YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ©ift of Hiram Bingham Yale 1898 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC o-AHP m O O THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES, HISTORY, FAUNA, FLORA, GEOLOGY, LITERATURE fc? COMMERCE BY A. STUART PENNINGTON author of "british zoophytes," "la langosta argentina," etc. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP flew Both FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS PRINTED IN 8KEAT BRITAIN. PREFACE The object of the present volume is to furnish the reader with information which cannot be obtained, except partially, either from the numerous books of travel dealing with the Argentine or from the various Handbooks, Year Books, or other volumes of a com mercial nature issued with the object of showing the prospects of the country to the business man. The information contained in the following pages is scattered through numbers of volumes, few of which are even partially in English and many of which are inaccesible to the general reader. A residence of more than twenty years in Argentina has satisfied me that, although a " bird of passage " may write a critical and highly coloured account of the country after a sojourn of a few days, or even hours — so great is the perspicacity of the globe trotter — such a feat is beyond the powers of one who really knows the land and sympathises with the hopes and aspirations of its sons. The first personal pronoun is therefore only slightly employed, the volume being a collection of facts and not a mere record of feelings or opinions, as such are bound to vary with the personal equation and experi ences of a writer. I have to thank Mr. R. Rosauer, of 571 Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, for furnishing me with most of the illustrations which appear in the volume. A. STUART PENNINGTON. Queen Victoria College, San Fernando, March, 1910. Note The following comparisctas between British and Argentine weights and measures and values of money are necessary to be borne in mind in reading this volume. £1 = $5-04 gold or $11*45 moneda national or paper. (Moneda nacional is usually written m/n to distinguish the paper money from gold, which is written o/s (oro sellado). $lo/s= $2-27 m/n. $1 m/n = $0-44 o/s. To turn gold to paper divide by 044. To turn paper to gold multiply by 0*44. 1 vara = 34 inches or 0-866 metre. 1 yard — 09143 metre. 1 metre = 109 yards or 39-3709 inches. 1 mile = 1609314 metres. 1 kilom. = 0-6214 mile. 1 sq. mile = 259 hectareas or nearly 2| sq. kilom. 1 sq. kilom. = nearly 0-4 sq. mile. 1 hectarea = 10,000 sq. metres = nearly 2\ acres. 1 acre = 4,046 sq. metres or 0-4 hectarea. 1 kilogram = 2.204 lbs. or 35£ oz. 1 pound avoirdupois = 0453 kgs. or 453 grammes. 1 ton = 1,016-047 kgs. 1 gallon = 4-54 litres. 1 litre = 0-22 gallon. 1 bushel = 36-348 litres. 1 quarter = 290-761 litres or 2-90781 hectolitres. CONTENTS Chapter I Physical Description of the Country . . . . . . 13 Extent and Boundaries — Difference of Longitude and Time — General Appearance of the Country — The South Orkney Islands Observatory — The Cordillera — The Central System — The Mountains of Misiones — The Southern Mountain System — The Plains : the Chaco, Eampa, Salinas Grandes, Patagonia — The River Systems : the Rivers Parana and Uruguay and their Confluents — The River Plate — The Rivers Colorado, Negro — The River of Patagonia — Lakes — The Iguazu Falls — Lagunas de Malhoyo and Ibera. Chapter II Population, Race, Language, and Religion 33 Statistics of Population — Origin of the Argentines — Indian Tribes — Mixed Races — The Gaucho — The Rastreador — The Baqueano — The Payador — The Domador — Portenos — Criollos — Pun- tanos — Cuyanos — Chinos — Gringos — Ingleses — The National Language and its Pronunciation — Differences between Argen tine and Spanish — Rehgion : the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, Other Sects. Chapter III Government, Constitution, etc 52 Argentina a Federal Republic — Origin of the Argentine Pre vinces — The Constitution — The National Government : Execu tive, Legislative, Judicial — The Provincial Governments — Special Powers of the National Government : Intervention, State of Siege — National Anthem — The National Flag — National and Provincial Shields and Arms — Diplomatic Representation. Chapter 1Y History : Discovery and Period of the Adelantados Discovery of the River Plate by Solfs — Cabot's Expedition-*- Fate of the Colony Founded by him — The Adelantados-\. Mendoza and the First Founding of Buenos Aires — Fate of the Colony — Irala — The Government in Asuncion — Garay and the Second Founding of Buenos Aires — Separation of Buenos Aires from Asuncion. 2, PAGE 91 CONTENTS Chapter V History : The Colonial Period The Spanish " Indies," Governors of the La Plata Province- Commerce during the Colonial Period, its Drawbacks and its Monopolies— British Buccaneers— The Slave Trade— The Jesuits and their Missions— The Expulsion of the Jesuits- Brazilian Claims to Uruguay— La Colonia del Sacramento- History of its Captures and Restorations — The Falkland Islands. Chapter VI History : The Viceroys 118 Establishment and Jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty — The Viceroys — Reforms of Vertiz — The Consulado and Manuel Belgrano — The First Newspapers — The First and Second British Inva sions — Treatment of Liniers — Preparations for the Revolution —The 25th of May, 1810. Chapter VII History : The Republic . . . . . . . . . . 138 The Primera Junta — Belgrano's Expedition to Paraguay — Fate of Liniers — Battles in the Interior — Changes of Government —-Arrival of San Martin and Alvear — Services of San Martin — Alvear offers Argentine to Great Britain — The Directors — The 9th of July — Admiral Brown — Canning — Federales and Uni- tarios — Rivadavia — Rosas — The Reign of Terror — The Presi dents — The Wars with Brazil and Paraguay — Mitre^ Sarmiento— Avellaneda — Roca — Celman — The Revolution of 1890 — Recent events. Chapter VIII Fauna 167 Chapter IX Flora and Forest Wealth 215 Authorities — Botanical Zones — Zones of Cultivation — Principal Plants in each Botanical Zone — List of Trees with Native Names — Notes on Chief Forest Trees — Resistance of Principal Timbers — Fruit Trees. Chapter X Geology, Fossils, and Mineralogy 234 The Geological Structure of the Country generally — Separate Formations and their Character : Fossils, Giant Glyptodons The Mylodon, etc. — The Tetraprothomo Argentines*— Mineral Districts of the Country— Petroleum, etc, CONTENTS Chapter XI PAOB Industries and Productions . . . . . . ... 246 Agriculture : Cereals, Linseed, Fruits, Cotton, Sugar, Grapes Alfalfa, etc. — Relative Importance of Argentine Cereal and Linseed Crops — Exportation — Pastoral Industries — The Estancia and its Products — Relative Position of Argentine as a Stock Breeding Country — Importation of Fine Stock and Effects of Crossing — Census of Live Stock — Exportation : Wool, Butter, etc. — Mining Industries : Notes of Actual Operations — General Commerce : Imports and Distribution. Chapter XII Literature, Journalism, Politics 267 Independent Character of Argentine Literature — Poetry : Centenera — The Poets of the Revolution — The " Lira Argen tina " — Later Poets — Poets Now Living — Prose Writers : Historians, Scientific Writers, Medical and Legal Writers, Novelists. — The "Nacion " Library — Public Speaking — Origin of the Press — Early Newspapers, 1800-1852 — British Jour nalism — Leading Argentine Papers — Politics. Chapter XIII The Capital, Provinces, and National Territories . . 290 Chief Towns and Places of Interest. Chapter XIV Life in Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 Feelings of a New-comer — The Weather — Freedom — Absence of Rank — Salaries — Temptations — Amusements : The Theatre, Literary Societies, etc., Sports — Observance of Sunday — House Rent — Cost of Living — Meals — Politeness — Argentine Customs — Education/^-The Professions — Marriage Customs — Funeral Customs^British Trade — Conclusion. APPENDICES A. Extracts from Treaty with Great Britain . . 338 B. Extracts from the Argentine Constitution . . 341 Glossary 343 Index . . . . . . . . • • • • • • • • 346 ILLUSTRATIONS Courts of Justice, Buenos Aires (Frontispiece). 1. Avenida de Mayo, Buenos Aires. 2. Colon Theatre, Buenos Aires. 3. The Cathedral, Buenos Aires. 4. Government House, Buenos Aires. 5. Congress Hall, Buenos Aires. 6. The Museum, La Plata. 7. Statue of Falucho, Buenos Aires. 8. Tomb of General San Martin. 9. Observatory, La Plata. 10. Meteorological Station, South Orkney Islands. 11. Aqueduct, San Luis. 12. View in Jujuy. 13. Chaco Indians. Father and Sons. 14. Yahgan Indian, Tierra del Fuego. 15. Victoria Falls, Misiones. 16. Lake Buenos Aires, Santa Cruz. 17. Sierra de La Ventana. 18. Rocking Stone, Tandil. 19. Lapataia, Tierra del Fuego. 20. Mount Sarmiento, Tierra del Fuego. 21. Ruins of Jesuit Monastery, Misiones. 22. Alta Gracia, C6rdoba. 23. Lake Belgrano, Santa Cruz. 24. Lake Lacar, Neuquen. 25. Tehuelche Indians, Patagonia. 26. Gauchos. 27. The " Clock Tower." British Memorial of Argentine Centenary, 1910. 28. Bed of River Horcones at foot of " Aconcagua." 29. The Beech Tree, Tierra del Fuego. 30. The Samohu Tree, Corrientes. CHAPTER I PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY Extent and Boundaries — Difference of Longitude and Time — General Appearance of the Country — The South Orkney Islands Observatory — The Cordillera — The Central System — The Mountains of Misiones — The Southern Mountain System — The Plains : the Chaco, Pampa, Salinas Grandes, Patagonia — The River Systems : the Rivers Parana and Uruguay and their Confluents — The River Plate — The Rivers Colorado, Negro — The River of Patagonia — Lakes — The Iguazii Falls — Lagunas de Malhoyo and Ibera. The Argentine Republic, or, as it is frequently called, Argentina or the Argentine, is situated in the southern portion of South America, and occupies an area of 2,952,551 square kilometres or 1,135,840 square miles. It is separated from Chile on the west by the Cordillera of the Andes, and is bounded on the north by the Republics of Bolivia and Paraguay, and on the east by the Republics of Brazil and Uruguay and by the Atlantic Ocean. The River Uruguay separates Argen tina from both Brazil and Uruguay on the eastern frontier. The Atlantic seaboard has an extent of about 1,650 miles. Broadly speaking, the country lies between 21° 30' and 54° 52' South Latitude, and 62° and 74° West Longitude. The difference in longitude implies a difference of from four to five hours in time between Great Britain 13 14 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC and Argentina ; but, as by Government decree the official time in all parts of the Republic is that of the meridian of Cordoba, the actual difference between the time of Greenwich and that of Argentina is 4 hours and 17 minutes. The difference between Argentine and French time is 4 hours 26 minutes. Argentine time is 51 minutes in advance of that of New York, the longitude of which city is 74° West. The fact that Argentina is so many hours behind Europe is a great advantage from a journalistic point of view, as whatever happens in the Old World is known in Buenos Aires the same day. An event, for instance, which takes place in London at six o'clock in the afternoon, is cabled to Buenos Aires and known there about two o'clock of the same day. There is the same advantage with respect to commercial cables from England to Buenos Aires, although there is neces sarily a corresponding disadvantage with respect to cables from Argentina to Europe, as such cables sent off on the afternoon at Buenos Aires are usually not available till the following morning in London. The fact that Argentina is in southern latitudes causes the seasons to be the exact opposite of those in the northern hemisphere, the Argentine summer corresponding with the northern winter and the Argen tine spring with the northern autumn and vice versa. The longest day in Buenos Aires is December 21st, and the shortest day June 22nd. The general aspect of the country varies from the majestic peaks of the Andes to the level plains of the Pampas and the Chaco. The immense ranges which are included in the term Cordillera de Ios Andes stretch along the whole of the western frontier, from the extreme north to 46° S.L. Here the main range turns westward and is continued in Chile in the islands which extend along the Pacific coast. South of 46° S.L., the mountains which are found in Argentina are unimportant and isolated. To the east of the Cordillera, Argentina is divided into three great plains, each with its distin guishing features. In the north the Gran Chaco, PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 15 Gualemba extends southwards to the River Salado or Juramento. The Chaco is covered with forests which exhibit a wealth of timber of all kinds, which product has only been utilised during recent years. Amongst these forests roam the wild animals which still constitute the most striking examples of the Argentine fauna. South of the Chaco extends the level plain of the Pampa with its fertile soil, once regarded as an ungrateful treeless expanse, but which is now the scene of the greater part of the pastoral and agricultural industries of the country. Beyond the Rio Colorado is that part of the country which has somehow been better known to Europeans by the name of Patagonia. This title is httle used in the country itself, as the territory is geographically known as Rio Negro, Chubut, and Santa Cruz. Along the western side of Patagonia is to be found a chain of lakes showing some resemblance to those of the Riff Valley in Africa. Separated from the mainland by the Straits of Magellan is the island of Tierra del Fuego, divided along the line of the meridian 68° 34' West Lon. between Argentina and Chile. Separated from Tierra del Fuego by the Strait of Le Maire is the island of Los Estados or, as it is curiously called in English maps, Staten Island, which is chiefly used as a penal settlement and as a place to send refractory revolu tionists until their ardour has evaporated under the cooling influences of the climate. All Argentine geographies claim the Falkland Islands, or Islas Malvinas, as Argentine territory, and the government periodically reclaims the possession of these islands from the British and avoids doing any thing whatever to even admit by implication any recognition of Great Britain's rights over this archi pelago. The " ultima Thule " of Argentina is found in the South Orkneys, where the celebrated Scotch explorer Dr. Bruce, during the voyage of the Scotia, established a meteorological station (see illustration No. 10), which he handed over to the Argentine Government, which 16 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC has continued and extended the observations initiated by that expedition. The South Orkneys still, however, remain British so far as ownership is concerned. The Mountain Systems of the country are the Andine ranges, the Central System, the Mountains of Misiones and the Southern System. The Cordillera de Ios Andes is a continuation of the great range which forms the backbone of the American continent. Commencing in Argentina at the extreme north it divides into a number of parallel ranges which continually throw off connecting ranges. In the neighbourhood of Latitude 30° there are at least seven of these chains, but generally speaking, there are three recognised ranges known as the Eastern or Pre-Cordillera, the Central Cordillera, and the Western Cordillera. The last is the highest and the most continuous and the only one which extends to the extreme south of the country. In the northern provinces the Andes are immense mountains and the western chain forms an unbroken wall from the 27th to the 40th degrees of S. Lat. Down to lat. 31°, all the passes are at a height of more than 12,000 feet; but, as the range descends to the South, these passes are found at lower altitudes. The general aspect of the Andes north of 37° is sterile and awe inspiring ; but, south of this degree, the hills are clothed with vegetation. In the Territory of Neuquen the scenery is enlivened by the presence of lakes of various sizes, all reflecting in their waters the snowclad peaks surrounding them. The best known of these smaller lakes is Lake Lacar (see illustration No. 24), near which is the military Colony of San Martin de Los Andes. At the southern corner of Neuquen is the great Lake Nahuel Huapi, 50 miles in length and studded with beautiful islands, the principal of which is named Victoria. South of the Territory of Neuquen are many other lakes of large size which will be named when treating of the river systems of the country. In the Western Cordillera are found many mountain peaks which are famous for their altitude. The chief PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 17 of these are, Aconcagua the highest point of the American continent (7,100 metres), Mercedario (6,700 metres), Juncal (6,000 metres), and Maipu (5,300 metres). There are no active volcanoes on the Argentine side of the Cordillera, although there is abundant evidence all over the Andine region that many craters of the Andes have been recently in comparative activity. At the extreme south of the Territory of Santa Cruz the Cordillera turns eastward and follows the boundary of Argentina along the north of the Straits of Magellan. Here are the Mountains Aymont and Dinero. In Tierra del Fuego are mountains attributed to the Andean system, one range to the north of the Beagle Channel being named after the great naturalist Darwin. The centre of the mountain systems of the island is Mount Sarmiento (2,056 metres), covered with snow to its base (see illustration No. 20). Returning to the other branches of the Cordillera we find in the north, in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy, the ranges of Acay and Cachi, Humahuaca, near the famous pass of that name, Santa Victoria, Zenta, Callilegua, Santa Barbara, Maiz Gordo and Lumbreras. Southward from these are, the high range of Aconquija (5,000 metres), the connecting range of Ambato, the metalliferous range of Famatina (6,000 metres), and Velasco. There are also numerous other ranges in the Andine provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, and Mendoza, all of which are included in the Cordillera. The Central System is formed of the mountains in the Central provinces of Santiago del Estero, Cordoba, and San Luis with a few isolated peaks in La Rioja. The chief ranges in the Central System are found in C6rdoba, where they form three parallel chains named, Del Campo in the east, Achala in the centre and Pocho in the west. The mountains of the Central System are separated from the Andine ranges by the low lying district of the " Salinas Grandes," the remains, according to geologists, of a vast inland sea which extended as far south as the lake Bebedero. These 18 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC three chains of mountains are divided into several ranges which change their names as they are crossed by the rivers Primero, Segundo, Tercero, and Cuarto. The highest peak is Champaqui, which attains a height of 2,880 metres. The Mountains of Misiones take the form of a Y and are made up of the three ranges : The Sierra de Misiones, or Factura, which is now outside the limits of Argentina, and is a continuation of the Sierra do Mar in Brazil; the Central range, running from east to west ; the Victoria, which runs between the Uruguay and Iguazu rivers in the north-east of the Territory. The highest peak in the Misiones mountains rises 400 metres. The Southern Mountain System of Argentine geographers consists of two groups in the province of Buenos Aires, one commencing at Cape Corrientes, near Mar del Plata, and running in a north-westerly direction to Quillalauquen, and the other situated to the north of Bahia Blanca. The first mentioned group contains the ranges, Padres, Volcan (or Vulcan), Tandil, Tinta, Azul, Tabalquen and Quillalauquen. The highest peak is in the Tandil hills, 340 metres. In this latter range is the world-famed Rocking stone (see illustration No. 18), an enormous rock of granite containing 130 cubic metres. This stone is in the form of a paraboloid, 4 metres high and 5 metres in diameter at the base. The stone rocks upon a knob of the underlying rock which fits into a hollow in the stone itself. Within a distance of a few miles from the Rocking stone, there are several other interesting rocks, and in the Sierras Barbosa and Tinta are caves which have been well searched — and not ineffectually — for remains of the Pampas Indians. The second group of the Southern System consists of the sierras of La Ventana (1,250 metres), Curru- malal (or Curamalan) and Pillahuinco. The Sierra de La Ventana (see illustration No. 17) derives its name " ventana " (or window) from an opening in the summit which measures 4 metres in width and 10 in height PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 19 and is surmounted with a dome of 12 metres in thick ness. The opening is 20 metres in length. In Patagonia there are numbers of isolated low ranges and hills to which the general name Mahuida, the aboriginal name for mountain, has been given. In many parts of Patagonia the ground is covered by immense layers of boulders and fragments of rock and pebbles of granite, porphyry and basalt, about which Darwin has much to say in his " Naturalist's Voyage." After this brief glance at the mountain systems of Argentina we pass to The Plains. For thousands of square leagues the land of Argen tina stretches in an almost unbroken plain, but as different names have been given to separate districts, and these names are constantly in use, they are employed in the following descriptions. The Gran Chaco, in Argentina, is the southern part of a vast extent of flat land which reaches far into the surrounding countries of Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. In Argentina itself, the Chaco is bounded by the Pil- comayo, the Parana and the River Salado or Jura- mento. The aspect of the Chaco is very varied. In some parts there are immense virgin forests, in which scores of different kinds of timber trees will be found within a few acres. In other parts there are vast palm groves and, again, in others the ground is swampy and unapproachable. The plain of the Chaco is divided politically amongst the Territories of Formosa and the Chaco and parts of the provinces of Santiago del Estero and Santa Fe. The details of the forest wealth of this district will be given in a later chapter. The Pampa is a vast, almost treeless, plain extending from the Chaco southwards to the River Colorado. There is not a hill or even a heap of stones to break the monotony of this "ocean of land," as it has been called. Its immense extent of unvaried landscape has 20 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC been the theme of many writers who have described how its solitude and unbroken monotony have affected the habits and even the speech of the Gauchos, who have been reared within its limits. Says one writer :— "The Argentine Pampa is one of the most notable regions in our continent. It is the kingdom of silence in which Nature lies sad, taciturn, motionless, exhausted. There the birds never sing, but complain or groan or whistle with their sadness. The vizcachas, which abound, grunt like pigs and, during summer, insects hum and the cicada molests. The sinuous viper and the loathsome iguana creep on the ground in silence. In vain one looks for a tree, a rock, a stone, however small. There even man does not laugh, and seems neither to feel nor to think. His very speech is harsh and his song monotonous and sad." The progress of agricultural and pastoral industry has, however, changed the face of this great plain into smiling cornfields and luxurious fields of alfalfa, and herds of cattle and sheep have altogether taken from the Pampa its old character. Estancia houses, surrounded by woods, have risen up on all sides, and the iron horse has made what was a scene of desolation to blossom as the rose. The Pampa is to-day the scene of the greatest wealth producing industries of the country. There is one tree which was, and is, a mark of the Pampa. That is the Ombii (Phytolacca Dioica L.). This tree is found in solitary grandeur lifting its stout trunk and leafy dome like a lighthouse in the land ocean. Argentine poets have sung its praises, but, except as a striking figure in the landscape, the OmM is a tree of httle or no value. The natural grass of the Pampa is hard and, although flesh forming, the cattle which feed upon it never fatten. By degrees, however, the " pastos duros," or hard grasses, are being driven farther and farther away from the Atlantic coast until now there is an ever widening zone of tender grass, extending inwards and already permanent to the east of a fine drawn through Junin, Bragado, Tapalque, Azul, Ayacucho and Mar Chiquita. These NO. 1. AVENIDA DE MAYO, BUENOS AiRES. No. 2. Colon Theatre, Buenos Aires. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 23 tender grasses, at first introduced by the Spanish conquerors and encouraged during the intervening centuries of occupation, have caused the fattening of cattle to be a profitable business. The Provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes form the Argentine Mesopotamia. This district is abundantly watered and is rich in vegetation. It is unequalled for either cattle raising or agriculture. Though generally the surface of the land is flat, there are, especially in the central zone, undulations of the ground called " cuchillas," which impart a distinctive feature to the Mesopotamian landscape. The desert or Pampa of the great salt marshes, or Salinas Grandes, called also Pipanaco in Catamarca, is an irregular extension of land on the borders of the provinces of Santiago del Estero, Cordoba, Cata marca, La Rioja and San Luis. It is believed — and with good reason — that the whole of this desert once formed an inland sea now represented by the Salinas Grandes. The whole area of this sea originally extended as far south as Lake Bebedero and was drained by the Desaguadero, which issues from Lake Guanacache in San Juan and discharges its waters into the Colorado. The " salina " which occupies the centre of this desert has a covering of salt, several millimetres in thickness, and when the ground is dry it is as white as a snow field. The vegetation in this district is of rapid growth and the predominating species are indiscriminately called Jume and belong to the family of the Salicorniae and Quenopodiaciae. The ashes of these, when the plants are burnt, yield large quantities of salts of soda and potash which are used in the manufacture of soap and carbonates. The Plain of the interior is constituted by the valleys of Catamarca, the greatest part of La Rioja and San Luis and the East of San Juan and Mendoza. There is nothing special to remark about this district except that it is very dry and, consequently, the vege tation is stunted. It is not quite eprrect to call Patagonia a plain. 24 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC It is rather a series of table-lands gradually extending in height westwards. Its features have already been referred to. The River Systems and Lakes. On taking a map of Argentina and drawing a line from the Plain of Catamarca to the Ensenada of San Borombon, in the province of Buenos Aires, we divide the country into two parts and then find that the whole of the part north of the fine falls within the basin of the River Parana — or, it would be more correct to say, of the Rio de La Plata, or River Plate as it is called on English maps. This River, which has given its name to the country, (Plata means silver and is therefore the same as Argentine), is one of the great rivers of the world. The River Plate is formed by the union of the Uruguay and the Parana. The Uruguay rises in the Sierra do Mar in Brazil and enters Argentine territory at the boundary of Misiones with Brazil, running southwards until it unites with the Parana. Its total length is 1,300 kilometres, or more than 800 miles. It is navigable as far as Concordia, where the rapids and rocks impede the ascent of the river except during the time of a flood. Frequently, also, in order to reach Concordia, it is necessary to tranship the passengers and cargo on account of similar impediments to navi gation. These rapids are called saltos. There is a regular line of steamers to Concordia with sailings two or three times a week. The Uruguay receives many tributaries on its passage along the east of Entre Rios and Corrientes, the principal being the Guale- guaychu. The River Parana is formed at its com mencement of two rivers, both rising in the Sierra del Espinazo in Brazil. Running in a south-easterly direction, it forms, on arriving at Latitude 24£°, the celebrated cataract of La Guayra. Here the river, 3,000 metres wide, pours over a waterfall of 17 metres with a terrific noise said to be heard at a dis- PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 25 tance of 30 kilometres, or more than 18 miles. The width of the river is then decreased to 50 metres. On entering Argentine territory the Parana receives the waters of the Iguazu, or Rio Grande de Curitaba, on which river is the famous cataract of la Victoria (see illustration No. 15). A few words about this cataract are necessary. The Victoria Falls are situated about 18 miles from the confluence of the two rivers. The Iguazu, about 450 yards wide, suddenly finds its course intercepted by an archipelago, beyond which the bed of the river lies nearly 70 yards below the level of the upper river. Between these islands the waters fall in a chain of cascades extending over a distance of a mile and a half which, as the islands are covered with a rich vegetation, form a succession of pictures, each more beautiful than can be conceived of without a visit, defying all the arts either of the painter or the narrator to paint or describe. Dis tinctive names have been given to some of the groups of cascades. Thus, those nearest the Brazihan shore are called the Saltos Brasilenos and those at the oppo site end and nearest the Argentine shore are called the Saltos Argentinos. Next to the latter are the Saltos San Martin, and next to these the Saltos Con stant. Nearest the Brazihan falls are the Saltos de 15 de Noviembre arranged in the form of an arc from which the water pours down like an immense curtain. The Victoria Falls are said by those who have seen both to be much superior in beauty to the Falls of Niagara. The falls have been well photographed and from the prints some slight idea can be obtained of the majesty and extent of these cascades. After receiving the waters of the Iguazu, the Parana continues its course along the boundary of Misiones and Corrientes. Here are found the Saltos de Jesiis or del Corpus, near the Missionary ruins of that name, and those of Apipe and Aregua, between the island of Yacereta and the shore of Paraguay. This part of the river's course is reported by all travellers as being supremely beautiful ; but, as the river continues 26 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC its course along the Argentine provinces, there is nothing of note to be seen on either bank. At Cor rientes, the Parana receives its principal tributary, the Paraguay, which comes down from the high lands of Matto Grosso and receives, before meeting the Parana, two important rivers, the Pilcomayo and the Bermejo, both rising in Bolivia. The Pilcomayo is a river with a history. The story of its exploration is one of death and suffering. The fates of the French explorer Crevaux, the young Spaniard Ibarreta, the Italian painter Boggiani, and the Argentine naturalist Ramon Lista, have given a melancholy interest to this river which in itself is more marked for the irregularity of its course than for any other feature. The Bermejo — so called (Bermejo, vermilion) from the colour of the mud which it brings down — while rising in Bolivia drains the upper parts of the provinces of Salta and Jujuy. It is navigable, though with some difficulty and not without some element of danger, throughout its whole course. The Paraguay joins the Parana at a point called the " Tres Bocas " (Three mouths) these being formed by the islands Cerrito or del Atajo and Humaita. The Paraguay is navigable by ordinary. steamers, such as regularly ascend the river, as far as Corumba, and by steamers which draw httle water as far as Cuyuba, 2,000 miles from the River Plate. The Parana continues its course between the province of Santa Fe and Corrientes and Entre Rios receiving as tributaries the River Salado or Juramento, which comes down from Salta and the Carcarana, which, as the River Tercero, rises in the Sierra Achala in Cordoba. It was at the mouth of this latter river that the English sailor and explorer Sebastian Cabot, in 1526, founded the ill-fated colony of Santo Espirito the tragic story of which is told by one of the earliest Argentine poets, Labarden, in a lengthy poem entitled " Siropo." The lower Parana below the Carcarana is frequently called the Delta, as the course of the river is broken up into an ever increasing number of streams, which anastomose in the most surprising manner and form PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 27 hundreds of islands, in which the cultivation of willows and poplars for fuel and fruits of all kinds has of late years become widely extended. The main channel of the river, or, as it is called, the Parana Guazii, is at the east, close to the Entre-Riano shore. By this arm the steamers go to Rosario, but another arm, the Parana de las Palmas, is also much used for steam navigation. It is intended shortly to make a canal crossing the Delta in order to render the communication between Rosario and the capital shorter and easier. The width of the Delta at its extremity, where the rivers meet to form the Rio de la Plata, is 40 kilo metres (25 miles). The River Plate is an immense estuary extending in an ever widening expanse for a distance of 360 kilometres (225 miles) until its junction with the Atlantic Ocean, which is considered to be effected at a line drawn from Cape Santa Maria in Uruguay to Cape San Antonio in the province of Buenos Aires. Here the width of the river is nearly 200 kilometres (125 miles). The quantity of water discharged by the River Plate into the Atlantic is reckoned at 960 millions of cubic feet per day. In its course it bears down with it immense quantities of mud brought down by the various rivers already mentioned from the interior, and, as it is anything but rapid in its flow, its course is impeded by bars and banks which are deposited all over the estuary and make it only navigable in certain channels. The principal banks formed are the Placer de las Palmas, from the Delta to Buenos Aires, the Banco Ortiz, which occupies the centre of the river and divides it into two channels, and the Banco Ingles to the S.E. of Montevideo, which is a very dangerous obstacle to shipping and has been the scene of many wrecks. The River Plate is generally very shallow, its utmost depth being 6 metres — in fact, in many parts, the depth does not exceed a yard, and it would be possible to cross on foot from the Argentine to the Uruguayan shore except for the channels of the Parana de las Palmas and the Guazii. The islands 28 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC on the eastern or left side of the river belong to Uruguay, with the exception of Martin Garcia, which was the Argentine quarantine station in the old days when every vessel which had called at a Brazihan port had to undergo that operation for fear of the dreaded yellow fever. The tides of the River Plate depend largely on the wind, a south-east wind bringing the waters up and flooding large extensions of the coast, especially in the neighbourhood of the Delta. A Pampero or south-west wind drives the water down. Occasionally, when the tributary streams are much swollen, the moon is favourable to the tides, and a strong south-east wind prevails, the " mareas," as they are called, do considerable damage. The River Parana is navigable as far as Rosario for vessels drawing 20 feet, as far as Parana, the capital of Entre Rios, for vessels drawing 17 feet, as far as Corrientes for vessels drawing 11 feet, and thence as far as the Iguazu Falls for small boats. There is a regular line of steamers with sailings two or three times per week for the ports on the rivers Parana and Paraguay. At the extreme south of the Province of Buenos Aires two large rivers fall into the Atlantic. These are the Colorado and the Negro. The Colorado is formed by two streams, the Grande and the Bar rancas, which rise in the Eastern Cordillera and flow, after uniting, in a broad stream in a south-easterly direction. It is navigable for small vessels from the union of the two streams mentioned as far as Pichi Mahuida in the Pampa. The River Negro is formed by the union of the Neuquen and the Limay, two rivers which, with numerous tributaries, rise in the slopes of the Andes and in the numerous lakes which are prominent features in the landscape of the Territory of Neuquen. The Limay rises in the lake Nahuel Huapi and is navigable throughout its entire course. The Neuquen is navigable for vessels drawing three feet. About half way in its course the Negro divides and forms the island Choele-Choel. It runs almost parallel to the Colorado and is navigable throughout PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 29 its whole course. The National Territory of Chubut is watered by the River Chubut, which rises at the south of Nahuel Huapi, receiving as its main tributary the river Chico, or Senguer. The Senguer rises in the Andean lake Fontana and runs in a curve to lake Musters, named after the brave English traveller who first crossed Patagonia from north to south, from Punta Arenas to the River Negro, and who, after a residence amongst the Tehuelche Indians, died in 1872 from the effects of his arduous explorations. The Lake Musters is connected with a twin lake Colhue from which the waters of the Senguer flow, under the name of the river Chico, to join the main stream of the Chubut in the Alsina Valley. The Chubut falls into the Atlantic near the capital Rawson, and is only navigable for a very short distance and then only at high tide. In the Territory of Santa Cruz are the Rivers Deseado, Chico, Santa Cruz, Coile, Belgrano and Gallegos. All these rivers rise in the Cordillera and run in an easterly direction to the Atlantic. The Deseado rises near Lake Buenos Aires (see illustration No. 16), and after a course of some 250 miles falls into the Atlantic at Port Deseado. The River Chico rises as the River Belgrano in the neighbourhood of the lake of that name (see illustration No. 23) and receives as its main tributary the Shehuen, rising in or near Lake San Martin. The united Rivers fall into the estuary of the Bay of Santa Cruz, into which also fall the waters of the river of that name which rises in Lake Argentine The Santa Cruz is a wide river with a strong current which makes navigation difficult. The Coile rises at the north of Mount Stokes and falls into the Atlantic at the caleta or small port bearing the name of the river. The River Gallegos, which runs through a fertile valley to the Port of the same name, rises in the swamps known as the plains of Diana. The navigation of this river is only possible at certain seasons and with strongly built boats. In the interior of the country are a number of rivers 30 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC which do not fulfil their destiny of falling into the ocean. In the province of Cordoba are the rivers Primero and Segundo, which rise in the Achala range and fall into Lake Mar Chiquita. The river Tercero, as before stated, becomes the Carcarana and, with this name, falls into the Parana, occasionally carrying with it the waters of the Rio Cuarto. The river Quinto rises in the province of San Luis and loses itself in Lake Amargo. The most important of these inland rivers are those known generally as the Dulce and the Bermejo. The former river rises in Salta and enters Tucuman with the name of Sali. In this pro vince it receives a large number of tributaries, which come down from the slopes of the Aconquica range. Passing to the province of Santiago del Estero it takes first the name of Hondo and afterwards that of Dulce, finally disappearing in the swampy Laguna de Los Porongos. This River is often referred to and marked on the maps as the Saladillo or Salado. This is due to the fact that it has frequently changed its course and when it runs through the salinas its waters become salt. There are at least six different beds recognisable between Loreto and Salavino. The River Dulce is described as the " Providence of Santiago del Estero," as nearly all the agriculture of the province depends upon its waters. The Bermejo-Desaguadero system waters the Andine provinces of La Rioja, San Juan and Mendoza. Rising in the Sierra del Bonete in Catamarca with the name of Jaguel, a river, which then takes the name of Vin- china, crosses the province of La Rioja, where it receives a tributary, the Guandacol. The united rivers form the Bermejo, into which the river Jachal, or Zanjon, falls. The Bermejo, along with the San Juan, formed by the Patos and Castanos, falls into Lake Guanacache. Into this lake also fall the waters of the River Mendoza which comes down from the Andes near Aconcagua. The Lake named sends the overflow of its waters into the Desaguadero, which runs south between the provinces of San Luis and Men- PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 31 doza receiving as tributaries the Bebedero, Tunujam, Diamante and Atuel. The united rivers form the Chadi-Leo-fu in the Pampa and fall into a lake, Urre- Lauquen. Here they are usually lost ; but, in times of great excess of water, this reaches the River Colorado by a stream called the Curoco. There are many other rivers in Argentina, either discharging in the ocean or losing themselves in lagunas or swamps, but all of real importance have been men tioned. In addition to the lakes and lagunas already referred to, there are two in the province of Corrientes, Malhoyo and Ibera, which are of considerable extent. Malhoyo is formed by a series of swamps and marshes which discharges into the Parana by the rivers Empedrado and San Lorenzo. Lake Ibera is the magic lake of Argentina. Although so near the capital of the pro vince and other important centres, it still remains practically unknown and, according to the untutored mind of the Indian, is the abode of spirits and the seat of enchantment. Covering an extension of 22 kilometres, Ibera has all the characters of a great lake. After heavy rains it increases vastly in area, and the same fact is observed whenever the River Parana is in flood. Hence it has been supposed that there is a subterraneous connection between the two as there is no such communication on the surface. The numbers of mosquitoes and other noxious insects make any attempt at exploration extremely difficult, whilst the presence of caymans and boa constrictors add to the danger. " It is said that the name Ibera arises from the fact that the Guarani Indians saw frequently during the night changing lights which appeared to them to open up fantastic visions : it is certain that these swamps are peopled by an infinitude of insects which illuminate the scene with their brilliant phos phorescent light. The Indians were also convinced that in the numerous islands in the centre were to be found races of supernatural beings and savage beasts and at night they could hear the bellowing of cattle. 32 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Even at the present day men tell how they hear groans and howhngs as of dogs proceeding from the interior of the lake " (Morel). There are stories of disappearing islands and other strange phenomena current in Cor rientes, and the lake is regarded as the home of mystery by all dwellers in its neighbourhood. It is said that one daring spirit proposed to explore the laguna, but soon returned saying that he cursed the hour when he conceived the idea of exploration. The mosquitoes alone were sufficient to drive him back, not to mention other insects which regard themselves as the lawful denizens of the spot. A prosaic explanation has recently been given of the strange sounds which have been described as being heard in the lake. Dr. Guido Bennati, who explored the lake to some extent in 1874, says that an Argentine Colonel during the Para guayan War concealed his stock on an island in the lake. Dr. Bennati says that in the middle of the lake are the ruins of a hospital erected by the Jesuits during their missions. An intended expedition on behalf of the Argentine Scientific Society will soon, it is expected, clear up the mysteries of the Enchanted Lake. CHAPTER II POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE AND RELIGION Statistics of Population — Origin of the Argentines — Indian Tribes — Mixed Races — The Gaucho — The Rastreador — The Baqueano — The Payador — The Domador — Portenos — Criollos — Puntanos — Cuyanos — Chinos — Gringos — Ingleses — The National Language and its Pronunciation — Differences between Argentine and Spanish — Religion : the Roman Cathohc, Anglican, Pres byterian and Methodist Churches, Other Sects. The population of the Argentine Republic is now reckoned at 6,210,000, which, taking the area of the country at 3 milhons of square kilometres, gives a density of population of two persons per square kilo metre or 5'18 per square mile. This proportion is, however, seen to require considerable modification if we take into consideration the facts that the popu lation of the city of Buenos Aires alone is, according to the estimate on 31st December, 1909, 1,232,492 and the province of Buenos Aires alone, according to the estimate for 1908, was 1,269,665. We may take the united populations of the city and province of Buenos Aires at two and a half milhons and, as the area of the city and province are 305,307 square kilometres, we are faced by the fact that a population of 3,710,000 is distributed over an area of 2,700,000 square kilo metres, which reduces the density of the population outside the city and province of Buenos Aires to 0'74 per square kilometre, equal to 1*89 per square mile. It will be seen, on looking at the following table, that even this method of calculating the density of popu lation does not give any really satisfactory result, as it will be noticed that in the immense territories which he outside the provinces the proportion of inhabitants to area is infinitesimal. 33 34 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC This table shows the official statistics of population as on the 31st December, 1908 : Area in sq. km. Population. Province of Buenos Aires and Capital 305,307 2,427,628 — Santa Fe 131,906 772,410 — C6rdoba 161,036 477,680 — EntreRios 74,571 399,333 — Corrientes 84,402 317,247 — Tucuman 23,124 280,311 — Santiago del Estero 103,016 192,639 — Mendoza 146,378 174,019 — Salta 161,099 141,610 — Catamarca 123,138 103,680 — San Juan 87,345 105,684 — San Luis 73,923 103,367 La Rioja 89,498 86,352 — Jujuy 49,162 56,945 Territory La Pampa 145,907 51,673 — Misiones 22,229 38,748 — Neuquen 109,703 18,020 Rio Negro 196,695 15,961 Chaco 136,635 13,838 — Formosa 107,258 6,309 Chubut 242,039 5,244 — Santa Cruz 282,750 1,742 — Los Andes 64,900 1,245 — Tierra del Fuego.. 21,499 1,122 Totals 2,950,520 5,792,807 Of this population rather more than three-quarters are accounted Argentines, under which term is in cluded not only those whose ancestors are of that nationality but all those, of whatever parentage, who are born in the country and are, therefore, hijos del pais, that is, sons of the soil. The foreign element of the population is made up of Italians about half a million, Spaniards 200,000, French about 100,000, British say 25,000, Germans 18,000, Swiss 15,000, and Austrians 13,000. The remaining foreigners belong to all peoples and nations and languages. The United States, which has recently discovered Argentina as a POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 35 field for commerce and diplomatic activity, is repre sented by some 1,500 souls. Whilst in the httoral provinces and also in those parts settled by Europeans, the inhabitants are of Caucasian race, in the interior there are to be found large numbers of people of mixed blood. The original inhabitants of the country were Indians, and many thousands of their descendants are still to be found and the introduction of negro slaves from Africa during the period from 1702 to 1825 caused a large number of blacks to become part and parcel of the Argentine race. The Indians who lived in the neighbourhood of Buenos Aires were an indomitable race and were soon destroyed ; but, in the interior, there was con siderable intermixing of races and this has tended to produce a certain type to which the name of Argen tine may fairly be given. The true Argentine is of Spanish descent ; but in his veins flows very frequently a stream of non-Caucasian blood which has helped to modify — and perhaps not disadvantageously — the character of the race. Messrs. Uriem and Colombo, the authors of one of the most exact and compendious geographies of the country, say on this subject : — " Descended from the white race of Europe, the blacks of Africa and the Indians of America, the Argentines, in common with the other Spanish Americans, are endowed with all the vital forces which these elements make for, because in them are united the distinctive qualities of the three races. They have the intelligence of the whites, the indomitable spirit of resistance of the Indian, and the passion and natural tenderness of the negro, which, more than anything else, has contributed to fuse into one the three races during four centuries of development. These South American Republics, which are unceasingly cited as examples of discord, are on the contrary, the States most prone to tranquihty and peace. Their divisions only arise from the differences of local interests, and better means of communication will do more in the way of con- 36 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC cihation than sanguinary wars. The Spanish American! are brothers by blood, by habits and customs and bj pohtical creed. In South America there are no Alpi nor Pyrenees. The inhabitants of both sides of thi Andes are to-day friends. When the Old World overpopulated, sends its sons by thousands to peopL the solitudes of South America, there will be accom plished the final reconciliation of all races of differen origin and the advent to humanity of an era of peaci and plenty." Almost all readers of such books as the presen are interested in the ethnography of a country and although the aboriginal inhabitants of Argentina hav to a large extent passed away, there are still sufficien Indians in the country to justify a short account o their origin and tribes. The principal Indians, wh< inhabited Argentine territory at the time of the con quest by the Spaniards, were the Guaranies and Charruas in the East, the Quichuas and their allied tribes, th Calchaquies, in the North and centre, and the Araucano and Tehuelches in ,the South. The Minuanes wer found in Entre Rios. Numerous tribes of Guaranie peopled the actual province of Corrientes and th territory of Misiones. In the Chaco, at the Soutl of the Bermejo, lived the Abipones, the Mocovie and the Tobas, whilst the Mataguagos, the Matacos the Chiriguanis and allied tribes inhabited the distric between the Pilcomayo and the Bermejo. Frequently these latter tribes were referred to by the generi name of the Guaycurues, but incorrectly, as this nam really belonged to the most warlike and energeti tribe in the Chaco. On the right bank of the Paran and the Plate, in what are now the provinces of Buenc Aires and Santa Fe, lived the Mbeguas, Chanaei Timbues and, in the neighbourhood of Buenos Aire the Querandies. In the valleys of the Andes at tl North-west were found the Calchaquies and, moi to the East, the Quichuas. The Quichua languaj is still preserved in the province of Santiago del Esten Amongst the Calchaquies, the most courageous we) POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 37 the Quilmes, and this tribe was " reduced," that is, bodily removed in 1670 to the neighbourhood of Buenos Aires and set down in the place now known by the same name, Quilmes, on the Southern Railway. In the Pampa lived the Ranqueles and Puelches and, South of the Rio Negro, the Tehuelches. The few tribes of Indians now wandering in ever diminishing numbers in Patagonia are all of Tehuelche origin (see illustration No. 25), with, may be, a shght admixture of the Puelches. The Puelches were of the Araucanian race and entered Argentine territory from the Chilean side of the Andes, possibly by way of the river Bio-Bio. The Tehuelches are of entirely different origin from the Puelches and are said by some authorities to have descended from the gigantic Bororos of the Brazihan state of Matto Grosso. The Tehuelches are the Patagonian Indians about which so much has been written. They were regarded as men of giant stature and some authors derive the name Patagonia from the name Patagon (big feet), said to have been given them by the early Spaniards. The most authentic informa tion as to the customs of the Tehuelches we owe to Capt. Musters who, as stated in Chapter I., was, for long, a resident in their midst. Although not generally justifying the designation of giants, the Tehuelches were a well developed race with, according to Musters, an average height of 5 ft. 10 in. Strange to say, the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, who have been regarded as dwarfs by scores of writers, belong to the same race, the Tehuelches. The Indians of this island are now very few in number and will soon have been civilized off the face of the earth. There are three tribes, the Onas, the Yahgans and the Alacalufs (see illustration No. 14). But for the efforts of the missionaries both the Onas and the Yahgans would have been already extinct. The Alacalufs, who hve in the interior of the island, have not been " civi lized " ; but they are few in number, and it will not be many years before the Patagonian " giants " and the Tierra del Fuegian " dwarfs " will have only a c 38 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC legendary interest. There was a time when the Indians were the terror of the settlers even in the province of Buenos Aires; but the mihtary expeditions of Rosas and Roca drove them further and further South and, in the process of driving, reduced their numbers, until now all that one hears about them is an occasional visit of a " cacique " to Buenos Aires to see the govern ment officials about a grant of land : and, on such occasions, he is regarded as a rara avis in terris and photographed and interviewed as if he were a visitor from another planet. In the north of the Republic, however, the Indian is still to be found and supplies no inconsiderable portion of the labour required in the sugar and other plantations and in the woodcutting industries. In the province of San Juan, at the time of the conquest, the population was composed of the Huar/pes, whose descendants, of mixed Indian and European blood, form the majority of the actual inhabitants of the province. A few Indians of pure blood, whom the provincials call " laguneros," are still found near the Desaguadero. In La Rioja also, the population is, for the most part, of mixed descent, the Spaniards having alhed themselves with the Guan- dacoles, Famatinas and other tribes, whose names still remain as topographical designations all over the province. The same may be said of the province of Catamarca, where there are also still found descendants of the Calchaquies. In this province are to be found most interesting remains of the time of the Calchaqui supremacy and the objects which have been collected show that this race attained a high degree of civilization altogether independent of the Incas to which the Calchaquies were alhed by race. In the valley of Andalgala and in other parts of the province have been found axes, discs, bells, rings, needles, and countless other objects of bronze as well as examples of pottery perfectly made and adorned with figure in alto-relief, as well as painted* with lively colours. Sr. Lafone Quevedo and other archaeologists have written exten sively about the rehcs of the Calchaqui race. Of POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 39 Calchaqui origin also are the inhabitants of the northern province of Salta and in the remote valleys may still be found Indians of fur sang. The Saltenos have, however, dropped completely the warlike habits of their ancestors, who, for more than a hundred years, defied the Spanish invaders, and have become a race of hard working, docile agriculturists, although prone to a nomadic life and fond of varying the scene of their labours. In Tucuman the population is almost entirely composed of mixed descendants of Spaniards and Calchaquies and, in the time of the gathering of the sugar cane, more than 6,000 Catamarquenos and Santiaguenos, with their wives and families, of more or less pure Indian descent, gather in Tucuman for the four months' labour. In many parts of the pro vince are still to be found groups of pure Indians, the valley of Santa Maria having been the last bulwark of the Indians at the time of the conquest. It is in Santiago del Estero, however, that the persistence of the Indian is to be seen to greatest advantage. In this province Quichua is still a spoken language, the Santiaguenos being for the most part descendants of the great Quichua or Inca race. The aboriginal language is almost as well known in this province as is Guarani in Paraguay. In the Puna, to the West of Jujuy, and in Jujuy itself, the Quichua blood is the predominating element in