Gardiner G. Hubbard

“ The fourteen provinces which form the Argentine Republic have never been welded into one nation, and have seldom had a moment's peace. The gauchos have been a continual scourge, and the gaucho generals its rulers and harriers combined. Unfortunately, here, as in other Spanish states, one dictator has succeeded another. Thirty presidents, or dictators, have reigned within fifty years. At one time five provinces had each a separate dictator. ”

“ The recent meeting of the Pan-American Congress has called attention to South America, a part of our continent under republican forms of government and rich in products which we lack, while it relies mainly on other foreign countries for goods which we manufacture. North America and South America should be more closely united, for the one is the complement of the other.
The prominent features of South America are its long ranges of mountains—next to the Himalayas the highest in the world,—its great valley, and its immense plateau extending from the Straits of Magellan to the Caribbean sea. ”

“ Brazil, because it is the largest country, occupying three-sevenths of South America, and the only considerable state that was not settled by the Spaniards; the Argentine Republic, because it is the largest and most populous of the Spanish states and, with Peru, illustrates the political and financial phases through which the Spanish republics have passed.
The valley of the Amazon makes Brazil the most fertile region of the world. The tropical woods are so thick and the creepers and undergrowth so luxuriant that animal life is almost entirely confined to the trees above and the waters below. ”

“ The Indian race as a whole is believed to be superior to both the negro and the Malay, as neither of those races has ever attained to the civilization of the Incas of Peru or of the Indians of Mexico and the Aztecs of Central America. Many of their myths and folk tales are common, not only to the Indians of one part of the country, but also to other tribes in distant parts of the continent, and even to the negroes of Africa, and the Arabs of upper Egypt. ”

“ The valley of the Amazon collects its waters from a region 1800 miles wide from north to south and 2500 miles long from the Andes to the Atlantic ocean. Even at the foot of the Andes the Amazon is a mighty river. ”

“ The Spaniards are the grandees of the country; too proud to work, they leave all business to the foreigners and all labor to the Indians, retaining in connection with the half-breeds all political power. When the regents appointed by Spain were expelled in the early part of the present century, republics were established, but they were republics only in name; the people were neither educated nor fitted for self-government. ”

“ The Portuguese and Brazilians are more peaceable and orderly than the Spaniards or Spanish-Americans; we may therefore reasonably hope that Brazil will not repeat the history of the Spanish republics, which has been one of disintegration, for these republics have separated into two or more States. The greatest difficulty in maintaining its immense domain will arise from the enormous distances and the time required to travel between different parts of the country. From Rio de Janeiro to Matto Grosso is 140 days' journey by land, and by water the distance is 3000 miles. ”

“ Venezuela and Guiana are watered by the Orinoco and by several rivers that flow from the Amazonian mountains to the ocean. The whole coast is low and fertile, but hot and unhealthy. The principal product is sugar, raised by negroes and coolies. The interior is sultry and thickly wooded; it is inhabited by Indian tribes, the principal of which are the cannibal Caribs, and by negroes as uncivilized as any of the tribes in Africa. Guiana is controlled by the English, French, and Dutch. Cayenne, the prison for French convicts, is the capital of French Guiana. ”

“ The San Francisco, about 1800 miles long, rises near Rio de Janeiro and flows north about 1200 miles between parallel ranges of mountains, then turns east and forces its way through the coast range to the Atlantic ocean. It runs through the gold and diamond regions of Brazil, and has a considerable population along its banks. It has many falls and rapids, and considerable slack-water navigation.
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
In Asia, the different countries have natural boundaries; the people, soil and climate of one country are unlike those of others. ”

“ But the larger the market the cheaper we can manufacture, and we can [p. 25] surely find a large and new market for our breadstuffs. It is worth while to make the experiment at least, to give our vessels the same subsidy and protection that has been given to the European lines, and to our merchants and bankers, an opportunity to regain the trade with South America. At first the odds will be greatly against us; but if we show the same energy and ability in cultivating trade with South America that our fathers exhibited, and that we have shown in other directions, we must ultimately succeed. ”

“ A recent traveller in Peru, who wished to inspect its railroad system, was informed that only 26 miles were in running order, the remainder being under the control of the revolutionists who were then less than 80 miles from the capital. He asked why the rebels did not take Lima, the capital, and was told, "because there is no unanimity among them; they are suspicious of each other, and cannot depend upon any one man." ”

“ Here, where physical resources are the most powerful, where vegetation and animals are most abundant, where the soil is watered by the noblest rivers and the coast studded by the finest harbors, the profusion of nature has hindered social progress and opposed that accumulation of wealth without which progress is impossible. ”

“ The longest stretch of low and comparatively level land to be [p. 7] found in the world extends through the center of South America. A boat starting from the Caribbean sea could sail up the Orinoco over a thousand miles, then down the Casquiare, which runs from the Orinoco into the Rio Negro, down that river to the Amazon, up the Amazon to the Madeira, then up that river and one of its branches through Brazil and Bolivia, and with a short portage of six and a half miles to one of the branches of the Paraguay, down the Paraguay and La Plata to the ocean. ”

