Four of the legs came out of theback, and, when tired with using the four lower ones, it just turnedover and ran with the upper set. I did not see this freak, so add thesalt to your taste, O reader. 

I SLEEP WITH THE RATS. 

Hospitality is a marked and beautiful feature of the Uruguayanpeople. At whatever time I arrived at a house, although a strangerand a foreigner, I was most heartily received by the inmates. On onlyone occasion, which I will here relate, was I grudginglyaccommodated, and that was by a Brazilian living on the frontier. Thehot sun had ruthlessly shone on me all day as I waded through thelong arrow grass that reached up to my saddle. The scorching rays, pitiless in their intensity, seemed to take the energy fromeverything living. All animate creation was paralyzed. The relentlessball of fire in the heavens, pouring down like molten brass, appearedto be trying to set the world on fire; and I lay utterly exhausted onmy horse's neck, half expecting to see all kindled in one mightyblaze! I had drunk the hot, putrid water of the hollows, which didnot seem to quench my thirst any, but perhaps did help to keep mefrom drying up and blowing away. My tongue was parched and my lipsdried together. Fortunately, I had a very quiet horse, and when Icould no longer bear the sun's burning rays I got down for a fewmoments and crept under him. 

Shelter there was none. The copious draughts of evil-smelling water Ihad drunk in my raging thirst brought on nausea, and it was only byforce of will that I kept myself from falling, when on an eminence Ijoyfully sighted the Brazilian estancia. Hope then revived in me. Myknowing horse had seen the house before me, and without any guidancemade straight towards it at a quicker pace. Well he knew that housesin those desolate wastes were too far apart to be passed unheeded by, and I thoroughly concurred in his wisdom. As I drew up before thelonely place my tongue refused to shout "Ave Maria, " but I clapped myperspiring hands, and soon had the satisfaction of hearing footstepswithin. Visions of shade and of meat and drink and rest floatedbefore my eyes when I saw the door opened. A coal-black face peepedout, which, in a cracked, broken voice, I addressed, asking theprivilege to dismount. Horror of horrors, I had not even beenanswered ere the door was shut again in my face! Get down withoutpermission I dare not. The house was a large edifice, built of rough, undressed stones, and had a thick, high wall of the same material allaround. 

Were the inmates fiends that they let me sit there, knowing well thatthere was no other habitation within miles? As the minutes slowlylengthened out, and the door remained closed, my spirits sank lowerand lower. After a silence of thirty-five minutes, the man again madehis appearance, and, coming right out this time, stared me throughand through. After this close scrutiny, which seemed to satisfy him, but elicited no response to a further appeal from me, he went to anoutlying building, and, bringing a strong hide lasso, tied it aroundmy horse's neck. Not until that was securely fastened did he inviteme to dismount. Presuming the lasso was lent me to tie out my horse, I led him to the back of the house. When I returned, my strange, unwilling host was again gone, so I lay down on a pile of hides inthe shade of the wall, and, utterly tired out, with visions ofbanquets floating before my eyes, I dropped off to sleep. 

Perhaps an hour afterwards, I awoke to find a woman, black as night, bending over me. Not seeing a visitor once in three months, herfeminine curiosity had impelled her to come and examine me. Seeminglymore amiable than her husband, she spoke to me, but in a strange, unmusical language, which I could not understand; and then she, too, left me. As evening approached, another inmate of the house made hisappearance. He was, I could see, of a different race, and, to my joy, I found that he spoke fluently in Spanish. Conducting me to theaforementioned outhouse, a place built of canes and mud, he told methat later on a piece of meat would be given me, and that I couldsleep on the sheepskins. I got the meat, and I slept on the skins. Fatigued as I was, I passed a wretched night, for dozens of huge ratsran over my body, bit my hands, and scratched my face, the wholenight long. Morning at last dawned, and, with the first streaks ofcoming day, I saddled my horse, and, shaking the dust of theBrazilian estancia off my feet, resumed my journey. 

THE BURSTING OF A MAN. 

A friend of mine came upon an ostrich's nest. The bird was not near, so, dismounting, he picked up an egg and placed it in an insidepocket of his coat. Continuing the journey, the egg was forgotten, and the horse, galloping along, suddenly tripped and fell. The riderwas thrown to the ground, where he lay stunned. Three hoursafterwards consciousness returned. As his weary eyes wandered, henoticed, with horror, that his chest and side were thickly besmeared. With a cry of despair, he lay back, groaning, "I have burst!" Thepresence of the egg he had put in his pocket had quite passed fromhis mind!

I FIND A LONE SCOTSMAN. 