the population : indeed in the Puna or Territory of Los Andes the native is a pure Indian as in the days of the conquest. The only difference is that he has a veneer of Christianity which has somewhat tended to confuse his theological or mythological beliefs. The Indian of the Puna goes by the varying names of Puneno, Colla or Coya. His great delight is to chew the leaves of the coca and he will accept no work unless a supply of coca leaves be included in his rations. On the East of the Repubhc, in the province of Corrientes, there are to be found thousands of de scendants of the Guarani race, more or less mixed 40 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC with Spanish blood. In this province is spoken a dialect which corresponds with the inhabitants, being a mixture of Guarani and Spanish. The native inhabitants of the Chaco are, as is well known, tribes of Indians which, although at the present time differing considerably in language, are, in all probability, descended from the original Guarani race, which was the dominant race in the Eastern part of Central South America. In Corrientes and some other parts, the Indians generally are called Guaycunies and there is httle doubt that the Guaycunies were once an important tribe ; but, at the present time, the only Indians which respond to this name as a special desig nation are those found near the Guaycuru river in the Chaco Austral. The chief tribes now found in the Argentine Chaco are the Matacos and the Tobas (see illustration No. 13), the former occupying the Northern, and the latter the Southern parts of the territory. In the extreme north of Formosa and in the Paraguayan Chaco are to be found the Chiriguanos, the only tribe whose language still retains the form of the true Guarani. Of all the Indian tribes, the Chiriguanos are the least nomadic, estabhshing themselves in villages and sowing maize, mandioca, sugar cane, tobacco and other plants, and having domestic animals. The women, who are said to be the least ugly or most passable of the race, are devoted to the breeding of dogs and the raising of poultry. They excel in weaving and in making pottery. The character of the Chiriguanos is docile and they are more inclined to social and civilized life than the other tribes whom they regard as inferior to themselves. They have rude musical instruments, the tom-tom or tambora, and the flute, made of the thigh bone of the ostrich or of some other large bird. Their weapons are the macana, a kind of club, the lance, and the arrow. They are distinguished by wearing in the under hp the " tembeta," or disc of wood or J .metal. They value this distinction very highly and say, in contempt of Indians of other tribes, POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC, 41 " Quymbay-Cherembeta iko " (I wear the tembeta and am a man). The Matacos are found along the shores of the Pilcomayo and in the neighbourhood of the province of Salta. They are not friendly with either the Chiri guanos in the North or the Tobas in the South, in fact they are afraid rather than otherwise of the latter. Sr. Luis Jorge Fontana, in his interesting description of the Gran Chaco, describes an interview between a Mataco Cacique named Mulate and a Toba Cacique named Canagachi. Although near neighbours, neither could understand the other and the difference of character of the two races was shown by the bold, haughty carriage of the Toba and the nervous, excitable manner of the Mataco, who sipped his drink a little at a time while the Toba " bebia con conciencia " half a glass at a draught. The Matacos, though a more settled tribe than the Tobas, are gradually diminishing in numbers, partly owing to the ever changing circumstances introduced by advancing civilization, partly owing to tribal wars of extermination and also owing to the savage treatment which they have received at the hands of the so-called Christians, who have not hesitated to destroy them wholesale in revenge for attacks, which they have themselves brought about by the deceitful manner in which they have treated the natural inhabitants of the woods. The Tobas are the most numerous of the existing tribes in the Chaco and furnish the greater part of the workers in the sugar plantations and " obrajes." They also furnish the principal element amongst the marauders who so frequently attack the settlements of the white men on the banks of the rivers. Scattered through the territory occupied by the Tobas were the Lenguas and the Machicuys, both now extinct, and the Payaguas, of which tribe there are few hving representatives. The Tobas are a tall race of Indians, averaging from 1'79 to T65 metres in height. They walk erect and have a firm step, Unfike the Matacos who frequently walk with the heels 42 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC together and the feet at right angles to the body, so that it is difficult to tell from the footprints the direction in which a Mataco has been walking. Those Tobas who five far in the interior wear discs in the ears from whence they are called orejudos. The women are notoriously ugly and increase their natural want of beauty by tattooing the face so that, as Knight in his " Voyage of the Falcon " remarks, the wives appear "as if they had received from their lords the present of two lovely black eyes." Frequently,,, however, the tattooing takes the form of symmetrical figures of blue and red. The women are the beasts of burden of the tribes. Fontana says that an Indian man does not know what love is, but, on the other hand, the women become deliriously affected with the tender passion. Other races of Indians of less importance are the Chunupies on the coast of the Parana and the Mocovies who are to be found on the borders of Santa Fe. The Tobas and the tribes just mentioned are nomadic in their habits. This fact is taken advantage of by the colonists of the Chaco who use them in their various employments during certain seasons, at the end of which they go off to the interior or to other work without forming settled villages. It is impossible to speak of the inhabitants present or past of the Argentine Republic without referring to the Gaucho, the typical Argentine of the camp (see illustration No. 26). Although the true Gaucho is gradually disappearing, especially in the littoral pro vinces, and giving place to the peon, the part played by this veritable Centaur of the plains in Ajgentinfji history cannot be too highly appreciated. Of mixed' blood, combining the natural instincts of the Spanish conquering race with the native instincts of the Indian, ' the Gaucho, whether the tireless horseman of the Pampa ¦ or the Gaucho pastor of the North, has played an im portant part in the social and pohtical development of the country. As much a producfa^)f the boundless terrestrial ocean of the Pampas as the Swiss moun- No. 3. The Cathedral, Buenos Aikes. No. i. Government House, Buenos Aires. POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 45 taineer of his native hills, the Gaucho, both in mind and body, came to reflect the nature which he saw around him. As mseparable from his horse as the Arab, with whom in many respects he might be com pared, he hved a free, untrammelled hfe. His dress was typical. The Poncho was to him coat, waistcoat and great-coat by day and blanket and sheet by night. The very saddle, called recado, on which he rode was so constructed that it served for a pillow. His lower limbs were wrapped in the chiripa which took the place of trousers and drawers. His boots were made from the foot of the potro (horse) and were frequently armed with spurs of mahgnant length. The bit with which he guided his horse was capable of being used as an instrument of extreme torture, so that the horse came to dread its employment and to answer to the slightest impression of the reins on its neck. His idea of adornment was to wear a belt studded with silver and to put as much silver as possible in the trappings of his horse. The lasso and boleadoras, thrown with unerring aim, were the weapons which he employed to procure his food and a long knife or facon served as his weapon against his fellow men. His strange customs have been described by many writers ; but there are a few special types that may be men tioned, for even amongst this product of the Pampas, there were men who possessed attributes which dis tinguished them from their fellows, although their special endowments were to some extent inherent in every Gaucho of the plains. There was the Rastreador or tracker, always grave and taciturn, whose powers of tracking a criminal were accepted without question in the lower tribunals. Had a robbery been committed in the night, the Rastreador would follow the steps of the culprit over the plains, through the streets of the towns and across the streams, until he marked his man, when his single accusation " Thou art the man " was taken at once as unanswerable conviction. In 1902, the Government of La Rioja employed ten Ras- treadores to put a stop to the ravages of the cuatrero 46 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC or cattle thieves in that province. The Baqueano was another type who knew every inch of ground over thousands of square leagues. In the darkness of the night, he would get down from his horse, smell and taste the grass or the soil and know at once his where abouts. It is said that Rosas, who before his ascent to the government of his country was a typical Gaucho, knew by taste the grass on every estancia in the South of Buenos Aires. The Cantor or Pay odor was the wandering minstrel of the plains who travelled from pago to pago (district) singing songs which he impro vised to the plaintive music of the guitar. Often these songs told of the deeds of some Gaucho hero, who, a fugitive from justice, performed deeds of wild heroism which thrilled the blood of his hearers. The deeds of Quiroga or Rauch, Moreira or Guemes served as his theme and at times he himself would claim to have been the hero of the deeds which he sang. At other times, his songs were of a personal or natural character serving to flatter his hearers. The Domador or horse tamer, though not a distinct type, as all Gauchos were doma- dores, still had its champions before whose lasso the wildest horse was laid low, and whose very touch reduced to tameness the most indomitable scourer of the plains. When a Gaucho had committed a crime and become as an Ishmael to his fellows, he was referred to as a Gaucho malo or matrero ; and innumerable are the tales told in the camps of the deeds of these men, whose hand was against every man and every man's hand against them. The wild horse still roams the plains and the lasso is still used to throw the animal which is destined to domestication or death ; but the Gaucho race is slowly dying out. Railways and wire fences and the intro duction of Europeans and European methods have changed the face of the country. The times have changed and the race is changing with them, and the Gaucho will erelong be only a legend in the heroic history of the country. There are a few tefrms of constant use in the country POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 47 whose signification it is necessary to explain. A person born in Buenos Aires is called a Porteno, from the fact that Buenos Aires is the Puerto or Port of Santa Maria de Ios Buenos Aires, this name being given to it by Mendoza in 1535, in honour of the Virgin, at whose shrine in Seville his expedition had worshipped before setting sail. The name Criollo is used to desig nate a descendant of the Spanish colonists and is really equivalent to " hijo del pais." It is now fre quently used as a synonym with Argentine ; but in the colonial epoch it served to distinguish the Ameri can born from the original Spanish settler or the new comer. A Puntano is a resident in the province of San Luis, so named from the hills in the vicinity of the Capital. The three provinces of San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza are still styled ecclesiastically, as they were formerly styled politically, the Cuyo provinces. They were originally colonized and governed, by Chileans. Hence the Chileans apply to Argentines the name of Cuyanos. Descendants of mixed races, especially when employed in domestic service, are frequently referred to as Chinos or Chinas (in the north cholos or cholas). The name Indio is still used to distinguish the aborigines and, when an attack is made by Indians on a settle ment, it is described as a malon. Argentines who five to the West of the httoral provinces are sometimes referred to as Arribehos, this word signifying " to the west " or " from up above." A foreigner, except of Spanish race, and especially if he cannot speak Spanish, is called a Gringo. This word has been much discussed. It has been said that it is a phonetic modification of the British colonial term Greenhorn with which it has some similarity in meaning. Another story is that it is derived from the fact that Scottish settlers used to sing " Green grow the rushes oh ! " and that their hearers caught the two first syllables and apphed them to the singers. But the origin of the expression is most probably the word griego or Greek. We have preserved in English 48 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC the same idea in the expression used of something we cannot understand, " It's all Greek to me." So a foreigner who does not use the language of the country and cannot be understood is a Greek or Gringo. Spaniards are not called Gringos. An Argentine who wishes to reproach a Spaniard calls him a Gallego. It is very annoying to a foreigner to be called a gringo, with possibly an uncomplimentary adjective, as a quahfying term, and General Fotheringham, an English Argentine General, in his recently published " Vida de un Soldado," has some amusing and very pertinent remarks on the employment of the — as he regards it — ^insulting term. The word Ingles is used very widely, especially in the interior of the country, to signify any European of Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic or Scandinavian race ; but as these races are becoming better known, this wider use of the term is dying out. There are two phrases used in the country which show how Enghsh habits and customs have been appreciated. One is distinctly uncomplimentary. The term Borracho ingles (drunken Englishman) is, alas ! evidence of the unwelcome fact that a vice practically unknown in the country was evidence by too many of the British immigrants. Fortunately, the other expression in common use somewhat redeems the character of the Englishman. Palabra de ingles (on the word of an Englishman) implies a promise which will not be broken or an en gagement that will be fulfilled at all cost. The language spoken in Argentina is what in Enghsh is called jSpanish ; but, as there is really no Spanish language, it is more correctly named Castihan, as the dialect spoken in Castille became the official language of Spain and is the language of her colonies. In Argen tina, however, as in North America, new words, not in the original language, have been coined or taken with or without adaptations from the aboriginal tongues. The language of the country is officially known as the " Idioma nacional." There are a number of differences in pronunciation which are accepted in POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 49 Spanish America generally and others which are almost pecuhar to Argentina. The letters B and V are con founded in Argentina almost as much as in Spain, and words containing these letters stand a better chance of being correctly spelled by a foreigner than by the average Argentine. The sounds of C (soft), S and Z are assimilated to that of S, and in such a word as cerveza the C and the Z have both the sound of S. There is great confusion in the pronunciation of the double letter LL and the Y. Most educated men give these letters their due sound LL, like 1-y and Y as in Enghsh. Others give both letters the sound of a soft J like the J in French. Others again pro nounce the Y like an Enghsh J. In the use of the letters J and G (guttural) Argen tines follow the rule of the Academy, and use G only in words which had that letter in the Latin root. In Chile there is a tendency to spell all words, in which the sound of G is guttural, with J. A common practice in Argentina is to soften the termination ADO into AO. It is doubtless due to the fact that the earher settlers from Spain were mostly from the Southern provinces that many of these peculiarities which pre vailed there have been perpetuated and exaggerated in Argentina. There are a number of words which are found in Spanish grammars and are in current and universal use in Spain itself, but which are " taboo " in Argentina. Anyone who has learnt Spanish as used in Spain, or from a grammar, should enquire from a friend and obtain a hst of words which are considered improper to use in Argentina, before venturing to speak, especially in the presence of ladies. A word in common use in Argentina is CHE. The use of this word is strictly limited to friends and amongst relatives. It is said to be the Indian word Man and is seen in the names of Indian Tribes as Tehuel-che Puel-che, etc. When an Argentine says Che, Juan! como te vas ? it is as if he had said familiarly in Eng hsh, " John, old man, how are you % " 50 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Religion. By the Argentine Constitution, every inhabitant of the Republic has full freedom in the matter of rehgious behef and pubhc worship ; and it may be stated as an absolute fact that this right is respected both by the authorities and by the inhabitants generally. British subjects have also definite rights of pubhc worship and burial as will be seen from the extract from the Treaty of Peace between Great Britain and Argentina, signed in 1825, which will be found in a later chapter. At the same time, the State, by the Constitution, sustains and pays the cost of the Roman Cathohc Church which is thus the established Church of the country. The Minister for Foreign Affairs exercises also the duties of Minister of Pubhc Worship. The country is divided into an Archbishopric — that of Buenos Aires — and seven Bishoprics, namely Salta, Cordoba, Cuyo, Parana, Tucuman, La Plata and Santa Fe. Nominally, the vast majority of Argentines are Roman Catholics ; but, amongst the Argentine men, there is a practical current of agnosticism which causes them to limit their attendance at the church to pubhc functions, or to the usual private functions of baptism, marriage, funerals and masses for the dead. An Argentine is an Argentine first and a Cathohc a bad second. Before an Archbishop or Bishop can be installed in his diocese he must attend the Congress and swear fidelity to the Argentine Constitution and Nation. Marriage is a civil ceremony, which it is perfectly optional to ratify by a rehgious ceremony or not, but so far there is no divorce law in operation. The interests of the British and Irish Roman Catholics are mainly cared for by the Passionist Fathers, the Pro vincial of which Order is the Very Rev. John Mory, CP. The Anglican Church is well represented amongst the British community. There are churches in Buenos Aires, Belgrano and Flores in the Federal Capital and also in several of the towns in the interior. The Anglican churches in Argentina, were, until recently, in the see POPULATION, RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 51 of the Bishop of the Falkland Islands, whose diocese included the whole of South America except British Guiana. Efforts were lately made to divide this extended jurisdiction, with the result that " Argentina and Eastern South America " were separated from the original see and converted into a new diocese. The Bishop of Argentina and Eastern South America is the Rt. Rev. E. F. Every, D.D. The Presbyterians of Scotland are also well repre sented. The parent Church is in Buenos Aires ; but there are branches in various towns and there is a regular minister employed for work over the camp. The Presbyterian Church in Argentina is not directly affiliated with either of the great Presbyterian bodies and it is within the power of the authorities to select their ministers from either the National Church of Scotland or the United Presbyterian Church. A minister might even be chosen from the " Wee Frees " without any breach of the regulations. The actual minister of the parent church in Buenos Aires is the Rev. J. W. Fleming, D.D. The Methodist Church in Argentina is the Methodist Episcopal Church of America. The head church is in Buenos Aires, but there are numbers of churches both in the town and suburbs as well as in the outside camps which are all under the same Conference. There is a Bishop resident in Buenos Aires who, however, is frequently changed. The Pastor of the First Methodist Church is the Rev. W. P. McLaughlin, D.D. The Baptists, Plymouth Brethren and other sects have their own places of worship and can show a con siderable number of adherents. The Salvation Army has for years been working in the country and its labours are highly appreciated both by the Government and the Community. Its shelter work is regularly recorded in municipal statistics. The latest rehgious invaders are the Christian Scien tists, who have established themselves with a " Come to stay " air under the leadership of Mr. Frank Kingsley, C.S.B., and have an increasing number of adherents. CHAPTER III GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC, Argentina a Federal Republic — Origin of the Argentine Provinces — The Constitution — The National Government : Executive, Legislative, Judicial — The Provincial Governments — Special Powers of the National Government : Intervention, State of Siege — National Anthem — The National Flag — National and Provincial Shields and Arms — Diplomatic Representation. Argentina is a Federal Republic ; that is to say, the Provinces have autonomy, and are governed by their own constituted authorities and their own laws, except in such matters as are of a national character which are strictly defined by the Constitution. The Repubhc is divided into fourteen Provinces and ten Gobernaciones, or National Territories, the Federal Capital and seat of the National Government being Buenos Aires. The fourteen provinces are divided into four Littoral, Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Entre Rios and Corrientes ; four Central, Cordoba, San Luis, Tucuman and Santiago del Estero ; four Andine, Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan and Mendoza, and two Northern, Salta and Jujuy. The ten National Territories, which are under the immediate control and legislation of the National Government, are four in the north, Los Andes, Formosa, the Chaco and Misiones, and six in the south, La Pampa, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego. By the Constitution, when the population of a National territory exceeds 50,000, it has a right to be declared a Province. At present, the only National Territory approaching this condition is La Pampa, and there is at times serious talk of converting the 52 GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 53 Pampa with a portion of the province of Buenos Aires into a separate province with its capital at Bahia Blanca. Origin op the Provinces. The union of the fourteen provinces which form the Argentine Nation has not been accomphshed without overcoming very great difficulties and jealousies. These difficulties and jealousies, although at present kept in abeyance and under control by the stern arguments of facts, are by no means obsolete. On the contrary, the inner Provinces are constantly showing their resentment at the supremacy of Buenos Aires and kick more or less vigorously against the pricks, in a vain effort to show that they are as good any day as the City of Buenos Aires and the surrounding province, although nature, by building up the giant Cordillera to the West, and history, by arranging the surrounding countries, have made Buenos Aires the essential dis tributing centre for the vastly greater part of the Argentina. The various provinces have for the most part derived their existence from separate and widely- distant towns which were built by the Spanish settlers more out of regard to their possible use as stages in journeys to and from the mines and the sea than from any idea that they would be the nuclei of distinct Governments and the elements of a great nation. It is essential to bear in mind the entirely different origin of the several parts of the Repubhc, in order to under stand much of the internecine struggles and jealousies which form so large a part of Argentine history. Buenos Aires was founded in 1580, having been preceded by seven years by Santa Fe. Both these cities owe their origin to that indefatigable Basque, Don Juan de Garay, who died at the hands of the Indians in 1583. Corrientes was founded in 1588 by Alonso de Vera, a nephew of the then governing Adelantado Vera y Aragon. The city's full name is San Juan de Vera de las Siete Corrientes. All these cities were, at the time 54 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC of their foundation, subject to Asuncion, then t residence and seat of Government of the Adelantad After these potentates ceased their rule, the Governme fell into the hands of Hernandarias de Saavedra, w found those hands too full and begged the King divide his province into two. He had previoui allowed the Jesuits to estabhsh missions in the territc now known as Misiones. By a Real Cedula, dat 16th November, 1617, the Adelantazgo of the Rio de Plata was divided into two provinces named Paragu and Rio de la Plata. To the latter province was grv the cities of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Corrientes and t territories of the Parana and Uruguay, so that ti original Province of the Rio de la Plata included t present httoral provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Ri Santa Fe and Corrientes as well as Misiones and t Banda Oriental. This province continued to governed directly from Spain, and colonized from tl country till the time of the Viceroys in 1776. 1 greater part of the interior of the present repub had an entirely different and independent origin and v governed directly from Peni, from which country colonisation was directed. When Pizarro and Almag divided between them the Empire of the Incas, t latter determined to explore the country south Cuzco, to which the name Tucuman was given from i Quichua words Tuccu-Uman (Tuccu meaning the ds country and Uman government or authority). Ahnaj in person advanced into Salta ; but was so badly de with by the Indians that he dare not advance furth and turned aside to the district of Atacama. 1 contests between Almagro and Pizarro, which cost th their hves, compelled Charles V to interfere, and he si Vaca de Castro as his Licenciado to put things in ord He was ably served by one Diego de Rojas, whom named Adelantado of Tucuman and sent to expl his seat of Government. Entering Jujuy by ' Valley of Humahuaca, Rojas advanced as far as Ca marca, where he met with his death at the hands the Indians. Some of his followers returned to Pe GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 55 but others, headed by Francisco de Mendoza and Nicolas Heredia, continued their journey southwards, crossing the rivers of Cordoba which they named in the numerical order of crossmg from north to south, Primero, Segundo, Tercero. They appear to have followed the river Tercero to its union with the Parana. There they found that they were out of their jurisdiction and had nothing better to do than fight among themselves as to their future line of action. Heredia killed Mendoza and with the survivors of his party returned to Peru by the way of Tarija. In the meantime, the Captain- General of Chile had not been idle. He had sent Pedro de Valdivia to take possession of the eastern side of the Andes and to explore the territory. Whilst Val divia was exploring, the President of Peni, La Gasca, sent Nunez del Prado on a third exploring expedition to the Adelantazgo of Tucuman. Del Prado met the Chilean explorers and there was a fight in which Del Prado won ; but he had only a short rest ere he was again attacked by forces from Chile under Francisco de Aguirre, who captured Prado and sent him prisoner to Santiago. Del Prado had had time to found a city called Barco, which was occupied by Aguirre in the name of Chile. The Indians, however, attacked and destroyed Barco, and Aguirre removed to the banks of the Rio Dulce where he founded the city of Santiago del Estero. In 1558 Juan Perez de Zurita was made governor of this city and the Viceroy of Peni declared Tucuman to be a province independent of Chile. The Captain-General of Chile protested and sent Castaneda to arrest and supersede Zurita. In the end the dispute as to whether Peni or Chile should govern Tucuman was decided by the Spanish Government in favour of Peru, and by a decree dated 20th August, 1563, it was declared that all the territory east of the Cordillera should form the Province of Tucuman and be entirely independent of Chile. Whilst the disputes were pending between the Viceroy of Peni and the Captain-General of Chile as to the real jurisdiction over the Province of Tucuman, D 56 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC the latter took time by the forelock and, deen possession nine parts of the law, sent Captain P( del Castillo to found the cities of San Juan and Menc in 1561 and 1563 respectively. Mendoza owes name to that of the then Captain-General of CI Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza ; San Juan was called 1 Juan de la Frontera. The territories governed fi these cities extended over the present provinces San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza. They were ti referred to as the Province of Cuyo, the former Quid name of the territory. In spite of the Royal Dec] Chile kept possession of this Province and. govern it until the period of the Viceroys began in 1776. T. cities were too far both from Peru and Buenos A to be of much interest to the authorities there, i Chile was permitted to retain possession of Cuyo, spite of the manifest illegality of her action. In t way it is seen that in the sixteenth century the pres Argentine territory was divided into the three provin of the Rio de la Plata, Tucuman and Cuyo, all nomins under the Viceroy of Peni, but entirely independ from each other in interests, government, and euro of colonization. Santiago del Estero was the earh city of the interior, and was for long the capital of province of Tucuman, which extended from Salta to i Straits of Magellan, and included the whole of ¦ present Argentine territory, except the littoral p vinces and Misiones and the Chilean province of Cu and even this was legally within its jurisdiction. 3 City of San Miguel de Tucuman was founded by Di de Villaroel in 1565 but, owing to inundations of Rio Dulce, its original site was changed to the prea one. In 1572 the Viceroy of Peni named as Govern of Tucuman Don Luis Geronimo de Cabrera and, the 6th of July, 1573, this unfortunate personage founc the city of Cordoba la Liana. Shortly afterwa: Cabrera was superseded by a villain named Abrego, vs had for years been envious of Cabrera's talents a success. Abrego arrested Cabrera, put him to i most painful tortures and then decapitated him. GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 57 is satisfactory to learn that the lex talionis operated in the case of Abrego and he was shortly afterwards tortured to death in his turn. Salta, or San Fehpe de Lerma as it was called, was founded by Hernando de Lerma in April 1582 to serve as a stopping place between Peni and the province abajena (lower down). Catamarca was founded in 1684 by the removal thereto of the city of San Juan de la Ribera, in its turn founded in 1607 to receive the inhabitants of Londres and Canete. San Fernando de Catamarca was founded by Mete de Luna. La Rioja or Todos Los Santos de Rioja was founded in 1591 to keep an eye on the province of Cuyo and prevent its extension. Jujuy was originally founded in 1561 with the name of Ciudad de Nieva : but, having been destroyed during a great insurrection of the Indians, it was re-peopled in 1593 under the name of San Salvador de Jujuy. In 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata was separated from that of Peni. The extent of this Viceroyalty was vastly in excess of that of the present Argentine Republic, as it included the present countries of Paraguay and Bolivia, the latter then called Alto Peni. The present territory of the Repubhc was then divided into three Intendencias, C6rdoba, Salta and Buenos Aires, the latter including the Banda Oriental. From these three Intendencias have been derived the present provinces of Argentina. In 1810, at the time of the Revolution, the Intendencia of Cordoba included the territories of La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza and San Luis, and that of Salta included Jujuy, Catamarca, Tucuman and Santiago. In 1814, when Posadas was Director, Santa Fe was included in Buenos Aires, but in 1820 it revolted and was declared a separate province. San Juan and San Luis separated from Mendoza as one separate province, Jujuy separated from Salta, Santiago and Catamarca from Tucuman and La Rioja from C6rdoba, so that in 1820 there were 14 provinces as now, the only difference being that the Banda Oriental was then counted as a province and San Juan and San Luis were united. Later, these separated and 58 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC finally the Banda Oriental became an independent country ; so that the number and arrangement of the provinces became established as we now find them. There have been amusing instances of provincial aberra tions, such as occurred in 1821, when a caudillo, Bernabe Araoz, declared Tucuman an independent Repubhc of which he was the self-elected President. This ambitious project was of short duration. At one time also, in 1853, the province of Buenos Aires separated itself from the rest of the Repubhc, a state of things which was brought to an end at the battle of Cepeda, and by the subsequent treaty of San Jose de Flores. The foregoing brief summary of the origin of the Argentine provinces throws considerable hght on Argen tine history. It is seen that these provinces were really vast extensions of sparsely-populated territory extending around small cities with no pretence of real civihzation, each jealous of the others and regarding all other inhabitants of the country as " mala gente." It is no shght triumph for the Argentines to have formed a more or less homogenous nation of such unpromising elements ; but what has, more than anything else, tended to the attainment of this result has been the spread of railways all over the country and the consequent narrowing of the limits of time and space between the different towns. The Constitution. This important document which is the palladium of Argentine hberty and which bears date May 1st, 1853, was not the first effort of Argentine statesmanship to define national rights and privileges. It is not necessary to more than refer to the previous attempts to unify the aspirations of the growing State. After the revolution of May, 1810, had achieved its purpose in the estabhshment of a government perfectly in dependent of Spanish control or influence, a " Regla- mento " was drawn up in 1811 which for a time served GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 59 as a Constitution ; but, after amendment in the following year, was supplemented by the declarations solemnly made by the General Constituent Assembly in 1813. In May, 1815, a Provisional Statute was promulgated which was one of the most extensive of these successive documents, and was the basis of a subsequent Regla- mento in 1817. Two years later, another Constitution was drawn up and sworn on the 25th May, 1819, which included the principal features of that of 1817. In 1826, a Constitution, which had as its basis a unitarian system of government, was sanctioned on the 24th of December. After this attempt at a settlement, which soon became inoperative on account of the vehement opposition of the federal party, there was a period of anarchy which was marked by the tyranny of Rosas. On the fall of Rosas an arrangement called the " Acuerdo de San Nicolas " was made, one of the provisions of which was the convocation of a Con stituent Assembly with the object of drawing up a final Constitution. This Assembly or Congress met at Santa Fe in 1852 and continued its sittings until it had finished its work. The Constitution which now exists as the basis of Argentine government is that drawn up by this Congress. The Province of Buenos Aires was not represented in the Assembly and drew up an indepen dent Constitution ; but, after the battle of Cepeda, this province accepted the Constitution of 1853, with some modifications, which were incorporated at a national Convention at Santa Fe in September 1860. The Con stitution of 1853, as so amended, is that which is to-day the supreme authority and the basis of all civil, pohtical, rehgious and other rights. By this Constitution, the Federal system of Government was adopted and the national and provincial interests of the nation are provided for. As a declaration of rights the Constitution of the Argentine Repubhc is well worthy of study. It figures as one of the compulsory subjects in all programmes of education. Unfortunately, as is the case with all human documents, there are ways and means of driving the traditional coach and four through 60 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC the Constitution of Argentina as through a British Act of Parhament ; but, taken as it stands, it is a notable foundation for the hfe of a nation. National Government. The Government of the nation is entrusted to three Powers, the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. Executive. The Executive power referred to usually by the abbreviation P.E. (Poder Ejecutivo) is exercised by the President who is elected for a term of six years and cannot be re-elected until after an interval of another six. He must be an Argentine by birth, a professed Roman Cathohc and above 30 years of age. He has the sole appointment of most of the pubhc officers except diplomatic Ministers and Judges, for whose appointment the assent of Congress is neces sary. He has the power of commuting sentences and even pardoning criminals. He is assisted by his ministers, who are considered as Secretaries and who may not be either Senators or Deputies and who, although they may speak in Congress, have no right to vote. The signature of a Minister is necessary to the vahdity of all documents issued by the President. The Ministers have the following portfolios : — the Interior (corresponding to the British Home Secretary), Foreign Affairs and Pubhc Worship, Hacienda (Chan cellor of the Exchequer), Justice and Education, War, Marine, Agriculture and Pubhc Works. The Legislative Power is vested in the Congress which consists of two Chambers, the Senate and the Deputies. The Senate is composed of 30 members elected at the rate of two to each province and two for the Federal Capital. A Senator holds his post or nine years and may be re-elected indefinitely. GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 61 One third of the Chamber is renewed every three years. A seat in the Senate is usually the reward of a Governor ship of a Province. The Vice-President of the Repubhc is the President of the Senate and where the elected Vice-President is called to occupy the Presidency, the Senate chooses its own President, who becomes ex-officio Vice-President of the Repubhc. This is actually the case at the date of writing (1910). The Chamber of Deputies consists of 120 members elected by the Federal Capital and the Provinces at the rate of one Deputy for each 33,000 inhabitants. A Deputy is elected for four years and may be re-elected. Half the Chamber is renewed every two years. In con sequence of this, the Province of Buenos Aires has 28 Deputies, the Capital 20, Santa Fe 12, Cordoba 11, Entre Rios 9, Corrientes and Tucuman 7 each, Santiago 5, Mendoza and Salta 4, San Luis, San Juan and Catamarca 3 each, and Jujuy and La Rioja 2 each. A Senator must be 30 years of age and have been an Argentine citizen for six years before election, and a Deputy must be 25 years of age and have been an Argentine citizen for four years and, in each case, if not a native of the province which he represents, must have lived there for two years before election. Both Senators and Deputies receive large salaries for their labours, being paid respectively $1,500 and $1,000 per month. The Chambers sit from May 1st to Sept. 30th, but the sessions may be prolonged and extraordinary sessions convened by the President. Either Chamber may initiate a project of law (except in questions of finance or recruiting troops, in both of which cases the initiative is confined to the Deputies). In each Chamber there are permanent Commissions, corresponding to Parhamentary Committees, appointed, which discuss each measure and report on it to the Chamber, which then votes on the report. In case of a conflict between the two Chambers very dehcate provisions have been made so as to insure the practical equahty of the Chambers. The Chamber 62 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC which introduces a project is called the initiating Chamber, the other being the revising Chamber. If the revising Chamber reject a project altogether, it cannot be reintroduced during the current year. If the revising Chamber amend a measure and its amendments are accepted by the initiating chamber such project at once passes to the Executive for promulgation. If the initiatory Chamber rejects the amendments of the revisory Chamber, the project returns to the latter Chamber which cannot force its amendments except by a two- thirds majority. If the revisory Chamber insist by this majority on its amendments, the project again returns to the initiating Chamber which in its turn requires a two-thirds majority to finally reject the amendments. After a law is passed by both Chambers, the Presi dent has a right to veto it in whole or in part, in which case it returns to the Camaras for reconsideration, and if in both Chambers there is an absolute two- thirds majority in favour of the law the presidential veto is inoperative. It should be stated that the powers of the National Congress are clearly defined by the Constitution and are limited to such matters as are truly national and do not infringe upon the autonomy of the Provinces. Of course in the Federal Capital and the National Territories the legislative power of the Congress is absolute. With respect to the National Territories, the ad ministration of these depends directly upon the National Government, their civil and pohtical administration being under the control of the Minister of the Interior and their judicial and educational administration being in the control of the Minister of Justice and Pubhc Instruction. The Governor of a national Territory is appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. He is appointed for three years and may be re-appointed. It is the province of the Governor of a Territory to appoint the magistrates in towns of more than a thousand inhabitants. GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 63 Provincial Governments. The fourteen Argentine provinces are, as entities in a federal State, so many independent States each with its Governor and Legislative Chambers. For example, in the Province of Buenos Aires the Governor and Vice-Governor are elected for a term of four years and cannot be re-elected. The Chamber of Deputies consists of one member for each 10,000 inhabitants elected for three years, but not to number more than 100. The Senators are elected for four years at the rate of one for each 20,000 inhabitants, but not to exceed 50. The powers of the Provincial Governments are such as are consistent with autonomy in a Federation. It is unnecessary to state the conditions and number of components of the provincial authorities in each province as these vary both in number and duration of authority. The Judicial Power is exercised by the Federal Courts and the Provincial Courts. The Federal Courts are the Supreme Court of Justice, the Appeal Courts and the Inferior Courts, or Courts of First Instance. Below these are the Justices of the Peace and, for matters of shght im portance, the Alcaldes. The Provincial Courts are modelled on the same lines as the Federal Courts. Apart from their special jurisdiction in the Federal Capital and the National Territories, where there are special " Jueces Letrados," the Federal Courts have, by the Constitution, the power to decide cases in which there are questions in litigation between the natives or residents in different provinces and also in which the parties to the lawsuit are on the one side Argentines and on the other side foreigners. This clause of the Constitution is very important as, in any lawsuit 64 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC between a foreigner and an Argentine, the former has the right to have the case decided by the corresponding Federal Court to the exclusion of any other. This privilege is of great value especially in districts where the local Juez de Paz is, as is by no means infrequent, a mere tool in the hands of the " caudillo " or " boss " of the community. Intervention. Whilst treating of the government of the country, two matters require special mention as they are fre quently — unfortunately too frequently — forced upon pubhc attention. One is the right of Intervention in the Provinces by the Federal Government and the other is the right to declare the whole or a part of the country under a State of Siege. Although each province of the Repubhc is a separate and autonomous State, this fact does not altogether make it independent of the National Government, as, by the Constitution, this Government has the right to intervene in any province in representation of the national sovereignty, with any one of the following four objects, to guarantee the republican form of government : to repress foreign invasion, to sustain the constituted authorities and to replace them if they have been deposed by sedition or by the invasion of another province. The first two objects justify inter vention at the will of the Executive ; but, before intervention can take place for the third and fourth objects, the National Government has to be requested to intervene by the constituted authorities. What happens in case of an intervention is the following. The National Government sends to the province an Interventor with his secretary and other personnel requisite and, according to the circum stances, accompanied or not by national troops of soldiery. On arrival at the province, the Interventor becomes the supreme authority and it is his duty to No. 5. Congress Hall, Buenos Aires. No. 6. The Museum, La Plata. GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 67 carry out the objects of his intervention with the least possible delay. He enquires into the circumstances which have made his intervention necessary and then takes steps to re-estabhsh the republican form of govern ment, that is to say, he sees that the authorities pro vided by the Constitution are legally constituted. Sometimes, in case of what is called a revolution, his duty is limited to replacing the deposed Government in power. If, however, he finds that the revolution is justified by the actions of the local government, he declares these authorities deposed and calls for fresh elections. The power of intervention is a most serious one and, practically, places the provincial governments in a state of dependence on the National Government, as it will be readily seen that, if a pro vincial governor does not fall in with the views of the National Executive, there is nothing easier than to take advantage of any local emeute, which is easily got up, and intervene " motu proprio " to restore the republican form of government. A sympathetic inter ventor can be rehed on to do the rest. State op Siege. Unfortunately this measure has had to be resorted to with much greater frequency than the compilers of the Constitution ever contemplated. The declara tion of a State of Siege in Argentina is not, however, a declaration of martial law. It is practically the same thing as is, in Great Britain, a suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. Its application is strictly limited to the National Government and cannot be usurped by the provincial authorities. By article 23 of , the Constitution, the Congress or the President, in case Congress be not in session, may declare a state of siege and a suspension of constitutional guaranties in any part of the Repubhc where there is internal disturbance or any foreign attack which imperils the 68 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Constitution. The declaration of a State of Siege does not give any punitive powers to the Executive. The President can neither condemn nor impose punish ment. He can arrest any person and convey him to another part of the Repubhc. In actual practice, when a state of siege is declared, the Press is warned not to do or pubhsh anything which may in any way diminish the effects of the measure. Any journal daring to disobey this order is summarily closed either for a few days until repentant or for the whole period of the suspension of guaranties. Foreigners, who may be deemed detrimentals, are sent out of the country by the authority of a special law which does not require a state of siege for its application. Argentine citizens are sent away from the district where they have in fluence. Frequently they are retained on board a man-of-war or, in extreme cases, they may be sent down to the cool regions of Tierra del Fuego or Staten Island. The declaration of a State of Siege in no way puts an end to personal rights, except as imme diately affected by the causes which have been the ground of the dictation of the measure. In other respects, the constitutional privileges of every inhabi tant of the country suffer no interruption. This fact was very remarkably shown during the state of siege declared in consequence of the assassination of the Buenos Aires Chief of Pohce. The National Govern ment declared a state of siege over the whole country with the object of dealing with anarchists and anarchy. Several provincial governors took advantage of the measure to put in prison persons whose actions were politically displeasing to them. These governors had their knuckles sharply rapped by the National Execu tive and were ordered, not only to release the persons whom they had imprisoned, but also to take no steps against anyone without first obtaining the authority of the Minister of the Interior. A State of Siege must therefore not be confounded with martial law, with which extreme step it has practically nothing in common, GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 69 The National Anthem. The Argentine Himno Nacional was composed by Don Vicente L6pez and formally adopted as the " Marcha Patriotica " by the Assembly of 1813. The original music to which the hymn is sung was composed by a Catalan, Jose Bias Parera, whose name is usually printed on copies of the musical score, but he did not compose the introduction. This was the work of Juan Pablo Esnaola who also introduced alterations into the original composition of Parera. As composed by Lopez, the Himno Nacional contains nine verses and a chorus ; but, as the theme of the poem is the degradation of the Spanish lion, lying exhausted at the feet of Argentina, and a record of the cruelties of the Spanish rulers while Argentina still groaned under the yoke, the Spaniards who settled in Argentina protested against the constant revival of these old worn out sentiments and, in the end, the Spanish Minister refused to attend the Opera so long as the piece was sung in its entirety. The result of this protest was a decree forbidding the singing of the hymn on pubhc occasions, except the opening hnes of the first and the closing lines of the last verse and the chorus. The National Anthem therefore as sung reads as follows : — Oid, mortales, el grito sagrado, Libertad, Libertad, Libertad, Oid el ruido de rotas cadenas, Ved en trono a la noble igualdad, Ya su trono dignisimo alzaron, Las Provincias unidas del Sud, Y Ios libres del mundo responden, " Al gran pueblo Argentino, Salud ! " Chorus — Sean eternos Ios laureles Que supimos conseguir, Coronados de gloria vivamos, O juremos con gloria morir. 