Since the days when Pizarro's adventurers discovered the hitherto
undreamed-of splendor of the Inca Dynasty, Bolivia has been a land of
surprises and romantic discovery. Strange to say, even yet much of
the eastern portion of this great republic remains practically
unexplored. The following account of exploration in those regions,
left for men of the twentieth century, may not, I am persuaded, be
without interest to the general reader. Bolivia has for many years
been seriously handicapped through having no adequate water outlet to
the sea, and the immense resources of wealth she undoubtedly
possesses have, for this reason, been suffered to go, in a measure,
unworked. Now, however, in the onward progress of nations, Bolivia
has stepped forward. In the year 1900, the Government of that country
despatched an expedition to locate and explore Lake Gaiba, a large
sheet of water said to exist in the far interior of Bolivia and
Brazil, on the line dividing the two republics. The expedition staff
consisted of Captain Bolland, an Englishman; M. Barbiere, a
Frenchman; Dr. Perez, Bolivian; M. Gerard D'Avezsac, French artist
and hunter, and the writer of these pages. The crew of ten men was
made up of Paraguayans and Argentines, white men and colored, one
Bolivian, one Italian, and one Brazilian. Strange to relate, there
was no Scotchman, even the ship's engineer being French. Perhaps the
missing Scotch engineer was on his way to the Pole, in order to be
found sitting there on its discovery by - - (?)
The object of this costly journey was to ascend the rivers La Plata,
Paraguay and Alto Paraguay, and see if it were possible to establish
a port and town in Bolivian territory on the shores of the lake.
After some months of untiring energy and perseverance, there was
discovered for Bolivia a fine port, with depth of water for any
ordinary river steamer, which will now be known to the world as
Puerto Quijarro. A direct fluvial route, therefore, exists between
the Atlantic and this far inland point.
The expedition left Buenos Ayres, the capital of the Argentine
Republic. Sailing up the western bank of the River of Silver, we
entered the Parana River, and after an uneventful voyage of six days,
passed the mouth of the River of Gold, and turned into the Paraguay.
Three hundred miles up the Higher Parana, a mighty stream flowing
from the northeast, which we here left to our right, are the Falls of
Yguasu. These falls have been seen by few white men. The land on each
side of the river is infested by the Bugres Indians, a tribe of
cannibals, of excessively ferocious nature. The Falls of Big Water
must be the largest in the world - and the writer is well acquainted
with Niagara.
The river, over two and a half miles wide, containing almost as much
water as all the rivers of Europe together, rushes between
perpendicular cliffs. With a current of forty miles an hour, and a
volume of water that cannot be less than a million tons a minute, the
mighty torrent rushes with indescribable fury against a rocky island,
which separates it into two branches, so that the total width is
about two miles and a half. The Brazilian arm of the river forms a
tremendous horseshoe here, and plunges with a deafening roar into the
abyss two hundred and thirteen feet below. The Argentine branch
spreads out in a sort of amphitheatre form, and finishes with one
grand leap into the jagged rocks, more than two hundred and twenty-
nine feet below, making the very earth vibrate, while spray, rising
in columns, is visible several miles distant.
"Below the island the two arms unite and flow on into the Parana
River. From the Brazilian bank the spectator, at a height of two
hundred and eighty feet, gazes out over two and a half miles of some
of the wildest and most fantastic water scenery he can ever hope to
see. Waters stream, seethe, leap, bound, froth and foam, 'throwing
the sweat of their agony high in the air, and, writhing, twisting,
screaming and moaning, bear off to the Parana.' Under the blue vault
of the sky, this sea of foam, of pearls, of iridescent dust, bathes
the great background in a shower of beauty that all the more adds to
the riot of tropical hues already there. When a high wind is blowing,
the roar of the cataract can be heard nearly twenty miles away. A
rough estimate of the horse-power represented by the falls is
fourteen million."
Proceeding up the Paraguay River, we arrived at Asuncion, the capital
of Paraguay, and anchored in a beautiful bay of the river, opposite
the city. As many necessary preparations had still to be made, the
expedition was detained in Asuncion for fifteen days, after which we
boarded the S.S. Leda, for the second stage of our journey.
Steaming up the Alto Paraguay, we passed the orange groves of that
sunny land on the right bank of the river, and on the left saw the
encampments of the Tobas Indians, The dwellings of these people are
only a few branches of trees stuck in the ground. Further on, we saw
the Chamococos Indians, a fine muscular race of men and women, who
cover their bronze-colored bodies with the oil of the alligator, and
think a covering half the size of a pocket-handkerchief quite
sufficient to hide their nakedness. As we stayed to take in wood, I
tried to photograph some of these, our brothers and sisters, but the
camera was nothing but an object of dread to them. One old woman,
with her long, black, oily hair streaming in the breeze, almost
withered me with her flashing eyes and barbarous language, until I
blushed as does a schoolboy when caught in the act of stealing
apples. Nevertheless, I got her photo.
The Pilcomayo, which empties its waters into the Paraguay, is one of
the most mysterious of rivers.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 25 of 83
Words from 24412 to 25420
of 83353