One evening after a long day's journey, I reached a house, away nearthe Brazilian frontier, and was surprised indeed to see that theowner was a real live Scotsman. Great was my astonishment andpleasure at receiving such a warm Scotch welcome. He was eighty milesaway from any village--alone in the mountains--and at the sight of mehe wept like a child. Never can I forget his anguish as he told methat his beloved wife had died just a few days before, and that hehad buried her--"there in the glen. " At the sight of a British facehe had completely broken down; but, pulling himself together, heconducted me through into the courtyard, and the difficulty of myjourney was forgotten as we sat down to the evening meal. Being anxious to hear the story of her who had presided at hisboard, I bade him recount to me the sad circumstances. 

She was a "bonnie lassie, " and he had "lo'ed her muckle. " There theyhad lived for twelve years, shut out from the rest of the world, yetcontent. Hand in hand they had toiled in joy and sorrow, when no rainfell for eight long months, and their cattle died; or when increasewas good, and flocks and herds fat. Side by side they had stood alonein the wild tangle of the wilderness. And now, when riches had beengathered and comfort could be had, his "lassie" had left him, and"Oh! he grudged her sair to the land o' the leal!" Being so farremoved from his fellows, he had been compelled to perform the sacredoffices of burial himself. Surrounded by kind hearts and lovingsympathizers, it is sad indeed to lose our loved ones. But howinexpressibly more sad it is when, away in loneliness, a man digs thecold clay tomb for all that is left of his only joy! When our dearones sleep in "God's acre" surrounded by others it is sad. But howmuch more heartbreaking is it to bury the darling wife in the depthsof the mountains alone, where a strong stone wall must be builtaround the grave to keey the wild beasts from tearing out theremains! Only those who have been so situated can picture thesolemnity of such a scene. 

At his urgent request, I promised I would accompany him to the spot--sanctified by his sorrow and watered by his tears--where he had laidhis dear one. Early the following morning a native servant saddledtwo horses, and we rode in silence towards the hallowed ground. Inabout thirty minutes we came in view of the quiet tomb. Encirclingthe grave he had built a high stone wall. When he silently opened thegate, I saw that, although all the pasture outside was dry andwithered, that on the mound was beautifully green and fresh. Had hebrought water from his house, for there was none nearer, or was itwatered by his tears? His greatest longing was, as he had explainedto me the previous night, that she should have a Christian burial, and if I would read some chapter over her grave he would feel morecontent, he said. As with bared heads we reverently knelt on themound, I now complied with his request. Then, for the first time inthe world's history, the trees that surrounded us listened to theChristian doctrine of a resurrection from the dead. "It is sown incorruption, it is raised in incorruption. " And the leaves whisperedto the mountains beyond, which gave back the words: "It is sown anatural body, it is raised a spiritual body. "

Never have I seen a man so broken with grief as was that loneScotsman. There were no paid mourners or idle sightseers. There wasno show of sorrow while the heart remained indifferent and untouched. It was the spectacle of a lone man who had buried his all and wasleft--

 "To linger when the sun of life, The beam that gilds its path, is gone-- To feel the aching bosom's strife, When Hope is dead and Love lives on. "

As we knelt there, I spoke to the man about salvation from sin, andunfolded God's plan of inheritance and reunions in the future life. The Lord gave His blessing, and I left him next day rejoicing in theChrist who said: "I am the resurrection and the life; he thatbelieveth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. "

As the world moves forward, and man pushes his way into the wasteplaces of the earth, that lonely grave will be forgotten. Populouscities will be built; but the doctrine the mountains then heard shalllive when the gloomy youth of Uruguay is forgotten. 

THE WORD OF GOD CONTRASTED WITH THAT OF THE R. C. CHURCH. 

"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thouserve. "--The Christ. 

"Mary must be the first object of our worship, St. Joseph thesecond. "--Roman Catholic Catechism. 

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness ofanything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, orthat is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyselfto them, nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. "

"I most firmly assert that the images of Christ and of the mother ofGod, ever virgin, and also of the other saints, are to be had andretained, and that due honor and veneration are to be given tothem. "--Creed of Pope Pius IV. 

"My glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to gravenimages. "--Jehovah. 

"The saints reigning together with Christ are to be honored andinvocated; . .. They offer prayers to God for us. .. Their relics areto be venerated. "--Creed of Pope Pius IV. 

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men--the manChrist Jesus. "--Paul. 

"Mary is everything in heaven and earth, and we should adore her. "--The South American Priest. 

"Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and servedthe creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. "--Paul

"All power was given to her. "--Peter Damian, Cardinal of Rome. 

"Search the Scriptures. "--The Christ. 

"All who read the Bible should be stoned to death. "--Pope InnocentIII. 

PART VI. 

MARIOLATRY AND IMAGE WORSHIP. 

[Illustration: OUR LADY OF GUADALOUPE. Many legacies are left to thisimage. ]

CHAPTER XIV. 

MARIOLATRY AND IMAGE WORSHIP. 