70 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Translation. Hear, oh mortals, the sacred cry, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Hear the sound of broken chains, See enthroned the noble (principle of) equality. Already the most worthy throne has Been set up by the United Southern Provinces, And the freemen of the world answer, " Hail to the great Argentine people ! " Chorus — May the laurels be eternal Which we have known how to gather, Let us live crowned with glory Or let us swear with glory to die. The National Flag. The national flag of Argentina consists of three horizontal stripes of blue, white and blue with the addition, when hoisted on a man-of-war or other Government property, of a sun in the middle of the white stripe. After considerable discussion it is now settled that the special shade of colour to be employed in the upper and lower stripes is celeste, that is, sky- blue. The origin of these colours is interesting. At the time of the revolution in May, 1810, the Portenos wore ribbons of blue and white as a contrast to the Spanish colours red and yellow. When selecting the colours for these ribbons it was found that, to supply the requisite quantity, there was no alternative but to use the colours in stock in the city. These happened to be blue and white, owing to a large quantity of material having been introduced into Montevideo, and from thence brought to Buenos Aires, for the clothing of the British sailors during the British occu pation of Montevideo. This material was, therefore, utilised in the fabrication of the revolutionary colours on the historic 25th of May. When General Belgrano inaugurated the Argentine flag he remembered the colours used on the occasion named and selected the GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, ETC. 71 same for the new banner. The blue and white stripes of the Argentine flag represent therefore not the sky and clouds, as some have thought, but the blue and white uniforms of the British sailors. No more honourable origin could be imagined. May the tradi tions of the British navy ever animate the nation which wears its colours ! The National Arms. The diversity with which the national arms was represented was, until recently, almost a scandal, as, even on the Government buildings and on official documents, there was an endless variety of form and colouring. The attention of the Government was called to this by Dr. Zeballos and something approaching uniformity has been secured. The National shield is elhptical in shape, divided into two halves, the upper being sky blue and the lower white. At an angle of 40 degrees, are stretched upward two clasped flesh coloured hands holding a staff which bears a Phrygian cap turned down at the top and with a folded lower border. Around the shield are two laurel branches interlacing at the top and tied at the bottom with a knot of blue and white ribbon. Above and from behind the shield rises the old Inca sun of which 23 alter nately straight and undulating rays of equal length are displayed. The shield of the City of Buenos Aires has under gone many modifications since the foundation of the city. At present it bears two ships surmounted by a flying dove. Each of the Argentine provinces has its own dis tinctive shield. The provincial arms are, in almost all cases, modifications of the National shield just described, except in the case of C6rdoba, which bears a tower ; San Luis, which shows a mountain scene with a llama in the foreground, and Salta, which bears a sun with eight luminous rays. 72 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Diplomatic Relations. The Repubhc maintains diplomatic relations with Great Britain, the United States and Mexico, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia, Italy and Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, Japan, the Holy See (Rome) and almost all the South American Republics. In Great Britain the Argentine Minister is Sr. Florencio Dominguez, the British Minister in Buenos Aires being Mr. Walter Beaupre Townley. Argentina is also represented in the United Kingdom by Consul General Dr. S. G. Uriburu, and by consulates at Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Newport and Southampton, and Vice-Consulates at Aberdeen, Belfast, Dublin, Dundee, Edinburgh, Hull, London, Man chester, Newcastle-on-Tyne and Swansea, as well as at Gibraltar and Calcutta. The British Consulates in Argentina are at Buenos Aires (Consul Mr. A. Car negie Ross, C.B.) and Rosario (Consul, Mr. Hugh B. Mallet). There are also British Vice-Consulates at Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Campana, Concordia, Cordoba, La Plata, Parana, Rosario, San Nicolas, Santa Fe, Villa Constitucion and a Consular agency at Gallegos. The Argentine Minister in the United States, for that country and Mexico, is Sr. Epifanio Portela. There is a Consulate General at New York and Vice-Consulates at fifteen other towns. The American Minister in the Argentine is Mr. Charles H. Sherrill. There are Consulates in Buenos Aires and Rosario, and Vice-Consulates at Bahia Blanca and Cdrdoba. CHAPTER IV HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ARGENTINA DISCOVERY AND PERIOD OF THE ADELANTADOS (1515-1617) Discovery of the River Plate by Soils — Cabot's Expedition — Fate of the Colony Founded by him — The Adelantados — Mendoza and the First Founding of Buenos Aires — Fate of the Colony — Irala — The Government in Asunci6n — Garay and the Second Founding of Buenos Aires — Separation of Buenos Aires from Asunci6n. The History of Argentina may be divided naturally into four periods, the period of Discovery and Con quest extending to the year 1617, the Colonial period between 1617 and 1776, the Period of the Viceroys from 1776 to 1810 and, lastly, the Republic from 1810 to the present date. A chapter will be devoted to each of these periods. As the main object of this book is to interest British readers, those events in which the British took part, either individually or coUectively, will receive fuller treatment than their importance would, perhaps, otherwise call for. " In the year 1515, when the Crozier of Saint Peter was swayed by the most holy Father and conse crated shepherd Leo X and the sceptre of Spain was wielded by the invincible and catholic king Don Fer nando, the great God cast His pitying eyes upon the innumerable souls, which, in these provinces, were perishing under the tyranny of the Devil, and, com miserating their lost state, resolved, according to the pious decree of His eternal counsel, to open a door for their rehef, in order that, by the oft repeated entrance of the true faith and the light of the Gospel, the people who walked in darkness might be enhghtened and e 73 74 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC might be freed from the dark chaos of error, in which for so many centuries they had been buried, unable to find the way of salvation on account of the darkness in which they had been submerged." With these pious reflections, the Jesuit Father, Pedro Lozano, com mences that part of his history of the conquest of this country which deals with the discovery^ of the River Plate by Solis. Twenty-three years had 'passed since Columbus had made his famous journey across the Atlantic and had added a world to the sceptre of Castille and Leon. The discoveries of Columbus had led to great things in the Northern and Western coasts of South America. Pope Alexander, for all that he professed to hold the keys of Heaven and Hell, to say nothing of Purgatory, had proved, by his celebrated division of the world between Spain and Portugal, that he knew very httle of terrestrial geography ; and, so far, no European had seen or thought of the mighty river which poured its waters into the Atlantic and which the Indians called the Parana Guazu. It is said that Vicente Yanez Pinzon had, in 1508, sailed past its mouth to the 40th degree of South Latitude without being aware of the presence of the mighty stream, and that he had, on board his ship, a famous pilot named Juan Diaz de Solis. Columbus had discovered America in its most tantalising part. The after discoveries of Balboa in the Isthmus of Panama had shown that there was an immense ocean on the other side of the newly found world but, although the Isthmus was so narrow, no means of access by water could be found to this great and unknown ocean. Many are the names of the venturous seamen who hugged the coast for hundreds of miles north and south in the fond hope of finding some strait which should lead into the mighty waste of waters which washed the western shores of the new world ; but all in vain : and one after another returned to Spain with the same story of failure in their search. The most catholic King determined therefore to send two ships to the south, well provided for a long voyage, HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ARGENTINA 75 and in command of the before named Sohs, who had now the reputation of being the most skilled navigator of his age. Accordingly, on the 8th of October, 1515, Sohs sailed away from the coast of Spain, leaving the port of Lepe with the full object of discovering the strait leading into the Pacific Ocean, as it was after wards called. Sailing along the eastern coast line of South America, Sohs arrived with his ships at the 33rd degree of South Latitude. Here he found that the water was sweet, which astonished him very much, as, from the great width of the mouth of the estuary of the River Plate, no land was visible. He had previously passed a cape to which he had given the name of Santa Maria and a few slands, evidently those now called Lobos and Flores, and he had observed on the mainland a conical hill which should in after years give its name to Montevideo ; but he had lost sight of land again and was, accordingly, somewhat puzzled when he found that he was sailing in fresh water. However, he decided to explore this strange and apparently shoreless river. He ascended the river in a small sloop, and, while doing so, his dispenser, Martin Garcia, died. On arriving at the island that now bears his name the body of the dead man was taken on shore and buried there. On returning to the ship and recon noitring the shores, Solis and his companions observed a number of Indians on the banks near a large wood. These Indians made signs to the travellers to disembark. Beheving that the Indians were friendly from the nature of their signs, half a dozen men, including Sohs, went on land ; but they had barely landed when they were saluted by a flight of arrows which laid them dead on the shore. Their companions on the sloop were horror stricken at the sight, especially as they saw the Indians seize the bodies of their unfortunate comrades and apparently prepare to roast and eat them. They made off with all speed to the mouth of the river where they had left the ships and told the sad news to the rest of the crew. AU were overwhelmed with dismay at the horrible story and it was at once 76 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC decided to return to Spain with all possible speed. For a brief period of about a dozen years the fateful river bore the name of Solis. The story that the Indians ate the bodies of the seamen is contradicted by those who have studied the habits of the Charruas, as the tribe was called to whose arrows Sohs and his com panions fell victims. After the departure of Solis the next European to visit the Plate was Sebastian Cabot, or, as he is called by Argentine historians, Gaboto. Sebastian Cabot was one of the most striking figures in the history of geographical discovery. No dangers terrified him, and regions unknown had a special attraction for his adventurous spirit. His name figures in the stories both of the North-West and the North- East passages. The whole coast of America, from the St. Lawrence to the Plate, was surveyed by him in one or other of his many voyages. To him all parts of the compass were equally welcome ; and he served at one time or another the different Sovereigns who, in the sixteenth century, were anxious to add to their dominions the far off territories across the oceans. He was the son of John Cabot or Gaboto, another of the rovers of the deep, and was born, according to the best authorities, at Bristol, in England. After having, as a youth of twenty-three, sailed with his father on his voyage of discovery to Newfoundland and Labrador, he, fortunately for himself, gave his attention to map making and so saved himself from accompanying his father in 1498 upon the ill-fated expedition of which nothing further was heard. After serving the King of England for some years, he entered the service of the King of Spain in 1521 with the title of " Piloto Mayor," and in this capacity undertook the voyage which brought him in contact with Argen tina, and resulted in the foundation of the ill-fated Colony of Sancti Spiritus. The Emperor Carlos V, who was also King of Spain, conferred upon Gaboto, as he is caUed in the Spanish histories, the additional title of Captain-General and ordered him to follow HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ARGENTINA 77 the route of Magallanes and, passing through the Straits named after that navigator, to discover the ancient and famous cities of Tharsis and Ophir, the Isles of the Malucas and the land of Cathay. A large order indeed, as we should say to-day. On board the four ships that formed Gaboto's fleet were many persons of rank, some of whom were secretly opposed to their leader and did all in their power to minify his success Gaboto sailed from Seville at the beginning of April, 1526, and, after no httle trouble, arrived at the mouth of the River Plate, then called the Rio de Solis, after its unfortunate discoverer. He found it necessary to get rid of some of the more troublesome of his passengers and landed three of them on one of the islands near the mouth of the river. He ascended some distance up the estuary and despatched a number of his crew in small boats up the river Uruguay. They were attacked by the Indians and had to return with their numbers greatly reduced. Gaboto then crossed the Estuary to the Parana de las Palmas and continued his journey northwards until he arrived at the mouth of the River called Carcarana. Here he determined to found a colony and a fortress, to which he gave the name of Espirito Santo. The name of the River was that of a famous Timbu Chief. Having left a number of his soldiers and attendants to guard the fortress, Gaboto continued his journey northwards, passing the confluence of the Paraguay and Parana and following the course of the latter river as far as the Laguna Santa Ana, a few leagues north of the present town of Itali in Corrientes. Returning to the confluence of the rivers, he ascended the Paraguay where he was attacked by Indians, and according to some historians, a battle was fought, which was no small affair, as 25 Spanish soldiers were killed. Going further up the river, Gaboto arrived at a place some what to the north of the present city of Asuncion. Here he found a number of Indians who were friendly and open to trade. They gave a number of silver objects in exchange for such things the Spaniards chose 78 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC to offer them and told stories of the wealth of the interior of the country, which made Gaboto and his companions sure that if they had not found an El Dorado, they had, at any rate, found a " Plateado." Hence the name of the River Sohs was changed to that of the Rio de la Plata. Alas that even that name should be a deception to so many who after residence in this country find it neither " Dorado " nor " Plateado " but only " Empapelado ! " The fore going is the origin, however, of the well-known name of the River and of the subsequent designation of the country known as the " Argentine " Repubhc. De lighted with what he deemed his glorious discovery of riches, Gaboto determined to return to Sancti Spiritus and thence send messengers to the Spanish King to persuade the latter to undertake the conquest of the silver land. He accordingly sent off some of his faithful officers to Spain with presents of silver for the King and a few Indians as specimens of the country. The messenger arrived safely and the King, pleased with the presents, endeavoured to persuade the Seville citizens to send a fleet to aid Gaboto. The Sevilhans, however, refused to do so, and the King was deterred from taking any such measures on his own account by the fear of a naval war with England and France. Gaboto, finding that no help came, left the colony in charge of Don Nuno de Lara and returned to Spain in 1530. Gaboto, on arriving in Spain, gave glowing accounts of the lands on the shores of the Silver River and endeavoured to obtain a further commission from the King to return and complete the work of conquest and colonisation which he had begun ; but there was no money in the imperial treasury for such adventures and, in the end, Gaboto yielded to the inevitable and turned his thoughts in other direc tions, continuing, however, to act as Piloto Mayor till 1547, when he returned to England. Here he became Governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers which began to trade with Russia. He ended his adventurous life in 1557 at the advanced age of 83. HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ARGENTINA 79 " The fate of the Colony of7Sancti Spiritus has been frequently told both in prose and in verse. Nuno de Lara did all in his power to cultivate friendly relations with the Indians in the neighbourhood, who were Timbiies and had two chiefs, Mangore and Siropo. In the colony was a woman named Lucia Mirando, the wife of a soldier, Sebastian Hurtado, to whom she was deeply attached. The cacique or chief Mangore fell in love with this woman and tried by all means to get her to return his affection, but in vain. Having failed in his object by open means and even by strategy, Mangore determined to attack the colony and, in the confusion, carry off Lucia. He obtained the assistance of his brother Siropo and having waited for a favourable opportunity when a number of the soldiers had gone off foraging for provisions, he attacked the colony in the most treacherous manner and a terrible fight ensued. Mangore himself fell in the combat, but his brother Siropo survived and carried off the coveted prize, Lucia, to his tent, where she resisted all the persuasions and offers of her capturer. Her husband, who had been one of the foraging party and therefore absent from the fort at the time of the attack, returned to find the tragedy accomphshed and his wife carried off. With the rest of the foragers he escaped to the woods but was shortly afterwards captured and carried as a prisoner to Siropo, who would have killed him at once but for the intercession of Lucia. The husband's life was spared but upon conditions which implied a divorce, as he had to promise to see his wife no more. The power of love was stronger, however, than the fear of death, and shortly afterwards husband and wife were surprised together. They were taken to Siropo, who, mad. with rage and jealousy, ordered their imme diate execution. The wife, Lucia, was tied to a stake and burnt to death and the husband was set up as a target for the arrows of the Indians and speedily rejoined his wife in the next world (1532). Three years afterwards the first definite attempt at conquest was made by Don Pedro de Mendoza, 80 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC who is known in Argentine History as the first " Adelan- tado." The title of " Adelantado," which carried with it almost unlimited authority was originally conferred, during the Moorish possession of Spain, on any Spaniard who should drive back the line of Moorish invasion and so " Adelantar " or advance the power of the Spanish Kings. When the survivors of Sohs' Ex pedition, and afterwards Cabot returned to Spain with wonderful stories of the lands they had discovered, the idea of advancing the dominions of the King and the rule of the Church in the regions of the Plate appealed to the Spanish Government and it was agreed that anyone who should, at his own expense, fit out an expedition to explore and colonize the newly-discovered lands, should have the title of Adelantado and the rights appertaining thereto. The first to avail himself of this privilege was Pedro de Mendoza, a wealthy man and a hard fighter, who had taken part in the wars in Italy and obtained no inconsiderable sum as booty in Rome and elsewhere. On the 21st May, 1534, the " capitulations," or conditions under which the ex pedition should be realised, were agreed to. Some of these were of importance. The Adelantado had to open up communications between the River Plate territories and Peni, to take with him one hundred horses and mares, the original ancestors of the horses which now roam over the Argentine plains, to take out eight priests to convert the souls of the Indians, as well as a doctor and a druggist to heal the bodies of the explorers and colonisers. The territory over which the Adelantado was to have jurisdiction was to extend for two hundred leagues from the River Plate down the Atlantic coast towards the straits of Magellan. A formidable array of grandees was told off to accom pany Mendoza. There is some doubt as to the number of men who went with Mendoza on his journey ; but it was between 1,500 and 2,000. There were a number of Germans, amongst them, Ulrich Schmidt or Schmidel, whose name, latinized into Ulrico Fabro, is that of the first historian of the expedition. There were also HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ARGENTINA 81 three Enghshmen : John Rutter of London, Nicholas Coleman of Hampton, and Richard Limon of Plymouth. The adventures of these three Enghshmen are narrated by Sr. Enrique Pena in an interesting article, written for the recent British Argentine Exhibition, 1905, and pubhshed in the pamphlet dealing with British Com merce, under the title, " Los Ingleses en la conquista del Rio de la Plata." These three Enghshmen appear to have finally settled in Paraguay, and their names several times appear in the documents recording the events which passed there during the period of the second Adelantado. Amongst the priests who accompanied the expedi tion was one, about whom is told a legend, which might find a fit place in the " Leyenda de Oro." He was taken prisoner by the Agaces and set up as a target for their arrows. As he was at the point of death, a beautiful shining globe came down from heaven and hovered over his head. The soul of the priest, transfigured into the form of a beautiful maiden, leaped forth from his body and on to the globe, upon which, as a throne, he ascended far above the azure skies. The Agaces, ashamed of their cruelty, burst into tears and buried the body of the dead hero. Mendoza's expedition sailed from Sanhicar on the first of Sep tember, 1534, and arrived at the Cape Verde Islands in ten days, and then took two months to reach land on the South American coast. A rest was made near the River Janeiro in Brazil ; where, in consequence of the cruel treatment of one of the expedition, named Osorio, by the Adelantado, a number of the party remained. The majority, however, resumed the journey with Mendoza and entered the River Plate, remaining for a few days near the Island of San Gabriel. As Mendoza did not like the north side of the river, he crossed over and landed near the present site of Barracas. The first man to land was Sancho del Campo, brother- in-law of the Adelantado, who is reported to have said " Que buenos aires son Ios de esta tierra ! " This remark is said by some to have been the origin of the 82 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC name of the city ; but as its name is not Buenos Aires but " Santa Maria de Ios Buenos Aires," it is much more probable that the name is due to the fact that, before saihng, the expedition was placed under the protection of the Virgin, under her title of " Santa Maria de Ios Buenos Aires (6 vientos)." When Pedro de Mendoza landed on the banks of the Riachuelo, the whole of the surrounding territory was occupied by the Querandies, a warlike tribe of Indians. At first, these Indians were friendly to the Spaniards and provided them with food. But it was soon seen that there was no real friendship possible between the two races, and the Adelantado did what he could towards putting his new Colony in a defensive position. The Indians were desirous of robbing the horses brought by the Europeans and, as this caused the latter to be suspicious, in less than three weeks, the Indians became hostile and ceased to send provisions to the colony. The Adelantado sent a kind of embassy to the Indians to try to induce them to be friendly ; but the Ambassador had no tact and treated the Indians as if they were dogs, with the result that they were badly treated and driven off and the hostile preparations of the Indians were hurried on. Very soon, it became dangerous for the Colonists to leave the encampment even to look for firewood. When, on one occasion, ten soldiers were killed, Mendoza thought it time to take active measures. He accordingly sent his brother Diego to drive away the Indians. Diego de Mendoza took with him a number of soldiers, both horse and foot, and, with banners flying and trumpets blowing, the gallant httle army of four hundred suddenly found themselves, after a few leagues march, in presence of about four thousand Indians, who were encamped on the other side of a stream. A question arose as to whether the attack should be made or not ; but Diego de Mendoza cut the matter short by calhng out, " Cross to the other side and smash these barbarians." But the smashing was not so easy. The gallant leader was slain and many more, and only a very few escaped ahve. HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ARGENTINA 83 The scene of the battle gave its name to the Pago de la Matanza, well known to-day as the names of a River and Partido. One of the horse soldiers who took part in the fight was named Diego Lujan. Badly wounded, he escaped from the field of slaughter on his terror stricken horse, which bore him for several leagues, until at last he fell from the saddle dead by the side of a stream, which has ever since borne the name of the River Lujan. When the news of the slaughter reached the encampment, there were not wanting very many who considered that the death of Osorio had been avenged by Divine Providence, as amongst the slain were several of those who had taken part in the murder of the unfortunate " maese de campo." The historian, Father Lozano, has no doubt on this head. All hope of peace from the Indians being at an end, the Colony was in great straits for want of food. At one time, the daily ration was reduced to six ounces of flour and that of the worst quality. Frogs, toads, snakes and vermin of all kinds were eagerly eaten, when no other food could be obtained, and even the leather of shoes and saddles was cooked to yield up any possible nutriment it might retain. Meanwhile, the Adelantado sent out two expeditions, one under Gonzalo de Mendoza and the other under Juan de Ayolas, to see if they could find food in the direction of Brazil or Paraguay. After two months, as neither of these returned, Pedro de Mendoza determined to return home with half his men and got ready to do so. Suddenly Ayolas returned, bringing such good news of the country up the river that the Adelantado decided, instead of going home, to fix his residence at Sancti Spiritus. On the point of his departure, Buenos Aires was attacked and practically destroyed by thousands of Indians, who sent bundles of blazing grass on to the roofs of the houses and set them on fire. They were at length driven off ; but only a few men were left in the en campment to protect some of the ships left in the river. These were under the orders of Francisco Ruiz 84 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Galan, whose name has been handed down by historians as that of a cruel and soulless tyrant. While Mendoza was up the river, things were worse and worse in Buenos Aires. The difficulty of finding food was such that even vermin failed and the bodies of the dead in the Colony were eaten by the survivors. It is recorded that any excuse was taken by the hard-hearted Governor to condemn men to death, so that their bodies might serve as food. The story of Maldonado reveals the character of this tyrant. Maldonado was a poor woman who, half dead with hunger, escaped from the camp, fearing less the arrows and lances of the Indians than the cruelties of the camp hfe. Wandering along the shore, she came to an opening in the " barranca," and entered to rest. What was her horror to find herself in the presence of a honess which greeted her appearance with cries. These were cries of anguish, as the lioness was in the act of giving birth to cubs. Seeing that she was in no immediate danger, Maldonado helped the honess, which proved its gratitude by furnishing her with food. After a time, Maldonado was found by some Indians and taken away to their " tolderia," where one of the chiefs made her his wife. Her troubles were not yet ended, for, in a short time, she was recaptured' by the Spaniards and taken to Buenos Aires. The Governor ordered her to be taken outside and tied to a tree so that the wild beasts might kill her. The order was obeyed ; but, as night fell and the wild beasts were prowling round the tree, Maldonado recognised amongst them the honess she had helped. The honess kept off all the other animals and, when the Governor sent next day to see if she were dead, she was found ahve and safe, guarded by the faithful lioness. On being taken to the camp, the Governor pardoned her and let her go. Her name survives as one of the local designations ; but few, who know the name Maldonado, know the story from whence it arises. Mendoza did not stay long at Sancti Spiritus. He set out to return to Spain, but died on the way. He HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ARGENTINA 85 left his expedition in the control of Ayolas who was seconded by another active man named Irak. Ayolas and Irala journeyed north, with the survivors of the expedition, and, after many adventures and the death of Ayolas, the Guarani village of Lambare was made the head of the colony, being in its turn baptized with the name of Asuncion. Here the period of the Adelantados was passed, and for many years Asuncion was the head of the River Plate settlements. Irala was a strong man, who knew how to govern, and, under his care, the colony made great headway : friendly relations were maintained with the Indians, who were of the mild Guarani race, and not the fierce indomitable Querandies of the neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. It is to this fact that the mixed character of the Para guayan inhabitants is due, as well as their use of Guarani as the native speech. Irala, with the same ideas of colonisation as are said to influence Enghshmen when engaged in the same work, built a church and a town hall and gave his new colony a very good start. One of his first actions was to send for the survivors of the colony of Buenos Aires to transfer them to Asunci6n and to abandon, for the time at all events, all idea of continuing the colony. Accordingly, Captain Diego de Abreu was sent with a number of boats to bring up the colonists. On arriving at Buenos Aires, Abreu found the people in the greatest misery. What had made matters worse for them was that their numbers had been increased by the arrival of the crew of a ship from Genoa named the " Pochalda," which, originally destined for Callao, had been driven back by the winds and waves on arriving at the Straits of Magellan, and had turned into the estuary of the Plate, knowing that there was a Spanish colony there. On arriving at the Riachuelo, the Italian ship came to grief on a sandbank, and, although for a time the provisions on board were a help to the colony, when these were exhausted the additional persons to be fed increased the distress. There was, therefore, no hesita tion in leaving Buenos Aires and embarking for Asunci6n, 86 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC where they were received, both Spaniards and Italians- and incorporated into the Colony which was there properly established. Here the second and third Adelantados, Alvar Nunez (Cabeza de Vaca) and Ortiz de Zarate alternated with Irala in the Government, and many were the revolutions and revolts which marked the history of the nascent state ; but these interest us httle. It was not until 1580, during the Adelantazgo of Vera y Aragon, that a second attempt was made to colonize Buenos Aires. The Adelantado Zarate had tried to change the name of the territory to New Biscay (Nueva Vizcaya) ; but he could not get rid of the name Rio de la Plata and his innovation came to nothing. The right hand man of both Zarate and Vera y Aragon was Don Juan de Garay, a man whose statue ought to adorn the most conspicuous position in Buenos Aires. With wonderful foresight, Garay saw that to shut up the colony in the interior without making intermediate ports on the great River Plate would be to ruin its future and to place its destinies entirely in the hands of its governors. In pursuance of his ideas on the subject, he founded the city of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz on the 15th of November, 1573, but this was only an intermediate port. He recognized that the true port must be situated in the neighbour hood of Mendoza 's unfortunate colony. Accordingly, in 1580, having reduced the Indians to temporary, if not permanent submission, he decided to re-establish the port of Buenos Aires. Using Santa Fe as the centre of his operations he despatched by land some two hundred native families with 1,000 horses, 200 cows, 500 sheep and all requisites for forming a colony, the whole in charge of Alonso de Vera and 39 soldiers. He himself set off from the Tower of Gaboto with two brigs, six large hghters, three rafts and the Caravel " San Cristobal." From the river, he chose the site of the second Buenos Aires. The site selected stood out as a promontory or point, on either side of which was a deep ditch, usually filled with the HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF ARGENTINA 89 waters from the " banados " of what is now Flores. A httle below Flores these waters branched off into the two ditches mentioned, one running down the present sites of Calles Chile and Independencia and Mexico. They were called respectively the Zanjon de Matorras and the Zanjica de Ios Granados. Between these two ditches was the second city of Buenos Aires first enclosed. On the promontory, between these ditches, Garay staked off two squares (now the Plaza de Mayo) for the Fort, Cathedral and Cabildo, and then he staked out 150 squares between the present Calles Balcarce and 25 de Mayo, on the east, and Libertad and Salta on the West. Outside the " ejido " of the city Garay divided the land into " valles " or partidos, in which he allotted " suertes " of 3,000 varas frontage and a league and a half depth inland. The frontage was, wherever possible, on the River Parana. These lands were divided amongst the sixty soldiers who accompanied Garay as colonists. The full list of these is preserved in the writings of Lozano, in which the name of Garay himself modestly appears at the end. Two extra persons received lots ; one a woman named Ana Diaz, a widow, who had accompanied Garay's expedition in order not to be separated from her daughter, who was married to one of the soldiers, and the other Cristobal de Altamirano, a poor fellow who had some time before been captured by the Indians and managed to escape and join Garay. The Indians who were sent down from Santa Fe, as well as any others captured in the neighbourhood, were divided as " en- comiendas " among the colonists, who thus began their venture under much better conditions than the unfor tunate companions of Mendoza. The new city was founded on Trinity Sunday, June 11th, 1580. A proper record of the event was drawn up and the city received the name of Ciudad de la Santisima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa Maria de Buenos Aires. Garay sent a full report of his actions to the King of Spain, who approved everything and confirmed the title of City bestowed on the new foundation. In the edict the 90 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC city is described as " la ciudad de la Trinidad de Buenos Aires." In 1620 Buenos Aires was made the head of an Episcopal See and its cathedral was dedicated to St. Martin of Tours. Shortly after the second and definite foundation of Buenos Aires, Garay was killed by the Indians in Santa Fe. After the fourth Adelantado, Vera y Aragon, who resigned his office and returned to Spain, Asunci6n continued to be the seat of government until 1617, when the Governor Hernando Arias de Saavedra, who was a man of great talent and knowledge, con sidered that the territory over which he was supposed to rule was too extensive and advised the King to divide it into two provinces, one that of the Rio de la Plata, with Buenos Aires as its capital, and the other La Guayra, or Paraguay, with Asunci6n as its seat of government. The King took the advice of Hernando Arias and by a royal Cedula decreed the formation of the two provinces. CHAPTER V THE COLONIAL PERIOD (1617-1776) The Spanish " Indies," Governors of the La Plata Province — Commerce during the Colonial Period, its Drawbacks and its Monopolies — British Buccaneers — The Slave Trade — The Jesuits and their Missions — The Expulsion of the Jesuits — Brazilian Claims to Uruguay — La Colonia del Sacramento — -History of its Captures and Restorations — The Falkland Islands. As recorded in the last chapter, the Province of the Rio de la Plata and Buenos Aires was separated from that of Paraguay in 1617, although the first Governor was not sent out till 1620. From that date it was governed by Governors, almost all of whom were sent to Buenos Aires direct from Spain, and only one of whom was born in the eountry. At the same time that the political separation took place, the ecclesiastical sees were also divided and the first Bishop of Buenos Aires was Fray Pedro Carranza. What is called the Colonial period of Argentine history lasted from 1620 to 1776, at which latter date Buenos Aires was made the head of a Viceroyalty. Perpetuating the mistake made by Columbus, who thought that he had dis covered India, the American colonies of Spain were called the Indies, and they were placed under the control of a Special Advising Council called the Council of the Indies. This Council collected all information respecting the colonies, and all decrees signed by the King for administrative purposes were called " Cedulas Reales." Ultimately, a special legal code was drawn up called the " Laws of the Indies." Besides the Council mentioned, there was a great governmental department created, with headquarter first at Seville and later at Cadiz, called the Casa de Contrataci6n, which had full control over all the shipping between F 91 92 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC the mother country and the colonies, and from being an adjunct of the Indian Council became ultimately a Court of Appeal and High Court of Justice for the Colonies generally. Theoretically, the Province of the Rio de la Plata was within the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of Peni ; but, for practical purposes, Peni was as far away as Spain and the Governors were more directly under the control of the Casa de Contrataci6n, although the Audiencia of Charcas also exercised jurisdiction in questions relative to complaints against the administration. Local affairs were managed by the Cabildo or Town Council, which usually consisted of nine Regidores who divided amongst themselves the various administrative functions such as Alcaldes, Juez Visitador, Alguaciles, Juez de Pohcia, etc. The following is a complete hst of the Governors of the Province of the Rio de la Plata during the Colonial period : — Diego de Gorgora (1620-23) ; Alonzo Perez de Salazar (1623-24) ; Francisco de Cespedes (1624-32) ; Pedro Esteban de Avila (1632-38); Mendo de la Cueva y Benavides (1638-40) ; Ventura Mogica (1640) ; Pedro de Roxas (1640) ; Andres de Sandoval (1641) ; Geronimo Luis de Cabrera, the only " criollo " Governor (1641-46) ; Jacinto de Larez (1646-53) ; Pedro Ruiz Baigorri (1653-60) ; Alonso de Mercado y Villacosta (1660-63) ; Jose Martinez de Salazar (1663-74) ; Andres de Robles (1674-78) ; Jose de Garro (1678-82) ; Jose de H. Herrera (1682-91) ; Agustin Robles (1691-1700) ; Manuel de Prado Maldonado (1700-03) ; Alonso Juan de Valdes Inclan (1703-08) ; Manuel de Velasco (1708- 12) ; Alonso de Arce y Soria (1712) ; Baltasar Garcia Ros (1712-17); Bruno de Zavala, the founder of Montevideo (1717-34) ; Miguel de Salcedo (1734-42) ; Domingo Ortiz de Rosas, uncle of the grandfather of General Rosas (1742-45) ; Jose de Andenaegui (1745- 56) ; Pedro de Ceballos (1756-66) ; Francisco de Paula Bucarelh (1766-70) ; and finally Juan Jose de Vertiz (1770-1776). It is not necessary to enlarge upon the history of THE COLONIAL PERIOD 93 the two provinces of Cuyo and Tucuman, which, as already described, comprised the interior of the country now known as Argentina. Their story is of very limited and local history and their development and government has been already described in treating of the formation of the Argentine Provinces. During the Colonial period the Province of the Rio de la Plata included what are now the httoral provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Corrientes, the Northern territories of Formosa, the Chaco and Misiones and the Banda Oriental or Uruguay. The chief interest of the Colonial period centres round the city of Buenos Aires and, accordingly, I shall proceed to show the exact position which it occupied as the capital of the Colony. I have before me as I write a map showing the trade route of Spanish South America about the year 1700. It is useless to talk of the Port of Buenos Aires at that date, for port there was none. For all that its maritime position availed it, Buenos Aires might as well have been on the heights of Jujuy. Indeed, the latter situation would, at that time, have been much better for commercial purposes than the banks of the Rio de la Plata. The map shows the continent of South America, on which a red line marks the trade route. On the north side of the isthmus of Panama is the town of Porto Bello, connected by the line men tioned with Panama on the South of the isthmus. The line then follows the ocean route to Arica, with stoppages at Guayaquil and Callao. Leaving the sea at Arica, in the extreme North of Chile, the red line crosses Bolivia by way of Potosi, and, entering Argentine territory by way of Humahuaca and Jujuy, passes by Cordoba to Buenos Aires. This accurately shows the commercial route to and from Buenos Aires during the larger period of the Spanish colonization. It is almost impossible to conceive of such an extreme instance of self-destroying monopoly and short-sighted pohcy as that which shut up from foreign, and even from home, trade for centuries one of the finest ports 94 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC and most privileged maritime situations in the world, purely in the interests of selfish and self-seeking mono polists. No wonder that, in the end, this pohcy of greed estranged the " hijos del pais " from the parent country, and made them refer to the Spaniards from Spain as " godos." No wonder that in the end the " criollos " revolted and for decades regarded their ancestral race as their greatest foes. The inhabitants of the Spanish possessions in America were generally divided into five classes : (1) The Spaniards proper, who were always the dominant class and regarded all the other classes as their inferiors in every respect, and as solely existing for their use and benefit ; (2) the Criollos, or descendants of Europeans, who were allowed to cultivate the land and work mines, but never (or hardly ever) to take any part in the pubhc life ; (3) the Indians, who were regarded as an inferior race incapable of civihzation and of all progress. The previous classes took care that the Indians were never other than servants ; (4) Negroes, who were slaves and, as such, the property of their owners ; and (5) Mixed breeds (Mestizos), who seem to have to the fullest degree justified the well known saying that such have all the vices and none of the virtues of the original races, for says Ulloa, in his " Notas Secretas de America " : " These mestizos consider it a disgrace to employ themselves in cultivating the ground or in other similar labour ; and, in consequence, the towns and cities are full of them, living upon what they can rob or occupied in matters so abominable that we cannot offend the eye by staining our paper with a description of them." In the River Plate territory, the negroes were never a very large part of the com munity, as the absence of agricultural developments prevented their being required as slaves in the same manner as in some of the Northern possessions of Spain. In fact, throughout all the history of Spanish colonization in South America, we find agriculture and its kindred industry, cattle raising, regarded as of much less importance than mining. Actual gold, THE COLONIAL PERIOD 95 or silver, or copper was what the Spaniard wanted, and he regarded any other industry than that of getting at this actual metalhc wealth as of minor importance. In some parts (not in Argentma) a miner was ipso facto a noble and was in the enjoyment of rights and privileges such as no noble in any civihzed country to-day could dream of aspiring to. As Argentma did not possess much workable mineral wealth, especially as compared with Bolivia and some other countries, its inhabitants had to occupy them selves in the relatively despised occupation of raising cattle : and almost all South America was fed by it. It provided cattle for food, and horses and mules as beasts of burden and for war purposes. The only port in Spain which was allowed to trade with the colonies was Seville. As early as 1503, the " Casa de Contratacion " annually fixed the amount and nature of the trade to be done with the respective colonies, the ships which should be allowed to sail, the duties to be paid and practically all other questions relating to colonial trade. From 1503 to 1717, Seville was the only European port with which the Spanish colonies were allowed to trade. In 1717 this monopoly was transferred to Cadiz, which enjoyed it till 1778, when the ports were opened to hberty of commerce. The goods allowed to be sent to the colonies were general stores of food and clothing, furniture, a few agricultural implements and things of this kind ; but no coins or gold or silver ornaments or iron, or horseshoes or pistols were allowed to be sent to any Spanish colony nor were the morals of the colonists allowed to be endangered by the introduction of any books of romance, which treated of profane matters or fables or fictitious history. Of course, Spain got all it could out of the colonies without any restriction, and Seville became proud and wealthy as the result of its monopoly. Not only was Seville the only port aFowed to do business with the Spanish Colonies, but, as a necessary corollary to this, such business could only be done by Spaniards and in Spanish ships. To do business with 96 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC the River Plate, the direct permission of the King or of the Indian Council was requisite. Of course, money was all powerful in the days of old, as now ; and occa sionally a foreigner got special permission to trade. Contraband trading was not unknown, and the chief offenders were the Colonial Governors themselves, whom we find repeatedly accused, on resigning office, with this offence. The usual mode of trading between Spain and her Colonies for the best part of three hundred years was along the trade route just described. Twice a year, a large fleet of galleons left the port of Seville, guarded by a squadron of warships. Their destination was to one of the three ports of Puerto Bello, Cartagena and Vera Cruz, according as their cargoes were for Peni and New Granada, Venezuela, or Mexico. At each of these ports a fair was held twice a year, which lasted forty days. The galleons, after unloading their cargo, and loading the mineral wealth and other exports of the Colonies, returned to the mother country by way of Cuba. These were the treasure ships, so much sought after by the pirates and others in time of peace and by the warships in time of war, on what was then called the Spanish main. Porto or Puerto Bello, in New Granada, was the port at which all the business with Peni and Bolivia (or, as it was then called, Alto Peni) and the other de pendencies of the Viceroyalty of Peni was transacted. The merchandise, consisting of yerba mate or Jesuit's tea from Paraguay, cascarilla, Peruvian bark, and indigo from Peni, hides, alpaca and llama wool, skins of wild animals, etc., from the Rio de la Plata, mineral wealth of all kinds from Potosi and other mines, was all carried on mule back from these several countries, hundreds and thousands of miles to Arica, or Callao, or Guayaquil, and there embarked on the ships, which took this miscellaneous cargo to the port of Panama. There it was all unloaded and again transported on mules across the Isthmus to Porto Bello. Here the " flota " from Spain was already waiting, having unloaded its cargo, which was collected in a big square THE COLONIAL PERIOD 97 or plaza, and protected from the weather by the sails of the ships. Then for forty days went on the great business of buying and selling. The commodore of the " flota " represented the Spanish merchants, whilst the colonists were repre sented by the Governor of Panama. Prices were fixed and all details arranged with the intervention of these authorities. After the forty days were over, the " flota " returned via Cuba, and the mules returned to Panama with the European goods received in ex change. For the convenience of La Plata, Paraguay and Bolivia, there was a fair held at Potosi in the latter country, where the same process of barter was repeated. Of course, this roundabout way of sending and receiving goods, coupled with the fact that very frequently the sailing of the " flota " had to be suspended or its voyage was cut short and its cargo confiscated by the British, Dutch or French warships, caused the price of European articles in Buenos Aires to be twenty times, and more, the value of the same goods in Europe. Unfortunately, also, the authorities were not satisfied with reasonable expenses and the heavy payments levied on the ships and their cargoes combined to raise the value of the latter. The very names of the different " impuestos," collected in one way or another is a formidable hst ; " Almojarifazgo " was a customs duty of seven and a half or five per cent., " averia " was from 6 to 14 per cent, of the cost of the navy which accompanied the flota ; " tonelage " was a real and a half per ton of the cargo ; " almirantazgo " was a small charge on every article embarked, for the benefit of the Admiral. The " quinto " was 20 per cent, of the value of the gold and silver embarked. This went to the King. " Alcabala " was 4 to 20 per cent, on furniture, etc. Besides these were " diezmo," " primicia," " tribute," " media anata," " mesada," " avisos," etc. So that the art of making money for the government and its employees out of the hard work of traders, etc., was not unknown during the Colonial history of the country. Even intercolonial 98 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC commerce was not allowed till 1774, so that one Colony could not sell to another. Naturally, all these prohibitions and taxations led to the same result as high customs duties do to-day, namely smuggling, and, although heavy penalties, even death itself, were imposed in case of detection, still the silver key, then, as now, was all powerful. The authorities allowed themselves to be bribed and the central government itself not infrequently winked at contraband, provided that the consideration offered in the way of fine was big enough. We read of one case of seven hundred thousand piastres ! At first the contraband was in the hands of private individuals ; but, as Spain was constantly at war with Britain, Holland or France, contraband with the Spanish Colonies became a national means of warfare and retaliation, of which the Colonies were not too patriotic to reap the advantage. As there was usually a man- of-war handy to protect the smuggling vessels, they at length began to carry on their trading with impunity to the great disaster of the Spanish treasury. At length, Spain learned wisdom and the Seville and Cadiz monopohes were put an end to. In 1778 a law was promulgated by Carlos III, estabhshing free com merce with all Spanish ports and the Colonies. This, however, did not open the doors to commerce with other nations and it was not till 1809 that Cisneros, the last of the Viceroys, opened the port of Buenos Aires to the ships of all nations. During the Colonial period, the Governors of Buenos Aires hved in a state of constant fear of the British buccaneers, who were ever disputing with Spain for the dominion of the seas. We are accustomed to regard the old sea-dogs of the Ehzabethan period of Enghsh history as heroes of the first rank. Very few British hearts that have not thrilled when reading the stories of Drake and Frobisher, Cavendish and Raleigh and others to whom " the deck, it was their field of fame " and not infre quently " the ocean was their grave." As the scene THE COLONIAL PERIOD 99 of their exploits had not then been recognized as the special property of Great Britain, but was referred to as the " Spanish main " and, as the object of almost all their enterprises was to weaken the power of the proud nation which claimed to possess one half of the world by divine authority, it is not to be wondered at that Spanish historians describe the men whom we endow with all masculine virtues and abihty as pirates and buccaneers. We find, on reading the histories of the different Spanish colonies, that the " mariners of England " were a constant source of dread to the authorities and, although Buenos Aires suffered less from the British corsairs than any of her sister cities in South America, we see its Governors frequently scanning the horizon, dreading to behold the cross of Saint George floating from the masthead of some approaching vessel. The city of Buenos Aires had not been definitely founded for three years before its inhabitants were thrown into consternation by the hated Enghsh ships. Previously to this, Argentina was visited by Admiral Drake in his celebrated voyage round the world. Drake made no stay in the River Plate, which he reached in April, 1578, but, proceeding southwards, called at Port Saint Juhan and Cape Virgin. There was nothing in Argentina to attract his attention, but when he rounded the Cape he changed the name of his flagship, the " Pelican," to the " Golden Hind," and Valparaiso, Arica and Callao were in turn sacked by him. Eight of his crew were left behind at Cape Virgin and travelled all the way to the River Plate only to be killed by the Indians, with the exception of one man called Peter Carden, who managed to escape and ultimately return to his native land in 1580, the year in which Garay founded, for the second time, the city of Buenos Aires. Three years afterwards Edward Fenton or, as the Spanish historians call him, Eduardo Fontana, arrived with three ships in the River Plate. One of the ships was in command of Luke Ward, and another in that of a youth called John Drake, who is repre- 100 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC sented as having been a nephew of Sir Francis Drake. This was not the case, but the terror of the renowned Admiral extended to all of the same surname. The small fleet of Fenton entered the River Plate and landed on Martin Garcia. The ships made no attack on Buenos Aires but went further South. Argentine histories represent the fact that Fenton did not attack the city as a glory for the " Portenos," and even Mariano Moreno refers to the event in the following words : " The defeat of the Enghsh corsair Eduardo Fontana is a proof of the loyalty and energy of Buenos Aires, which was then in the first year of its existence." This . bloodless victory (!) was however not the end of Fenton's expedition, as his ships were wrecked on the coasts of Patagonia, and young Drake and two or three other sailors were captured by the Indians and taken to Buenos Aires, whence they were sent to Lima to be dealt with by the Spanish Inquisition. There is httle doubt that they were burned at the stake. In 1586, the renowned Sir Thomas Cavendish appeared in the River Plate with three vessels which so alarmed the residents of Buenos Aires that all who could left the city. Cavendish made no attack upon the city, no doubt thinking it too small to contain anything worth delaying for. He made the usual round of South America sacking and burning every place he visited and returned home by way of the Pacific. A second expedition by Cavendish, a few years later, visited Port Desire (Puerto Deseado), but made no other stay in the country. Some of his ships mutinied and Cavendish himself died on his journey home. One of the ships which deserted him was under the command of Captain John Davis, who on the 12th of August, 1592, dis covered the Falkland Islands. Davis remained on the coast of Patagonia for two years, where he dis covered the river Santa Cruz. He ultimately returned to England with a crew of only 15 men as survivors of the 76 with which he had left that country. These had wonderful stories to tell of their sufferings in Patagonia, whose inhabitants they described as giants. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 101 There was little to attract the corsairs in Patagonia, and though many expeditions passed the Straits of Magellan on their way to the west coast they did no harm to Buenos Aires or its inhabitants. The episodes just described took place while Buenos Aires was still under the Government of Asuncion; but in 1669, during the Colonial period, we read of the visit of Sir John Marbrough, who was despatched by the British Government to open up friendly relations with Chile. Amongst his officers was the celebrated Cloudesley Shovel. Marbrough landed at Port Desire, where he hoisted the British flag and formally took possession of the country. He stayed some time in Patagonia and then proceeded to Chile where some of his officers were treacherously arrested by the Spanish Governor. In 1765, Captain Macnamara made an unsuccessful attack on Colonia, in the Banda Oriental, the possession of which was at that time disputed by the Spaniards and the Portuguese. Unfortunately Macnamara 's ship, the " Lord Chve," took fire and most of the crew perished, Macnamara himself being drowned. The survivors were taken into the interior where they settled and formed families whose descendants are not unknown in Argentine history. Macnamara's sword was found in the river by a Colonia fisherman many years afterwards. Port Desire and Port Juhan were practically treated during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and even later as practically British posses sions, and were used as ports of call by the numerous expeditions of all kinds, lawful and unlawful, which proceeded to the west coast. As Mr. Herbert Gibson remarked in a lecture on " Colonial South America," delivered some years ago, " when the history of the periods we have mentioned comes to be written the record of the Enghsh will not be one redolent of the odour of sanctity, as, after the heroic age had become one of commerce and the hero travellers had given place to a more mercenary genera tion, the Enghsh are to be found prominent in the 102 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC slave trade." In recognition of the generous treatment by England of Spain in the Treaty of Utrecht, England obtained the right of supplying Spanish America with negro slaves. This traffic received the name of the " asiento " ; and for some time the Government sold the right of " asiento " to a company called the South Seas Company, which quickly concluded arrangements with the Governor of Buenos Aires by which a very considerable amount of contraband business was carried on at the same time as the slave trade. A special deposit for slaves was estabhshed in the space now bounded by Calles Arenales, Suipacha, Plaza del Retiro and Paseo de Juho. From this deposit the negroes were extracted in lots by their purchaser who took them off in gangs to the interior. A tax was levied on the slave traders of 112 pesos per ton. Ten negroes of an average height of 5 feet 3 inches (exclusive of defective specimens) were reckoned as a ton. The negroes were referred to as " piezas," and it is not at all unlikely that the expression " una linda pieza," applied even now colloquially to human beings in Buenos Aires, is a rehc of those bad old days. From a historical point of view it is not very long since this infamous traffic ceased. A house in the neighbourhood of Lamis has been pointed out to the writer as having been used as a depot, and the arrange ments for confining and chaining up the gangs of slaves were quite distinct. According to Mr. Gibson, General Las Heras, whose remains were brought back in triumph to Buenos Aires not very long ago, accom panied the last slave team over the Andes. It is an honour to Argentina that, although the practical cessation of the slave trade was not an immediate result of the Great Revolution of 1810, the leaders of that emancipatory movement placed that humani tarian project as one of the prominent objects of their endeavours, thereby showing a marked advance on the actions of their forefathers who, from the time of Irala, had regarded the negroes and Indians as slaves and beasts of burden. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 103 It is quite unnecessary in such a historical outline as the present to give details of the successive Governors who exercised the supreme power in Buenos Aires during the Colonial period. There are, however, two or three events which are of interest. Such are the foundation and extinction of the Jesuit Missions in the Argentine territory of Misiones and the long struggle between Spain and Portugal for the possession of the Banda Oriental or Eastern bank of the River Plate, a struggle which was the cause of serious questions between the two nations and which even now has not ceased to exist, although, so far, of late years, the field of action has been diplomacy and not an open resort to arms. Still, in order to understand the diplomatic rivalry between Brazil and Argentina for the supreme influence in Uruguayan affairs, it is neces sary to go back to Colonial times and learn of the struggle for the possession of the Colonia del Sacra mento. It is not necessary to be a Roman Cathohc to appreciate the value of the self-denying labours of the Jesuits in Argentina and Paraguay. The immensity of those labours is proved by the fact that a whole territory still retains the name " Misiones," from the colonies and missions established there by the Order of Jesus. Doubtless, at some future date, the iconoclastic spirit wilPblot out this evidence of the past and sub stitute therefor the name of some general or pohtician ; but, at the present, the most northerly territory of the country bears the name consecrated by the blood and the sweat of the good Fathers, who cut them selves off from all the advantages of civilization to instruct the " poor Indian with untutored mind," whom his Spanish conquerors regarded as specially created to serve them in every possible way in which human slaves and animal beasts of burden could contribute to the pleasure or necessities of a superior race. At a very early period, under the tender mercies of Irala, the Indians, under the name of mcomiendas, began to be divided amongst the 104 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Spanish settlers and used by them as they thought proper. They were worse treated than slaves, for slaves cost money, whereas Indians only required to be hunted down. The fourth Adelantado, Vera y Aragon, saw the cruelty of the system but was power less to stay it. He, however, sought to mitigate it by allowing the Franciscans and Jesuits to establish missions amongst the tribes, and, in 1586, San Fran cisco Solano headed a number of Franciscan mis sionaries to Tucuman and three Jesuit priests, Juan Solonio (or Labonio), a Spaniard, Manuel Ortega, a Portuguese, and Thomas Fields (or Filds), a Scotsman, arrived after various adventures in Paraguay. These Jesuit Fathers at once went amongst the Indians and so gained their esteem by their self-denying exer tions that they built a chapel and house for the mission at Villa Rica. A few years later we find the Jesuits estabhshed in Asuncion with a college and other insti tutions under the control of Father Fields, who, with his companions named, was said to have been instru mental in converting to Christianity two hundred thousand Indians. When Hernandarias de Saavedra was in power, before the separation of Paraguay and Argentina, he authorised the Jesuits to estabhsh definite missions and gave them the territory of Guayra, as a special province in which to estabhsh their dominion. A special concession was made, and afterwards con firmed by Royal Cedula, that no one should be allowed to touch or take any Guarani Indians who belonged to a mission estabhshed by the Jesuits. In this way all Indians registered as under the rule of the order were completely free from the danger of being treated as slaves or encomiendas so long as they hved and worked in the territory of the mission. The first regular missionary colony estabhshed under these conditions was that of Loreto, in 1610, the heads of the Jesuits being Fathers Mazzela and Cattaldino. At first the Jesuits limited their missions to La Guayra but, being molested by the inhabitants of San Pablo in Brazil, they removed further South THE COLONIAL PERIOD 105 to the present site of Misiones and on the banks of the rivers Parana and Uruguay founded the missionary colonies of Corpus, San Ignacio (see illustration No. 21), Mini, and others. Each mission had as essential elements a college and a rural district, the practice of agriculture being the basis of the system. Around a central plaza or square in each settlement, were built the church, the college and the residences of the Fathers. Leading off from this square were long streets of houses, all perfectly clean and white-washed, each with its appropriate fowlyard and domestic buildings. Outside the limits of the " town," the surrounding land was divided into chacras or farms, which the Indian settlers were obhged to cultivate. The priests made the work of cultivation as much a pleasure as a toil, as frequent hohdays marked every stage of the agricultural labour. The Jesuits used the native language of the Indians, Guarani, in all the business of the mission. The prayers, hymns, catechisms, and stories of the Saints were all translated into that language and the Indians heard the story of the Gospel in the tongue wherein they were born. Father Antonio Luis Montoya very early wrote a grammar of the language, which is still considered a marvel of erudition. The Indians were taught all kinds of useful trades such as carpentering, tanning, weaving, etc., so that the mission became a very independent institution and needed very httle assistance from outside. Even music was not neglected ; the violin, the flute and other instruments were taught ; but the line was drawn at the guitar which, strange to say, was not allowed. Each mission was under the control of four Fathers with well defined duties. The Rector was the supreme head of the individual mission ; the Doc- trinero was the priest and schoolmaster, teaching, as well as the usual school course, the mechanical and other arts taught in the colony. The " dispensero " or " economico " looked after the food and clothing as well as the collection of the cloth woven by the women of the colony. Of this he kept what was 106 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC necessary and sent the rest to the Missionary Capital Candelaria (now Posadas) to be sold for the benefit of the entire mission. A fourth official, the Coadjutor, was an interpreter and go-between in the relations of the colony and was generally a young priest with a special aptitude for learning languages. All the various missionary colonies were under the control of a Father Superior who hved at Candelaria. The Indians them selves were appointed to the internal or municipal offices of each colony, such as those of alcalde and regidor, and, although their authority was probably more theoretical than real, the possession of these offices was eagerly sought after. The Jesuits were the first to introduce the art of printing into South America. The types were of wood and made by the Indians and the examples still remaining of their work are of a very fine order of merit. The Fathers did not neglect the defence of the colony against the " gauchos malos " and others who tried from time to time to attack the missions. The Indians were well drilled and taught the use of arms, and on more than one occasion were victorious in a set battle. The cultivation of the soil was, however, the chief object of the missions, " Yerba mate," or, as it is called in Europe, Jesuits' tea, cotton, tobacco, timber and many similar industries were a source of great wealth to the colony, and as the latter grew richer, the comforts of its members increased. Hospitals for the sick, convalescent homes for women, even " creches," or nurseries for the children, were estab lished and everything was of the best character and absolutely clean. The clothing of the Indian was white and the head was protected by a straw hat with broad brim. Naturally, the real government was in the hands of the Jesuit Fathers ; but the lot of a dweller in the mission was vastly superior to that of an Indian left to the tender mercies of the Spanish Colonists. Such was the Arcadia established and maintained for nearly two hundred years and of which the only THE COLONIAL PERIOD 107 remains to-day are the ruins of churches in the territory of Misiones and an old printing press preserved in the historical Museum of Buenos Aires. The causes which led to the expulsion of the Jesuits and the consequent destruction of their work, belong rather to European History than to that of America. About the middle of the eighteenth century there was an anti-Jesuit epidemic which spread over Portugal, France, Spain and even Italy, and was not extinguished until the Pope Clement XIV in July, 1773, declared the Order at an end by a Bull Dominus et Redemptor noster. Prior to this all members of the Order had been expelled from Spain and the King, Charles III, had determined to rid all his dominions of the presence of the hated Order. It must not, of course, be supposed that the Jesuits had limited their attention in the Rio de la Plata to the colonies in Misiones. In Buenos Aires, the Jesuits had a fine collection of buildings in the square bounded by Bolivar, Alsina, Peni and Moreno with the church and college of San Ignacio. Here were 36 priests. They had also a smaller college outside the city, called Belen. Amongst the priests in San Ignacio, was one Leopold Gartner, who is described as a native of Ireland. In Cordoba, the Jesuits were very powerful and the Colegio Maximo in that city was regarded as the head of the government of the Order. Amongst the priests attached to this college were two Englishmen, one Thomas Falconer, a native of Manchester, and another, Thomas Bruno or Brown, a native of York. From the small beginnings which we have already described, the Jesuits had increased in number and importance until they had become the most widely extended and most influential of the rehgious Orders in the country. They had friends and protectors in the Court and in the judicial bodies, to such an extent that they were practically all powerful. They had insinuated themselves amongst the wealthy people and even amongst the common people, until they had aroused the almost hatred on the part of the other religious Orders, whom they treated 108 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC with undisguised contempt. Amongst no section of the community was the news of their expulsion more welcome than amongst the Franciscans, Dominicans and other Orders, which had had to take a very back seat indeed in the colony. We need no further evidence of this than the letters sent to the King of Spain by the Bishops of Buenos Aires and Tucuman. According to thelBishop of Buenos Aires, the yoke of the Jesuits had been insupportable. He says, "on all sides I hear but one opinion, and that is that every one feels as if a great load had been rolled away." The Jesuits had held every one, from the Senora to the lowest of her slaves, in such a state of subjection by means of the confessional that the condition of even the best famihes had become one of abject slavery to the Fathers of the Order. They would not allow their flock to confess to any priest who was not one of them selves. They had described the Fathers of the Fran ciscans as piojosos (lousy), the Dominicans as necios (fools) and those of the convent of La Merced were beneath contempt. If a Jesuit Father had gone into the confessional box of another Order, he had pre tended to clean it out first, as if even the dust of another priest were contamination. Naturally, the Jesuits were not popular with the other priests when they treated them in this manner. The Bishop of Tucuman wrote to the King after the expulsion thanking him heartily for the great favour which he had conferred upon the whole of his dominions by freeing them from the insupportable weight of the power of the Jesuits. The Bishop of Buenos Aires was very much offended, and rightly so, because in the books of the churches which he had visited in his pastoral capacity and in which he had noted his recommendations to the clergy, the Jesuits had inserted marginal notes, all of the most uncomplimentary character, both with respect to the Bishop's recommendations and to the Bishop himself. The Bishop had a hst of these irreverent notes extracted by a notary, which hst he sent to Count Aranda. But besides these personal questions No. 9. Observatory, La Plata. No. 10. Meteorological Station, South Orkney Islands. THE COLONIAL PERIOD 111 between the Jesuits and the other Orders, there is no doubt that they had interfered in the government of the country, and that the negotiations between Spain and Portugal, relating to the question of Colonia, had been made ineffectual by reason of the machinations of the Fathers. The governor Zeballos was a great protector of the Order and therefore, for the purpose of carrying out the expulsion, Don Francisco Bucar- relh y Ursua was sent from Spain. There was no hesitation on his part in carrying out the decree of expulsion in the most thorough manner. Anyone who wishes to read the full details of the expulsion can do so in the volume pubhshed in 1872 in Madrid, by Don Francisco Javier Brabo, who hved for more than thirty years in Argentina and made a copious collection of documents relating to the events I am describing. This volume, which I have before me at the present time, contains the various reports sent from time to time by Bucarrelh to the Spanish minister Aranda. The expulsion of the Jesuits in Buenos Aires took place in July, 1767. It was carried out by Bucarrelh in person. In Montevideo, Cordoba, Santa Fe, and Corrientes the expulsion was carried out in the same month, so that, by the end of September, Bucarrelh was able to inform Aranda that he had arrested 271 Jesuits, and that he was remitting them to Spain in the gunboat " Venus " and in smaller vessels, the " San Esteban," the " Pajaro," the "Principe," the "San Fernando," and " Nuestra Senora de Ios Remedios." Later, Bucarrelh took troops with him and completed the task entrusted to him during the following year. All was not so easy for him in the provinces and Misiones as it had been in Buenos Aires, as the Jesuits had many and powerful protectors, who threw all kinds of obstacles in the way of the seizure of the property of the Order. The Indians were persuaded that all was being done out of the goodness of the King's nature to free them from the servitude in which they had been held by the Jesuits ; and the poor untutored savages beheved 112 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC it, to such an extent that the caciques and corregidores of the thirty-three Jesuit colonies drew up and signed in their own language an effusive letter of thanks to the King for his kindness. The poor wretches only too soon found out their mistake. It is amusing to see with what care the priests were sent to Spain and what a collection of documents was necessary to record their transmission. The other important series of events which occurred during the Colonial epoch centred round the httle colony of El Sacramento, on the Eastern bank of the River Plate, almost opposite to Buenos Aires and now known as La Colonia. In a previous chapter mention has been made of the Bull of Pope Alexander VI dividing the world between Spain and Portugal. The Portuguese colonisation of Brazil was a result of this division. In the year 1680 the House of Braganza, having, by the aid of Great Britain, become firmly seated on the throne of Portugal, determined to extend the territory of Brazil so as to include the eastern half, or Banda Oriental, of the estuary of the River Plate. Accordingly, the reigning King of Portugal, Pedro II, ordered the Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Don Manuel de Lobo, to occupy the island of San Gabriel and the adjoining coast already indicated by British sailors as a strategic position of importance in protecting the much desired contraband business with the Spanish colonies. Lobo at once carried out the orders of the King nor would he desist in spite of the repeated warnings of the Governor of Buenos Aires, Don Jose de Garro, who claimed the whole of the Banda Oriental as belong ing to Spain. As warnings had no effect and there were no cables in those days, Garro got together an army of 110 Portenos, 60 Santafecinos, 50 Cordobeses and 3,000 Indians from the Jesuit Missions and attacked the fortress of Colonia del Sacramento with such good results that Lobo was taken prisoner with all his troops and ammunition, and brought in triumph by the Maese de Campo, Don Antonio de Vera Mojica, to Buenos THE COLONIAL PERIOD 113 Aires. Lobo was sent as a prisoner to Lima, the capital of the Viceroyalty, where he shortly afterwards died. The question of the ownership of the River Plate was being diplomatically discussed between the Spanish and Portuguese Governments, when the news of Governor Garro's coup de main arrived. The Portu guese King professed extreme indignation and demanded the immediate restoration of the Colony, the rebuilding of the fortress and the punishment of Garro for ven turing to attack the fortress on his own account. So fiery was the indignation of Portugal and, what was more important, so strong were her alliances, that Spain had to knuckle down and sign the treaty of Badajoz (1681), giving in to Portugal to the fullest extent. The Governor Garro was transferred to Chile to satisfy the exigencies of the Lusitanians. By the treaty it was, however, decided that the main question of the real boundary between Spain and Portugal in the Plate district should be determined by arbitration. But possession is nine parts of the law and Portugal did not trouble any more about arbitration, simply sticking to the fortress when restored according to the treaty. In 1700, the war of the Spanish succession broke out, and, as Portugal sided with the enemies of Spain, Colonia was regarded as a hostile fort and might have become very useful to the allies in case of any attack on Buenos Aires. Seeing this, the Viceroy of Peru, Count of Monteloa, ordered the Governor of Buenos Aires, Valdez Inclan, not to wait till the fort should be made use of by the allies, but to cross over and destroy it at once. Accordingly, on October 17th, 1704, Captain Garcia Ros with 1,600 criollos and 4,000 Indians besieged the fortress. The siege lasted as long as that of Tyre under Alexander the Great, namely, six months, at the end of which time the Portuguese abandoned the fortress with all their arms and ammunition. The war in Europe was put to an end by the Treaty of Utrecht and by the aid of British influence La Colonia was again returned to Portugal. The Portu- 114 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC guese again in possession of the fortress used it as a centre for smuggling and, acting under the old principle, " much would have more," determined to build another fortress where Montevideo now stands. With this object, in 1720, they landed arms and men and expressed their intention of occupying the sites now known as Montevideo and Maldonado. But the Governor of Buenos Aires was " vivo " and he determined to fore stall the Portuguese. He sent for troops to Tucuman and Paraguay and kept the Portuguese so confined in their movements that in the end they went away to La Colonia and left Zavala master of the situation. He determined to found a city himself and asked a certain Senor Alzaybar to bring over some colonists from the Canary Islands and Spain. These delayed their arrival so long that Zavala sent over six families, numbering 33 persons, from Buenos Aires, and with these began the history of the city of Montevideo in 1726. As frequently happened in history and even happens in our own time, a man's foresight is not appreciated as it deserves and the only reward Zavala obtained from a grateful government was dismissal from his governorship. He was succeeded by Salcedo, who soon found that Zavala was right and that, with Colonia in possession of the Portuguese, smuggling was inevit able. He so impressed the Home Government that, in the end, he received orders to attack and take the fortress. This, however, he failed to do. The Portu guese had made it impregnable against any likely attacks from Buenos Aires. In 1750, the Spanish and Portuguese statesmen arranged a secret treaty of exchange, whereby the Colonia del Sacramento was to be handed over to Spain in exchange for certain other territory in Rio Grande and Misiones ; but the opposition in the Rio de la Plata to the carrying out of this treaty was so great that the Governor for the time being, Zeballos, suspended the execution of its provisions as far as possible, although the Portuguese stuck to all they could get hold of. The secret treaty THE COLONIAL PERIOD 115 was annulled, but a new war broke out known to history as the " Seven Years' War " (1756-1763) and Zeballos lost no time in attacking and this time taking La Colonia from the Portuguese. It was during the occupation of Zeballos of La Colonia that the Enghsh Admiral Macnamara tried to retake the fortress, when his vessel took fire and he and his crew perished. The Enghsh attached great importance to the possession of La Colonia and declared that its occupation by Zeballos was a distinct violation of the Treaty of Utrecht. When, therefore, terms of peace were made at the close of the " Seven Years' War " by the Treaty of Paris, La Colonia was again ordered to be returned to Portugal (1763). Another attack was made on the fortress in 1777 by the same Zeballos, who again took possession of it after a siege of five days. He had barely accomphshed this when he was told to suspend operations as the Treaty of San Ildefonso had been signed providing for a boundary settlement to be carried out. By virtue of this, La Colonia and the whole of the Banda Oriental was definitely declared to be Spanish territory and the inhabitants of Colonia have since that time been able to rest in peace, except during one short interval which belongs to a later period of history. There is one other incident of the Colonial period, which, as it affected Great Britain, must be mentioned. About the year 1770 a colony of Enghsh settlers was established at Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands. These islands though discovered by Davis in 1592, were first colonised by a French colonel named Bougain ville who gave them the name of Malosines from the French port of Saint Malo — hence the Spanish name Malvinas. The French, however, sold the islands to the Spaniards and abandoned them. The British finding them abandoned colonised them, and when Bucarrelh, the governor of Buenos Aires, heard that the Enghsh colony was established at Port Egmont he at once advised the Spanish Government and, without waiting for instructions, sent a naval commander named 116 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Madariaga to turn the settlers out. The British Govern ment protested to the Spanish Government and as a result of the negotiations the settlers were reinstated in their rights, the British flag re-hoisted, and an apology offered to the British Government for the acts of Bucarrelh, who for having exhibited trop de zdle was withdrawn from the government of Buenos Aires. The Spanish declared that this act of restitution was without prejudice to their claim to the islands, which was the subject of negotiations and, it is said, a secret treaty. The islands were afterwards abandoned by the settlers ; but a formal declaration of British posses sion was left on the island on a leaden plate. The islands were left abandoned till about the year 1829 when the Argentine authorities, who then claimed the islands as the heirs of Spain, considering them an integral part of the Spanish territory in South America, although they are not on the continental shelf, gave certain fishing rights to one Luis Vernet, who, in exercise of these rights, arrested some American ships which were found fishing within the limits of his concession. This action caused an exchange of correspondence between the Argentine and United States Governments and an attack by an American gunboat upon the Argentine settlers in Port Soledad. Whilst this supposed violation of Argentine rights was being diplomatically arranged, the Argentines sent the gunboat "Sarandi" to guard the islands. Then followed the appearance of the British man-of-war the " Clio," whose commander, Mr. Onslow, took possession of the islands by virtue of the former British possession and declaration of ownership. The Argentine Govern ment protested against this action, but Lord Palmerston rephed that the islands belonged to Great Britain and that the abandonment in 1774 had not invalidated British rights which had been specially preserved, as before de scribed. Since that date, the Argentines have always claimed the islands as Argentine territory and in all maps of the country these islands figure as part of the national possessions. The British Government considers the THE COLONIAL PERIOD 117 matter closed and refuses to reopen it ; but Argentina maintains that the possession by Great Britain of these islands is unlawful and is careful to do nothing which would even apparently recognise the rights of the present possessors. Some time ago, it was proposed to run a line of Argentine ships which should call at the Falklands ; but the Government refused to sanction this, lest that act should be construed as waiving Argentine rights and recently, when a hst of British colonies, which included the Falklands, was forwarded to the Argentine Government, with reference to the ratification of the Postal Convention of Rome, the Argentine Foreign Minister sent a formal protest claiming that the Malvinas were de soberania Argentina. A question was asked as to this in the British Parlia ment and the reply was given in accordance with what the British Government holds to be the rights of the matter. This is, in short, the position of the Falkland Islands question, and explains why these islands appear in all Argentine maps and geographies as Argentine territory " unlawfully retained by Great Britain." CHAPTER VI THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS (1776-1810) Establishment and Jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty — The Viceroys — Reforms of Vertiz — The Consulado and Manuel Belgrano — The First Newspapers — The First and Second British Invasions — Treatment of Liniers — Preparations for the Revolution— The 25th of May, 1810. The gradually increasing importance of Buenos Aires and the necessity of separating it from the distant authority of Peni compelled the Spanish Government to take the important step of raising it into a Vice- royalty and, by a royal decree, in 1776, King Charles III sent Don Pedro de Zeballos, a former Governor, back to the Plate as first Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata. The extent of the territory under his rule included the whole of the present Argentine Repubhc, most of what is now Bolivia, then called Alto Peru, the whole of Paraguay, and the Banda Oriental. Thus the three old provinces of Cuyo, Tucuman and the Rio de la Plata became merged into the larger Viceroyalty and the latter extended over more than a fourth of the South American Continent. The Viceroy was not by any means an absolute ruler. Not only was he subject to the home authorities, but he had to con sult and act in accordance with the decisions of two Juntas, that of War and that of Finance. The latter fixed the annual expenditure of the Viceroyalty : and the Viceroy could not outstep the limits of such expenditure assigned to him. He was President of the Judicial Court but had only a casting vote. All his decrees were subject to appeal either to the Judges of the " Audiencia " or to the Indian Council. Muni cipal affairs were managed by Cabildos. 118 THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 119 The territory of the Viceroyalty was divided into Intendencias, of which these of Cordoba, Salta and Buenos Aires corresponded to the limits of the Argentine Repubhc as we have it to-day. From these three Intendencias, the Provinces, as they are now called, have been gradually formed, as shown in Chapter III. Over each Intendencia was a subordinate officer called an Intendente. The first Viceroy appointed to the new Viceroyalty created by Charles III in 1776 was Don Pedro de Zeballos, the same person who had been removed from the governorship of the old Province of the Rio de la Plata, in order to give Bucarrelh a free hand with the expulsion of the Jesuits. One of the first acts of the new Viceroy was to open the port of Buenos Aires to all ships and cargoes proceeding from Spanish ports. This radical change in the policy hitherto followed with respect to the port was, in the first instance, intended to let in a large quantity of goods stored up in the town of La Colonia, which had now become definitely Spanish property. The decree of the Viceroy was approved by' Charles III and the real existence of Buenos Aires as a port may be said to date from the year 1778, when the royal Cedula was signed. Zeballos was a strong man and would doubtless have still further extended the influ ence of the port, but he fell foul of his Portuguese neighbours on the Brazihan frontier, whom he compelled to keep within their own bounds, and the Portuguese Government requested the King of Spain to recall him. Charles III was weak enough to accede to this request. Zeballos was, however, succeeded by another strong and enterprising Viceroy, Don Juan Jose de Vertiz, who was a former governor of the Province of the Rio de la Plata. Vertiz, as soon as he seized the reins of Government, determined to apply the goods con fiscated from the Jesuits in founding institutions of education and charity. During his former residence as Governor in the city, he had endeavoured to estabhsh a secondary college so as to provide the necessary instruction for the youth of the country to enable 120 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC them to pass to the still higher studies of a university, which he also intended to estabhsh. On his return to Buenos Aires with the increased authority of a Viceroy, he at once took up the threads of his former plans and, without delay, established the College of San Carlos in the building which of recent years has served for the Colegio Nacional, in Calle Bohvar. The results of the action of Vertiz were at once apparent. Many of the pioneers of Argentine freedom received their education in the College of San Carlos and, as the historian Lopez says, " Our country has never had a generation more united, more instructed and more steadfast and strong than the first generation formed in that college. The men of that generation were distinguished by one characteristic feature, that of personal honour, which gave to all of them the physiognomy of a grand and noble family of patriots." The official name of the college was El Real Convictorio Carolino. Its course of instruction was based upon a profound classical education. Whatever may be said of the study of the dead languages or of the relative advantages of a classical and a modern course, there is no doubt whatever that in Argentina as in England, many great men owed their ideas of patriotism, their nobility of thought and their eloquence of language to having drunk deeply of the Pierian spring of classical learning. When we think of the really great men who rocked the cradle of Argentina, when it emerged as a free nation, and com pare them with the rising generation to-day, we ask in amazement, " Where is the Pyrrhic phalanx gone ? " and we cannot but ascribe the degeneration to the difference between the thorough classical training which the Proceres de la Patria received and the " bit of everything " which has been the ideal of the edu cational programmes of the last decade. The first Rector of the Colegio de San Carlos was Canon Juan B. Maciel, one of the most learned men of his time. Vertiz was not neglectful of the amuse ments of the people and he established a theatre or THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 121 " Casa de Comedias " on the site then known as the " Rancheria " of the Jesuits (really the place where the slaves were confined) and now occupied by the Central Market. Above the stage he placed the inscription " Ridendo corrigo mores." Although the Bishop opposed him in his designs for correcting morals by the theatre, the Viceroy kept him at arm's length and did his best to obtain good companies to amuse the pubhc. Unfortunately, the explosion of a powder magazine, caused by a flash of hghtning, produced a panic in the city and, as some twenty persons were killed, the priests took advantage of this to preach from the pulpit that this accident was a judgment of God for the act of the Viceroy in estabhshing the theatre. The Viceroy was a man of action and he had the priests who preached against him arrested and marched off to cool their zeal in the distant provinces of Rioja. The Bishop insulted the Viceroy in every possible way in the Church, until the latter was obhged to make use of his supreme authority to shut the Bishop's mouth. Other reforms introduced by Vertiz were the paving of the two central streets, now Florida- Peru and San Martin-Bohvar, and the establishment of pubhc hghting. He founded a tribunal of " Pro- tomedicato," the origin of the existing Faculty of Medicine. He planted the present Paseo de Juho with trees and named it the Alameda. He re-organized the Poor House and Orphan Asylum, estabhshed the Casa de Exp6sitos and organized the working of the recently opened port. He sent the pilot Villarino to study the territory of the Rio Negro and carry on the investigations commenced many years before by La Piedra and Viedma. In short, it would be difficult to imagine a more worthy Viceroy than Juan Jose Vertiz. He remained in office till 1783, when feeling the need of rest, he begged the King to accept his resignation, as soon as the formal enquiry into his administration (juicio de residencia) could be made. The King acceded to his request and was so satisfied 122 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC with the manner in which he had discharged his duties that he reheved him from the usual enquiry and declared him to be " above reproach." Vertiz was succeeded as Viceroy by Nicolas del Campo, Marquis de Loreto, a man of a very upright personal character, but unbending, haughty, narrow- minded, supremely contemptuous of the American colonists, and therefore unpopular. He was afraid lest the doctrines which were spreading over Europe, as the concomitants of the revolutionary movement in France, should spread to the Spanish colonies and, like many others, thought that ignorance of these ideas should be secured by restraining the spread of educa tion. He therefore deliberately set himself to undo all the work of his predecessors so far as educational schemes were concerned. He was well educated him self — in fact he might have been called an erudite man — but he considered that it was preferable for the colonists to be steeped in ignorance rather than run the risk of contamination by revolutionary views. He was not the first to consider that the lower classes should be kept in ignorance to secure the domination of their " betters," and in this way to show ignorance of the all prevailing nature of truth. He was in a perpetual conflict with the Bishop over questions of patronage, and the use of the regaha ; but what made his tenure of the office specially unpopular was his persecution of Dr. Maciel, the learned Canon who was referred to in the last " Episode " as the first Rector of the College of San Carlos. The Viceroy, who was annoyed at Maciel's popularity and at his defence of the ecclesiastical authorities, sent him in exile to Montevideo, which had received the unpopular and expressive name of the " Presidiario." Here Maciel died before the decision of the King, to whom he appealed and who decided in his favour, arrived. Maciel's relatives commenced an action against the Viceroy, who was compelled to pay heavy damages. This story, which is told in full in Dr. Arturo Reynal O'Connor's " Las Poetas Argentinas," shows clearly THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 123 the character of the Marquis de Loreto, which was also evidenced in other instances, as in the persecution of Coronel D. Ignacio Flores, of Chuquisaca. Shortly before his term ended, he sent a mihtary expedition to the Rio Negro against the Indians ; but this expedi tion, under the command of Dr. Juan de la Piedra, was defeated (1789). The only other event of im portance which signalised this Viceroyalty was the installation in Buenos Aires of the Audiencia Pretorial del Rio de la Plata as a High Court of Appeal for all the territory as far North as Salta. This Court, with the Viceroy as President, became the chief judicial authority in all administrative and pohtical matters throughout the whole extent of the Viceregal juris diction. In 1789 the Marquis of Loreto was replaced by Don Nicolas de Arredondo. Arredondo was a man of honourable reputation who, though he did nothing very remarkable, fulfilled the duties of his position with abihty and success. He contributed very greatly to breaking down the com mercial isolation which had been so notable a feature of the administration of Buenos Aires as a colony ; in fact, the viceroyalty of Arredondo is the beginning of the rise of Buenos Aires as one of the leading ports of the world. The elevation of Buenos Aires into the capital of a Viceroyalty, and therefore politically equal to Lima, had entirely freed it from dependence on Peni and the commerce of the interior of South America began to find its way in an ever increasing current through the port of the River Plate. The British ships, which had a practical monopoly of the slave trade, obtained the privilege of carrying the produce of the country on their return voyages. During the years 1792-93 fifty-three vessels arrived in the port from Spain, and 47 returned laden with produce. In 1794 more than a hundred vessels entered the port from Cadiz, Barcelona and Corunna, and there was a large trade in hides with Havannah. In the same year, owing largely to the representations of the Viceroy and to the petitions of the merchants 124 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC of the city, the King of Spain, by a royal Cedula authorised the creation of a Consulate in Buenos Aires, similar to the Consulates aheady existing in Lima and Mexico. The establishment of the Buenos Aires Con sulate was the means of introducing into pubhc life a youth who wrote his name large in the pages of Argentine History, Manuel Belgrano, who was born in Buenos Aires on the 3rd of June, 1770, and received his early education in the halls of the college of San Carlos. He went to Spain to study law at Salamanca and must have attracted the attention of the Govern ment as he was appointed, without sohcitation on his part, the first Secretary of the Consulate. He accepted the office and held the post for many years, although by no means sympathising with the views of the majority of the men who formed the governing body. These were Spanish merchants, who had no sympathy with the native born Argentines. It is interesting to read about the social conditions prevailing in Buenos Aires at the beginning of last century. There was no love lost, as the saying is, between the Spanish merchants and their retinues and the true sons of the soil. The latter were inde pendent in the extreme and essentially democratic in their tendencies and thoughts. They despised titles and social differences, and were so independent that even the Viceroy could not get a criollo coachman for love or money. One of the writers of the period quoted by Mitre says : " There is such a degree of estrangement and even aversion between the criollos, or sons of Spaniards born in the country, and the Euro peans and Spanish Government that I have seen it in evidence between father and son, and husband and wife, when one was European and the other criollo." The newly elected Consulate was in favour of monopohes and anxious to keep all the shipping trade of the country in the hands of the Spaniards, but it was a powerful agent in improving internal conditions. Amongst the improvements undertaken by the Consu late was the erection of a wharf, the opening up of THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 125 roads through the country, the mtroduction of all kinds of machinery, the establishment of hghthouses, etc. By the advice of Belgrano, also prizes were offered for industrial and agricultural improvements. Two institutions were founded by the Consulate through the earnest and untiring zeal of Belgrano, namely, a drawing school and a school for the study of nautical science. For three years these did good work ; but one fine day an order was received from the Court of Spain to close them at once as being " mere luxuries." This scandalous act of the mother country is a striking example of the manner in which Spain at that time understood the question of colonial government. Can it be wondered at that there was so httle sympathy between the Criollos and those whom they contemp tuously began to call the Godos ? In 1795 the able Viceroy Arredondo gave up the office, which degenerated into the hands of a man whom Argentine historians call the " imbecile " Melo de Portugal. Melo was a man about whose personal character all Argentine historians are in agreement. When he came to Buenos Aires he was aheady worn out, not merely by age, but by the vicious hfe which he had led. He had a census taken of the inhabitants of his Viceroyalty which showed that in the territory of Buenos Aires there were 107,832 inhabitants, and in that of Paraguay 97,480. At this time there was resident in the country, Don Felix de Azara, a noted naturalist, whose writings are consulted with interest even at the present date. Melo requested him to undertake a journey of exploration in the district of the Rio Negro, a report of which he pubhshed in Paris in 1809. On the death of Melo, he was succeeded for two years by Don Antonio Olaguier Fehu, the governor of Montevideo, who in 1799 had to give up the post to the Marques de Aviles, who devoted him self for a couple of years to the improvement of the capital, the organization of a pohce service and the paving of the streets. On June 1st, 1801, Aviles was made Viceroy of Peni, and Don Joaquin del Pino H 126 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC became Viceroy of Buenos Aires. His most notable acts were the estabhshment of a chair of Anatomy and a School of Chemistry and Medicine. The first professor of Anatomy was Don Antonio Fabre. In consequence, doubtless, of the want of printing facilities, the city had so far been deprived of anything in the nature of newspapers, but the printing press, which Vertiz had caused to be brought from C6rdoba and set up in connection with the " Casa de Ninos Ex- positos," although very deficient in type and material, was still sufficient to enable a newspaper to be printed and, accordingly, the government of Aviles marked the initiation of that journalistic activity which now so much distinguishes the city. The first newspaper pubhshed in Buenos Aires was the " Telegrafo Mercantil, Rural, Poltico, Econ6mico e Historiografo del Rio de la Plata." It was founded in 1801 by Don Francisco Antonio Cabello, who had previously run a paper in Lima called the " Mercurio Peruano." In this latter paper, he had prophesied the birth of a newspaper in Buenos Aires, and he set to work to fulfil his own vaticinations by founding the " Telegrafo." It appeared on — to Enghsh views— an unfortunate day, the first of April and terminated its existence on the 15th October, 1802. On the staff of the " Telegrafo " were many distinguished men, Manuel Labarden, Manuel Belgrano, Domingo de Azcuenaga, Jose Joaquin Araujo, who used the pseudonym " Patricio de Buenos Aires," Dean Funes, who signed himself " Patricio Saltiano " and others. The " Telegrafo " was issued by its founder Cabello with the privilege of a monopoly decreed by the Viceroy. It therefore provoked many enemies, who wished for its decease so as to end this privilege. Advantage was taken of an article, which appeared on the 8th October, 1802, and which displeased the Viceroy ; and a few days later the pubhc were advised by a decree that it had seemed good to the superior government to suspend the publication of the paper. In view of the approaching demise of the " Telegrafo," and without THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 127 waiting for the actual deathblow, Don Hipolito Vieytes commenced the second newspaper in the city on the 1st September, 1802. This was the " Seminario de Agricultura, Industria y Comercio," which, com mencing on the date mentioned, continued to exist till the 11th February, 1807, with a short interval (June 23rd to Sept. 24th, 1806) in consequence of the British invasions of that year. The entire pubhcation was made up of 218 ordinary numbers, two supplements and one extra, the last containing an oration by General Belgrano at a pubhc examination at the Nautical Academy and an account of the founding of the town of San Fernando by the Viceroy Sobremonte. Writing of the British invasions, the " Seminario Agricola " described the British troops as " enemigos colorados " on account of the colour of their uniform. The last number of the " Seminario " pubhshed the following valedictory notice, not unique in the history of jour nalism : — " The editor suspends the " Seminario " for the present." After this suspension, except official documents, there was nothing in the nature of a news paper in Buenos Aires till 1810. In the year 1804 Rafael, Marques de Sobremonte, was transferred from the governorship of Cordoba to the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. His name is a byword for cowardice, and all historians regard his conduct with derision. Doubts are even thrown upon his right to call himself Marques, as some writers have called him. In official documents he is called El Exmo Senor Marques Don Rafael de Sobremonte. The principal event during the term of Sobremonte was the First British Invasion. The British Invasions, although really belonging to the Colonial history of the country and of no importance whatever from an international point of view — as, even if great Britain had succeeded in obtaining definite possession of the country it would doubtless have been given up again to Spain when the two nations afterwards became allies — were of great importance as between this country and Spain. It is an admitted fact that it 128 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC was during the residence in Buenos Aires of the British generals that the idea was thrown out which developed into a fixed plan to separate the colony from the mother country. The literature of the British Invasions is almost as copious as that of the Peninsular war. Every step in the campaign has been enlarged on by Argentine historians, and furious polemics have raged as to even minute details. The controversy between General Mitre and Dr. Groussac, in which the bounds of courtesy were passed by, at any rate, one of the writers, is a case illustrating the latter statement. The poets of the Revolutionary period described the invasions as veritable struggles of giants and all the gods of Olympus were represented as taking sides in the conflict. But the time has gone by for exhibiting feeling of any sort about the matter. Reduced to their true proportions, the invasions were simply incidents in the war with Spain, forced upon both countries, against their will, by the ambition of Napoleon. This war ended in the two countries becoming alhes against the French Emperor and in the glorious campaign of the Peninsular war. Argentine historians recognise the truth of what has just been stated and begin the story of the in vasions by an account of the manner in which Napoleon, breaking the treaty of Amiens, declared war against England and forced Spain to sign a secret treaty binding herself to pay Napoleon two milhon dollars per month out of the treasure which Spain expected to receive in four frigates from Buenos Aires. This secret treaty soon came to the knowledge of Great Britain, which, naturally, considered it a breach of neutrahty, as providing the sinews of war was as much an act of war as actually taking the field. The British Govern ment, therefore, took the natural steps of preventing the arrival of the frigates at their destination and sent Commodore Moore to stop them before they arrived at Cadiz. Moore was successful in his mission and the treasure ships arrived at Plymouth instead of THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 129 Cadiz. Naturally, Spain declared war openly, and it was during the continuance of this war that the two British invasions of Argentina took place. As Napoleon had made his brother King of Holland, the Dutch possessions were considered proper objects of attack by the British and an expedition was sent to the Cape, under the command of Sir Home Popham and General Beresford, which soon took possession of that colony. Whilst there, the leaders of the expedi tion, without any orders from the Government, decided to cross over and take the Spanish Colony of Buenos Aires. It is probable that Sir Home Popham knew that an attack on Buenos Aires would be gratefully received by the great statesman Pitt, who was at the head of affairs when the expedition sailed for the Cape. But, unknown to Popham, Pitt had died, and therefore any such hope was no longer justified. In ignorance of the death of Pitt, and playing entirely off their own bat, Popham and Beresford sailed for Buenos Aires at which town they arrived on the 25th of June, 1806. Landing at Quilmes, the British troops advanced to the city and occupied the town and fort on the 27th, practically without opposition. The Viceroy, Sobre monte, escaped to Cordoba and ordered all the money in the treasury to be sent after him. But Beresford was too sharp for him, and the treasure, to the extent of two milhon duros, went not to Cordoba but London. Beresford immediately declared himself Governor of Buenos Aires in the name of King George III and issued a decree granting absolute freedom of rehgious behef to the inhabitants, confirming the Cabildo in their positions, giving the free right of voting to the citizens and recognizing the freedom of the press. Whatever may be said of the action of Beresford in making the attack on the city in the first instance, we unhesitatingly record our opinion that Buenos Aires has never possessed such civic and rehgious freedom, either before or since, as during the time when its citizens were subjects of King George III ; and it would be a glorious day for the country if its present 130 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC President would issue a similar decree and carry it out. Beresford also opened the port to foreign trade and gave the Portenos all the rights of British subjects. The inhabitants of the city, however, preferred to hug their chains and organised a steady resistance to the British, and then appeared on the scene the man who was to do so much for the colonists only to receive, as his reward, his death at their hands. Liniers,, , who was in command of the Port of Ensenada, went over alone to Montevideo and brought back troops with which he landed at the Tigre. Marching on the city with an ever increasing army he was able to present a sufficiently powerful attack on Beresford's position to compel that General to surrender. This event is called the Reconquista, and Liniers is fully entitled to all the credit of the operation. When all was over, the Viceroy sent word to say that he was on his way with troops from Cordoba ; but the Portenos had had enough of their Viceroy faineant and he was ordered to go with his troops to Montevideo and not show his face in the city. The people of Buenos Aires in " Cabildo abierto " declared that they would no longer recognise the authority of the Viceroy and that Liniers should be the Mihtary Governor of the City, with instructions to prepare to resist any second invasion which might be contemplated, and which the continued presence of Popham in the neighbourhood of the Plate clearly foreshadowed. Accordingly, Liniers created various army corps with their proper officers. These were the Patricians, under the command of Dr. Corneho Saavedra, the Arribenos from the interior, whose chief was Dr. Pio de Gaona, the Pardos and Morenos, negroes and half breeds, under the command of Baudrix, and five squadrons of cavahy or hussars. He also formed troops of criollo dragoons and a number of so-called Spanish corps named Gallegos, Catalanes, etc., but composed in the greater part of " hijos del pais." In the. meantime, General Baird, who had remained at the Cape, sent reinforcements to Buenos Aires. No. 11. Aqueduct, San Luis. No. 12. View in Jujuy. THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 133 These arrived too late and contented themselves with occupying Maldonado in Uruguay. When the news of the action of Popham and Beresford reached London, the Government of the day was not overpleased with their action, as it was very likely that their troops would be required in Europe, and when the news of the Reconquista arrived, Popham was dismissed the fleet and replaced by Admiral Stirling. Rear-Admiral Stirling arrived at Montevideo on January 5th, 1807, and brought with him Brig.-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty to take command of the land forces. Maldonado was at once abandoned and Monte video besieged. After considerable resistance, the city was taken on February 6th. Sobremonte, who was at Montevideo with his Cordobese troops, fled with them from the Enghsh, firing shots in the air with three cannons as he ran. When he heard that the British were after him, he abandoned his cannons and took to his heels, thereby covering himself with ignominy. The citizens of Buenos Aires were exceedingly wroth when they heard of his conduct, and forces were sent to capture him. He was taken at Soriano and brought to Buenos Aires. Here he was formally deposed by the Cabildo and sent on to Chile to be remitted to Spain for trial and punishment. The action of the Cabildo is regarded by the historians as the first step towards the revolution, as the people, by their action, assumed the sovereign power. The British possession of Montevideo was marked by a studious regard of the interests of the inhabitants, who were made to feel that British rule meant freedom in its widest sense and, had the British Government been content with the occupation of that city, the history of Uruguay might have been very different from the actuahty. But in May, 1807, a larger expedi tion under the command of Admiral Murray and General Crauford, who superseded Stirling and Auch muty, arrived at Montevideo and was foUowed, a month later, by Lieut.