Salta

“ Salta, the Capital, is another of the old Colonial cities, amid the low houses of which fine new public buildings occur incongruously; iconoclastic. It has also a zoological garden which, wisely, contains many interesting specimens of local fauna, fine, luxuriantly planted public gardens and Plazas and an excellent Police Band.
In the oligarchic days of only a very few years ago the police forces of these outlying Provinces were extremely important political instruments. Under the Constitution the Provinces cannot raise or maintain independent soldiery ”

“ It is the native spirit of the Argentine genius which enters the immigrant ere for long he has settled in the land and which inspires the sons born to him in this country; it is the instinct of independence and individuality engendered by the free air of a rural life, and which is the antithesis of the dependent spirit symbolized in city life by socialism.
Salta is a large, sparsely populated Province, the inhabitants of which outside the circle of its aristocratic families, are composed of our friend the Gaucho and his families and the Coya Indians. ”

“ During the first half of the nineteenth century it suffered less than its neighbours owing to its remote situation. The forests, hills, and rich pasture make the scenery charming, and the soil is remarkably fertile, maize, wheat, lucerne, and sugar being extensively cultivated. The mineral wealth, though insufficiently exploited, is very great. The town of Salta, which is 935 miles from Buenos Aires, has a population of about twenty thousand. ”

“ A visible improvement has taken place in the condition of this people in the last twenty years; for, although at so vast a distance from the Capital, like Salta, its position as a frontier town has given it some special advantages: it has led to communications with foreigners, and to a traffic with Chile and with Buenos Ayres, which, by teaching them the value of their own resources, has roused a sort of commercial spirit amongst the inhabitants, and has stimulated them to more industrious habits. ”

“ The soil is fertile, and wheat, barley, maize, cotton, coca, coffee, yerba maté or Paraguay tea, and excellent wines are produced. The great forests yield many kinds of valuable wood. Gold, silver, copper, and iron are found, and porcelain clay is abundant. Wine, rum, sugar and molasses, dried and preserved fruits, and the wool and skins of the vicuña, llama, and alpaca are exported. Salta is divided into 21 departments. II. A city, capital of the province, in the low valley of Chicoana, between two mountain chains, about 820 m. ”

“ The occupation of Jujui opened the road to the plains and valleys of Salta, but even the occupation of Salta itself did not secure their position. The agricultural lands, from which alone supplies could be drawn, lay in valleys to the south of the capital, and it was this part of the Province the guerillas undertook to defend. The nature of the country eminently adapted it to guerilla warfare. The inhabitants were a hard-working race of men, strong, active, and inured to hardships, individually brave, and with a natural instinct for the class of warfare they waged. ”

“ Salta extends along the southern border of Bolivia from Jujuy to Formosa and Gran Chaco on the east; on the south are Santiago, Tucumán, and Catamarca; on the west Los Andes with Jujuy. The north and west sections are mountainous and cold, with high table-lands and fertile valleys; in the east the terrain comes down to the tropical country, where in places there are forests though some sections are hot and dry. Temperate and tropical products are found here; in the mountains are many varieties of minerals. Cattle are raised, some being driven over the mountains into Chile ”

“ In 1811 he escorted the prisoners of the campaign to Buenos Ayres, where he was appointed to the general staff with the rank of captain. In 1813 he took part in the second siege of Monte Video, and was absent from his native province at the time of Belgrano’s expedition, but when San Martin took command of the army he was at Santiago del Estero on his way back.
The insurrection of Salta in the face of the victorious enemy, was carried out with equal deliberation and courage. The population emigrated en masse, the peasants abandoned their huts and the towns were left desolate. ”

“ Our first headquarters in the Argentine were made at Rosario de Lerma, one hour by train from Salta. This is a most delightful spot and afforded rare opportunities for work and observation. The town contains about one hundred houses and is surrounded by fields, pastures, and patches of low, open woods. There is an abundance of water, and excellent meat, fruits, and vegetables may be had in abundance. The people are industrious and of good appearance, and treated us courteously. ”