Before the light of Christianity dawned on ancient Rome, the Pantheoncontained goddesses many and gods many. Chief of these deities toreceive the worship of the people seems to have been Diana of theEphesians, a goddess whose image fell down from Jupiter; thecelestial Venus of Corinth, and Isis, sister to Osiris, the god ofEgypt. These popular images, so universally worshipped, werenaturally the aversion of the early followers of Christ. "Theprimitive Christians were possessed with an unconquerable repugnanceto the use and abuse of images. The Jewish disciples were especiallybitter against any but the triune God receiving homage, but, by aslow, though inevitable, progression, the honors of the original weretransferred to the copy, the devout Christian prayed before the imageof a saint, and the pagan rites of genuflexion, luminaries, andincense stole into the Christian Church. " [Footnote: Gibbons'"Rome. "]

Having Paul's masterly epistle to the Romans, in the first chapter ofwhich he so distinctly portrays man's tendency to change "the gloryof the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, "and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who isblessed forever, they were careful to remember that "God is aspirit, " and to be worshipped only in spirit. Peter, in his epistleto them, also wrote of the One "whom having not seen ye love. " Astime wore on, however, the original inclination of man to worship agod he could see and feel (a trait seen all down the pages ofhistory) asserted itself, and Mary, the mother of Christ, took theplace in the eye and the heart previously occupied by herpredecessors. [Footnote: Just as this work goes to press, the dallypapers of the world announce that the oldest idol ever discovered hasjust been unearthed. The idol is a goddess, who is holding an infantin her arms. ] Being in possession of the Acts of the Apostles, whichplainly declares that Mary herself met with the rest of the disciples"for prayer and supplication, " and, knowing from the four Gospelsthat no worship had been at first given to her, the innovation wasslow to find favor; but, in the year 431, the Council of Ephesusdecided that Mary was equal with God. 

"After the ruin of paganism they were no longer restrained by theapprehension of an odious parallel" in the idol worship. Symptoms ofdegeneracy may be observed even in the first generations whichadopted and cherished this pernicious innovation. "The worship ofimages had stolen into the Church by insensible degrees, and eachpetty step was pleasing to the superstitious mind, as productive ofcomfort and innocent of sin. But, in the beginning of the eighthcentury, in the full magnitude of the abuse, the more timorous Greekswere awakened by an apprehension that, under the mask ofChristianity, they had restored the religion of their fathers. Theyheard with grief and impatience the name of 'idolaters, ' theincessant charge of the Jews and Mahometans, who derived from the Lawand the Koran an immortal hatred to graven images and all therelative worship. " [Footnote: Gibbons' "Rome. "]

It should be a most humiliating fact to the Romanists to have itrecorded as authentic history that "the great miracle-working Madonnaof Rome, worshipped in the Church of St. Augustina, is only a paganstatue of the wicked Agrippina with her infant Nero in her arms. Covered with jewels and votive offerings, her foot encased in gold, because the constant kissing has worn away the stone, this haughtyand evil-minded Roman matron bears no possible resemblance to thepure Virgin Mary; yet crowds are always at her feet, worshipping her. The celebrated bronze statue of St. Peter, which is adored in thegreat Church, and whose feet are entirely kissed away by the lips ofdevotees, is but an antique statue of Jupiter, an idol of paganism. All that was necessary to make the pagan god a Christian saint was toturn the thunderbolt in his uplifted right hand to two keys, and puta gilded halo around his head. Yet, on any Church holiday, you willsee thousands passing solemnly before this image (arrayed in gorgeousrobes, with the Pope's mitre on its head), and after bowing beforeit, rise on their toes and repeatedly kiss its feet. " [Footnote:Vickers' "Rome"]

This method of receiving heathen deities as saints has been commonall over South America, and many Indian idols may be seen in thechurches, now adored as Roman Catholic saints, while the worship ofMary has grown to an alarming extent. In Lima's largest church, printed right over the chancel, is the motto, "Glory to Mary. "

In Cordoba, the Argentine seat of learning--a city so old thatuniversity degrees were being given there when the Pilgrim Fatherslanded on the shores of New England--charms, amulets and miniatureimages of the Virgin are manufactured in large numbers. These areworn around the neck, and are supposed to work great wonders. As maybe understood, the workers in these crafts stand up for Romanism, andare willing to cry themselves hoarse for Mary, just as the people ofold cried for Diana of the Ephesians. 

It is often told of the Protestant worker that he keeps behind hisdoor an image of the Blessed Virgin, and, when entering or leavingthe house, he spits in her face. No pains are spared to stamp out anydissenting work, and the missionary is made a by-word of opprobrium. I have repeatedly had the doors and windows of my preaching placesbroken and wrecked. The priests have incited the vulgar crowd to hootand yell at me, and on these occasions I have been both shot at andstoned. 

In Cordoba, there is a very costly image of Mary. Once every year itis brought out into the public square, while all the criminals fromthe state prison stand in line. By a move of her head she is supposedto point out the one whom she thinks should be given his liberty. 