-General Whitelocke who was sent to assume chief command. A more incompetent 134 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC general it was impossible to conceive of and the bril liancy of the first occupation of Buenos Aires by Beres ford with a handful of men, and of the siege of Montevideo , were obscured for all time by the failure of Whitelocke, who had at his command about 10,000 men. It is true the conditions were altered. Buenos Aires was prepared for and expecting the invaders and, instead of Sobre monte, Liniers was at the head of the defence. It is needless to recapitulate the story of the attack and brilhant defence of the city. At one moment it seemed as if the capture of the city would be easy. Gower put Liniers to flight and if he had pressed on to the city it would most likely have fallen ; but he had been told to encamp at Miserere and he obeyed orders. This action saved the city. Liniers reformed his soldiers and the attack by the British troops in force failed and ended in their capitulation. This was bad enough, but it was made worse by Whitelocke's yielding to the impositions of Liniers that Montevideo also should be evacuated. The conditions were fulfilled by the British, and Montevideo was restored to Spain. On evacuating the latter city, the British received a written testimonial of the inhabitants testifying to the generosity with which they had treated the citizens and the manner in which they had lessened the sufferings inseparable from the siege. Rarely in history has such a testimonial been given by the besieged of any city to its captors. On returning home, Whitelocke was tried by Court Martial and dismissed the service. His fate would probably have been worse but for influence in high quarters. A further expedition was decided upon, which was to have been commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards the Duke of Wellington, and, no doubt, this would have had a different termination ; but Great Britain became the ally of Spain against Napoleon and, of course, all designs against her colonies were abandoned. Even had Buenos Aires fallen in 18Q7, there is no doubts that it would have been returned to Spain, if not earlier, at least at the peace of 1814. THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 1S5 The effect of the British invasions soon began to be felt in the country. The victory of the citizens was celebrated in a poem by Lopez y Planes, in which the name Argentines was first given to the sons of the soil. The name was proudly adopted by the latter, much to the disgust of the Spanish citizens who called the Argentines " criollos," a term until then only apphed to animals. The Spanish element, headed by Alzaga, was opposed to Liniers, who was a Frenchman, and who was suspected, but without reason, to be in favour of the designs of Napoleon. The Argentines favoured Liniers to whom they owed so much. The Governor of Montevideo, Colonel Eho, made common cause with Alzaga against Liniers and on January 1st, 1809, the Spaniards in Buenos Aires, as the result of a pre- arrangement, rushed into the streets shouting for the deposition of the " Frenchman." The Cabildo, mainly composed of Spaniards, endeavoured to induce Liniers to resign and, to avoid bloodshed, he was about to sign his renunciation, when Saavedra and the Argentine regiments of the Patricios and Arribenos appeared on the scene, and the members of the Cabildo ran in all directions, even jumping through the windows to avoid arrest by the troops. The same night, Alzaga and the leading men who were conspiring against Liniers were arrested and sent off by sea to Carmen de Patagones. The ship was however stopped by Eho, the Governor of Montevideo, and the prisoners taken to that city where they were able to continue their conspiracies. Both Liniers and his opponents appealed to the Junta Central of Spain. The Junta, knowing aheady that the Argentines and the Spaniards were enemies in Buenos Aires and that Liniers was the favourite of the Argentines, sent out Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros as Viceroy, and Liniers had to yield to the inevitable (1809). The advent of Cisneros was speedily followed by the opening of the port to Enghsh and Portuguese shipping. But, while, on the surface, the supremacy of Spain seemed assured, the seed sown was germinating 136 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC below the soil. The hostihty between the Spaniards and the " hijos del pais " daily became more pronounced. Secret meetings were held to prepare the way for a revolution. These meetings took place, sometimes in the soap factory of Hipolito Vieytes and sometimes in the Quinta of Nicolas Rodriguez Pena. Towards one or other of these meeting places a few quiet looking gentlemen used to wend their way for what seemed to be a harmless " paseo." No one watching these respectable personages going out for a walk in this quiet manner would have dreamed that they were laying the train for an explosion that should rend a continent from its moorings and deprive Spain of her possessions in the New World. And if the Republics of South America had received the names of Vieytes, Pena, Belgrano, Castelh, Passo, Donado, Alberti, French, Berutti, Larrea, etc., it would not have been an undue compliment to have paid to the men to whose dehberations they owe their existence as separate nationahties. All was ready so far as sentiment was concerned. The patience of the criollos was exhausted with the selfish and tyrannical government of centuries. Cis neros had made himself unpopular by having sent the Criollos regiment, the Patricios, under the orders of the hated general Nieto, to put down a revolutionary movement in Sucre. The men were ready and the hour came in due course. On the 13th of May, 1810, a British ship was seen to come up on the horizon and enter the port of Buenos Aires. It brought the decisive news which soon changed the whole pohtical situation. Napoleon was master of Spain, except the town of Cadiz. In that town was the Junta Central, which was governing in the name of Fernando VII the colonies of America. The people of Cadiz had revolted, assas sinated the head of the Junta and declared it at an end, replacing it by a government of the men of Cadiz. Now the criollos were by no means eager to remain subjects of Spain ; but Spain, as such was no more ; it was merged, to all intents and purposes, in France. Still less was Cadiz entitled to their loyalty. The THE PERIOD OF THE VICEROYS 137 Portenos had suffered too much aheady from Cadiz and Seville to even consider the question of submitting to any Junta of Cadiz citizens. In great alarm, the Viceroy Cisneros felt his power slipping from him. Naturally, if there were no king there could be no Viceroy ; and he felt that decisive action was necessary. On the 18th of May, he took the people into his con fidence and asked them to remain loyal to the Mother Country and to the Government of Cadiz. This was just what the Portenos would not do, and very soon the new doctrines were circulating through the town, in the barracks and in all parts. " No king therefore no Viceroy, and, as a corollary, we must govern our selves." The Portenos demanded the convocation of an Open Cabildo to consider the question, and, in the end, the Viceroy consented to convoke the people of the city to a " Cabildo abierto." While it was assembled the cries were raised Muera Cisneros ! Abajo Ios godos ! After a long discussion it was resolved that the power of the Viceroy was at an end and that the Cabildo should appoint a junta or governing body. A day of intrigue foUowed. Every effort was made by the Spanish element to obtain the supremacy ; and, as a result, a Junta was declared on the 24th consisting of Cisneros himself, Saavedra, Castelh, Sola (a priest) and Inchaurri ; Inchaurri was a friend and nominee of Cisneros. On this hst being pubhshed, popular in dignation was unbounded. The next morning, the 25th of May, a crowd bearing blue and white ribbons met in the plaza headed by French and Berutti. A deputation presented in the name of the people a demand, for the immediate renun ciation of the five members, and the nomination of a new Junta, entirely free from Spanish influence. In face of the determined attitude by the people, Cisneros and his friends had no alternative but to submit ; and the primera Junta was proclaimed amidst the shouts of the assembled people. In this way as the Himno nacional declares : " Se levanto en la faz del cielo Una noble gloriosa nation." CHAPTER VII THE REPUBLIC The Primera Junta — Belgrano's Expedition to Paraguay — Fate of Liniers — Battles in the Interior — Changes of Government — Arrival of San Martin and Alvear — Services of San Martin — Alvear offers Argentine to Great Britain — The Directors — The 9th of July — Admiral Brown — Canning — Federales and Unitarios — Rivadavia — Rosas — The Reign of Terror — The Presidents — The Wars with Brazil and Paraguay — Mitre — Sarmiento — Avellaneda — Roca — Celman — The Revolution of 1890 — Recent events. The fourth period of Argentine History began with the cry of Liberty on the 25th of May, 1810, and with the establishment of a provisional government which was free from any shadow of sympathy with the old regime. This Revolution was, however, only the beginning of a long struggle ; and it was not until after several years had passed that a united nation was the result of this movement which was at first hmited to the City of Buenos Aires. To tell the story in detail of the rise and development of the Repubhc would occupy the whole of the present volume, and even then much would be left unsaid. In addition to this, it must be recognised that we are too near to the events to pass impartial judgments. Those who have lived in Argen tina for any length of time will have perceived how, even in a decade, opinions change as to the importance of the part played in the history of the country by a given individual. The words patriot and traitor are frequently almost synonymous in a period of revolu tionary development, and it has been frequently the case that the men who to-day are regarded as the greatest Argentine patriots, were, in their own day, deemed traitors and sent to die in exile. The re- 138 THE REPUBLIC 139 impatriation of the remains of exiled patriots has been no uncommon event in recent Argentine history. Repeatedly have Lowell's words been reahzed in Argen tina : — The hooting mob of yesterday In silent awe return, To glean up the scattered ashes Into History's golden urn. The story of the Repubhc will therefore be told very succinctly and, as far as possible, no judgment will be passed upon either the actors or their deeds. Only in one or two cases, where no possible defence can be found, will any censure be passed. On the outbreak of the Revolution on May 25th, 1810, the government of the country was entrusted, in the first instance, to a Junta or council, always referred to in Argentine history as the Primera Junta. The President of the Junta was Cornelio Saavedra, the vocales were Manuel Belgrano, Juan Jose Castelh, Miguel Azcuenaga, Manuel Alberti, Domingo Matheu and Juan Larrea. There were two secretaries, Juan Jose Passo and Mariano Moreno. The first object of the Junta was to extend the revolutionary movement over the whole territory of the Viceroyalty, and, had this object been fulfilled, the Argentine Repubhc would to-day include Paraguay and the greater part of Bohvia. Two expeditions were sent from Buenos Aires, one to Paraguay, under the command of Belgrano, and one to the interior and Bohvia, under the command of Ocampo. ' The expedition of Belgrano was unfortunate from a mihtary point of view, as the Paraguayans refused to hsten to the suggestions of Buenos Aires, as they were, for the moment, content with their Spanish Governor Velasco. They offered such resistance to the advance of Belgrano that in the end he had to capitulate, but was allowed to return with all the honours of war on undertaking not to return with the same mission. During the negotiations respecting the capitulation 140 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Belgrano managed to influence many of the leading men in Paraguay, with the result that the very next year a revolution broke out in Asuncion and the Spanish power was overthrown. The Junta in Buenos Aires made an effort to induce the new government of Para guay to identify itself with Buenos Aires, but in vain. The Paraguayans, under the dominating influence of Francia, who afterwards became a tyrant and a dic tator, rejected all the overtures of Buenos Aires, and Paraguay remained definitely separated from Argentina. The expedition of Ocampo was met in Cordoba by some resistance on the part of Liniers, who remained ever loyal to his Spanish masters. Liniers and others who supported him were captured and, in spite of all that he had done for Buenos Aires during the British invasions, he and a number of leading men were shot. As Ocampo refused to be a party to this action, he resigned his command and was replaced by Balcarce, who, on advancing northwards, found his march opposed by the Spanish troops under Goyeneche, sent by the Viceroy of Peni. On November 7th, 1810, Balcarce gained a decisive battle at Suipacha and continued his advance into Bohvia, only to be utterly routed and driven back at the battle of Huaqui (June 20th, 1811). In the meantime, the standard of revolt was raised in Uruguay, where the revolutionists gained a victory at Las Piedras (12th May, 1811), which for a time compelled the Spanish viceroy and his forces to keep within the shelter of the fortress of Montevideo. Whilst the Argentine soldiers were operating in these directions, there was nothing but petty jealousies and rivalries in Buenos Aires itself. The character of the Primera Junta was soon changed. There were only nine members ; but it soon became a hotbed of dissension, owing to the infatuated ambition of the President Saavedra, who according to some historians hoped to rise to regal rank and found a new dynasty. He was opposed by fMoreno, and the bitterness of the quarrel between the two spread to their friends in the Junta and caused an open breach. This led THE REPUBLIC 141 to the incorporation into the Junta of representatives of the various provinces, thereby constituting the Second or Segunda Junta Gubernativa, which was installed on the 18th of December, 1810. Moreno soon afterwards renounced his position and, being sent to England on a diplomatic mission, he died on the journey. On the 6th of April, 1811, in consequence of an asonada or tumult got up by the supporters of Saavedra, Senores Rodriguez Pena, Larrea, Azcuenaga and Alberti were expelled from the Junta, and even Belgrano, who had been sent to take command in Uruguay, was recalled in disgrace, to answer for his failure in Paraguay. Nothing, however, came of this and Belgrano was soon restored to his honours. As the victory of Suipacha was more than counterbalanced by the defeat of Huaqui, the Junta found that, if progress had to be made, personal feelings must be put on one side and a new start made. The form of government was therefore at once changed, and, instead of a council of twenty members as was the Segunda Junta, the supreme power of the country was vested in a First Triumvirate, composed of Senores Chiclana, Sarratea and Passo with three secretaries : Senores Perez, Rivadavia and Vicente Lopez (Sept. 23rd, 1811). The members of the Junta agreed to take a back seat and call themselves the Junta Conservadora. No sooner, however, was this arrangement concluded and a Te Deum sung in its honour, than the Junta, headed by Dean Funes, wanted all their honours back. The Triumvirate cut the matter short, under the advice of Rivadavia, and by a coup d'etat put an end to the Junta and declared themselves the sole governors of the country. An armistice was arranged with the Viceroy of Montevideo and the siege of that city raised. Hos tilities were, however, renewed in the following year. It is interesting to observe that, in spite of the revo lution, the Argentines still carried the banner of Spain, even when fighting against the mother country, and 142 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC an attempt by Belgrano in January, 1812, to inaugurate a new national flag was sternly repressed by the Trium virate. In July, 1812, a conspiracy was discovered in the nick of time, which might have wrecked the revolution, had it been successful. This conspiracy was entered into by a Spanish gentleman of great wealth and importance named Alzaga with the support of the Spanish Authorities at Montevideo. It was dis covered by the revelations of a black slave, and Alzaga and more than thirty others paid for their action with their hves. In March, 1812, there returned to Buenos Aires two personages who played important parts in the history of the country. These were Jose de San Martin and Carlos de Alvear. San Martin, who afterwards became one of the most conspicuous figures in Argentine history, was born in Yapeyu, in Misiones, and, when a mere boy, went to Spain, where he continued till he was 32 years of age. In Spain, he adopted a mihtary career and was engaged in the Peninsular war, where he served under Beresford at Albuera. He had the opportunity of seeing the skill and patience with which Beresford hcked into shape the Portuguese army, and the lessons which he learnt at that time were put into practice in after years when he formed his victorious army with which he freed Chile from the Spanish yoke and aided in the general emancipation of South America. Under the Napoleonic invasion the fortunes of Spain sank to such a low ebb that it was with no real feelings of disloyalty to the mother country that a movement was set on foot to free the Spanish colonies and make them into independent nations. General Francisco Miranda, a native of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, was the first South American to dream of the greatness of the various South American Colonies if they could be freed from Spanish dominion and converted into independent States. In order to carry his ideas into effect, he estabhshed a secret society called the " Gran Reuni6n Americana " with THE REPUBLIC 143 headquarters in London. This parent association gave birth to many branches and affiliated societies of which the principal was the Sociedad de Lautaro or of Caballeros Racionales, which in 1808 had more than forty members in Cadiz alone. The meetings of these societies were secret and protected by rites and passwords derived from freemasonry. There were various degrees, the first grade involving a promise to work for American Independence and the second accepting republican principles. The fifth grade was the highest and most responsible, as it involved more than mere expressions of opinion and professions of faith. While still at Cadiz, San Martin was initiated as a member of the Logia Lautaro, and his thoughts neces sarily turned towards his native land and the future which might be in store for it, if the dreams of the societies named materiahsed. Other Argentines, who were members of the Lodge in Spain along with San Martin, were Alvear and Zapiola. After 22 years absence from his native land, San Martin thought that he had done enough for the mother country and that it was time that he devoted his energies to the work to which his membership of the Lautaro Society had pledged him. Through his friend ship with Lord Macduff, afterwards Earl of Fife, who had fought with him on more than one battlefield, he obtained a passport which enabled him to leave Spain secretly and make his way to London. In London he met Alvear, Zapiola and other Portenos, as well as the Venezuelan patriot Bello and other workers for American independence. With Alvear and Zapiola, San Martin was initiated into the fifth degree of the secret society aheady referred to, a degree which had only a short time before been con ferred upon Bohvar. It now became necessary to carry out the oaths and obligations of the society and to actively take part in the struggle aheady com menced in Buenos Aires. Accordingly, in January of 1812, the three Patriots just mentioned sailed from 144 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC England for that city. The ship which bore them to the scene of their future glory was the " George Canning," named after the iUustrious statesman who did so much for the cause of South American inde pendence. On arriving at Buenos Aires, both San Martin and Alvear, plunged into the conflict in which their country was engaged, San Martin forming his celebrated corps of mounted Grenadiers and Alvear entering into the pohtical arena. On the 23rd of September, 1812, Belgrano, who had been sent north, gained the battle of Tucuman over the Spanish troops under General Tristan, and the hopes of the new nation revived. Another revolution took place in the city on October 8th and, as a result, the First Triumvirate resigned and was replaced by a second council of three named in history the Second Triumvirate and composed of Senores J. J. Passo, Nicolas Rodriguez Pena, and Antonio A. Jonte, who were, however, placed in power with the express mandate to convoke as soon as possible a General Constituent Assembly of Representatives of the Provinces. This assembly met in Buenos Aires on the 31st December, 1813, under the presidency of General Alvear. The assembly at once declared itself the sovereign governing body of the Argentine Nation, delegating the exercise of the executive power to the members of the Second Triumvirate. Amongst other important resolutions adopted by this Assembly were those which declared the freedom of the slaves, the abolition of all titles of nobihty, the freedom of commerce with foreign countries, the abolition of forced Indian labour and the substitution of the Spanish Arms and Flag by those of the nation as described in Chapter III. On February 20th of the following year, Belgrano gained another victory over Tristan at Salta, San Martin having on the 3rd of the same month inaugurated his victorious cam paign at San Lorenzo. The hopes raised by these victories were soon dashed to the ground by the terrible defeats in the THE REPUBLIC 145 following October and November of Vilcapujio and Ayoma. These disasters, coupled with the treachery of Artigas in Montevideo, again brought about a change in the form of government. Instead of a Triumvirate the supreme power was vested in a Director Supremo del Estado with three Ministers of War, Hacienda (Exchequer), and Interior (Home Secretary). The first Director was Gervasio Antonio Posadas, under whose rule Admiral Brown began his notorious naval career. Wilham Brown was an Irishman born at Foxford, County Mayo, on June 20th, 1777. His father died when he was nine years old, and for the next twenty years he led a seafaring life and suffered considerable hardship. He made a voyage to Argentma in a ship called the " Eliza," which was wrecked at Ensenada. He managed to save the cargo and with the proceeds of its sale bought the schooner " Industria " and estabhshed the first regular packet service between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. After being two years in the country, the Argentine Government offered him the command of a squadron with which to attack the Spanish navy in South American waters. After a few failures his strategy was crowned with success and the capture of the Spanish fleet off Montevideo on May 16th and 17th, 1814, brought to an end the defence by the Spaniards of Montevideo and caused the capitulation of the Spanish authorities. On the 22nd of June, Montevideo ceased for ever to belong to Spain, and Alvear received possession of the fortress and city. In consequence of the machinations of Artigas, Posadas was, however, obhged to concede the independence of the Banda Oriental shortly afterwards. In the following year, Brown took his squadron to the Pacific and there harassed the Spanish fleet on the West coast with varying fortunes. In spite of the surrender of Montevideo, the position of the Argentine government was far from being satisfactory. The Spanish victories in the north and the unpatriotic actions of Artigas and others, who were stirring up 146 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC strife in the httoral provinces, showed that the new nation was far from being estabhshed. The persons most interested in the government, at the head of which was Posadas as supreme director, were at their wits' end to secure some safe basis on which to act. All kinds of schemes were discussed, even to the absurd and extreme one of searching for some descendant of the ancient Inca monarchical hne, and crowning an Indian as King of the country. In the end, Rivadavia and Belgrano were sent to Europe in August, 1814, to try to get the independence of the country, or at least its autonomy, recognised by Spain, and, if this were impossible, to get a King from some where to come to Buenos Aires and reign over them, as it was felt that a monarchical government would offer greater security and cohesion than the republican or quasi repubhcan form which then prevailed. Bel grano, on his arrival in Europe, fell into the hands of Cabarrus, who deceived him to the top of his bent. First he got Belgrano to entrust him with a commission to the old ex-King of Spain, Carlos IV, who had retired from the King business and was living unwept, un- honoured and unsung in poverty and seclusion. After spending a considerable sum of money extracted from Belgrano, he returned to the latter and said that he could not get the old King to go to Buenos Aires, as he was too ill, but that the ex-Queen would go with her second son, Don Francisco de Paula Bourbon. Belgrano did not care who the person was, so long as he got a King, and he gave Cabarrus more money to arrange matters ; but he saw no more either of his money or its kingly equivalent and returned in disgust to Buenos Aires, where he made the suggestion, just referred to, that an Inca Indian dynasty should be founded. Rivadavia went to Spain to try and arrange for the autonomy of the country under Spanish rule, if King Ferdinand would not agree to its independence ; but he had a very uncomfortable quarter of an hour or rather twenty-four hours. He was asked by the THE REPUBLIC 147 Spanish Foreign Minister for his credentials. He had not any, so he was ordered to go out of the country immediately under pain of being treated as a rebel, a fate from which only the possession of a safe-conduct, procured through the British Ministry at Madrid, saved him. Foiled, therefore, in these missions, Alvear, who assumed the directorship in January, 1815, deter mined to offer the country to Great Britain as a self- governing colony. This he did with the full knowledge and authority of those associated with him in . the government of the country. He sent a most able and diplomatic go-between to Rio Janeiro, where Lord Strangford was the British Representative, and a most cordial and sympathetic friend of Argentina. The diplomatist referred to was Don Manuel Jose Garcia. He had with him two notes of a secret character, one directed to the British Ambassador in Rio and the other to the British Minister of Foreign Affairs. In these letters it was stated that, " Five years of repeated experience had shown clearly to all reasonable men that this country was neither of an age nor in a position to govern itself, and that it needed another hand (mano exterior) to direct it and keep it in order, before it fell into the horrors of anarchy. But time had also shown that a return to the Spanish dominion was impossible, owing to hatred of the Spaniards, which hatred had risen to such a pitch that the simple idea of coming to terms with Spain had roused such a spirit of fanaticism, that all swore, both in pubhc and private, to die rather than return beneath the Spanish yoke." But the government of Buenos Aires said that " it would be quite different if generous England would put an end to these evils by receiving in her arms these Provinces which would obey her government and accept her laws, which would be the only means of hoping from the wisdom of that Nation for a pacific and happy existence." But England's . hands were tied at the time, and she did not see how great these provinces would become. The offer made was not acceptable. If it had been, 148 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC the history of this country would have been something very different from what it has been from 1815 to the present time. But it is unprofitable to discuss " might-have-beens." It is well, however, to place on record the fact that, in 1815, nine years after the invasions and five years after the revolution of May, 1810, the Argentine provinces offered themselves, through their responsible authorities, to England, begging her to " acogerlas en sus brazos " and promising " que obedeceran su gobierno y recibiran sus leyes y que seria medio de esperar de" la sabiduria de esa nacion, una existencia pacifica y dichosa." There can be no doubt that a certain section of the citizens were indignant at Alvear for his action in offering the country to England, and, in the following April, a revolution called the Motin de Fontezuelas, caused the overthrow of Alvear, who was succeeded by Alvarez Thomas, who was, in his turn, replaced by Balcarce in April, 1816. Meanwhile, a terrible blow was inflicted to the Argentine hopes by the battle of Sipe-Sipe or Viluma (Nov. 28th, 1815), in which the Spanish troops, under Pezuela, completely routed the Argentine army com manded by Rondeau. So complete, in appearance, was the triumph of the Spaniards that, in Spain itself, when the news was received, it was taken for granted that the revolution was at an end and that the restora tion of the Spanish government was absolutely assured. Then it was that the Argentines determined to de finitely cut the painter and, following the example of the United States, declare the independence of the United Provinces of the South. Accordingly, at a Congress held at Tucuman, a formal Declaration of Independence was drawn up and signed, the date of this event, the 9th of July, 1816, being ever since kept up as a national holiday. This date is the real birth day of the Argentine nation. The national flag, with its stripes of blue and white lit up by the sun of the Incas, was declared to be the official banner of the nation, justifying Belgrano's previous action in unfurling THE REPUBLIC 149 the same standard on the banks of the Plate and later when crossing the Rio Pasaje. In the year 1817 Hipolito Bouchard, with the title of Sargento Mayor of the Argentine navy, set sail from Buenos Aires in the frigate " La Argentina " on an adventurous voyage. His second in command was Nathaniel Somers, an old Enghsh captain, and there were several other Englishmen on board. After an eventful journey, the ship arrived at the Sandwich Isles, whose king Kamehameha at once entered into diplomatic relations with the Argentina and was the first sovereign to recognise the independence of the country ! After many daring deeds against the Spaniards, Bouchard returned with his ship to Buenos Aires, having carried the Argentine flag and name round the world at that early date of his country's history. General Pueyrredon was elected Permanent Director at the Tucuman Congress and held this position till June, 1819. In consequence of a conference between San Martin and Pueyrredon and of the influence of the Logia Lautaro, which San Martin had estabhshed in Buenos Aires, it was decided to draw off the attention of the Spaniards in Peru by crossing the Andes with an army and invading Chile. The story of the victorious campaign of San Martin is too long to relate here. Suffice it to say that after a number of battles, beginning with Chacabuco (Feb. 12th, 1817), and ending with the crowning victory of Maipii (April 5th, 1818), Chile was freed from Spain and entered upon her history as an independent nation, with O'Higgms as its first Director. The hberation of Chile relieved Argentina from all further fear of Spain. San Martin continued his victorious career in Peni which in turn was freed and Bohvar in the north liberated the remaining South American States. It is sad to have to relate that San Martin received no honour from his country men during his lifetime. His refusal to be drawn into internecine struggles and civil wars only caused him to be treated with obhquy and when he retired to Europe it was in practical disgrace. 150 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Once only he returned to Argentma but to be met with insult and ignominy. He at once returned to Europe and there, in company with his only daughter, who was his faithful companion until his death, he dragged out the remaining years of his existence for the most part in suffering. But for the kindness of a Spanish banker named Aguado, who was an old com panion in arms during the Peninsular war, the grand general would have had to beg his bread. In after years, the greatness of the man was under stood, and now no name stands higher in the roll of Argentine patriots than that of San Martin. His remains were solemnly conveyed to his native land and are honourably guarded in the Cathedral of Buenos Aires. (See illustration No. 3.) The years 1819 and 1820 were made lively by the interprovincial wars in the Northern and Littoral provinces. The names of Bulnes and Borges, Ramirez and Lopez, and Artigas come into prominence as caudillos fighting against the central power ; and, on the 1st of February, 1820, Rondeau was defeated at Cepeda. This battle gave rise to important changes. Rondeau was deposed from the Directorate and Aguirre named in his place ; but the national authority was at an end for the time being. The various provinces were practically independent, and, by the Treaty of Pilar, the Federal system was adopted and accepted by the various provinces. Don Manuel Sarratea was named First Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, which then, of course, included the city of that name. It was about this time that the Government of the United States sent a commission to investigate the state of affairs in order to see if the time were ripe for the estabhshment of diplomatic relations or, at least, the formal recognition of the country as an inde pendent nation. The commission was composed of Messrs. Rodney and Graham with Mr. Brackenridge as secretary. The Commission" drew up a voluminous report and Mr. Rodney was appointed the United States Minister. This gentleman soon afterwards died THE REPUBLIC 151 and was the first to be interred in the Protestant cemetery. In June, 1820, General Belgrano, who had deserved so well of his countrymen for long and faithful service, died of dropsy in Buenos Aires. He had just strength to reach the city, having been treated in Tucuman in the most disgraceful manner by the local caudillos. But for the interference of his doctor, Dr. Redhead, he would have been put in irons, although his legs were so swollen that they were barely strong enough to sustain his weight. In his case, as in that of San Martin, his compatriots have done justice to his memory, and his mausoleum is now one of the finest monuments in the city. It must not be supposed that there was nothing but confusion and strife in Buenos Aires at this period. Those who are interested in knowing how the hfe of the Portenos was passed during the second and third decades of the century can obtain most interesting information on the subject from a book by Dr. Jose Antonio Wilde, himself the son of Dr. Santiago Wilde, an Englishman, who was a prominent citizen of Buenos Aires in the twenties. There were a considerable number of British residents in 1817 and, a few years later, the number was greatly increased and the principal business houses were Enghsh. Many of the Argentines with British names now holding honourable positions in the country are descendants of the men who became residents of the country in the early years of its history as a nation. Just when the new nation seemed to be absolutely free from Spain and was preparing to enter upon its own career, a movement was started in Europe with the object of restoring to Spain her ancient greatness, including her colonial possessions. France and Russia were the heads of this Holy Alliance and their intentions were to capture Buenos Aires, dominate the Pacific with a strong fleet and join hands with the Viceroy Laserna in Peni. France had an understanding with Spain that Argentina should be handed to her and 152 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC that Spain should regain all her colonies as far north as Mexico. Troops were being got ready to carry out this object, when Mr. Canning heard of it and at once declared that the movement should go no further, as the independence and commerce of the New World were of more importance to Great Britain than the countries of Europe. He threatened immediate war if the French and Russians attempted to interfere with Buenos Aires and brought influence to bear on the United States whose government, under the presidency of Mr. Monroe, at once declared the " Monroe doctrine." This action of Mr. Canning saved the situation and the Holy Alhance was dissolved. On this account, the name of Canning is held in high honour in Argentina. What the name of Gladstone is to the struggling small States of Europe the name of GeOrge Canning is to Argentina. In 1821 General Rodriguez took the place of Sarratea as Governor and one of his leading ministers was Rivadavia whose reforms were of a far reaching character. In 1824 Rodriguez was succeeded by General Las Heras during whose rule a general Con gress sanctioned a Fundamental Law providing for a definite Constitution. In 1823 Mr. (afterwards Sir) Woodbine Parish was appointed as Consul General of Great Britain in Buenos Aires and was soon after wards made Minister plenipotentiary. In February, 1825, Don Bernardino Rivadavia was elected the first President of the United Provinces and Buenos Aires was declared the Capital of the nation, the rest of the province being governed as a province but by the president. This was practically a unitarian system of government and was the beginning of the long standing struggle between " Federales " and " Unitarios." In February, 1825, the first treaty of Peace between Great Britain and Argentina was signed. This treaty is still in existence. During the presidency of Rivadavia, war was de clared with Brazil, as that nation was again endeavouring to obtain possession of the coveted State of Uruguay. Admiral Brown was again called upon to take com- oaHt> BP->)BKH 0 C5a O 25 TffflaS?M THE REPUBLIC 155 mand of the Argentine navy and his action was as rapid as it was effectual. In Argentine histories the " Twenty-nine days of glory " is the term used to describe Brown's campaign. A few unimportant de feats were followed by the complete victories of Juncal and Quilmes (February 9th and 24th, 1827) in which such of the Brazihan ships as were not captured were driven out of Argentine waters. The battle of Itu- zaingo on the 20th of the same month was a decisive defeat for the Brazihans, the Argentine troops being led by Alvear. Negotiations were opened in Rio de Janeiro through the influence of the British Govern ment, but the Argentine representative rashly and improperly assented to the possession of the Banda Oriental by Brazil, a settlement of the question which the Argentines were not disposed to tolerate. Riva davia found that his presidency was anything but a bed of roses and resigned on June 12th, 1827, being succeeded by another eminent man, Don Vicente Lopez. Shortly after his resignation, Rivadavia retired to Rio Janeiro and afterwards to Europe. He died in poverty and obscurity in Cadiz on September 2nd, 1845. On his retirement he was followed by the execrations of those who could not appreciate his worth. Now, his memory is held in high honour as one of the truest patriots which his native country has produced. Don Vicente Lopez soon resigned the presidency and Don Manuel Borrego became the Governor of Buenos Aires. He brought to a satisfactory termination the question with Brazil and, upon the mediation of the British Government through the British Ambassador in Rio de Janeiro, Uruguay was declared an independent State and has continued such ever since. Meanwhile the Congress of the Nation had dis solved and the country was in a state of complete disunion, each province acting independently of the rest without any even nominal bond of union. >. The advocates of the unitary idea made another attempt to achieve their object. Two Generals, Lavalle and Jose M. Paz, headed a revolutionary movement to 156 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC re-establish this form of government, and were backed up by a considerable section of the army, which had been recalled to Buenos Aires by Dorrego after the conclusion of hostihties with Brazil. Lavalle lost no time in getting up a revolution and speedily unseated Dorrego, who fled, but was captured a few days later. As soon as Lavalle knew of his capture, he ordered him „to be shot. This cold-blooded murder, for it was nothing else, was carried out at a few hours' notice and without even a form of trial to give it apparent legality. No possible defence can be urged for it. It was even a more barbarous assassination than that of Liniers. It is said that Lavalle was sorry for his action afterwards, and well he might be, for it brought upon the country nothing less than the tyranny of Rosas. Dearly indeed did the Nation pay for the butchery of Dorrego. Lavalle went to join General Paz, who was acting in Santa Fe : and he was speedily assailed by Rosas, who had been Dorrego's Comandante Militar, and who, aided by Estanislao Jordan, took up arms to avenge the murdered Governor. Lavalle was de feated at Puente Marques and compelled to resign the office of Governor, which he had usurped, into the hands of General Viamonte, as interim Governor. General Paz was afterwards defeated by Rosas, and thrown into prison in Lujan. On the 8th of December, 1829, the Representatives of Buenos Aires elected Rosas Governor of the Province, with the added title of Restorer of the Laws. At the end of his term of three years, he declined re-election, and set off on a campaign in the South, from which he received his second title of Hero of the Desert. During his absence, the Governorship was filled first by Balcarce and afterwards by Viamonte. On the latter's retirement no one cared to take the Governorship, and Dr. Maza, as President of the Legislature, assumed the reins of office provisionally. On the 13th April, 1835, Rosas was re-elected Governor for five years by acclamation. He was entrusted with the fuU power of all the pubhc authorities and so became virtually Dictator. THE REPUBLIC 157 In such a historical outline as the present it would be out of place to say much of the character and deeds of Rosas during the long period in which he exer cised his despotic rule over the country. The old saying that " every country has the government which it deserves " might be said to apply here. That the Rosas tyranny was submitted to for so many years is in itself, to some extent, evidence that, in spite of all the crimes which he is said to have committed or tolerated, the country found him as a whole not in tolerable. That he did authorise the acts of the Mazorca there can be no doubt, and that the band of assassins known by this name exercised a reign of terror and committed the most atrocious deeds is, unfortunately, a fact that can not be gainsaid. To-day the name of Rosas is held in execration in Argentina ; and the very house in which he hved was not long ago razed to the ground as if to blot out all remembrance of him from the face of the land. But even a Rosas could not have governed for so long, had he not had a powerful following amongst the pohtical leaders of the country and, when the final verdict of history comes to be written, there may be some modification of the opinions which all Argentine histories pass upon the Hero of the Desert and the Restorer of the Laws, by which titles his countrymen for the time honoured him. One or two incidents of his government must, however, be related in which Great Britain took part. To escape from persecution, numbers of Argentines fled to Uruguay, and this country became so notorious a refuge for those who were opposed to his rule that, in the end, Rosas determined to besiege Montevideo and take possession of the country. He accordingly sent an army to attack Montevideo by land and called upon Admiral Brown to once more assume the com mand of a fleet and besiege the city from the sea. Brown arrived before Montevideo in February, 1843, and at once occupied strategic positions. One of his ships took possession of the island of Ratas, where there were stored the powder and other war 158 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC material of the defenders of the city. This action at once put the Fort and the whole defence at the mercy of Rosas' attacking forces, and the fall of the city into their hands was only a question of a very short time. The British and French pohcy was the exact opposite of that of Rosas. They sought by all means in their power to protect the independence of Uruguay. If Montevideo fell into the hands of Rosas, not only would he be, for the time being at all events, master of the situation, but British and French Diplomacy would have received a severe defeat at the hands of a man, to whom treaties and arrangements were as though they had never been. There were no cables by which to communicate with the home governments, and the British and French Ministers were entirely without instructions for such an unforeseen emergency. The French Admiral was at Rio Janeiro ; but the British Admiral, Mr. Purvis, was on the spot and very wide awake. It is of course open to question how far Admiral Purvis acted under the orders of the Ministers ; but, it is impossible to beheve that he acted without their tacit approval at the least. He knew well what would happen. There were only two likely alternatives and he was prepared for either as he knew that neither involved any real disgrace to him and he would at any rate play the game which most suited the pohcy of both Britain and France. He knew that the British Government would either approve of his pohcy, or, if not, would simply transfer him to another station, and that in either case, he would save the situation for the time being. He accordingly advanced with his fleet and forced Admiral Brown to withdraw from the Island of Ratas, and, as the most effective means of raising the blockade, he captured the Argentine squadron, holding Admiral Brown and all his officers and crews as prisoners of war. A few days afterwards the French Admiral Laine returned from Rio Janeiro and approved immediately of the action of his colleague. The action of Admiral Purvis was, of course, a high handed step, and one which he would, not have under- THE REPUBLIC 159 taken had he not known the importance of preserving Montevideo from falling into the hands of Rosas. No doubt he was fully aware of the instructions given by Sir Robert Peel to the British Minister, Mr. Ouseley, and felt that he was carrying out the wishes of the Home Government. The raising of the blockade and the freeing of the ammunition stored in Rats' Island for the time being secured the safety of the city, as General Paz was quite able to keep in check the land forces of Oribe. Of course, Admiral Brown protested against his sequestration and Rosas, it is needless to say, did the same. The British Government, to avoid all questions and to put itself in an unassailable position, withdrew Admiral Purvis and sent him to another station. Rosas thought he had gained his point ; but he was mistaken. Conjointly with the removal of Admiral Purvis, the British Government handed his passports to Mr. Mende- ville who was Rosas' diplomatic agent. This step was immediately followed by the appearance on the scene, in the character of armed interventors, of the British and French Ministers, Ouseley and Deffandis, who, much to the disgust of Rosas, came with both the will and the power to follow up the pohcy sustained with such daring and foresight by Admiral Purvis. Rosas declined to listen to reason, and demanded that his right to blockade Montevideo should be recog nised. The Ministers Ouseley and Deffandis saw that it was a waste of time to argue with a man whom the fates had aheady marked for destruction, and who was only exhibiting the preliminary madness which is said to distinguish those whom the gods wish to destroy. They at once broke off negotiations, assumed the protectorate of Montevideo and in turn declared the blockade of the Argentine ports. About the same time, Corrientes revolted against Rosas, and Paraguay, which was considered by Rosas as a rebel province of Argentina, joined with Corrientes and Uruguay in a defensive alhance against the Tyrant. 160 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC To prevent all intercourse with these provinces by the River Parana, Rosas had sunk a number of boats at a place called Vuelta del Obhgado and put chains across the river. This defensive line was protected by a gunboat, the " Republicano," and by four shore batteries. The Anglo-French squadron determined to keep the river way open to the upper provinces and to Paraguay, and, accordingly, on the 18th of November, 1845, the gunboats " Fulton," " Gorgon " and " Fire brand " advanced against the chains, broke the boom and opened the passage. Having done this they disembarked about 700 men and attacked the shore batteries, which soon yielded. This action was not by any means bloodless, but its object was achieved and contributed largely to the success of that series of events which culminated in the Battle of Caseros and the fall of Rosas. It is interesting to note that one of the most vigorous opponents of Rosas' forces in Uruguay, at the time under consideration, was the Italian patriot Garibaldi, who was a resident in Uruguay for about eight years, leaving that country for Italy in 1848. The incident just described was the last appearance of Admiral Brown as a naval commander. He lived for the remainder of his hfe in quiet retirement at Barracas and died on May 3rd, 1857, benemerito de la patria. The gallant Irishman is gratefully remem bered and honoured in Argentina to-day. For details of his adventurous life the reader is referred to that most interesting book, by the late Mr. Michael Mulhall, " The Enghsh in South America," where will be also found records of most of the Britons who have in any way helped to further the fortunes of Argentina and other South American countries. The time arrived at last when the star of Rosas was to set. General Urquiza raised an army of some 24,000 men and marched towards Buenos Aires to attack the Tyrant in his stronghold. Rosas went out to meet his foe and the two armies came into colhsion at Caseros Feb. 3rd, 1852). Urquiza gained the day and Rosas, THE REPUBLIC 161 feeling that all was over and that he had fought his Waterloo, escaped from the field and after a hurried journey to Buenos Aires escaped to England, where he resided for 25 years. No one would have suspected that the singularly handsome old gentleman who hved quietly and unobtrusively in a httle farm near Southampton was the once famous despot of Argentina. In England, he was esteemed by all who knew him and was frequently visited by Lord Palmerston and his family. To his grandson, Sr. Manuel Terrero, who gave the writer many details of Rosas' hfe in England, he once said, " I want you to remember what I am going to say. Whenever anything wrong was done over there in my name, but which was not directly attributable to me, I always got the blame for it ; anything good and right my enemies always put to the credit of my ministers." Rosas died on March 14th, 1877, and was buried in Southampton cemetery. After Caseros, a serious attempt was made to reorganise the Government of the Nation, still on a federal basis, and Urquiza was appointed Director Provisorio. The Province of Buenos Aires, however, refused to agree to Urquiza's appointment, and, on his absenting himself for Santa Fe, the revolution of Once de Setiembre, 1852, broke out, and Dr. Valentin Alsina was elected Governor of Buenos Aires, which Province refused to join with the rest of the Repubhc. A Congress, held in Santa Fe on May 1st, 1853, sanc tioned the National Constitution, which estabhshed the Federal Government with its three powers : Executive, Legislative, and Judicial, and declared Buenos Aires the Capital of the Nation. At the election for President held under the Constitution, Urquiza was chosen ; and, as Buenos Aires still held out, he estabhshed the Federal Capital at Parana. After a separation of six years, Urquiza determined to force Buenos Aires to enter into the Argentine Confederation, and both sides took the field, Mitre leading the Buenos Aires troops. A battle was fought at Cepeda and the forces of the 162 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Confederation triumphed over those of Buenos Aires. Dr. Alsina resigned the Government and was succeeded by Senor Llavallol. Owing to the mediation of the Paraguayan Government, an agreement was made, called the Pacto de San Jose, the result of which was the entrance of Buenos Aires into the Confederation and its acceptance of the Argentine Constitution. Unfortunately, a further battle was needed to com pletely clear the air. Urquiza was succeeded as Presi dent by Derqui, and a dispute arose between Buenos Aires and the rest of the Repubhc about a revolution in San Juan. The same Generals again faced each other in the field ; but this time fortune favoured Mitre, who added Pavon to his other laurels. Urquiza retired to Entre Rios and Derqui resigned the Presi dency. As the result of elections held over the whole country, Mitre entered into office as the first Constitu tional President of the whole Nation, which now began to call itself the Republica Argentina. With the election of General Mitre to the Presidency of the Repubhc, we enter upon the last stage of the kaleidoscopic government of the country. Not that the Argentine history can be written in rose-water since that date, any more than before it ; but the form of Constitutional Government has since been preserved ; and, although he would be a bold man who would prophesy that the age of revolutions has finished, still there is every probability that the form of government now prevailing will be permanent. True, a time may come, when it will be seen that a unitarian and not a federal system will be better and more economical for the country ; but many self-denying ordinances will have to be signed, before such a change can be brought within the range of practical pohtics. During the presidency of General Mitre took place the war with Paraguay brought about by the machina tions of Brazil and the actions of the Paraguayan despot Francisco Solano Lopez. The Argentines were allied with Brazil and, Uruguay, and the struggle lasted until the greater part of the male population of Para- THE REPUBLIC 163 guay was destroyed and Lopez was killed. Then Argentina found that although the hon's share of the fighting had been done by her, the hon's share of the spoils fell to Brazil, which country tried, by every kind of diplomatic subtlety, to prevent Argentina from getting any benefit whatever from the sacrifices she had made. Those who care to understand the extent to which Brazihan diplomacy has gone in opposing Argentina, can find aU the details in the writings of the distinguished Argentine statesman Dr. Estanislao Zeballos in the " Revista de Derecho, Historia, etc.," of which he is the editor. On the conclusion of Mitre's term, the great school master President, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, was elected, Oct. 12th, 1868. He came from North America, where he was Argentine Minister, to assume the reins of office. His Presidency was fruitful in progressive work of all kinds. The assassination of Urquiza in Entre Rios brought about National Intervention in that Province, and it was not until the defeat of Lopez Jordan and his flight to Brazil, that order was restored. When the time drew near for the choice of a new Presi dent, two important parties were formed in Buenos Aires, one called " Nacionahstas " and the other " Autonomistas." The leader of the former was General Mitre and of the latter Dr. Adolfo Alsina. In the Provinces the candidature of Dr. Nicolas Avel laneda was proclaimed. The Autonomista party joined forces with the Avellanedistas, and Dr. Avellaneda was elected President, and entered into possession of the seals of office on October 12th, 1874. A revolution broke out headed by Generals Mitre and Arredondo. Two battles were fought, one at La Verde, in which Mitre was defeated by Colonel Arias, and one at Santa Rosa, in which Arredondo was defeated by General Roca. The revolution was therefore crushed, and Dr. Avellaneda was allowed to complete his presidential term, owing to a conciliatory pohcy, whereby Mitristas, Alsinistas and Avellanedistas shared in the government. Dr. Alsina was Minister of War. 164 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC At the close of Avellaneda 's term, General Roca was elected to the Presidency and commenced to govern on Oct. 12th, 1880. His entry into power was not easy. Dr. Carlos Tejedor, the Governor of the Province and Roca's rival in the candidature for the Presidency, resisted General Roca's entry into the city of Buenos Aires, then the Capital of the Province as well as of the Nation. The National Government and Congress estabhshed the seat of government at Belgrano (then outside the city boundary), and Roca prepared to force his entrance into the Capital. The combats of the Puente Alsina and Corrales gave the victory to Roca, who entered the city and put an end to the schemes of Tejedor. Two years afterwards Dr. Dardo Rocha, the then Governor of the Province, founded the city of La Plata as the Provincial Capital, Buenos Aires having been previously declared Federal territory and the Capital of the Nation. General Roca completed his first term in peace ; but, unfortunately, imposed on the country, as his successor, his brother- in-law, Dr. Miguel Juarez Celman, under whose rule took place the " crisis of progress," or period of national madness, from the effects of which the country is still suffering. The country stood the parody of government until the traditional worm turned, and a revolution broke out amid the applause of the whole of the citizens. It was put down after great slaughter by the soldiery ; but it gained its end, as, after a few days of intrigue, Juarez Celman resigned, and Dr. Carlos Pellegrini entered the Casa Rosada, literally in the arms of the people. He completed Juarez Celman's term ; and, in 1892, Dr. Luis Saenz Pena was elected President, as the result of a coahtion. A man without a party, he had a bad time of it in the presidential chair : he tried all kinds of Ministers, until the office of a Minister became a drug in the market and no one was found " so poor as to do it reverence." Unable to govern for want of Ministers, Dr. Saenz Pena allowed the Vice-President, Dr. Jose Evaristo Uriburu, to complete his term, which expired on October 12th, 1898. THE REPUBLIC 165 General Roca was again elected President and held the office from 1898 to 1904. During his presi dency the boundary question with Chile, which had brought the two countries to the verge of war, was settled, being referred to the arbitration of King Edward VII, who sent out a commission under Col. Holditch to survey the territory in dispute. The award was favourably received by both nations and what is to be hoped will be a lasting peace was the result. Col. Holditch has written an interesting book of his survey entitled, " The Countries of the King's Award." In 1904, Dr. Manuel Quintana was elected Presi dent. In February of the following year, a wanton attempt at a revolution was put down in 48 hours. The year 1906 was a fatal one for the country. Presi dent Quintana died and was succeeded by Dr. Figueroa Alcorta, the vice-president. In the same year General Mitre died and was buried with all signs of national mourning and, shortly afterwards, Dr. Carlos Pelle grini was carried to the tomb. The loss of these three personages within a few short months was an irre parable disaster for the country. Dr. Pellegrini, who was of British descent on his mother's side, was a loyal friend to Great Britain. His address at the opening of the British Argentine Exhibition in November, 1905, was a masterly exposition of Argentina's recog nition of the services of the British nation and will long be quoted as an eloquent tribute of admiration of all that is British. Dr. Pellegrini was a notable speaker and was the Argentine " Rupert of Debate." Dr. Quintana had for years been associated with British enterprises and had earned the esteem of the British commerce. With these tributes to some of Argentina's recent patriots I will conclude this outline of Argentine history. At the time of writing Dr. Roque Saenz Pena has been duly elected to the Presidency of the Repubhc, • 166 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC The progress of the nation is assured and it will ever be to the honour of Great Britain that she showed her confidence in the country from its earhest years of independence and has contributed more than all other nations put together towards its development and glory. CHAPTER VIII FAUNA OF ARGENTINA Before giving a detailed account of the fauna and flora of the country it will be not uninteresting to say 1 a few words as to the part played by British naturalists in the study of the animal and plant hfe of Argentina. On the occasion of the British Argentine Exhibition in 1905, the writer was asked to draw up a report on this subject and it is from this report that the details which follow are extracted. The labours of British naturalists have, to a large extent, been directed towards the bird hfe or ornithology of the country, which part of natural history, so far as concerns Argentina, may be almost said to have been exhausted by them. It is not likely that very many species remain to be discovered. We find from Riva's Efemerides Americanas that the first Enghshmen entered Buenos Aires on July 12th, 1610 ; but as they were refugees from a corsario we do not expect that they were very scientific. Sir Francis Drake and other well-known seamen, such as Narborough, Bryce and Wallace,|had previously visited Patagonia ; but, except for general references to Patagonian giants and 'Tierra del Fuegian dwarfs, little was known of the country until the famous expedi tion of the " Beagle," which, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., sailed from De\onport on the 27th of December, 1831. Captain Fitzroy had been previously in command of the " Beagle " during a portion of the time when that vessel was engaged, with the " Adventure," in the survey of the South American Coasts, undertaken and partly carried out by Captain (afterwards Admiral) King, in 1826-30. 