“ It appears from the foregoing statement that all the carrying trade to and from South America, by water, is by foreign steamers; that only four of these are American lines; that the railroads are generally owned and operated by Englishmen; that the bankers and merchants are Englishmen or Germans; that [p. 24] many of the mines, cattle ranches, coffee plantations and other estates are owned by non-resident foreigners; and that the largest consumer of South American products is the United States, although this country sells few of its manufactures and products to South America. ”

“ POPULATION OF SOUTH AMERICA.
As the countries of South America were all settled at about the same time and by the same race and have passed through a like history, they can be considered as a whole.
The United States and Canada, with a rough, uncongenial climate and sterile soil, were settled by the Anglo-Saxons, the remainder of the western continent by the Latin race and, excepting Brazil and Guiana, by Spaniards. In North America the Anglo-Saxon race has dominated, carrying civilization from the Atlantic to the Pacific, expelling and exterminating the aborigines. ”

“ The forces that oppose are so formidable that he has never been able to make head against them.
"The energies of nature have hampered his spirit; nowhere else is the contrast so painful between the grandeur of the external world and [p. 29] the littleness of the internal, and the mind, cowed by this unequal struggle, has been unable to advance. ”

“ On the Amazon there are a few small settlements to collect the India rubber and cacao of that valley.
Save these sparse settlements, the interior of South America is inhabited by wild tribes of Indians, uncivilized save for the presence of a few Catholic priests, who have given the Indians the cross and the image of the Virgin Mary, which they worship, mingling the Catholic religion with their old idolatries and barbarous rites. The natives are believed to be more idle and less civilized than when the Spaniards discovered America. ”

“ For the successful prosecution of any trade between two countries, it is essential that each shall produce what the other wants: Thus, we raise breadstuffs which are not grown on the Caribbean sea nor in the valley of the Amazon, nor in Peru or upper Chili, and we also manufacture goods required in all parts of South America, where they have few factories ”

“ In Europe there are few natural boundaries, though different races inhabit the several states.
In South America only one dominant race is found, and though natural boundaries exist, yet they do not serve as boundaries to the different states, other than Venezuela and Guiana. ”

“ The western slope of the mountains is dry and barren, so that breadstuffs and provisions are imported from Ecuador on the north, or from lower Chili, far to the south. Yet no other country has contributed so much to the world's fertility ”

“ This country, under a wise government, is capable of sustaining an immense population and giving abundant support to such a railroad; but it is now unexplored, excepting the valleys of the navigable rivers, and is uninhabited save by wild and savage Indians, though these are not numerous.
The route up the Magdalena may be expensive by reason of the climate, but not otherwise. ”

“ In crossing from Arequipa in Peru to La Paz in Bolivia, the road ascends the Andes, makes a slight descent into the barren, desolate valley between the Andes and Cordilleras, crosses Lake Titicaca, and then descends to La Paz. Lake Titicaca, the largest lake of South America, is on a plateau between twelve and thirteen thousand feet in height, the most elevated table land on the globe, excepting Thibet. This lake is surrounded by lofty, snow-clad mountains, the highest of which is Illampa, 22,300 feet in height. ”

“ The passage money from Europe and the expenses of the immigrant to his new home have been paid and land for settlement sold at low rates. It is estimated that over 1,000,000 foreigners have settled in the country during the last twelve years, and the proportionate increase of population in the same period has been twice as great as that of the United States. ”

“ For some time Buenos Ayres and its dictator ruled the republic; then the country provinces rebelled, and civil war ensued; one province was arrayed against another, and all against Buenos Ayres. The provinces prevailed and the gaucho general, Rosas, occupied Buenos Ayres. Scarcely was this civil war ended when a war arose with the republics of Uruguay and Paraguay.
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Money was required to pay the army and the cost of civil and foreign wars. Every dictator had his friends for whom provision must be made. Large debts were created ”

“ They told fabulous tales of the Amazonians they had encountered, strong and masculine women, armed with bows and arrows, living by themselves, admitting men into their country only one month in the year, killing or sending away the male children and training the girls to become amazons and warriors. ”

“ When we reflect that these people had no beasts of burden except the llama, which could only carry light loads, and no mechanical means for transporting the vast blocks of stone used in constructing these buildings, we are astonished at what they accomplished. ”

“ The English therefore obtain the profits on manufacture, on the freight to South America, on the sale of the goods in South America, on the freight from South America to the United States, on the sale of those goods, and finally on the freight of the American breadstuffs carried to Europe. ”

“ If the conquered tribe was strong and warlike, some of its members were removed to distant parts of the country and were replaced by the inhabitants of those regions, to whom privileges and immunities were given as compensation for the change of home. ”

“ The road then descends into the valley of the Amazon, through a rich and not unhealthy region, though it has the damp, hot, climate of a tropical country, and thence passes through the montaña district, which is generally high, healthy and fertile. ”

“ Their presidents generally exercised the powers of dictators and often assumed that title. They have rarely enjoyed a long rule, for their power and position were sought by others. Revolution in these countries has passed from the acute to the chronic stage. ”

“ Those who have given the most consideration to the subject say that the road need not be an expensive one to operate, and in the important element of time it would have a great advantage over the route via Para. ”