From Goldsmith's "Rome" we learn that the _vestal virgins_ possessedthe power to pardon any criminal whom they met on the road toexecution. Thus does Romanism follow paganism. With the Virgin isoften the image of St. Peter. The followers of this saint affirm thatthey are always warned, three days before they die, to prepare fordeath. St. Peter comes in person and knocks on the wall beside theirbed. 

As the virgin, Diana, was the guardian of Ephesus, so the Virgin Maryprotects Argentina. 

The Bishop of Tucuman, in a recent speech, said: "Argentina is nowsafe against possible invasion. The newly-crowned _Lady of theMiracles_ defends the north, and the _Lady of Lujan_ guards thesouth. "

A writer in _The Times of Argentina_ naively asks: "If these cansafely defy and defeat all comers, is there any further necessity forpublic expenditure in military matters?"

South America groans under the weight of a mediaeval religion whichhas little to do with spiritual life. In Spain and Portugal, perhapsthe two most deluded of European lands, I have seen great darkness, but even there the priest is often good, and at least puts on aveneer of piety. In South America this is not generally considerednecessary. Frequently he is found to be the worst man in the village. If you speak to him of his dissolute life, he may tell you that he, being a priest, may do things you, a layman, must not. In Spain, Portugal and Italy, next door to highly enlightened countries, thepriest cannot, for very shame, act as he is free to do in SouthAmerica. That great continent has been ruled and governed only byRoman Catholics, without outside interference, and Romanists in otherlands do not, and would not, believe the practices there sanctioned. 

_"You ask about this nation and the Roman Catholic Church, " said theAmerican Minister in one South American capital. "Well, the nation isrotten, thanks to the Church and to Spain. The Church has taught liesand uncleanness, and been the bulwark of injustice and wrong for 300years. How could you expect anything else?" "Lies, " said a priest toa friend, who told the remark to us, "what do lies have to do withreligion. " [Footnote: "Missions In South America, " Robt. E. Speer. ]

A missionary writes: "Recently the Roman bishop and several otherpriests visited the various towns. It was a business trip, for theycharged a good price for baptisms, confirmations, etc. , and carriedaway thousands of dollars. In Santa Cruz a disgraceful scene waspublicly enacted in the church by the resident priest and one of thevisitors. Both saw a woman drop a twenty-five cent piece into thepan; each grabbed for it, and then they fought before the people! Thevillage priest wanted me to take his photo, but he was so drunk I hadto help him put on his official robes. He was taken standing in thedoorway of the church beside an image of the Virgin. "

"There wan a feast in honor of the image of the Holy Spirit in thechurch. This is a figure of a man with a beard; beside it sits afigure of Christ, and between them a dove. Great crowds of peopleattend these feasts to buy, sell and drink. On a common in the town alarge altar was erected, and another image of the Holy Spirit placed, and before it danced Indians fantastically dressed to representmonkeys, tigers, lions and deer. Saturday, Sunday and Monday weredays of debauchery. Men, women and children were intoxicated; thejails were full, and extravagances of all kinds were practised bymasked Indians. The vessels in the church are of gold and silver, andthe images each have a man to care for them. The patron saint is alarge image of the Virgin, dressed in clothing that cost $2, 500. "

Since returning to more civilized lands, I have been asked: But dothey really worship the Virgin, or God, through her? I answer that inenlightened countries where Roman Catholicism prevails, the lattermay be true, but that in South America, discovered and governed byRomanists from the earliest times, millions of people worship theVirgin without any reference to God. She is the great goddess of thepeople, and while one may see her image in every church, it is seldomindeed that God is honored with a place--then He may be seen as anold man with a long white beard. What kind of God they think He ismay be seen from the words of Missionary F. Glass: "I found a 'festa'in full swing, called the 'Feast of the Divine Eternal Father, ' and adrunken crowd were marching round, with trumpets, drums and a sacredbanner, collecting alms professedly on His behalf. " [Footnote:"Through the Heart of Brazil"]

Mary is the one to whom the vast majority of people pray. They havebeen taught to address supplications to her, and, being a woman, herheart is considered more tender than a man's could be. During adrought their earnest prayer for rain was answered in an unexpectedway, for not only did she send it, but with such accompanyingviolence that it washed away the church!

In some churches the mail-box stands in a corner, and _"Letters tothe Virgin"_ is printed over it. There are always many young women tobe seen before the image of St. Anthony, for he is the patron ofmarriages, and many a timid confession of love is dropped into theletter-box, and it often happens that a marriage is arranged as aresult. The superstitious maiden believes that her letter goesdirectly to the Virgin or to the saint in his heavenly mansion, andshe has no suspicion that it is read by the parish priest. 

