PARAGUAY
[Illustration: AN INDIAN AND HIS GOD NANDEYARA]
"I need not follow the beaten path;
I do not hunt for any path;
I will go where there is no path,
And leave a trail."
PARAGUAY
Paraguay, though one of the most isolated republics of South America,
is one of the oldest. A hundred years before the "Mayflower" sailed
from old Plymouth there was a permanent settlement of Spaniards near
the present capital. The country has 98,000 square miles of
territory, but a population of only 800,000. Paraguay may almost be
called an Indian republic, for the traveller hears nothing but the
soft Guarani language spoken all over the country. It is in this
republic that the yerba mate grows. That is the chief article of
commerce, for at least fifteen millions of South Americans drink this
tea, already frequently referred to. Thousands of tons of the best
oranges are grown, and its orange groves are world-famed.
The old capital, founded in 1537, was built without regularity of
plan, but the present city, owing to the despotic sway of Francia, is
most symmetrical. That South American Nero issued orders for all
houses that were out of his lines to be demolished by their owners.
"One poor man applied to know what remuneration he was to have, and
the dictator's answer was: 'A lodgment gratis in the public prison.'
Another asked where he was to go, and the answer was, 'To a state
dungeon.' Both culprits were forthwith lodged in their respective new
residences, and their houses were levelled to the ground."
"Such was the terror inspired by the man that the news that he was
out would clear the streets. A white Paraguayan dared not utter his
name. During his lifetime he was 'El Supremo,' and after he was dead
for generations he was referred to simply as 'El Difunto.'"
[Footnote: Robertson's "Reign of Terror."]
Paraguay, of all countries, has been most under the teaching of the
Jesuit priest, and the people in consequence are found to be the most
superstitious. Being an inland republic, its nearest point a thousand
miles from the sea-coast, it has been held in undisputed possession.
Here was waged between 1862 and 1870 what history describes as the
most annihilating war since Carthage fell. The little republic,
standing out for five and a half years against five other republics,
fought with true Indian bravery and recklessness, until for every man
in the country there could be numbered nine women (some authorities
say eleven); and this notwithstanding the fact that the women in
thousands carried arms and fought side by side with the men. The
dictator Lopez, who had with such determination of purpose held out
so long, was finally killed, and his last words, "Muero con la
patria" (I die with the country) were truly prophetic, for the
country has never risen since.