167 168 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC One object of the second voyage of the " Beagle " was to complete the survey referred to, and then to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round the world. This voyage of the " Beagle " was destined to bear great and unexpected fruit. Accompanying the expedition in the character of naturalist was the youth, who now sleeps in West minster Abbey, the illustrious Charles Darwin, then only twenty-two years of age. The circumstances under which he joined the expedition and the interesting correspondence which took place on the subject between Darwin himself, Professor Henslow and others, are all set out in his memoir pubhshed by his son, Francis Darwin, the President of the British Association during its assembly in South Africa. Darwin's " Journal " during the voyage of the " Beagle " is one of the classics of English Literature, as well as a most fascinating book of travels and scientific observation. It was during this voyage that the young naturalist began to collect that enor mous mass of evidence that by sheer weight, as it were, forced the doctrines afterwards associated with the name of the author into universal acceptance. The " Beagle " arrived at Montevideo on the 26th July, 1832, and a stay of ten weeks was made at Mal donado. Referring to the " Journal " we find copious notes of observations on the rhea, or avestruz, the capybazy, the tucutuco (Ctenomys Brasiliensis), the cowbirds, the bien-te-veo, the calandria, the carrancho, the chimango, the gallinazo, etc. From Montevideo, the " Beagle " sailed to the mouth of the Rio Negro, and thence to Bahia Blanca, then " scarcely deserving the name of a village." In the neighbourhood of Punta Alta, Darwin first came upon the fossilized remains of those mighty animals, the Megatherium, the Megalonyx, the Scelidotherium, the Mylodon Darwinii and many others, which were after wards described by the great anatomist, ^Professor Owen, and deposited in the Royal College of Surgeons, London. This part of Darwin's journal is again full FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 169 of notes on the avifauna of the district, and many descriptions of birds and other animals found in our books of natural history are based on the observations made at this time. Armadilloes, snakes, rodents and reptiles of all kinds were seen. by the young naturalist and described with the most copious and accurate details. Coming up through the Province of Buenos Aires, he arrived at the City of Buenos Aires on 20th September, 1833. From thence he went overland to Santa Fe, and returned, by river, to Buenos Aires, landing at Las Conchas (or the Tigre), with the object of riding into the city from that place, but as there was a revolution going on, he could not in any event have continued his journey by boat, so perforce had to ride, making a long detour to avoid difficulties. It may be stated, in passing, that Darwin's visit to Argentina took place during the time of Rosas, who made a most favourable impression on the naturalist, whom he treated with great courtesy. Darwin left Buenos Aires a fortnight afterwards, returning to Montevideo, where he made many journeys along the banks of the Plate, and inland, and on December 6th the " Beagle " left what Mr. Hudson calls the Purple River, but what Darwin calls the muddy stream of the Rio Plata. Near San Bias the traveller encountered a shower of butterflies. The " Beagle's " course led down the coast of Patagonia by Port Desire (Deseado), San Julian and the coast of Santa Cruz. Here Darwin made many observations on the habits of the guanaco, the condor and other larger animals, as well as on those of insects. After a detour to the Falkland Islands, the " Beagle " visited Tierra del Fuego, where Darwin made notes of great interest on the Indian tribes. After passing up the Western Coast of the Continent as far as Valparaiso, Mr. Darwin again entered Argentine territory by the Portillo Pass, through the Cordilleras, visiting Mendoza, and returning by the Pass of Uspallata, the Rio de las Vacas, and the Puente del Inca. 170 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC The zoological specimens collected by Mr. Darwin during this expedition were described by Mr. John Gould in the " Zoology of the Beagle." Mr. Gould's notes were revised and the final pubhcation issued by Professor G. R. Gray. The palcentological specimens collected were described, as aheady stated, by Pro fessor Owen, and the botanical specimens by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Joseph Dalton Hooker. The latter distinguished botanist described the flora of Tierra del Fuego and south-west Patagonia in a large work entitled " Flora Antarctica," pubhshed in 1847. At the time of Darwin's visit, there was living, in quiet semi-obscurity in the far-off Province of Salta, Dr. Joseph Redhead, a man of wide instruction and considerable scientific acquirements. He was a graduate of Edinburgh University and of Gottingen. Happening, during a journey through Europe, to find himself in Paris about the year 1785, he managed to get conveyed as a prisoner to the Bastille, then the dread of Paris and to become the symbol of despotic tyranny to the whole world. He was hberated after a detention of fourteen months, and, in 1809, came to South America in the suite of Cisneros, the last of the Viceroys. He travelled considerably in the interior of South America, and wrote many scientific papers, especially on geo logical questions ; but he also studied and wrote on the properties of indigenous plants from a medicinal point of view. He finally settled in Salta. Mr. M. G. Mulhall, in his " Enghsh in South America," states that " here he passed fifty years in medical and scientific studies, dying in December, 1840, at a very advanced age, beloved and regretted by all the in habitants." The latter date is clearly an error, as in 1840 he had only been thirty-one years in South America. Another Englishman, who studied the botany of the Andine regions about this time, was Dr. Gillies, of Mendoza. He was " a young Scotch physician who came to Mendoza suffering from a severe pulmonary affection, and finding benefit from the climate settled FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 171 down here." (Mulhall). He sent his botanical speci mens to Sir Joseph Hooker, who pubhshed descriptions of them under the title of " Cesalpine Gilhesh." Dr. Gilhes was the first Englishman who explored the Damas and Planchon Passes through the Cordillera, and published a narrative of this journey in 1827. The name of Sir Woodbine Parish, F.R.S., must not be omitted from our hst of scientific writers. Not only is he famous for negotiating the treaty of peace between Argentina and Great Britain in 1825, for which he received his knighthood and a pension, but he wrote an important book entitled " Buenos Aires from the Conquest," which contained a description of the " Geology and Fossil Monsters of the Pampas." Sir Woodbine Parish was a Vice-President of the Royal Society of London. A writer, whose observations are quoted in some works on Natural History, though not himself a Naturalist, was Captain Head, who came to Argentina in 1825 as a mining explorer. He made a famous ride from Buenos Aires to Mendoza (1,000 miles) in eight days. In 1857, Messrs. Rams and Rubert explored the River Salado, or Juramento ; and in 1862 they made a second journey down the same river, accompanied this time by Mr. Thomas J. Hutchinson, F.R.G.S., F;R.S.L., F.E.S., then H.B.M. Consul in Rosario. Mr. Hutchinson joined this expedition, at the request of the British Government, with the object of dis covering if the cotton plant grew in the neighbourhood of the River Salado, and of advising as to its cultiva tion. Mr. Hutchinson wrote an interesting volume (pubhshed by E. Stanford, 1865), entitled " Buenos Aires and Argentine gleanings with extracts from a diary of the Salado Expedition, 1862-1863." A few years later (1869) he pubhshed another volume entitled " South American Recollections." From Rosario, Mr. Hutchinson went as Consul to Peni. In 1859 and 1862, Mr. Nathaniel Cox explored the Rio Negro, partly on foot and partly in a canoe, arriving 172 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC at the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi in his first journey from the Chilean side, and as far as Villarina on a second journey. In 1866 an exploring expedition was sent out by the British Government in H.M.S. "Nassau." Mr. Robert 0. Chinningham, M.D., F.L.S., accompanied the expedition as naturalist, and recorded his observa tions in a most interesting volume entitled " The Natural History of the Straits of Magellan and the West Coast of Patagonia." Although the territory explored was mainly Chilean, Mr. Cunningham's de scriptions are equally apphcable to the fauna and flora of the neighbouring Argentine shores. In 1869, Captain George Chaworth Masters, of the Royal Navy, made his famous excursion from Punta Arenas, in the Straits of Magellan, across Patagonia in a northerly direction. His wanderings took him to the foot of the Andes, from whence he crossed to Chubut, discovering the lake which bears his name. He published an account of his journey which was described by Sir Roderick Murchison to the Royal Geographical Society as " the most hazardous of all men hving, except Livingstone." Mr. Charles Ledger, for many years a resident in South America, and during a portion of that time in Salta, is known in connection with the mtroduction of the guanaco (llama) and alpaca into Austraha, for which he received the thanks of the British Govern ment and a donation of £2,000. (Mulhall). From 1870 to 1890, the principal scientific work of British naturalists was in the branch of ornithology. Mr. Wilham Henry Hudson, C.M.Z.S., well known for his writings " The Purple Land that England lost," " The Naturalist in La Plata," " Idle days in Pata gonia," etc., was for many years an indefatigable observer of bird life in Argentina. " The Naturalist in La Plata " is one of the most entrancing books on Natural History ever written. Mr. Hudson's specimens were forwarded to England to the celebrated ornithologist Professor P. L. Sclater, FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 173 F.R.S., who added notes to several of the communica tions made by Mr. Hudson to the Zoological Society of which he was a corresponding member. The following list of Mr. Hudson's communications is given in the larger work on ornithology to which reference will be made further on : — 1. Letters on the Ornithology of Buenos Aires. P.Z.S. 1869, 1870, 1871. 2. On Birds of Rio Negro and Patagonia. P.Z.S. 1872. 3. On habits of Swallows of Genus Progne. P.Z.S. 1872. 4. Further Observations on Argentine Swallows. P.Z.S. 1872. 5. Notes on habits of Churrinche. P.Z.S. 1872. 6. Notes on habits of Argentine Pipit. P.Z.S. 1873. 7. Notes on Procreant instinct of three species of cowbirds found in Argentma. P.Z.S. 1874. 8. On habits of Burrowing Owl. P.Z.S. 1874. 9. On Herons of Argentine Republic. P.Z.S. 1875. 10. Note on Spoonbill of Argentina. P.Z.S. 1876. 11. Note on Rails of Argentina. P.Z.S. 1876. 12. Note on Birds of Genus Homorus. Ibis 1885. Mr. Hudson, on leaving the Argentine Repubhc, went to reside in England, where he pubhshed the larger works referred to and also one on British Orni thology " Birds in a Village " (1893). Mr. Henry Durnford, whose untimely death in 1878 was a loss to ornithological science, resided in Argentina for three years previous to his death. He was bom and educated at Eton, of which his father was a Master. At eighteen years of age he entered a Liverpool business house, but spent his leisure in natural history studies, his communications appearing in the Zoologist, 1872-3. In 1875 he came to Buenos Aires, being twenty-two years old. The firm with which he was engaged closed its branch two years later, and young Durnford devoted himself to bird 174 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC study and to travelling. He went to the Welsh Colony in Chupat (Chubut), and then went Northwards intend ing to pass through Tucuman and Salta to Bohvia and Paraguay. Unfortunately, he died of heart disease at Campo Santo in Salta, July 13th, 1878. His pubhshed works are as follows : — 1. Ornithological notes from neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, made during five months' residence in Belgrano. Ibis 1876. 2. Notes on birds, made at Baradero. Ibis 1877. 3. Notes on birds, made at Baradero. Ibis 1878. 4. Notes on some birds observed in Chupat Valley. Ibis 1877. ' 5. Notes on birds of Central Patagonia. Ibis 1878. 6. Last expedition to Tucuman and Salta, being almost a verbal copy of his journal during the journey on which he died. Ibis 1880. " Ibis " is the journal of the Ornithological Union, of which Mr. Durnford was a member. Mr. Ernest Gibson, of Los Ingleses, Ajo, is another ornithologist, whose studies have appeared in " Ibis." 1. Ornithological notes from neighbourhood of San Antonio. Ibis 1879. 2. Notes on Birds of Paysandu, 1883. Species were sent to Mr. Dalgleish and described by Mr. Sclater. Mr. Ernest Wm. White, F.Z.S., was the son of the well known Dr. White, of Buenos Aires. His death at Philadelphia on 29th Nov., 1884, removed, all too soon, one who was an ornament to literature, as well as a keen naturalist. He pubhshed the following com munications on ornithology : — 1. Notes on Birds collected in Argentma. P.Z.S. 1882. 2. Supplementary Notes on Birds collected in Argen tina. P.Z.S. 1883. 3. Further Notes on Birds collected in Argentina. P.Z.S. 1883. No. 15. Victoria Falls, Misiones. No. 16. Lake Buenos Aires, Santa Cruz. FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 177 Mr. White also pubhshed an interesting work, in two volumes, " Cameos of the Silver Land," which is a most valuable contribution to our knowledge of the country in general as well as of its natural history. Mr. Walter B. Barrows, who resided at Concepcion del Uruguay in 1879 and 1880, and afterwards made an excursion to the Sierra de la Ventana, wrote notes on the Birds of the Lower Uruguay for the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, vol. viii., and for the Auk (1884). At length, in 1889, all this varied ornithological material was collected in a standard work, by Professor- Sclater and Mr. Hudson, entitled " Argentine Ornithology." This monumental work is in two volumes ; but, as the issue was limited to 200 signed copies, it was rather expensive and is rare. Copies may be consulted at the National Museum, Buenos Aires. In these volumes nearly five hundred Argentine species are described, and there are several well executed coloured plates. Many of our references are extracted from the Bibliography at the end of the second volume. Since the pubhcation of this work, the ornithology of the country has been left in the hands of Mr. A. H. Holland, of the Estancia Santa Elena, Halsey, who has communicated the following papers to " Ibis " : — 1. On some Birds coUected at Estancia Espartillar, near Ranchos. Ibis, 1891. 2. Further Notes on Birds of Argentina. Ibis 1892. 3. Short Notes on Birds of Estancia Espartillar. Ibis 1892. These were written after a visit to England and a re-arrangement of his collection. 4. Field Notes on Birds of Estancia Santa Elena. Ibis 1893. 5. Field Notes on Birds of Estancia Santa Elena. Ibis 1895. 6. Field Notes on Birds of Estancia Santa Elena. Ibis 1896. 178 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC In the year 1890, Captain John Page, of the Argentine Navy, endeavoured to ascend the fateful river Pil comayo. He was accompanied by Mr. J. Graham Kerr, of Edinburgh University, as naturalist. Mr. Kerr wrote several letters on the ornithology of the expedi tion, addressed to Professor T. Bayley Balfour, F.R.S. These were published in "Ibis," in 1890, 1891 and 1892. In 1893, Argentina was visited by Professor R. Lyddeker, the celebrated Enghsh Naturalist. This visit produced several articles in " Knowledge," " Ibis," etc. Amongst these we may name " The Mailed Monsters of Argentina," " On the Extinct Giant Birds of Argentina," " On the Aquatic habits of the Chaja," In 1902, Mr. H. Hesketh Prichard, F.Z.S., arrived in Argentina on a journey in search of the mylodon, which it was considered within the bounds of possi bility might still be existing in some out-of-the-way region of Patagonia. Mr. Pritchard's journey was unsuccessful. He described it in a well got up volume entitled " Through the Heart of Patagonia." The volume concludes with a list of plants collected, classi fied by Dr. Rendle and Mr. James Britten, F.L.S., of the Botanical Department of the British Museum. The present writer has, during his residence in the country, written scores of papers in the local press on subjects relatmg to the Natural History of the country and has given frequent popular lectures on the same subject. He intends shortly to pubhsh, as a special volume, a detailed account of the fauna of Argentina. For several years he was engaged as naturalist to the Argentine Rural Society and studied extensively the parasites of the domestic animals. During the locust invasion of 1891-2 he made a complete study of that insect, and his investigations were pubhshed in book form under the title of " La Langosta Argentina." He founded in 1909, in company with Mr. Larkby, also a frequent writer to the press on subjects astro- FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 179 nomical and geological, a society for the study of natural science named the River Plate Scientific Society, which contains several earnest students of Natural History. Dr. Miles Stuart Pennington, a son of the writer, is a student of Argentine Botany and while assistant in the Museum of Pharmacology of the medical Faculty made two botanical expeditions, one to Tierra del Fuego and the other to the Parana Delta and Entre Rios. During those excursions he collected almost a thousand species of plants, which are in the Museum referred to, and of many of which duphcates have been sent to the leading Museums of Europe. He has also pubhshed the following papers : — 1. Uredineas del Rio Parana. An. Arg. Sci. Soc, 1902. 2. Uredineas del Rio Parana (second paper). An. Arg. Sci. Soc, 1903. 3. Medicina Popular del Delta del Parana. 1904. 4. Enumeraci6n de Plantas Fuegianas Recolectadas. 1905. It must not be supposed that the bulk of the scientific work of the country or anything like it has been done by British observers. I have given the foregoing summary to show what my countrymen have done and not to assign to them the leading place in the scientific studies of Argentma. It is to such men as Burmeister, Berg, Ameghino, Holmberg, Lynch, Arribalzaga, and others, whom I shall name, that we owe most of our knowledge of the fauna of the country, except in the department of ornithology, and it is to such as Holmberg, Spegazini, Gallardo, Dominguez, etc., that we owe our knowledge of the flora. I will now briefly enumerate the principal species of animals and plants which have their habitat within the limits of Argentina, premising that there are very few species indeed that are peculiar to that country. L 180 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Mammalia. Primates. — The monkeys in the New World are ail true monkeys, that is to say, have long tails. They have also broad noses and hence are named Platyr- rhini to distinguish them from the Catarrhini, of the Old World. The Argentine monkeys are the Saki (Callithrix Personata, Wied.) with a non-prehensile tail, the Howling Monkey (Mycetes Caraya, Desm.), the Cay or Capuchin (Cebus Azarae, Reng.) and the pretty Marmoset or Ouistiti (Hapale Penicillata, Geoff.). Chiroptera. — The interesting order of Bats has numerous examples in the country, all the Argentine species being insectivorous. The hideous Vampire Bat (Phyllostoma Spectrum, Lin.) is found in the north of the Republic. The most common species of the Gymnorhina, which have no nasal appendage, is the Vespertilio Isidori (Ger.) which is the common " Mur- cielago " of the Argentines. Other species are 7. Nigricans (Wied.), Dysopes Naso (Wagner), Nycticejus Bonaerensis (Less.) and Noctilio Leporinus (Grelin). Insectivora. — This order, which contains the shrews and the moles, is not represented in the country. Carnivora (The flesh-eating mammals). — The Car- nivora are represented by the Cat tribe or Felidae, the Dog tribe or Canidse, the Bear tribe or UrsidsB, and the Weasel and Martens or Mustelidse. Of the cat tribe there are found in Argentina the well-known Puma or Cougar (Felis Concolor, Lin.), commonly called the " leon," the dreaded Jaguar (F. onca) always referred to in Argentina as the " Tigre," the Pampas or Straw cat (F. Pajero, Azara), the Margay or Tiger cat (F. tigrina, Lin.) which is rare, as is also the Jaguarondi (F. Jaguarondi, Azar.), the " Gato Montes " or wild cat (F. Catus, Lin.), Geoffrey's cat also called the Gato Montes (F. Geoffoyi or guigna, D'Orb.). The " Chibi guazu," a kind of Ocelot (F. mitis) and, rarely in the north, the weasel-hke Eyra (F. Eyra) and the FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 181 Colocolo (F. Colocolo). The Ocelot (F. Pardalis) has been said to be found in Patagonia, but is not usually considered an Argentine species. To the Dog tribe belong the Red Wolf or " Aguara guazu " (Canis Jubatus, Desm.), the Patagonian Fox (C. Magellanicus, Gray), also called the Culpeu, the Pampas Fox or " Aguara Chay " (Canis Azarae, Wied.), the crab eating dog or " zorro selvatico " (C. Can- crivorus, Desm.), and the Graceful Fox (C. Gracilis, Burm.) found in the Andine provinces and also in Chile, where it is called Chilla. The only representative of the Bear tribe is the Coati or Soncho (Nasua Narica, Lin.) found in the Chaco and Misiones. To the Mustehdse or Weasels and Martens belong the Zorrino, Clhincha or Skunk, whose scientific name Mephitis suffocans sufficiently describes its character, the Nutria or Otter, popularly called the Lobo acuatico (Lutra Paranensis, Reng.), the Huron Menor or Grison (Gallictis Vittata, Bell), the Huron Mayor or Tayra (G. Barbara, Lin.) which is said to be the ugliest of all the Carnivora, and the Quiqui or (Lyncodon Pata- gonicus, Gerv.). Pinntpedia. — The seals are sometimes separated from the Carnivora as a distinct order, at other times treated as a sub-order. To the Phocidae or true Seals belong the Argentine common seal or foca (Phoca vitulia, Lin.) and the false sea-leopard or Weddel's seal (Stenorhycus Weddelii), while to the Otaridse or eared seals belong the Falkland Island Fur seal or Lobo Marino (Arctocephalus Falklandicus, Forst) and Cook's Otary or the Patagonian Hair Seal, also called the Sea Lion (Otaria jubata, Forst). Rodentia. — The Rodents or gnawing animals are numerous in Argentma and some of the species are pecuhar to the country. Most of the so-called Hares are really Cavies, the only true indigenous hare being the Tapiti (Lepus Brasiliensis) found in the extreme north. The Cavies are pecuhar to South America. Amongst these are the Patagonian Cavy (DiUchotis 182 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Patagonica, Shaw), which is called by the Indians Marra ; the Conejo del campo (D. centralis, Weyen) ; the Southern Cavy (Cavia Australis), called by the Spaniards the Conejo or rabbit ; the Aperea or restless Cavy of which the Cuis (Cavia Leucopyga, Brandt) is a near form, if not an actual variety, and which is beheved to be the wild form of the guinea pig; the water Cavy, water-pig, Carpincho or Capybary (Hydro- choerus Capybara), which is the largest living rodent, and the pretty Agouti (Dasyprocta). The Coendu, Puerco Espin or Porcupine (Cercolabes Prehensilis, Lin.) is the only representative of the Family Aculeata. It is found in Misiones. To the family Octodontidse belong the Coypu or Quija, commonly, but falsely, called the nutria (Myopotamus Coypu), which is the source of the " nutria " skins sold in the market, and the Tucutuco, so called from its cry (Ctenomys Brasil iensis, Blainv.). To the family of the Chinchillas belong the Vizcacha, a most interesting rodent found everywhere in the Pampa (Lagostomus trichodactylus, Brookes), whose habits somewhat resemble those of the Marmot ; the Vizcacha de las Sierras (Lagidium Cuvieri, Wagn.), and the Chinchilla (C. lanigera), which is found in the Andine district. Of the rat and mouse tribes there are numerous species. Ungulates. — The hoofed animals are divided into two sub-orders, the Artiodactyla, or two-toed animals, and the Perissodactyla or one-toed. To the former belong the Argentine Peccary, wild Boar or Jabali (Dicotyles torquatus, Cuv.), the Guanaco (Auchenia llama), which is the wild Llama and the Vicuna (A. vicuna) of which the domesticated variety is the Alpaca. To the same sub-order belong the deer, of which there are five species in the country, namely, the Ciervo or " Guazu-puca," of Azara, (Cervus paludosus, Desm.), the Chilean deer, called also the Guemul or Huemul, (Cervus Chilensis, Gray) ; the widely spread Cervus campestris, of which the male is called the Venado and the female the Gama, and which is the " Guazu-ti " FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 183 or " Guazu-y " of the Indians ; the " Guazu Pita " of the Chaco (Cervus Rufus, 111.) and the Cervus Simpli- cornis or " Guazu bira " found in the same district. It is needless to say anything here of the domestic animals of this sub-family. Besides the horse, the only single-toed Ungulate in Argentina, is the Tapir, Anta or Gran Bestia (Tapirus Americanus, Lin.), called by the Indians " Mborebi." Cetacea. — The Whales and Porpoises, although fish-like in form, are in every respect true mammals and form the mammalian order Cetacea. The Cetacea are divided into two sub-orders, the Mystacoceti, or whalebone whales, and the Odontoceti or toothed Cetaceans. The Mystacete whales have a large head without teeth, but with baleen or whalebone plates. To this sub-order belong the Argentine species Baloe- noptera Bonaerensis (Burm.), which is one of the Rorquals or Finners ; the Phy solis Patachonicus (Gray), which has been several times thrown up on the shore near Buenos Aires. The Sibbaldicus Intermedium Antarcticus (Burm.) attains 80 feet in length. The River Dolphin or Franciscano, Stenodelphis Blainvillei, belongs to the toothed cetaceans and is one of the three fresh water species known to naturalists. It is common at the mouth of the Plate. Other dolphins are Delphinus Cymodoce (Gray) and Lagenorrhucus Cwrulus Alhus (Meyer). The Orca Magellanica is a species of grampus or killer whale, and the Phcecena Spinipinnis is a porpoise often found in the estuary of the Plate. There is one Argentine species of sperm whale, or Cachelot, the Epiodon Australis (Burm.). The remains of one of these whales, thrown up on the shore at Buenos Aires, are in the National Museum. Edentata. — Argentina is par excellence the home of the armadillos and, for ages back, the Pampas have sheltered animals of this order. The fossihsed remains of gigantic species are frequently unearthed, and in Lyddeker's " Mailed Monsters of Argentina " (Know ledge, March, 1894) are some interesting descriptions of the Pampean denizens of old. The present species 184 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC of Armadillo are the Giant Armadillo (Dasypus Gigas, Cuv.) ; the Tatu (D. Tatouay, Desm.) ; the Peludo, so called from the hairs interspersed among the armour plates (D. villosus, Desm.) ; the Muhta (D. hibridus) ; the Piche or Quirquincho (D. Minutus) ; the Mataco or Ball Armadillo (D. Apar), and the curious httle species, not bigger than a rat, and only protected by an armour plate on its back, the Pichiciego (Chlamydo- phorus Truncatus, Harl.). In some English books this last species is called the fairy pink armadillo. To the Edentata also belong the Ant eater or Tamandua (Myrmecophaga jubata, Lin.) and the Sloth, Perezoso or Perico Ligero (Bradypus Tridactylus). Marsupialia. — America shares with Australia the presence of a number of Marsupials or pouched animals. In Argentina these all belong to the Opossums or Comadrejas. The Micure (Dulelphys Azarce) is the largest species and the only one in which the pouch is fully developed. In the other species the teats are protected by a fold of skin, and the young are, after leaving the nipple, carried on the back of the mother holding on to her tail by their similar appendages. These are the thick tailed Opossum or Comadreja colorada (D. Crassicaudata), Merion's opossum, no bigger than a rat, the Chilean opossum (D. Elegans) still smaller, and the red-sided opossum (D. Brachyura) occasionally found in the province of Buenos Aires. Aves (Birds). As there are at least five hundred species of birds aheady known to mhabit Argentina, it will not be possible to detail them all. I shall, therefore, refer to the most typical or interesting species in each family. Turdidae (Thrushes). — The Dusky Thrush (Turdus Leucomel, Vieill.) is a very sweet singer, and according to Hudson, one of the finest singing birds he ever heard, the Zorzal (T. Rufiventris, Vieill.), the Calan- FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 185 dria or mocking-bird (Mimus Modulator, Gould), and the South American mocking-bird, Mimus Triurus, the prince of Argentine songsters. This species is sometimes called the " calandria de tres colas " or the " calandria blanca." Troglodytidae (Wrens). — The common wren of Europe (Troglodytes Furvus) is called the Ratona by the Argentines. There is also another species, the " Todovoz " of Azara (Cistothones Platensis). Motacilladae (Wagtails). — Of this family are found the common pipit or Cachila, also called the Correndera (Anthus Correvdera), and a rarer species (A. furcatus) or fork-tailed pipit. Hirundinldae (Swallows). — These include the domestic martin or golondrina (Progne Chalybea) ; the tree martin (Cotyle Taper a), which uses the nest of the Hornero in preference to building one of its own ; the bank swallow (Atticera Cyanoleuca), which makes its nests in the burrows of the vizcacha, and the Nacunda goatsucker, also called the duerme- duerme, gallina ciega, etc. (Podager Nacunda). Frlngillinae (Finches). — There are about fifty species of finches in the country. Amongst the most interesting are the Cardinal, conspicuous for its scarlet crest and throat (Paroaria cucullata) ; the screaming finch, so called from its note, which it repeats so rapidly that it becomes a scream (Spermophilis Cosrulea) ; the Argentine redbreast or pecho Colorado (Poaspiza Nigrorufa) ; the yellow cardinal, a frequent cage bird (P. Caniceps) ; the chingolo or song sparrow, the best known Argentine finch (Zonotrichia Pileata), unfortu nately being driven away and supplanted by the common sparrow, which is determined to rule the roost in Argentina as in other parts of the world ; the Jil guero Cabeza Negra (Chrisomitris Icterica) the male of which is distinguished by a black head ; the Jilguero Amarillo (Sycalis Brasiliensis) ; the yellow house sparrow (S. Pelzelni), common in Buenos Aires, and the Misto, which is found in flocks in the fields on a bright summer day (S. Luteola). 186 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Tanagridae (Tanagers). — These are finch-like birds, but the bill is notched near the end of the upper man dible. There are 14 species known in Argentina. The Tanagra bonaerensis or Siete Colores (seven colours) is a well known bird in the quintas near the capital. The White Capped Tanager (Stephanopherus Leucocephalus), of a deep blue colour with a few crimson feathers and a white crest, is found in the montes near the Parana. Icteridae (Cow Birds or Troupials). — These are the starlings of the New World. The Tordo, or as it is called by British residents, but quite incorrectly, the Blackbird (Molothrus bonaerensis) is a parasitic bird rarely making a nest, but always looking out for other nests in which to lay its eggs, which are hatched in a shorter time than the eggs of most other birds and therefore sooner come under the attention of the enforced foster parents. Worse than the Cuckoo, the Tordos, both male and female, have a habit of destroying the eggs in any nest they come across. There are two or three other species, not however quite so destructive as the Tordo. Belonging to the Icteridae also are the Boyero (Amblycercus Solitarius) or solitary Cassican, which makes a whistling noise like that of a " tropero " ; the Pecho Amarillo or yellow-breasted marsh bird (Pseudoleistes virescens), the red-throated mihtary marsh starling or Pecho Colorado (Sturnella Militaris) and the chestnut shoul dered hangnest (Icterus Pyropterus), which makes a short hanging nest of hchens. Corvidae (Crows and Jays). — There are no black crows in South America. Then place is taken by the blue jays, of which there are two species in Argentina, the commonest of which is the Urraca Azul or Urraca Jay (Cyanocoraz chrysops) found in the northern pro vinces and in Entre Rios, and not to be confounded with the Urraca of Buenos Aires, which is a cuckoo. Tyrannidae (Tyrant Birds). — These birds are the fly catchers of the New World. Amongst Argentine Tyrants may be mentioned the Black Crowned Tyrant {T. Coronatus) ; the Dominican Tyrant (T, Dominica) ; FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 187 the Widow Tyrant or Viudita (T. Modesta), called also Angehta de las Animas from a supposed predehction for the neighbourhood of cemeteries ; the Silverbill Tyrant or Pico de Plata (Lichenops Perspicillatus) ; the Many-Coloured Tyrant also called Siete Colores (Cya- notis Azarce), which is a beautiful bird showing plumage of black, white, green, blue, orange, yellow and scarlet ; the " Bien-te-veo " (Pitangus Bolivianus), whose cry vulgarly interpreted as " Bicho feo," is well known to all residents in or visitors to the country ; the Churrinche or Scarlet Tyrant (Pyrocephalus Rubineus), called also the Federal and Fueguero, and in Guarani " Giiira pita," and the pugnacious Tijereta or scissor- tail (Milvolus or Tyrannus Violentus) easily recognised, when flying, as its tail feathers open and close like a pair of scissors. Dendrocolaptidae (Wood Hewers or Creepers) include the Common Miner, manca cola, minera or caminante (Geosita Cunicularia), which makes its nest in Vizcacha burrows ; the Lenatero or Wood Gatherer, also called Espinero and Anunibi (A. Acuticaudatus) ; the Brown Cachalote (Honorus Lophotes) and, most interesting of aU, the Red Oven Bird, Hornero or Casero (Furnarius Rufus) whose mud nests form con spicuous objects all over the country. Trochilidae (Humming Birds). — Of these there are about a dozen species in Argentina, where they are called Picaflores. The commonest species is the glittering Humming Bird (Chlorostilbon Splendidus). The Red-throated Humming Bird (Hylocharis Sap- pharina) and the Angela Humming Bird (Calliperidia Forcifera) are also fairly common species. Picidae (Woodpeckers). — There are 13 species in Argentina. Of these are Boie's Woodpecker (Cam- pephil/us Boiaei) ; the varied Woodpecker or Come Palo (Picus Mixtus) ; the Redcrested Woodpecker (Chrysophilus Cristatus) and the Pampas Woodpecker or Carpintero (Colaptes Agricola). Alcedinidae (Kingfishers). — These include the Ringed Kingfisher (Ceryle Torquatus) or Martin Pescador, 188 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC which is the common species near the capital, and a smaller species Ceryle Americana. Cuculidae (Cuckoos). — The Cuckoos of America are free from the parasitical vices of those of the Old World. The best known species is the Piriri or Guira Cuckoo, called near Buenos Aires the Urraca (Guira Piririgua). A common species is the Blackbilled Cuckoo or Coucou (Coccyzus Melanocoryphus). Rhamphastidae (Toucans). — In the extreme north is found the Rhamphastos Toco, a species of Toucan, so well known for their prominent bills. Psittacidae (Parrots). — There are ten Argentine species of parrots of which the Loro Barranquero or Burrowing Parrot (Conurus Patagonicus) is one of the best known. We must also mention the Green Parrakeet (Bolborhynchus Monachus) and the common Green Parrakeet called the Cotorro orCatita. The general name for parrots is Loro. We frequently see in cap tivity in Buenos Aires specimens of the Aras or Macaws, of which [two species are found in the Chaco, the Blue Macaw (Ara Glaum) and the Red Macaw (Ara Macao). Raptores. — The Birds of Prey are represented in Argentma by the Owls, the Vultures and the Hawks. Strigidae (Owls). — Besides the Common Owl (Strix Flammea) mention must be made of the Lechuzon or Short-eared Owl (Asio Brachyotus) ; the Virginian owl, called the nacuruta (Bubo Virginianus) ; the Burrowing Owl or Lechuza comun del Campo (Spoo- tyto Cunicularia), which frequents the burrows of the Vizcacha, and the Chohba Owl (Scops Brasilianus). Vulturidae (Vultures). — The most important member of the vulture family is the Condor (Sarcor- hamphus Condor), so frequently referred to in descrip tions of Andine scenery. Two species of purging vultures are also found, the Turkey Vulture or Turkey Buzzard (Cathartes Aura) and the Black Vulture or Galhnazo, also called, incorrectly, the Cuervo (Cathartes Atratus). Falconidae (Hawks). — Foremost among the Argen tine Hawks are the Carancho (Polyborus Tharus) FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 189 and the Chimango (Milvago Chimango). Both these birds are common objects around slaughtering houses, and the chimango is the last bird to leave a skeleton. The Red-beaked Buzzard or Gavilan (Buteo tricolor) eats the cuis or wild guinea pig. The Chilean Eagle (Haliaetis Melanoleucus) is found in the west and north. The Halconcito (Falco Sparverius) is a kind of kestrel and does not hesitate to make its nest in the churches. Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants). — The Argentine or Brazilian Cormorant, commonly called the Vigua or Bigua (P. Brasilianus), is a common object in the Parana Delta and generally over the country. Ardeidae (Herons). — This family includes the Grey Heron or Garza Gris (Ardea Cocoi), very like the common Heron of Europe ; the White Egret (A. Egretta), whose range of migration is from Nova Scotia to Patagonia ; the Snowy Egret (A. Candidissima) ; the httle Blue Heron of Entre Rios and the Variegated Heron (Ardetta Involucris). A summer visitor to Buenos Aires is the Whistling Heron (Ardea Sibilatrix), the Flauta del Sol, of Azara. The Dark Night Heron or Bnija (Nycticorax Obscurus) is only seen in the evening. Ciconiidae (Storks). — The Argentine storks are the Jabini (Mycteria Americana), which is five feet high and has a wing expanse of eight feet ; the Maguari Stork of the Pampas (Euxenura Maguari) and the Wood Ibis or Cigiiena (Tantalus Loculator). Plataleddae (Ibis). — To this family belong the White-faced Ibis (Ibis Falconellus) ; the Black-faced Ibis or Bandurria, also called Cucurau (Ibis Melanges) ; the Plumbean Ibis or Bandurria de las Lagunas (Ibis Guarauna), and the Whispering Ibis (/. Infuscatus). The Spoonbills also are of this family and include the Rosy Spoonbill or Espatula (Ajaja Rosea). The Argentine Flamingo or Flamenco is the Phoenicopterus Ignipalliatus with rosy red plumage and crimson wing coverts. Palamedeidae (Screamers). — The Crested Screamer, Chauna or Chaja (Chauna Chavaria) is a well known bird, easily tamed and then as useful as a watchdog. 190 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Anatidae (Swans, Ducks and Geese). — This family, so dear to sportsmen, has many representatives in the country. The principal are the Black Headed Swan (Cygnus Nigricollis) of the south ; the Barred and Magellan Upland Geese (Bernicia Dispar and Magellanica) ; the Andean Goose or Pluquen (B. Melanoptera) ; the Crested Duck, Pato Crestado (S. Carunculata) ; the Muscovy Duck or Pato Real (Carina Moschata) ; the Fulvous Tree Duck which may at times be heard whistling at night as it flies (Dendro- cygna Fulva) ; the Yellow-billed Teal (Querqueduh Flavirostris) ; the Ring-necked Teal (Q. Torquata) ; the Grey Teal (Q. Versicolor) ; the Blue-winged Teal (Q. Cyanoptera) ; the Brazihan Teal, Pato Portugues or Ipecutiri (Q. Brasiliensis) ; the Red Shoveller (Spatula Platalea) ; the Chiloe Widgeon, or as it is called by sportsmen, the Whistler or Overa (Mareca Sibilatrix) ; the Brown Pintail (Dafila Spinicaudata) ; the Rosy-billed Duck (Metopiana Peposaca) and, of the spinytailed ducks, the Ferruginous or Rusty Lake Duck (Erismatura Ferruginea). Columbidae (Doves). — Among Argentine doves are the Common Wood Pigeon of the country (Columba Picazuro) ; the Torcaza or spotted dove (Zenaida Maculata) ; the Picui or Tortohta (Columbula Ticui), and the solitary Pigeon of the Plate district (Engyptila Chalcanchenia) . Graced ae (Curassows). — These birds are a sub-order of the Galliformes or Game Birds. The most interesting Argentine species is the Dark Guan (Penelope Obscura), called also the Yacu, Yacuhu and Pavo del Monte. This bird is brilliantly coloured and is not unlike the Pheasant. There are two other species of curassow found in the northern provinces, Ortolus Canicollis and Crax Sclateri, the latter being the " Mitu " of Azara. Rallidae (Rails). — There are 14 species of rails, waterhens and coots in Argentina, the principal being the Spotted Rail (Rallus Maculatus) ; the Black Rail, called also Burrito (R. Rythyrhyncus) ; the Antarctic Rail (R. Antarcticus) ; the Ypecaha Rail (Aramides FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 191 Ypecaka) ; the Spot Winged Crake (Porzana Salinasi) ; the Little Water Hen (Porphyriops Melanops) ; the Red-gartered Coot (Fulica Armillata) ; the Red-fronted Coot (F. Leupopygia) ; the Yellow-billed Coot (F. Leu- coptera), and the Southern Courlan (Aramus Scolopaceus). Cariamedae. — There are two species of Cariamas, of which the commonest is the Chunga Burmeisteri, called the Chunia by the natives. Parridae (Jacanas). — The Jacana is a curious bird with enormously long toes and brilliant colouring. It is the Parra Jacana of Linnoeus. Charadriidae (Plovers). — The best known and most interesting Argentine plover is the Teru-teru or Cayenne Lapwing (Vanessa Cayennensis) : the curious habits of this bird have been described by Hudson and others. The American Golden Plover (C. Dommicus) is called the Chorlo in Southern Argen tina. This bird arrives from the arctic regions in August. The Winter Plover, on the contrary, breeds in South Patagonia and the Falklands and migrates north in April. Scolopacodae (Snipes). — Most of the Argentine snipes are arctic birds and migrate to Argentina. The Paraguayan Snipe or Becasina (Gallinago Para- guaiae), the Teru Real or Zancudo (Himantopus Brasil iensis) and the painted Snipe or Dormilon (Rhynchaea Semicollaris) are not migratory. The chief migratory species are Bartram's Sand Piper or Batitu, also called the Chorlo Solo (Actiturus Bartramius) ; the Esquimo Whimbrel or Courlis (Numenius Borealis), the Greater Yellow Shank (Totanus Melanoleucus), etc. All the snipes are called indiscriminately Chorlo in the Argen tine camp. Laridae (Gulls). — There are about a dozen species of gulls in the country. The chief species are the Black-tailed Skimmer (Rhyncops Melanura) ; the Great Billed Tern (Phaetusa Magnirostris) ; the Eye- browed Tern (Sterna Superciliaris) ; the Dominican Gull (Larus Dominicanus) ; the Spotted Winged Gull [L. Maculipennis) commonly called the gaviota— 192 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC although this is a general term for gulls— and the Grey Capped Gull (L. Cirrocephalus). Podicipedidae (Grebes).— The Great Grebe (Podi- ceps Bicornis) is called the Laca Cornudo from its habit of erecting its occipital crest. Another species is the American Dabchick (Tachybaptes Dominicus), which is common in Buenos Aires and the Pampa. Aptenodytidae (Penguins). — On the south coast is found the Jackdaw Penguin or Pajaro Nino (Speniscus Magellanicus). Tinamidae (Tinamous). — By the European name of Partridge (perdiz) are known in Argentina several species of Tinamous. These birds are well known to sportsmen. The commoner species are the Great Tinamou or Perdiz Grande (Rhyncotus Rufescens), which is called the Martineta in the Buenos Aires markets ; the Perdiz Comun (R. Maculosa) and the true Martineta or Copetona (Caladromus Elegans). Rheidae (Rheas). — The Argentine Ostrich or Aves- truz is really a Rhea and in many ways different from the true Struthio of Africa. The common Rhea (R. Americana) is well known. Another species is Darwin's Rhea (R. Darwini) found in Chile and Patagonia. The native name is the Nandu. Those who wish for full information, as to the different species, can obtain it by consulting the monograph of Messrs. Sclater and Hudson referred to above. For the information of residents in Argentma I may say that there are copies of this work both in the National Library and the National Museum. I may also say that any one wishing for information on any depart ment of Natural History will find Sr. Pendola, the secretary of the latter institution, always ready to assist a bona fide enquirer to the utmost of his ability. Reptilia and Amphibia. The various Orders of Reptiles have their repre sentatives in Argentina though their number is not FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 193 so great as the extent of the country would lead us to expect. I will name the most important species of each order. Crocodilia. — The Argentine members of this order belong to the Caimans. The native name is Yacare. They are to be found in the Alto Parana and Uruguay rivers. The two Argentine species are Alligator lati- rostris (Daud.) and A. Sclerops (Cuv.). Chelonia (Tortoises and Turtles). — The principal Argentine river chelonians are the Hydromedusa Tectic- fera (Cope) and the Platemys Hilarii (Bibr.), the latter common in the rivers of Cordoba. The Testudo Argen tina is the principal species of land tortoise. The Argentine name for the tortoise is Tortuga. Lacertllia (Lizards). — There are several species of lizards, but the best known species are the common Green Lizard or Lagartija (Teius Teyou, Fitz.) and the large and handsome Lagarto the Tegu (Tupinambis Teguexin, Blgr.). This hzard, which is often incorrectly spoken of as the Iguana, is the terror of the poultry yard. Its flesh is sometimes eaten and the fat of its tail is popularly regarded as a cure for rheumatism. Ophidia (Snakes). — There are a considerable number of snakes in Argentina, but fortunately few are dan gerous. The Vibora de la Cruz (Trigonocephalus Alter- natus) is a poisonous species which is now rare, except in the outside camps. It is beautifully marked and has a black cross on the head. The Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus) is still rarer and only found in the Chaco and neighbourhood. It is called by the natives Cascabel. The common serpent with the red belly found all over the camp is the Coronella Puhhella. Another species (Liophis Reginae) is grey, black and green. The green tree snake Philodryas Holfersii is found in the neighbourhood of the Parana. In the woods of Misiones and the north is found the Anaconda or Boa (Eunectes Murinus) called lampa- lagua. Alhed to the deadly coral snake and the Naya or Cobra of India is the Elaps Marcgravii found in Mendoza, etc. 194 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Amphibia. — The Argentine Amphibia belong to the Batrachians or Froga and toads. There are many kinds of Batrachians, but the only ones necessary to name are the Tree Frog (Hyla Pulchella), the colour of which is green, blue or grey, according to its sur roundings, and the Horned Frog or Escuerzo, about which all kinds of legends as to its poisonous properties are told in the camp. This frog, the Ceratophrys Ornata, though very " bravo," as the natives say, is certainly not in the least degree venomous. The colouring of the Escuerzo is beautiful, being mottled with green, olive and gold, but its shape is hideous. Pisces (Fishes). It cannot be said that the Argentine fishes are well known. Drs. Berg and Holmberg have devoted con siderable attention to the subject ; but, as yet, the number of fishes described and classified must be small in comparison to the actual number of species in Argentine waters. In the following summary I shall name the most important species, especially those which find their way into the markets of the large cities. Attempts are being made to estabhsh fisheries in various parts, and a special section of the Agricultural Department is devoted to the development of fishing as an industry. Chimaeridae (Spooks). — The Callorhyncus Callo- rhyncus, or Gallo, is the only Argentine species of this remarkable family. Teleostomi. — This sub-class includes all the fishes, except a few aberrant forms as the Spooks, and the Sharks and Rays. To avoid the use of terms which are purely scientific and would not add to the value of the book for the general reader, I shall refer rather to families than to orders and sub-orders. Percipormes (Perch-hke Fishes). — To this group belong the Cochero (Dules Auriga) ; the Mero (Acan- thisteus Patagonicus and Brasiliensis) ; the Truchas FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 195 (Persichihys Trucha and Laevis) ; the Burro (Lobotes Surinamensis) ; the Barbo or Barbillo (Mullus Bar- batus), which is a species of mullet ; the Sea Breams (Sparus Pagrus) or Besugo and Diplodus Argenteus or Sargo. The Besugo Blanco belongs to the Cir- rhitidae, and is the Chilodactylus Macropterus. Scleneformes (Umbrines, Meagres and Drums). — To this group belong the Pescadillo (Cynascion Striatus) ; the Pescadillo de red (Lagenichthys Anclyodon) ; the Burriqueta (Scimna Adusta) ; the Corvina (Pachypops Furciwus) ; the Corvalo (Polyclemus Brasiliensis) ; the Curbina (Micropogon Undulatus) ; the Roncadera (Mor- natus) ; the Pargo Blanco (Umbrino Canosi), and the Chanchito, sometimes called Palometa (Pogomias Fas- ciatus). Trichiuredae (Hair Tails). — There is one species called the Pez Sable (Trichiurus Lepturus). Carangidae (Horse Mackerels) include the Pampano (Trachynotus Glaucus) ; the Palometa (Paropsis Sig- nata), and various fishes captured off Montevideo. Scomberldae (Mackerels). — To this group belong the Caballa (Scomber Scombrus) ; the Bonito (Sarda Sarda), and the Anchoa, of which the young is called the Burel and of which there are three species (Pona- tomus Saltatrix, Seriola Rivoliana and Seriolella Porosa). Echeneidae (Sucking Fish). — The Remora, alhed to the Pilot Fish, is the only species. Percophidae. — The Congrio Real (Percophis Brasil iensis). Eleglnidae. — The Robalo (Eleginus Maclovinus). Cottidae (Gurnards). The Rubio (Prionotus punc- tatus). Atherlnidae (Sand Smelts). — To this family belong that favourite group of fishes so famihar to all residents in and visitors to Argentina, the Pejereys. This word is derived from Pez del rey (fish for a king). The chief species are Atherinichthys Vomerina, Platensis, Micro- lipidotus, Laticlavia, Argentinensis and Bonaerensis. Here I may remark that, although above there are certain fishes named Pescadilla to which Dr. Berg has 196 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC allotted scientific names, this name, which really means little fish, is popularly applied to all fishes less than 10 centimetres in length. Mugilidae (Grey Mullets). — To this family belong three species of Lisa, a dehcate fish often found on the Restaurant menus. They are Mugil Brasiliensis, M. Lisa, and M. Platanus. Scombresocipormes. — This group includes the Fly ing Fish or Pez Volador (Exoccetus Orbignyanus) and the Aguja, probably a species of gar-pike (Hemwhamphus Unifasciatus). Batrachidae (Frog Fishes). — Of this group we find the Bagre Sapo (Porochthys Porosissimus). Syngnathidae (Sea Horses). — To this strange group belong the Aguja del Mar or Pipe Fish (Syngnathus Acicularis) and a pretty species of Sea Horse or Caballo Marino (Hippocampus Guttulatus). Tetrodontidae (Sea Hedgehogs). — There is one species of this family, the Tambor (Lagocephalus Laevi- gatus). Diodontidae (Globe Fishes). — There are two species (Chilomycturus Schoepfi and C. Geometricus). Gadidae (Cod). — The well known Brotula (Phycis Brasiliensis) belongs to this family. Merlucidae (Hakes).— The Merluza (M. Gayi) is a species of Hake. Pleuronectidae (Flat Fish). — There are numerous species of flat fish to which the general term Lenguado is given. The principal are, Hippoglossus Notata, a species of Hahbut, Solea Kaufi, a sole, and Symphurus Plagusia, vulgarly called the Tapaculo, a species of plaice. The Lengiiita is Aphoristia Ornata. There is a fresh|water species Achirius Tricospilus. Apodes (Eels). — To the eel tribe belong the Con- grio, Leptocephalus Conger ; the Moreno, Sidera Ocellata, and a species of electric eel, Sternarchus Albifrons, and the Anguila. The Siluridae (Cat Fishes) are well represented in Argentina and include the various species of Bagre, the Viejas, the Pega-pega, the Yuskas of Salta, the Photo.: B. C. Moody. No, 17. Sierra de La Ventana, No. 18, Rocking Stone Tandil, FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 199 Armado (Doras Maculatus), the Zurubi (Platy stoma Orbigniana), the Pati (Pimelodus Pati), the Manguruyu (P. Mangurus), the Manduvi (Ageneiosus Brevilis), and the Moncholo (Pimelodus). Characldae (Southern Carps). — This is a most important group of fresh water fishes and includes many of the best known elements of the Argentine menu. The name Dorado is apphed to at least four species of Salminus, namely, S. Brevidens, S. Platensis, S. Paranensis and S. Maxillaris. The Tararira is the Macrodon Trahira. The Dentudo is a fish with large canine teeth, Anacystus Argenteus. The name is also apphed in Tucuman to a species of Macrodon. The Huevada is Curunatus Gilherti Brevipennis. A common fish is the Boga (Anastomus Platai). The Palometa (Pygocentrus Natteri) is the fish which is referred to by all travellers in tropical America as the Pirayas or Piranas. It is difficult to catch, as it bites the hook easily in two. The name Pacu is given to at least four species of the genus Myletes. The term Mojarra or Mojarrita is apphed in the River Plate to a number of small fish, whether of fresh or salt water ; but the true Mojarra is a species of Tetragon. Brycon Orbig- nyanus is called the Salmon or Pirapita. Haplopomi. — This group includes a large number of very small fishes. The males are much smaller than the females and are the smallest of all hving fishes. They are msotly viviparous and are in Argentina generally found in fresh water. They include species of the genera Cynolobias, Fitzroyia, Glandodon Jenynsia, etc. Clupeidae (Herrings). — To this family belong the Lacha (Clupea Pectinata), the Arenque (C. Maderiensis) and the famous Anchoa which, in the writer's opinion, is the richest of all Argentine fish as an article of food[j Its scientific name is Engraulis Oligolepsis. Alhed species are the Anchoita or Sardina]*(#foZe- phorus Oliolus and Lycengraulus Grossidens). Cyclostoma (Lampreys). — There are two species erf lamprey, Exomegas Microstomus and Geotria iis, the latter a fresh water species. 