Saints are innumerable and their powers extraordinary. Whentravelling in Entre Rios, I learned that St. Ramon was an adept inguiding the path of the thunderbolt. A terrific storm swept acrossthe country, and a woman, afraid for her house, placed his imageleaning against the outside wall, that he might be able to see anddirect the elements. The tempest raged, and as though to show thesaint's utter helplessness, the end of the house was struck bylightning and set on fire. Little damage was done, but I smiled whenthe indignant woman, after the storm ceased, soundly thrashed theimage for not attending to its duty. 

While preaching in the town of Quilmes, a poor deluded worshipper ofRome "turned from idols to serve the living and true God. " He hadbeen a sincere believer in St. Nicolas, and implicitly believed theabsurd account of that saint having raised to life three children whohad been brutally murdered by their father and secreted in a barrel. He brought me a picture of this wonder-worker tapping the barrel, andthe little ones in the act of coming out alive and well. 

One familiar with Romanism in South America has said: "It is amazingto hear men who have access to the Word of God and the facts ofhistory and of the actual state of the Romish world attempt toapologize for or even defend Romanism. Romanism is not Christianity. "

_The Church deliberately lies about the Ten Commandments, entirelyomitting the second and dividing the tenth in order to make therequisite number. Can a Church which deceives the people teach themtrue religion? Is the preaching of Mary the preaching of Christ?_[Footnote: "Mission In South America, " Robert B. Speer. ]

_"There is not an essential truth which is not distorted, covered up, neutralized, poisoned, _ and completely nullified by the doctrines ofthe Romish system. " [Footnote: Bishop Neely's "South America. "]

A missionary in Cartago writes: "I must tell you about the annualprocession of the wonderful miracle-working image called 'Our LadyQueen of the Angels, ' through the principal streets of the town. Picture to yourselves, if you can, hundreds of people praying, worshipping, and doing homage to this little stone idol, for which aspecial church has been built. To this image many people come withtheir diseases, for she is supposed to have power to cure all. On aspecial day of the procession, people receive pardon for particularsins if they only carry out the bidding of 'Our Lady, ' She seems toorder some extraordinary things, such as crawling in the streets withbig rocks on the head after the procession, or painting one's selfall the colors of the rainbow. One man was painted black, whileothers wore wigs and beards of a long parasitic grass which growsfrom the trees. Some were dressed in sackcloth, and all were doingpenance for some sin or crime. This little image was carried bypriests, incense was burned before her, and at intervals in thejourney she was put on lovely altars, on which sat little girlsdressed in blue and green, with wings of white, representing angels. Some weeks ago 'Our Lady' was carried through the streets to collectmoney for the bull-fights got up in her honor. She is said to be veryfond of these fights, which are immoral and full of bloody cruelty. This year the bulls were to kill the men, or the men the bulls, andthe awful drunkenness I cannot describe. After this collection thebishop came over here, and is said to have taken away some of themoney. Soon after he died, and the people here say that 'Our Lady'was angry with him. "

From a recent list of prayers used in the Church of Rome I select thefollowing expressions:

 "Queen of heaven and earth, Mother of God, my Sovereign Mistress, I present myself before you as a poor mendicant before a mighty Queen. 

 "All is subject to Mary's empire, even God Himself. Jesus has rendered Mary omnipotent: the one is omnipotent by nature, the other omnipotent by grace. 

 "You, O Holy Virgin, have over God the authority of a mother. 

 "It is impossible that a true servant of Mary should be damned. 

 "My soul is in the hands of Mary, so that if the Judge wishes to condemn me the sentence must pass through this clement Queen, and she knows how to prevent its execution. 

 "We, Holy Virgin, hope for grace and salvation from you. 

 "Dispensatrix of Divine Grace. "

How history repeats itself! How hard paganism is to kill! The ancientEgyptians worshipped the "Queen of Heaven. " Jeremiah, as far back as587 B. C. , prophesied desolation to Judah for having "burned incenseto the Queen of Heaven, " and poured out "drink offerings" unto her, and "made cakes to worship her. "--Jer. Xliv. 17-19. 

Of the _wise_ men (Matthew ii. ) we read: "And when they were comeinto the house, they saw the young child with Mary, His mother, andfell down and worshipped _Him_. "

The South American version of Matthew 11:28, as may be seen carved ona stone of the Jesuit Church in Cuzco, is: "Come to MARY, all you whoare laden with works, and weary beneath the weight of your sins, and_she_ will alleviate you, " A literal translation of one of theprayers offered to her reads: "Yes, beloved Mother! of thee Isupplicate all that is necessary for the salvation of my soul. Ofwhom should I ask this grace but of Thee? To whom should a loving songo but to his beloved Mother? To whom the weak sheep cry but to itsdivine shepherdess? Whom seek the sick, but the celestial doctor?Whom invoke those in affliction but the mother of consolation? Hearme then, Holy Queen!"