“ Our country can do nothing more here than act on the defensive,{79} for which war the brave Gauchos of Salta suffice, if aided by two squadrons of regular troops. To think otherwise is to throw men and money into an abyss. ”

“ The principal plaza of the city is named in honor of the hero, Arenales, and a monument is soon to be placed on the brick base in the center of this square which formerly was graced by a squat obelisk. The principal club of the city is likewise named after the victory, its nomenclature being the 20th of February Club. This edifice faces the plaza and is by far the most modern building in Salta; it is the only building in the city that is three stories high. Many cities of half a million inhabitants cannot boast of so fine [112] a club regarding interior furnishings. ”

“ The Cafayate wines are excellent, but are chiefly consumed in the province. Various tropical fruits are produced in abundance, but are not sent to market on account of the cost of transportation. Stockraising is carried on to a limited extent for the home and Bolivian markets. The province is traversed by a government railway (the Central Northern) running northward from Tucuman to the Bolivian frontier, with a branch from General Güemes westward to the city of Salta (q.v.) ”

“ Meanwhile Saltan was awaiting the return of the knights whom he had sent after Bova; at last he was angered at their long delay, and sent as many more to their help; but Bova slew these likewise, and piled up their bodies in a heap; and climbing up this he escaped from prison and hastened to the harbour, where he saw a ship lying at anchor. Then he cried with a loud voice: “Ho, masters! take an honest young fellow on board your ship! Save me from a cruel death, and I will reward you richly.” ”

“ Salt saw in this despised material a new staple, bought the whole quantity, and, after much investigation, produced a new class of goods, which took the name of alpaca. He rapidly developed his discovery, and acquired considerable wealth. He was elected mayor of Bradford in 1848, and, after some hesitation as to whether he should retire from business, began to build in 1851, a few miles out of Bradford above Shipley on the banks of the Aire, the enormous works which eventually grew into the town of Saltaire. ”

“ The Saltash boatmen plied a good trade, conveying over the passengers from Cornwall to Devon. Moreover, houses were cheap at Saltash, and old salts lived there, where they could smell the sea air, and every now and then crossed into Plymouth to do their shopping. From time immemorial there had been boat-races in the Hamoaze, and the women of Saltash were not behind the men at plying the oar. ”

“ Travellers wishing to ascend the river above Salto usually cross to Concordia, Entre Rios, and go up by railway to Ceibo, near Monte Caseros, from which point small Steamers ascend to Uruguayana, Itaqui, and other river ports. The streets of Salto are well paved and lighted with electricity, and there are some good public buildings. ”

“ The town of Salto, on the other side of the river, in the Republic of Uruguay, lies white like a Moorish city, the shipping at the wharves by the river side lending animation to the scene. In the suburbs of these towns are many shacks and huts built of mud or old tin cans, a common method all through the country. The dwelling-houses in the town are of the common Spanish type, and one gets accustomed to the pleasant little pictures of family life seen through open doorways. The patio is the living-room of these houses, and the flowers, vines, and creepers make cheerful wall decorations. ”

“ Paysandú is connected by railway both with the capital and the northern centres. Its industries are chiefly pastoral and agricultural, and a number of meat-curing establishments exist.
Salto is the neighbouring province to the north upon the River Uruguay. It contains an area of 12,500 square kilometres and a population of rather over fifty thousand. Its chief town is Salto, that in actual size is said to exceed that of Paysandú, numbering as it does rather over twenty-two thousand inhabitants. The department is served by railway. The principal industry is that of pasture. ”