200 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Elasmobranchii (Sharks and Rays). — There are several members of the Shark tribe found in Argentine waters, notably the Spiny Dog Fish (Squalus Acanthias), and the Pintarrojo or Dog Fish (Scyllium Chilensis), two species of Topes are called Tiburon or Cazon, the Galeus Canis and the Galeorhinus Galeus. The Hammer- headed Shark (Zygaena Tudes) is also found as well as the Angel Fish (Squatina) and a species of blue shark (Carcharias Americanus). Of the Rays, there are several species of the genus Raya and called popularly by that name. There is also a fresh water species Potamotrygon Byachyura and a species named Chucho (Dasybatis Pastinaca). The Myliobatis Aquila belongs to the Eagle Rays, or Sea Devils, and the Electric Ray (Discopyge Tschudii) is reckoned among the Argentine Fauna. The Rhino- batus Undulatus is popularly named the Guitarra. It should be said that a considerable quantity of the fish consumed in the Capital is caught in the lake at Chascomus. Invertebrata. It is customary, in summaries such as the present, to treat the invertebrate animals with scant courtesy and to say very httle about them. When, however, we consider the important part that is played by some of the humbler members of the animal kingdom, we are bound to admit that the invertebrata deserve better treatment at our hands. The locusts, which periodically invade the country, are of more importance than all the Tigers and Lions in the Chaco ; the insects, which, on the one hand, destroy and, on the other hand, fertilize our plants, are to us vastly more important than any number of wild animals or reptiles. The flocks and herds which roam over our camps are hable to attacks from internal and external parasites that, on more than one occasion, have seriously affected the census returns of our domestic animals. Man himself is far more at the mercy of the invertebrates FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 201 than of the larger animals. It is, as was said long ago, the httle things of the earth that confound the mighty. Therefore, although it is impossible for many reasons to detail species as in the preceding part of this chapter, it is absolutely necessary to give such an account of the insects and other lower forms of life as will show their importance and give some idea of the part they play in the economy of nature. No attempt at proportion is aimed at in the following summary ; but those species are indicated which call for special mention. Even with this limitation, much will be left unsaid from want of space. Mollusca. Just as in English the greater part of the Mollusca are classed as Shell Fish and Snails, so in Spanish they are referred to as Conchas (bivalves) and cara coles. Bivalves. — On the coasts are found two or three species of the Oyster family (Ostrea) and some forms of Scallops (Pecten). A large species of Mussel (Mytilus) is often seen in the markets. The fresh water mussels of the genera TJnio and Anodonto are common in the rivers, some thirty species being known, most of which were described by D'Orbigny. The " conchilla " of the Province of Buenos Aires, etc., is largely composed of the shells of Azara Labiata of the family of the Cyrenidae. Gastropods (Snails, Whelks, etc.). — The fresh water streams contain species of the genera Ceratodes, Ampul- laria, Paludestrina, etc. The last named is abundant, especially the species A. caniculata. Of the slugs or " bichos babosa," the chief forms are Limax Argentinus, Vaginellus Bonaerensis and V . Paranensis. There are also many species of true snails of the genera Planorbis, Bulimus and Helix. The edible snail is Helix Lactea. It was introduced into Buenos Aires by Sr. Philidiano 202 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Pueyrredon, whose name is associated with the old Barracas bridge. Of the other orders of Mollusca there are many examples in Argentma, but to detail them would be of no interest to the general reader. The authorities on Argentine mollusca are D'Orbigny and Doering. On the coasts of the Atlantic are numerous species of Bryozoa or Polyzoa. I have in my collection numerous specimens of Flustra, Bicellaria, Bugula Lepralia, etc., and I have seen two beautiful species of fresh water Polyzoa or Lophopus. The Polyzoa are frequently classed as Molluscoidee, having certain affinities with the mollusca. Articulata. Those animals whose bodies are divided into seg- menta are included in the sub-kingdom Articulata, Annulosa or Arthropoda. They include the Barnacles, Crustaceans, Spiders and Mites, Centipedes and Mille pedes, Protracheata and insects. The Cirripedia or Barnacles are abundant, espe cially in the south. They are of the genera Lepas and Balanus. They are found chnging to the bottoms of ships and attached to piers and similar structures. It was by a thorough investigation of these animals that Darwin first became recognised as an authority on zoology. Crustacea To this class belong the various species of crabs, lobsters, entomostraca, etc. There are numerous species of Entomostraca found in the waters of the country, especially noticeable being the various forms of Daphnia or fresh water flea, common in algibes, as also cyclops and other Copepodes. The higher Crustacea include the woodhce, called " mulitas," from their habit of coiling themselves into a ball like a species of armadillo, FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 203 the Macrura or lobsters, prawns and shrimps. The prawns, called Langostinos, of the family Crangonidce, are lately common objects of the table. There are also several species of lobster, or langosta de mar, and a fresh water cray fish (Potamergus Platensis). Many kinds of crabs, or Cangrejos, are to be found both in the sea and in the rivers, and in the south may be obtained fine specimens of a large species of spider crab probably of the genus Maia. Scorpions, Spiders and Mites. Numerous Scorpions are found in the camp in most parts of the country, but in the neighbourhood of the capital they are now rare. They are not of large dimensions and we rarely hear of anyone being stung by them. Spiders are a numerous family and bear a most evil reputation. Any large specimen is at once re garded as a tarantula and, although the famous taran tula of Italy is not found in Argentma, there are many species whose bite is capable of producing a painful wound. There is a large grey spider, in appearance not unlike the famous Mygale or bird spider, which is very common. It is usually found in couples. The gossamer spider is sometimes found in large numbers floating on its miniature aeroplanes. The Epeiridae or garden spiders weave their beautiful geometrical webs in all gardens, and one species, which is found in the provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes, lives in com munities and is called the Epeira socialis. It is, however, amongst the Mites, insignificant as they appear to be, that we must look for some of the most important of the Argentine fauna. What the insects are to the agriculturist, the mites are to the stock raiser. It is a mite (the Psoroptes communis) which causes the scab or sarna in sheep and necessitates the employment of sheep dips all over the Argentine camp. There are allied species which attack horses 204 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC and cattle ; but their ravages are not so serious, as they do not decrease the value of the hides to the same extent as the sheep scab does fleece. It is to an Ixodes or Tick popularly named " garrapatas " that the disease in cattle called Tristeza is due, and in many parts of the country the cattle have to be regularly protected by special dips against this serious plague. An exceedingly annoying mite, which causes even serious ulceration in human beings, is the so-called " bicho Colorado," or red mite (Tetranychus Molestis- simus), which attacks mankind and other warm-blooded animals during the summer months. Centipedes and Millipedes. These are not represented by any very formidable species, except perhaps in the Chaco. A species of Scutigera is very common in Argentine camp houses, specially of the old style with open roofs. It is not an ugly creature when examined, being rather prettily marked. Its legs are of varying length, increasing in size backwards. It is quite harmless and feeds on insects. There are some eight species of Scolopendra, the largest being six inches in length. The Millipedes, which are cylindrical in shape and have two pairs of legs to each segment, are vegetable feeders and are not venomous. They are mostly lead coloured or black and are found about the roots of plants,|under stones and even on trees. I have seen several specimens of Peripatus, which is a strange creature between the Myriapods and the insects, having a flattened body with from 20 to 40 segments, each with two imperfectly jointed feet. They are found under leaves and rotten wood, and are viviparous. Insecta To attempt to describe the insect hfe of Argentina in such a notice as the present is impossible. I shall, FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 205 therefore, only name the most representative or im portant species of each order. Coleoptera (Beetles). — The Cecindelido3 or Tiger Beetles are represented by numerous species, as is the other family of carnivorous ground beetles, the Cara- bidae, to which belong those dark coloured, generally nocturnal, beetles, which are attracted to the interior of houses by the light and are not infrequently styled " hediondos " on account of the smell which they leave behind them. To the latter family belong also the metalhc coloured beetles of green or copper tint and the Bombardiers or " Bombarderos," belonging to the genus Brachinus, with blue-black elytra (wing cases) which expel an acid fluid of a volatile nature, when alarmed. The Water Beetles, belonging to the genus Dytiscus and its alhes, are numerous and may be frequently seen at night at considerable distances from their aquatic haunts. The Clavicornes or burying beetles are common and are represented by many different genera, Der- mestes, Necrophora, etc. The Lamellicornes or Chafers and Dung Beetles are also very numerous, including several species of Trox and Cetonia. There is a species found on rose and other trees, with green and white spots. A large greenish beetle, with a prominent horn, is Phaneus imperator. To the Buprestidae belong the long, narrow beetles with pectinated antenna? such as Psiloptera Corinthia, P. Tucumana, etc But the most interesting of these beetles are the various fire flies or, as they are called, " luciernagas." These belong to the Elateridae or springing beetles, called in English the Click Beetles or, by the farmers, wire worms. The smaller species are called by the natives " Salta perricos." There is a large species with hghts on the shoulders called the " Tuco " (Pyrophorus Punctatissimus). I have seen several females of the glow worm Lampyris. The Vesicatores or blistering beetles are represented by the " Bicho Moro " (Lytta Punctata). The weevils 206 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC are common in Argentina, as elsewhere, and are called " gorgojos." The Longicornes or long horned beetles include a number of common species called in the camp " gal- litos," of the genus Mallodon. One form, the Mallodon Spinibarbis, is popularly called the " Tagamoco." It bores big holes into the willow and other trees. Many beetles of this group destroy timber and fruit trees while in the larval stage and are called " Bichos Tala- dros." A large beetle — in fact the largest beetle found in Argentina — is found in Santiago del Estero and Tucuman. This is the Collared Prionus (Enoplocerus Armillatus). Its larva destroys the wood of the Quebracho trees and is called by the natives " Come- palo." It is nearly four inches in length and its antennae are still longer. The ladybirds, coccinellidae, or " Vacas de San Antonio " are well represented and include C. Erythoptera, Hippodamia Connexa, etc. Orthoptera. — The Orthoptera include the strangest of all insects. The wing cases, instead of being hard and chitinous like the elytree of the beetles, are leathery. To this order belong the earwigs, cockroaches, locusts, crickets, praying insects, stick insects, etc. The Forfi- culidae or earwigs, " taladra orejas," are found in the country to the extent of some half dozen species, one of which is shghtly phosphorescent. The Mantidae or Praying Insects are fairly common. They are called " Mamboreta " and are supposed to answer the question Dande esta Dios ? (where is God ?) by pointing upwards with their antennae. One of the Argentine Mantidae has a red spot on the front wings ; another has the front wings greenish and almost transparent, and another has these wings brown. The eggs of the Mantis may be found on the branches of plants, where they form a pyramidal hard mass. The cockroaches are represented by two large species nearly two inches in length, one of which is common in the houses of the capital, and by several smaller species, one of which, with dehcate green wings, is by no means ap parently a relative of the disgusting cockroach of the FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 207 kitchen which is becoming as acclimatised in Argentina as in London. Argentines call these insects " cuca- rachas." The Stick Insects or Phasnida} are common and belong to the genus Cladocerus, etc. ; they are popularly called " Caballos del Diablo." There are many species of crickets and the Mole Cricket (Curtilla Grillotalpa) is frequently met with. Recently, this species played havoc with the cricket ground of the B.A. Club at Palermo. There are many species of grasshoppers, both with long and short antennae, and alhed to them is the great plague of the country, the so-called Locust or " Langosta," Acridiun or Schistocerca Paranense. This insect was fully studied by the writer during the year 1891 and described in a monograph, " La Langosta Argentina." Neuroptera (Nerve Winged Insects). — The Dragon Fhes or Libellulw are well represented. The commonest form is the Mschvm Bonaerensis, which is frequently found in immense numbers. There are also species of Libellula and of the slender bodied genus Agrion. The native name for the dragon flies is " Alguacil." The Ephemerido3, or May Flies, are also at times very numerous. These insects, which are often born (as perfect insects) after sunset and die before the following sunrise, are sometimes found in numbers such as to cover the streets. I remember one October seeing enormous quantities which covered the streets for three nights running. They are soft four-winged creatures, almost like moths, but with long setae or bristles, sometimes three times the length of the body, at the tail end. There are several species of the allied order of Caddis Fhes, whose cases are found in the rivers of the interior, notably in the Rio Primero in Cordoba and in the rivers of Tucuman. Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps and Ants). — These insects, which are furnished, so far as the female sex is concerned, with stings or ovipositors, are very numerous. The bees include the species Antheridium 208 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Steloides, Melipona Molesta, Bombus DahThornii and other species. The large bee which is common all over the country goes by the name of " Manganga." The wasps Vespidce include the Polistes Moris, which makes its nest in the windows and doorways of houses, the Chartergus Chartarius, or " lechiguana," and the well known wasp of the " Camuati," which makes a large nest in trees. There is a solitary wasp, which makes its nest of clay and deposits, at the bottom of each nest, a number of paralysed spiders for the benefit of the young when they hatch from the eggs. The large wasp which is so frequently responsible for un pleasant sensations, especially in the head, which is its favourite point of attack, is the Pepsis Heros. The ants are represented by more than fifty species. The common red ant is Atta Hystrix and the common black ant, which likes to build its nest under the draw ing-room floor or other specially inconvenient spot, is the Atta Lundi. In the north is found the Dinoponera Grandis, the largest South American ant, the sting of which pro duces great pain. Other species are Solinopsis Geminata, common below stones ; the Monomorium Pharaonis, generally distributed ; the solitary Iridomyrmex Humilis ; the yellow Prenolepis Fulva and the Pogonomyrmex Cunicularius, which is found near Tandil and makes its nest in the form of a snail shell. Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths). — These insects are classed together in the common tongue as Mari- posas. There are some very beautiful species in the country. The Papilionido3 are large and beautiful butterflies allied to the English Swallow-tails. There are two divisions of these family ; one called Archivi in which the colours are black and yellow and the other Trojani in which the yellow is replaced by red. The species Papilio Thoas is very common in Buenos Aires. In the alhed species Euryades the female has almost transparent wings. The Pierido3, alhed to the garden white, orange tips and clouded yellows of Enghsh entomolgy, include FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 209 many species of black-veined whites of which the commonest is P. Autodice. The Colias Lesbia is common in alfalfa fields and is remarkable for the variations in the wing colouring, the males being a reddish auburn and the females varying from the auburn of the male to a shade of green and often having male and female wings on the same specimen. Another common species is Terias Agave or black-tipped yellow. There are at least two species of Danais or Black-veined Brown, D. Archippus and D. Erippus. The Heliconidce include the pretty Heliconia Phyllis. The Nymphalidae, which, in England, include the Peacock and Tortoise Shell Butterflies, are represented by some very beautifully marked species. Such are Eresia Janthe, Colcenus Phcerusa and Julia, the fritillary (Agraulis Vanillas) with silver marking on the underside of the wings, and Euptoeta Claudia. Other species are the Pyrameis Carye and the common Junonia Lavinia. The " 80 butterfly " or Callicone Candrena is noteworthy for the distinct markings below the wings, in the form of the figures 80. The Morphos are large and beautiful species not often found, except in the north ; M. Adonis is a rich metallic blue, M . Epistrophus is bluish white with black markings and a wing expanse of more than five inches, and M . Achilles has black wings adorned with a blue band and extending when unfolded to six inches. The Satyrince are marked with eye spots on the under and sometimes on the upper surface of the wings. They are related to the Enghsh Meadow- browns. The Lyccenido3, or Hair Streaks, include a number of pretty httle blue and brown species, with dehcate markings, of the genera Thecla and Lycasna, measuring from two to four centimetres across the wings. The Hesperidw, or Skippers, are very numerous. They may be recognised by their large heads, thick bodies and short flights, from which latter feature they derive the name of skippers. The antennae are generally hooked, showing a transition to the moths. The wings of some of them are marked like a chess board. Others have a red tuft of feathers at the 210 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC tail and red markings or spots on the head and abdomen. Turning to the Moths, the Sphyngidce, Sphinx or Hawk Moths, are represented by several very pretty species of the genus Sphinx, S. Cestri, S. Angulatus, etc Their caterpillars are noted for their rich colours with stripes on the sides and, usually, a curved or straight horn on the eleventh segment. The Pro- toparca Rustica is the Argentine Death's Head Moth, having a clearly marked skull on the thorax. This moth, as well as Io Liberia, at times utters a distinct squeaking sound. Philampelus Eos and P. Vitis are common species, the latter found on the vine. The caterpillars can withdraw the first three segments into the fourth. Chaerocampa tersa is a greenish moth with greyish stripes on the wings. The caterpillar is green with eye spots on the sides. The nocturnal moths are divided into three sub- tribes, the Bombycoides, with pectinate or plumose antennae and thick body ; the Noctuacea, with setaceous antennae, and the Geometrina, with plumose antennae and thin bodies. Most of the species I shall refer to belong to the first sub-tribe. The various species of Glaucopidm, of which there are a number in Argentina, are small moths not exceeding an inch in length. Glaucopis Omphale is a red moth with clear wings. The Psychidce are represented by two interesting species, the Oece- ticus Kirbii, whose larva is the well-known Basket Worm, or " Bicho de Cesto " or " Bicho Canasta," and the 0. Geyeri, whose larva forms a long tube like a cigarette holder. The baskets of the former species are common objects in the country, but the male moth (the female remains in the basket) is known to very few, although it is common in the months of April and May, and may be seen flying about at night. It is easily recognised by its habit of elongating and shortening its abdomen, as if feeling for the opening in the basket in which the female remains concealed. The female is a shapeless creature with only the merest FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 211 rudiments of organs. To the genus Palustra belong a number of moths whose larvae are aquatic in their habits. They belong to the Order Arctuadce or tiger moths. To the Bombycidce belong the ashy coloured Clisiocampas and the white Artace Puntistriga as well as the common Hypopta Ambigua. The Saturniado3 contain some interesting species. In England, the Emperor Moth is a type of the family. Attacus Jacobean is a reddish-brown, almost purple, moth with a white band across the wings. lo Liberia, which utters a distinct squeaking noise, especially when large numbers are together, is a large reddish-brown moth, with a prominent black eye spot with a yellow pupil in each of the back wings. The caterpillar is a vivid green in colour with a forest of branched spines, which, on being touched, give rise to considerable smarting. The lo Viridescens is a somewhat similar species, but the wings are greenish grey. The eye spots are black with a reddish-brown iris enclosing one large and three small pupils. The caterpillar is black with branched spines of a sulphur yellow colour. There are two large, formidable looking, but really harmless caterpillars often found in gardens. One of these, which is the larva of the Ceratocampus Regalis, bears two small horns on the first ring of its body and a pair of large horns on each of the second and third rings as well as another on the eleventh ring. The Moth is a large insect with reddish-brown wings mottled with yellow and with red nerve markings. The other caterpillar is the larva of Ceratocampa Imperialis. It is of a greenish-brown colour with two much smaller pairs of horns and the body covered with green or grey hairs. Nearly all the segments have a purple red spot round the stigmata, each spot surrounded with a white hne. The moth is a large yellow insect with purplish spots and markings. Both these moths have a wing expanse of between four and five inches. In the montes around the capital and in other parts may be found the curious skiff-like cases made by the larva of Mimalla Despecta. The skiff is curved 212 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC upwards at each end. On the peach trees may fre quently be found thousands of small dark caterpillars, which are popularly and deservedly called " bichos quemadores." They are the larvae of a black moth M. Nigricans. Hemiptera. — The hemiptera, or half winged insects, contain some very interesting and some very unpleasant species. I have seen several specimens of Reduvius alhed to which is the dreaded " Benchuca " or " Vin- chuca," so well known in the interior of the country, and over whose bloodthirsty habits Darwin waxed enthusiastic in his famous journal. Normally a flat insect somewhat like a plant bug, it drops from the roof upon unsuspecting sleepers and in a few minutes imbibes sufficient blood to swell out hke a ball : its scientific name is Conorhinus Infestans. To this order belong also the Nepa or Water Scorpion, of which there is one very large species. The Cicada or Chicharra is also of this order. There are several species found in the country, the commonest being Fidicina Bonaerensis. Its shrill chirp is known to all residents in the camp. There is another species (Tympanoterpes Sibillatrix), called in the north " Coyuyo," the sound of whose call is like the whistle of a locomotive. To the Hemiptera also belong the Aphides or plant lice called " pulgones," and the various species of plant bugs. The Coccidw are also classed with these and include the scale insects, from one of which is obtained the cochineal. A species, which is doing considerable damage to the peach trees, is the White Peach Scale (Diaspis Pentagona) the appearance of which has set in motion an army of inspectors and so alarmed the authorities that it is not allowed to send any plant containing roots by train without a certifi cate from an inspector of the " Defensa Agricola." Diptera. — This order includes flies, " tabanos " or horse flies, sand flies, crane flies, and mosquitoes, of which the number is legion. In some provinces the Anopheles mosquito fully bears out its reputation FAUNA OF ARGENTINA 213 as the bearer of the malarian protozoon and its bite gives rise to an attack of ague or " chucho." The bot-flies Oestridae are found in some parts of the camp where they annoy the sheep and horses. So far I have not heard of the appearance of the Hypo- derma Bovis amongst cattle. There is found in the interior a species of fly, Calliphora Anthropophaga, which lays its eggs in the human nostril and gives rise to serious cases of Myiasis. There are, however, some species of flies which are distinctly useful. One of these is the Nemorea Acridiorum, of Weyenburgh, which lays its eggs on the neck of the locust so that the larvae bore into the body and destroy the insect. Another is a species of Anthomyia, which I described in 1891 as an active locust destroyer, laying its eggs in the holes bored by the female locust when ovipositing. The fly maggots hatch out first and eat up the eggs of their host. The locust invasion of 1891 was in many parts destroyed entirely by this fly. Aptera. — Needless to say there are numbers of the wingless insects, bugs and fleas. The latter are found in the camp, especially in empty houses, often in such numbers as to secure the prompt removal of any inmate not acclimatised Vermes. — The sub-kingdom Vermes includes such animals as the leeches, flat and round worms of all kinds, the microscopic rotifers or wheel animalcules, etc. This sub-family is well represented in Argentina, as in all parts of the world ; but, except with respect to those members of it which have made their presence felt as parasites of men and beasts, httle attention has been paid to it. Leeches and ground worms need no description. The parasitic round and thread worms Ascaris Lum- bricoides and Oxyuris Vermicularis attack human beings as in other countries. Ascaris Mystax is found in the cat and occasionally in human beings. Vermis Acridii is a well-known parasite of the locust. I have seen one case of Filaria Sanguinis Hominis, but I beheve its involuntary host was an immigrant from Brazil. N 214 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Strongylus Filaria is at times a terrible plague to sheep, in one year alone having been responsible for the death of more than a milhon animals, pro ducing in the lungs a disease known as " bronquitis verminosa." An alhed form (Strongylus Micrurus) attacks horned cattle. Strongylus Contortus, named popularly " lombriz del Cuajo," attacks sheep, while the tricocephalus is almost universal. The flat worms are very common parasites. The Distoma Hepaticum or " Saguaype," which produces rot in sheep, is found wherever sheep graze in damp districts. The Tenia Solium is found with its larval form the Cysticercus, dnd the unarmed tapeworm Tenia Mediocanellata is also a well known parasite. Its larval form or cysti cercus is found in cattle. In the sheep, Tenia Expansa is common. But the most serious of all the flat worms, so far as man is concerned, is the Tenia Echinococcus of the dog, whose larval stage is passed in man under the form of hydatid cysts. This tapeworm is exceed ingly common especially in the camp where dogs are fed on offal and the stage passed in man is unfortunately too frequently seen. There is hardly a day passes without an operation for hydatid cyst in the hospitals of Buenos Aires. Coelenterates and Protozoa. — As before stated, these sub-kingdoms have received little attention. There are numerous species of Hydrozoa (zoophytes) and Anthozoa (sea anemones), while at Bahia Blanca a species of sea pen (pennatula) is found. The micro scope is as yet an unknown instrument of observation in Argentina, except amongst a few speciahsts, and, as there is an utter absence of popular interest in science, those objects of the sea shore and of the pond and stream which are the favourite subjects of amateur study in Great Britain pass entirely unobserved. CHAPTER IX FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH OF ARGENTINA Authorities — Botanical Zones — Zones of Cultivation — Prin cipal Plants in each Botanical Zone — List of Trees with Native Names — Notes on Chief Forest Trees — Resistance of Principal Timbers — Fruit Trees. It is impossible to give more than the merest summary of the Flora of Argentina, as the area occupied by the country is so extensive and embraces so many zones of vegetation that, a mere catalogue of described species would occupy almost the entire volume. Many botanists have laboured in classifying the various plants of the country. Of these should be named with distinction Dr. Lorentz, who was called from Germany to occupy the chair of Botany of the Univer sity of Cordoba ; Professor Hieronymus, who succeeded Dr. Lorentz in that chair ; Dr. Francisco P. Moreno, of world-wide fame as a scientist ; Dr. A. Doering, also a Professor of C6rdoba ; Dr. Speggazini, Dr. Holmberg, Dr. Gallardo, Prof. Hicken, Sr. Stuckert, the late S. Betfreund, and numbers of amateur botanists such as Bunbury, Gillies, etc. The writings of Darwin, D'Orbigny, Miers, Strobel and others, also contain important botanical observations. For the purposes of an elaborate study of Argentine botany, the country has been divided into a number of zones or areas, each with a distinguishing flora. These are : — 1. The Pampa zone. (a) zone of hard grasses (pastos duros). (6) zone of soft grasses (pastos tiernos). 2. The " Monte " zone. 3. The Patagonian zone. 215 216 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 4. The Antarctic forest zone. 5. The zone of the Puna. 6. The Sub-tropical zone. (a) Warm Sub-tropical zone. (b) Cold Sub-tropical zone. 7. The zone of the Chaco. 8. The zone of Misiones. 9. The Mesopotamian zone. These purely scientific divisions must be distin guished from the zones of cultivation, which are three : the zone of the cereals, the vine zone, and the zone of intertropical products. The first of these zones of cultivation extends over 100,000,000 hectareas, without including the valleys of the Chubut and Rio Negro. It extends between 30° and 40° South Latitude and is the zone specially favourable for the production of wheat, maize, barley, oats, hnseed, potatoes, vege tables, lucerne or alfalfa, etc The Vine zone includes the provinces along the eastern side of the Andes and the western portions of Cordoba, San Luis and Neuquen. It is reckoned that here there is an area capable of cultivation of more than four milhon hec tareas, of which only a fraction — some 50,000 hectareas — is under vine cultivation. The third zone which extends between 22° and 30° South Latitude includes the northern provinces and territories. Here, sugar cane, cotton, rice, tobacco and similar sub-tropical plants can be cultivated, and here also hes the great forest wealth of the country. It is considered that, speaking generaUy, the whole country may be divided into — 104,300,000 hectareas of arable lands capable of immediate cultivation, 100,000,000 hectareas at present apt for cattle raising and 90,820,000 hectareas, partly occupied by forests and mineral areas, partly desert or " salinas," and partly useless for cultivation for various reasons. A hasty survey of the territory of the Repubhc, commencing from the South, will enable us to point out, without unnecessary details, the principal botanical FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH 217 features of the country, leaving the descriptions of the portions under cultivation to a special chapter. In Tierra del Fuego and a portion of Patagonia are found occasional forests of trees generally belonging to the Beech family, the Fagus Antarctica, Fagus Obliqua and Fagus Betuloides being specially notable. The illustration (No. 29) gives an idea of the appearance of the first named, which furnishes splendid wood for fuel but cannot be utihsed for constructive works as can the other two species, Patagonia itself, by which of course is meant botani- cally, the territory South of the River Colorado, is, as may be imagined from its geographical position, by no means rich in plant hfe. Its aspect is varied, dry table-lands or plains being separated by narrow " canadones." Large areas are covered with boulders and shingles. Near the Andes, however, there is a more promising state of things botanically and, according to Dr. Latzina, there is a belt of forest extending from Nahuel Huapi to the Straits of Magellan, worth ten thousand milhon dollars ! Near the Atlantic there are large tracts with plenty of grass which are admirably suited for sheep, to some extent redeeming the territory from the reproach of " Tierra Maldita," which has been apphed to it and echoed even by such an authority as Darwin. The principal trees are varieties of beech, caUed there Colugue, Roble Negro and Roble Comiin ; a species of pine (Fitzroya Patagonica), the Chaflar (Gourliaea Decorticans), a species of carob or Algarrobo (Prosopis Campestris), the Purple Willow or Sauce Morado (Salix Humboltiana), the Araucaria Imbricata and the Piquillin (Condalia Lineata). Most of these plants produce excellent firewood. In many districts an annual plant, called alfilerillo, a species of Erodium, furnishes an excellent winter food for sheep. The Pampa is the exact opposite of the Patagonian region. Here the soil is adapted for the growth of grasses to the almost entire exclusion of trees. The Pampa is a vast prairie specially adapted by nature 218 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC for the rearing on an immense scale of domestic animals. Of course, the Pampa in a botanical sense includes the whole of the province of Buenos Aires and also so much of Santa Fe as is South of the river Salado or Juramento. The characteristic tree of the Pampa is Phytolacca Dioica, the " Ombii," which is to the poets of the plain what the lighthouse is to the traveller on the sea. It is " el faro de aquel mar." With immense gnarled roots rising high out of the ground, and a good expanse of leafy shade, the tree is a welcome object to the wanderer of the plain ; but, from any other point of view, the Ombu is deemed useless. In a long list of Argentine trees which I have before me, whilst every other tree is good for something, if only for fuel, the " Ombii " figures as good for " nada " (nothing). But we must not be quite satisfied with this off-hand relegation of the Ombii to the limits of uselessness. The Argentine Pharmacopoeia is more indulgent than the Agriculturist. In Prof. Dominguez' book on Medical Botany, we find that the root and bark have a purgative action and that a decoction of these is used in the treatment of ringworm, also that it is one of the legion of remedies against rheuma tism. So that, even the Ombii is not at any rate a cumberer of the ground. It is at least a welcome object in the camp and many a story of the Pampa settles round some solitary tree. Now-a-days, many kinds of exotic trees, such as the Eucalyptus, the Paradise tree, etc., have been planted over the length and breadth of this naturally treeless plain and, where this has been done, a different aspect is naturally given to the landscape. Still, this is only to be found as oases in the wide plain which, for the most part, bears out its ancient reputation. To give a list of the grasses found would be a mere hst of names, and refer ence has aheady been made to the respective areas of hard and soft grasses into which the province of Buenos Aires is divided. The few shrubs that grow in the Pampa are all of the thorn and thistle descrip tions. In one case — the Curmamoel (Colletia FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH 219 — the shrub bears star-shaped thorns instead of leaves. Other shrubs are the Tala, the Espinillo and the Coro nilla. The zone known as the " Monte " extends to the west of the Pampa and the Province of Buenos Aires, to the Andes and northwards from the River Colorado to the South of Tucuman and the river Juramento. The word " monte " is used in Argentina in a much wider sense than the word bosque or forest. It corre sponds to the word " wood " in English and even to such masses of plants as would be included in the idea of thickets. In the " monte " zone, most of the trees are of low stature and many are furnished with spines or prickly leaves. The Mimosa, or Acacia, family is largely represented and includes the Visco (Acaciavisco), the Lata (Mimosa Carinata), the Aromite (A. Cavenia), etc. The Algarrobos (Prosopis) are well represented, especially the white algarrobo (P. Blanca). There are various Talas of the genus Celtis. The name Moyes or Molles is given to a number of trees of the genera Lithrcea and Duvana. One of the common trees, and one which Grisebach used as the distin guishing feature of the zone, is the Chanar (Gourliaea decorticans), so called because it annually changes its outer bark. In the sub-tropical region the Chanar becomes a tree of considerable dimensions. The Cossal- pinia Gilliesii, called popularly " mal del ojo " or "mal del perro," because its pollen is considered poisonous, is a common tree in the zone. Many thickets, or " Matorrales," are entirely composed of Jarillas of the genera Larrea and Zuccagnia, so much so that they are called Jarillares. The Retama (Bul- nesia Retama) is a plant resembling the Casuarina. The Piquilhn (Condalia Microphylla) and the Colletia Spinosa, which for the greater part of the year shows nothing but immense spines, and is called the Barba de Tigre or Espina Cruz, are also common trees of the "Monte." Other trees that should be named are the Mistol (Ziziphus Mistol), the Coco (Xanthoxylon Coco). Humboldt's Sauce or WiUow, the Sauco (Sam* 220 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC bucus Australis), and the Quenoa (Polylepis Racemosa). This zone includes the great " salinas " mentioned in a former chapter, in which districts the only plants are those which can grow in a salt-laden soil and are generally called Jumes. The ashes of these plants are used in making soap on account of their richness in potash and soda. The Tasi (Morrenia Brachistephana) bears an in teresting fruit, the seeds being enveloped in a silky covering. The fruit is used to make a lactiferous drink. It is the basis of more than one remedy sold in the drug stores. The " flores del aire," or air plants, are curious plants of the genus Tillandsia which grow on other trees as Epiphytes, and seem to be able to flourish when attached to no other support than a telegraph wire. Apart from the usual industries of cattle raising and the growth of cereals and alfalfa, the principal product of this zone is the grape vine, which is largely cultivated in the western portion — that is, the provinces on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The sub-tropical zone is that comprised in the North Western provinces. Here, there are portions, on the western slopes of the mountains, which are almost wanting in vegetation ; but, speaking generally, the flora is luxuriant and tending more and more to a tropical character. In fact a large number of the forest trees of the Chaco and Misiones are found in this zone. In the province of Tucuman and along a belt north of that province, as far as the river Pasage, is a district to which Dr. Lorentz gave the name of " Parque," where are wide extensions of grass lands alternating with woods and thickets. To the west of the Parque is a large extent of territory where the Cebil (Piptadenia) is the principal tree. To the west of this and extending along the western banks of the river Juramento is an extensive area where the Quebracho Colorado prevails. Other trees of this zone are the Tipa (Machwrium Fertile), the Laurel (Nectandrina Por phyria) and alhed trees, one of which yields a kind of camphor; the Nogal or Walnut (Juglans nigra, var. No. 19. Lapataia, Tiekea del Fuego. No. '20. Mount Sabmiento, Tiekba del Fuego. FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH 223 Boliviano), the Cedar (Cedrela Brasiliensis), the Cebils of the Acacia family, two magnificent species of Myr- taceas, the Mato (Eugenia Mato) and the Arrayan (E. Uniflora), the Palo de San Antonio (Myrsine Flori- bunda), the Urunday and many others, some of which, as being important from an industrial point of view, I shall describe more fully. In the centre of this zone is the sugar district of Tucuman, now the scene of an important industry, unfortunately, entirely the pro duct of a prohibitive and exaggerated pohcy of protec tion. In one part of this zone is found in large quantities trees of the genus Alnus, popularly called the Aliso (Alnus Ferruginea), and in another the Quenoa belonging to the Rosaceoe (Polylepis Racemosa), called in Cordoba the tabaquillo. In the mountain districts the Grami- neas are the most notable flora and form vast extensions of lawn-like meadows interspersed with beautiful flowers, a mere list of which would be too extensive for the purpose of this chapter. The zone of the Puna, or desert of Atacama, ex hibits a poor and stunted growth of vegetation as might be expected from a region of extinct volcanoes. It is in the northern zones of the Chaco (with For mosa) and Misiones that the true tropical vegetation is found in full luxuriance. The portions of the Chaco, near the river Paraguay, are pure swamps ; but, once these are passed, the wealth of the zone is apparent. There are wide extents of pasture land alternating with dense forests in which numbers of different trees, all yielding useful timber, are found in a single acre. The cultivation of cotton has been commenced in this zone and sugar is largely grown. The following hst of the chief trees will be found useful to those who wish to identify these by their Indian or native names. Those with an asterisk are more fully described at the end of the list. Afata, Heliospermum ameri- Alecron, Acacia aroma canum Anchico, Acacia angico Aguaii blanca, Bumelia ob- *Aromita, Acacia aroma tusifolia Area, Acacia visco 224 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Aratacii, Myrtus mucronata Aliso, Alnus ferruginea Alfiler, Bougenvillia stipata Algarrobito, Prosopis campes- tris *Algarrobo bianco, Prosopis alba Algarrobo Colorado, Prosopis flexuosa *Algarrobo negro, Prosopis juliflora *Algarrobo amarillo, Prosopis ferox Algarrobillo, Prosopis ferox Arrayan, Eugenia pungens Ayakii, Maytenus magellanica Barba de Tigre, Prosopis bar- bitigris Boaria, Maytenus boaria Brea, Cesalpina precox Caa-ro, Ilex curutibensis Caa-mi, Ilex paraguayensis Canalon (see Lanza blanca) Caoba, Piptadenia nitida *Caranday, Copernicia cerifera Calafate, Berberis ilicifolia Calafate grande, Berberis Pearcei ?Calden (see Nandubay) Cardon, Cereus pasacana Cedro, Schinopsis Hieronymi *Cebil Colorado, Piptadenia cebil Cebil bianco, Piptadenia com munis Cedro jaspeado, Cedrela para guayensis Cedro Colorado, Cedrela para guayensis Cedro macho, Cedrela Bra siliensis Cedro hembra, Cedrela fissilis Cedrillo, Cedrela affinis Coibo, Erythrina cristagalli Chanar, Gourliaea decorticans Chilque, Acniscus paroiflorus Churqui, Acacia cavenia Coco, Xanthoxylon coco Cohigue, Fagus betuloides Colito, Moya scutoides Coronillo, Rauwolfia Sellovii Coronillo, Scutia Buxifolia Coronillo Colorado, Cythe- rexylon barbinerve *Curupafna, Gladistchia amor- phoides Curupaina, Cassia Brasiliensis Curupi, Sapium acuparium Curupiai, Sapium marginatum *Curupay (see Cebil Colorado) Cupay (see Loro negro) Espina Cruz, Discaria foliosa *Espina de corona (see Curu paina) Espinillo, Pilecolobium sea- lere Espinillo (see Churqui) *Espinillo (see Aromita) Garabato, Mimosa Lorentzii Guayabo, Feijoa Selloviana *Guayacan, Caesalpina mela- nocarpa Guayaivi (see Peterebi) Gauyaivi bianco, Pentapanax angelicifolius Ibapuita (see Pindo) Ibara-bi, Ruprechtia poly- stachia Ibara-pepe, Ruprechtia salici- folia Ibara-pita-mini, Ruprechtia trifolia Ibara-vira, Ruprechtia fagi- folia *Igope guazu (see Algarrobo negro) *Itin (see guayacan) *Incienso (Ici), Duvana precox Inga, Inga affinis *Jacaranda, Dalbergia nigra Jarilla, Larrea ouneata FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH 225 Lamer (see algarrobo Colorado) Lata, Mimosa carinata Lanza, Tabebuia nodosa Lanza blanca, Mysine flori- bunda Lapacho Colorado, Tabebuia avellanedae ?Lapacho amarillo, Tabebuia flavescens Lapacho negro, Machoerium acutifolium ?Laurel negro, Nectandria por phyria ?Laurel amarillo, Strychno- daphna suaveolens Laurel bianco, Nectandria angustifolia ?Loro negro, Copaifera con- fertifolia ?Loro bianco, Copaifera offi cinalis Loro amarillo, Pterogyne nitens Manduvia, Melicocca bijuga Mariapreta, Chrysophyllum lucumifolium Mataojos, Lucuma neriifolia Mataco, Sambucus peruvianus Mato, Eugenia mato ?Mbocoya, Acrocomia totai ?Mistol, Zizyphus mistol Mora, Madura mora Molle, Schinus crenata Molle morado, Duvana longi- folia Molle dulce, Lithraea Gilliesii Molle piojito, Duvana precox ?Molle Colorado, Schinus molle. Nandupati, Cascaronis astra- galina Nandubay, Prosopis algarro- billo Nogal, Juglans australis Ombii, Phytolacca (Porcunia) dioica. Palo borracho (see Samohii) ?Palo santo, Bulnesia Sar- mienti Palo Cruz, Tabebuia nodosa ?Palo amarillo, Rundis acu- leata ?Palo rosa, Pterocarpus Rohrii Panta, Prosopis panta Pacara (see Timbo color) Paraiso, Melia azedarach Pehuen, Araucaria imbricata ?Peterebi, Patagonula ameri- cana Pillin, Fitzroya patagonica Fagus valdiviana Piquillin, Condalia lineata Pino, Fitzroya patagonica Pindo, Cocos australis Quebrachillo, Iodina rhombi- folia ?Quebracho bianco, Aspido- sperma queb. bianco ?Quebracho Colorado, Schinop sis Lorentzii Quenoa, Polymepsis racemosa Quino, Calycophyllum multi- florum Retama, Bulnesia retama Roble, Fagus antarctica Roble negro, Fagus obliqua Roble (north), Guarea Balansae Roblecillo, Fagus pumilio Sacha limon, Xanthoxylon naranjillo ?Samohu (illust. 30) Chorisia insignis San Antonio, Myrsine fim- briata Sauce morado (criollo), Salix Humboldtiana Sauce Llor6n, Salix baby- lonica gauoe connin, Salix vitelina 226 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Sombra de Toro, Iodina rhombifolia Tala, Celtis tala Taruma, Vitex taruma Tatan6, Holocalyx Balansae Tatane-mi, Pitecolobium para- guayense Tatayubi, Xanthoxylon sorbi- folium Tembetare, Xanthoxylon sp. Tembelari, (see Sacha limon) ?Timbo Colorado (see Pacara) Tinticaco, Prosopis ades- moides Tipa, Machaerium tipa Tusca, Acacia monilifera or aroma Tatigua, Trichilia Hieronymi Urunday-para, fraxinifolium Astronium ?Urundey, Astronium juglandi- folium Urundey-mi (see Cebil Colorado) Vira-pita, Aohatocarpus ni gricans Virari, Ruprechtia excelsis Virar6, Ruprechtia virar6 Vinal, Prosopis ruscifolia Visco, Acacia visco *Yacaranda (see Jacaranda) Yagua timbo, Lithoncarpus nitidus ?Yatay, Coco yatay ?Yuchan (see Samohu) Yucuburii, Acacia atramen- taria Yuga, Inga urensis The Yacaranda (Dalbergia nigra) is a leguminous plant. The tree grows to a height of 4 to 5 metres with a diameter of 30 to 50 cm. The bark is dark and furrowed. The wood is a darkish purple and, when placed below the ground for a few days, it becomes nearly black. Its density is from 0-885 to 1'905. The Indians use the wood for the points of their arrows and, in the Chaco, it is employed also for making the handles of " rebenques " and also for walking sticks. The Algarrobo Negro or Igope Guazii (Prosopis Juliflora DC.) also belongs to the family Leguminosae and is allied to the Carob or Locust Tree of Europe. It forms a graceful tree, growing to a height of 8 or 10 metres, with a diameter of 75 to 80 cm. The wood is hard and of a mahogany colour. Its density is 0'646 to 0730. The wood may be used for building construction, posts, cart wheels, and in making furniture. The fruit forms long pods, the seeds from which are employed by the Indians in the concoction of a drink called " chicha " and a species of bread called " patay," which is heavy, granular, and tasting somewhat like bread made from maize flour. From the algarrobo and other plants is made a kind of sweet paste called " aloja." The Algarrobo Blanco (Prosopis alba) or Igope Para is an allied species, which grows to a height of 8 to 18 metres, with a diameter of from half a metre to a metre. The wood is lighter coloured than in the preceding species but, according to Nieder- FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH 227 lein, has a density of 0.809. The uses of the trees and its fruit are similar to those of the preceding. The Nandubay or Calden (Prosopis Algarrobillo) is the tree which produces one of the hardest, heaviest and most incor ruptible woods in the country. Although it grows to the height of more than 10 metres, the wood is so tortuous and full of knots that it can only be used for making the posts of corrals and fences. Its density varies from 1090 to 1*211. Its fruit is bitter and disagreeable ; but is eagerly sought for and eaten by the native ostrich or fiandii — hence its name. The Algarrobo Amarillo or Algarrobillo (Prosopis sp.) grows to a height of 12 metres. The wood is yellowish and has a density of 0*650 to 0*766. It possesses the properties of the other algarrobos. The Guayacan or Itin (Ccesalpina melanocarpa) is a tree of the family Leguminosse which grows to the height of 8 to 15 metres, with a diameter of 40 cm. to a metre. The wood is hard (1*113 to 1*811), of a dark red colour with dark veins. It is generally used for objects which require turning. In some parts of the tree the wood is jet black and shows no grain when polished. The Quebracho Colorado (Schinopsis or Quebracho Lorentzii) of the family Anacardiacase is perhaps the most important tree found in the country. Its value is pointed out in another chapter. The red Quebracho is a large and elegant tree attaining a height of 15 to 20 metres, the density of the wood is 1*300 to 1*392. The quebracho extract used in tanning is a most valuable product and is largely exported to Europe and North America. More than 16,000 bags of this extract were sent to Glasgow alone in 1908. The Quebracho Blanco (Aspidosperma Quebracho bianco) belongs to the family Apocinse. The tree is usually about 14 metres in height ; but, in some parts, it attains 20 and even 30 metres. It is an evergreen tree and is exceedingly graceful. The flowers of a yellowish colour are found from November to January. The wood is yellowish, inclining to chocolate in the heart of the tree. It has a density of 0*810 to 1*080 ; but is inclined to rot easily and cannot compare with the red quebracho. The bark is brittle and astringent and has been the subject of many experiments for the purpose of ascertaining its value as a remedial agent. A number of valuable alcaloids have been found and the alcoholic extract has now found a definite place in the Argentine pharmacopoeia to relieve the spasms of asthma and cardiac dyspnoea. The Lapacho (Tabebuia favescens) is one of the most valued woods. The tree grows to a height varying from 15 to 25 metres. The rosy flowers appear in the spring before the leaves which appear in January. The wood is yellowish and of a density of 0*952 to 1:072, and beams of 14 metres in length 228 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC can be cut when the tree is sound ; but too often the centre of the tree is either decayed or hollow, especially in damp neigh bourhoods. The Cebil Colorado or Curupay (Piptadenia Cebil) is a legu minous tree which attains a height of 20 metres and a diameter of 75 cm. to a metre. The bark is very rugged, covered with lumps from which the Indian name Curapay (i.e. cascara sarnosa) is derived. The wood is of a pretty red colour with dark veins and suitable for furniture, having a density of 0*977 to 1*172. The bark is used in tanning and is an important article of commerce. During the spring and summer, the tree exudes a gum, which is very soluble in water and, according to Prof. Dominguez, rivals in adhesive power the best Senegal gum. It contains 80*780 per cent, of gummic acid. The Indians call the Cebil trees " Curupay na " and " Curupay ala," meaning respectively white and black. The Palo Santo (Bulnesia Sarmienti) is an elegant tree of 15 to 20 metres in height and 50 to 75 cm. in diameter. The wood is strongly resinous, and of a greenish blue shade. It is exported largely to Germany, where it is known as "Palo balsamo." It is extremely hard, of a density of 1*216 to 1*303 and has a strong aromatic odour, due to the darkish green resin which it contains, which yields essential oil called " Esencia de leiia de Guacaco," with an agreeable smell somewhat resembling tea. An infusion of the wood is used in medicine in skin diseases and rheumatism, and the Indians use it for indigestion. The essence is used in perfumery and, amongst other purposes, it is employed in Bulgaria in falsifications of attar of roses ! The Espinillo or Aromita (Acacia Aroma) grows to a height of 5 or 6 metres. Its wood is red and hard (0*948), but is not used in any industry. It serves, however, very well for " leiia " (firewood), for which purpose it is brought down to Buenos Aires, where it is much appreciated by those who have to use wood fires. The golden balls of flowers are very beautiful in spring and have a fragant aroma, which may be permanently obtained as an essential oil and is used in perfumery. The Espinillo de Corona, Coronillo or Quillay (Carugandra amorphoides) is another acacia-like tree, with hard red wood, used in the manufacture of kitchen utensils, and also in building construction. The bark is also used in making soap for washing wool ; and a decoction of the bark and flowers is used as a remedy against ague. The tree is armed with long spines of 6 inches in length and growing together in bundles. There is a vulgar legend to the effect that the historical "crown of thorns " was made of these spines. Of course, geographical differences count for nothing in the case of legends. The Timbo Colorado, Pacara or Pacara plomo (Enterolobia FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH 229 Timbouwa) grows to a height varying from 10 to 30 metres, with a corresponding diameter of 75 cm. to two metres. The wood is of a colour not unlike cedar, but with dark veins. It has a disagreeable odour and is used for canoes, washing utensils and for building construction, especially roofs. The fruit is rich in tannin. From this gigantic tree, beams as much as 13 metres may be cut. It is, however, much lighter than any of the preceding species, as its density is 0*350 to 0*440. The Lncienso or Ici, also called Cabriuda (Myrocarpus fustigiata?) grows from 15 to 25 metres. The wood is dark brown and of a density of 0*869 to 0*945. It is used for construc tion and carpentry, and the bark is rich in tannin. It also yields an agreeably smelling resin from which is produced a balsam called " Balsamo elemi," sold in Paraguay under the name of " Trementina (turpentine) del pais." The Petereby or Loro Negro is found on the banks of the rivers. It yields a hard, almost imperishable brown wood of a density of 0*755 to 0*928. The trunk is long and straight, but of slender diameter, and the wood is specially adapted for masts, as it is flexible in spite of its hardness. It is also excellent for barrels. The leaves are thick and of a clear yellow colour, and the tree bears a small white flower. The Tembetare is a name given to a number of allied trees all species of Xanthoxylon of the family Rutacese. The leaves are aromatic, those of the Tembetare having a specially agreeable odour. The wood serves for light articles of furniture and for the body of carts. The bark when powdered and digested in oil is used for rheumatism and as a sudorific. The Samohu, Yuchan, or Palo Borracho (Chorisia insignis) (illustration 30), is one of the most curious trees in the Chaco. It grows to a height of more than 30 metres, and is notable for the curious manner in which the trunk bellies out at some distance from the soil, and then resumes its natural dimensions. It is very leafy and assumes the appearance of a gigantic bottle in which a mass of flowers has been placed. The flowers are large and of a yellow colour. The wood is light and is used by the Indians in making their canoes, its density being only 0*228. It is said that the large ventricular swelling in the middle of the trunk is used as a place of interment of the dead ; but this is not certain. The " tembeta," which the Chiriguanas use to distend the lower lip, is frequently made of this wood. The Urundey (astronomium juglandifolium) is an important member of the Anarcadaceae. It grows to a height of 15 to 20 metres with a diameter of 1*50 to 2 metres. It bears small lanceolate leaves and white flowers. The wood is heavy (1*110 to 1*270) and the colour varies between black, white and yellow, all these variegations being found sometimes in the same tree. It can be used for beams and pillars, also for axles of carts and 230 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC for boat building and is specialy noted for its resistence to damp and weather. The Cupay (Copaifera officinalis) is found in all the Northern Chaco and, with a diameter of 75 cm., rises to a height of 12 m. Not only is it an elegant tree but it yields the well known Balsamo de Copaiba so much used in medicine. The Moro (Madura mora) must not be confounded with the imported mora or mulberry. It grows to a height of 10 to 18 metres with a diameter of half to three quarters of a metre. The wood is red and hard (0*977 to 1*090.) When cut green it yields a deep blood coloured secretion. It also produces an edible berry. The name Molle is given to a number of trees : but the chief in importance is the aguaribay or molle del Perii (Schinus molle), which is widely spread throughout the country and is frequently found in quintas as an ornamental tree. Its leaves and fruits have various uses in medicine and its resin forms the mastic americano sold in the drug stores. Other varieties of molle belong to the genus Duvana ; these yield a hard wood suitable for use by cabinet makers. The Palo Blanco (Calycophyllum multiflorum) is a magnificent tree of 18 to 20 metres in height with a grey bark and a yellowish white wood of a density of 0*918 to 1*027. The appearance of these trees rising like graceful columns in the forests is very impressive. The wood is beautifully grained and might be used instead of pitch pine for many purposes. There are several trees whose generic popular name is " palo." Amongst these may be named the " Palo amarillo " or de lanza (chuncoa triflora), of density 0*923 useful for many purposes and an excellent fuel : the " Palo Mataco," which yieds a hard black wood from which the Indians make their lances and the points of their arrows : the " Palo de la Cruz " (Tecoma nodosa), whose wood is good for walkingsticks, etc. : the " Palo de San Antonio " (myrsini floribunda), the wood of which is good for making barrels and which bears its leaves all the year ; the " Palo de laguna " ; the " Palo Colorado," etc. The Laurel Amarillo (Strychnodaphne suaveolens) grows to 10 to 18 m. in height. Its wood is dark yellow with a density of 0*570 to 0*750 and useful for making furniture. The Laurel Negro (Nectandria porphyria) has a yellow wood with a black heart somewhat superior in value to the preceding and heavier in density (0*826.) The Mistol (Zyzyphus mistol) yields a heavy wood (1*274) of a yellowish red eolour useful for buildings, etc. Its fruit is of an agreeable taste and is used to prepare an alcoholic drink or aloja. The leaves are used in infusions and from the roots is extracted a dark brown dye. The bark is used instead of soap for washing wool, etc The Caranday (Copernicia terifera) forms large woods in FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH 231 some parts of the Chaco. The Palm trees attain a height of 18 metres. The wood is hard and excellent for roofs, telegraph posts, etc., but is of slow growth and some of the palms found are said to be more than 300 years old. On the upper part of the young leaves is found a substance like wax ; hence the tree is called " Palma de la Cera." These trees yield a kind of fecula like mandioca flour. The Mbocaya (Acronomia totai) is one of the most useful of Palm trees. Its fecula or starch obtained from the centre of the plant is very nutritive and may be made into bread or fermented and used as a drink. The fruit is good for cattle and the " cocos " yield a well known oil. The Yatay (Cocos Yatay) is also an important palm yielding similar products to the last named. The Pindo or Ibapuita (Cocos australis) also is useful in every part of its structure as timber, forage or for food. It was during the French Exhibition of 1889 that the floral wealth of Argentina was first brought pro minently before the world. At that exhibition was shown a collection of Argentine woods such as must have been a surprise not only to other nations but even to the Argentines themselves. To Sr. Gustavo Niederlein, was entrusted the labour of classifying and describing this mine of wealth, and his reports, issued in the " Coleccion de informes reunidos," pubhshed at the close of that exhibition, form a standing work of reference for ah who wish to see for themselves how great and how varied is the flora of the country. Sr. Niederlein says in that report : " The Argentine has ceased to be for Europe and the world at large a country of pure pampa. Our collection of woods, dyeing and tanning products, textile raw material and medicinal plants has been considered the first in the exhibition and has awakened a hvely interest, both mdustrial and commercial, in a great number of the thousands of persons who have visited it. A new and important field of wealth has been opened up, hitherto unknown and which is of immense extent." The following table, prepared by Professor Palacio, of the Faculty of Natural Science in Buenos Aires, shows the resistance of 22 of the principal Native woods used in construction: — 232 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC o l-HH aio^-^w«cooc^co(Noo*TH'-Hi>co*^Goa&*-'coi>-HCOeciOr- i(MaW«iO0100O>0O00l>H'HH l-H f- 1 <-H l— * ^Hf-H»-< ®NO«t><©ffiOI>*^*Ht-,^OOI>,*-COS©(»oOH OOHOJOiOcOloaOMWOOa^HftiHrxMoO OS — M(MWlOTjllO©N*HTj)000 6«OQOOr*<0>>OI>WOO',*0«50eD01(M>OI>|>-H^cOiX<£'CO«I>COC;ll>,*CO(N-^*'-H'— IU50CDHH dhOOJ EH & o 3 S s O 0 * ©Oro ¦*3§S O'*i»I>(NO(M®«lOi0iOr^HHONNHO00^ l>WO-H»000*^iOI>I>t>OJlN(MO>OMOOOOcOOlTlt¦^co*^^^c^M^^Ncococ>ac©c»tf>ntn»oi>T)oo©o o^Oi*^»*^cqcooiTj<-^i>*^4QOi-HC>c050r* ¦^¦^iO*^WU5,,*tO,,|*00»0000»OCOCC'COI>-^C^Tt<0 CO»OI>OSOOlOW300t^*^05«0'^(NOeO«5DI>Oi<— ICO B-9|*a CDlC'*000500l>Ot^irDc£)05CDCO'^CqCDaeOQO^(N c©00300c^I>i©TH05t^-rt<(N(N«COOOCD(>)l>0*-H«0i>ir->oso>^ooiC(MQOccr-oococoiococooiCOOs(Mcc 'X^isndQ •s-Hfn-HCDaooiotMt^ioooJooomcocDQo-HCD C^OlOii-H(>JOSOSi— i © 1> i— (OSCDCO£>t>-ir,SOS050'^**^ CD O O CO Tji OS O © 00 C5 O l> OS CO CO lOfflrtHffiootfiO I -^t T^ CM lO cooior-osn ItNOcor^r-coioot- I c o .