The statues of the "Queen of Heaven" are often of great magnificence, the dress of one which I know having cost $2, 000. In the poor Indianchurches a bag of maize leaves, tied near the top to make a neck, andabove that an Indian physiognomy, painted with some vegetable dye, serves the same purpose. The Bishop of La Serena, in Chili, hasreceived as much as $40, 000 a year for keeping up the revered imagein that church, and these images _are worshipped_. Bequests are oftenleft to them, and a popular one will receive many legacies annually. 

To be just, I must mention that in the arms of this "Mother of God"there is, almost invariably, the child Jesus, but I must also statethat to tens of thousands this baby never grew to manhood, but wentup to heaven in His mother's arms. What a caricature of Christianity!Paul said: "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, andyour faith is also vain. " "Make Jesus a perpetual child, andMariolatry becomes lower than Chinese ancestral worship. " If He, as achild, was translated to heaven, then He never died and rose again. Mary is, to them, the Saviour. The child Jesus happened to be herson, and, as she was the great divine one, He, through her, partookof divinity. _La Cruz_, a weekly paper, published in Tucuman, Argentina, in its issue of September 3rd, 1899, had the followingarticle:

THE BIRTH OF MARY. 

"Chroniclers say that such was the fury that possessed the devils inhell, at the moment of the birth of the Most Blessed Virgin, thatthey nearly broke loose. 

"There was sounded in heaven the first cannon shot in salutation ofsuch a happy event. Lucifer gave such a jump that he got his hornscaught in the moon, and there, it is said, he remained hanging allthe day, like the insignificant fellow he is, to the great amusementof the blessed ones above, who laughed to see such an uncommon sight. 

"The other devils, who could not jump so high, remained belowscreaming and kicking!, and tearing their apology for beards, whennot otherwise occupied in scratching and biting and burning theunfortunate condemned ones. 

"And all this because. .. It had been foretold that. .. A woman, yes, awoman, should one day bruise their heads. .. And, according to allappearances, this was the woman. .. And that she was that bright andmorning star that announces the appearance of the Sun. 

"Why should we not therefore rejoice, as the angels in heavenrejoiced, over that moat happy event--the birth of Mary. "

From this it is clear that in Tucuman, at any rate--and this, by theway, is an important city, of at least 75, 000 inhabitants--theybelieve that Mary, not Christ, came to bruise the serpent's head. TheRoman Catholic translation of Gen. 3:15 is: "_She_ shall bruise theserpent's head. " Thus, the reader sees, at the very commencement ofGod's Word, and in the very first promise of a Saviour for fallenmen, the eyes of seeking souls are turned by Romanists from theCreator to the creature. 

How these words are understood by Romanists is plainly seen by thepictures of Mary trampling on the serpent, which are found everywherein Romish lands. 

Under pictures of the Virgin, circulated everywhere, are the words:"We have seen the star and are come to adore her. " The prayers ofadoration run, "To the holiest birth of Mary, that in death it maybring about our birth to eternal glory. Ave Maria!" "To the anguishof Mary, that we may be made predestined children of her sorrows. AveMaria!"

The veneration with which the Virgin Mary is regarded, and the powerwith which she is invested, are thus told by many a priest: "Once Godwas so angry with the world that He determined to destroy it, and wasabout to execute His design when Mary said to Him: 'Give me backfirst the milk with which I fed you, and then you can do so!' In thisway she averted the impending destruction. "

"Millions in Brazil look upon the Virgin Mary as their Saviour. Abook widely circulated throughout northern Brazil says that Mary, when still a mere child, went bodily to heaven and begged God to sendChrist, through her, into the world. Further on it says that Marywent again to heaven to plead for sinners; and at the close Mary'swill is given, disposing of the whole world, and God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--the Trinity--act as the three witnesses to the will. How many good Christians at home think Brazil is a Christiancountry?" [Footnote: W. C. Porter. ]

If the Bible were in circulation throughout South America, thepopulace would be enabled to see that Christ is not the remorselessJudge but the loving Saviour, and that it was He who purchasedredemption for us. Mary, according to Luke 1:47, was herself in needof a Saviour, and her only recorded command was to do as He, theChrist, enjoined (See John 2:5). Not only Protestants, but not evenRoman Catholics born in Protestant countries, can understand whatRomanism is in South America. 

Christ said: "Search the Scriptures. " Rome has done her best todestroy the sacred volume. Papal bulls, said to have been _dictatedby the Holy Ghost_, have been issued by several Popes. Rome sometimesburned the martyrs with a Bible hanging around their necks. Romanistsshowed their hatred against Wycliffe, the first translator of the NewTestament into English, by unearthing his crumbling remains andburning them to ashes. I have often seen the same spirit shown inSouth America. 