“ Roland dropped her hand; he caught his horse and mounted it. In a moment he was at her side again.
"Justine!"
And the girl turning to him let her fresh lips meet and rest upon his own. Slowly he disengaged the arm with which he had steadied himself on her waist.
"If I lose you now—" he began.
"There can be no question of losing," she interrupted. "Have we not come into our own?"
"But others may dispute our right. There is your cousin, to whom I thought you were engaged; and there is your father."
"Oh, as for Guy—" and she made a gesture. "Father, it is true, may object; but let him. ”

“ Saltus agreed to go East for a month or two, leaving me in California to get my nerves in shape again. He was on probation, or, as he expressed it, "saved from the pound."
It was horrible to see him go, and yet we both needed perspective, being too excited to act or even think sanely, as the episode over Toto had made clear. Two highly temperamental people, no matter how devoted to one another, act and react at times to their mutual disadvantage.
Standing beside the Los Angeles Limited, which was to take him back via Chicago, Mr. Saltus slipped an envelope in my hand. ”

“ She was, assuredly, very beautiful, particularly so in comparison with the powdered sallowness of the ladies from Spain, and when, with a breezy gesture of her own, she tossed her wrap to the bather and with sandaled feet and a white and clinging costume of serge she stepped to the water there was one on-looker who bethought him of a nymph of the Ægean Sea. ”

“ But the verandah, deserted at this hour by the consumptives, had attractions for Justine, for Roland as well; and presently, in a corner of it that leaned to the south, both were seated, and, at the moment, both were dumb. On the horizon, vague now and undiscerned, the peach-blossoms and ochres of sunset had long since disappeared; but from above rained down the light and messages of other worlds; the sky was populous with stars that seemed larger and nearer than they do in the north ”

“ Iohanan, or John—surnamed, because of practices of his, the Baptist—beckoned her to approach. In his eyes was the innocence that oxen have.
“My body is chained, but my soul is free!”
Mary made a pirouette, and through the terrace of the citadel the rattles on her ankles rang.
It was appalling, this citadel; it dominated the entire land. Perched on a peak of basalt, it overhung an abyss in which Asphalitis, the Bitter Sea, lay, a stretch of sapphire to the sun. In the distance were the heights of Abraham, the crests of Gilead. Before it was the infinite, behind it the desert. ”

“ Judas muttered, and got to his feet. The man hurried to them. He was broad of shoulder and of girth, the jaw lank and earnest. His eyes were small, and the lids twitched nervously. He was out of breath, and his garments were dust-covered.
“Where is the Master?” he asked; and at once, without waiting a reply, he added: “I have just seen Johanna. Her husband told her that the tetrarch is seeking him; he thinks him John, and would do him harm. We must go from here.”
Judas assented. “Yes, we must all go. Mary, it may be a penance, but it is his will.” ”

“ My uncle asked me, if there were many such salt marshes in Brazil as abound in North America, and of which cattle are so fond. I forgot at first, and said very foolishly, that I could not tell—I was in a silly fit, till at last I recollected myself, and told him I had heard that there were some, though they are obliged to import a great deal of salt. What an extraordinary appearance a salt plain must have, where the salt is open and uncovered! When we went up stairs, Mary showed me Mr. Salt’s description of one in Abyssinia. ”

“ IN the days of the ancients, when Mátsaki was the home of the children of men, there lived, in that town, which is called “Salt City,” because the Goddess of Salt made a white lake there in the days of the New, a beautiful maiden. She was passing beautiful, and the daughter of the priest-chief, who owned more buckskins and blankets than he could hang on his poles, and whose port-holes were covered with turquoises and precious shells from the ocean—so many were the sacrifices he made to the gods. ”

“ And now, as they rode on, interchanging only haphazard remarks, Roland swung himself from his horse, and, plucking a spray of arbutus, handed it to the girl.
"Take it," he said; "it is all I have."
His horse had wandered on a step and was nibbing at the grass, and, as he stood looking up at her, for the first time it occurred to him that she was fair. However a girl may seem in a ball-room, if she ever looks well she looks best in the saddle; and Justine, in spite of his criticism, did not sit her horse badly. ”