•s &, C3 Hi 1*2-18. sg & §¦§¦ lee J o : : "3 <*> 2 2 & o 5>2 o»"l ° * o St o o -5 £ « 3 ¦¦ali® ¦§8 8 1 s-3-s 3.2^ *"*< t8*s ¦" is ° § ill! ** *3 = 2*2-1 FLORA AND FOREST WEALTH 233 The Mesopotamian Zone comprises the Provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes. This zone is the best watered of all the Argentine territory and is specially adapted for all manner of agricultural and pastoral industries. Many of the trees already mentioned, such as the Espinillos, Algarrobos, Nandubay, as well as the Vivito, Curupi, Tala, Chanar, etc., are found here. The Delta of the Parana, although geographically mostly in the Province of Buenos Aires, is really a part of this zone. The numerous islands which form this Delta are the seat of ever growing fruit and timber industries. The principal trees are willows and poplars, extensively grown for fuel. On these islands, peaches, apples, pears and other fruits are cultivated, the peach trees also furnishing no small portion of the wood sent to the Capital and district for fuel. Fruit Trees. — It is necessary to mention the chief fruit trees cultivated as such in the Republic. These are : the Orange (Citrus Auranciacea), the Mandarin (C. Deliciosa), the Lemon (C. Limonum), the Lime (C. Limeta), the Guayabo (Psidium Pyriferum), the Pomegranate (Punica Granatum), the Carob Bean (Ceratonia Siliquosa), the Fig (Ficus Carica), the Ohve (Oka Europea), various species of vine (Vitis Vinifera, Riparia Rupestris, Berlandieri), etc. Pears, apples, the quince or Membrillo (Cydinia Vulgaris), the Nispero or Medlar (Mespilus Germanica), various classes of peaches, apricots, plums, the walnut (Juglans Regia), the Chirimoya or Custard Apple (Anona Cererimolia), described in all Argentine works as the Queen of fruits, the coca, which the Indians in the North use to quench both hunger and thirst, and the Tuna, the fruit of a species of Cactus. CHAPTER X GEOLOGY, FOSSILS, AND MINERALOGY The Geological Structure of the Country generally — Separate Formations and their Character : Fossils, Giant Glyptodons — The Mylodon, etc. — The Tetraprothomo Argentines — Mineral Districts of the Country — Petroleum, etc. The Geology of Argentina has been studied by Prof. Stelzner, Dr. Burmeister, Dr. Moreno, Dr. Ameghino and many others, and formed the subject of many observations by Darwin in his celebrated " journal." Special attention has been directed to the soil of Argen tina owing to the number of interesting fossils, especially of gigantic sloths and Armadillos, which have been found beneath the surface of the vast Pampean plain. There is no doubt that it was during the Tertiary epoch that the country received its present configuration, that of a vast plain bordered on the west by the Cor dillera and with isolated mountain systems in various regions. The essential elements of these isolated mountain systems, to which Prof. Stelzner gave the name of " Sierras Pampeanas," are crystalline schist and gneiss and, in the north, mica schist. Horn blende schist is also frequently found as well as other forms. Slate occurs in Tucuman, C6rdoba and San Luis. In Cordoba, marble is found in large quantities. Granite enters also into the structure of the Pampean Sierra and forms great masses in the mountains of Tucuman, the Capilhtas, Famantina, C6rdoba and San Luis. In the two latter provinces, there occur layers of pegmatite, which, on account of the amount of quartz, are converted into quartzite and from a distance stand out above the surrounding and more 234 GEOLOGY, FOSSILS AND MINERALOGY 235 easily decomposed strata as white shining peaks, called " cerros blancos." These are of great importance as the source of Wolfram, Columbite, Beryl, etc. The kaolin found in Salta is possibly due to the decom position of pegmatite. These isolated branches of the Pampean Sierras have given rise in many parts — especially where trachytes occur — to metalliferous veins with gold, silver, copper and lead in great quantities. According to the author just quoted, Laurentian schist forms the the basic rock of the South American continent. " In the Argentine Repubhc, however, this schist is not found continuously as in Brazil. In Argentina, the surface is broken up in waves in a North to South direction and, as those waves only are accessible to our observation, the depressions which separate them are filled with sedimentary deposits of various epochs. The Pampa plain, therefore, does not rest upon the schist but upon the sedimentary formations older than that to which it belongs, a fact which is of great importance in considering the question of the existence of coal in the Repubhc." The Cordillera consists of a central axis of granite around which we find gneiss and schists. The central axis has been perforated by porphyritic quartz to such an extent as to occupy more space than the original granite. On the west of the Cordillera is abundant evidence of the eruption of trachyte, which is also found, but not so extensively, on the Eastern side. At the present moment there are no active volcanoes on the Argentine Andes but, within the Chilean Frontier, there are such. In the South of the Cordillera there is an interesting parallel to the Riff valley in Africa. In Argentina, as in Africa, there is a long valley in a fold of the Cordillera in which are found the lakes which are so great a feature of the geography of the west of Chubut and Santa Cruz. According to geolo gists generally, the Tertiary period in South America was a period of great volcanic activity, in which great masses were thrown up from the subterranean rocks, 236 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC which form the sierras just referred to, and the lofty peaks of andesite, trachyte and other rocks not only in the Andine and central provinces, but even South in Patagonia. The Pampean System was so called by D'Orbigny and extends over thousands of square leagues. The thickness of the Pampean formation is generally from 15 to 20 metres, according to the observations made of the river beds, or when sinking wells. Where it is completely exposed it is found to consist of a reddish or yellowish calcareous clay and, near the bases of the mountains, are layers and pebbles of sand. Along with the clay is found the well known tosca, or " cal del agua," sometimes occurring in isolated nodules, at others forming layers of greater or lesser extension. Above this Pampean formation is found in many parts an alluvial formation which is identified by the presence of fossil shells of salt water origin. During the Cretaceous epoch, which was the closing stage of the Mesozoic era, geologists tell us that the configuration of the earth's surface was vastly different from that of the succeeding era. Then, the South Atlantic Ocean was non-existent and Argentina was united on the one hand with Africa and on the other with the Atlantic regions and even with the distant islands of New Zealand and Austraha. The Northern Hemisphere was, on the contrary, rather a group of isolated islands than of a continental formation. At the beginning of the Tertiary period, the con formation of the world changed and, as the Northern Hemisphere became Continental, the Southern Hemi sphere began to assume its present form with wide oceans separating South America from the rest of the world below the Equator. The animals which had previously inhabited the Southern Continent migrated northwards and their descendants are found fossilized in the Tertiary rocks of the Northern Hemisphere. The fossihzed remains, therefore, of the ancestors of the Northern Fauna of the Tertiary epoch are to be looked for in South America and possibly in Africa GEOLOGY, FOSSILS AND MINERALOGY 237 and New Zealand. It is on this account that the Pampean formation is so rich in fossils. A word of caution is, however, necessary in speaking of the numbers of species of fossilized animals found in Argentma. There has been a deal of " species making " as it is called. Years ago Dr. Burmeister sarcastically referred to the habit of certain Argentine palaeontologists of considering every fossil bone a separate species, as if animals of the same species were always of the same size and never varied throughout their hfe. I am afraid that Dr. Burmeister's warning has not received the attention it deserved and this accounts for the suspicion with which the classifications of Argentine palaeontologists are received by their more cautious European brethren. There is a strong tendency to regard Argentina as the palaeontological garden of Eden and to claim on the authority of a few isolated bones that the country is the point of origin of most of the existing fauna of the world and even of man himself. All this may be true ; but, so far, it is as well to preserve the Scotch verdict " not proven," when these extreme claims are set up. The following table shows the Argentine formation as accepted by the geologists of the country : — ReoentQuaternary Pliocene Miocene Tertiary \ Oligocene Eocene {Post Pampean |™£ | Pampean { Araucanian | Entre Rian f Santa Crucian ( Patagonian Cretaceous I Upper Cretaceous j Guaranitic Lower Cretaceous j Chubutian The Chubut formation is found in the central part of the territory of that name. It consists of a succession | recent alluvium iense (lujanense bonaerenseensenadense ( hermosense \ araucanense {mesopotamense paranensesantacrucensenotohippidenseastrapothericulense colpodonense. pyrotherienseastraponotensenotostylopense , pehuelchense { protodidelfense. 238 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC of hard sandstones of varying colours. A few fossils are found here and there, both of terrestrial and marine origin ; but generally speaking no such remains are met with. The Guaranitic formation is found in Corrientes and Misiones, crops out again in the Rio Negro, and again over the sandstones of the preceding formation. It is also found still further South as far as San Julian and Lago Argentino. It consists mainly of red sand stone of land or fresh water origin. The Patagonian formation is found on the shores of Chubut and Santa Cruz, from Port Madryn to the river Santa Cruz, where it dips below the Atlantic. It is of great thickness and contains marine fossils on its eastern side and land fossils in the western portion. The Santa Cruz formation is found along the whole width of that territory from the river Chico to the river Gallegos. The Entre Rios formation is found in a succession of strata mostly of marine origin on the left bank of the Parana, in the province of Entre Rios, appearing again in the South at the mouth of the Rio Negro and downwards along the coast to Golfo Nuevo. The Araucanian formation is a series of strata of sandstones, brown, green and yellow, covering | the central and South-West Pampas. This formation also reappears with some hundreds of metres of thick ness in the provmce of Catamarca and Tucuman, also on the coast near Bahia Blanca in the well-known locahty of Monte Hermoso, which, according to Dr. Ameghino, is the true site of the garden of Eden, as here he has discovered remains of the first man. The immense deposit of gravel and sand intermixed' which, South of the Rio Negro, covers most of the surface of Patagonia and which has been named the Pehuelche formation, is older than the Northern Arau canian formation. The Pampean formation consists of the great deposit of lime and reddish brown clay, which has been before referred to. In some places, this is said GEOLOGY, FOSSILS AND MINERALOGY 239 to reach a thickness of one hundred metres. The Post-Pampean formation corresponds partly to the Quaternary or the Post-Phocene epoch and partly to the alluvium of recent and present formation. As to the duration of these epochs, that of the Guaranitic formation is considered to be alone equal to that of all the Tertiary rocks. A few words as to the chief fossils found in these strata will be of interest. A visit to the museums of Buenos Aires and La Plata, especially the latter, will fill an observer with astonishment not only at the immense size of the animals, now represented by small species, which once roamed over the Pampa, but with the bizarre appearance of many of them. While Argentma was still unjoined to North America, it contained, as its special fauna, gigantic animals belonging to the group Edentata with large heads, strange molar teeth and no teeth at all in the front of the jaw. These are now represented by the sloth, the armadillos and the ant-eaters. Later, when the northern and southern continents were joined, the mastodons, horses, tigers, etc. of North America went South and the large Edentata disappeared. The Glyptodons were enormous armadillos as big as an ox. The earhest known Glyptodons have received the scientific name of Propaloehophorus. They were the dwarfs of their race and had the tail surrounded with knobbed rings. In the intermediate deposits of Monte Hermoso larger species have been found ; but, for the giants we must go to the Pampean forma tion where the fossil remains of the first creature named Glyptodon are to be found. The plates of the dome- shaped carapace of this fossil are nearly smooth, but those on the margin are raised in a series of bold knobs. One tremendous monster, the Dcedicurus, or " club- tailed glyptodon," measured nearly twelve feet in length. Its plates are pierced with holes, no doubt to allow the passage of hairs, as in the case of the modern " peludo." It must have looked like a gigantic porcupine. This monster had a tail five feet in length 240 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC encircled by immense bony rings and terminated by a sohd bony club, with huge hornhke structures pro jecting at right angles from it. Another gigantic species was the Panochthus, or tuberculated Glyptodon, which had a smooth carapace like that of the " mulita," but had a long tubular horn, at the end of the tail, about a yard long. The Megatherium Giganteum was a gigantic ground sloth nearly as big as an elephant. Though greatly resembling the modern sloths, it could not chmb trees, but pulled their tops down so that it could eat the branches. The Mylodon Robustus was another of the ground sloths, but not quite as big as the Megatherium. Con siderable interest attaches to this species, as, some years ago, Dr. Nordenskjold found in a cave at Ultima Speranza, in South West Patagonia, near the Chilean Coast, a large piece of skin covered with greenish brown hair and studded with httle knobs of bone which he knew to be the skin of the Mylodon, which had evidently survived to within a comparatively few years ago. Dr. Moreno, of the La Plata Museum, went to explore the cave and found more bits of skin with the hair on, as well as many bones not only of the Mylodon but also of human beings as well as other human remains. There was considerable evidence to show that the Indians had kept numbers of these animals in the cave and lived on their flesh. An expedition was sent out from England, in 1902, to endeavour to find a living Mylodon ; but Mr. Hesketh Pritchard, who was in charge of it, was unsuccessful. Sir Thomas Holditch also tried to reach the cavern but did not arrive there. It is not impossible that in some cave on the South- West coast the Mylodon may be still living, as the remains of skin and hair dis covered cannot be above fifty years old at the most. The Toxodon, whose remains are also found in Argentina, was a huge rodent like a gigantic guinea pig. But the most interesting of all the fossils found GEOLOGY, FOSSILS AND MINERALOGY 241 in the country are the remains of the earhest human being, discovered in Monte Hermoso in the Araucanian formation of the Miocene epoch. To this ancestor of the present human race — for, from him, Dr. Ameghino would trace the descent of mankind in general — geologists have given the name of Tetraprothomo Argentinus. A full account of the first remains of this primeval Adam will be found in the " Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires," Series 3, Vol. IX. Homunculus Patagonicus is the name of another still earher ancestor, not however sufficiently manhke to be considered a genuine homo. Whether Dr. Ameghino 's views will be confirmed and generally accepted is a question for the future ; but his deduc tions are exceedingly interesting and well worthy of careful perusal. The other animals, whose fossil I have referred to, are beautifully figured in Sir Ray Lankester's recent work on " Extinct Animals." It now remains to refer to the minerals found in the Argentine rocks as their working constitutes one of the future sources of wealth for the country. The mining districts of Argentina with the minerals found in-each are as follows : — Mendoza. — Auriferous quartz, silver, copper, anti mony, coal, sulphur, asbestos. La Rioja. — Silver, copper in conjunction with gold and silver, gold placers. Catamarca. — Copper as in La Rioja, argentiferous galena, auriferous quartz, bismuth, antimony. Salta and Jujuy. — Auriferous quartz, argenti ferous galena, copper, borates of calcium lignite, petroleum and gold placers. Tucuman.— Copper. C6rdoba and San Luis. — Gold, argentiferous galena, copper, manganese, wolfram, marble, porphyry, alabaster, onyx, granite. Territory op Los Andes. — Borate of calcium, gold. Misiones is said to contain copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel and lead ; but, . so far, the mineyaj 242 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC wealth of Misiones is rather a matter of conjecture than actual discovery. The Pampa Central. — Copper. Rio Negro. — Gypsum and lime. Neuquen. — Auriferous quartz, copper, argenti ferous galena, coal and petroleum. Chubut. — Gold, salt. Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego.— 'Gold, lignite, coal, and turf. These are the chief mineral areas ; but, as may be imagined from the structure of the rocks of the Pampean Sierras, there are many other minerals besides those named. An interesting study of the mountains of Cordoba by Dr. Guillermo Bodenbender, pubhshed by the Department of Mines, shows that in addition to the minerals above as found in that province, there are to be found talc, china clay, gypsum, Iceland spar, fluor spar, mica, beryl, etc. Gold is undoubtedly to be found in all districts mentioned ; but, so far, has not been a source of wealth to its finders to any great extent. In Tierra del Fuego I am told that gold in good quantities can be obtained in some parts of the coasts in the crevices of the rocks after every high tide and that, with judicious working, the " Land of Fire " contains enough gold to enrich every inhabitant in the Repubhc. So far, however, there are no signs of Tierra del Fuego milhonaires. Platinum has been found in the island just mentioned. Silver is found in paying quantities in the districts before specified. Copper is the most satisfactory mineral. It is abundant and its workings have so far given the best results of any mining industry. It is found sometimes in conjunction with silver and gold. Magnetic iron is found in various parts, but not in quantities to justify working. Lead is abundant in the Central and Andine pro vinces, generally under the form of galena, which, in some parts, contains a small proportion of silver. Kaolin or China clay is found of good quality and in considerable amount. No. 21. Ruins of Jesuit Monastery, Misiones. >5**"S&<3 No. 22. Alta Gracia, C6rdoba. GEOLOGY, FOSSILS AND MINERALOGY 245 Coal of all sorts has been found in the Andine provinces, and companies have been formed for working it. So far it has not shown any great prospects of supplying fuel to the country. There are, however, great hopes entertained of some mines in Mendoza. Petroleum is undoubtedly to be found in the country in large quantities. The right oil requires to be " struck " to make the country independent of Mr. Rockefeller. At least, that is the opinion of those who claim to know. Rising in Jujuy and Salta, near the Chaco, the deposit of petroleum follows the chain of the Andes in a southerly direction and then turns eastward in Chubut till it finally reaches Commodore Rivadavia, on the Atlantic coast, where extensive borings are now being made with the object of per manently working the oil. Lime is found in large quantities in C6rdoba and other parts, as well as marble. Onyx of great beauty is found in San Luis and Mendoza. There are immense quantities of Borate of Lime in the far off Territory. of Los Andes ; but, so far, difficulty of transport has prevented it being worked. CHAPTER XI INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS Agriculture : Cereals, Linseed, Fruits, Cotton, Sugar, Grapes, Alfalfa, etc. — Relative Importance of Argentine Cereal and Linseed Crops — Exportation — Pastoral Industries — The Estancia and its Products — Relative Position of Argentine as a Stock Breeding Country — Importation of Fine Stock and Effects of Crossing — Census of Live Stock — Exportation : Wool, Butter, etc. — Mining Industries : Notes of Actual Operations — General Commerce : Imports and Distribution. The chief Industries of the country may be classified under the heads of Agricultural, Pastoral, Mining, and General. Agriculture. — The cultivation of cereals and linseed represents at least 75 per cent, in area of the territory under cultivation. Owing to the nature of the soil as well as to the situation of the ports these products are specially concentrated in the littoral provinces, Cordoba and a part of the Pampa. The latest returns of the Agricultural Department for the agricultural year 1909-10 give the following areas of cultivation : — Maize. Wheat. Linseed. Oata. Provinces. Hectareas. Hectareas. Hectareas. Hectareas. Buenos Aires 1,470,000 2,119,900 392,400 510,000 Santa Fe 905,000 1,262,650 609,300 15,000 C6rdoba 280,000 1,792,000 218,000 7,400 Entre Rios 45,000 300,000 203,000 18,500 Pampa Central 82,000 301,000 31,600 18,800 Other Districts .... 223,000 61,000 600 2,900 3,005,000 5,836,550 1,454,900 572,600 In " other districts," in the case of maize, include Corrientes, 45,000 hect. ; San Luis 15,000 hect. ; 246 INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 247 Santiago del Estero 23,000 hect.; Tucuman 41,000 hect. ; Mendoza 11,000 hect. ; Catamarca 15,000 hect. ; Salta 24,000 hect. ; and Misiones 18,000 hect. The latest official prognostics, in January 1910, for the season 1909-10, promise a yield of 3,825,000 tons of wheat, 800,500 tons of hnseed and 591,000 tons of oats. It was too early to estimate with any thing like accuracy the prospects of the maize crop ; but, taking into consideration the actual known facts as to area sown, prices, etc., the value of the crops for 1909-10 were officially estimated at : Wheat $360,000,000 m/n =£31,441,048 Linseed 120,000,000 m/n = 10,480,349 Oats 31,000,000 m/n = 2,707,423 Maize 317,000,000 m/n = 27,685,599 Total $828,000,000 m/n = £72,314,419 It must, however, be said that these statistics are in the opinion of competent authorities much too optimistic. In a report presented to the Minister of Agriculture by Sr. Lahitte, the chief of the Direction of Rural Statistics and Economy, refers to the year as a most disastrous one in the Province of Buenos Aires, asserting that, in many districts, the wheat, linseed and oats will not cover the costs of reaping and that many plantations of maize have been destroyed. This opinion coincides with information received by the writer from agriculturists in the province, so that it will not be safe to base any definite calculations upon the official statistics or prognostications. In the year 1909, the exports of cereals and linseed were :— Wheat 2,514,130 tons, Linseed 887,222 tons, Maize 2,273,412 tons, Afrecho (bran) 184,266 tons, Oats 421,352 tons, Barley 18,355 tons. In all calcu lations as to the value or quantity of the exports to Great Britain it must be borne in mind that, in addition to the figures nominally relating to that country, it is calculated that nearly 80% of the exports " for orders " ultimately find their way to British ports. 248 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC That Argentina is ambitious of being the food producer for the world is evident from many writings and, if area were the only factor to be considered, there would be a fair probabihty of this ambition being fulfilled, as, according to Sr. Tidblom, there are more than 80,000,000 acres in the Republic that could be immediately devoted to wheat farming if there were farmers to do it. But other factors, besides area, are essential, and Sr. Tidblom has named the principal one. Until much more is done than hitherto to attract farmers to the country, the progress will be slow. In the meantime, Canada threatens to obtain the supremacy which Argentina covets and is going the right way to succeed. The following table shows the wheat crops of the ten principal wheat producing countries in 1908 : — United States 17,962,217 tons Russia 15,364,430 „ France 8,400,000 „ Austria Hungary 6,198,000 „ British India 6,197,000 „ Argentina 5,200,000 „ Germany 3,770,000 „ Canada 3,095,000 „ Spain 3,000,000 „ Great Britain 1,504,000 „ The average yield per acre in the United Kingdom is 31 bushels, in Manitoba (Canada) 19 bushels, the United States 13 bushels ; but in Argentina it rarely exceeds 12 bushels per acre and is, as a rule, nearer ten. As showing the fluctuations to which the wheat crop is exposed it may be mentioned that in 1908 Argentina exported 3,500,000 tons, in 1909 2,514,130 tons, in 1910 it is doubtful if there will be 2,000,000 available for export. One of the most important agricultural products is Unseed. It is calculated that Argentma, even at present, could provide for the entire consumption of linseed throughout the world^and, according to Mr. Lix Klett and other statisticians, its exports in 1908 INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 249 (1,055,650 tons) were sufficient to supply three-fourths of the world's demands. Argentine maize is of excflent quahty and finds a ready market abroad, Argentina supplying 45% of the international commerce in this cereal in 1908, ousting the United States from the first place as a maize exporting country. Barley is a crop to which attention is being drawn at present, not so much with the object of exportation but of utilisation in the making of malt hquors. The exportation in 1909 was 18,546 tons. The average yield per hectarea is a httle over a ton (1*105). Oats are also an important crop as the figures above given show : the average yield per hectarea being 1 J tons ; but rye only yielded some 69 tons for export. Rice is cultivated in the province of Tucuman where there are about 4,000 hectareas actually being worked. The yield varies from 2 to 5 tons per hectarea. In addition to hnseed, the oleaginous plants culti vated are the Pistacho, Mani or Cacahuete (arachia hypogea), called also, in Enghsh, monkey nuts, and Tartago (Jatropha curcas), the latter related to the castor-oil plant. These are cultivated in the north of the Provmce of Santa Fe, in part of Entre Rios and Corrientes and in the Northern territories, the name mani is reserved for the fruit of the plant which yields it, the plant itself being called Mandubi. The Yerba mate, Paraguayan or Jesuit's tea (Ilex Paraguay ensis), grows spontaneously in Misiones ; but the greater part of the " yerba " consumed in the country is imported from Paraguay and Brazil, from which countries were imported in 1909 nearly 47,000 tons. Yerba mate is the warm drink which is almost exclusively used in the camp. Of late years, tea has been introduced by British residents and has invaded the drawing-rooms of the Argentines ; but, as compared with yerba, only 1,721 tons were intro duced in 1909 and this showed a diminution of 160 tons on the previous year. p 250 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC The Potato, called papa, is now extensively culti vated in the provinces of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, as are also the sweet Potato, or Batata, and Beetroot or remolacha, and the Topinambur. In the north, the mandioca replaces the potato. The root is cooked and eaten like the latter vegetable and, in addition, it is ground into flour of which a porridge or polenta is made. Tobacco is cultivated in the Northern territories and in the provinces of Tucuman, Salta and Jujuy and, especially, Corrientes. In the last mentioned province there are about 12,000 hectareas under this cultivation. The sugar cane is cultivated in Tucuman, the Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Misiones and Corrientes. That grown in Tucuman and Chaco is mainly destined for the production of sugar, whereas the produce of the other provinces is employed in the manufacture of alcohol. In 1908 the sugar manufactured was 161,662 tons. The current year (1910) is not expected to be ,a favourable one and the government has aheady issued a decree reducing, under certain contingencies, the import duties on that article, which are normally from seven to nine cents gold per kilo. The average consumption of sugar per head of the inhabitants is 15 kgs. per annum. The vine is cultivated in the Andine provinces, especially Mendoza and San Juan. In Entre Rios and some part of the province of Buenos Aires, vines are grown ; but the Province of Mendoza produces more than nine-tenths of the grapes grown in the country. In 1908 there were nearly 270,000 tons of grapes produced; according to details furnished by 1,569 estabhshments, the wine produced being 186,091,092 htres. Towards these totals, the province of Mendoza with 589 estabhshments produced 250,000 tons of grapes and 174,297,392 htres of wine. The various kinds of fruits produced in the country have been aheady described in the preceding chapter. INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 251 Experiments were made a few years ago in exporting fresh fruit, such as peaches ; but the results were not such as to cause a trade to be developed, and neither in 1908 nor 1909 was any such exportation carried on. Canary seed (alpiste) is produced in the httoral provinces ; and, in 1909, 7,044,095 kilograms were exported. The province of Corrientes and the territory v of the Chaco are well suited for the cultivation of Cotton and between 3,000 and 4,000 hectareas of land in the Chaco have been devoted to the growth of this textile plant. In 1901 the production of the Chaco reached 150 tons, increasing more than twofold in 1902. In 1903, 500 tons were produced. During some years small quantities were exported, but in 1909 no cotton left the country, except in form of oil obtained from the seed, of which 8,461 kilos were exported. At present there is a fair amount of cotton being grown in the neighbourhood of Resistencia and it is claimed that a hectarea will yield from 1J to 2 tons of cotton per annum. This is worth 15 to 20 cents per kilo. One colonist claims to have 6 made as much as $40,000 profit in one year out of forty squares, but as all the cotton produced goes to two firms, who have the monopoly, both as to price and conditions, exact details are difficult to obtain. Some time ago there was much talk about the wonderful results to be obtained by the cultivation of Ramio or China grass (Bachmeria nivea), but so far nothing has been done of any importance. The principal forage plant cultivated in Argentina is Alfalfa or lucerne, known in England as the purple medic (medicago sativa), which is said to have been introduced into America from Europe, in 1775, by Dr. Perez Castellano, of Montevideo. With the ex ception of the sterile territory of Los Andes, there is not a province or national territory where this leguminous plant is not cultivated. There are more than 3,500,000 hectareas under this cultivation. As pasto seco (hay), alfalfa is largely 252 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC exported, the statistics for the year 1909 showing a total of 27,396 tons under this head. As it yields, under favourable conditions, several crops in the year and as, owing to the extraordinary depth to which its roots penetrate, it is a plant which will continue to give crops for many years, alfalfa is one of the most profit able elements of the agricultural industry of the country. The only remaining branch of the agricultural industry of the country which requires notice is that proceeding from the working of the forests in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. The trees have aheady been referred to in the chapter on flora. The chief of these exploited for export purposes are the Quebracho and the Nandubay. Of Quebracho pro ducts, there were exported, in 1909, 10,000 kilos of sawdust, 55,493 tons of extract for tanning and 294,722 tons of logs. Of Nandubay products there were exported in the same year 99,710 stakes, 111,062 half posts and 53,605 posts. In addition to these there were exported 849,249 logs of firewood, 71 \ tons of wicker and 44 tons of resins. The quebracho furnishes an enormous quantity of sleepers for railway construction ; but, on account of the great internal demand for these, none were exported in 1909. All the other products of the forests are used in the country. In summing up the agricultural industry it may be stated that its products furnish more than 55| per cent. of the total exports of the country, after providing for home consumption, and in 1909 these exports represented a total value of nearly $240,000,000. The quantities exported to Great Britain were (adding 80% of those shipped " for orders ") : — Oats 107,650 tons direct 136,956 „ for orders Linseed 161,016 „ direct 253,553 „ for orders Maize 243,711 „ direct 1,041,956 „ for order* Wheat 362,648 „ direct 1,133,292 „ for order* INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 253 Flour 2,480tons direct 836 ,, for orders Quebracho extraot 14,213 „ direct 672 „ for orders Quebracho logs 151,968 „ direct 52,129 „ for orders Cattle Breeding and Products. The second great source of national wealth is the pastoral industry, which, from small beginnings in the early days of the Spanish colonisation, has now attained the proportions which are shown in the table lower down. The importation of cattle and horses followed the same currents as the colonists themselves. The httoral provinces received their domestic animals from Spain and the interior region received theirs by way of Peni. The horned cattle and horses, whether received direct from Spain or through Peru, were of South Spanish origin and the sheep had the same origin and were of the " Churra " race, with long straight wool and little bone. These original importations were the source of all Argentine domestic animals of the farm or estancia until the beginning of last century, when, slowly and unostentatiously, Durham and Hereford cattle and Merino sheep, thoroughbred horses for racing, and Clydesdales and Shires for draught purposes, were introduced and, here and there, breeders began to recognise that by crossing the native races with these, useful and valuable products could be obtained. It was not, however, until 1870 that a steady current of importation of fine stock set in. Since that time, only those breeders who are of the Rip Van Winkle type have neglected to improve their stocks. Almost every known breed of horse, cattle or sheep has been introduced into the country and the effects of crossing tried. It would be difficult to name a class which is not to be found in some part of the country. Owing to the immense destruction of male horses during the Paraguayan war— for it i§ infra dig. for an 254 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Argentine to use a mare for riding — the Criollo horse, which was wonderfully adapted to the climate and conditions of camp hfe, sank into a very inferior animal, which only crossing with important sires saved from becoming almost useless. The establishment of Herd Books and Stud Books, in which pure animals were duly registered on proof of pedigree, encouraged breeders in raising pure stock as well as bettering the native breeds. The descendants of criollo animals after eight crosses are considered " puros por mesti- zacion." The classes of horses introduced into the country include the British Racehorse, the Arab, the Russian Orloff, the American Trotter, the British Clydesdale, Shire, Suffolk Punch, and Hackney, the French Per- cheron, the German Oldemburgues, etc. The chief imported cattle are Durham or Shorthorn, Hereford, Polled Angus (called Mocho), Jersey and Holstein. The sheep include the various Merinos, Lincoln, Leicester, Rodney Marsh as well as Oxford Down and other black-faced breeds. In San Luis and Mendoza there is a considerable industry in the breeding of mules, the sires being Spanish Jacks. Pigs are not bred with the same care as the other farm animals. The native race is a long-snouted, lanky animal with long legs and possessed of an innate objection to fattening. The result is that Argentine ham and bacon cannot compare with the imported article. Goats are reared all over the country, but Cordoba has the first place under this head. In the northern provinces the Llama, or domesti cated guanaco, is extensively used for carrying purposes as well as the smaller alpaca or domesticated vicuna, which gives the valuable wool known as alpaca. The increased pains taken in the development of cattle and sheep have resulted in a large exportation of beef and mutton. The exportation of live animals is seriously affected by the presence of such diseases as foot and mouth carbuncle, etc., the mere suppo- INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 255 sition of the existence of which is sufficient to close European ports against hve stock. Before considering the actual commerce in live stock and its products it is necessary to enquire as to the actual numbers of animals existing in the country. In 1888 the census of domestic animals showed 21,963,930 head of cattle, 4,262,917 horses, 66,701,097 sheep and 403,203 pigs. According to the latest census in 1908 the live stock of the country showed : — Class. Fare. Mestizo. Native. Total. Bovine 984,897 15,060,446 13,071,282 29,116,625 Chevaline .... 49,000 1,693,637 5,788,739 7,531,376 Mules — — 465,037 465,037 Asine — — 285,088 285,088 Ovine 1,179,482 55,448,749 10,583,523 67,311,754 Caprine 3,324 124,800 3,816,965 3,945,086 Porcine 34,462 589,126 780,003 1,403,591 The value of these is estimated as follows : — Cattle $413,021,767 gold= £82,604,353 Horses 90,563,807 „ =18,112,761 Mules 9,926,873 „ = 1,985,375 Donkeys 1,256,178 „ = 251,236 Sheep 126,437,993 „ = 25,287,598 Goats 3,661,609 „ = 732,332 Pigs 6,895,960 „ = 1,379,192 Total $651,764,187 ,, = £130,352,847 The following table shows the relative position of Argentina with respect to the chief stock breeding countries (1908) : — Nations. Cattle. Horses. Sheep. Pigs. Argentina .. 29,116,625 2,531,376 67,211,754 1,403,501 United States 69,438,758 21,216,888 61,837,112 64,694,222 Canada .... 5,576,451 1,577,493 2,510,239 2,353,828 Australia.... 9,349,409 1,765,186 83,687,655 813,569 Cape Colony 2,000,000 300,000 11,800,000 400,000 East India . . 91,700,000 1,300,000 18,000,000 Russia 34,000,000 22,600,000 42,900,000 11,200,000 Germany.... 20,600,000 4,300,000 7,700,000 22,100,000 France 14,000,000 3,200,000 17,500,000 7,000,000 Austria 9,500,000 1,700,000 2,600,000 4,700,000 Great Britain 7,000,000 1,600,000 25,400,000 2,300,000 256 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC My authority for these tables is the able Argentine statistician Sr. Alberto B. Martinez, joint author of a most interesting French volume, " L'Argentine au XXs Siecle." Sr. Martinez points out that the number of animals does not necessarily imply the value of the stock, a remark to be specially borne in mind when comparing, say, the British numbers with those of Argentina. He also refers to the diminution of the number of sheep from the figures of 1888, remarking that this fact is observed in the principal wool countries, " Authorised opinions assure us that against the 400 milhon of sheep existing in different parts of the world in 1873, there are not more than 300,000,000 to-day. In Germany, according to the ' Journal des Econo- mistes,' sheep have decreased from 19 milhons to 7 millions in 25 years. Of course, the large numbers of sheep killed for export by the various freezing com panies of the world largely accounts for this general diminution, and this remark is specially apphcable to Argentina." The following are the details of export trade in live stock, frozen meat, wool, hides and other products of pastoral industry for the year 1909. Horned cattle were exported to the number of 132,450 animals, of which almost all went to Brazil or Uruguay. Great Britain figured with 392 only. Frozen beef was exported to the extent of 209,435 tons, the whole of which, with the exception of 1,057 tons to Italy, went to Great Britain. Of salt ox-hides 52,719 tons were exported, of which 5,680 tons were sent to Great Britain, the chief takers being Germany, the United States and Belgium. Of dry ox-hides, the figures show 36,371 tons, of which 20,113 tons were sent to the United States and 514 tons to England. The export of fat and tallow reached 54,325 tons, of which Great Britain took 25,162 tons. Of the butter produced in the country for export Great Britain received pragtically th§ whole of tb« 3,993 tons INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 257 There were 4,765 horses exported, of which 319 went to England and 2,846 to " other destinations." This term includes British Colonies such as South Africa. Of the 2,732 tons of horse hair exported, Great Britain received 120 tons : the bulk of this article went to Belgium, the United States and Italy. There were 2,826 tons of horse hides exported, nearly all of which went to Germany. Coming to sheep and ovine products, we find hve sheep exported to the number of 88,636, none of which went to Great Britain, the ports being closed against them. Belgium and Uruguay were the largest takers. On the other hand, with the exception of 15 tons to Italy, Great Britain took the whole of the frozen mutton exported, amounting to 66,495 tons. Of wool 176,682 tons were exported mainly to Germany and France. Great Britain received 16,426 tons, and the United States about 2,000 tons more. Of the wool grown in the country 75% is of Lincoln and Leicester and 20% of Merino. France took the bulk (26,236 tons) of the sheep skins exported, which amounted to 33,587 tons : Great Britain imported 2,778 tons. 2,991,626 tons of goat skins were exported, more than two milhon going to the United States and most of the remainder to France. It is quite unnecessary to describe in the present volume the hfe of an Argentine " estancia " or ranch. There are descriptions galore in the many books of travel which have been written about the country. The work of an estancia is, however, very different to-day from what it was in former times. It is abso lutely requisite now to consider the requirements of the freezing estabhshments and a much higher grade of stock is necessary in every department. All classes of stock require much more care in every way than the former criollo hacienda, and the old description of an estanciero as a man who lounged about while his stpck reproduced itself, is very much out of date, 258 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Of recent years, there has been a demand not only for flesh forming but for milk yielding cows and, in consequence of greater attention being paid to this class of stock, dairy produce has received an enormous impulse. It is not many years since, milk, except from " lecheros " of the vicinity, was impossible to obtain in Buenos Aires, and butter, worth calling such, was a thing unknown. About twenty years ago an Enghshman, Mr. Cobham, commenced a creamery and tea rooms in Buenos Aires, and began the making of decent butter on a small scale. This was the first impetus to the ex tensive production of milk and butter, which, taken up by large capitahsts, has become one of the most promising developments of the pastoral industry. The milk sold at the " lecherias " in the capital is now compelled to be pasteurised — that is, raised to a temperature of 85° centigrade. Good milk under these conditions is sold at 20 cents a litre, cream being obtainable at $1*16 to $2 per litre. The average price of butter is $1*50 per kilo, equal to Is. 2|d. per lb. The chief milk and butter factories in the country are " La Argentina," " La Martona," the " Granja Blanca " and the " Marina," each of which receives and distributes the products of large numbers of estancias, milkmen and creameries. There are now about 400,000 htres of milk consumed per day in the capital. The Basque " lecheros " find it now more profitable to deal with the large estabhshments than to try to compete with them, so that almost the entire dairy trade seems destined to pass into their hands. The Mining industry has been aheady dealt with in the chapter on the Geology, etc., of the country, and only few words are necessary to shew what is being actually done at present. The exports under this head do not reach 2 per thousand of the total exports of the country. The chief items for 1909 are impure Asbestos 20,400 kgs., Borate of Lime 492,004 kgs., Copper, in bars, INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 259 19,723 kgs., Copper ore 76,536 kgs., Galena ore 56,985 kgs., Lead ore 91,775 kgs., Wolfram ore 753,820 kgs., and Gypsum (yeso) 45,000 kgs. The total value of the mineral exports for the year was $742,707 (gold)=£148,541. It may be stated broadly that, so far, Argentine mining largely consists of the presentation of claims, the vast majority of which are abandoned. It is only necessary to consult the " Patron Minero," annually issued by the Department of Mines, to see how far performance comes short of promise, as, although the mineral wealth of the country is great, nowhere is it more clearly shown that it is possible to buy gold too dear, as, from absence of means of transport and other reasons, the cost of working would not be recouped by the yield of the mines. Another reason for the difference between the number of concessions and the number of mines actually worked is that very many concessions are obtained for merely speculative pur poses and the expected " coup " does not come off. A few bitter experiences, of which the only tangible remembrances are worthless shares, makes even the speculator cautious. Taking the mining districts in detail we find a general paralysation, though signs are not wanting that there will be some movement in the near future. In Mendoza, the Pacific Railway is said to be about to connect the Main Line with the coal mines of Salagasta. The salt mines continue to yield a con siderable amount of salt. Petroleum is being dihgently looked for by the " Argentine Western Petroleum Syndicate, Ltd.," and " The Mining Exploitation Company " is exploring for copper, a rich vein of which comes through from Chile. La Rioja maintains its reputation as the mining province and, to facihtate the working of the silver and copper mines, an aerial wireway is being con structed to unite the Cerro of Famatina to the railway from Chilecito. Thirty-four kilometres have aheady been constructed by the National Government uniting 260 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC Chilecito to La Mejicana, which is the richest copper district in the province. Here mines are being worked by the " Famatina Development Corporation " and the " Forastera Mining Co.," the chief mines worked are the San Pedro, Upulongos and Atacama. In the Cerro Negro small quantities of silver are extracted, but the working of silver as well as gold is practically suspended, except in this district and in the Sierra de las Minas. The province of Catamarca contains the famous mines of Capillitas, worked uninterruptedly since 1853, which now belongs to a London Company. In con nection with these mines are two smelting works. In 1908 this company obtained leave to suspend working for two years. In San Luis, the chief mines working are those of Santo Domingo (auriferous quartz), San Roman and La Puntana (Wolfram) ; the auriferous quartz washings in the Canada Honda and Los Condores (Wolfram), one of the most important in the country. The Onyx quarries, " El Pantano," yield a con siderable quantity of the much sought after green Onyx employed in some of the most luxurious buildings in Buenos Aires and in the " Grand Palais des Champs Elysees," in Paris. In Cordoba, the output of Lime, Marble and Granite has been continuous, but no details are obtainable. Other minerals have been httle worked. In San Juan the only mines shewing vitality are the Maria Cristina (copper, gold and silver), and the Mica Mines of the " Sociedad de Mica Chilena." In the other mining districts, there is nothing worthy of mention except in that of Neuquen, where the " Neuquen Proprietary Gold Mines Co.," and other Companies/are seriously working mines of gold and other metals with considerable prospects of success. In Chubut, in the vicinity of Commodore Rivadavia, where Petroleum has been found to exist in large quantities, wells have been sunk with success, but, as yet, it is not by any means certain that the petroleum will be profitable either for fighting or fuel, INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 261 although great hopes are entertained that, especially as a combustible, the Chubut petroleum will repay extraction. Unfortunately, although petroleum is plentiful in Commodore Rivadavia, water is exceedingly scarce, the rainfall being insignificant and there being a total absence of a subterranean supply, except from a few springs of doubtful permanence. Fur and Feathers. — These articles of national production only require a few words. Those items which should be named are the so called nutria skins (really those of the Coypu) of which 190 tons were exported, and the feathers of the Nandu or so caUed Ostrich (43 tons were exported), the Chaja (12 tons), the Condor (li tons). General Business. Beside the distribution of the products of the agricultural and pastoral industries required for home consumption, the general business of the country is mainly occupied with the sale of imported articles, as the absence of workable coal and iron and many other circumstances prevent Argentina from being a manufacturing country. SmaU industries, which call themselves factories, are here and there set up, relying upon an exaggerated protective tariff which is readily imposed under the guise of " protecting national industry " at the request of anyone who declares that he is about to endow the country with a new fountain of riches. The legitimate business — for these mushroom and protected industries can scarcely be called by this name — is therefore limited as stated above, but even with the limitation its extent is enormous, considering the number of inhabitants of the country. Anyone who contemplates the busy streets of the capital, its crowded ports and the ever extending network of railways, cannot fail to be im pressed by the commercial activity of the country. The following details of the importation of the year 1909 will give some idea of the immense trade which 262 THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC is carried on and of which Buenos Aires is the main distributive centre : — Value in Class of Merchandise. gold dollars, I.— Live Stock 1,545,853 II.— Food stuffs 23,014,691 III. — Tobacco and accessories . . 6,201,028 IV.— Liquors 13,410,486 V.— Textile fabrics 59,923,699 VI. — Oils, minerals, medicaments and fats 11,852,943 VII. — Chemical & pharmaceutical substances and products 10,203,393 VIH.— Dyes 1,997,105 IX.— Wood and by-products .. 7,639,715 X. — Paper and stationery 6,638,359 XI.— Leather, etc 2,581,165 XH.— Iron and its by-products . . 36,575,232 XHI.— Other metals and products 10,210,824 XIV.— Agricultural articles 16,651,610 , XV. — Articles used in locomotion 31,711,285 XVI. — Stone, granite, cement, glass and hardware 21,758,269 XVII.— Building materials 28,365,889 XVTII.— Electrical materials 4,216,914 XIX. — Sundry articles and manu factures 8,257,635 Total $302,75,6,095= £60,551,219 ...... ..U Not only has all this importation to be received and distributed, but the exportation of the products of the country has to be collected and shipped. This exportation is, however, not so centrahsed as is the importation, other ports besides that of Buenos Aires being engaged in loading vessels for foreign ports. The exports of 1909 were as follows : — $ gold. Pastoral 153,548,356 Agricultural 230,503,996 Forestal 8,927,362 Mineral 742,707 Hunting and Fishing 752,020 Various 2,876,087 Total $397,350,528=£79,470,106 INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTIONS 263 [.The giant strides being made by the country are shewn by the fact that, as compared with 1908, exports show an increase of $31,345,187 (gold), and the imports an increase of $29,783,359 (gold) equal to a total increase in international commerce of $61,128,546 (gold) or £12,225,709. As showing the extent of the trading community in the country the figures in the foUowing statement are of great value and interest. They are the results of an industrial census, and include details of all the provinces and National Territories, except Tucuman, Salta, Jujuy, Santa Fe, Corrientes and Mendoza, which are, however, represented in the final totals by authori tative estimates. 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