A colporteur, writing of Scripture circulation in the Argentine, says: "Many of the people are trying to get us ejected from the city. One, to whom a Bible was offered, became so infuriated that he said:'If it were not such a public place? I would drown you in theriver. '" A missionary writes: "A young fellow called out after me, 'Irenounce you, Satan, ' but as that is not my name, I did not turnback. During the meeting on Sunday evening, the priest came riding upto the window, and shouted that he would soon put a stop to us. Today he has had a number of bills printed, warning his parishionersto have nothing to do with us. To-night one of the bills was pasted onthe door. Br. Arena took it off, and no sooner had he the door shutthan two shots were fired, but they did no more harm than to piercethe door--thank God! I have been informed that a number of young menwill either beat or shoot me, and that as I am the only one left theyare going to make me leave, too, by foul or by fair means. Thefollowing is a translation of the priest's warning:

 "To the faithful of Candelaria. Beware. This parish has been invaded by one of the wicked sects of Protestantism, and, having the sacred duty of warning my parishioners, I give them to understand that should any one of them attend, even from mere curiosity, to hear the false and pernicious propaganda, or accept tracts or books that come from the propagators of Protestantism, he will be excommunicated from the true and only Church of Jesus Christ, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman, wherein resides the infallible authority. Beware, then, oh, ye faithful, and listen to your parish priest, who advises you of the danger of your souls. "

Yet with all this darkness and error, the majority are wellcontented, and quite willing to obey "warnings" like this and thefollowing, published in _Los Principios_, of Cordoba:

 "It has come to our knowledge that there are amongst us various Protestant ministers, that distribute with profusion leaflets containing their erroneous doctrines and calumnies against the Catholic Church. Some of these leaflets and booklets have fallen into our hands, and in them we have found confirmation of what we say above. In one of these leaflets, for example, they treat as idolatry the worship that we Catholics tribute to the Mother of God. They treat as superstition the veneration they have in Rome for the holy staircase by which our Lord Jesus Christ went up to the judgment hall of Pilate. They combat the worship of images, relics, and things of that description. 

 "Catholics ought to know that it is not lawful for them to read these leaflets, nor the Sacred Bible distributed by the Protestants, because it has been falsified by them, accommodating its texts to their errors. The Church has prohibited its children many times these pernicious readings. Let us reject, according to the counsel of St. Paul, these ravenous wolves that come in sheep's clothing, for they come to kill and to destroy souls, thrusting them into the ways of error, being separated from the true Church of Jesus Christ, from which Luther, Calvin, Zuinglio, Henry VIII, and others separated themselves, of whom Cobbell, the Protestant historian, himself has said: 'Never has the world seem gathered into one century so many perverse men as Luther, Zuiniglio, Calvin, ' etc. "

One acquainted with Spanish-American Romanism will smile at thereference in the above article to the Bible having been falsified byus. If the text of any version extant is compared with those whichare painted on the walls of the church in Celaya, there surely willbe found a great discrepancy. The following are translations:

"MARY, my mother, in thee I hope; save me from those that persecuteme. "--Psalm vii. 1. 

"Be thou exalted, O MARY, above the heavens, and thy glory above allthe earth. "--Psalm lvii. 5. 

'I will sing to MARY while I live. "--Psalm civ. 33. 

"Serve MARY with love, and rejoice in her with trembling. "--Psalm ii. 11. 

"Offer sacrifices of righteousness and trust in MARY. "--Psalm iv. 5. 

"Let everything that hath breath praise OUR LADY, " etc. , etc. 

Protestant Christians pay almost all the entire cost of circulatingRoman Catholic translations of the Scriptures over the world. In theversions of De Saci (French), Martini (Italian), Scio (Spanish), Pereira (Portuguese), and Wuyka (Polish), we find in Matthew 3: 2, and thirty-four other places, instead of "repent ye" the words, "dopenance, " while in Matthew 3: 8, and some twenty other places, theword that should be translated "repentance, " is rendered _penance. _In the following light way "penance" can be done, while "repentance"is not thought of. 

For sins against the Church the priest will often condemn the culpritto wear a hideous garment for hours, or days, according to thegravity of the offence, but this punishment can be worn by proxy. There are always those who, for a consideration, will don the badgeof disgrace. 

What is called "Holy Week" gives proofs of the shallowness of Rome'spiety. Priests and people alike can weep, fast and faint, becausetheir God is suffering and dying; all traffic can stop because, theysay, "God has died"; but as soon as the death of Judas is announced, at noon on Saturday, the noise of guns, pistols, squibs, etc. , takesthe place of the death-like quiet that had reigned. After an hour ortwo silence again prevails till Sunday morning, when all restraint isremoved, and people seem to make up for lost time. Drinking andkindred evils run riot, and it is no uncommon thing on the Sundaynight to see the people drinking and dancing by the light of thecandles they were burning to their favorite virgin or saint. 

In the large city of Lima, for centuries a very stronghold of imageworship, the interest in the Church has of late years been waning. Perhaps one reason for this is the changing nature of the nativepopulation of the city, for the deaths there exceed the births. Seeing this falling away from the Church, the priests announced thatthey had decided to send for the _Sacred Heart of the Virgin_, andtrusted that the presence of this holy relic would promote the morefaithful attendance of the flock. The _heart_ arrived and was withgreat solemnity hung from the roof of the cathedral as the incentiveto piety. Thousands flocked into the sacred building with reverentawe. The women gazed upon the heart with tearful eyes, and as theythought of Mary's sufferings and goodness they were emulated todeeper acts of love and piety. One day the wind blew very stronglythrough the open doorway, and the _Sacred Heart_ began to sway to andfro. Getting more and more momentum with every oscillation, the heartfinally struck against a sharp cornice, when lo--_all the sawdustfell out_ of the canvas bag they had worshipped as the heart of fleshof their goddess. How they reconciled the existence of the heart ofthe Virgin with their belief that she ascended to heaven in a bodilyform I do not pretend to imagine. It may be remarked that this issurely Romanism corrupted. Nay, it is rather Romanism developed. 

"Andacilli is a hamlet, at which there is an image of the Virgin. Every year pilgrims resort thither, and a great feast to the Virginis celebrated, the most important day being December 26th. During thelast few years there has been a falling off in the number ofpilgrims, especially those of the better class, but this last yearthe clerical authorities have left no stone unturned in order to gettogether more people than ever. Six bishops were advertised to come, and they were to crown the Virgin with a crown which cost thousandsof dollars. These proceedings rouse an incredible enthusiasm in thepeople. " [Footnote: "Regions Beyond. "]

Sometimes Mary's image is baptized in the river, while men and womenline the bank, ready to leap into the _holy water_ when she is liftedout. Afterwards the water in which she was immersed is sold as a curefor bodily ills. Sometimes the earth from under the building whereshe is kept is also sold for the same purpose. 

Imagine a church like that in Tucuru! "It consists of a palm-leafhut, with a bare floor and no furniture whatever. Round the sidesstand twelve life-size figures, made of canvas and stuffed with husksof corn, which some one of the Indian worshippers has painted withthe features and dress of his own race. When I went in two women layprostrate on the floor, and one of them screamed in agonizing tones, 'My Lords, send the rod of your power to heal him!'--evidentlypraying to these apostles on behalf of some sick relative. Here, oncea year, a priest celebrates mass, and when he last came he stuck apaper over the entrance, which read: _Hoec est Domus Del et PortaCoeli_ (' This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven. ') In SanJosé we have the four walls of a new church, consecrated to the'Virgin, ' where, recently, a raffle was held on behalf of theprojected edifice. As we enter, the first thing seen is aninscription, professing to be a message to each visitor from theVirgin, which says, 'My son, behold me without a temple. Come, helpin building it, and I shall reward thee with Eternal Life. "[Footnote: Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society. ]

Christ said: "I give unto My sheep eternal life"; but the record ofthat saying is jealously kept from them. 

When the early colonists left Spain for the New World, they took withthem the Creed of Pius IV. That creed expressly states that the Bibleis not for the people. "Whoever will be saved must _renounce_ it. Itis a forbidden book. "

"In 1850, when the Christian world was first being roused to thedarkness of South America, and philanthropic men were desirous ofsending Bibles there, Pope Pius IX. Wrote an Encyclical letter inwhich he spoke of Bible study as 'poisonous reading, ' and urged allhis venerable brethren with vigilance and solicitude to put a stop toit. Thus has South America been denied the revelation of God. Thepriest has, because of this ignorance, been able to 'lord it overGod's heritage. '" [Footnote: Guiness's "Romanism and theReformation. "]

With an open Bible, Spanish America would have progressed as NorthAmerica has done. Without the enlightening influences of that Word, behold the darkness! Could anything be more eloquent than theprosperity of the land of the Pilgrim Fathers in proclaiming thevalue of the open Bible?

Mr. Hudson Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, speaking on a recentoccasion, said: "I always pray for South America. It is a most needypart of the world, and wants your prayers as well as mine. Theworkers there have great difficulties to contend with, and of thesame sort as we have in China, from Roman Catholicism--the most God-dishonoring system in the world. The heathen need your prayers, butthe Roman Catholic needs them ten times more. He is ten times as muchin the dark as the heathen themselves are. "

The _Missionary Review of the World_ describes South America as"Earth's darkest land. " Do you not think, O reader, the words aremost truly applied?

"There are in South America eight hundred missionaries, men andwomen, from Great Britain, the Continent of Europe, Canada and theUnited States. In Canada and the United States there is on an averageone Protestant minister for every 514 persons. In South America eachmissionary has a constituency of about fifty thousand, indicating aneed in proportion of population one hundred times as great as in theProtestant countries of North America. " [Footnote: Bishop Neely's"South America. "]

Yet, One called Jesus, whom we say we love, said: "Go ye into all theworld and preach the Gospel to every creature. "